Trandoshan
Trandoshans, alternatively known as T'doshok, were sizable, two-legged reptilian sentient humanoid beings originating from the planet Trandosha, and were well-known as exceptional hunters. The thrill of the hunt was greatly enjoyed by Trandoshans, who were known to participate in a hunting-related rite of passage. Their impressive regenerative abilities, allowing them to regrow limbs and heal rapidly, also contributed to their fame. A Trandoshan hunter named Garnac managed a game preserve located on the moon Wasskah, where he oversaw his son's disastrous rite of passage, which involved hunting a Jedi Padawan and ultimately led to the son's death. Bossk, a Trandoshan, was among the most dreaded bounty hunters in the galaxy, undertaking assignments for various groups, including the Galactic Empire. Other Trandoshans of note include Jedi Master Sskeer and Ciddarin Scaleback, an information dealer and cantina proprietor.
Biological Traits and Physical Appearance
Possessing smooth, scaled skin, Trandoshans were sentient humanoids. Their height and build varied, ranging from tall and lean to short and stout. As physically powerful beings, Trandoshans possessed lengthy, slender arms that terminated in either three substantial digits or four delicate digits, inclusive of a thumb. Their eyes were positioned back on a sharp skull, and their jaws were lined with sharp teeth. Some Trandoshans even sported a feathery crest atop their heads. They emerged from eggs, and those who hatched together referred to each other as clutchmates.
The Trandoshan brain was inherently driven by emotions like rage, fury, and aggression, but Trandoshans had the capacity to overcome these impulses. However, the uncommon Magrak Syndrome could gradually reassert these primal tendencies. Trandoshans commonly went barefoot, with each foot bearing three digits. Their skin color exhibited a wide spectrum, encompassing green, red, orange, brown, and yellow hues. For example, Smug had brownish-orange skin marked with red stripes on his face. Severed limbs could be regenerated by Trandoshans. Their sharp claws aided them in climbing the towering trees found in their natural forest or jungle habitats.
Historical Context
The planet Trandosha, situated in the Kashyyyk system within the Mid Rim Territories' Mytaranor sector, served as the Trandoshans' point of origin. They were avid hunting enthusiasts, pursuing creatures like frist wolves and even other sentient beings. Their deity was the Scorekeeper, a goddess whom they worshipped. The Trandoshans also gained control of Wasskah, a moon orbiting their homeworld. Sharing their star system with Kashyyyk, the Wookiees' planet, the Trandoshans engaged in a protracted, interspecies conflict characterized by hunting and battles.
By the time of the Clone Wars, the hunter Garnac oversaw the island hunting preserve known as Island Four on Wasskah. From a floating fortress above the island, he operated a hunting guild. Garnac's scouts journeyed to various planets, capturing sentient beings and transporting them to Wasskah, where they were released on Island Four to be hunted for sport. During the Clone Wars, at least three Jedi younglings were captured and brought to Wasskah. For a time, these younglings managed to evade the Trandoshans, who continued to deliver other prey to the island. Eventually, Lo-Taren, a Trandoshan, captured Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi Padawan, on Felucia and brought her to Island Four along with other prisoners. Upon arrival, Tano escaped and encountered the other younglings.
Dar, Garnac's son, later attempted to kill Tano as part of a rite of passage, but the Jedi killed him instead. Garnac pursued Tano, killing the youngling Kalifa. Later, Trandoshan scouts abducted the Wookiee Chewbacca, but the transport ship was damaged before Chewbacca could be delivered successfully, and it crashed on the hunting island. Tano killed the two-man crew, and escaped the wreckage with Chewbacca. Using salvaged wreckage, the Wookiee constructed a communications device and contacted Tarfful, a Wookiee General. Tano, the remaining younglings, and the Wookiee forces engaged Garnac's guild at their fortress, eliminating all the Trandoshan hunters. Garnac was the sole survivor of the confrontation and later served the gangster Grini Millegi on Serolonis.
Meanwhile, the bounty hunter Bossk accepted numerous assignments and eventually served as a bodyguard for the aspiring bounty hunter Boba Fett. Bossk eventually became one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters. On one occasion, Bossk traveled to Lothal to collect a bounty on the Dug criminal Gronson Takkaro. This encounter brought him into contact with Ezra Bridger, a young Force-sensitive human, and in conflict with Jenkes, a corrupt Imperial Security Bureau Lieutenant who was in league with Takkaro. With Bridger's assistance, Bossk successfully exposed Jenkes' criminal activities.
During the Imperial Era, five Trandoshans were part of an acquisition crew working for the Xonti Brothers. Led by Noka, they journeyed to Kashyyyk to capture Wookiees. Kootan was eager to kill one, but Noka reminded him of their objective. Noka used his scanner to locate a sleeping Wookiee. Kootan stunned it, but it bled and was left for dead. They were then attacked by Krrsantan, who killed three Trandoshans and pinned down Noka and Kootan. Kootan attempted to kill Krrsantan but was knocked out and thrown into a tree, killing him. Krrsantan demanded that Noka take him to the Xonti Brothers. Noka complied and later recounted his story to two journalists.
Feresk Tssat served in the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron during the Galactic Civil War after the Battle of Endor, fighting against the Galactic Empire's Titan Squadron.
Trandoshans' Role in the Galaxy
The species had a troubled history with the Wookiees, who harbored animosity toward the reptilian people. Some Trandoshans pursued alternative occupations beyond hunting. By the Clone Wars, one such individual was Gha Nachkt, who worked as a salvager. He was eventually hired by the Confederacy of Independent Systems to scavenge damaged Galactic Republic ships for useful data and scraps. Nachkt recovered R2-D2, an R2 series astromech droid, from a Republic Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor, but the droid was eventually recovered by Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi General and Knight, while Nachkt was killed by Confederate General Grievous.
Trandoshan Jedi were uncommon due to their homeworld's culture being antithetical to Jedi principles. Sskeer, a notable Force-sensitive Trandoshan, lived during the High Republic Era. Sskeer was a Jedi Master known for his scholarly and tactical prowess. His Padawan was Keeve Trennis, a human. Sskeer fought against the Nihil pirates and the carnivorous Drengir, dark side sentient plants. However, Magrak Syndrome took root in his brain, diminishing his connection to the Force but shielding him from the effects of the Nameless.
Bossk's bounty hunting career led him to various locations across the galaxy, and he collaborated with Aurra Sing and Castas for a time. Bossk and Fett joined forces with other bounty hunters to avenge Jango Fett, Fett's deceased father, by killing Mace Windu, the Jedi who fought and killed Jango. Sing later killed Castas, while Republic authorities arrested Bossk and Fett after a failed assassination. However, both Bossk and Fett escaped during a prison riot at the Republic prison. They later formed a team of bounty hunters on Tatooine and accepted a job from the Belugan government on Quarzite. Although adversaries subdued Bossk during the mission, Asajj Ventress completed the mission to a degree. When Ventress discovered that the cargo was Pluma Sodi, a native Kage female, Ventress swapped the imprisoned girl with Fett, and was paid for the job's completion before the change was discovered.
Nack Movers, a Trandoshan assassin renowned in the Coruscant underworld, acquired a lightsaber during the Clone Wars. He was later murdered by his girlfriend, Ione Marcy, who took the lightsaber for herself.
Ciddarin Scaleback, a Trandoshan information broker and cantina owner, ran a parlor on Ord Mantell. After the Empire's rise, Scaleback hired a group of rogue Clone commandos, the Bad Batch, as mercenaries in exchange for shelter and funds. Their missions included rescuing Muchi, a rancor, recovering the head of a tactical droid, and rescuing Avi Singh, a former Separatist senator. Scaleback also formed a close bond with Omega, a female adolescent clone, helping her develop her potential as a tactician and dejarik player. Scaleback and the Bad Batch established a mutually beneficial relationship, with the latter helping her reclaim her parlor from Roland Durand, a Devaronian crime lord.
In 1 BBY, Trandoshans Seevor and Proach served the Mining Guild as captain and foreman on the Ore crawler, Crawler 413-24, until they were killed during the hijacking by the rebel group, the Spectres. In 3 ABY, Bossk encountered his sister Doshanalawook, who he thought was dead. She wanted to start a new era of Wookiee-Trandoshan cooperation. While he promised to stop hunting Wookies, Bossek then accepted a job from the Galactic Empire to find the rebel freighter known as the Millennium Falcon, the crew of which included the Wookiee Chewbacca, whom he was eager to slay. He did not complete the job as he was beaten to it by the now adult Boba Fett.
The Strassi family, a Trandoshan crime family, was part of Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire, with their leader, Dokk Strassi, serving as one of Jabba's captains. Following Jabba's death in 4 ABY, Bib Fortuna, the Hutt's majordomo, took over the criminal empire, leading the Trandoshan family to break off and attempt to take his place, to no avail. Additionally, the family became protectors of the city center and business districts of Mos Espa on Tatooine, having an uneasy alliance with Fortuna.
By 9 ABY, during the era of the New Republic, several Trandoshans served within the Bounty Hunters' Guild after the collapse of the Galactic Empire in 5 ABY. One of these bounty hunters accompanied Greef Karga, the leader of the guild, to meet with Din Djarin, a bounty hunter who had gone rogue after rescuing a child of the same species as Yoda, the Jedi Grand Master. As the group set up camp for the night, a group of native reptavians attacked them. One of the creatures grabbed the Trandoshan with their feet and carried him off into the night.
When Boba Fett, who had retired from bounty hunting, overthrew Bib Fortuna and started his own gotra from the late Jabba's empire, Strassi of the Trandoshan family paid tribute to the new Daimyo and agreed to neutrality when the Pyke Syndicate challenged Fett's territories. In the meantime, some Trandoshan gamblers were attacked by Krrsantan in the Sanctuary cantina in Mos Espa. Despite the proprietor Garsa Fwip's intervention, Krrsantan ripped the one of the Trandoshan's arm off. When the Pykes attacked Mos Espa, the Trandoshan family betrayed Fett and a number of them attacked Krrsantan, who was working for the Daimyo. Krrsantan killed a number of them and escaped, with Fett's assassin Fennec Shand going on to assassinate Strassi. Also in 9 ABY, the Trandoshan Charr was part of the Hunters of the Outer Rim competition.
A Trandoshan named Skreek worked for a gang of pirates under Kragan Gorr, the Warbird gang, in the late New Republic Era. After Gorr allied his gang with the Colossus due to their mutual enemy in the First Order, tensions rose between the pirates and Captain Imanuel Doza. In an effort to wrestle control of the Colossus from Doza, Skreek and his fellow pirates enlisted a battalion of B2-series super battle droids from pirate Sidon Ithano, only for the reprogrammed B1-series battle droid "B1" to take control of the force. Skreek and his fellow pirates were then exiled from the Colossus.
Behind the Curtains
The Trandoshan species debuted in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back with a cameo by the bounty hunter Bossk. The Trandoshans have also been featured in numerous Legends materials, including the Star Wars Marvel Comics, the Young Jedi Knights young adult novel series, and Dark Horse Comics' Knights of the Old Republic comics. The species has also appeared in several Canon works, including the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ryder Windham's young reader novella Ezra's Gamble, and the Marvel comic series Star Wars Darth Vader.
Trandoshans also served as secondary antagonists in the non-Canon LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures episode "Peril on Kashyyyk," which premiered on Disney XD on June 27, 2016. This story depicts the Trandoshans and Wookiees as having an antagonistic relationship, with the former acting as proxies for the Galactic Empire. The Trandoshans capture Tantarra, the son of Chief Attiburra, and hold him hostage in an island fortress. The Freemakers, a scavenging family, rescue him in exchange for a piece of wroshyr wood from the Wookiees.