Bowcaster / Legends The bowcaster ( sometimes called the Wookiee Crossbow ) was a Wookiee projectile weapon that fired a metal quarrel enveloped in energy . Some bowcasters were modified to fire pure energy . Some variants had a capacity of twenty - four shots . Description . In use as early as the Jedi Civil War , the bowcaster could unleash a bolt with impressive stopping power essential to defend Wookiees against the fierce predators of Kashyyyk ' s forests . The bowcasters were magazine - loaded with usually six to ten explosive bolts per magazine . However some Wookiees developed a bowcaster that fired pure blaster bolts and no magazine was required . A quiver of 10 quarrels cost 50 credits and weighed 1 kilogram . A polarizing orb sat at each end of the bow , generating a magnetic field used to accelerate the quarrels . After cocking the weapon , a simple trigger sped the quarrel forward and charged it in an envelope of plasma . To generate the requisite potential energy for conversion into kinetic energy , the cocking spring required the strength of a Wookiee to draw back , although some modern bowcasters featured automatic cocking mechanisms for use by other species . While decreasingly effective beyond 30 meters , the bowcaster was more powerful and accurate than typical blaster weapons . Some bowcasters could load multiple quarrels to create a spread - fire effect , further enhancing their close range effectiveness , while others could fire specially charged bolts that could ricochet off certain surfaces . They also shot pure bolts that were not engulfed in energy . These would sometimes have poison tips or explosive tips . Bowcasters appeared huge to many non - Wookiees and even Jedi such as Olee Starstone doubted they could lift one , much less fire it . The weight of the weapon , however , was no impediment to the massive strength of the Wookiees . In addition to its size , the exotic design of the bowcaster required a non - Wookiee user to have training in order to wield the weapon proficiently . One non - Wookiee individual who used a bowcaster was the Kyuzo bounty hunter Embo . However , all Wookiees were able to wield their cultural weapon with proficiency . Variants of the bowcaster included the Assault bowcaster used during the Galactic Civil War and the Ceremonial bowcaster used in ceremonial hunts . Behind the scenes . The bowcaster was originally inspired by an illustration by John Schoenherr for George R . R . Martin ' s novelette " And Seven Times Never Kill a Man " , published in the July 1975 issue of Analog , on which Ralph McQuarrie ' s final Chewbacca concept art was based . Most sources , including " " , depict bowcasters firing green bolts . However , in " " and " " , Chewbacca ' s weapon fires red bolts and in " " , Chewbacca ' s weapon fires yellow bolts . This is due to the retcon that Chewbacca made his out of a stormtrooper rifle . In " " , Darman Skirata states that the bowcaster is his favorite weapon . In all " Jedi Knight " series of games , the bowcaster made an appearance . There , the user had two fire functions : one that could launch one to five bolts ( depending on the amount of time spent charging up the shot ) and one that launched a single , bouncing bolt . The latter was more accurate at far ranges , and could be fired at a faster pace . In both " Jedi Knight / Dark Forces " and " Knights of the Old Republic " games Wookiees are not the only bowcaster users . Many non - Wookiee mercenaries , bounty hunters , smugglers were equipped with this weapon in games , so did both Kyle and Jaden . Players are given the option of equipping Revan and the Jedi Exile with bowcasters . All Wookiee player characters in " Star Wars Galaxies " start with the ability to craft bowcasters . There are significant differences in this weapon ' s range presented in the " Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook " that differ from the range as listed in the " The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology " . Instead of an optimum and maximum range of 30 and 50 meters respectively , the Saga Edition treats the bowcaster as a rifle , giving it an optimum and maximum range 90 and 450 meters respectively . This is probably due to the fact that the role - playing game data is heavily simplified and modified for ease of play .