Masters in Exile is an ongoing series of articles where I will present fully fleshed out characters to fill the role of a master for the Force-wielders in your party. These profiles will include plot hooks, game stats, optional house rules, personality traits, sample quotes, and character development paths. I hope that these characters will serve as set pieces that a GM can drop into their game, fully-formed and ready for play.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter had its flaws, but I always enjoyed the plot and characters. At the heart of the game is the mysterious Bando Gora cult which I now present with minor updates to accommodate new canon and add some depth to this intriguing sect.
Force Tradition: Bando Gora
Background: The Force cult known as the Bando Gora rose to galactic prominence in the decades preceding the Clone Wars, but the origin of this mysterious band of mystics and power brokers could date back millennia. The sheer amount of hearsay surrounding the organization makes it extremely difficult to know where rumor ends and fact begins.
What is known is that the cult has a long history of manipulating political and industrial interests through intimidation, torture, and assassination. Tales abound of their grisly indoctrination rituals, torturing and drugging their victims until their minds are shattered and rebuilt according to the dogma of the cult. Those that survive this reprogramming can have their minds opened to the Dark Side of the Force. With their newfound power and the trials they’ve survived, these mystics can endure incredible injuries and channel their pain into raw power.
The Bando Gora rose to such infamy in the galactic underworld that a Jedi strike force was sent to root them out and destroy them in the decades before the Clone Wars. This taskforce underestimated the cultists and was ruthlessly eliminated. The sole survivor was a young Jedi Knight named Komari Vosa, who was captured and indoctrinated into the cult. She ascended to the head of the organization and ruled the underworld from the shadows for years until Jango Fett killed her.
The bounty hunter’s infiltration eliminated Vosa and several of her top lieutenants, but the organization survived and had nearly returned to full power during the chaotic years of the Clone Wars. Any PC with underworld or industrial backgrounds could be a member of this cult (or be indoctrinated during play). The Bando Gora have far-reaching influence, and many would say that the rewards far outweigh the dangers of association.
Benefit: Reduce the cost to purchase the Endure and Enhance basic powers by 5 to a minimum of 5. Also, reduce the cost to purchase any Control or Mastery upgrades to these powers by 5 to a minimum of 5.
Drawback (15 XP): Any Conflict generated by inflicting pain or causing fear in another being generates an additional 1 Conflict. Whenever the character suffers a critical hit, he generates conflict equal to twice the severity of the Critical Hit.
Incorporating the Bando Gora
- Prior to or during the Clone Wars, the PCs could be a Jedi or Judicial taskforce assigned to investigate and possibly bring down the notorious organization. If the PCs are of more neutral alignment, the Bando Gora could be employing them to carry out their subterfuges – perhaps setting them up to take the fall for their nefarious deeds.
- During or after the Clone Wars, the Bando Gora face enemies on all fronts: they face new competition from Maul’s Shadow Collective and later, the Crimson Dawn Syndicate. The could be pawns in that power struggle, taking a side or playing both (possibly adapting the very similar Mask of the Pirate Queen adventure to this end). The Emperor and his minions (even Dooku, who was tasked with destroying them in the first place) would be interested in their destruction to eliminate them as rivals and could contract with PCs (especially bounty hunters) to take down the organization once and for all.
- During any era, the Bando Gora could be a great antagonist for a PC with an Obligation:
- Family: a family member could have joined the cult by choice or coercion.
- Blackmail: the cult specializes in intimidation and blackmail to achieve their inscrutable goals.
- Oath/Score to Settle: perhaps someone the PC cared about was a target of the cult’s latest assassination, and now they are set on revenge.
- Obsession: a PC could be obsessed with the cult, trying to uncover its mysteries and connect its various rumored crimes. Alternately, a PC member of the cult could be brainwashed into being obsessed with its dogma.
Bando Gora NPCs
These NPCs are usable in nearly any era (see above). Liir Myn can fill the leadership gap either before or after Komari Vosa’s reign as the high priestess of the cult. She is a capable opponent on her own but works best while supporting her hordes of minions. She can force fear checks and strain on her enemies, as well as Disorient, Immobilize, and Stagger them with her Terrify talent. This Disorient effect directly aids her lieutenants and thralls, who both have ranks in the Prey on the Weak talent. Her lieutenants are deadly in close combat with their plasma staffs but can be picked off at a distance (and are best supported by a horde of charging thralls. All of the Bando Gora have some versatility in their needle guns and poisons, introducing some interesting variables into a combat scenario.
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