What happened to the Rakata?

I'm thinking of having the Rakata make a cameo in one of my fics and I'm curious to see if there's any canon about what happened to them. They showed some interest in joining the Republic and resuming normal relations with the galaxy, but then KotOR ends (unless they're in Sith Lords, which I've yet to play). I wonder if they ever joined the Republic, how they were recieved, etc.

My theory? They tried to join the Republic, but politics kept them out and they dispersed throughout the galaxy, their homeworld becoming an out-of-the-way tourist spot.

 

Well, they're not in KOTOR 2. And the databank and the Completely Unofficial Encyclopedia don't have any info post-KOTOR, except that they're seemingly extinct to the galaxy (given that you don't know they exist until you meet them anyway...).

So basically, anything you want to do with the Rakata post-KOTOR is fair game, since canon hasn't eaten it up yet.

 

It's been a while since I played KOTOR, but I recall hints that their decline was due to a plague created by their angry slave population that genetically targeted them. They mentioned civil war and the Rakata's rapid decline thereafter from mere savageness to outright barbarism. Let me know if that's roughly right, because if not I've forgotten quite a bit.

Anyway, as to your actual question, they are not in the Sith Lords, though there are a few vague references to them - but only through the Star Forge (also vaguely mentioned). I've seen nothing that explicitly states their fate, so I assume you have a green light.

I like your theory. No one would ever believe them about their ancient empire (no one believed the story in KOTOR except Revan's crew, who could see the evidence right in front of them), so they would have little choice but to seek out new lives. The debris raining down from the destroyed Star Forge would probably put a nice dent in their friendly beach community, possibly forcing their exodus.

So basically, I have nothing useful to add

 

I understood that the plague wasn't really created, it was just one of those random galactic events that swept through the entire Rakata population. I think post-plague is sort of a Morlock/Eloi kind of thing: some of the population fled underground, while the others braved the disease on the surface. Those underground turned savage and different tribes warred with one another until there was only one main clan. Those on the surface survived the plague, learned from their greedy ancestors' mistakes, and tried to rediscover the technological advances of their past. The underground Rakata eventually came to the surface and nearly wiped-out their cousins who lived up there until only a small village (or at least a small village on this particular island) survived.

I kind of figured there wasn't any canon about them. That tends to happen with ancient civilizations that get rediscovered: they're made important for the time being, then everyone forgets them. Poor Rakata.

 

Yes, they were kind of a convienent plot addition

Thanks for clearing that up about the plague. I figured my imagination was intentionally messing around with my memory of the game. I'll have to play through it again, it's certainly worth it.

Oh, and feel free to toss me a PM when you write this story/incorporate into a current one. Sounds very interesting, and I love that era.

 

Yeah, ditto that- being of the small knot of KOTOR writers, I'm always interested to see what others have to write about the era.

 

Will do. Once I started putting all my plot bunnies in their respected WordPad cages, I'll let you know about this particular story.