“This bounty hunter is my kind of scum. Fearless and inventive.” –Jabba the Hutt, Return of the Jedi

The upcoming Lords of Nal Hutta sourcebook for Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ takes players into the lawless, ruthless depths of Hutt Space. In this region of the galaxy you’ll find exiles, smugglers, and all sorts of scum, including countless bounty hunters and enslaved bodyguards. You may find yourself hunting others for profit, or being relentlessly hunted for an Obligation to the Hutts that you could not fulfill.

The four playable species featured in Lords of Nal Hutta are all native to this violence and chaos. A playable Hutt was discussed in our first preview. In today’s preview, contributing writer Gregory Koteles introduces the other three: the stoic Niktos, bloodthirsty Ganks, and cunning Sakiyans. You’ll also get to peek at some of the cybernetic implants that may enable your character to not just survive, but even thrive in Hutt Space.

Gregory Koteles on the New Species of Lords of Nal Hutta

Alongside the Gamorreans and Weequay, the Niktos are probably one of the most recognizable races working for the Hutts. Due to rapid mutation caused by radiation on their homeworld, there are five distinct Nikto subspecies. From a design perspective, this gave us a lot to play with. While the Niktos all share a basic physiology and certain characteristics, the subspecies have unique traits that can give them a real edge in certain situations and environments, such as the Red Niktos’ capacity to weather the hottest desert environment, the Green Niktos’ natural coordination and deadly claws, or the Pale Niktos’ ability to move through water as easily as on land. Niktos are excellent survivors and likely to appeal to players who prefer more straightforward and brutal methods of conflict resolution.

Though the Niktos are familiar to most Star Wars fans, the Ganks have made far fewer appearances in the Star Wars universe and remain much more mysterious – even their homeworld is unknown. These notoriously secretive, consummate mercenaries have a penchant for augmenting their bodies with cybernetics – a lot of them. Ganks start their careers in Edge of the Empire with multiple cybernetic implants and can augment their natural abilities with even more technological enhancements as they progress, making them extremely efficient killers – though they might want to avoid the company of Jawa scavengers, lest they find themselves used for spare parts.

The Sakiyans are known for stealth and cunning. We chose to concentrate on their impressive hunting and tracking abilities, making them excellent Bounty Hunters and Explorers. Their slighter frames make them likely to absorb raw damage, but this is more than made up for by their intelligence and perspicacity. As one of the few species native to Hutt Space not completely under Hutt domination, the Sakiyans are less likely than others to owe a starting Obligation to the masters of Nal Hutta. Yet, coming from a culture that puts great emphasis on honor, they’re likely to owe some Obligation to their family and their pride, or clan.

Along with their Hutt overlords, these three new playable races give players the opportunity to explore the darker margins of life on the fringe of the galaxy, and they give GMs a few new resources to complicate things for players who cross paths with the Hutts.

Becoming More Machine

Whether you play a Gank assassin who needs to kill on sight, or a human wanting to replace a lost limb, cybernetics allow you to transcend your body’s limits. As long as you have the credits to pay for it, there’s a doctor on Nar Shaddaa willing to implant any artificial device you can imagine.

For an edge in the struggle for survival, you may want to purchase some adrenal implants. These small devices attached to your subadrenal gland stimulate the production of epinephrine, which speeds recovery from fatigue. Any character who possesses adrenal implants therefore gains a rank in the Rapid Recovery talent. Similarly, cybernetic reflexes stimulate and regulate the nervous system, granting one rank of the Rapid Reaction talent. Either implant could make a significant difference in the middle of a fight – or even a high-stakes late-night negotiation.

Gank comm implants allow characters to communicate silently across several kilometers, essentially as if sharing thoughts. A team of characters with Gank comm implants could not only coordinate actions at a distance, but plan an attack or escape while standing in the presence of an enemy threat. These implants have proven to be so useful that almost all adult Ganks possess them and while they’re relatively rare, they only cost a couple of hundred credits.

The repulsor fist is a more drastic cybernetic improvement: a violent melee weapon that replaces your hand and upper arm. Lacking synthskin, repulsor fists aren’t designed to appear natural. Instead, you can rely on the mere sight of one to instill fear and caution in a potential attacker. For Bounty Hunters, Hired Guns, and anyone else who intends on doing a lot of melee fighting, a repulsor fist is a solid, permanent, investment.

Hunters and Hunted

You might make a living in Hutt Space as a Gank mercenary, using your cybernetic implants and brute strength to survive in war, or as a Sakiyan assassin, relying on your wits and natural stealth to hunt down your target. You might take on the sympathetic role of an escaped Nikto, hunted by the cruel Hutt that you once served, or play a conniving young Hutt, willing to do anything to rise in your kajidic. No matter what, you’ll soon find that almost everyone in Hutt space is either a hunter or hunted, and that it’s far better to be the predator than the prey. Do you have what it takes to survive in this realm of iniquity, or will you fall victim to others’ cunning snares and cold-blooded cruelty?

Pre-order Lords of Nal Hutta today!