Onderon

**Onderon** is the only inhabited of the eight planets of the Japrael System, though its jungle moon Dxun is the system's other habitable world and home to Mandalorians. Onderon was first colonized sometime between 5200 and 4600 BBY. The planet is sparsely populated, with its only major city being the capital of Iziz, due to the hostile wilderness and its dangerous beasts. Iziz is ruled by a monarchy that was established by the Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd. While his influence has long since been exorcised from the world, his blood still runs through the planet's royal family. It is a member world of the Galactic Federation Triumvirate.

## Description

Onderon has four moons. Dxun, the primary moon, orbits very close to the planet, allowing some animals to fly between the planet and the moon during specific times of the year. The other three moons are Dagri, Evas and Suthre. Dxun is the only of the moons that is habitable, though its environment is even more hostile than Onderon itself. Only the hardy Mandalorians have been able to live on the bestial moon.

The native Humans of Onderon struggled against the beasts, eventually gathering new technologies and building a huge walled city, Iziz, to protect themselves. Like the people of many other fringe worlds, the Onderonians had a distrust of non-Humans. Because of this, the non-Human population of the planet has remained very small, representing collectively only 10% of the population. Due to the world's inhospitable wilderness, the size of its population has not changed much during the millennia. It is currently only 5 million, most of which live in the walled city of Iziz. Iziz's limited capacity to support its populace also keeps the population small. The city of Iziz is separated into four Quarters: North, South, Market and Royal. In the North Quarter is much of the city's old buildings, like the Fighting Pits, the Ov Taraba University and the Halls of the Spirits temple, as well as the higher income residential area and some commercial buildings like the Iziz Comm Tower. The South Quarter is the industrial and lower income area of the city, were the Mining Refinery, the Power Generator, the Swoop Track and the slums of the Webways. The Market Quarter is the central ring of the city, where the Spaceport, the main Militia Barracks, Malgran Market, as well as the main Iziz Defense Network are located along with most of the city's commercial buildings. The Royal Quarter is the very center of the city located at the top of the mountain in a plateau, it is comprised of Yolahn Square, the Unifar Temple, the Royal Palace and the Sky Ramp that connects the palace to Yolahn Square.

Besides Iziz, a few smaller settlements exist across the planet's surface. Among them are: the religious site of the Shatoon Monastery; the hunting lodges of the Beast Rider clans like Clazca Lodge; and the Kira Fortress, a military compound in the wilderness. There have been attempts to build other walled cities or even underground cities across Onderon, but none succeeded as well as Iziz, still a few of these sites maintain small population centers like the villages of Dox Piter, and the village of Darrastead.

## History

Onderon was first colonized by humans roughly in 5000 BBY. Owing to the brutal fauna of the world, the earliest encampments were hastily expanded into what would become the only city on the planet, Iziz. Most of the planet's inhabitants took refuge in Iziz, and the city expanded as the center of Onderon's civilization. Technology progressed, and the city's population grew to number in the millions. It also spanned thousands of square miles. Great walls and defenses kept the savage wilderness at bay.

In 4400 BBY, the Dark Lord Freedon Nadd conquered the planet and established a sith theocracy. While he was eventually defeated by the Jedi and entombed on the moon of Dxun, his descendants continued to rule the planet. They were known as the Naddists. The Naddists banished their opponents to the wilderness, expecting them to perish. However, these outcasts soon learned to survive and eventually formed the Beast Riders. War began between the Beast Riders and Iziz, lasting until until 4000 BBY. The Beast Wars finally ended with the death of Naddist Queen Amanoa. Her daughter Galia married Oron Kira, the leader of the outcasts, known as the "Beastprince". They would become the new monarchs of Onderon.

In 3998 BBY, the Naddists tried to overthrow Galia, under the leadership of Amanoa's deposed husband Ommin. The Republic and the Jedi came to Kira's aid and foiled the plot. Ommin and his Sith disciple Warb Null were slain. Following this, Onderon joined the Galactic Republic.

The Mandalorians attempted to invade Onderon during the Krath Holy Crusade in 3996 BBY, but failed, and settled on the moon Dxun. Onderon was the site of two battles during the Mandalorian Wars. However, Onderon went almost entirely unaffected by the Jedi Civil War. During those battles General Vaklu Rash rose to prominence and would become the leader of the Onderon Army. Vaklu preached anti-Republic ideals among the military culminating in his coup of his cousin Queen Talia Kira. Vaklu allied himself with Darth Nihilus. In exchange for the aid of his Sith forces, Vaklu would let the Sith visit Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun. He would have succeeded if not for the intervention of the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik, who turned the tide of the war with the help of Mandalor the Preserver and his forces. Vaklu was executed and Queen Talia rebuilt Iziz.

Queen Lina Kira was the ruler of Onderon during the Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. She was succeeded by her son Regalun Petryph. While he could've taken the name of his mother, his poor relationship caused by his anti-Republican sentiments led him to identify with his father's house and ending the centuries long rule of House Kira. In his greed Regalun attempted to make alternate trade deals outside of Republic statutes and strip-mine Onderon's resources to fill his coffers. This led to major opposition from the Republic loyalists, led by Senator Deja Nebet, and the Council of Lords. Around 3627 BBY, King Regalun was forced to retreat from Iziz to avoid the opposition as the planet was set into a crisis. Regalun was approached by Darth Savik of the Dark Council. She forged an alliance between him and the Sith, manipulating him into giving her the opportunity to destroy the Republic fleet in orbit of the planet. Regalun's Kira cousins, Anoser and Anosek, were assassinated by the Sith but blamed on the Council. This successfully got Regalun to attack the city and create the distraction that Savik needed. Darth Savik, however, was defeated by the Republic and they subsequently arrested Regalun for treason.

Following Regalun's deposition and the deaths of his next closest kin, the Council of Lords decided to elect a monarch among themselves as by then they all had some royal blood in their Houses. The House of Kira did survive, though they returned to their Beast Rider roots and retreated to their Fortress in the wilderness. Through the next millennia the throne passed between several houses.

During the Clone Wars, Onderon was ruled by King Ramsis Dendup. While formally allied with the Republic, King Ramsis did not enter the war. He regarded both sides as inherently corrupt and kept Onderon neutral. However, he was soon overthrown by Sanjay Rash, who allied Onderon with the Separatists. Ramsis was captured during the coup. Loyalist forces led by Saw Gerrera began a rebellion against the Separatist occupation. The Republic and the Jedi came to the rebels' aid and together they killed Sanjay, freed the old king and restored him to power. Ramsis' continued reign was short-lived however as the Galactic Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire. Ramsis opposed the tyrannical regime and was killed. Power was then given to an Imperial Govenor and the world was left without a king.

The Imperial regime was worse than Sanjay's cruel rule as the world was heavily militarized, becoming the site of the sector's largest Imperial military ordnance center. Iziz was policed heavily by the Empire, crushing the spirits of its populace and turning it compliant with an Iron Fist. It was only among the Beast Riders that rebellion was able to flourish. The Beast Rider rebels were led by Modon Kira, who pressed his House's ancient claim on the throne. Modon would eventually ally and befriend Han Solo and Leia Organa, culminating in them seeking refuge among the Kiras from the reborn Emperor Palpatine. It was in the Kira Fortress that Palpatine was killed for a second time by the Jedi, this time for good. Following this in 11 ABY, Modon Kira returned to Iziz as its new King and restored the ancient Kira line to the throne.

King Modon brought Onderon into the New Republic. Despite that, Onderon was thankfully spared from the horrors of the Yuuzhan Vong War. When the New Republic fell and became the Galactic Alliance, Onderon retained membership. At the time of the Second Galactic Civil War, they took the side of the Alliance and remained on its side throughout the conflict, playing only an inconsequential role. They continued to have only a minor role in galactic politics in the following wars between the Fel Empire and the Galactic Alliance, though they were nominally allied with the later. When Darth Krayt took power in the new Galactic Empire, he used Onderon for a recruitment world of his One Sith as many in the world had roots among Freedon Nadd's Sith cultists. After the defeat of the One Sith by the alliance of the Fel Empire-in-Exile, the Galactic Alliance Remnant and the New Jedi Order, Onderon joined the newly formed Galactic Federation Triumvirate.

In 996 ABY, King Asaris Kira agreed to an alliance with Emperor Traugus Fel II which was organized by Baron Reyne of the Imperial Diplomatic Service. The alliance was sealed with the marriage of Crown Prince Gallinius Fel and Princess Dalia Kira. One of the conditions of the alliance was that the Empire provide artificial lightsaber crystals to the Kira's palace guards. In return, Onderon agreed to support the Empire in the Galactic Senate and give them access to Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun.

## Society

### Religion

During the early days of Onderon, predominant faith of the people of Iziz was the worship of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Freedon Nadd. The Naddists, as they were called, maintained an iron grip on the populace. They built the Ancient Proving Grounds for trials where competitors would fight to the death to curry favor with the Dark Lord. Many of them were capable of using ancient Sith magic. Following the end of the House of Nadd and the successful uprising by the Beast Riders, the Naddists all but disappeared. Only ancient ruins remained of their faith.

Millennia later, the Unifras faith would take its place as the predominant religion of Iziz. The faith believed in the Force and its power, much like the Naddists before them. They believed in taming Onderon and preached that someday the wilds would lose its dominion over the planet. They build the Unifar Temple in Iziz, which served as their main headquarters for centuries before it became the new royal palace. Following this, the Unifras faithful erected a series of holy shrines on the cleared plains outside the walls of the Iziz as an attempt to show their dominion over nature as well as an attempt to attract offworld visitors.

## Government

Onderon is ruled by a hereditary monarchy where the power of the king is near absolute. The other only other institution with governmental power is the Council of Lords, made up of the heads of the noble Houses of Iziz. The balance of power between the Council and the King has shifted over the millennia, with it previously having the power to elect a new King between the Old Republic and Imperial eras. Since the House of Kira became the rulers of the planet following the defeat of the Galactic Empire the Council lost the power to elect a King and instead just held a nominal ceremony where they acknowledged the new monarch. The Council can exercise the powers of any branch of government, though they are subservient to the monarch in all regards. Only in a regency are they able to exert the full powers of the monarchy - though they require a majority vote of its Lords in order to pass any edict.

## Military

Due to the harsh living conditions of Onderon the world has always maintained a standard military as a security force. As the planet has few inhabitants all citizens are required to volunteer for military service at 18 and serve a minimum of two years, after which they are considered a part of the Militia Reserves for 25 years. Because of this their military is larger than expected for a population of its size. The **Onderon Military**, also called the **Onderon Guard**, has both an army and a navy, with both of them being led by the same *General* that is appointed by the monarch from the high ranking personnel within the Military. Below the General are the following ranks: *Admiral***,** leader of the Onderon Space Force; *Major*, *Commander*, *Captain*, *Lieutenant*, *Sergeant*, *Guardsman*.

### Royal Onderon Militia

The **Royal Onderon Militia** is the ground forces of the planet. The Militia is mainly used for policing the city of Iziz, but they do engage the planet's wildlife when it becomes too dangerous for the city. The Royal Onderon Militia is comprised primarily of infantry units and mounted riders, called Militiamen and Royal Riders respectively. Compared to other Planetary Security Forces, the Royal Onderon Militia is generally well trained though their equipment is considered by outsiders to be outdated or low-tech. They can field about 10,000 soldiers organized into: Regiments, Battalions, Companies and Squads. The army is supported by several vehicles like the RR-Speeders and Badlander-408 Patrol Walkers.

The Militiamen make up the bulk of the army's soldiers. They are equipped with light gray plastoid armor, with their rank being shown on their left shoulder. The armor itself is styled ornately with a crested half-helm and a cape. The main armaments of the Militiamen are blaster pistols, or a blaster rifle, with a round Power Shield and a Vibrohammer. The Militiamen are also responsible for operating Iziz's artillery defenses.

The Royal Riders are the mounted units of the Army. They were created by King Modon Kira following his ascent to the throne from the Beast Riders that remained loyal to him and joined the city of Iziz. Though initially these Royal Riders rode actual beasts, the practice was quickly changed to the disdain of the people of Iziz for these wild creatures. Because of this, the Royal Riders switched to riding flying speeders that had a vaguely animal-like shape. By the year 1004 ABY their current model of speeders was capable of flying to a max height of 6 kilometers off the ground. They are equipped with a blaster cannon at the center chassis. It is usually a single person craft, but is capable of carrying a passenger at much reduced height. The Royal Riders wear similar light gray plastoid armor to the militiamen, though it is less bulky to allow them more freedom of movement atop of their speeders and with better heat insulation. When in formal dress the Royal Riders' uniforms include a plumed half-helm, though in battle they wear plumless helmets with a rebreather mask to cope with the altitude. Likewise, their formal dress includes a yellow cape, which is removed for battle. The main weapon of the Royal Riders if a Laser Lance that can shoot with the same firepower as a blaster rifle and also be used for melee combat. Their side-arms are twin blaster pistols.

### Onderonian Space Force

The **Onderonian Space Force** is the navy of the planet of Onderon. While many worlds of its size rarely have a Navy of their own, Onderon does keep a standing naval force to patrol its space due to its position on a main hyperlane, the Lesser Lantillian Route, as well as being located near the Outer Rim. Unlike their ground forces counterpart, the Space Force generally uses up to date equipment comparable with the overall Triumvirate Military, though at a much smaller number and less variation. The main starship of the Space Force is the EF98 Nebulon-V Escort Frigate, which to them serves most naval roles, primarily capital ship, escort ship and patrol ship.

The Onderon fleet can can field 5 Nebulon-V frigates at any one time, though they are unable to do more than minor repairs their own ships as the planet does not possess a shipyard. Support ships include 4 Braha'sor-class Corvette, 6 Eusphyra-class H-Type Gunships and a pair of RRf Mk. I Escort Carriers which are used to carry the bulk of Onderon's starfighter complement of 102 ships. The primary starfighter used by the Onderonian Space Force is the T-177 M-Wing Starfighter but 30% of their squadrons are also made up of Advanced MultiPurpose-19 Interceptors.

### The Paladins

The **Paladins**, officially the **Paladin Royal Guard**, are the palace guards of the Onderon Royal Family, currently the House of Kira. They have their roots in the Naddist Magi Sentinels and Royal Protectors, both of whom were Dark-side adepts in service of the royal family. Over the millennia the Sith cultists were replaced by regular people and the organization is no longer comprised of Force-sensitives. As such they are not as proficient in wielding their Lightsaber Pikes as a force-user would be, but their specialized training allows them to avoid hurting themselves with the weapons. Besides their Lightsaber Pikes, the Paladins are known for their ornate Bronzium armor and their use of kite-shaped Power Shields, both dating back to their inception. The Paladins also carry a blaster as a side-arm. They are led by three captains called the Captains of the Guard.

Lightsaber Pikes were the primary weapons of the Paladins since their inception, but after Nadd's defeat they no longer possessed access to new Kyber crystals. The Paladins had to pass down their original crystals over the millennia, but eventually most of these were lost or destroyed. By 996 ABY there were only three Pikes still operational and were in the possession of the Captains. The alliance between the Fel Dynasty and the House of Kira included the condition that the Fels provide the Paladins with artificial Kyber crystals to use in crafting new Lightsaber Pikes. These were the same silver crystals that the Imperial Knights used for their lightsabers, albeit the Empire only provided the low quality crystals to the Paladins.

### Noble Houses

* **House of Kira**: The current royal house of Onderon. They were originally one of the Beast Rider tribes during the time of Naddist rule. With the marriage of Princess Galia Nadd and Beast-Lord Modon Kira, the family would come to rule the planet for centuries before they lost the title by the time of the Cold War. They would return to their Beast Rider origins for the next few millennia until the Imperial Era when a new Modon Kira would unite the Beast Riders under his rule and fight against the Galactic Empire, eventually being named King of Onderon following Palpatine's second death. In recent years the family has had strong Imperial ties with the marriage of Princess Dalia Kira to Prince Gallinius Fel.
* **House of Bonteri**: A noble family dating back to at least the time of the Clone Wars. They had risen to prominence shortly prior to the war due to Mina Bonteri being chosen to represent Onderon in the Galactic Senate. She then defected to the Separatist cause, becoming the Onderonian representative for the Separatist Senate. Her son Lux would follow in her footsteps as a Separatist senator, but would, after her assassination, defect to the Republican cause. During the Imperial Era he would join the cause of Saw Gerrera's Partisans and later the Rebel Alliance. In recent history the family has maintained strong ties with the Onderonian Military, with Estea Bonteri being appointed Admiral of the Space Force, and the Galactic Senate with her brother Tathen being made the Onderonian representative.
* **House of Narizeph**: A noble family of Onderon. They have been involved in business since at least the last century and have gained themselves considerable wealth. They are business rivals of the Sutekhs. In recent years the family has gained some influence in the New Jedi Order due to Ashrila Narizeph becoming a Jedi Knight. They conduct trade with both the Galactic Federation Trumvirate and the Hutt Cartel. Only Digak's closest family members are aware of his business partners, the Hutts.
* **House of Nebet**: A ancient noble family of Onderon. They date back to the Cold War era of the Old Republic to a famous Senator Deja Nebet. She was instrumental in the defeat of the tyrannical regime of King Regalun Petryph. Since then the House has maintained a strong position in the Council of Lords. However, their politics have become more isolationist and traditionalist in the last millennium. In recent years they had become involved with the royal family with the marriage of Iseta Nebet to King Asaris Kira. They also have much influence in the military with the appointment of Khnemu Nebet as General of the Military.
* **House of Sutekh**: A fairly new noble family, having only achieved its status in the last couple hundred years. They came into prominence with their founding of the Iziz Trading Company circa 800 ABY. They are business rivals of the Narizephs. The family built up quite the wealth and influence since then, being able to arrange a marriage between Princess Nita Kira and the Lord Ramessu Sutekh. Since then Lady Nita Sutekh has taken control of the Iziz Trading Company and brought the family to new heights of wealth, becoming the arguable richest family on Onderon.