Bowcaster/Legends



The bowcaster was a weapon developed by the Wookiees of Kashyyyk since the Jedi Civil War. It used a magnetic accelerator to fire explosive quarrels, charged with an envelope of plasmoid. (The two orbs at either side of the "bow" were polarized, creating the field responsible for this acceleration.) Although short range (optimal 30 meters, maximum 50 meters), this comparatively low-tech weapon was considerably more powerful and accurate than a typical blaster. Such a high amount of "stopping power" was essential for Wookiees faced with the many large predators native to Kashyyyk. A traditional bowcaster was cocked manually by the user. The spring that powered the bowcaster was extremely hard to pull back, and humans were generally incapable of cocking a bowcaster. However, modern bowcasters seem to have had an automatic cocking system, allowing any species to use them. These bowcasters were also capable of loading more than one quarrel into their chamber, giving them a shotgun-like effect. If a bowcaster's magnetic mechanism ran out of energy or broke, it could be replaced with a length of vine. Standard explosive quarrels could also be used in this configuration, and would detonate on contact despite the lack of an energy sheath.

Famous Wookiee warriors like Chewbacca, Chenlambec and Tarfful have wielded these weapons and/or made them their own.

Trivia
In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, when the Falcon is inside the space slug, Chewbacca's bowcaster fires red lasers instead of the usual green quarreletts.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
 * Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
 * Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * ''Star Wars Battlefront
 * ''Star Wars Battlefront II
 * The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
 * Star Wars:Republic Commando
 * Republic Commando: Hard Contact