HURID-327

HURID-327 was a loadlifter droid who worked as groundskeeper and luggage porter for Pirate Queen Maz Kanata's castle on the planet Takodana. He was jovial and slightly lazy, but kept the area around the castle clear of undergrowth. In 382 BBY, the droid witnessed a fight break out in the castle between the lawman Raf Thatchburn argue with Kanata's employee Alak before Kanata broke it up.
After the Aloxian infant Qort was delivered to Kanata's doorstep, HURID-327 tried to calm the child, but the baby instead ripped off the droid's arm and beat the droid to pieces with it. After a vonduun crab skull calmed Qort's violent tendencies, HURID-327 was tickling the infant in the castle when the baby began using the Force, leading to Qort joining the Jedi Order. In 34 ABY, HURID-327 passed the humans Han Solo, Rey, Finn, and the astromech droid BB-8 while the groundskeeper walked away from the castle toward its starship. The castle was then destroyed by the First Order.
==Biography==
===High Republic Era===
HURID-327, also refered to as just HURID, was a loadlifter droid that was employed by the Pirate Queen Maz Kanata to work as the groundskeeper and lugage porter of her castle on the planet Takodana, which was also its permenant residence.Star Wars: Alien Archive His duties included keeping the area around the castle and the paths that led to it clear of intrusive undergrowth and any heavy-weight work such as carrying larger items of luggage for select guests at the castle. The loadlifter also helped to enforce Kanata's rules and attending to her guests needs.
In 382 BBYStar Wars: Timelines dates the events of The High Republic Adventures (2022) 1 to 382 BBY. during the High Republic Era, HURID-327 was part of a crowd in the castle's common room that watched the lawman Raf Thatchburn argue with Kanata's employee Alak. The fight escalatied to violence between the two when the Jedi Padawan Savina Malagán used the Force to throw a cup at Thatchburn, which the lawman assumed had been thrown by Alak. Kanata then arrived and broke up the fight, after which she spotted the prospector Dexter Jettster and rushed to hug him, telling Jettster that if he had let her know he was coming, she would have had HURID-327 prepare a tray of the prospector's favorite treats.
===Beating from a baby===
Years prior to 231 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the "current" events of The High Republic Adventures (2021) 9 to 231 BBY. Qort is depicted as an adolescent in the "current" events, where as he is depicted as an infant during the flashback sequences that HURID-327 appears in, meaning they must have taken place years earlier. the Aloxian infant Qort was delivered to the castle's doorstep with a warning that he was dangerous. Kanata took in the screaming infant and placed him, still in the box that he had been delivered in, on one of the castle's table tops. She then asked HURID-327 to see if it could stop the infant crying while she fetched milk from the pantry. HURID-327 protested that it was already unsuccessfully trying to calm Qort, but as soon as Kananta left the room, the infant lept from the box onto the loadlifter's left arm and snapped the limb off.
The mobile baby then procceeded to beat HURID-327 with its own severed arm and reduced the groundskeeper to a pile of still active parts before fleeing to the castle's basement. Kanata eventually returned and discovered the damaged HURID-327, who informed her of where Qort had gone. Kanata found the infant wearing the skull of a vonduun crab that calmed him. After finding the mask, Qort ceased causing destruction, but as HURID-327 tickled the infant on a table in the castle sometime later, the young Aloxian began using the Force to lift small animals around the room, alerting Kanata to the fact that he was Force-sensitive. Kanata then contacted Malagán about the infant, and Qort left the castle to join the Jedi Order.
===No more grounds to keep===
Centuries later in 34 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of to 34 ABY. HURID-327 was still working for Kanata at the castle. While leaving the castle to walk to its ship, the loadlifter passed a group consisting of the humans Han Solo, Rey, and Finn, and the astromech droid BB-8 as they entered the castle in search of Kanata. Shortly after the group's arrival, the First Order arrived on Takodana and attacked the castle while searching for BB-8. The structure was destroyed, but Kanata, the group, and various patrons survived the incident.
At some point after the castle's destruction, the B1-series battle droid R0-GR wrote about HURID-327 in the book he compiled title "droidography" and claimed that one look at HURID-327 had caused many potential visitors to Kanata's castle to turn around and head home instead. A mention and illustration of HURID-327 was also included in an artist's journal, which was restored, expanded, and displayed by the Graf Archive at some point no earlier than 34 ABY.
==Characteristics==
HURID-327 was a simple, older model of loadlifter with red plating and was able to communicate only via a binary acoustic signaller, although this did not prevent the droid from speaking Galactic Basic. An oddly jovial droid, he had a gentle sense of humor, but was known to be a little lazy.
HURID-327's tall stature required repulsor supports that generated a counterweight and the loadlifter had a repulsor anchor disc mounted on each shoulder. These counterbalances ensured that there was the same weight on both sides of HURID-327's body even when an item he was carrying shifted in transit, which helped the droid luggage porter stay upright when carrying off-balance items. HURID-327's body core was also gyrostablized, as suggested by the high position of its main receptors, which were red in color.
HURID-327 had reinforced articulation with two weight-distributing legs and two arms with cargo support joints at the elbows. Each of his strong, prehensile hands had three heavy-duty, jointed industrial manipulators fingers and a equally chunky thumb, meaning he rarely lost his grip.
==Behind the scenes==
HURID-327 was created to appear in the sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, which was released on December 18, 2015. Prior to the film's release, the droid debuted in a trailer for Episode VII on October 19, 2015. Concept art of the character titled "Castle Droid H027" was created by senior sculpter Luke Fisher on November 26, 2013.
Creature creative supervisor Neal Scanlan suggested that they put a stilt-walker inside the HURID-327 costume and, although Fisher thought the idea was mad, circus performer Katy Coleman, who worked under the name "Katy Cartwheel," was picked for the role. The costume was then built around her by the fabricators and the mechanical department in order to ensure that she could move around and see while comfortable and with enough time to create a good performance. During production, the character was known as "Big Red," with its in-universe identification of HURID-327 first provided by the reference book Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo and released on the same day as the film.
==Appearances==
*The High Republic Adventures (2022) 1
*The High Republic Adventures (2021) 9 
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*Star Wars: The Force Awakens Graphic Novel Adaptation
*The Force Awakens Adaptation 3
===Non-canon appearances===
*LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
==Sources==
* 
*Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary 
*The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
*Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded 
*Star Wars: The Adventures of BB-8
*
*Star Wars: Complete Locations 
*Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z
*
*Star Wars: Alien Archive
*Star Wars: Droidography
*Star Wars Search and Find Volume I
*
*
*Star Wars: These Are the Droids You're Looking For
*Star Wars Day-at-a-Time Calendar 2023
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==Notes and references==
Category:Droids with he/him pronouns
Category:Droids with it/its pronouns
Category:Droids with unspecified gender programming
Category:Gardeners
Category:Loadlifter droids
Category:Maz Kanata's crew