Tirog was a male Human pursuer of wanted individuals operating during the time of the Galactic Civil War. Highly proficient as a marksman, aviator, and tracker, his career was frequently punctuated by periods of intense fighting and conflict.
A noteworthy aspect of Tirog's life was the diverse network of individuals he associated with; this included smugglers and Rebellious freedom fighters who were often the targets of other bounty hunters. He was sometimes accompanied by companions, most often his protocol droid, known as GT-9R, or "Niner." Other common associates included the pirate named Drebble and a young boy who went by the name of "Ace." However, some incidents indicate that Tirog also worked alone. He had numerous adversaries, including criminals and corrupt government officials. Despite considering himself neutral in the conflict, Tirog often found himself fighting against the forces of the Galactic Empire.
The life story of Tirog, a male Human, is primarily composed of fragmented and disjointed stories from his time as a bounty hunter, with an unclear chronological order. These stories often involved dangerous situations, such as piloting an AT-AT walker while dodging fire from a speeder, leading a platoon of forty soldiers, participating in a landspeeder chase that resulted in a crash, firing his light freighter's weapons at a speeder, or attacking a snowspeeder from below. He generally emerged victorious from these encounters, achieving what could be described as heroic feats. However, he did not always succeed. On one occasion, he was forced to run from a mob of angry Wookiees, and while lost in the Yar'En region of Goroth Prime without provisions, he suffered from debilitating cramps and nausea after consuming local mosses.
During their travels, Tirog and GT-9R unexpectedly found themselves in the office of Imperial Governor Dermeg on the planet Ansillivog. While there, Dermeg accused Tirog of collaborating with known criminals, associating with Rebels, and committing crimes against the Empire in exchange for payment. The governor even threatened to execute Tirog without a trial during this tense meeting.
Regardless of the specifics of these alleged offenses or the validity of Dermeg's accusations, Tirog was involved in at least two documented firefights against Imperial stormtroopers and members of the Imperial Army. He also clashed with the forces of the Imperial Navy, at one point attempting to evade three TIE fighters while piloting a YT-1300 light freighter. His ship was also ensnared by the tractor beams of an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, although this might have occurred during the same event.
Tirog also frequently found himself in conflict with local law enforcement. While on a mission to the planet Besero for the Tagge Mining Corporation, Tirog was treated poorly by the local authorities, not because of anything he had done, but due to the numerous problems Tagge had caused in the past. Tirog himself clashed with the authorities on Tatooine on multiple occasions, which made it difficult to secure their cooperation when he returned to the desert planet.
However, neither of these situations seemed as serious as his issues with the administration of the Gettiarn Space Station. During a visit to the station with GT-9R, three armed guards pointed their blaster rifles at the bounty hunter and his droid, demanding they surrender. Despite GT-9R's suggestion to negotiate, Tirog instead drew his own blaster rifle and returned fire.
Tirog also gained enemies within the galactic criminal network. As an example, Tirog and GT-9R once angered the loan shark and crime boss Ploovo Two-For-One. Ploovo attempted to ambush the bounty hunter and his droid, but their plan was foiled when Tirog and Niner captured two of Ploovo's henchmen and learned about their scheme.
Another confrontation with the underworld occurred when Tirog, Ace, Drebble, and GT-9R visited an open-air market on a planet illuminated by a bright blue sun. During this visit, they were confronted by a gambler and his two armed bodyguards, who had been pursuing the group for some time. As the gambler and his men prepared to shoot, Tirog returned fire. His quick response resulted in the immediate death of one thug and the stunning of the other. Tirog's companions were less effective in the fight, with GT-9R and Ace seeking safety in a nearby cantina and Drebble hesitating too long to take any action.
Tirog claimed to have interacted with a diverse range of individuals, from a Human Jedi to a Wookiee smuggler, throughout his career. Of course, not all of these encounters resulted in animosity. He often met with friendly contacts, such as the Rodian bounty hunter Reeveid, in cantinas. He had a good enough relationship with smugglers like Platt Okeefe and the Rebel pilot Evinn Dastt to ask them for favors. When an unidentified person hired Tirog to serve as a "guide to the galaxy" for some novices, Okeefe and Dastt assisted him in providing lessons.
GT-9R, Ace, and Drebble—his most frequent traveling companions—assisted him on several occasions. For instance, Drebble once attempted to repair a power coupling on Tirog's ship at twice the normal speed to expedite their departure, while Ace once rushed to Tirog's aid after the bounty hunter was knocked unconscious by a stun bolt fired from a stormtrooper's blaster. GT-9R may have been his closest associate, or at least his most consistent companion, despite their contrasting personalities. While Tirog was a rugged individual who readily engaged in combat during a crisis, GT-9R was a somewhat pretentious droid whose programming prioritized avoiding combat, sometimes attempting negotiations in the midst of a firefight.
Tirog was a man who favored action, accustomed to a life filled with violence and adventure. He felt at ease in seedy cantinas such as the Dancing Dewback, which he described as "a bar fight waiting to happen." His initial reaction to any confrontation was to fight his way out, a stark contrast to many of his acquaintances. Some, like Ace and GT-9R, were non-combatants who typically tried to stay out of the line of fire. Others, such as his smuggler friends Platt Okeefe and Blaine Hansom, would attempt to talk their way out of trouble, a tactic Tirog considered "a waste of time."
Although Tirog seemed to enjoy combat, he had witnessed too much to romanticize it, believing that those without the courage or experience to handle themselves in a fight were better off staying away from it. He offered two pieces of advice to novices: first, "don't get shot," and second, "always carry a medpac or two…or three." Tirog viewed the galaxy as a dangerous place, where a basic understanding of weapons and combat was essential for survival. He also understood the importance of being prepared when entering potentially dangerous situations. Before entering the Dancing Dewback with GT-9R to meet a Devaronian contact, he made sure to identify potential entrances and exits and assess the presence of heavily armed patrons.
During the Galactic Civil War, Tirog described himself as being "in the middle," not aligned with either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire. While he disliked the Empire, considering the Imperial Military to be nothing more than armed thugs, he was pessimistic about the Alliance's chances of winning the war. Nevertheless, he had at least four separate violent encounters with Imperial forces and was known to associate with Rebels such as Platt Okeefe and Evinn Dastt.
Tirog had a completely shaved head, except for a long fringe of hair that extended past his shoulders at the back. This fringe was mostly white, with red tips. He had several tattoos: red markings on his right forearm and temple, and a purple design around his right eye.
Tirog was highly skilled with blasters, especially blaster pistols. He honed his skills by training with a marksman named Hist. After a week of training, Tirog had reached the same level of skill as his instructor.
Tirog was also adept at piloting repulsorlift vehicles and space transports, particularly Ghtroc Industries light freighters. As a capable bounty hunter, he was also skilled at locating hidden objects and people and evading blaster fire and other forms of attack. Although Tirog was not a professional sentientologist, he possessed considerable knowledge about Wookiees.
Throughout his career, Tirog made efforts to improve his abilities, not just in combat. Over time, he became a skilled negotiator in the marketplace and gained a broader range of knowledge than he possessed as a novice. According to Tirog, his extensive network of acquaintances, both friendly and otherwise, allowed him to predict how different people would react in various situations.
Tirog owned a worn Ghtroc Industries light freighter, possibly a Class 720 freighter. He allowed some smuggler "friends" to customize his ship in exchange for their freedom, reasoning that the bounty on their heads was less valuable than the ship's modifications.
Tirog's personal equipment included a comlink, a pair of macrobinoculars, a jetpack, and two medpacs. His arsenal consisted of a heavy blaster pistol, a light repeating blaster, a blaster rifle, a holdout blaster, and a knife. He also used a vibro-ax at one point. Tirog typically wore light armor, including a protective vest and leg armor. During his time with Ace, Niner, and Drebble, he carried around 800 credits in cash.
Tirog made his debut as a sample character in "Tirog's Story," a series of gameplay examples featured in Bill Smith's 1992 roleplaying game book, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, published by West End Games. "Tirog's Story" details the creation of Tirog as a player character, the setup for a meeting with Reeveid, a confrontation in a marketplace, with Ace, Drebble, and GT-9R appearing as other player characters to demonstrate a simple combat scenario, and an example of skill usage—Tirog's unsuccessful attempt to repair a broken droid. Other brief examples of combat and skill usage throughout the rulebook reference Tirog. Tirog's player in "Tirog's Story" is identified as "Greg," while the gamemaster is named "Bill."
Appendix One of the rulebook, "Roleplaying Basics," provides additional roleplaying examples featuring Tirog. In these examples, Bill, Greg, and "Ted" (GT-9R's player) act out Tirog and GT-9R's meeting with a contact in the Dancing Dewback, their confrontation with Governor Dermeg, and an encounter with guards on Gettiarn Space Station. It also describes Bill's setup of a conflict between Tirog, GT-9R, and Ploovo Two-for-One as an example of an ongoing villain who is unaware of the players' plans. Tirog's second appearance, in Nigel D. Findley's sourcebook Goroth: Slave of the Empire, also serves as an example of game mechanics—in this case, illustrating the debilitating effects of consuming Goroth Prime's native plant life when no other food is available.
Tirog's game statistics and equipment are based on the "Bounty Hunter" character template found in the second edition rulebook. Although the template in that rulebook is for an Iotran character, Tirog is later portrayed as a Human in Smith's 1996 game book, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded.
In the Revised and Expanded rulebook, Tirog appears alongside Platt Okeefe, Airen Cracken, and various other characters to introduce the Star Wars universe and the game's rules to players. While Tirog and the other characters remain in character, they "break the fourth wall" by directly addressing the readers and discussing the rules of the game. Tirog, for instance, claims to have been hired to act as a "guide to the galaxy" for the readers. Tirog appears in the introduction, chapter 3 ("How to Gamemaster"), and chapter 5 ("Combat and Injuries").
Tirog himself does not appear in the revised rulebook's gameplay examples. GT-9R does appear, but as part of a different group of player characters. This group includes Thannik, another bounty hunter character played by Greg. This gameplay example is identical to the "Dancing Dewback" scene in the previous rulebook, but with Thannik replacing Tirog and several other player characters added. Thannik's creation as a player character in the revised rulebook is also almost identical to the character creation sections of "Tirog's Story." Several other examples of gameplay involving Thannik appear to be rewritten versions of the earlier rulebook's examples involving Tirog, including a passage where Tirog's associate Drebble fixes Thannik's ship.
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition (First mentioned)
- Goroth: Slave of the Empire
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded