Zaalbar

A son of the Wookiee Chieftain Freyyr, Zaalbar was born on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk prior to the Jedi Civil War. Zaalbar's tribe came under the attention of numerous slaving organizations across the galaxy, such as the unscrupulous Czerka Corporation. After Zaalbar discovered that his brother, Chuundar, was making deals with slavers to sell Wookiees to them, he went mad with rage and attacked Chuundar. During the fight, Zaalbar broke an important Wookiee code and used his claws as weapons. Though Chuundar survived the attack, Zaalbar was consequently branded a madclaw and exiled from his village, Rwookrrorro, and Kashyyyk as a whole.

During his exile, Zaalbar traveled to the planet Taris. Upon his arrival, the Wookiee got into trouble in Taris' Lower City; a few gang members of the Black Vulkars, a swoop gang of Taris, began trying to fight the lone Wookiee. Although Zaalbar did not allow himself to be goaded into fighting, a young Twi'lek orphan, Mission Vao, who was observing the altercation, believed Zaalbar to be in danger. Vao attacked one of the Vulkars, but he knocked her down. Big Z retaliated by grabbing the Vulkar who had done so by the throat, scaring the others off. After that, Zaalbar and Vao became inseparable, traveling everywhere together. Zaalbar's strength allowed Vao to gain physical protection against swoop gangs and local thugs, while Mission's abilities to break open locks, as taught to her by her brother Griff, were able to benefit the Wookiee. Zaalbar and Vao then affiliated themselves with the Hidden Beks, a gang based around the swoop racing sport popular on Taris at the time.

When the amnesiac Jedi Knight and former Sith Lord Revan served on the Republic ship Endar Spire, the ship came under attack by the forces of Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith. After the Sith forces overpowered the Endar Spire, and the Republic was forced to call an evacuation order, a multitude of Republic escape pods fled to the planet's surface. One of the pods contained Revan and Republic soldier Carth Onasi. Upon landing, they searched the planet for Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. Shan was another refugee from the Endar Spire, and Shan was considered an important asset for the Republic in battles, due to her ability to use the Force power battle meditation. Zaalbar encountered Revan and his companion when Zaalbar was part of the Hidden Beks. Zaalbar and Vao first saw Revan in Javyar's Cantina. In the cantina, Zaalbar was scaring off a group of Black Vulkars who were harassing Vao.

Zaalbar and Vao briefly spoke with Revan upon first meeting him and his companion. Later, however, Zaalbar was captured by Gamorrean slavers, and taken to the Undercity sewers on his way to be sold on as a slave. Vao enlisted Revan's help to rescue Zaalbar from the Undercity sewers where he was being held. Revan proceeded to enter the sewers and subsequently attack and kill a number of the Gamorrean slavers, liberating Zaalbar from his confines. Zaalbar, during his imprisonment, had not been fed, and the only nutrition had received was when he had bitten a piece out of one of the arms of one of his Gamorrean oppressors. In the wake of his rescue by Revan, Zaalbar swore a life debt to the former Sith Lord, a Wookiee vow which meant he pledged his life to the protection of Revan. As a result, Zaalbar became a member of Revan's crew and joined him in his quest to find the Star Maps, maps that would lead to the superweapon called the Star Forge. Wherever Zaalbar went, Vao swore she would follow, so she joined Revan's party as well.

When Revan and his companions arrived on Kashyyyk, where Zaalbar's brother Chuundar had seized power from their father, Zaalbar was imprisoned by his brother for not honoring his exile as a madclaw. Revan learned that Chuundar had sold a number of his fellow Wookiees as slaves to Czerka Corporation, but only a few in the tribe knew this fact; the rest saw Chuundar as a great hero. Chuundar asked Revan to kill another madclaw Wookiee exile who had taken up residence in the Shadowlands, the dangerous area beneath the planet's trees, in order for them to be allowed to leave with Zaalbar. Revan, having seen in a vision the location of the Star Map on the forest floor, agreed, as he felt he would be able to search for the Star Map at the same time. After journeying to the Shadowlands, Revan and his companions discovered that the exile was Freyyr, father of Zaalbar and Chuundar.

Instead of killing Freyyr, Revan helped the old Wookiee retrieve Bacca's Ceremonial Blade, a vibrosword of great importance to the Wookiees, which had been embedded in the skin of a terentatek beast. Freyyr then led a revolt against Chuundar and Czerka Corporation, resulting in Chuundar being killed. In the wake of Chuundar's death, Freyyr resumed his position as chieftain of the tribe, giving Bacca's Ceremonial Blade to his son, Zaalbar. This indicated, in Wookiee culture, that his son would succeed him as chieftain. Zaalbar accepted this gift, but told his father that he had to honor his life debt to Revan, and follow him on his quest around the galaxy. Zaalbar told his father that he would return to Kashyyyk when their quest to find the Star Maps was complete, and the Star Forge destroyed.

After the Star Maps led them to the uncharted planet Lehon, Carth Onasi was able to give the location of the Star Forge to Republic Admiral Forn Dodonna. Dodonna brought her ships to Lehon, triggering the Battle of Rakata Prime. Zaalbar, Revan, and the rest of Revan's companions had been led to Lehon after finding Star Maps on the planets of Dantooine, Tatooine, Manaan, Korriban and Kashyyyk, with the maps directing them toward Lehon in order to find the Star Forge. A team of Jedi alongside Revan and his companions, including Zaalbar, boarded the Star Forge. Under Sith resistance, including that of the captured Bastila Shan, who had turned to the dark side and was aiding Malak, Revan's party eventually reached Shan and redeemed her. Subsequently, Revan defeated and killed Malak, before destroying the Star Forge. Following the destruction of the Star Forge, Zaalbar attended a ceremony on Lehon were Revan was awarded the Cross of Glory by the commanding Republic officer Admiral Forn Dodonna.

Over the next year, Zaalbar and Vao built an import export business for themselves. When Revan was embarking on a mission to locate Mandalore's Mask in 3954 BBY, he decided against taking Vao and Zaalbar with him, wanting to let them live their lives in peace. After he retrieved the mask, Revan left the galaxy for the Unknown Regions, leaving Zaalbar behind with the rest of his former party. A holostatue of Zaalbar was erected in the Leisure Garden section of the Axial Park in the Coronet City on Corellia, along with the statues of Revan and his other companions in memory of their deeds.

Zaalbar was a shy Wookiee of few words, preferring to let the street-smart Mission Vao do most of the talking. He was very protective of the young Twi'lek, and would sacrifice himself for her without hesitation. Still, even as he trusted her, and trusted Revan, he found it difficult to express certain aspects of himself and of his culture, feeling they were private and not for outsiders to know. An important trait of Zaalbar's was his loyalty, and a strong sense of Wookiee honor and tradition, as shown by his dedication to his life debt. Zaalbar also maintained keeping his past life secret from even those he trusted most, as he found it painful to discuss and share it.

Zaalbar also appeared to have a low opinion of himself. When asked by Revan if he could help him with a problem, Zaalbar expressed his belief that he would be of little use—unless, of course, he needed someone threatened or a door bashed open.

Zaalbar also took care of his appetite. During his capture on Taris, he was so hungry that he even tried to bite off a Gamorrean guard's arm. When the Ebon Hawks food supply started getting low, he was the first one to notice it. Revan might have suspected him at first, of stealing and eating the supplies, but it turned out to be a young girl who had sneaked aboard. Vao was also constantly teasing Zaalbar about his bad breath and appearance.

When Zaalbar discovered that his companion was in fact Revan, he showed indifference to whom Revan had once been and pledged to continue his life debt, believing Revan to be a changed man.

Zaalbar's skills lay in physical combat, and a strong constitution. Zaalbar was a dedicated warrior and fighter, able to wield a number of weapons including melee weapons, such as vibroblades, to the weapon called the bowcaster, which was favored by Wookiees. Dangerous when angered, this was demonstrated by Zaalbar's choice to tear a chunk out of the arm of a Gamorrean slaver who was keeping him prisoner with his bare teeth. Zaalbar was also a strong guardian, protecting the young Mission Vao in the Undercity of Taris. Zaalbar's strength was also evident from his ability to easily pick up foes, as he did with those who were attacking him when he first met Mission. He was also able to do this on Tatooine, where he was able to pick up Sand People.

In terms of abilities of construction, Zaalbar was capable of making grenades for Revan and his party, doing so on numerous occasions. His personal possessions included a custom-crafted bowcaster and later, the sacred Bacca's Ceremonial Blade after the Wookiee rebellion on Kashyyyk. In terms of linguistic skills, Zaalbar was able to understand the languages of Basic, Twi'leki, Huttese, Ithorese, and Shyriiwook, though only able to speak the latter due to the limitations of Wookiee vocal capabilities.

Zaalbar first appeared in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as a playable character. The character has different options open to the player throughout the game, including light-side and dark-side choices. An alternate dark-side choice allows the player to side with Chuundar and kill Freyyr, thus making Zaalbar cold hearted and darker in character. He will then tell Revan that he will side with him, but only because his brother Chuundar has taught him about using outsiders for their own advantage. This leaves Kashyyyk under the control of Czerka Corporation.

Another dark-side option is available on Lehon. The player can persuade Zaalbar to kill Mission Vao as a payment of the life debt he has sworn. The player can also decide to kill Zaalbar at this point in the game. If the player has him kill Vao and chooses him as a party member on the Star Forge, he will remember his act and attack Revan for forcing him to kill his best friend.

Zaalbar, along with Carth Onasi, Bastila Shan, Canderous Ordo, and Mission Vao, was inspired by James Ohlen's work on roleplaying campaigns for West End Games.

• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords: Prima Official Game Guide
• Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "Gaming the Expanded Universe: Ten Years of Knights of the Old Republic" — Star Wars Insider 144