Barabel

Species Data

Attribute Dice: 12D (+6D for PC)
DEXTERITY: 2D/4D
PERCEPTION: 1D+1/4D+2
STRENGTH: 3D/5D
KNOWLEDGE: 1D/2D+1
MECHANICAL: 1D/3D
TECHNICAL: 1D/2D+1
Height: 1.9 - 2.2 meters
Move: 11/14
Homeworld: Barab I

Description:
Languages:
Barab, Basic

The Barabel are vicious, bipedal reptiloids with horny, black scales of keratin covering their bodies from head to tail, needle-like teeth, often reaching lengths of five centimeters or more, filling their huge mouths.

The Barabel evolved as hunters and are well-adapted to finding prey and killing it on their nocturnal world. Their slit-pupilled eyes collect electromagnetic radiation ranging from infrared to yellow, allowing them to use Barab I's radiant heat to see in the same manner most animals use light. (However, the Barabel cannot see any light in the green, blue, or violet range.) The black scales serving as their outer layer of skin is insulated by a layer of fat, so that, as the night is draing to a close, the Barabel retain their ambiant heat for a few hours longer than other species, allowing them to remain active as their prey becomes lethargic. Their long, needle like teeth are well suited to catching and killing tough-skinned prey.

The Barabel are a cold-blooded reptilian species from Barab I. Many of their actions are fueled by their hunting instincts, but this also led to to the general feeling that Barabels were always angry, or in the very least ornery. They express emotion—such as amusement or grief—by "sissing." The Barabel had very tough, dark colored scales. A blaster set on stun would not damage them at all or slow them down, as it would merely bounce off their scales. Barabel were able to shed their tails if necessary, an ability that proved the undoing of many a startled foe.

Spice smugglers, Rebels, and other criminals occasionally use Barab I as an emergency refuge (despite the dangers inherent in landing in the uncivilized areas of the planet), and it sees a steady traffic of sport hunters, but, otherwise, Barab I rarely receives visitors, and the Barabel are not widely known throughout the galaxy.

Barabel are not interested in bringing technology to their homeworld (and, in fact, have resisted it, preferring to keep their home pristine, both for themselves and the pleasure hunters that provide most of the planets income), but they have no difficulty in adapting to technology and can be found throughout the galaxy, working as bounty hunters, trackers, and organized into extremely efficient mercenary units.

History:
According to Barabel legend, a small group of Jedi, led by the Ithorian Noga-ta, came to Barab I circa 900 BBY. Noga-ta helped settle the civil war that had plagued Barabel society for thousands of years. Consequently, the Barabels held Jedi in high esteem and would accept a Jedi's judgment in any dispute.

After this contact with the Jedi, the Barabel had little contact with offworlders for centuries. Soon after the rise of the Galactic Empire, Planetary Safaris began organizing hunting trips to Barab I, with the quarry being the Barabel themselves. After a few Barabel were killed, a Barabel leader named Shaka-ka organized groups of her fellow hunters into armies which overwhelmed the safari ships. When an Imperial investigation led by Captain Osted Alater revealed that the Barabel were sentient, the safaris were ended. Shaka-ka formed an alliance with Imperial Governor Paro Lanto and had the spaceport city of Alater-ka built. Some Barabel began to go offworld, working as mercenaries and bounty hunters.

Later, during the days of the New Republic, several Barabel became part of the Jedi order. The most prominent of these was Saba Sebatyne. The Barabels were nearly wiped out when Barab I was destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the Galaxy.

Additional History
Barabel began writing down their history only about 400 years before the Battle of Yavin. As far as historians can tell, life before that time was not remarkably different from life after. Clans and communities lived much as they do now, warring in underground caves and hunting on the surface in the night.

However, one incident has resonated through the history of the species. The story is that sometime in the distant past, a Jedi -- sometimes a band of Jedi, and sometimes a single Jedi with companions -- visited Barab I. Two large clans were on the verge of war over hunting ground rights. Fortunately, the Jedi mediated a peace between the clans, preventing a war that would have encompassed the known world at the time.

This mediation had a dramatic effect on the Barabel. First, because of the Jedi's wisdom and decisiveness, the Barabel never again fought over hunting territory. In accordance with the Jedi's decree, clans must always share hunting grounds, and a clan's largest kill of the night must be given to the head of another clan. Second, and more importantly in the larger galaxy, Barabel forever after revered Jedi and accepted whatever judgment a Jedi passed.

This reverence was irrelevant in the short term, since the Jedi left after the mediation and never reported Barab I's existence to the Council. Barab I remained unknown to the galaxy until it was rediscovered during Palpatine's reign.

The ancient Jedi stories told of ships "from beyond the clouds." When ships arrived again during the Rebellion era, the Barabel believed the Jedi had returned and greeted them openly, listening to whatever they had to say.

Sadly, the first arrivals were not Jedi, but wildcat planetary scouts from a corporation known as Planetary Safaris. The Barabel met the new visitors with open arms. They were repaid with exploitation. News of the plethora of dangerous, killable wildlife (including the Barabel themselves) spread, making Barab I an open secret among the elite hunters of the galaxy.

The marketable ferocity of the Barabel was not lost on the various business people and criminals who visited, either. Many Barabel were "exported" as bounty hunters, mercenaries, and shockboxers. Some were sent off in indentured servitude, though most either escaped or killed their "masters" when pushed too hard and became independent operators. Finally, Barab I's proximity to Hutt Space made it the perfect place for Hutts to "disappear" certain people.

The Empire controlled the planet and provided some protection to the Barabel during the Rebellion, but the protection was inconsistent, and the Barabel usually had to fend for themselves. They learned to distrust outsiders, even as they filtered into the galaxy and lived among them. When the New Republic formed, they allowed Barab I to join but found the natives' viciousness and distrust difficult to absorb.

Just four years after the Battle of Endor, the entire planet was ready to go to war against the Verpine when the shipbuilders defaulted on a contract for the planetary rulers. The Barabel were so committed to the war that they had arranged to sell the freeze-dried remains of their opponents to the insectivore Kubaz. War was averted through careful diplomacy, but Barab I remains one of the more difficult members of the New Republic.

People
The Barabel are a vicious reptilian species with a hunting culture. On average, they stand 2 meters tall and weigh 130 kilograms. Jagged, overlapping, black keratin scales cover their bodies, and the Barabel are said to be able to shed their tails when necessary. They tend to be nocturnal, although they also engage in some daytime activity in their cave homes.

Barabel are famously mean-spirited. This normally manifests itself in direct physical confrontation, but Barabel have no qualms with property destruction, traps, indirect fire, or even crueler tactics. Outsiders sometimes confuse Barabel viciousness with stupidity. Though technologically primitive, Barabel are socially and economically adaptable. A Barabel trader will attempt to harm business rivals with rough negotiations in the conference room as zealously as she would rake with her claws in a fistfight.

Barabel live in cave complexes that honeycomb the planet's mantle. Their homes are not complex, or even all that comfortable to non-Barabel. They live in rock homes decorated with skins, bones, shells, and various artifacts from a lifetime of hunts. They organize themselves by clans, and several clans form communities that occupy entire cave complexes. Leadership is generally determined by combat, but clan elders can mitigate a leader's influence, both formally and informally.

The largest communities have as many as 10,000 people, but most number in the hundreds. Individuals rarely travel farther than a hundred kilometers from their home in their lives. However, nearly every community has or knows of a Barabel who has left the planet to work as a mercenary or bounty hunter.

Communities remain in contact by hunting in overlapping regions and compete with each other by bringing back kills after each night's hunt. A community gives its biggest kill to the leader of another community who shares the hunting ground. The rival community might suffer the indignity of having to accept a greater kill, tacitly admitting the first community's greater power and prowess.

These nightly exchanges form a loose worldwide community in which prestige is gained through giving away the largest, most dangerous creatures found on any given night. No overt planetary government exists, but the largest clans have representatives in Alater-ka who have learned to negotiate with barbed rhetoric rather than pure combat.

Despite their reputation, the Barabel have learned from visiting Jedi and display impressive unity for such a vicious species. Hatchmates are closer than most Human families, and entire clans will declare war for a slight against one member. This unity was most impressively demonstrated by the few Barabel who studied at the Jedi Academy; their minds melded with an ease that astonished the Jedi Masters. Of course, murderous fights still break out between individuals and whole clans, but the Barabel have generally learned to save their savagery for hunts or off-worlders.

Even years later, outsiders are still distrusted. Within Barabel memory, off-worlders have either hunted them or competed for good hunting. Non-Barabel are generally safe in Alater-ka, but traveling to another community or taking part in a hunt is an excellent way to get "accidentally" assaulted. Jedi who prove their station are treated deferentially, however, and can smooth over problems with a calm word and the flash of a lightsaber.

Special Abilities:
Vision: Barabels can see infared radiation, giving them the ability to see in complete darkness, provided there are heat differentials in the environment.
Radiation Resistance: Because of the proximity of their homeworld to its sun, the Barabel have evolved a natural resistance to most forms of radiation. They receive a +2D bonus when defending against the effects of radiation.
Natural Body Armor: The black scales of the Barabel act as armor, providing a +2D bonus against physical attacks, and a +1D bonus against energy attacks.

Story Factors:
Reputation: Barabels are reputed to be fierce warriors and great hunters, and they are often feared. Those who know of them always steer clear of them.
Jedi Respect: Barabels have a deep respect for Jedi Knights, even though they have little aptitude for sensing the Force. They almost always yield to the commands of a Jedi Knight (or a being that represents itself believably as a Jedi). Naturally, they are enemies of the enemies of Jedi (or those who impersonate Jedi).

Barab I
Planet Type: Irradiated terrestrial
Climate: Arid
Terrain: Rocky badlands, caves
Atmosphere: Breathable
Gravity: Standard
Diameter: 10,448 km
Length of Day: 60 standard hours
Length of Year: 146 standard days
Sentient Species: Barabel
Languages: Barabel
Population: 1.4 billion
Species Mix: 100% Barabel
Government: Independent clans
Major Exports: Exotic wildlife, mercenaries
Major Imports: Weapons, metal and plasteel goods
System/Star: Barab
Barab I

Planets	Type	Moons
Barab I	Irradiated Terrestrial	0
Barab II	Frozen Rock	0
Barab III	Gas Giant	34

Description
Barab I is a dark, damp world that orbits very close to its red dwarf sun. Thick clouds engulf the planet, blocking most of the light from Barab. Despite this, the high atmosphere is thin, allowing heat and radiation to penetrate to the surface. These atmospheric conditions make the planet an irradiated greenhouse with extremely active water cycles.

Life on Barab I is dictated by day-night cycles. Daytime outdoor survival is nearly impossible without protective gear; nearly all animal activity is nocturnal. The daytime temperature on the planet's surface varies between 45 and 55 degrees centigrade throughout the year. Almost all surface water evaporates quickly when the sun rises, leaving the planet encased in steamy fog.

Hard radiation from the sun conspires with the heat to drive all animal life underground, leaving the surface sparsely vegetated and practically barren. Even Barabel cannot survive a full day's exposure without protection, although they fare better than visitors do over short periods. The radiation level during daylight is always at least mild, but during the middle 10 hours, it increases to strong and becomes even more powerful in direct sunlight or above 4,000 km in altitude (see Table 12-24 in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game for the effects of radiation poisoning).

During the night, water condenses, drenching the planet's surface in heavy rains. Temperatures drop to a relatively cool 30 degrees centigrade, and animals creep out of their underground hiding places. Nearly everything hunts during the night, making this time just as dangerous as day, for completely different reasons.

Barab I would likely rank with Kashyyyk in dangerous fauna if it were better known. The food chain is complex, but always vividly violent. Even herbivores and small prey animals are capable of killing larger creatures.

A few plants survive in this environment, extremely adapted to exist in the dim light and harsh radiation. Plants are sessile -- short, broad affairs that bloom across the ground. Their increased surface area allows them a greater chance for water to condense or remain trapped in their leaves. Some wrap themselves in cocoons with metallic sheens to reflect radiation during the day.

Locations
Most Barabel communities are small, relatively primitive cave dwellings. Caves closer to Alater-ka show signs of increased technological sophistication; powered appliances and vibro weapons are not uncommon there.

Alater-ka
The only city ever built on Barab I, Alater-ka was constructed by Captain Osted Alater to facilitate the Empire's needs on the planet and (surprisingly) to help the Empire protect the Barabel from exploitation at the hands of hunters.

Alater-ka is primarily a spaceport. The "city" aspect consists of the usual commercial and residential hangers-on that follow wherever a spaceport crops up, in addition to some Barab I-specific businesses such as shockboxer recruitment centers, mercenary agents, and hunting expedition travel agencies.

By the time the Empire left, enough off-worlders had established themselves in private business to keep the spaceport active, though a little run down. A few Barabel have caught on to the advantages of interstellar commerce and own businesses catering to off-worlders, but most work in low-paying service jobs such as cleaning and dock work. A visitor could spend all his time in Alater-ka and encounter more off-worlders than natives.

Neutral Jedi Zone
This high-ceilinged cave is hundreds of meters long and wide. It serves as a world court where Barabel solve disputes that rise above local concern. Common methods of arbitration include one-on-one combat, small-scale skirmishes, hunting contests, and mean-spirited debates where Barabel "diplomats" argue their points by making wicked personal attacks on their opponents. Visiting Jedi and their companions are offered luxury accommodations in the Neutral Jedi Zone, and in return are usually asked to arbitrate disputes between clans or powerful individuals.