#chu'unthor

[swtechspecs]

Republic Fleet Systems Jedi Praxeum Ship "Chu'unthor"

Source: The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Del Rey, 1996)

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

The Chu’unthor was a Jedi praxeum ship operating during the High Republic. A massive vessel, it served as a mobile academy and training site for the Jedi Order. It operated for a few hundred years before crashing on Dathomir, where it would be sought after by treasure seekers and, eventually, Luke Skywalker.

Source: Jedi Academy Training Manual (Art: Jim Pavelec; 2009)

First Appearance: The Courtship of Princess Leia (1994)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[urktheturtle]

So next on my Dathomiri Clans adventure is the Dreaming River clan. There is not a lot of lore on Dreaming River in the canon... however, after I looked into it, I discovered some facts about them. They seem to generally be anti-imperial and good-aligned, thus I had them be a clan under the "book of law" cultural umbrella. I also learned they live really close to the Chu'unthor, so I came to the conclusion that they lived in a fertile river valley in the southern great desert. I decided to go fully into the medieval aspects of Dathomir. they use ravens as messengers, they build castles, they mainly ride horses (probably dont have many rancors if any at all). I based the women on Charal from the ewok movies, and some of the lighter tattoos that some of the nightsisters have in some lore. For the males, I made medievel-like armor, and I decorated their horns like a crown because I CAN!!! I kind of wish I had drawn a Dathomiri horse for this, because in my personal lore they are unicorns (well kinda, they have a single horn). Truth be told my biggest inspiration for them was The Flittermouses drawing of Maul and Savage Oppress as a medievel EU, and I thought to myself "there is probably at least one clan that looks medievel" Then I remembered Charal was based on medieval stuff, so everything kind of blossomed out from there. If you liked this check out my previous to pieces of work in this series.

[wearepaladin]

Smiles a GM smile about tomorrow's trip to Alderaan.

[zenothian-archives]

Luke fighting Teneniel Djo in the ruins of the Chu'unthor.

[wearepaladin]

Star Wars: Chu’unthor Saga: On the ship, setting, and making your characters.

Alright, we’ve got a nice excess of people interested in signing up. Bit more than I expected, but I can work around that. For now, let’s focus on getting everyone ready with their characters before we set up a schedule.

Firstly, here’s a link to the core rulebook of the game we’ll be using. As I remember it’s fairly simple, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for newcomers. I’m a little rusty myself, so we’ll all learn together.

Now, lets talk about the centerpiece of our story, the Chu’unthor. The Praxeum ship is big. It even rivals Imperial I and Victory class Star Destroyers. 

Theoretically, one of these ships could safely house a generation of prospective Jedi. Not only that, it also houses various scientific and medical research wings. The Primary Medical wing is capable of caring for thousands of patients of multiple species. Manned by members of the Jedi Medical Corps, the wing’s superb treatment of patients could rival the Jedi Temple’s infirmary. Archives containing massive amounts of information on Jedi teachings, as well as the Republic’s amassed knowledge of science, art, history,and literature of a multitude of species.

The ship lacks any weapon systems, as it was not designed for warfare, but it  does have two batteries of tractor beams. The ship is also large enough safely dock with ten frigates, and many more smaller vessels.

The ship’s crew of droids provide maintenance, overseen by a Republic Naval Crew, and a cadre of Jedi specializing in engineering, working hard to keep the centuries old vessel on the cutting edge. The many students brought aboard for training, along with their instructors are the majority of the ships occupants. There are is also a large contingent of civilian scientists specializing in many branches of research. The University of Sanbra even established a “branch campus” aboard the Chu’unthor, specializing in xenobiology and xenosociology.

The canonical Chu’unthor crashed on the planet Dathomir, but this will be a 2nd generation sister ship, so there’s room for alterations in design, if anyone has any ideas.

Characters/Crew 

Now, there’s plenty of character inspiration you can get from above, but here’s some possible ideas for all starting hero classes in the core rulebook that could have a place on the Chu’unthor.

Jedi

It should be easy enough to form almost any Jedi character aboard the Chu’unthor, with a variety of specialties. Guardians, Consulars, Sentinels, Engineers, Healers, Starfighters, etc. A whole generation of Jedi could be safely trained aboard the Chu’unthor. I recommend that your character be one of the older youths whose been trained aboard the ship, with a minimum of ten years aboard instruction, and missions.

Noble

Noble’s are leaders, elected officials, commanders. Perhaps one of the Naval officers aboard the ship, or the more stalwart scientists conducting their research. They could also be diplomatic officials from a wolrd the Chu’unthor encountered on their long journey home to the Republic.

Scoundrel

Hard to imagine Han Solo hanging around a place like this, but the Chu’unthor needs constant ressuply, and can house several vessels. Perhaps a smuggler found an accepting home aboard the ship in return for supplies, or they had nowhere else to go, and the Jedi are good samaritans even at the worst of times.

Scouts

Scouts are explorers with a keen eye. Perhaps while the Chu’unthor journeyed home, they met other explorers in the void? Or, perhaps these explorers were on the crew all along, part of the Naval or scientific teams.

Soldier

The Chu’unthor is not a millitary vessel. But that wouldn’t stop the Republic Navy from housing a few marines on board, even if the Jedi can handle most boarding parties. The soldier could also be bodyguards protecting diplomats ensconced on the Jedi Ship.

That’s everything for now. I look forward to reading everyone’s submitted characters before we move on with scheduling the game.

@wearesamurai

@wearewarpriest

@macthulhu

@soulofahealer

@weareladyknight

@robot-milk

@figmentera

@flying-suitcase

I think that’s everyone.

[wearepaladin]

All this Star Wars discussion reminds me of an idea I had for a Star Wars d20 campaign that I had a long time ago, but the campaign idea never got off the ground.

The summary was this: Just prior to the beginning of the Clone Wars, a Chu’unthor, “Academy” class ship, a vessel designed to be an ambulatory Jedi Praxeum. where students could be trained and rest at a distance from the temple on Coruscant.

(Chu’unthor below, Star Destroyer on top.)

Now, the Chu’unthor goes into deep space, maybe as part of an expedition into the unknown regions, like project Outbound Flight, or they get pulled in by some anomaly. Either way, they have to journey ten years to get back into Republic Space.

Only when they get back, it’s the Empire who’s waiting for them. The protagonists, young Jedi and travelers who grew up on the ship, or hitched a ride, or are diplomats from a distant world, find themselves in hostile territory.From that point on, they have to decide to flee back into uncharted space, fight against the Empire, or go their own separate ways in a galaxy very different than the one they left.

It was intended to feel like a crossover of Star Wars and the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, with the Chu’unthor being a besieged refuge with the enemy in pursuit. If the Jedi had elected to fight, I’d have encouraged them to turn it into an early Rebel flagship, and using it as a refuge for Force Users persecuted by the Empire. That way, alternative ideals and beliefs on the Force could mix into an already interesting melting pot of culture, like the Dathormir witches, the Baran Do, Matukai, and more.

Given the chance, I’d still love to play or host such a game.