Physiology: Bothans have highly attuned senses which
aid in gathering and relaying information. The noses at
the end of their tapered snouts can distinguish many
smells, and their eyes have an extended range of focus.
They possess ears double the size of most species and
can rotate and bend them to pick up directional sounds.
Standing on average 1.6 meters, their small size allows
Bothans to often go unnoticed and slip through cracks
that would never fit a human. Their greatest asset is
their fur. They can communicate with other Bothans by
rippling their fur, demonstrating changes in mood and
conveying more specific intimations in a code.
Society: Every layer of Bothan society is based on the
acquisition, manipulation, and utilization of knowledge.
Sometimes likened to the Hutts and Twi'leks, Bothans
take such comparisons as an insult. Prestige, not wealth,
motivates them. A Bothan's reputation is, at the end of
the day, all he has. The Bothan Council governs the Bo-
than worlds. The major clans all have one representa-
tive in the Council, which then elects the Council Chief.
Bothans shun outright confrontation. Information is their
weapon, and Bothans play secrets like a Corellian plays
sabacc: the truth is the ace up their sleeve.
The Bothans operate the most elaborate and ex-
tensive intelligence network across the galaxy. This
"spynet" works through moles, provocateurs, sleep-
ers, and drop-offs which transfer information down a
clandestine web to the Bothan spymasters. Though
the spynet hubs on Bothawui are Bothan-run, the ma-
jority of its "placed" agents are foreign species.Homeworld: Bothans hail from Bothawui, a temper-
ate world in the Mid Rim. They have also established
major colonies on Kothlis and Torolis.Language: Bothese is the native tongue of the Bo-
thans and Botha is its written form. Almost all Bo-
thans are fully fluent in Basic. Wrendui, which in Both-
ese means the nonverbal cues and emotions a Bothan
can communicate through his fur, has many coded
forms that a spectator can translate into explicit in-
formation if the cipher is known. Well-trained Bothan
spies can switch between different forms of wrendui in
a single ripple of their fur.Life on the Fringe: Bothans gravitate towards profes-
sions in which information is king. They make strong
Traders, Scouts, Thieves, and Politicos. They will at-
tempt to ascend the chain of command of their current
career and will also funnel knowledge to the Bothan
Spy Network to help their clan back on Bothawui.SPECIES ABILITIES- Wound Threshold: 10 + Brawn
- Strain Threshold: 11 + Willpower
- Starting Experience: 100 XP
- Special Ability: Bothans begin the game with one
rank in Streetwise. They still may not train Street-
wise above rank 2 during character creation. They
also start with one rank in the Convincing Demean-
or talent.
USING LANGUAGES IN EDGE OF THE EMPIREL
anguage has always been a vital scene-setting
tool in Star Wars. The animalistic roars of a
Wookiee, the bird-like twittering of an astromech
droid, or the guttural rumblings of a Hutt crime
lord serve as reminders that the Star Wars uni-
verse is a vast place with countless species and
cultures. For this reason, nearly every species in
EDCE OF THE EMPIRE has its own language, and in
the case of wildly diverse species like humans,
they may actually have many different languages
based on the planet or culture they hail from.
While all these varied languages exist, they are
not intended to provide a barrier to understanding
and comprehension. Star Wars has a wide variety
of tools for language interpretation, from protocol
droids that are fluent in over six million forms of
communication to the simple fact that most galac-
tic citizens utilize the pan-galactic language known
as Basic, which nearly everyone understands even
if they are unable to speak it.Each species entry lists the languages unique to
that species. However, all Player Character species
are able to understand Basic, even if they are un-
able to vocalize it (such as in the case of Wookiees
and some Gand variants). However, Player Charac-
ters are not required to track the different languag-
es they speak. Every Player Character in a group is
considered to be fluent in any language spoken by
another group member (so that the lone Wookiee
isn't left mute because nobody speaks Shyriiwook),
In addition, the GM should endeavor to make com-
prehensible any individuals the PCs encounter dur-
ing their adventure, by whatever means the GM
deems appropriate. For example, one of the PCs
may speak the individual's language, or vice-versa.
There may be a protocol droid available, or perhaps
everyone involved speaks Basic. The one exception
to this should be if the lack of comprehension is
itself a major plot point; otherwise the issue of lan-
guage should never hamper the ongoing story.