Fringe Threats is an ongoing series of articles where I will present fully fleshed out characters to throw at your party in place of generic bounty hunters/pirates/scoundrels. These profiles will include plot hooks, game stats, tactics, personality traits, sample quotes, etc. It is my hope that these characters will serve as set pieces that a GM can drop into their game, fully-formed and ready for play.
Tatooine Manhunt has always been one of my favorite modules from the WEG Star Wars days and I’ve always had a soft spot for the Fett look-alike, Jodo Kast and his crew of hunters. I loved that the module wrote these characters as smart, capable, and deadly – even providing example tactics for the GM to use. I have used Jodo and his posse numerous times over the years as ongoing threats for a PC group – providing a memorable (and somewhat recognizable) cast of characters that don’t interfere with canon. I decided to brush off these old relics of a more civilized age and give them a fresh coat of paint and ties to the new canon.
Jodo Kast
Background: After the Shadow Collective lost control of Mandalore, the remaining survivors of clan Kast were exiled from Mandalorian space when their former ally, Gar Saxon, betrayed them to the newly-formed Empire. Cut off from their culture and homeworld and scattered throughout the Outer Rim in search of mercenary work, the clan quickly dissolved. Growing up during these hard times, Kast has little left of his clan and culture besides his training and ancestral armor. He has taken advantage of his superficial resemblance to the more famous Boba Fett in the past, but now seeks to carve out his own legacy. Jodo tends to stick to the Outer Rim regions, hunting mainly mid-level bounties, but has started to make moves to accept top-tier Imperial and underworld contracts.
Personality: Despite his armor and heavy arsenal, Jodo is a cautious and methodical hunter. He is a fully trained Mandalorian warrior but the lessons of his clan’s string of disastrous defeats and exile towards the end of the Clone Wars have shattered any sense of honor or pride he possessed as a child. He tends to pick fights he knows that he can win and isn’t afraid to retreat when faced with a superior opponent or if he loses the element of surprise. He often teams up with other hunters for larger or more dangerous contracts, often acting as the de facto leader for these temporary alliances. However, he is ambitious and ruthless and willing step over anyone between him and his prize – even another hunter.
Tactics: Jodo prefers carefully orchestrated ambushes, typically starting a battle from cover or concealment and hitting the largest perceived threat with a dart and letting the poison work while he deals with the other threats with more conventional weaponry. He will use a well-placed grenade (or stun grenade) against any closely packed targets and alternates his array of weapons to keep his opponents off guard. If the battle turns against him or he loses momentum, he will attempt to retreat using his jetpack, preferring to live and fight another day. If he is pursuing a particularly challenging target, he will often recruit other hunters (such as Zardra or Puggles below) or some local blasters-for-hire to help even the odds.
Zardra
Background: Arriving on the bounty hunting scene suddenly and mysteriously, Zardra has quickly gained a reputation as a huntress who takes every bounty very personally. Unlike other mid-level hunters, she is extremely selective about the targets she chooses, preferring to hunt dangerous and high-profile contracts and never taking “pin-money” jobs. Very little is know about her history or motivations, but she has already carved out a name for herself in the Mid and Outer Rim.
Personality: Zardra is goes out of her way to exude an air of mystery and danger – she knows that a hunter’s reputation is nearly as important as their capture record. She tackles every hunt with a “no guts, no glory” approach, whether it’s seducing a target and taking him down right under the nose of his extensive security team or taking on an entire swoop gang with nothing but her attitude and a force pike. Though capable of clever planning and great cunning, Zardra’s reckless approach may someday get her in over her head.
Tactics: Zardra tailors her approach to each hunt, seeking out her target’s weakness – be it drink, women, gambling, or some other vice. She uses these weakness to get close and then strike with sudden and brutal violence to secure her quarry. Regardless of the approach, Zardra tends to take mid-level contracts that are deemed to difficult or dangerous for their relative reward by other hunters. This has allowed her to carve out her own niche and build an impressive reputation in a very short time, but this high-risk/high-reward strategy is extremely dangerous. In combat, she prefers to get close before striking with her force pike or fists. If things get hairy, she will try to bluff or blow her way out with her thermal detonator.
Puggles Trodd
Background: Puggles Trodd is a diminutive Lasat, a condition that he resents immensely despite the fact that few know that it is unusual for his rare species. He maintains a fairly low profile in the bounty hunting community; more often subcontracting as a mission specialist to more capable hunters. He rarely accepts live capture hunts, earning him a reputation more befitting an assassin than a bounty hunter.
Personality: One of the last survivors of his species in the galaxy, Puggles is understandably dour and brooding. He is a consummate survivor, and will change sides and sell out or betray a colleague without a second thought. Only the fact that he is so methodical and thorough in these double-crosses has kept his professional reputation intact. Trodd frequently partners with other hunters, preferring to let others do the heavy lifting (though his unpleasant personality and constant complaining ensure that most partnerships last only a few hunts).
Tactics: Small for a Lasat, Puggles disdains actual combat –preferring to take his prey from a distance, typically in an explosion or other trap. Though disliked by many of his colleagues, they all respect his gift for sabotage, booby-traps, and explosives and will often cut him in on a contract in exchange for his talents.
Group Tactics
These hunters have worked together frequently in the past and have a solid working relationship (for now). Though all mid-level hunters individually, they have managed to bring in a few high-profile targets by working together. Typically, Zardra takes point – using her charms and guile to get close to the target and gather information or lead them into an ambush. Jodo typically coordinates and handles the operational details, while standing by to provide heavy fire support if needed. Puggles typically acts in a support role – sabotaging speeders, bypassing door locks, snooping, and setting traps. Typically all three will participate in the final takedown of the target (if only to ensure they get their cut). Jodo or Puggles may hire a few local mercs to balance the odds or provide a distraction for particularly difficult contracts.
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