A Dispatch From the Jedi Academy of Memorial City to the Government of Lichen and the Civilized World

Concerning Recent Events

Citizens,

Since the colonization of Gilead twenty-five score years ago, it has long been suspected that some remnant of life has survived outside of our beloved new homeworld. Recently, we have been given confirmation of this fact via visitation from an outside ship. It is unknown at this time what the intentions of these visitors are, but rest assured, your Jedi Academy has convinced them to leave this planet, along with a brave contingent of explorers who will investigate the state of affairs off-world. Should they survive and return, we will greet them and discover what they know.

However, while our hope is for prosperity in the galaxy at large, the Jedi Academy wishes to make it perfectly clear that It's intention is to keep Gilead OUR HOMEWOLRD. We will not willingly accept integration by off-worlders, and though we will not choose to stop anyone who wishes to leave, we will protect those who wish to stay and keep things the way they are. We are prepared, as we are sure you are, to defend our planet with our lives, if need be, for the sake of all Gileadians who value their society.

Undoubtedly, the recent discovery of life outside of Gilead has permenantly changed our outlook on life. BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE IT. The Jedi Academy is here to protect you. Long may Gilead live and prosper in peace.

Brother Matthias
7th month 531

To the Crash Site

Leaving the defeated Jethro tied up, we searched his house. In one of the rooms we found a strange sight. There was a human dressed in oddly shiny clothing and a large furry beast bending over some metal pieces that were laid out on a table. The beast was humanoid, and my first thought was that it was some sort of furry mutant, and that the bothans were breeding a mutant army. It's visage was disturbing.

Dish determined that they were not hostile. The beast made some weird animal noises, and the human talked oddly, but strapped to the beast's back was a steel war mask that could talk and was very intelligent. It appears that they are survivors from the crashed starship and are trying to repair their craft. Jethro was then interrogated; he is helping the offworlders and attacked us because he does not trust the intentions of the Jedi Academy. A device was presented by Jethro, which he had stolen, which is some sort of record keeping device called a holocron. I have confiscated this device. Through conversation with the holocron and the offworlders much of our history and beliefs have been called into question. The tenants of the Jedi Academy in particular seemed to be very different from the Jedi elsewhere, which Dish found very disturbing. I asked the offworlders what they were doing near our planet and they replied that they were hit by a meteor while transporting cargo.

The group, Jethro now included, broke into a local smith and stole some iron sheets to repair the ship with. We then took a weird chariot, called a "speeder", and headed to the crash site. During the trip I began studying the holocron, from which I learned to be an excellent pilot. Upon arriving at the crash site, bitterly cold in the southern pole, we discovered that the hated Gotal Monarchy had arrived first. We fought the Gotals, and some strange ice and rock creature that they had with them. After I wounded one Gotal, Flash was able to finish it off, and Dish dispatched another. The furry beast (who is apparently called a "Wookie") managed to kill a Gotal, and we all then attacked the ice monster. It put up a struggle but was quickly brought down. The ship was ours at that point. The wookie began repairing the damage while the rest of us explored. Jacob (the offworlder human) gave us some food from Ithor, our home planet. It was delicious. In the cargo hold are two boxes that are locked tight. Neither offworlder will tell us what is in these boxes, but we didn't press the issue. Now that I am an expert pilot, I sat down in the pilot chair to fly the ship. Unfortunately the controls were faulty some how and what should have been a graceful take off was instead a horrific grinding noise. Finally the Iron War Mask, now attached to an iron torso with arms, was strapped into the pilot chair and was able to get the craft to fly. I can only imagine that it had some way of understanding the brokenness of the controls; the Iron War Mask has proved to be very wise and knowledgeable. The ship was flown to rendezvous with the Foamrunner, and Dish discussed some Jedi things with the others of his order. We have now decided to accompany the offworlder human, the Iron War Mask, and the Mask's wookie mount out into the stars.

Species Notes on Gilead

Four species survived the migration to Gilead: Humans, Ithorians, Bothans, and Gotals. Because the survivors were led by a team of Jedi, the principles of the Force were strongly instilled in the values of the new order established on the planet. Naturally, this led to friction with the Gotals, whose sonar-like sensitivity to emotional states sees the Force like static on their radios. Unable to read the emotions of the highly Force-sensitive population, Gotals found themselves in near constant pain as they tried to adapt to the new world. To their surprise, Jedi Master Cres Lammey, the founder of the new world order of Gilead, was not sympathetic to their plight. His solution to the problem was to ostracize the Gotals entirely from the new society. Feeling betrayed and abandoned, the Gotals left the society enjoyed by the Ithorians, Bothans, and Humans, and trekked south until they found their own land near the southern pole of the continent. There, they established a monarchy that continues to this day.

Gotals' only contact with the rest of the world is through trade with Syibring, a nation on the west coast of the northwestern continent, adjacent to Lichen. Since Syibring allows trade with the Gotals's nation of Ockrent, the species is not deprived of access to the new technology that the rest of the world develops, and they are believed to be kept up-to-date on world affairs. This does not sit well with Lichen, a theocracy in all but name to the Force and the Jedi order, but since their is no objection from the other nations, namely Filo, Riiken, Bellmeade, and the Hinterlands, Lichen does not press the issue.

Ithorians, staying true to their environmental nature, chose the lush evergreen forests of the north to call their home. While the countryside does not resemble the jungles of Ithor, it is nonetheless dear to the species, and treated as sacred ground. Not many Ithorians venture far from the Hinterlands, and those who do are usually Jedi or ambassadors of their people. As is true with the Bothans and the Humans who landed on Gilead, the Force is unusually strong with their people. It is estimated that over half of the Ithorians on the planet experience the Force in some way.

Bothans came the closest to challenging Humans for the supremacy of the planet, but Humans, being quick to breed and highly adaptable to most climatalogical situations, still hold a distinct advantage. Bothans are highly prevalent in Bellmeade, Filo, and Syibring. The ideological differences between Bothans in Syibring and those on the east side of the world are stark. Syibringian Bothans consider themselves to be promoters of peace and diplomacy, while Bothans from Filo and Bellmeade in particular consider their way of life to be at war with other cultures. Bellmeade promotes itself as the model for a well-constructed government, and the Bothans and Humans who live their believe that one day every nation will adapt to it's structure. Approximately one third of Bothans on Gilead are Force Sensitive, and the Jedi count many among their ranks.

Humans are, as you might expect, a force to be reckoned with in the new world. Men exist in every corner of the world, notably excepting Ockrent and the Hinterlands. Humans point to Cres Lammey's Human heritage as proof of Human's right to dominate the world, a philosophy that Bothans and Ithorians tolerate, but do not take seriously. Approximately one quarter of the humans on Gilead are Force Sensitive, but as Humans are the most populus species on the planet by far, the Force Sensitive Humans far outnumber those of the other species. Human Jedi form the overwhelming majority of the Order.

Gotals

Gotals evolved in dark Antar 4. As light is not available there, they evolved cranial cones, receptors to electromagnetism and other emissions. They do not rely on sight, but they can be great trackers thanks to their cones. However, natural emissions from a droid or a Jedi do damage Gotals. Culturally, they only seem to be attracted to other creatures with cones or horns. This has led to many unfortunate deaths as many male Gotals will be attracted to females of the H'nemethe species who tend to disembowel their mates.

Blantantly copied from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotal#Gotal

Bothans

Bothans hail from the industrial Mid Rim planet of Bothawui, though they also populate various colony worlds like Kothlis and Torolis. Most Bothans stand about 5-6 ft. tall. They have tapered pointed ears, and very few from both sexes have beards. Bothans are manipulative, crafty, suspicious, curious by nature, loyal brave, and very smart. They developed their technology to travel among the stars millennia ago and are longstanding members of the galactic civilization. To the Bothans, information is the galaxy's most valuable currency, as well as its most potent weapon. As a culture, they believe the direct confrontation with foes-whether economic, political, or martial-is pointless. In an open conflict, the object or possession both sides desire is often damaged or destroyed. This attitude has made espionage a natural line of work for Bothans. Information and spies are their greatest exports. The famed Bothan spynet is the largest independent intelligence-gathering organization the galaxy has ever known. Beings of power everywhere find Bothans irritating because they have a tendency to use every bit of information they can to acquire leverage or money. However, no one wants to be the only person without access to the spynet, so everyone continues to deal with the Bothans.

Blantantly copied from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothans#Bothan

Ithorians

Ithorians are a species of intelligent herbivores from the planet Ithor. They are commonly called "Hammerheads" because of their long, curving neck and T-shaped head.

Ithorians have two mouths and glossy, brown flesh. In general, they are devoted environmentalists, staunch herbivores, and complete pacifists. Many have become galactic traders who peacefully travel the stars in giant herd ships. They will only resort to violence if threatened. Because of their mild demeanor, most Ithorians avoided the Galactic Civil War, although a few joined the Rebel Alliance.

Ithorians are natives of the planet Ithor, a lush world with sprawling rain forests. The Ithorians worship Mother Jungle and long ago vowed never to desecrate their planet. Once they discovered repulsorlift technology, the Ithorians built expansive "herd cities" floating in the skies above their home world. The species migrated to these platforms, ensuring that Ithor would remain pristine forever.

Abroad, Ithorians have integrated well with the intergalactic community. Their own language is incredibly beautiful, yet difficult to learn, as the Ithorians have twin mouths on opposite sides of their necks. Fortunately, they can speak Basic, albeit with a strange accent.

Blatantly copied from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithorians#Ithorian

Out of the Hinterlands

Flash and I were asked to leave the Hinterlands by the Jedi Academy to attend a summit in Memorial City, and we did. I found it very confusing, as there was no mountain at the place called Memorial City, and therefore no summit. Instead there was a big meeting where many different tribes and clans of the humans and the bothans were represented. Reference was made as to how Flash and I spoke for the Hinterlands, but how can this be? The only voice I spoke with was my own. Much discussion was made about a recent crash in the southern pole region. It is assumed this crash was a starship of some kind, although this was disputed (it has only been six generations since our transport crashed on this planet, but some of the humans apparently have forgotten the existence of space travel). Of great concern was whether or not the Gotal Monarchy would claim the wreckage. Finally a group of twelve beings, Flash and myself included, was sent to try and claim the weckage before the Gotals.



We left on a ship (some sort of wooden construct) named the Foamrunner and captained by a bothan named Jessup. I am sharing a cabin with Flash, Dish - an ithorian from our clan who has become a Jedi, and Shem - Dish's human jedi companion. The first night there was some discussion as to whether or not to sail straight there and risk pirates and rough water, or take a secure route that would add 2 weeks to the trip. A vote was cast and we are going straight there.


Later that evening the ship was attacked by what Jessup called a "Sea Cat".

After Flash lost his footing, we engaged the creature. Flash, Jessup, Dish, and the group leader Laserus attacked along with 3 soldiers. The soldiers pointed metal tubes at the sea cat and made clicking noises that seemed to have no effect (they claimed later that their "powder" had gotten wet). My quarterstaff had plenty of effect though, and after Jessup, Laserus, and I softened it up we allowed Dish to finish the creature for his self esteem.

A few days later we docked at a place called Tourmaine, a hot smelly collection of human and bothan dwellings. At Dish's suggestion we left the ship (Flash, Dish, Shem, and I) for "shore leave" and wound up at a place that serves "sea cat sandwiches" and "bannana soda". I am fairly certain that the bannana soda was a poisoning attempt. Overhearing a conversation, Dish approached a suspicious human who offered to take us to Jethro, a local Jedi. We accepted. Dan, and his buddy Stan, took us to Jethro's house where Jethro drew a strange weapon called a "blaster" on Shem. A fight ensued. Jethro was a difficult opponent, and Shem was greviously wounded by Jethro's blaster (I had to heal him), but we were victorious and slew Jethro, Stan, and Dan.

Session: 1
Session XP: 840
Present: Daniel, Jake, Ben
Vanquished: 1 sea cat (3.5 MM), Jedi Jethro, Stan, Dan