Gunman served as the codename for a member of Churhee's Riflemen and, by extension, the Alliance to Restore the Republic. His primary function was as a combat technician, and he frequently employed unconventional methods involving droids and weaponry to guarantee his team's survival and to outwit the enemy. He possessed the skill to modify a wide array of droids, encompassing medical, culinary, and astromech units. He participated in numerous engagements against the Galactic Empire on planets like Gosho IV and Yitabo, and also confronted Corporate Sector leaders, the Ailon Nova Guardsmen, and various other paramilitary groups.
During the early years of the New Republic, Gunman was a regular contributor to news services such as Cynabar's Droid Datalog and Gundark's Gear Datalog, where he often shared stories from his experiences in combat.
Gunman was actually a mercenary's alias, and he was affiliated with Churhee's Riflemen, a group specializing in clandestine operations within the Sarin and Parmel sectors. Given his association with this group, it's highly probable that Gunman was a highly skilled marksman, as all of Churhee's squads were composed of sharpshooters. However, his main responsibility was that of a combat technician. His initial assignment with the Riflemen involved targeting an executive from the Corporate Sector who was implicated in a slaving operation. The executive was protected by formidable defenses, and his proximity to civilian populations made the mission even more challenging. Nevertheless, Gunman devised an inventive solution: he reprogrammed the executive's culinary droid to disable the defense net, allowing the squad to capture the entire estate without firing a single shot.
Gunman consistently applied this creative ability to all his work for the Riflemen. Another of his early tasks was to maintain GHT medevac droids; these specialized droids were used to support battlefield medics and retrieve injured soldiers from combat zones. Gunman enhanced his droids to address their primary weakness by integrating an internal automap, enabling them to locate the wounded without requiring precise coordinates. Modifications like this were characteristic of Gunman's work, and he readily shared these suggestions on Cynabar's Droid Datalog in his later years.
Another unconventional usage of droids by Gunman's unit involved R2-series astromech droids. They equipped these droids with repulsorlift boosters and other modifications before deploying them over the battlefield. The droids were then able to transmit a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of the surrounding terrain, which the Riflemen used to gain a tactical advantage. Although this technique often resulted in droid losses of up to 80%, it proved to be valuable.
In urban missions, Gunman employed similar modifications to give his team an advantage. This included modifying the common Hover-Cams with espionage programming for reconnaissance and using Jammer Packs to isolate opponents and disrupt their plans. Another tactic involved using UniTech "Patches" (designed to mask system faults) in reverse, tricking systems into detecting nonexistent faults, thereby triggering alarms and creating diversions.
Gunman was also knowledgeable about ASP-7 droids manufactured by Industrial Automaton, which the Riflemen frequently used for weapons maintenance and basic manual labor in combat, as well as Stiletto security droids that were primarily used in the Outer Rim Territories.
Churhee's Riflemen began as a mercenary group primarily contracted by the Galactic Empire. They were highly effective in disrupting the flanks and rear of enemy forces. However, the unit suffered significant losses during a mission for the Empire in the Y'Trella system due to insufficient support. In the months following this mission, during which their leader Churhee died, the Riflemen only accepted anti-Imperial missions and allied themselves with the Rebel Alliance. While it remains uncertain whether Gunman was part of the unit before the loss at Y'Trella, he undoubtedly participated in several of the anti-Imperial missions that followed. In these missions, he applied his talent for the unorthodox to his tactics.
On one occasion, his unit raided an Imperial weapons depot, acquiring dozens of Ubrikkian man traps. These devices, which utilized a miniaturized reversed repulsorlift field, were designed to immobilize targets for capture. However, Gunman discovered a unique application for them. During a battle against the Imperial Army on Gosho IV, his unit was entrenched and established a defensive perimeter using the man traps. When the Imperials launched their attack with a barrage of grenades, the man traps were activated, slamming the grenades into the ground, causing them to explode prematurely. This neutralized the Imperials' initial advantage, allowing the Riflemen to regroup and push them back. Gunman also favored using plasticene thermite gel to burn through bunker walls, enabling attacks from unexpected angles.
During a campaign against an Imperial Moff (sometime after the Battle of Endor), Gunman and his team infiltrated his fortress and placed small transceivers near key defenses. After retreating undetected, they launched guided missiles using PLX-4 missile launchers. Three dozen missiles streaked in undetected, destroying the enemy's defenses and clearing the way for the Riflemen.
Gunman personally experienced Imperial cruelty during a mission to free Wookiee slaves. While conducting reconnaissance on a group of Imperial slavers near Yitabo, Gunman ventured too close and was captured by the slavers. They fitted him with a slaving collar, capable of delivering high-voltage electricity to the wearer. Although he described the experience as agonizing, he considered it less painful than what the slavers endured at the hands of the Wookiees after his unit successfully freed them all.
Gunman also had experience fighting against opponents other than the Empire; on one occasion, he faced the distinguished Ailon Nova Guardsmen (heirs to a 13,000-year military tradition). Although the Guardsmen were at half strength, they managed to deceive Gunman's squad into believing they had twice their actual numbers using doubler suits (either captured or provided by the Empire). Having survived the encounter, Gunman was impressed by their ingenuity, learning that any tool could provide an advantage in battle if used correctly.
His former unit possessed a few production model Juggernaut 510 Combat Power Armor suits. These were acquired from one of the designers, a Corellian named Sarvel Tal-Oldra, who established himself at Doc's outlaw tech base in the Corporate Sector after the project was canceled. Although he described the expensive suits as bulky and having a weakness due to their unprotected power transfer routing conduits, he still recommended them. The Riflemen's affiliation with the New Republic also provided Gunman access to Nen-Carvon R-19 Paragliders, developed specifically for the Alliance Special Forces, which he recommended for covert missions. While working for the Alliance, he also assisted in acquiring several hyperspace pods containing AS-M12-series messenger droids.
Gunman was a highly inventive individual who discovered numerous unconventional uses for technology. This led him to test camo-netting underwater (successfully) and to realize that Merr-Sonn Weapons Superior Boarding Armor suits could vent their oxygen supply for propulsion if their rocket packs ran out (although venting too much air had its own dangers). Gunman was also aware of the flaws in technology, such as defective prismatic crystals in Imperial-issued KK-5 blaster pistols and a minor targeting glitch in K4 security droids that caused their targeting sensors and gyros to become out of sync when moving at high speeds.
Gunman freely shared his insights with others, often providing advice through his alias on various newsnets from 34:1:7 to 45:3:0. While this information was given away freely, Gunman revealed little about himself; his real name, species, and any distinguishing personal characteristics were never disclosed. Given that the Empire was still in existence when he posted his comments, this anonymity was likely a precaution to avoid repercussions for his actions.
Gunman made his debut in Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids (January 1997) as one of several individuals leaving messages on the datalogs. He was also used in this capacity in Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear (July 1997) and in two Droid Datalogs in the Star Wars Adventure Journal. These messages were intended to serve as scenario hooks for gamemasters or to provide potential modifications for equipment. Others offered explanations for why weapons might fail; gamemasters could use these to explain what happens when a player rolled a "1" or another unlucky number.
Although approximately two hundred individuals left messages of this nature in various sourcebooks, Gunman was by far the most prolific, contributing a total of twenty-two messages.
- Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids (First mentioned)
- " Cynabar's Droid Datalog " — Star Wars Adventure Journal 13
- " Cynabar's Droid Datalog " — Star Wars Adventure Journal 14
- Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear