Anointed People

"The Masterhome expedition, the only one ever sent to that planet, reported that the Anointed People were bloodthirsty primitives living in a feudal state almost lacking in advanced technology. The Empire has long ignored Masterhome; we cannot."

- Santhou Lazith'chika

The Anointed People were green-skinned, sapient, sturdy and roughly humanoid reptiles native to the planet Abonshee. They stood on two feet, with a spiked tail used for balance.

The galactic community believed them to be a primitive and hostile species, based on obsolete scouting reports from the time of the Galactic Republic. However, representatives of the Alliance to Restore the Republic re-discovered the Anointed People as an intelligent and quite sophisticated, if not technological, species. The Anointed People eventually joined the Alliance in their fight against the Galactic Empire, and were invaded by the Empire.

Biology and appearance
The self-designated Anointed People were a sentient species that evolved on the planet Abonshee, located in the Colonies' Fakir sector. The Anointed People were reptiles, like many of the animal lifeforms on their planet and, like most reptiles, they lacked any hair. Although their precursor species were four-legged, non-shelled, scaled animals, they evolved into anthropoids that walked on two legs&mdash;with their long tailpiece providing additional balance.

The Anointed People had natural weapons in the form of a thagomizer&mdash;i.e., a spiked tail&mdash;and of big, pointed teeth in their narrow, long heads. They also had hard, green skin that provided them with a natural armor against physical and, to a lesser extent, energetic damage. Generally stronger and taller than Humans, sometimes reaching 2.5 meters of height (although 1.5-meter tall individuals were also possible), as a norm the Anointed People were also clumsier and less dexterous.

Hierarchy
"Space guys, huh? [sigh] Just what I need. [Aide whispers in his ear] Huh? Oh, right. As lord high Godking of the most holy Anointed People, I most graciously welcome you travelers from a most distant land to the blessed shores of Masterhome, etc., etc. [sic] So, what's on your mind?"

- Godking Tristram of Masterhome

During the last years of the Galactic Republic and until at least the times of the Galactic Civil War, the Anointed Peple lived in a feudal society, primitive by galactic standards. Political power was centralized in the hands of one individual, known as the Godking. This person's subjects belonged to two classes: The Unwashed and the Godlings. The Unwashed were stout serfs and workers, while the Godlings were aristocrats, ruling over a number of Unwashed individuals &mdash;mostly through verbose and meaningless speeches, &mdash;and in turn obeying the Godking's orders. Some Godlings also occupied roles as the Godking's aides. Both groups favored brightly-colored clothing, with the Godlings using expensive scale armor while the Unwashed could only wear common, while colorful, robes. As of 1 ABY, part of their grandiose peerage was pretentious, lacking most of its previously-real value.

The aristocracy kept the Unwashed content but uneducated, and they were unaware of life on other planets beyond their native Abonshee, a place called "Masterhome" by the locals. Consequently, the Unwashed concentrated their leisure time in domestic ventures and entertainment, such as drinking distilled beverages and gambling. In contrast, the Godlings were aware of intelligent life from beyond the stars and understood that it could be a great oportunity for them; at the same time the Godlings were scared of what their limited knowledge of life beyond the stars, including ignorance of the goals and abilities of those aliens. As such, the Godlings were commonly cautious when dealing with alien sentients, commonly directing them to the Godking.

The Godking dynasties were selected from among the Unwashed families. The Godking was supposed to retain power only as long as he could stop any Godling from overthrowing him. As such, the Godking commonly tried to manipulate ambitious aristocrats into infighting and internal rivalries.

Technology
With a medieval technological level, and no proof of more advanced technology on their planet, the Anointed People were technologically unsophisticated. They used carts pulled by draught animals and had the usual problems of a pre-technological society, including low medical skills and a high rate of infant mortality.

Brave in combat, they rarely could use any equipment better than a broad sword and a shield &mdash; and the Unwashed commonly had to be content with clubs. Catapults and ballistas were also available. Sometimes, males tried to hunt local beasts, such as the forest-dwelling griffs, whose meat was considered delicatessen, using only a bag and a spear. If rich enough, a male could ride a native likka using reigns tied to the beast's eyelids. None of this gear would be enough to deal with the gargantuan local predator known as the eater.

With their limited mechanization, the Anointed People built homes from stone and wood, commonly a one- or two-floor house or farm in a forest clearing. The Godlings lived in small castles, built as a military structure and usually surrounded by five-meter walls and a moat, with a personal guard of fifteen People. The castle was commonly built near some water well or a path crossing, and some two dozen houses surrounded it, forming a town. Individual farms could be beyond the sight of the castle.

The greatest city of the northern hemisphere, which was the seat of the Godking government, was inhabited by twenty thousand Anointed People in six square kilometers. The Godking lived in a palace, thrice as big as any Godling castle, baroquely decorated with tapestries and full of courtesans and pages. Its guard also tripled the guard of any Godling.

The Anointed People were known to use gold and jewelry in their treasure, and silver to build the crown of the Godking.

Customs
Although not technologically sophisticated, the Anointed People had a socially advanced culture. Having been a warlike people in the past, they adapted and changed to avoid bloodshed as much as possible &mdash; partly because they consider physical bloodshed to be sthetically unpleasant, but also because they erroneously believed advanced civilizations, such as a galaxy-spanning civilization, would naturally tend to be peaceful.

With a tendency to respect old traditions for ceremonial reasons, the Anointed People had, by the time of the Galactic Empire, renounced to wage a real civil war &mdash; but at the same time, they would keep the tradition. Every spring, almost every Godling would recruit his or her vassals, equip them and go to a neighboring castle. The marching army would then formally defy the other Godling to a battle, and wait for that person to arrange his or her own army. The resulting battle would use only clubs, but the strong bones of the Annointed People protected them from permanent damage; the weapons rarely caused real injuries and the damages were comparable to a sports match. Eventually, one of the belligerents would surrender or retire. The losing Godling was supposed to pay tribute to the victor, commonly paying for a great, three-day fiesta for both armies. This event was very enjoyed by the Unwashed, who could dress up with funny clothes, see other lands, know potential mates and, particularly, enjoy the final jamboree. The Unwashed were known for their liking of three-day parties.

History
"Looks like we've joined the Rebellion after all. Now, how do we get at those butchers down there?"

- Godking Tristram of Masterhome

Traditionally a bloodthirsty, militaristic species, the Anointed People were involved in armed conflicts for territory most of their time. They built fortified strongholds because of the constant battles, and the Godking spent most of the time trying to placate rebellions.

Circa 89 BBY, an scout starship of the Old Republic visited Abonshee and met the locals &mdash; having important problems with their hostility. The explorers wrote down the information they could find about the Annointed People, including their technological level, social structure and hawkish attitude. Their computer tapes also included a translation program for the local language, and a warning for any visitors.

Soon afterward, around 74 BBY, the last real civil war of Abonshee ended. From that point onward, it was replaced by the spring tradition of simulating a war. In or near 39 BBY, a crafty individual known as Tristram became the Godking of Abonshee. Using a visionary taxing policy and good public relations, Tristram brought freedom and prosperity to Abonshee beyond anything the Anointed People had previously known.

The Rebel Alliance
In 18 BBY, the Galactic Empire became the governing body on the galaxy. The Empire sent no forces to Abonshee, because the planet lacked any interesting resources and the supposedly truculent Anointed People would require an important investment of time and power.

Around the time of the Battle of Yavin, Abonshee was visited by a starship-piloting Human by the name of Jayhawk. Jayhawk said he was a representative of the Alliance to Restore the Republic wanting to meet with the Godking and negotiate with him. Jayhawk was really a con artist, not related to the Alliance; nevertheless, he pretended to need Abonshee to join the Rebellion against the Empire and offered in exchange the supposed elixir of eternal life. Godking Tristram met with Jayhawk for several days, and then, Jayhawk killed two guards, stole hundreds of kilograms of gold and jewels from the Royal treasure and left the planet with nocturnality. Understanding that he had been tricked, Tristram silenced any reference to this event.

At the same time, the Alliance, unware of Jayhawk's acts, really wanted Abonshee to join their ranks. The Alliance representatives in Fakir sector, Reekeene's Roughnecks, would send a ship, the Long Shot, and a squad, to being diplomatic relations and to buy food, offering in exchange technology and qualified staff, but not weapons. Once the Rebels arrived, the Anointed People behave friendly with them. This was to their surprise, as they had been provided only with the obsolete data of the Old Republic explorers, which led them to believe that the locals were warmongers. The Rebels were directed to the Godking to draft any treaty.

After Jayhawk's visit, the Godking had reasons to mistrust the newcomers. Tristram decided to test their rectitude without them knowing: Should they result to be innocent, he would apologize, tell them about Jayhawk and join their action; otherwise, he would imprison them. He tested the aliens by questioning them and pretending to be considering their value. Tristram secretly tested their honesty, physical strenght, greed, alertness, technology and skills, sometimes using other Anointed People. For instance, Godling Satrank pretended to be conspirator wanting the Rebels to join him against Tristram, but really he was following Tristram's secrets orders.

Meanwhile, the Imperial shuttle Resurgence, ferrying Governor General of the Fakir sector Lord Dixton and his entourage, suffered damage in a skirmish and was forced to land in Abonshee to perform much needed repairs. The Long Shot noticed the ship arriving and escaped to hyperspace, not taking the diplomats with them, but promising to return as soon as they could get some military reinforcements.

The shuttle landed and some thirty stormtroopers deployed around it. Godking Tristram, seeing this, sent an emmissary, Godling Grissom, with a honor guard of twenty-five, to see what was that they wanted. The stormtroopers ordered the Godling to stop "in the name of the Emperor" and, when Grissom did not comply, the troops fired on Grissom, on the guards, and on several nearby civilians. Tristram retreated to the palace, and officially joined the Rebel Alliance in the name of Abonshee.

Not a military strategist, Tristram wanted to expel the invaders, but he could not come with a better plan than a frontal assault with two hundred soldiers that would kill three of every four. The Anointed People were ready to follow them even in that chances, but Tristram looked for any advice that could help him reduce the number of deaths.

The Anointed People and the Rebel diplomats battled the Imperials and, eventually, were joined by the returning Long Shot with two X-wing starfighters and one Light Cruiser, achieving a victory against the invaders. The Anointed People received all the visiting Rebels with big parties, and the diplomats were proclaimed "Heroes of the Realm" and knighted "Assistant Demi-gods" before leaving the planet.

Some time later, the Empire sent new stormtroopers to invade Abonshee. These were met with resistance in the form of a squad of locals who fought for the glory of the Godking.

Anointed People in the galaxy
Before their contat with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the Anointed People had little presence outside Abonshee. Afterward, the Alliance was happy to accept any individual wanting to join their army. Also from this time on, the Empire took interest in the Anointed People and went to the planetary surface of Abonshee to fight them.

Beyond that, the Anointed People showed little need to visit other planets or the space between those. The Godlings were uninterested in far away places, and the Unwashed rarely believed in, or cared about, such things even when facing them directly.

Behind the scenes
The Anointed People first appeared in "The Long Shot Campaign", a chapter of the role-playing book Star Wars Campaign Pack written by Paul Murphy and published by West End Games in 1988 for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. "The Long Shot Campaign" was later re-published in 1994, along with another campaign, in Classic Campaigns. The text mentions that Jayhawk visited Abonshee several years before the events in the adventure, and then contradicts itself saying that Jayhawk had visited Abonshee only months before the events in the adventure. In 1998, Alien Encounters added new information to the background of this species and repeated some previously-known data.

No canonical source has mentioned the singular form for "Anointed People." The reason for their name, why they consider themselves to be anointed and by whom, is also unknown.

The book Star Wars Miniatures Battles (1991), also published by West End Games, includes an image of miniatures of the "Anointed People". The caption identified the miniatures as "lizard men", sculpted by Grenadier Models, Martial Metals and Ral Partha; the cabin in the background was identified as a product of Gallia Reproductions; and the stormtroopers, not identified, were the only figures made by an licensed manufacturer.

Appearances

 * WEG_icon2.jpg "The Long Shot Campaign" - Star Wars Campaign Pack
 * WEG_icon2.jpg "The Long Shot Campaign" - Classic Campaigns