Backstory - Tarro Bloodwren

These are clear memories, but generally happy ones, like pleasant dreams, even the 3rd which is said by a woman who sounds relieved, right before she kisses Tarro

navyik wrote:

Chris wrote:

How about some random snapshot memories of his days prior to the training?  Just bits and pieces that flash back when something similar triggers them?

If so, give me 3 snapshot memories as a place to start and I can add to them as the story progresses.

Sitting under the dining table in a suburban flat playing with a small dog. His brother is watching cartoons.  Thair smells like Spring with a hint of...

Not quite asleep in the back of an old car, the hum of the engine lulling him...

"I don't know what you've become, but you're not the man I thought you were!"

navyik wrote:
Rumor has it that Tarro calmed a bit after a nasty encounter with some ghosts on a haunted desert planet.  It has honed him; made him better if anything.

Tarro also has a trio of nightmares.....

Tarro cannot move and sees an image of himself on a nearby med screen



He can hear the machines drilling into his skull, lasers burning his flesh......

a nurse is overheard, "There was a terrible accident"

Tarro remembers feeling out of breath, cornered, harried.... the walls are caving in on him......

Explosions!  People screaming in terror....   




Fire raining down from the skies....  

navyik wrote:Maybe the Republic trained him and then a deep cover 3rd party or fringe counter-intel op got involved at some point. His training took a turn toward the deeply cynical and the conditioning is unknown to him.

Tarro's first clear memories of his new life.......

Tarro Bloodwren has been sponsored by Zhu Jinn the Hutt in the Great Hunt of the Mandalorians!




Tarro is placed in a group with another Bounty Hunter.  The 2 hunters are challenged with tracking down a single bounty.  1 hunter is eliminated each round.

The first round bounty contract is:

Gault, an infamous Devoronian ship thief - last known location on Tatooine




Tarro is facing off against a Gand hunter





again, this is not a detailed, minute by minute style of play....

How does Tarro wish to proceed?

Set course for tatooine.

Develop full profiles on both the bounty and the opponent.  Forensics or Local depending on how you want to look at it? (Same#s for either):
26 bounty
28 gand hunter

Identify the most accessible contacts and haunts for Gault. Anticipate security and protection methods if any. Scout for unaccounted variables upon arrival.

Identify methods of the Gand.  What is Tarrots professional opinion of them. Locate the Gand first if he is easier to find. Assess whether he is onto anything.

Not landing IN mos eisley.

nice rolls - are those at your current level?

Gault - runs a gang of thugs and thieves, called "The Exchange", primarily based off Tatooine in the port cities of Mos Ila and Mosa Epsa.  From the word on the street, they basically kill people and steal their ships.  They are heavily armed and a strong local presence, but don't seem to have any off world connections beyond their primary clients: the Hutt Cartel.

Tarro figures Gault crossed one of the Hutt bosses and earned himself a target in the Great Hunt.


Gand - Lore Item!

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t265-lore-and-history-discovered#14470

The other bounty hunter is a Findsman named Tyffx.


I forgot to mention that Tarro has a small crew that works with him.  He trusts them and has some memories of recent jobs with them.  Tarro doesn't think about his past much (at this point).

Mako - slicer, computer expert, information



Skadge - tech specialist, repairman, can pilot



Tarro is cruising around in an older ship - choose a name

We will land in one of the ports afterall. Mako and Tarro will hide inside the ship while Skedge noises about in the gangs best hangout that he's in need of a small crew. He'll be looking for a couple of the gangers to take the bait. If they do, they'll likely be waiting for the ship to leave town to make their move. We'll beat 'em to the punch with stun settings and pump them for information. Later, we'll drop them in the desert with simple weapons and enough water to make the 3 day hike back to town.

navyik wrote:We will land in one of the ports afterall.  Mako and Tarro will hide inside the ship while Skedge noises about in the gangs best hangout that he's in need of a small crew.  He'll be looking for a couple of the gangers to take the bait.  If they do, they'll likely be waiting for the ship to leave town to make their move.  We'll beat 'em to the punch with stun settings and pump them for information.  Later, we'll drop them in the desert with simple weapons and enough water to make the 3 day hike back to town.

Great use of your companion!  

Skadge does his job well, he fits the part of an easy mark.  Mako isn't much of a fighter and doesn't like the idea of shooting anyone, but agrees since it is just stun.

Tarro and crew manage to subdue a couple members of the Exchange.   They act tough and won't talk.... until they are brought out to the Dune Sea.  Mako offers them water as payment for information.  They quickly spill the beans about where they usually see Gault - The Chop Shop.  



The Exchange runs a massive ship garage out of Mos Eisley.  They don't steal ships from there, but they do all the chopping there and all the selling, since it is the biggest and busiest port on Tatooine.   They tell Tarro which docking bays Gault uses to sell the "refurbished" ships.

No sign of the Gand Findsman

"If I'm not finding the Gand, then he is probably 'finding' me." Tarro will have Mako find a couple local bounties that can be handled quickly. Business as usual will ease Gault's concerns (if he hears there's a Manalorian in town). Maybe the Gand will turn up while Tarro is hunting the wrong target. Mako will set up surveillance to see whether he comes sniffin round the ship.

Time is short if those gangers survive the desert. Off to Mos Eisley. Maybe look to see whether he can trade the ship in for something a little faster? If Tarrot was hunting Gauld he wouldn't just walk in the front door, would he?

Gault likes to sit in a bunker surrounded by soldiers. We'll have to treat this more like a grift than a hit. Mako has to pee, where's the office? We'd like to browse a few models (and case the place). Is the operation so big we'd never see Gault? How many exits are there and where are the most descreet ones?

Also, what seems heavily guarded in the area?

navyik wrote:"If I'm not finding the Gand, then he is probably 'finding' me."  Tarro will have Mako find a couple local bounties that can be handled quickly.  Business as usual will ease Gault's concerns (if he hears there's a Manalorian in town). Maybe the Gand will turn up while Tarro is hunting the wrong target.  Mako will set up surveillance to see whether he comes sniffin round the ship.

Time is short if those gangers survive the desert.  Off to Mos Eisley.  Maybe look to see whether he can trade the ship in for something a little faster?  If Tarrot was hunting Gauld he wouldn't just walk in the front door, would he?  

Gault likes to sit in a bunker surrounded by soldiers.  We'll have to treat this more like a grift than a hit.  Mako has to pee, where's the office?  We'd like to browse a few models (and case the place).  Is the operation so big we'd never see Gault?  How many exits are there and where are the most descreet ones?

whoa, a little tough to follow there, let me see if I got it.....

while still in Mos Epsa -

Mako picks up a couple minor contracts from local gangster, Ortho the Hutt

Tarro actually works those contracts and hunts people in Mos Epsa - (this would take at least 1-2 days, depending on tracking roll)

Mako sets up surveillance around the ship in Mos Epsa, while Tarro works to watch for Gand Findsman



Then go to Mos Eisley -

Pretend to be a ship buyer\exchange customer for the Exchange - would need to spend some time to meet actual Exchange and "buy" their trust - 1/2 day  

Mako pretends to pee and Tarro pretends to browse to scope out the Exchange area

Looking for Gault

looking for heavily guarded areas

is that what you want to do and the time you want to spend doing it?

No more than a half day in Mos Espa. Maybe Tarro just inquires about local bounties, but doesn't take one.

Mako actually pees... Mabye the shipyard has some "collections" that require a professional.

Surveillance with the ship in both places

navyik wrote:
 Mako actually pees...  Mabye the shipyard has some "collections" that require a professional.

Mako washes her hands too, unlike Tarro


The Exchange is initially hesitant, but after persuasion and hearing about Tarro picking up contracts from Ortho offer Tarro a job. There is a ship that had been prepped (the crew killed) but before they could pick it up, a gang of Nikto working for Gordo the Hutt snatched it and took it to the far side of Tatooine. They have a tracker-chip on it, but not the spare manpower to go get it. The Exchange would give Tarro a good deal on a trade-in.

A gang of nikto should be easy to subdue, but time is ticking. Tarro will have Mako monitor the tracker while they fly out there. Is it moving or long-parked? Maybe Tarro can just jetpack over and steal it. If they're living on board he'll need another plan.

navyik wrote:A gang of nikto should be easy to subdue, but time is ticking. Tarro will have Mako monitor the tracker while they fly out there. Is it moving or long-parked?  Maybe Tarro can just jetpack over and steal it.  If they're living on board he'll need another plan.

Tarro, Mako and Skadge take his ship across the Dune Sea. They are flying low over the surface of Tatooine. The twin suns are beating down mercilessly.

Mako: "There is some kind of structure up ahead, it almost looks like a fort. That is where the signal originates. Bringing up a visual"

"Mako, I need more info on Gordo and his relationship to Gault."

navyik wrote:"Mako, I need more info on Gordo and his relationship to Gault."

Mako: Looks like a minor turf war going on between the Exchange and Gordo's people. It is usually a really bad idea to cross the Hutt Cartel.

Who sponsors my opponent and what is Gordo's relationship with my sponsor?

navyik wrote:Who sponsors my opponent and what is Gordo's relationship with my sponsor?

irrelevant and no relation - more detail than is needed for Backstory

Mako will hail the fort from a respectful distance: "Tarro Bloodwren of Mandalor respectfully requests an audience with the Mighty Gordo The Hutt about a mutually benneficial opportunity."

navyik wrote:Mako will hail the fort from a respectful distance:  "Tarro Bloodwren of Mandalor respectfully requests an audience with the Mighty Gordo The Hutt about a mutually benneficial opportunity."

There is an uncomfortably long pause over the comm channel.  Finally a nervous sounding voice replies in Huttese, " Gordo the Hutt would be honored by your visit, Mandalorian."

Assuming you land.....   Gordo the Hutt is waiting under a canopy in the main hangar area.  He is surrounded by several female twileks and slave-girls.  There are a dozen heavily armed and armored Nikto warriors ceremoniously lined up to his sides.  They say you can tell a lot about the status of a Hutt by his servants.



Tarro would guess Gordo is pretty low on the food chain.


being a Mandalorian isn't a race, it is being part of the mercenary Mandalorian Clans comprised of many races.  Tarro (the real one) was part of the Bloodwren clan, but it would make sense for Tarro (you) not to know the details of it


Ok, again, let's speed up the scenes, no real rolls necessary unless I call for them or you think they are needed proactively.

Check out Bronson's thread with Bos Lobo - he has figured out the pace very well. Post how your character would handle the whole scene. I can always go back and change the results or edit if something works out differently.

Tarro will be rspectful and honest with Gordo.  He is here to kill Gault.  If he returns the disputed ship, Tarro hopes to get closer to Gault.  This will serve a mutual interest for them.  Tarro's sponsor may also be pleased to hear of Gordo's tactfully subtle aid in this matter.

navyik wrote:Tarro will be rspectful and honest with Gordo.  He is here to kill Gault.  If he returns the disputed ship, Tarro hopes to get closer to Gault.  This will serve a mutual interest for them.  Tarro's sponsor may also be pleased to hear of Gordo's tactfully subtle aid in this matter.

Gordo the Hutt listens attentively. He slowly chews on some chicken-sized lizard as he considers the Mandalorian's offer..... Gordo agrees to hand over the ship, which has a certain value to him, in exchange for a future bounty contract from Tarro, after he is famous of course. It would help Gordo's standing among the Hutts for him to have Tarro's services, even if just for 1 time.

just to keep the pace going....


Tarro can agree or he figures he could just kill them all easily and take the ship

Never cross a Hutt unless you're going to kill him. Never kill a Hutt unless someone is paying you to do it.

Owing a contract is a bit like writing a blank check, but if Gordo becomes powerful enough to enforce an audacious task, and Tarro is worthy to complete it, then Gordo will be deserving. "We have a deal."

navyik wrote:Never cross a Hutt unless you're going to kill him.  Never kill a Hutt unless someone is paying you to do it.

Owing a contract is a bit like writing a blank check, but if Gordo becomes powerful enough to enforce an audacious task, and Tarro is worthy to complete it, then Gordo will be deserving.  "We have a deal."

Gordo is pleased and eats many frogs in celebration.

Skadge pilots the other ship back to the Exchange.  Tarro is introduced to Gault.

However, Gault proves to be as slippery as a Minock.  He eludes Tarro in his the spaceport.  Tarro chases Gault all through Mos Eisley.  Gault eventually takes off across the Dune Sea on a speeder.  Tarro is able to chase him on another speeder, but the Exchange have held Mako and Skadge prisoner.



Tarro finally catches up to Gault in a cave at the entrance to Beggar's Canyon.  There appears to be a power generator and some medical equipment.  



Gault pants, out of breath and throws up his arms in surrender, "Wait, bounty hunter, wait..... I have a deal for you.... it's a win-win, I promise!"

"I'll have to think about it," Tarro says, pulling the trigger to stun Gault. "Now I've got to get my crew back. Surely someone at The Exchange would love to take over..."

navyik wrote:"I'll have to think about it," Tarro says, pulling the trigger to stun Gault.  "Now I've got to get my crew back.  Surely someone at The Exchange would love to take over..."

Gault drops limp.  Tarro returns to Mos Eisley only to find a pile of corpses!

The Exchange crew at the chop shop are all dead.  Tarro gets a sinking feeling in his gut.  He finds Mako and Skadge held at gunpoint by the Gand Findsman.



It "clicks" something in an alien language, but the message is clear: trade Gault for Mako and Skadge.

Tarro came prepared to trade for them anyway.  Just not to his opponent.  He would have to appear to resist a little to deter the findsman's suspicions. "What makes you think I give a damn about them?"  Ultimately he would trade, of course, handing over a bound and gagged Gault and securing his crew. Then he would detonate the small explosive device hidden on Gault's person.

navyik wrote:Tarro came prepared to trade for them anyway.  Just not to his opponent.  He would have to appear to resist a little to deter the findsman's suspicions. "What makes you think I give a damn about them?"  Ultimately he would trade, of course, handing over a bound and gagged Gault and securing his crew. Then he would detonate the small explosive device hidden on Gault's person.

Brilliant!

Tarro returns to Nar Shadda victorious in the first round of the Great Hunt!

There is considerable down-time in between each round, due to the varying length of time it takes all the hunters to complete the round. Tarro notices that the Hutts have been following all the hunters with surveillance droids, both locally and in orbit. Each match is broadcast on the holonet and viewed galaxy-wide. 10s of billions watch the Great Hunt - it is a cross between Survivor and Dog the Bounty Hunter in popularity. There is a delay of about 1-2 weeks from the actual events to the broadcast date. This allows for editing and sequencing to build suspense across all the matches.

Mako suggests they may be able to use this to your advantage, if they can tap into the Hutt surveillance feeds. Mako adds that everyone probably has the same idea, with a wink.

The next round features targets that are all Jedi.

Does Tarro share Rakhu's inhibitions about hunting Jedi? (He has no predisposition against it based on his "conditioning")

I don't think he has a "side" when it comes to that, (not to which he is aware anyway). He entered the hunt committed. That doesn't mean he can't opt for the alternate solution of elimimating competition if he deems that more honorable.

Gault was a lowlife; Tarro might contemplate the next round more judiciously. In the meantime he will consider the input of his crew. "They're probably still watching us. Lets use it to our advantage a different way." He will be leaving false trails fot the holonet cameras next time.

navyik wrote:I don't think he has a "side" when it comes to that, (not to which he is aware anyway).  He entered the hunt committed.  That doesn't mean he can't opt for the alternate solution of elimimating competition if he deems that more honorable.  

Gault was a lowlife; Tarro might contemplate the next round more judiciously.  In the meantime he will consider the input of his crew.  "They're probably still watching us.  Lets use it to our advantage a different way."  He will be leaving false trails fot the holonet cameras next time.

Fair enough, lets see how it plays out....

In round 2, Tarro is matched up against a crowd favorite - C3PX!  



C3PX is an assassin droid CPU built into the augmented chasis of a protocol droid.  

Your target is Nomar Organa, a Jedi Knight and member of one of the most powerful noble families on Alderaan.



How does Tarro want to play this round at the start?

During the break the crew has been pretending to squabble.  The ship appears to have broken down, (but I assure you it is fully operational).

Again he starts by developing full profiles.  There's no telling where a Jedi might be, but his opponnent will likely apply statistical probability... or just try to kill me.

Try to think like a droid. Tarro has Mako develop a probability scale to predict the most likely location to find the Jedi.  She also attempts some predictive analysis of Tarro's known past strategies; just to guess at what the droid is expecting of Tarro.  

A Jedi won't be an easy target, Tarro can afford to be patient.  During prep to leave, Tarro's crew is overheard arguing about where they should look for the Jedi.  Nobody mentions where they will actually go.  They always discuss rushing after the target, but the real plan is to let the droid play bird dog and flush the Jedi out. It is a coin toss then: Tarro will simply choose the most opportne target.

Mako will continue to spread misinformation about Tarro's wherabouts.

Mako runs some reverse-analytics on Tarro. Typical pattern shows that Tarro usually hides his ship outside of known spaceports and then infiltrates himself, using his crew for surveillance and\or minor deception.

Probability for Nomar

52% in House Organa on Alderaan
31% Tython, Jedi Temple
7% Coruscant
5% in transit
5% unknown

margin of error +\- 3%

Mako and Skadge play their parts well on Nar Shadda, Mako even slaps Skadge, though he complains about it endlessly in private

Where to?

Verify our countersurveillance. Assuming the cameras don't come onto our ships with us, Tarro fires his crew and then smuggles his not-actually-fired crew back on board in supply crates; just for the cameras.

Set course for Alderaan.

Mako sets up a continuous pattern identification search on available and slicable Alderanian media, and surveillance, looking for signs of both targets. (Secondary searches on other locations in the probability scale).

Alderaan is too ordered for landing out of town, and we can't exactly just go shooting about the place. "We're going to get one shot at this, lets really build a case." We fall in to a descreet orbit.

As the primary target shows up here and there, we begin to case his schedule and habits. Our opponent is doing the same thing. Mako and Tarro begin profiling how they think CP3X will make his move. We'll be there at the same time to choose the better shot.

Correct - no camera droids on your ship. Tarro and crew should earn an oscar for their performance. Mako gets huffy and Skadge smashes up minor junk in the hangar in a fit after being fired.

Tarro makes orbit around Alderaan, but it doesn't stay discreet for long (no cloaking device on this ship). Tarro will be forced to land in a spaceport now or leave the system.

Mako was able to slice into Alderaanian social media and news feeds. She sees a literal swarm of C3PO droids in all the major space ports and around the Organa family estates. C3PX must be using infiltration decoys.... but which one is the real killer?

So far, no signs of Nomar....

Has house Organna been in the news for anything? Any upcomming public events? Check police blotters; any sudden rise in attacks on Jedi?

navyik wrote:Has house Organna been in the news for anything?  Any upcomming public events? Check police blotters; any sudden rise in attacks on Jedi?

House Organna is always in the news. There is a "mostly" political Civil War happening on Alderaan between the noble houses. Organna strongly supports the Republic, but its rival House Thuul supports the Empire. There are many minor houses aligned on both sides. House Rist is the other major house, known for its spies and assassins. It has yet to align with either Thuul or Organna.

Mako is truly worth her weight in gold! She finds a single reference, a cancelled wedding banquet reservation at the Sky Lounge from 25 years ago.... between Nomar Organna and Lana Rist.

"Find everything you can on Lana Rist. Maybe we stake her out and see if Nomar reaches out to curry support from her house. If CP3X comes snooping around we can tail it."

navyik wrote:"Find everything you can on Lana Rist.  Maybe we stake her out and see if Nomar reaches out to curry support from her house.  If CP3X comes snooping around we can tail it."

Mako replies, "I did say Rist was a house of spies and assassins, right? Lana doesn't exist beyond being listed as a noble cousin, all other data is erased or altered. House Rist jams all surveillance with a combination of satellites and ground based interference. You're going to have to try and infiltrate a house of killers.... and I don't recommend that, boss."

Mako continues to monitor the CP3O invasion, "The droid doesn't seem to have found Nomar yet either....."

Tarro figures the Jedi council would surely be manipulating this political climate; Nomar would surely be assigned to some kind of involvement.  But if Nomar isn't here... "What kinds of influenes could serve their agenda from off world?"

Mako makes a short list of highly influencial offworld Alderaanian nobles that represent swing votes, (or have sway with House Rist).  "Cross reference that with recent flight plans from Tython."

Mako's fingers fly over the keyboards..... "Here's something, no names, no mention of Nomar directly..... but an Alderaanian technical crew departed from Tython for Coruscant just a few days ago. The air processors on the lower levels of Coruscant are failing and air quality is dropping to toxic levels. House Organna is known for their philanthropic work. The Jedi Temple was destroyed years ago, when the Empire re-emerged and sacked Coruscant, which is why the Jedi relocated to Tython."

That would be halfway decent cover for any number of things. "Could be a red herring, but we'll act like we know for sure." The ship "Scorpion" makes a hasty exit. CP3X will connect the dots as to our destination. No need to tell it we want it to follow.

Mako finds weakpoints in the security to lower level machinery and continues pattern recognition searches. "Stay on the ship," Tarro warns the crew. "I won't have anything to trade this time."

Tarro tracks down the technical crew, keeping a modest profile. Just watch and wait. Hutt cameras won't have a good signal down here. Lets see if CP3X can hunt analogue style.

The Scorpion lands in an out-of-the-way section of the Migrant Dockworkers Guild.  Skadge had old connections there.

Coruscant, the gleaming jewel of the Old Republic is a hazy reflection of its former glory.



War has taken its toll on the entire Galaxy, but no planet has been sacked and ravaged as much as Coruscant.  Coruscant first burned and the Jedi Temple was destroyed, when the Sith Empire re-emerged.  Then the Treaty of Coruscant lead to a temporary cold war (period of the last campaign).  Since the Battle of Kintan, nearly a decade ago, Coruscant has changed hands several times, with neither side ever really leaving.  

Damage to the planet's main power generators and air filtration systems have left the planet in a nearly-toxic cloud.  The upper levels still prosper, as always, but the heavy smog settled down and the poorest are affected the most.

Skadge's MDG contacts have seen a bearded Jedi working in the lower levels.  They give Skadge directions.

Tarro descends into the depths of the universe's greatest city......

pause here to get others caught up a bit

join Observer SDX Backstory please

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t272-backstory-observer-sdx#14736