Bowdaar was a male Wookiee slave who, due to the demands of his owners, was thrust into the role of a gladiatorial combatant across arenas throughout the galaxy. His skill as a fighter, along with his unbroken winning streak, resulted in him gaining the monikers "The Killer from Kashyyyk," "Deathmountain," and "Boneshatterer."
Captured in his youth from his homeworld of Kashyyyk, Bowdaar's life was forcibly changed to one of brutality, as he was compelled to battle for his continued existence in gladiatorial arenas that spanned the breadth of the galaxy. He demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for combat. Over a period exceeding a century, Bowdaar engaged in over ten thousand one-on-one fights against formidable adversaries such as rancors, Mandalorians, gundarks and even a Jedi. Throughout this extensive period, he never suffered a defeat.
An even more noteworthy aspect was Bowdaar's frequent combat without any weapons or protective gear. Among the more uneducated and easily deceived members of the criminal world, legends grew suggesting he possessed some form of immortality. Those who faced Bowdaar in battle and survived to recount the experience claimed he was simply the most skilled fighter in existence.
By the year 3643 BBY, Bowdaar found himself as a prized gladiator belonging to Drooga the Hutt, serving as payment for a gambling debt. Drooga confined Bowdaar to a cage between bouts and treated him with cruelty and spite. Drooga resented that Bowdaar dispatched his opponents too rapidly, thus diminishing the overall entertainment value of the spectacles. He took many steps to put Bowdaar at a disadvantage, such as denying him weapons, draining half of his blood to weaken him, and even directly poisoning him.
It was during this period that a smuggler captain arrived at Nar Shaddaa with the intention of trading a male shanjaru for a cutting-edge engine. After locating Drooga's barge in the Nikto Sector, Bowdaar was scheduled to fight a group of Kaleesh warriors. Although the Wookiee was capable of defeating them on his own, the smuggler chose to intervene. Bowdaar later aided the smuggler against Zank Helrott, Rogun the Butcher's bounty hunter.
Ultimately, Drooga resolved to eliminate the Wookiee in a final, grand battle to the death against his pet gundark, which he had intentionally kept starving for the occasion. The smuggler captain lent assistance to Bowdaar in his struggle against the gundark, which both enraged Drooga and provided him with adequate amusement for the evening. Once the gundark was defeated, Drooga decided that maintaining the Wookiee was no longer worth the expense and simply released him, after which he joined the smuggler's crew.
Bowdaar was a solitary figure, and having spent decades as a slave owned by various masters, he believed he lacked a home, family, or friends. His triumphs in the fighting arenas generated immense wealth for his masters, but he never received any of the rewards from his victories. What he did possess was the spirit and strength of a warrior, coupled with an unmatched determination to survive.
Bowdaar's initial mention occurred in an entry on The Holonet, found on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic website. Within his entry are several phrases written in Aurebesh, which translate to "Good luck redhead," "Karssk's Prey," and "Great Feastmaster's collateral."
Bowdaar becomes the second companion available to the Smuggler character in Star Wars: The Old Republic, following the completion of the storyline on Nar Shaddaa.
Bowdaar makes another appearance in Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire as part of an Alliance quest, where the player must participate in the Zakuulan arena in order to enlist him as a companion.