Barab I

*Homebrew Reference Book: Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds*

*See also: Galactic Gazetteer*

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 ten hours, it increases to strong and becomes even more powerful in direct sunlight or above 4,000 km in altitude.

During the night, water condenses, drenching the planet's surface in heavy rains. Temperatures drop to a relatively cool 30 degree centigrade, and animals creep out of their 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.

### Barab I Statistics

**Region:** The Outer Rim

**Climate:** Arid

**Gravity:** Standard

**Moons:** 0

**Length of Day:** 60 Standard Hours

**Length of Year:** 146 Local Days

**Sapient Species:** 100% Barabel (Native)

**Government:** Independent Clans

**Capital:** Alater-ka

**Major Exports:** Exotic Wildlife, Mercenaries

**Major Imports:** Manufactured Goods, Weapons

## History

Barabel began writing down their history only about four hundred 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 goes 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 opens 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 they would rake with their 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 few 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.

## 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 their time in Akater-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.

## Adventure Hooks

*See also: Korshnak, Kursma*

Barab I is a violent place, so heroes have numerous opportunities to test their skills and quick thinking. Jedi have an easier time than some, but the respect their position gives them also can put them in serious binds. Speaking thoughtlessly can earn the enmity of an entire clan or community who won't dismiss a Jedi's words, but might follow the letter of a pronouncement instead of the spirit.

The adventure hooks described below are intended for use by Gamemasters only. If you are a player, stop reading now.

### Finding the Lost Jedi

Researchers have discovered ancient Barabel pots and wall carvings that shed light on the identity of the mysterious Jedi who brokered peace in the distant past. Fragments have the words "Noga-ta" and show a green-bladed Lightsaber. The figure depicted wears his or her hood up, covering the head and face, but the proportions suggest the lost Jedi was roughly Human in size. If the heroes can get artifacts and holo-footage back to a study center, they might be able to learn even more.

But someone doesn't want the lost Jedi found. Korshnak leads a clan of several hundred Barabel who believe that outsiders meddling in Barab I's sacred past will create unrest and rouse spirits of the dead to new violence. Korshnak won't openly contradict or countermand a Jedi, but a few hundred ornery Barabel can ambush heroes, sabotage their equipment, and destroy vital tools or evidence to protect their beliefs, even without Korshnak's explicit direction. Jedi or no, Barabel don't need a leader to tell them to be ruthless when threatened.

### Hutt Overboard

A safari skiff that set out at sunset has called back to Alater-ka, asking for help. A Shenbit Bonecrusher ambush upset their skiff. They've lost a passenger- one Dromo the Hutt- in the undergrowth, and their native guide was killed in the ambush.

The Hutt's Sullustan assistant, Ullumub is willing to pay very well for someone to venture in and retrieve her employer. The Barabel locals don't give the Hutt a chance to live, and won't bother.

The catch is that if the heroes take the job, they have only 5 hours to find Dromo before sunrise. Getting the Hutt out might also be a challenge. If the heroes can find Dromo's favorite Twi'lek slave who was also lost in the upset, Ullumub will pay extra.