Wistie

"Watch out! Wisties!"

―An Imperial stormtrooper —

Wisties, also known as fire sprites or firefolk, were a small, radiant, flying species native to the Forest Moon of Endor. Like the Ewoks, with whom they shared their homeworld, Wisties were fierce defenders of their forests, and the two species were allies. Ewoks sometimes used pouches full of Wisties as a weapon against intruders, such as Imperial stormtroopers. They threw the pouches in the direction of a target; on impact, the sprites emerged and attacked the invaders.

Biology and appearance[edit | edit source]

"Firefolk! Get away from them!"

―An Imperial stormtrooper, under attack by Wisties emerged from an Ewok's pouch —

Listen (file info)^[src]

Wisties, also referred to as fire sprites or firefolk, were a tiny,^[2] orange-skinned^[1] species native to the Forest Moon of Endor. They possessed a head, torso, two legs, and two arms, with the latter ending in three-fingered hands. The bioluminescent fire sprites appeared as moving flames. Their wings enabled them to fly, which they did while making buzzing, squeaking sounds.^[2]

Behavior[edit | edit source]

"Fire sprites incoming!"

―An Imperial stormtrooper being burned by Wisties —

Listen (file info)^[src]

Allied with Ewoks, Wisties lived in the Endor forests and were fierce defenders of their home. They were capable of burning enemies by touching them.^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

«Gah! Get away, will you! Shoo. Shoo.»
«What are you doing, Chirpa? Stop fooling around.»
«It's these stupid Wisties. Makrit should do something about them.»

―Chirpa and Ra-Lee, in Ewokese^[src]

Ewoks used pouches full of Wisties as a weapon against invaders.

By 0 BBY,^[3] the Ewoks Chirpa and Ra-Lee went hunting boar-wolves in the Endor forests. During the hunt, Chirpa was annoyed by a pair of Wisties flying around him. Viewing them as a nuisance, he shooed the Wisties away and stated that Makrit, shaman of their Ewok tribe, should do something about the creatures.^[1]

When the Forest Moon was later occupied by the Galactic Empire during the Battle of Endor^[2] in 4 ABY,^[4] Wisties and Ewoks joined forces to defend their shared homeworld against Imperial stormtroopers. In battle, Ewoks sometimes used pouches full of Wisties as a weapon, throwing them in the direction of a target. Upon impact, the sprites emerged as swarms, both disrupting and burning the target.^[2]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

"I wanted the Ewoks to have a ranged, non-lethal way to damage and disperse a group of enemies. I asked Lucasfilm if we could have something made by the shaman, like a pouch of herbs or powder. [Lucasfilm's suggestion to include Wisties instead] was a perfect fit, so a lot of credit to the team at Lucasfilm for solving that gameplay need."

―Manuel Llanes, game design director at EA DICE^[src]

Wisties were introduced to the new Star Wars canon in Star Wars Battlefront II's "Ewok Hunt" game mode,^[2] released on April 18, 2018.^[5] They originally appeared in the 1984 made-for-TV movie Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure,^[6] which is now considered a part of the Star Wars Legends continuity.^[7]

Imperial stormtroopers under attack by Wisties in *Star Wars Battlefront II*

The suggestion to include Wisties in Star Wars Battlefront II came from Lucasfilm in order to solve the gameplay need for Ewok abilities, which was originally considered to be a pouch of herbs or powder made by the shaman.^[8] The game mode depicts stormtroopers being hunted by Ewoks in the Endor forests on the night after the Battle of Endor, trying to survive until their extraction by an Imperial shuttle.^[2]

The ability to throw Wistie pouches was also made available for the "Ewok Hunter," a reinforcement unit for the Rebel Alliance, which was added to the game with a later update. Star Wars Battlefront II additionally features in-game challenges called "Thleek siz" and "Firefolk attack," which require throwing fifteen Wistie pouches as an Ewok and defeating fifty enemies using Wistie pouches, respectively.^[2] According to the Legends reference book Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide, the name for the former challenge means "Throw fire" in Ewokese.^[9]