Originating from Anchorhead on Tatooine during the Galactic Civil War, Mathus was a dark-skinned Human male with brown eyes, who spent his youth as an orphaned member of a street gang. His life took a turn when he attempted a robbery at a repair shop. The Rodian proprietor, Honwoo, recognized the boy's aptitude and enthusiasm for mechanical contraptions. Honwoo proposed that Mathus assist him in the repair and reprogramming of incoming droids. Mathus chose to leave his life as a street thug behind, accepting an apprenticeship as a technician under Honwoo's guidance. Mathus possessed a knack for modifying and adapting equipment, even successfully converting power converters into functional shock gloves.
Mathus's reputation as a skilled droid specialist grew, eventually attracting the attention of Teemo the Hutt, a crime lord within the cartel who governed Mos Shuuta. Teemo offered the Human a lucrative position within his organization. Initially, Mathus accepted, but upon realizing that the job's demands surpassed his capabilities, he sought to withdraw. Teemo, unwilling to lose his droid expert, threatened Honwoo's safety, compelling Mathus to reconsider his involvement with the Hutt. Subsequently, he began devising a clandestine plan to escape Tatooine, enlisting the assistance of others trapped in Teemo's service to facilitate his departure.
During the Galactic Civil War, Mathus was orphaned at a tender age, bereft of any guidance for his inherent technical abilities. He became involved with a gang of thugs roaming the streets of Anchorhead on Tatooine. During an attempted robbery of the repair shop owned by an elderly Rodian mechanic named Honwoo, the shop owner noticed the boy's fascination with a partially disassembled repulsorlift array on the workbench. Recognizing Mathus's potential, Honwoo offered to teach him the intricacies of its operation, promising him the opportunity to train as a technician. From that moment forward, Mathus abandoned his life as a street delinquent and became Honwoo's apprentice.
Mathus immersed himself in all aspects of the repair shop, focusing on the repair and reprogramming of droids. Without formal academic training, Mathus utilized his innate intellect and hands-on experience to effectively troubleshoot and repair droids through a process of trial and error. He developed a particular interest in modifying and repurposing machines, even managing to transform a pair of power converters into functional shock gloves. This accomplishment earned him recognition as a "droid expert," which ultimately caught the attention of Teemo the Hutt.
Teemo extended an offer to the Human for a highly compensated position at his complex located in Mos Shuuta. While the substantial amount of credits initially enticed Mathus to accept the job, he later discovered that his skills did not align with the position's requirements. Teemo's primary objective in hiring Mathus was to have his collection of outdated and damaged battle droids restored and reverse-engineered—with schematics developed from their design—to establish a private droid army. However, due to his lack of formal education, Mathus was limited to the maintenance and repair of droids.
When Mathus attempted to withdraw from Teemo's employ, Teemo subtly threatened Honwoo's safety if Mathus refused to continue working for him. Consequently, Mathus decided to escape and introduced a modified code into Teemo's customized medical and maintenance droid, 41-VEX, with the intention of encouraging it to escape as well. 41-VEX subsequently acted upon the coded suggestion by first freeing Teemo's gladiator, Lowhhrick, who then removed 41-VEX's restraining bolt, enabling the droid to fulfill its new directive. 41-VEX introduced the Wookiee to Pash, a smuggler pilot also seeking to leave Teemo's service, and the group subsequently fled from Teemo's palace. Mathus also befriended a local scout named Sasha and sought her assistance in facilitating their departure from the planet.
Mathus was a dark-skinned Human male with brown eyes. He was believed to possess significant intelligence and overcame a lack of formal education to develop his technical skills. He was known to momentarily forget pressing matters when presented with a mechanical puzzle, even forgetting his initial intent to rob Honwoo when invited to assist with the repulsorlift array. He demonstrated both impulsivity and adaptability to his surroundings. He acted hastily in accepting Teemo the Hutt's offer without fully considering his qualifications. However, when Teemo used Honwoo as leverage to ensure his cooperation, Mathus concealed his continued efforts to leave, demonstrating his understanding that his own life—and that of his mentor—was precarious despite his abilities.
Mathus also displayed resourcefulness in programming 41-VEX with the desire to escape Teemo, as well as courage in proceeding with an escape despite threats intended to prevent him. He also possessed a gregarious nature, forging connections with individuals who could fulfill his needs, such as befriending Sasha the explorer with the goal of utilizing her skills to safely transport him and 41-VEX off Tatooine.
Mathus was characterized in a biography on the back page of "Mathus the Technician," an 8-page character folio released online as a free download on December 14, 2012 for the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Beginner Game. His physical appearance was depicted on the front of the folio. He is also shown in the cover art wearing gauntlets, presumably representing the shock gloves he is equipped with. The biography introduced elements of the ongoing adventures of the player characters outlined in the Beginner Game's second story, "The Long Arm of the Hutt" bonus adventure, and identified him as the one who sliced a code into 41-VEX to instill the desire to escape Teemo's service in the first story, "Escape from Mos Shuuta."