The Unknown Regions (last WOTC sourcebook now out!)

*bows down in respect and worship* Long live Waru and his Church *prays*

so evil Celestials cut off our beloved Waru from his darkskinned girlfriend? Imagine if the barrier is gone... Waru offspring! Great holy slime everywhere... long live the Blob

 

Okay, paged through again: no map. There are ten what I think are all new planets, with lots of info about their continents and so forth, which are quite interesting to read. But, yeah, no actual map, just various info about the Unknown Regions in general throughout different sections.

Yeah. The Unknown Regions almost feels like a time warp where history has just stayed still, allowing species like the Rakata to survive in forgotten colonies, etc.

There's a campaign setting about this planet called Endelaan which is located inside a Nebula that seems to be alive and want to stop people from ever reaching the planet, with stories of how if anyone ever reaches it the galaxy will end or something. I've only briefly skimmed the story, so I may be getting this wrong, but one rumour was that it may house a lost Jedi enclave who fled Order 66, but then the third act of the campaign talks about a lost colony of Mandalorians attacking your adventurers, so I'm guessing its a Mandalorian colony.

The whole thing feels like a great big adventure park for all kinds of stories, where the rules of the rest of the galaxy go on hold, letting you basically make up whatever the kriff you like. I can see why the Chiss had trouble living there.

Speaking of Chiss, they're all but confirmed (very little in the entire book is categorically stated, most is "analysis suggests", etc) to be a Human colony that got transplanted to Csilla more than 27,000 BBY. Then an ice age c. 5,000 caused the colonists to go underground to survive, and the glacial minerals are believed to be what altered their skin tone, the low-light conditions the cause of their distinctive eyes. The group on Thule are descendants of a Chiss legion that Lord Kaan picked up from the Unknown Regions when he sent scouts there around 1,000 BBY. After the death of Thrawn's clone, its said the Empire of the Hand largely merges into the Ascendancy, and that Chiss dominion over the heart of the Unknown Regions becomes even more absolute.

Yeah, the Rakatan stuff is awesome. I didn't read that right away as I figured it'd just be what we already knew, but Elder Ruthic and her skeletal Star Forge sounds like a great adventure for people to play. The "Rakatan Archipelago" is intriguing too, as the fact nobody has ever been there confirms that a lot of the Unknown Regions is still unexplored despite whatever expanse the Chiss Ascendancy may stretch to.

Fenwolf is listed as a Riding Mount. Its said to be a lupine riding animal, as widely exported as bantha, and that the Rebels used them a lot, but the Empire were unlikely to bother. The Rockhopper is a bipedal genetic cousin of the Cracian thumper, which lack sharp claws but possess strong jaws with sharp teeth. Mostly found on Roon, ridden in the Roon Colonial Games, specimens also found on Biitu in the Outer Rim. Then there's the stats for them both, of course. No pictures of those two, but there's lots of animals in the Animal Companion section so I guess it wasn't practical to do artwork for them all.

Haha. So long as it gets people to buy things, I guess it's g

 

wow... those Waru references are just pure win. i want now, more than ever, a series of books about the empire of the hand, thrawn and all those freaky and wierd beigns he anihilated

EDIT:

woot! NEED. MORE. INFORMATION!

 

Well I admit the Waru connection is me joining the dots the way I think we're meant to. I'm probably totally wrong.

Mnggal-Mnggal itself is said to come from planet Mugg, where it forms a world-ocean that submerges the entire planet. It's said if this was all it was it'd be easy to avoid, but that since it can shapeshift at will and break pieces of itself off as well as infect living beings and turn them into marionettes, it's like a galactic plague I suppose. Some call it the "rot god".

After a week of being possessed, the body will rot, and Mnggal-Mnggal will leak from the eyes, ears, mouth and nose as the body dies. It strings hopefuls along with the answers of ancient mysteries, it relishes people's gullibility, and is inherently malevolent, infecting people, turning them into husks, freaking out mother's with their reanimated corpse of their dead daughters. The Lugubraa and Croke have fought it for decades. Some have drawn connections between Mnggal-Mnggal and the plagues created by Imperial Project Blackwing (Death Troopers).

It speaks in verse, metaphors and riddles, often using ancient languages. Hold up... this sounds like the Flood from Halo.

Hmm, actually, if it is meant to be linked to Waru, I start to wonder if Waru's "anti-Force" may have had anything to do with the plague that robbed the Rakata of their connection? I'm getting entirely into the realm of speculation now though. There is nothing about whether it can be Force-sensitive or not, so the connection to Waru I admit is entirely down to the "wondrous shapeless beings with healing abilities" line. Though the "zombies" have the Force Sensitivity feat -- though admittedly I never have personally taken "Anti-Force" as what it says on the tin, but as more a "Wound in the Force" than some unquantifiable third element that breaks all the usual laws of Star Wars.

EDIT: And now time for the Mask of Darth Nihilus.

The adventure takes place on Volik, the heroes following leads in a crashed ship's manifest of an ancient Sith artifact it had been carrying. A Sith cult led by would-be Sith apprentice Collan Eislo is also after it. There are smugglers led by a Rodian called Sando who doesn't care about the legends but just wants to sell it to collectors. The heroes must battle the Sith cult atop Mount Vorena and stop the Smugglers in the cove where the freighter carrying the mask crashed and sank. Volik is a haven for smugglers and there was a big smuggler band active when Nihilus was alive called the Wavelength Gale, who I take it are the ones whose freighter was sunk. When you finish the adventure, you get the mask and choose to do with it as you please.

The mask is said to encourage the wearer to slowly destroy himself for greater power. It instantly makes you Force-sensitive and forces you to take a bunch of new dark side Force feats. You'll gain a dark side point every time you now use the Force, and persistent use will clock up permanent penalties on the character's condition track. This is only avoidable when you take the mask off.

So... nothing all that exciting, really. Confirms Nihilus's spirit isn't piggybacking in his mask forever.

 

can't wait to get my hands on this gem...

but, please tell me more of the book, as much as possible


and a very interesting question: How many Chiss died to present the Skysolos with a relatively safe passage across half the UR to find Zonama Sekot? It seemed to me many... they were so secretive and tried to not let them stray from a certain cleared route... in addition to the Skysolos flying through the UR as if it is a holliday trip without much trouble. Hmm... thinking about it, HOW MUCH does Jagged Fel know of all this in the UR and what threats killed his siblings... Zombie Fel encounters of the fifth kind?

Impatience kills me

 

Freaky. Very freaky.

mmmm... very intriguing... since the containers that had the virus ruptured when the SD Vector was near the Unknown Regions, could it have been some kind of hive mind calling it "home"? This also sounds like something the EOTH found out there and sent to the Empire for further development.

this is why i love your posts. you make the most magnificently outrageous theories and, despite that, they totally make sense.

EDIT: concerning the Mask of Nihilus, i think we can assume that all those feats and dark side corruption comes from the mask being the possession of a very powerful sith lord. but it still is possible that Nihilus was in the mask and was destroyed be the Exile, with that special connection they shared and all. the real question now is: how in the blazes did the Exile "lost" something so corrupt and evil? sold it in auction?

 

If and when I get time later, I'll take a read through the other adventure campaign settings. The Mask of Nihilus jumped out at me for obvious reasons, but the images from the others look creepy so they may in fact be more interesting.

Anywho, for all Elder Ruthic may be building a new Star Forge somewhere in the Rakatan Archipelago, the line in the Sorcerers of Rhand section about how "The Sorcerers are rumoured to possess Rakatan forges" makes me wonder exactly what madness lurks in the Nihil Retreat. Do they possess multiple Star Forges? That's insane!

Few random nuggets from scanning some bits over lunch:

The Rakata and Ebruchi flee if they encounter forces from the Vagaari Empire. The Vagaari are so up themselves that they believe the gods created them so that even the deities would have superior beings to worship. They come from Vagar Praxut in Kharmort's Miasma. The Vagaari Miskara contacts a representative of the Far-Outsiders after 22 ABY who agrees to help them, in exchange they adopt Vong bio-tech. They benefit after the invasion is over, seizing territories left dead in the Vong's wake.

Not remembering Truce at Bakura very well, I don't know if the reason for the Ssi-ruuk wanting to entech a Force-sensitive of Luke's strength was previously explained as being because they subsequently planned to use him to entech thousands remotely at a distance? Since then, there are rumours of entire colonies in the Unknown Regions falling lifeless in an instance, suggesting the Ssi-ruuk may have finally found a replacement Force-sensitive of Luke's power to fill the same role. Nothing about Silentium connections to entechment though unfortunately.

 

About the Ssi-Ruuk, you're right in that they wanted Luke so they could entech people from over a distance. As for the rumors, I wonder about them because based on what happened in the Force Heretic trilogy of the NJO, the Ssi-Ruuvi society was on the verge of civil war, collapse, or facing rebellion from the P'w'ecks, which the Yuuzhan Vong took advantage of. I'm left wondering if the Vong did to them what they did to the Yevethans.

One more thing. No map? Poodoo! That seems ridiculous because they mention a number of planets and other locales - particularly with the Sorcerers of Rhand. It would have helped if we had a map so we would have a general idea as to where they are.

 

There's always a Bigger Fish...

I wonder, could Mnggal-Mnggal be the source of inspiration for the Sorcerers of Rhand for "the Dark"?

Could we even tie Abeloth into being a segment of Mnggal-Mnggal that was separated from the main chunk of it? If the Celestials created the hyperspace barriers to cut off Mnggal-Mnggal from the rest of the galaxy, perhaps the Maw was created by the Celestials to isolate that one piece of Mnggal-Mnggal which was still left in the rest of the galaxy?

I could definitely see Mnggal-Mnggal being tied into the Rakatan Plague as well as Waru. Perhaps a connection to the nanotechnological "Fizz" that attacked the Killik Colony as well?

 

I want a species of microscopice sentient lifeforms that evolved out of midichlorians... they separated themselves from their brother midichlorians and turned evil... anti-midichlorians... creating Anti-Force

 

The similarity with Abeloth struck me, too.

All I know for sure: the galaxy is a much more dangerous place than the GFFA-centred stories all make it seem.

I like the idea of it being related to the Dark as well... there's certainly a running theme of races out for nothing but rampant carnage. Forget "for the greater good" benevolent Sith Lords and all that poodoo, these Terrors are beyond conventional wisdom.

Now the sourcebook is out, what I'm hoping for is another online Atlas update. Wallace and Fry are the masters of this stuff, so if they've left it in their hands that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing -- provided we got another online map like the Outer Rim one!

Regarding the Ssi-ruuk and the Yuuzhan Vong, they mention all the stuff about how the undercover Vong agent organises the P'w'eck uprising, the surprise second invasion of Bakura the Vong helped orchestrate, it failing, and how the citizens of Lwhekk are now a military dictatorship following the genuine P'w'eck revolt (I can't remember how much of this was in the NJO book itself).

As for their replacement for Luke, the main lines are "Rumours that leak out from the Unknown Regions tell of entire colonies falling lifeless in an instant -- possible evidence that the Ssi-ruuk have found their subject" and "Reports of mysterious exterminations in the Unknown Regions can provide the hook [for adventures]".

 

I love all this, though I have a bad feeling about a late trend:

they tend to revive extinct cultures and threats as well as retcon "threats that only work in certain eras" so that they work in any era. this disturbs me a little bit. I mean it is cool and awesome but like with the technological stagnation of the GFFA and the neverending Jedi vs. Sith conflict it seems to turn into a "you can't defeat anyone permanently" kind of way.

I love lost Rakata colonies and all that stuff. Or Ssi Ruuvi (I hope they remembered the correct plural from the original book in this SB?) surviving the Chiss genocide upon them that Thrawn had done with the EotH. Next the Yevetha might return as well. Massassi, Rakata, Celestials, Kwa, Kwi, Killiks, Sharu... all were supposed to be gone and returned in one way or another (and worst of all, most of them during Luke's lifetime ).

It is great to have lots colonies, single survivors and such stuff. But I'd also like to confine some things to certain era's to give it closure.

some examples:

Darth Bane Path of Destruction had the Lehon Rakata extinct.
The original Essential Chron had the Ssi Ruuvi wiped out by the EotH shortly before the NR could investigate.
The Killiks were gone from Alderaan.
Massassi were wiped out on Yavin IV.
etc. long list.

Sure some might survive, even many or lost worlds full of them. And those might return to prominent roles. But do they have to do this with EVERY cool threat? While as a fan of them I'd say yes, I also think, storytelling wise it'd be better to confine some threats to certain era's and not make it look as anything goes anytime.

though... I am a fanboy too much to really not like what they are doing.

 

Hey, I'm okay with an on-line update for the Essential Atlas. Here's another reason why I wanted a map. In VOTF, we learn that the amount of territory Thrawn explored was the equivalent of 250 sectors - thirty times the size of the Imperial Remnant at the time. Back when this first came out, I was thinking of sectors as being the same size as sectors in Star Trek. Then Essential Atlas came out, and based on the map for the Outer Rim Territories, in Star Wars, sectors don't occupy a standardized region of space like they do in Star Wars. I'm probably over-reaching and exaggerating things, but considering how large some of the sectors are in the Outer Rim Territories, I'm left wondering how much of the Unknown Regions is truly Unknown, and how much has been explored by Thrawn and his forces. I wouldn't be surprised if a map detailing the extent of Thrawn's exploration would cover at least two-thirds of the Unknown Regions. The region might be unknown to the GFFA at large, but not so for the Empire of the Hand and the Chiss.

And BTW, I finally found the book on the shelves at the Borders nearest to me.

 

And now to turn to another entry: Ebruchi.

First things first: I looove the green Cthulhu mind-flayer looking picture of them. They look freaky. They're essentially evil space pirates ruled entirely by greed who have no mercy. They love to swallow the wet flesh of freshly killed prisoners. They mostly plague the Wild Space between Republic-settled space and the Chiss Ascendancy in the galactic northern quadrant. They're terrifying to ordinary people, and a perpetual annoyance to militarily superior forces like the Chiss Ascendancy and the Vagaari Empire. They apparently became like this after the Vagaari devastated their homeworld and hunted the Ebruchi to near extinction.

I'll skip the Killiks as there's nothing much in their history that I think is new. There's more info about Killik society in general, but it mostly just explains what nests focus on what. Only thing to strike me is I don't know if the Atlas explicitly stated the Vultar system was the work of the Celestials or not -- from memory, I think the Atlas only suggested it was rumoured, and didn't openly come out and say it was a product of Celestial-Killik construction the same as Centerpoint? In any case, the Celestial involvement in Vultar is known by the Killiks.

Bringing me to the Lugubraa. They look a bit like sharks with arms and legs, as they just have a huge maw for their face, no eyes, ears, nose, detect thermal signatures instead through heat sensors (so a bit like sonar). They're not very intelligent, are mostly used as labourers and hired muscle by other races. Most die after a few decades, but the handful that live to 50 experience a cognitive kick-start that makes them into geniuses who become the leaders of Lugubraa hordes. They multiply fast, consuming everything in their path to sate their hunger, until they strip a continent bare and the horde starves. Elders sometimes serve as mercenaries for other factions.

The Lugubraa come from a vast ice asteroid corridor that the Wharls call the Stratos Distribution where there are lots of membranous stillsails more than 100,000 kilometers across, with forests of crystalline fronds. The Croke call them "Leech Legions" after they introduced them to their home planet in the Croke Reach 300 years ago and are now stuck with a Lugubraa infestation. The Croke had Kamino breed them some altered Lugubraa to kill off the others, but those then turned against the Croke as well so the Croke as still stuck with both hordes.

Well, I think what they're doing is mostly just accepting genocide on a galactic scale has always been somewhat impractical. When a race spans hundreds of star systems, wiping the entire race out is going to be very hard, so it's amazing really that the Rakata could ever be hunted to total extinction when they spanned the entire galaxy -- that'd be like Wyyrlok trying to wipe out all Humans.

What we've now got is an explanation that they all fled to this "Lost World" kind of place as the whole Unknown Regions has this strong fantasy feel to it, with it being the backwater of the galaxy, where we've voyaged into the Old Kingdom... where Jaden would say there be dragons.

The Infinite Empire is gone and defeated, Elder Ruthic is just the only the only Force-sensitive Rakata still alive, who is seeking to resurrect her empire -- but obviously is going to fail, with the Rakata remaining forgotten. For the Republic's purposes they are forgotten: "...by 1000 BBY, the Rakata are believed extinct. No Republic surveyors have ever located the Rakatan Archipelago."

I think the key is that we have

 

The UR have various locations that seem in contact (however sporadic) with the greater galactic community. There's entire port worlds that deal with ships coming and going to the Wild Space and the UR (which might explain the presence of Chiss guns in KOTOR).

The Chiss themselves apparantly have an ambassador to the Republic in the CW novel Breakout Squad and there's several Chiss living on known worlds (Spiker, for instance). Lehon was the site of the KOTOR end battle and later kept under Republic supervision.

Probe droids were even sent to explore the closest satellite galaxies, so I imagine the same was done inside the main one as well. There's also tantilizing clues to a possible Mining Guild presence. AOTC:ICS, page 6 writes: "...on one of the billions of anonymous, young, high-metallicity planets dominated by the resource-hungry Mining Guild in the galaxy's spiral arms." If that mean all the arms of the galaxy, I can readily see a steady build-up of automated mining colonies that make their way through the outskirts or even central areas of the UR, left to their own supervision and hardly visited by galactic officials.

 

So basically the pre-Celestials galaxy was some kind of inhospitable horrific screwed up nightmare until the Celestials came along and shoved all the nastiness into the unknown regions, turning that area of space into concentrated insanity.

Hmm... Maybe the Celestials created the Stygian caldera as well in order to trap the sith. Which might mean the sith were a threat even then.

 

nice idea and it ties into the 100000 year old Sith Empire theories hinted at through several ancient sources.

though.. WHAT IF... the Celestials didn't cut the Insanity off from the good galaxy but it vas vice versa and the Celestials wanted to SAVE these nightmares and thus isolated them in order to have them survive in a rather evil galaxy of humans and humanoids that already wiped out other nightmares still in their vincinity. think about it. Humans and their humanoid friends dominate everything and win over every threat with Solo luck, skywalker blood and a bit of help from the Force. how could these nightmares stand a chance even if they are scary at first sight. the Celestials saved them and made them survive, even intermix and team up until strong enough to return to their galactic scene

 

You know, at this point, I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor Croke. They find no luck in anything they do.

 

Should this thread be stickied, and edit the title to something more official-sounding?

Anything about the "True Sith" in the Unknown Regions?

And what time period is this Force-sensitive Rakatan warlord supposed to exist in?

 

Cool, though disappointing there's not a pic of at least the Fenwolf. I don't suppose it mentions whether fenwolves are bipedal or quadrapedal?

It just had them devastated and no longer a significant military threat, not wiped out. There was no evidence the Chiss exterminated them.

 

I remember it saying that they coud find no trace of any life on the Ssi Ruuvi worlds as if an unknown force had dealt with them. though I might be mistaken

 

[image=http://www.ludicer.it/streaming-cartoni-animati/street-sharks/street_sharks.jpg] ?

"If you keep mapping the Unknown Regions you'll have to start calling them something else."

TC

 

I believe that was virtually the same text as the NEC has as well.

I love the weird, bizarre and non-humanoid bits of the Unknown Regions - pretty much what I had hoped for. I can't wait to pick this up on Tuesday...

 

Which has to make you wonder why they bothered doing an RPG book, especially the last one, on it.