User:Cull Tremayne/Jive

And I said, "Let me have a subpage", and so it was.

Hi Ben-

You know, I did my best to base the Planet Hoppers on some of the things I loved most in the SW EU -- the Jedi Knight games, Knights of the Old Republic, and the Marvel ongoing series -- but on this one I think I really went nuts (hopefully in a good way).

The bartender was indeed based upon the bartender in Jedi Outcast, and I did mean for it to be the same fellow. He also portrayed the bartender "Jojo" in the "holo-mercial" for Essence of Zeltros in one of the later installments. (Though now that I look at it, there's an error in there where Derc calls the bartender "Derc." D'oh. I blame flakey Zeltron editors.)

Bear in mind, however, that if the bartender turns out to have been an undercover Thrawn clone in a future game or some such thing, that was merely my plan--it was never explicitly stated in the piece that Red-Eye was the fellow who helped lure Kyle Katarn into a trap. For all I know they might just teach you to talk that way in Chiss bartending school. But also bear in mind that's the standard disclaimer for anything in the Star Wars RPG, so I guess until I'm contradicted by someone with real power, yes--it was the same Chiss.

Incidentally, his name was derived from "Baldrick," a character from the Blackadder TV series; the nickname "Red-Eye" was easier to come up with (although it was also inspired by a Cylon gunfighter in an old "marooned pilot of the week" episode of Battlestar Galactica TOS).

I sure miss writing these. I doubt any one person has had so much freedom to create semi-canonical (that is, canonical at the EU/RPG level) material for SW in a long time, and probably never will again. I was very lucky. :)

Hope this answers your question. If you have any other queries about any of the Planet Hoppers or character profiles or anything else I worked on for D20 Star Wars, please feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading, CJH

Ewok theories
Obviously Ewoks is stupid. The stories don't make scientific sense, so let's try to rationalize it somehow. Characters are never truly "evil" in these stories, but if we interpret it just so, they can have sinister hopes and cruel intentions which makes the episodes that much more interesting. Assume the worst of the Ewoks, and you get an interesting drama. Take it at face value, and well, you'll probably get authorial intent. No one wants that.

On a Stranger note

 * A smaller satellite passes in front of another larger satellite (both have a rocky surface). Immediately after passsing in front of each other, the satellites light up.
 * Why? Part of the Endor gate phenomenon? Force Nexus phenomenon? /(forestmoon)(moon)(anothermoon)\
 * A dark crack opens within space, the result of the two satellites overlapping orbits and lighting up, and the Stranger comes through the opening in his craft at a rapid rate.
 * Why? Most likely this is the Endor gate black hole, however it closes abruptly after the Stranger enters. Wormhole created by the Endor gate? The other possibility is that this is an opening into Otherspace created by the Force Nexus of Endor from the aligning of the satellites.
 * When Wicket and Teebo leave Logray's hut, the wooden cabinet containing the Sunstar glows purple (the color of the shadowstone portion of the Sunstar), and the cabinet flies open showing the case containing the sunstar also glowing.
 * Why? The power of the Stranger is connected to the Sunstar. The potency of the shadowstone portion increases when close to its masters/creators. The Wizards of the Night Spirit are the same color scheme as the shadowstone portion of the sunstar.
 * Wicket, Teebo, Latara, and Kneesaa find the Stranger's craft and try to carry it back to Bright Tree Village. Half way back, they get caught up in a powerful wind storm and are forced to put the craft down. The craft lights up and spins around in a rapid circle, finally shrinking and disintegrating in a cloud of smoke.
 * Why? Best possibility, a self-destruct sequence on the craft. Wicket and friends just got lucky that they put the craft down at that point. The absence of the Stranger during the "magical" event prevents the possibility of it being the result of manipulation of the Force.
 * The Stranger goes to the Thorn Forest where a ritual stone circle has been erected. A table there, is surrounded by several large stone columns with the main one having a circle cut out of the top of it. Logray tries to face down the Stranger with his staff, but he uses the Sunstar to trap the Stranger within a forcefield in the carved out circle on the main stone column. Then the Stranger shows Logray his world, using the Sunstar as a window.
 * Why? The world is in otherspace, thereby explaining the "banishing" factor. If it's just in a different area of space, being trapped there doesn't make as much sense. The death and destruction on the shown world could be explained by the destruction perpetrated by the Charon. The Stranger knows how to use the sunstar to make a force field because his people created the shadowstone half of the Sunstar.
 * Upon seeing the Ewok children advancing on the Stone Circle in the thorn forest, the Stranger uses the Sunstar to fire a bolt of energy at the ground outside of the circle. The result is a glop monster erupting from the ground, who then listens to the Stranger's orders.
 * Why? The stone merely summoned a glop monster, it did not create it. The glop monster follows his orders because it is compelled to do so through the Force.
 * The Stranger places the Sunstar on the stone table within the stone circle and spins it counter-clockwise creating a column of purple rings that reaches up into the sky, creating the same rip in the sky that the Stranger's craft entered through at the beginning of the episode.
 * Why? The Sunstar has the ability to amplify the Force enough to move the moons into alignment. The Stranger comments that only the Sunstar has this power. Why the moons lined up at the beginning of the episode may have been a natural, but very rare (ages ago) occurrence.
 * Kneesaa and Wicket battle the Stranger and Kneesaa is able to spin the Sunstar in the clockwise direction. The column of rings becomes gold (the color of the non-shadowstone half of the sunstar) and begins to drag the Dark Wizards back through the tear in the sky.
 * Why? The power of Sunstar spinning counter-clockwise pulled them through, spinning it the other way must have had the opposite effect of "pushing". The Ewoks are also affected by the Sunstar as evidenced by Chirpa yelling to the Ewoks to hold on to something. The Stranger ends up carrying the table with him back through the tear, implying that the same ritual could not take place again. Will the tear open up the next time those two moons align?

An Ewok Schedule
Now that we finally have a list of major conflicts in the overarching galaxy, it's time to make a timeline of conflicts that really matters. That's right, I'm talking about the Endor conflicts.


 * 1) Dulok-Ewok War&mdash;The overarching conflict. The Galactic Civil War of Endor. Basically throughout all the Ewok literature. I'll compose a list later.
 * 2) Zorbian Space Pirate crisis&mdash;The Ewoks are assaulted by the Zorbian Space Pirates who wish to acquire the valuable Gemwood tree. Ewoks 2: Rites of Power
 * 3) Harvester crisis&mdash;The Ewoks homes are endangered by the Green-skinned harvesters who want to cut down the Endorian forests that include Bright Tree Village. Ewoks 5: The Terrible Machine
 * 4) Zornak crisis&mdash;The Ewoks are attacked by the forces of Zornak. Ewoks 14: King for a Day
 * 5) Morag crisis&mdash;The Ewoks are menaced by Morag who wishes to see their demise. Lots of appearances.
 * 6) Kradak crisis&mdash;The Ewoks are threatened by a rampaging kradak. Return of the Great One!
 * 7) First Phlog crisis&mdash;The Ewoks' village is threatened by rampaging Phlogs. Rampage of the Phlogs
 * 8) Stranglethorn crisis&mdash;An out of control Stranglethorn threatens to destroy the Ewoks. The Three Lessons
 * 9) Second Phlog crisis&mdash;The Ewoks' village is once again threatened by the Phlogs. Blue Harvest
 * 10) Raich crisis&mdash;The Raich is inadvertantly revived and threatens the Ewok way of life. The Raich
 * 11) Stranger crisis&mdash;The Stranger wages a campaign against the Ewoks. Night of the Stranger
 * 12) Odra crisis&mdash;The safety of Endor is threatened by a Dark Jedi battle. The Season Scepter
 * 13) Raygar crisis&mdash;The Ewoks are attacked by the Empire for the first time. Battle for the Sunstar
 * 14) Battle of Endor&mdash;The Ewoks are attacked by the Empire for the last time. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Bey was a Human/Nagai hybrid from the planet of Corellia. He was a friend of Han Solo's, and growing up, he acted as a big brother to Solo, defending him from bullies and teaching him to fight. As a man, Bey took to a role as a rambling guardian, exploring the galaxy and helping those in need. During this time, Bey crash landed on the planet of Nagi, where he met his long lost mother, Krai H'voc and his half-brother Ozrei N'takkilomandrife. The Nagai were preparing for an attack on the Alliance of Free Planets and wanting to aid his newfound family, Bey decided to help. Bey returned to Alliance space to act as a double agent for the Nagai.

Joining Mandalore Fenn Shysa on his homeworld, Bey aided the Mandalorians in forming a resistance group to counterattack the advancing Nagai, earning their trust. Bey accompanied Shysa to the Alliance headquarters on the forest moon of Endor, using the position to figure out the Alliance's plan of attack against the Nagai. Bey was eventually found out during the Second Battle of Endor and fled from the Alliance after a fight with Han Solo. After the Nagai allied with the Alliance following the Battle of Zeltros, Bey rejoined the Alliance under Admiral Ackbar, working as an undercover agent to infiltrate the Tof. Following the end of the conflict, Bey began working for New Republic Intelligence.

Behind the scenes
Bey was created by Mary Jo Duffy for use in Marvel Star Wars' Star Wars 99: Touch of the Goddess, which explained that Bey was an old friend of Han Solo's. Several flashbacks in the following issue, Star Wars 100: First Strike, served to show how Bey had interacted with Solo during his young life. The next issue, Star Wars 101: Far, Far Away was set before the events of Bey's first appearance in Touch of the Goddess, and it would be the last appearance of Bey until the last issue of the Marvel run, Star Wars 107: All Together Now. Following this, Bey went unreferenced until Joe Bongiorno and Rich Handley's article in Star Wars Gamer 1, The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Marvel Series, which expanded on Bey's backstory. Among other things, the article revealed the name of Bey's mother, as well as explaining how Bey had met up with his family before the Nagai-Tof War. Bey had another mention during Abel G. Peña's online article, The Dark Forces Saga, which mentioned that Bey was acquainted with Kyle Katarn.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 99: Touch of the Goddess
 * Star Wars 100: First Strike
 * Star Wars 101: Far, Far Away
 * Star Wars 107: All Together Now