R0-GR, known as "Roger," was a B1-series battle droid who operated in conjunction with the Freemakers, a human family of scavengers who journeyed across the galaxy. As a veteran who served within the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars, he participated in many battles throughout his existence. Before the war, he was involved in the Battle of Naboo, and while serving the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he fought in conflicts such as the First Battle of Geonosis, the Battle of Kashyyyk, the Battle of Nal Kapok, and the Battle of Saleucami. His association with the Freemakers began with his discovery on Ord Tellarom. He later became a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and subsequently the Resistance. R0-GR authored several works, notably his autobiography, From Trenches to Wrenches: The Roger Story, and its supplemental piece, Droidography.
Prior to the Battle of Naboo, R0-GR was constructed on Geonosis. He took part in the Battle of Naboo, presumably as a component of the Trade Federation Droid Army.
During the Clone Wars, R0-GR fought for the Confederacy of Independent Systems within the Droid Army. Throughout the Clone Wars, Jedi wielding lightsabers repeatedly sliced R0-GR into pieces. Anakin Skywalker was a particularly frequent offender. He was able to persist through this due to the practice of repairing and reusing recoverable B1 Battle Droids.
At the start of the Clone Wars, R0-GR went back to Geonosis and participated in the First Battle of Geonosis.
The battle droid spent five months engaged in the Battle of Saleucami. Subsequently, he fought on Nal Kapok in what he deemed the worst battle of the Clone Wars. He also participated in the Battle of Kashyyyk.
As the Clone Wars concluded, R0-GR was deactivated along with the rest of the Separatist Droid Army.
On the planet Ord Tellarom, R0-GR was reactivated. The Freemakers took him in and reprogrammed him. He received new programming, including attending to the family and caring for their children, and he engaged in various hobbies alongside his new responsibilities.
The battle droid began residing on The Wheel. After taking up residence there, he journeyed to a planet populated by Rancors, which he found disagreeable.
While in a marketplace within the Wheel's Middle Ring, he struck K-2SO, a Rebel droid, with a vehicle. Despite this, K-2SO aided R0-GR in a conflict that R0-GR became involved in shortly thereafter. R0-GR formed a friendship with a TT-8L Gatekeeper droid installed in an elevator on the Wheel. Despite this, he could not convince the droid to grant him access to the Upper Ring.
Ultimately, R0-GR returned to Nal Kapok. Following this, he traveled to the Belgaroth Asteroid Field, which a Hutt was utilizing as a hideout. This Hutt may have been Graballa, whom R0-GR at one point attempted to mislead into believing he was a bounty hunter droid named "IG-89," a droid who was supposedly "one better than IG-88." In a potentially related event, DLC-13, a mining droid, assisted R0-GR in rescuing Rowan Freemaker from a potentially fatal situation, and the two droids established a lifelong friendship.
R0-GR went back to Kashyyyk, where he retained his arms but lost his head. Subsequently, he crashed on Felucia and narrowly avoided being consumed by plants on several occasions. He journeyed to Tatooine and inadvertently participated in a winning podracing team, after which he decided against repeating the experience due to the significant danger involved.
At some point, Roger sought refuge on Takodana. During his time there, he encountered Hondo Ohnaka, whom he eventually came to distrust. While at Maz Kanata's castle with the Freemakers, he also provided Strono Tuggs with a recipe for Sweet-Sand Cookies.
Following his initial trip to Takodana, Roger promptly traveled to Ningoth, which he disliked due to its status as a water planet, deeming it "bad for droids." He then proceeded to Naboo, which he referred to as "the Battle Droid Graveyard" because of the Battle of Naboo.
The Freemakers went to Zoh, seeking assistance from a Force user named Jek-14, who resided there with numerous droids, including N-3RO, BL-OX, and Fixer. N-3RO initiated a rebellion against Jek due to the Freemakers' arrival, offering R0-GR an oil bath in an attempt to recruit him. R0-GR declined, and the rebellion was ultimately suppressed, with N-3RO being restrained using a restraining bolt.
Afterward, R0-GR journeyed to Hoth, which he regarded as even less suitable for droids than Ningoth because of its extreme cold and icy conditions.
R0-GR and Rowan Freemaker journeyed together to a remote, concealed planet to evade hostile forces. R0-GR trained Rowan there. He later went to Coruscant, where he engaged in a conflict with Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine.
During the Imperial Era, Emperor Palpatine created a droid hunter named M-OC, to retrieve a legendary weapon. M-OC pursued the Freemakers, including R0-GR, and attempted to eliminate the family. As M-OC pursued them across star systems, he enhanced his equipment and abilities, eventually wielding lightsabers with greater skill than the Jedi Masters R0-GR had previously witnessed.
Following R0-GR's time on Coruscant, the battle droid joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War and spent time aboard Home One. While he initially received a cool reception from most of the droids on the ship, including C1-10P, BG-81 was friendly toward him and allowed R0-GR to recount stories of his life, often while in sleep mode.
R0-GR was recognized with a medal for his service in the Rebel Alliance. He would later describe himself as an "oft disputed hero of the Rebellion."
The Alliance to Restore the Republic defeated M-OC at the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, preventing him from overcoming the Freemakers.
After the Battle of Endor, R0-GR spoke with C-3PO, whom he found to be unusually uneasy during their interaction. After R2-D2 informed him that C-3PO had previously had his head switched with that of a B1-series Battle Droid before the First Battle of Geonosis, he speculated that C-3PO still retained some subconscious memory of the event, despite C-3PO's denial due to a memory wipe. R2-D2 offered R0-GR a demonstration of his ability to launch a lightsaber from his astromech droid dome, but R0-GR declined, having an aversion to lightsabers being thrown at him due to his experiences in the Clone Wars.
Roger documented his life from his assembly to his enlistment in the Rebel Alliance in an autobiography titled From Trenches to Wrenches: The Roger Story, which he sold on the HoloNet. Feedback suggested that no one read the book in its entirety due to its perceived lack of quality.
R0-GR was a member of the Resistance. During or after his service in the Resistance, he authored a book called Droidography.
R0-GR was a B1-Series Battle Droid with differently colored limbs. His torso was dark brown, displaying the Trade Federation symbol in white on the left side of his chest. His right arm and Comlink booster were the standard bone-white color seen on most B1 Battle Droids, but his head, legs, and left arm were a light brown color typical of B1 units designed for desert environments. Initially a soldier for the Separatist Alliance, R0-GR faced numerous setbacks, often being cut apart by Jedi lightsabers. He envied the capabilities of IG-100 MagnaGuards and Droidekas, but considered B2-series super battle droids unnecessary and disliked them, using them as shields in combat. He enjoyed pointing out that most B2 super battle droids had been decommissioned. However, he particularly resented T-series tactical droids, who, according to Roger, were incapable of fighting but readily sent battle droids to their deaths with poorly conceived strategies, being "arrogant and selfish."
While regretful about his and his fellow battle droids' role in the Clone Wars and the state of the galaxy, R0-GR was a proponent of droid rights. Nevertheless, he asserted that the Separatist Droid Army deserved the droid shutdown command and that he and the Droid Army were partially responsible for the status of droid rights, or lack thereof, in the galaxy. His personal philosophy appeared to advocate for equality between droids and organics. When confronted with more extreme ideologies, such as N-3RO's belief that humans were untrustworthy, he remained loyal to the human Freemaker family, generally holding positive views toward humans. Although seemingly remorseful about his Separatist programming, he also seemed to have a high opinion of his model, repeatedly praising its (and thus his own) aesthetic qualities and once describing B1s as "the most spectacular mechanical life-form ever built."
R0-GR made his debut in the non-canon Disney XD animated TV series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Matthew Wood provided his voice. R0-GR was incorporated into the canon continuity in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Droidography, authored by Marc Sumerak.
- Definitely the Book You're Looking For: Announcing Star Wars: Droidography on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: Droidography (First mentioned)
- New Book Star Wars: Droidography, from Sketch to Page - Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook
- " BB-8 and Other Astromech Droids " — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- " Battle Droids and Other Droids of War " — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: These Are the Droids You're Looking For