Rodia was a far-off planet characterized by jungles and swamps. It served as the homeworld for the Rodian species. The cities of Rodia were protected by environmental shields in the shape of domes, which enabled vehicles and ships to enter and exit.
Rodia, a planet situated on the boundary between the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim Territories, was the second orbit in the five-planet Tyrius system. It occupied a historically active region of the galaxy. As the primary world within the Savareen sector, located at grid square R-16 on the Standard Galactic Grid, Rodia's proximity to the Corellian Run super-hyperroute provided travelers with a straightforward path throughout the galaxy. A vibrant world teeming with life, Rodia possessed a breathable atmosphere and a hot, humid climate, largely dominated by water, notably the expansive Wesessa Sea. The limited solid landmasses not underwater were primarily covered by impenetrable swamps, dense forests, and [jungles](/article/jungle], with colder areas in the planet's northern and southern regions. Most visitors found Rodia's strong odor to be quite pungent.
Approximately fifteen millennia prior to the Battle of Yavin, Rodia aligned itself with the Galactic Republic, recognizing the potential benefits of such an alliance. The planet gained access to new technologies, and with the Grand Protector's consent, Rodian hunters were permitted to venture beyond Rodia—a previously forbidden act—and pursue careers across the galaxy as bounty hunters, enslavers, and soldiers of fortune.
Later, during the waning days of the Republic, Senator Onaconda Farr represented the planet in the Galactic Senate. Pirates destroyed Republic supply ships headed to Rodia, resulting in widespread starvation among the Rodians. During the Clone Wars, Farr betrayed his former friend and ally, Senator Padmé Amidala, by luring her to Rodia and into the hands of her old adversary, Nute Gunray, the Trade Federation viceroy, in exchange for the delivery of supplies that the Republic had failed to provide to his planet. However, when Gunray revealed his intention to execute Amidala and delay the delivery of Rodia's supplies, Farr realized his error and assisted her in escaping. Together, they held Gunray at gunpoint and had him apprehended. Upon learning of the situation, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine dispatched multiple supply convoys to Rodia.
Subsequently, Darth Sidious assigned the bounty hunter Cad Bane to Rodia with the mission of capturing a Force-sensitive Rodian child. Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived too late to prevent the child's abduction. Ahsoka Tano later reflected on this event during the Imperial Era.
By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Rodia had come under Imperial rule. Many Rodians who opposed the occupation of their homeworld joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Soon after the destruction of the first Death Star, Luke Skywalker traveled to Rodia's Betu continent aboard a luxury yacht called the Desert Jewel on a secret mission to enlist the Chekkoo clan in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Chekkoo clan was in opposition to the ruling Chattza clan, which supported the Empire. During his time on Rodia, he discovered a Rodian Jedi named Huulik who had fought in the Clone Wars, and he visited a secret mausoleum hidden deep within the jungle to honor Huulik.
Around the time of the Battle of Jakku, Dor Wieedo represented Rodia in the Galactic Senate of the New Republic.
Rodia made its debut in the Star Wars Legends novel Shadows of the Empire, penned by Steve Perry and released in 1996. Its initial appearance in canon occurred in a flashback at the beginning of "Ambush," an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars that premiered on October 3, 2008.