In his younger years, Garouk, a Human, made a living traversing the galaxy as a professional gambler. Eventually, he chose to retire and dedicated his time to Taris's Upper City Cantina, where, for a small fee, he would instruct others in the rules of pazaak. In 3956 BBY, he sold a pazaak deck to Revan, who was then a soldier of the Galactic Republic.
Garouk was a well-known pazaak player who resided on the planet of Taris. During his younger days, he achieved considerable success as a professional pazaak player in the Outer Rim Territories. Garouk's travels took him across the galaxy, even to the Core Worlds. He experienced both significant wins and losses until his aging mind began to lose its edge. Recognizing this decline, he chose to retire from gambling and became a regular at the Upper City Cantina on Taris. There, he would spend his days drinking ale, engaging in conversations with other patrons, and teaching the game of pazaak to anyone interested. When the Sith Empire invaded Taris, Garouk was largely ignored because of his advanced age.
During the Jedi Civil War in 3956 BBY, Garouk encountered Revan and Carth Onasi, both soldiers of the Galactic Republic, inside the Upper City Cantina. Garouk shared stories of his gambling past and spoke about life on Taris. Eager to find a new owner for his pazaak decks, he sold one to them for fifty credits; it included a main deck and a side deck of ten cards, with two copies of each card ranging from +1 to +5. He also provided Revan with the game's rules on his datapad and offered complimentary lessons.
Garouk held the opinion that pazaak was best suited for younger individuals. He preferred to spend his time in the Upper City, avoiding the dangers of Taris's lower levels. Despite his dislike for the Sith presence, he found life on the planet tolerable and paid little attention to events happening beyond the cantina's walls. Garouk was a Human with light skin, grey eyes, and gray hair.
While residing on Taris, Garouk typically wore brown clothing.
Garouk's initial canonical appearance occurred as a non-player character within the 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game, where the player, controlling Revan, has the option to interact with him. Garouk serves to introduce the pazaak mini-game to the player. The purchase of the deck from Garouk triggers the side quest titled "Pazaak Rules," which can be completed by winning any pazaak game with a wager. Throughout the dialogue between Revan and Garouk, the player is presented with multiple dialogue choices. However, the conversation's nature is such that it does not advance the main plot or affect the player's moral alignment. Consequently, it remains uncertain whether Revan ever actually interacted with Garouk.