Drowl

Drowl, a Sith Lord, was a male Human who served the Sith Empire during the Cold War, a tense period between the Empire and the Galactic Republic. The Dark Council—the governing body of Sith who ruled the Empire—frequently deployed Drowl to crush slave uprisings on planets already under Imperial control. Despite prior evidence indicating that increased suffering did not expedite rebel surrenders, Drowl favored maximizing suffering when suppressing rebellions. Sergeant Slarin, his assistant, felt that the Sith Lord prioritized his desire to inflict prolonged suffering over swiftly ending rebellions, leading to wasted time and resources. The sergeant believed Drowl's inefficiencies hindered his own career advancement, preventing his promotion to captain. Around 3643 BBY, the Sith Lord was tasked with suppressing a rebellion on Dromund Kaas, the Sith Empire's capital world. The rebels initiated their revolt in the jungle outside Kaas City, at the construction site of a massive, unfinished statue of Darth Vowrawn, a Dark Council member, commissioned by his apprentice, Lord Qet.

While surveying the rebellion site, the Sith Lord classified it as a degree-six revolt and drew parallels between the slave population's size and the uprising by the Duros species on Zilior. Drowl's strategy involved contaminating the slaves' water supply with Quell, an experimental poison capable of inducing prolonged, intense pain before death, provided the dosage was carefully managed. Disregarding contrary evidence, Drowl aimed to demonstrate that heightened suffering could erode the slaves' will to resist the Empire. Furthermore, he sought to determine the optimal Quell dosage to maximize pain without causing excessively rapid deaths. To disseminate the poison among the slave forces, Drowl planned to destroy their reserve water tanks and introduce Quell into four water filters near the Dark Sanctum tomb. As the Sith Lord formulated his Quell toxin plan within his laboratory tent, situated near slave pens some distance from the statue, he tasked Slarin with monitoring the Quell supply at a nearby research tent and determining the ideal dosage for slow death. However, Slarin also devised a more potent dosage to kill the slaves outright, aiming for efficiency rather than indulging his superior's sadistic desires. By the time of the events at the uncompleted statue, Drowl had interacted with Imperial Intelligence, the Empire's spy network, and recognized some of its agents, including one recently arrived on Dromund Kaas.

Shortly after Drowl finalized his plans, an individual affiliated with the Empire visited his tent, and the Sith Lord detailed the situation and his strategy. Drowl persuaded the individual to obtain Quell from Slarin and execute his plan. Despite the sergeant's urging to use the higher dosage for immediate death, the individual insisted on the weaker dose preferred by Drowl. After battling through the slave forces and eliminating many to prevent them from filtering out the Quell toxin, the individual injected the toxin into the four filters and destroyed six reserve water tanks. Upon completing the mission, the individual returned to Drowl, who was pleased by the suffering of the poisoned slaves and the distress of those unaffected but witnessing the agony. The Sith Lord rewarded the individual for assisting in testing the Quell toxin on the slaves. After the individual departed, Drowl remained to document the toxin's continued effects, believing it would be a valuable asset for the Empire.

Eventually, Drowl's prediction about Quell came to fruition—Quell toxin became widely used within the Empire. In 3642 BBY, during the Galactic War, the Quesh War erupted between the Republic and Empire on Quesh, with both sides vying for the poison's primary ingredient, Quesh venom.

During the Dromund Kaas slave revolt, Lord Drowl was balding, with black hair on the sides of his head. He had pale skin with purple discolorations around his nose and amber-colored eyes, along with crooked, purple lines across his face and neck. Drowl expected lower-ranking Empire members to be obedient and respectful. He also enjoyed controlling and utterly defeating those he considered inferior, including the Dromund Kaas slaves, whom he saw as mere subjects for Quell toxin testing. However, Drowl's primary goal was not simply to kill the slaves but to inflict enough pain and suffering to break their resistance. The Sith Lord considered the term "sadist" a compliment, viewing his work as a complex art. Sergeant Slarin saw Drowl as a perverse individual who valued needless suffering over mission success. Despite evidence suggesting suffering did not accelerate surrender, the Sith Lord preferred experimenting with Quell toxin over immediate execution.

Witnessing the suffering of both the dying and surviving slaves on Dromund Kaas, Drowl was elated and eager to continue observing and documenting the poison's effects.

While suppressing the Dromund Kaas slave revolt, Drowl wore red-and-dark-gray robes with red gloves, a silver belt, and red boots. He also carried a lightsaber. He had a laboratory tent with a workbench, a computer display, and other research equipment, though Sergeant Slarin managed the Quell toxin in a nearby research tent.

Lord Drowl's first appearance is in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a 2011 MMORPG developed by BioWare and LucasArts. He features in the Sith Empire quest "Testing Grounds," set near the Unfinished Colossus on Dromund Kaas, the second planet for players of the four Imperial classes. In the quest, players can choose to use Drowl's preferred smaller dosage to slowly kill the slaves, earning dark-side points, or side with Sergeant Slarin and use the larger dose for a quick kill, earning light-side points. If the player sides with Slarin, Drowl is disappointed by the quick deaths but doesn't suspect the player, believing he needs to revise his research. If the player follows the light-side path and speaks to Slarin again, the sergeant mentions that Drowl is already developing a new version of the Quell toxin.

Regardless of the player's choice, they receive 130 in-game credits and a weapon suitable for their class or a planetary commendation, used to purchase higher-quality gear. While the quest with Drowl is optional and can be refused after starting the conversation, this article assumes 100 percent game completion. However, since any of the four Imperial classes can complete the quest, it's impossible to determine whether the Bounty Hunter, Imperial Agent, Sith Inquisitor, or Sith Warrior class undertook it. This article also assumes the player only selects dark-side options.