Qyzen Fess was a Trandoshan male hunter who became an ally to both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic during the Galactic War and the Cold War era. Instead of becoming a mercenary like many others of his species, he embraced the traditional role of a big-game hunter, testing his abilities against the most dangerous creatures the galaxy presented. Consequently, he gained renown as a skilled hunter and tracker, journeying from the deserts of Tatooine to the swamps of Belkadan in pursuit of his quarry. During one particular hunt, he lost his right eye, which he then replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis. Fess traded his trophies for supplies and passage to new hunting locations, owning very few personal items. Instead, he only kept his weapons and a record of his kills, which he dedicated to the Scorekeeper. His hunts sometimes led to conflicts with other sentient beings, including criminals, Mandalorians, and even Jedi Masters, making him hesitant to trust those he didn't know. Nevertheless, Qyzen would fiercely protect his friends, even at the cost of his own life.
Qyzen Fess was the offspring of a Trandoshan big-game hunter (unnamed), who met his end in the sands of Tatooine while pursuing prey. Unlike many other Trandoshans, Fess declined the path of a mercenary, choosing instead to honor his father and the Trandoshan goddess, the Scorekeeper, by becoming a big-game hunter. He took great pride in testing his skills against some of the galaxy's most perilous beasts and accumulating Jagannath points to venerate his goddess. His journeys had taken him to Kashyyyk, where he spent three weeks within the Shadowlands and encountered a creature that obscured his infrared vision, resulting in the loss of his right eye; and Belkadan, where he crossed paths with Jedi Master Yuon Par. He also traveled to Tatooine.
Fess and Master Par developed a strong bond, leading him to frequently visit the Jedi Temple on Tython to see her. However, not everyone in the Jedi Order approved of Par's friendship with Fess; some even called him a beast, refusing to allow him on Temple grounds unless Par was present.
In 3643 BBY, Fess was visiting Master Par on Tython when she received her new Padawan learner, a promising young Jedi Consular tasked with finding four lost Jedi Holocrons. The Padawan managed to recover only three of the recordings; the fourth was in the possession of a Force-sensitive Twi'lek named Nalen Raloch. Through the missing holocron, Raloch discovered the same secret that the Padawan had learned from his investigations: that a man named Rajivari had betrayed the newly established Jedi Order and created a powerful artifact known as the Fount of Rajivari. This discovery was slowly corrupting Raloch with the dark side, and he opposed the Padawan's efforts to find the Fount of Rajivari and use it for his own purposes.
Eager to assist Par and her Padawan in stopping Raloch from finding and using the Fount, Fess volunteered to help the Padawan locate Raloch and his followers by scouting a network of caves he had previously explored. It was during this endeavor that tragedy struck for the Trandoshan. Overwhelmed by enemies, Fess was captured and imprisoned by several of Raloch's followers. This capture resulted in the loss of his points, the kills he had accumulated from his hunting, causing him great shame and humiliation. The Padawan rescued Fess after Par expressed concern that he had not returned from his scouting mission. Impressed by the Padawan's empathy regarding his shame over his capture and lost points, Fess came to believe that the Padawan was the Scorekeeper's Herald, a physical representation of the Scorekeeper herself. Fess pledged his allegiance to the newly named Herald and decided to accompany them to begin the process of regaining his lost points. The pair tracked down Rajivari's fount, which turned out to be the Force ghost of Rajivari himself. Rajivari revealed that he had corrupted and manipulated Nalen Raloch as his tool to destroy the Jedi Order, and, deeming Raloch too weak, he attempted to corrupt the Herald's perception of the Jedi Order as well.
After obtaining the necessary information, the pair eventually confronted and defeated Raloch at the Forge, before returning to the Jedi Temple. Fess was angered that Raloch had been spared and admitted into the Jedi Order after robbing him of his Score but ultimately accepted it out of respect for Youn Par and the Consular. For addressing Raloch's threat, Yuon Par swore in her former Padawan as a Jedi Knight in front of the Jedi Council, but she promptly fainted.
While the Jedi Council and the Herald were trying to determine the cause of Par's sudden collapse, Fess revealed that he knew something was wrong with her and that she had expressed her determination to train one last Padawan before her illness overcame her. The Jedi demanded to know why Fess had not shared this information earlier, to which he replied that he had no reason to tell them anything, given that every Jedi except Par and the Herald had treated him poorly in the past. The Jedi Council sent Par to Coruscant for medical care and to identify the cause of her illness; Fess and the Herald were determined to accompany her.
On Coruscant, Par was entrusted to a scientist in the Senate Building for observation. Par began to exhibit strange behavior and delusions, such as believing that Fess and the Herald had been killed by Flesh Raiders on Tython, repeatedly saying "The darkness is coming...", and even physically attacking Fess and the Herald with her lightsaber. The Herald concluded that the disease originated through the Force, and the scientist instructed the Herald and Fess to embark on a mission to find the three Noetikons: the Noetikon of Science, the Noetikon of Secrets, and the Noetikon of Light. The scientist hoped that the secret to Par's illness could be found within at least one of the Noetikons.
Fess and the Herald located each of the three Noetikons, but none of them individually held the answer to diagnose Par's illness. The Noetikons instructed Fess and the Herald to enter the abandoned Jedi Temple and place the three Noetikons on a specially designed machine that would link the knowledge between them, in the hope of finding a cure. Fess and the Herald fought their way through numerous Imperial troops guarding the Temple to reach the machine that would unite the knowledge of the Noetikons. Once placed into the machine, all three Noetikons diagnosed Par's illness as a dark side mind control technique and instructed the Herald on how to use a Force shielding technique to protect those affected from dark side control. The Noetikons warned that the last person who used this technique had died; Fess expressed his confidence in the Herald's ability and loyalty to Par.
Shortly after the Herald learned the shielding technique, a Sith Lord entered the temple to prevent the Herald from learning it. Although he was too late to stop the Herald from learning it, he used Force lightning on the machine housing the Noetikons, destroying it to prevent anyone else from learning the technique. To prevent the knowledge of the shielding technique from leaving the temple, the Sith Lord and two of his acolytes attacked Fess and the Herald. The pair emerged victorious and returned to the Senate Building, where they performed the shielding technique on Par, which drained a significant amount of life energy from the Herald. News of Par's cure reached the Jedi Temple on Tython, and the Council informed the Herald and Fess that reports had been received from Taris of another Jedi Master exhibiting similar symptoms to those displayed by Par.
During the Eternal Empire's Conquest, the Herald disappeared. Some time later, Qyzen became the leader of the Warstalkers and later joined the Outlander's Alliance, which was dedicated to overthrowing the Eternal Throne.
Qyzen Fess excelled as a hunter, tracker, and trapper. He spent years hunting prey, traveling from planet to planet in search of worthy targets. Unlike many other Trandoshans, Fess disliked mercenary work due to a conflict with his sense of honor. He refused to kill weak prey, considering them unworthy of his skills, and disliked leaving strong enemies alive.
Fess was deeply devoted to his goddess, the Scorekeeper, and interpreted the loss of his eye during his encounter with the beast in the Shadowlands as the Scorekeeper's lesson in humility and overconfidence. Consequently, he chose to remain half-blind for the rest of his life. He felt immense shame for having been captured on Tython and losing all his points, a shame that lingered until he visited his father's remains on Tatooine.
Due to encountering various dishonorable individuals during his travels, Fess was hesitant to form friendships. However, once he found someone he liked and trusted, he became fiercely loyal and would defend them with his life.
Qyzen briefly worked as a bounty hunter with Braden and Mako. Mako commented that if he hunted criminals instead of animals, he would have become a well-known figure.
Qyzen serves as the initial companion character for the Jedi Consular class in Star Wars: The Old Republic, acquired towards the end of the starting experience. Before Update 4.0, he functioned as a melee tank.
Although his official artwork depicts him wielding a gun, he uses a techblade and a shield generator as his weapons in-game.
Qyzen's biography page on the official Old Republic website features three phrases in Aurebesh; when translated, they read "Shadowlands beast," "Herald of the Scorekeeper," and "Bones in the desert." "Shadowlands beast" refers to the creature that took his eye, "Herald of the Scorekeeper" is the title he bestows upon the Jedi Consular player, and "Bones in the desert" refers to his father's remains buried on Tatooine. Mako's page also directly mentions Qyzen as "Ran Qyzen," referencing his past as a bounty hunter for Braden and Mako.