Gotal/Legends

"&hellip;it is rumored that the finest gamblers in the galaxy learn to bluff by trying to trick Gotal acquaintances."

- Obo Rin

Gotals were a species of tall, hairy humanoid sentients native to the moon Antar 4. Their most distinctive features were the twin conical horns growing on the top of their heads, which acted as highly responsive electromagnetic sensors. These head cones were sensitive enough to pick up subtle changes in another being's electromagnetic emissions from emotional changes, making Gotals natural empaths. The unique nature of these sensors shaped Gotal culture, and helped individual Gotals carve niches in galactic society ranging from bounty hunters to diplomats.

Gotals were part of galactic society for at least four thousand years. During this time, Gotals served the Republic as Jedi and as Antarian Rangers. In the later years of the Galactic Republic, however, their relations with other cultures became troubled. Conflicts such as the Duinuogwuin-Gotal conflict and the Separatist Crisis resulted in the Gotals taking the losing side in the Clone Wars. Distrusted by and distrusting of the Galactic Empire, the Gotals returned to the mainstream as part of the New Republic and later, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

Biology and appearance
"When a Gotal gets closer to its intended target, he can sense the animal's electromagnetic aura&hellip;These same sensory abilities have made Gotal some of the most sought after hunters in the galaxy."

- Voren Na'al

The Gotal species evolved on Antar 4, the mineral-rich fourth moon of the gas giant Antar in the Prindaar system. As the moon of a gas giant, Antar 4 was a world with a complex day/night cycle. Sometimes, one side of Antar 4 would be illuminated by the sun Prindaar, while the other received almost the same amount of light from the highly reflective surface of the gas giant Antar. At other times, Antar would block all sunlight to both hemispheres. As light was not always available there, Antarian animal life could not rely on sight as a primary sense.



To compensate for this, the ancestors of the Gotals evolved cranial horns as receptors to sense electromagnetism and other energy emissions. These nerve-ending filled cones could sense the natural electromagnetic fields produced by Antar, Prindaar, and Antar 4's magnetite-rich crust. Their senses also picked up the electromagnetic auras from other life forms. Gotal hunters could sense their quarry from up to ten kilometers away, and could track herds of quivry for weeks. Gotal horns were even sensitive enough to pick up such indistinct signals as neutrino emissions. Electronic devices could also be sensed by Gotals: in fact, most droids gave off enough electromagnetic emissions to seriously disorient a Gotal. Gotals relied heavily on their cones, with their eyesight and hearing being quite weak, and their sense of smell almost completely absent.

Though standard reference works such as the Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy were silent on the subject, some records indicate that Gotals may have been able to sense the Force with their cones. While the writings of Mammon Hoole described this as a rumor which had "yet to be proven," other sources indicate that both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Empire had conducted inconclusive research which attempted to train Gotals to sense the Force. The records of the Gotals themselves were split on the issue. Those sources which did describe Gotals sensing the Force varied in their descriptions. Some sources described it as an intense, overwhelming sensation, while others treated it as a mere "indistinct buzzing." At least one Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, believed that sensing the Force could cause Gotals headaches.

Gotals had flat faces with reddish eyes, small, flat noses, and shaggy fur covering most of their bodies. Their overall body plan was humanoid, with proportions generally similar to Humans. Both of their hands had four fingers and a thumb, with short, conical claws on each digit. Their skin color varied from gray-brown to black, and their fur came in shades of brown or gray. While male Gotals typically had a thick fringe of hair around their cheeks and chins, this was absent in female Gotals.

Head cones in Gotal culture
In addition to sensing energy emissions in their environment and the presence of their prey animals, Gotals used their cones to monitor subtle changes in one another's electromagnetic auras. This ability to quickly and easily judge another Gotal's emotional state was fundamental to their culture. For example, love at first "sight" was the norm among Gotals, whose empathic nature made the elaborate courtship rituals of other sentients unnecessary. Gotals only spoke to each other to relay abstract information, since they had no need to vocally express their emotions. (Ironically, since Gotals spoke in a non-inflected monotone, they seemed emotionless to Humans and other non-Gotals.)



Young Gotals often had trouble assimilating the information arriving from their cones, and were in a constant state of agitated confusion until they learned to filter unwanted signals after about one standard year. Even then, it took them until the age of twelve to attain emotional maturity, and they could sometimes be nearly psychotic until then. Despite this, Gotal parents were devoted to their children, and young Gotals would have children as soon as they could manage it. Mature Gotals were generally calm and peaceful individuals.

The ruthless Imperial era financier Sarlim Gastess was among the few Gotals whose cones were non-functional. Perhaps because of his inability to sense emotions, this "blind" Gotal was a fearsome psychopath by his people's standards.

Horns were the primary physical feature Gotals found attractive in one another. In fact, while smaller cones could be just as energy sensitive as large ones, small-horned Gotals frequently enhanced their appearance with larger false cones. Some Gotals became romantically attached to non-Gotals, but they only seemed to be attracted to other creatures with cones or horns on their heads.

Government and society
"The Gotals have developed one of the few societies which exists in peaceful anarchy."

- Obo Rin

Since their natural empathy allowed made them instantly sensitive to the feelings of others, Gotals had little use for government or laws on their homeworld. This resulted in problems when dealing with non-Gotal societies. For example, no central authority figure could speak for Antar 4 as a whole in a crisis, and no organized Gotal military or police force could act on their behalf. The Gotal Foreign Affairs Commune, a group which existed circa 22 BBY, did act as spokespeople for the Gotals during diplomatic crises, but their role in Gotal government is otherwise uncertain. Though they had little government of their own, Gotals did send representatives to participate in galactic-level governments, and Gotals living among non-Gotals even worked in local government bureaucracies.

Typical Gotal names
Gotal naming customs varied. While many Gotals had a first name and a second name such as "Abav Ghart" or "Mnor Nha", others went by single names like "Tuuve." Other Gotals used names such as "To-yel" or "Mahk'khar", which may have been either single names or a first and second name joined together as one word.

History
Although they were easily disoriented around devices that produced high levels of electromagnetic interference, the Gotals managed to develop quite sophisticated levels of technology. Using chemical reactions where other species would use electronics, the Gotals managed to colonize four of Antar's other five moons, and set up mining operations on the fifth, even before Galactic Republic explorers contacted them.

By 4,000 BBY, the Gotals were members of the Galactic Republic. One of their most notable contributions to Republic society was the Antarian Rangers, founded in 620 BBY to assist the Jedi. Co-founded by the Human Jedi Master Marus Timpel and the Gotal businessman Kaskutal, this organization grew to become a major non-Jedi paramilitary auxiliary, working alongside the Jedi Order to protect the Galactic Republic.

In the Republic's final years, however, the relationship between the Gotals and the rest of the Galaxy became increasingly strained. The Duinuogwuin-Gotal conflict between 35 and 33 BBY was a short, but intense struggle which required the intervention of the Jedi Masters Jorus C'baoth and Tra's M'ins to bring to an end. Tensions between the Gotals and the rest of the Galaxy continued over the next decade, however.

During the Separatist Crisis of 22 BBY, many Gotals supported the Gotal Assembly for Separation, or its more violent splinter group the Roshu Sune. After Roshu Sune terrorists set off bombs in Antarian Ranger chapterhouses, the Jedi and their Antarian Ranger allies invaded Antar 4 in retaliation. During the Battle of Antar 4, the Jedi and the Antarian Rangers took heavy casualties. They used electromagnetic pulse weapons in desperation, even though such weapons caused immense pain and disorientation for civilian Gotals caught in the crossfire. The Jedi response turned the Gotals, and the people of thousands of other worlds, against the Republic. After the battle, many Gotal refugees fled to Atzerri, leading to the Gotal hostage standoff. During the Clone Wars, Antar 4 was conquered by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Gotals did not benefit from the war, and were greatly impoverished during the Confederate occupation.



At the war's end, the Gotals became subjects of the Galactic Empire. The Imperial military refused to let Gotals serve in the military, believing they were too apt to empathize with their enemies. Only a minority of Gotals were willing to work with the Empire in any case, since their empathic sense led them to distrust the promises of Imperial diplomats. During the Galactic Civil War, some Gotal soldiers became mercenaries and bounty hunters, while others joined the Rebellion or its successor, the Alliance of Free Planets.

During the time of the New Republic, Gotals were one of the nonhuman races targeted in Warlord Zsinj's plot to destabilize the New Republic. The operation was able to brainwash certain individuals to attempt to assassinate major leaders in the New Republic. Three of the targets included Wedge Antilles, Admiral Ackbar, and Mon Mothma, whose assassin was Tolokai, her trusted Gotal bodyguard. The intent of the operation was to breed distrust between Humans and prominent nonhuman races of the New Republic. The operation was ultimately foiled. By 9 ABY, the New Republic had liberated their homeworld, together with the rest of the Inner Rim. At the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Antar 4 became a part of the the Galactic Alliance. Gotal senator Ta'laam Ranth served on the Alliance's High Council as Minister of Justice.

In 130 ABY, at least two Gotals were involved with the New Sith Order: an unnamed Sith Lord who took part in the Massacre at Ossus, and the spy and information broker Attatag Gosem.

Gotals in the Galaxy
"I know what you're thinking, and it won't work."

- Unnamed Gotal

After joining galactic society, Gotals could be found on almost any planet with a significant non-Human population, including Centares, Berchest,, Tatooine, and Engebo V. They avoided the city-planets of the Core Worlds, however, due to the disorienting effects of the many droids and electronic devices on such planets. Some time before the Yuuzhan Vong War, some Gotals began wearing cone socks to muffle electromagnetic interference in energy-rich environments. Well integrated into the Galactic community, most Gotals were fluent in both Antarian and Basic.

Their electromagnetic senses often led them to employment as trackers, soldiers, and bounty hunters. Gotal hunters and soldiers were difficult to ambush or trap, and easily saw through most attempts at camouflage. They prided themselves on tracking difficult targets, referring to the Gotal proverb "What is easily achieved is easily lost." Some Gotal hunters had developed their empathic skills well enough to accurately and quickly anticipate their enemies' moves&mdash;these were referred to as "precogs".

Thanks to their empathic abilities, they also worked as diplomats, counselors, and even professional gamblers. This sort of employment gave rise to the erroneous belief that Gotals were telepathic, a misconception which made some people uncomfortable and suspicious when dealing with Gotals. In fact, the opposite was often true &mdash; Gotals with little experience dealing with non-Gotals frequently misunderstood their emotional states, mistaking moderate anger for imminent violent intent, and mild affection for love.

Famous Gotals

 * Aramb, crewman on Admiral Ackbar during the Swarm War
 * Sarlim Gastess, owner of Gastess' Finance, Inc.
 * Glott, "precog" bounty hunter
 * Attatag Gosem, known spy and information broker rumored to be involved with the New Sith Order
 * Kith Kark, Jedi killed during the Naddist Uprising
 * Kaskutal, co-founder of the Antarian Rangers
 * Mahk'khar, crimelord based on Tuulab
 * Ta'laam Ranth, Senator of the New Republic and Galactic Alliance
 * Spurlick, Confederate air traffic controller
 * Tolokai, bodyguard and aide to Mon Mothma
 * Feltipern Trevagg, Mos Eisley tax collector and ill-fated lover of the H'nemthe M'iiyoom Onith

Behind the scenes
The Gotal alien design used in A New Hope's cantina scene was created by conceptual artist Ron Cobb and makeup artist Laine Liska. Cobb's illustrations came with biological notes, describing it as a "High Tundra" creature. High Tundra became the character's on-set nickname.

Though the proper name for the character was initially Dratun, later Expanded Universe sources beginning with Troy Denning's Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races renamed the species to Gotal, and the character seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina as Feltipern Trevagg.

Notes and references
Gotal