A Human male hailing from the planet Corulag, Vazus Mandrake (legends) was born as the Galactic Republic neared its end. By the time the Clone Wars erupted, he was middle-aged. Mandrake led a mercenary company employed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a separatist faction battling the Republic. He found himself deployed to Felucia in the Outer Rim. During a battle there, Republic troops decimated Mandrake's unit, forcing him to flee into the Felucian wilderness.
After recovering from his wounds, and with the Clone Wars concluded and the Galactic Empire formed, Mandrake integrated himself into a Felucians community. Residing in their secluded village, he encountered Alderaanian Resistance operatives passing through. When an Imperial scout trooper on a speeder bike buzzed the village, Mandrake convinced the agents to pursue the trooper and prevent them from alerting the Empire to the village's location.
Born on Corulag during the decline of the Galactic Republic, Vazus Mandrake was a Human who had reached middle age by the time the Clone Wars began. He commanded a mercenary band hired by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a separatist group opposing the Republic. Later in the conflict, Mandrake and his troops were dispatched to Felucia, a jungle world in the Outer Rim. They also brought kybucks, ungulate species from Kashyyyk used as mounts. During a battle against Republic forces, clone troopers decimated Mandrake's unit. Severely wounded, Mandrake escaped by crawling into the Felucian jungle.
Alone, Mandrake recovered. Some kybucks survived, and he cared for them, naming them after fallen comrades. Elsewhere, Darth Vader executed the Confederacy's leaders, ending the Clone Wars and transforming the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Learning of this, Mandrake chose to live with the Felucians, Felucia's native sentient inhabitants.
Mandrake joined a Felucian community in a remote village deep in the jungle. Accepted by the Felucians, he learned Felucianese, becoming fluent. However, when the Empire established a prison on Felucia, many villagers were imprisoned in the facility, where Captain Vischera conducted experiments. Angered, Mandrake planned sabotage, though he felt he couldn't act alone.
After Admiral Gilder Varth began assisting the Alderaanian Resistance, he was sent to the Felucian prison. Senator Bail Prestor Organa, the Resistance leader, dispatched agents to free Varth. As they approached the village, Felucian scouts, mistaking them for Imperials, attacked. Mandrake, recognizing they weren't Imperials, intervened.
The agents entered the village, and Mandrake spoke with them, curious about their presence. An Imperial scout trooper on a speeder bike then flew past. Mandrake feared the trooper would report the village's location, leading to an Imperial attack. However, he knew that local mushrooms blocked long-range communications, meaning the trooper couldn't report until returning to the prison. Stopping the trooper would protect the village, so Mandrake urged the Resistance agents to use his kybucks to pursue the Imperial. They agreed, riding off after the speeder bike.
Mandrake had a scarred face and stringy gray hair. Generally genial, he harbored bitterness towards the Empire due to his Clone Wars defeat. The Imperial prison on Felucia intensified this dislike, fueling his desire to destroy it. However, he was hesitant to attack alone; living with the Felucians had tempered his aggression, making him less eager to fight than in his mercenary days.
Writer Rodney Thompson created Mandrake for The Traitor's Gambit, the first scenario in the Dawn of Defiance campaign, a Wizards of the Coast supplement for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Players role-play as Alderaanian Resistance agents, influencing Mandrake's actions. If players refuse to enter the Felucian village after fighting the scouts, Mandrake invites them. Inside, he offers to mediate between the players and villagers if they lack a translator droid. If players reveal their opposition to the Empire, Mandrake becomes friendly, treating them like old friends. If they mention the Imperial prison, he provides an explosive device, asking them to detonate it in the communications center, hoping to destroy the entire structure.