Ranath was a Sith Lord of the reconstituted Sith Empire, a male Human who served during the Galactic War, where he was stationed on the ice planet Hoth. While there, Ranath dedicated his time to hunting down a group of Force-sensitive aliens called Black Ice, comprised of Trandoshans, Selkath, and Abyssins. This group had previously eliminated the Sith sent to assassinate them, seizing their equipment to enhance their training and power. Ranath developed a strong disdain for them, considering them inferior to the creatures that roamed the frozen wastes. With assistance from the Chiss Ascendancy, the location of Black Ice's base was discovered. Aware that the aliens could now sense his presence, he dispatched loyalists of the Sith Empire to eradicate them. Upon their successful return, he rewarded them with souvenirs collected during his hunts for the aliens, intended as trophies.
Lord Ranath makes an appearance in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the MMORPG developed by BioWare that released in 2011. He is a key character in the quest "Black Ice," where players are tasked with eliminating a group of Force-sensitive aliens, the Black Ice, on the planet Hoth.
Sith Inquisitor players, specifically Lord Kallig, who chose to play as an alien character, have the option to reflect on how they could have shared a similar destiny to that of Black Ice. Ranath uses the aliens as an example of what Kallig could have become, and views their death as evidence of the Inquisitor's superiority. Ranath does not engage in similar dialogue if the player is an alien playing any of the other classes.