Jab’s Builds! (Sword of Sodan! Nightmare Creatures/Circus! Lawnmower Man!)

[Shock]

Bossk was my favorite bounty hunter. He's not stupid looking.

If you think his backstory was ridiculous, you should read up on IG88. he got his program uploaded into the second Death Star's computer and was going to take over the galaxy in the name of droids everywhere but got blown up before he could put his plan in motion. Tales of the Bounty Hunters was one of the best of the EU books.

[greycrusader]

Bobba Fett's "death" in ROFJ is honestly just more of the sloppy writing which plagued that film, and made it markedly inferior to the previous two (though still entertaining, and a fairly satisfying wrap-up); introduce a cool-looking character with a mysterious past, one with an in-universe rep and enough moxie to stand up to Vader....then unceremoniously kill him off in a way intended to be semi-comedic. Yes, I know there are those who defend it as as something that "realistically" happens in the chaos of combat, a stray shot damaging a piece of equipment, resulting in Fett's demise. But the Star Wars universe markedly ISN'T "realistic"-its a a space opera setting, which operates by Rule of Cool and Pulp Adventure rules. It's an example of not delivering on an expected payoff-a showdown of some sort between Bobba Fett and one or more of the heroes. Honestly? I figure it happened because the last movie was just overstuffed already, with too much going on to fit in more backstory revelation and another big action sequence. This is essentially the same thing that happened with the Hulk in Avengers: End Game, where the previous character arc just got derailed, with a major development happening completely off-screen. One of the few elements of the film I didn't enjoy.

All my best.

[L-Space]

Man, I forgot how fast the posts build up here, so I have some catching up to do!

Starfighters:
I remember reading in the EU how the TIE Fighters one advantage over the X-Wings was that they were faster and more maneuverable. That's why Ace TIE Fighter pilots were so dangerous because they would play up those strengths.

Han Solo and Chewie:
Han shot first and he'll always shoot first. I think George Lucas changed it because it wasn't a very heroic thing to do, forgetting that Han Solo had to develop into a hero in the first place.

Chewie is awesome and one of my favorite characters. I really liked the Solo film and one the reasons is you get that moment on Kessel where Han runs back to save someone and you can just tell that was the moment Chewbacca chose to stay with Han. Also, bowcasters rule!

[HalloweenJack]

You could always just argue on the Han/Greedo thing that the story became Paul Bunyanized.

That what really happened was Han shot first, but over time tales of the incident at Mos Eisley became exaggerated and eventually everyone was all "And then Greedo fired at Han, but the smuggler's reflexes were too quick and he casually moved his his to the side and fired back, killing the bounty hunter!"

[slade the sniper]

Tales of the Bounty Hunters was one of the best of the EU books.

Truly. Shadows of the Empire is a very close #2. I wonder is Xizor is going to show up in these writeups?

-STS

[KorokoMystia]

One of the other intresting guys in the lineup was 4-LOM, because he's a PROTOCOL DROID Bounty Hunter! And yeah, Boba Fett Syndrome has somehow continued in Star Wars despite having evidence to know what not to do. Maul, Jango, Grevious, Phasma..(I won't talk about her more until it's relevant, though)

And Shadows of the Empire was intereresting because it was a multimedia project, having a novel, video game, and comic simultaneously, and took place mostly between ESB and ROTJ. The opening stage on Hoth was fantastic for the time, but the on-foot stages after that..not so great. And the main character, Dash Rendar, is basically Han #2 from what I remember, even having his own similar ship to the Millenium Falcon, the Outrider (which still looks cool, and was even edited itno showing up in the movies in the special editions!)

[kirinke]

Shadows of the Empire even had it's own soundtrack. I know. I had it.

[Jabroniville]

SLAVE I
Role: Unique & Bitching Assault Vehicle, Small Transport

Baseline Stats: Gargantuan Size, Strength 12, Defense 12, Toughness 12 (20)
Movement: Flight 10, Space Travel 2 (21)
Features: Tracking Beacon (1)

Weapons:
"Heavy Blaster Cannons" Blast 12 (Feats: Extended Range 4, Split) (Extras: Penetrating 8) (37) -- (41)

• AE: "Homing Missiles" Blast 12 (Feats: Extended Range 4, Homing 4, Ricochet 2) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Unreliable- 6 Uses) (34)
• AE: "Rapid Fire Cannons" Blast 10 (Feats: Extended Range 4) (Extras: Multiattack) (30)
• AE: "Seismic Charges" Damage 10 (Feats: Triggered- When Touched) (11)
• AE: "Tractor Beam" Move Object 10 (20)

Total Cost: Stats: 20 / Movement: 21 / Features: 1 / Weapons: 41 (83 Equipment Points)

-Boba Fett's legendary ship originally belonged to some guy, and was then stolen by Jango Fett (he made sure to blow up the remaining other models, ensuring that this one became a true "Special Snowflake" ship). When Jango died, young Boba took it, and he held it way past the "Galactic Empire" era. It's been modified several times, but its key attribute, like Boba Fett's, is looking cool. It was allegedly-based off of a street lamp outside the ILM studios, but the designer says it was supposed to look like a radar dish.

-I figure Slave-I for a PL 12-ish thing, though of course Vehicles are an entirely different ball of wax in M&M terms. In superhero comics, they tend to be pretty worthless, as most of their attacks cannot be used in melee, and once heroes are TOUCHING the vehicle, they can basically attack with impunity, often with high-powered attacks. In the Low-Strength, Low-Toughness world of Star Wars, vehicles are actually very effective, high-speed, and dangerous- not too many characters in the franchise could ever go toe-to-toe with a ship of any sort. Jedi may go all "Deflect-O-Rama" on Laser Beams, but a Burst Area Missile is nothing ANY of them want to face.

[Jabroniville]

Bossk was my favorite bounty hunter. He's not stupid looking.

If you think his backstory was ridiculous, you should read up on IG88. he got his program uploaded into the second Death Star's computer and was going to take over the galaxy in the name of droids everywhere but got blown up before he could put his plan in motion. Tales of the Bounty Hunters was one of the best of the EU books.

His head’s just SO BIG, lol. How’s he put on shirts?

[Jabroniville]

JANGO FETT
Role: Generation Xerox, Prequel Ancestor
Group Affiliations: None
PL 9 (157)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 7 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Intergalactic Bounty Hunter) 10 (+13)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Investigation 6 (+9)
Perception 7 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Technology 5 (+8)
Vehicles 8 (+13)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Assessment, Benefit (Reputation), Diehard, Equipment 27 (Gear, Slave I), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Lasers), Improved Initiative, Languages (Various), Move-By Action, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Tracking, Ranged Attack 7

Equipment:
"Saber Dart" Weaken Stamina 6 (Extras: Ranged, Progressive +2) (24) -- (29)

• AE: "Carbine Rifle" Blast 6 (Feats: Extended Range 2) (Extras: Multiattack) (20)
• AE: "Flame Projector" Damage 6 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cone +1/4) (8)
• AE: "Smaller Laser Pistol" Blast 4 (8)
• AE: "Stun Darts" Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (Diminished Range -2) (16)
• AE: "Mini-Rockets" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (Flaws: Unreliable- 5 Uses) (12)

"Mandalorian Armor"
Protection 2 (2)
"Survival Gear" Immunity 4 (Suffocation 2, Heat, Cold) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (2)
"Link With Slave I" Features 1: Linkup With Ship (1)
Senses 5 (Low-Light & Extended Vision 2, Radius Sight, Infravision) (5)
"Utility Belt" Grappling Hook, etc. (5)

"Jetpack" Flight 6 (Flaws: Fades) (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Carbine Rifle +12 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Stun Darts +12 (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Flame Projector +6 Area (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Mini-Rockets +8 Area (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+6 Armor), Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Boba Fett)- Jango, upon agreeing to be the subject for the massive Clone Army, required only that he be given a natural-born Clone to raise himself.
Responsibility (The Contract)- Jango is supposed to have Obi-Wan Kenobi killed, and his benefactor is Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku).

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 58--29 / Advantages: 45 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 16 (157)

-When Boba Fett proved popular, his backstory was soon expanded upon- turns out he has a father named Jango. The middle Prequel film used him as an elite guy who more or less resembles Boba entirely, save with a brighter, less-used-up looking suit of armor. Jango is the subject for the massive Clone Army, and tries to have Obi-Wan Kenobi assassinated, but ends up set against the Jedi in a big gladatorial arena, where he personally shoots down several Knights (thus gaining far more on-screen credibility than his son ever had), before he's handily-beaten and decapitated by Mace Windu.

-Jango Fett is identical to his son in every way (in the supplemental material, he's killed a bunch of Jedi UNARMED, which is a classic "My character is SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad-ass!" move that the writer types out one-handedly), but has a "Saber Dart" that's like a poison thing- he uses it to kill the Bounty Hunter Zam Wessel (that Shapeshifting guy nobody remembers because it wasn't that memorable). This raises his cost by one point.

[KorokoMystia]

The dart scene was pretty odd. Like, he shot Zam with the dart to prevent her from telling the Jedi his identity, but Obi-Wan ends up using the dart to find him anyway. (because the dart came from Kamino, leading him straight to Jango). Despite going out almost as embarrasingly as Boba did (although really, it's MACE WINDU. Jango's jetpack was damaged, so he was pretty screwed), he had some neat moments, like the Obi-Wan vs Slave 1 fight, and that amusing scene in the arena battle where this one jobber Jedi tries to jump Dooku and gets gunned down by Jango immediately.

[Shock]

The dart scene was pretty odd. Like, he shot Zam with the dart to prevent her from telling the Jedi his identity, but Obi-Wan ends up using the dart to find him anyway. (because the dart came from Kamino, leading him straight to Jango)

Jango obviously didn't expect the Jedi to be able to track it. And they couldn't. It was Dex that identified it.

[Jabroniville]

JABBA THE HUTT (Jabba Desilijic Tiure)
Role: Crime-Boss, Disgusting Slug-Monster
Group Affiliations: The Hutt Crime Cartels
PL 5 (76), PL 7 (76) Saves
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 5 AGILITY -4
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Crime-Boss) 10 (+14)
Insight 6 (+10)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (Wealthy Crime-Boss), Connected

Powers:
"Hutt Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Poison, Disease, Heat) [3]
Immunity 2 (Aging, Digestion Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]
Features 3: Increased Mass 3 [3]
Protection 3 (Extras: Impervious 3) [6]
Senses 1 (Ultraviolet Vision) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative -4

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +8 (+3 Impervious), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Greed, Food, Poon)- Jabba is a greety, covetous sort, famous for his tastes. He wants the best in life, and will even put dangerous women in close proximity just to ogle them like a perv.
Enemy (Han Solo)- Han owes Jabba a great deal of money, and Jabba wants to make things right.
Vulnerable (Attacks From Behind)- Hutts are slow, and have short arms. Getting behind them and, say, choking them, is bound to be effective. They do not get Impervious against choking-type attacks, either.
Disabled (Slow & Fat)- Though Hutts can move, they're quite slow, and can't handle stairs easily.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 11 (76)

-While Return of the Jedi is generally the least-liked of the Original Trilogy, the whole "Jabba's Palace" bit is just a master-stroke. Empire ends on such a down note (and that's what life is- a series of DOWN ENDINGS) that it feels good to see the heroes run in, right a wrong from the last film, and see the bad guys get ENDED. Jabba was just perfect- this disgusting slug-monster of a being, so fat he was basically spilling off his hedonistic platform, complete with spindly shriek-y creature as a pet, a snivelling Vizier, and repulsive, bloated, deformed guards. And then they just AMPED UP the disgusting nature, as he can't even speak properly- he grunts and gurgles (requiring Subtitles instead of translation or "reaction dialogue", like R2-D2 and Chewbacca get- they're heroes, so it's FUNNY), featuring this deep belly-laugh ("WOH! WOH! WOH!"). When he captures Princess Leia, he forces her to wear a fetishy Slave Girl bikini for his amusement. He keeps the frozen body of Han Solo on display in his throne room, as a warning and because he likes to see his enemy humiliated. And despite all THAT, he's actually a deviously-clever individual- he figures out Leia & Luke's plan, resists the Jedi Mind Trick (I still love the line "you weak-minded fool!"), drops Luke to his death, and plans on executing the lot of them.

-And then the heroes undo it all- Jabba may be clever, but he's a total drama queen with some old-school Comic Book Villain in him (he shoulda just SHOT THEM and been done with it), so he drags them over the Sarlacc Pit and ignores Luke's constant warnings that he's about to die- his elaborate execution plan gets him and his entire party killed, with Leia getting even with the humiliating Slave Girl outfit by just CHOKING the fat bastard to death! They didn't even give him the dignity of being thrown into the pit- he's gotta die ON-CAMERA.

-Hutts are famous in the Expanded Universe, getting mixed up in a lot of intergalactic crime (I kinda dug how even in a galaxy ruled by the vicious, slick, clean, militaristic Space Nazis, there is still this grungy undercurrent of Outer-Ring scuzzball locations everywhere). Some missions in various media have involved rescuing innocent Hutt children, unseating rivals to Jabba, and more. The infamous "Hutt Jedi" meme as a gag on the "Special Snowflake Syndrome" afflicting much of the fandom is a classic, and yes, somebody ACTUALLY MADE ONE- a Jedi who fell to the Dark Side and became a dictator, and was later killed by Leia in Lightsaber combat.

-Hutts are big, fat, largely-immobile creatures, which means they're tough but not much good in a fight (apparently they can use their tails in melee). His physiology gives him a host of minor benefits- Hutts are one of the longest-lived species in the galaxy, give birth hermaphroditically, they Slither, they're immune to most poisons & diseases and also resist the heat thanks to their slimy skin. They even have Ultra-Vision! But he's remarkably-ineffective as a fighter (Leia easily kills him with her own slave-chains), needing access to his numerous minions and his impressive wealth in order to be a threat.

[Woodclaw]

Jabba is pretty much a study in how to write a perfect sleazeball and yet deeply menacing villain. By all accounts, his lavish tastes, bloated appearance and so on should make him a laughable character next to the likes of Vader or the Emperor... and yet you look at him and you know means business.
How?
For me it all boils down to how is dialogue is written. Up until his death, Jabba is never surprised or scared, he seems to be always in control, to have an entire deck of aces up his sleeve.

On the subject of Boba Fett, I already explained in the past how he acquired most of his nerd-cred thanks to Kenner's marketing. Back in the day, Boba Fett was the only SW action figure that wasn't sold in any store, to get him you had to mail a certain number of "proof of purchase" to Kenner to get it. As a result, having a Boba Fett was a source of bragging rights for any kid.
Still, I think there was something going on way before that. While it's true that Fett has a really unique appearance in the SW universe, pretty much bridging the gap between the pristine armored imperials and the ragtag rebels, but for me what really made his character is one of the few lines he spoke. When he told Vader that Han is no use to him dead, Fett is doing something unique: he's stating a fact. Up to that point in the story, every character, except for Tarquin, either badmouthed Vader or is so afraid to even think about confronting him. Boba Fett pretty much stand up to Vader, without being confrontational, but calmly stating that this is his quarry and his money is on the line, which is a rarity.

[M4C8]

I do wonder why Jabba had the slave girls in bikinis, I can't imagine it's a sexual thing for him given how vastly physically different he is to them. I can only assume it's purely about their humiliation, the power of it is what he enjoys.