Savossk was a male Trandoshan bounty hunter and mercenary for the Galactic Empire who became infamous for torture and murder of Wookiees. He was also a gangster and thug on Tatooine during the early years of the Galactic Civil War, being a prominent member of Falcore Extrerriba’s crime organisation. In his later years Savossk studied the ways of the dark side of the Force. It is presumed he was killed during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of Nar Shaddaa in 26 ABY.
Biography[]
Early life (21 BBY–3 ABY)[]
Birth[]
Savossk was born into a small and relatively unknown clan on Dosha in 21 BBY, during a year of turmoil caused by a Wookiee blockade. Following Trandoshan tradition, Savossk consumed the eggs of his hatchlings at birth. As a youngling he closely adhered to protocol and tutelage under the Elders of his clan, and was indoctrinated into the religion of the Scorekeeper.
After having risen to the top of his fighting class, he was invited on a hunting expedition to neighbouring planet Kashyyyk, home of the Wookiees. By this time the Empire had replaced the Republic as the major power in the galaxy, and the Trandoshans led Imperial-sanctioned slaving raids. In his first raid Savossk captured two Wookiees and slaughtered the families that attempted a rescue. His clan led more raids over the following years and his name became known amongst hunting circles on Dosha.
Leaving home[]
In 6 BBY Savossk witnessed his father, Hurrsk, help some Wookiee younglings escape from a village under attack by Imperial forces. Without hesitation Savossk called his father out and defeated him. Refusing to grant mercy, Savossk executed Hurrsk in a traditional fashion using a Chalon vibroblade.
This event shook Savossk to the core, and he became withdrawn from his fellow warriors. Savossk spent the next few years in solitude, while his clan, now leaderless, sank into decline.
This self-imposed exile was not to last, however. Two years later, Savossk returned from obscurity and joined the Bounty Hunters Guild, taking contracts from all over the galaxy. He left his home planet behind and his clan became all but extinct, the warriors and females joining other groups and forgetting their past.
His fondness for torture attracted the attention of the Hutt Cartel. He started taking contracts from criminals such as Jabba the Hutt and Nym of Lok. He soon amassed a small fortune and started hunting Wookiees purely for sport, which earned him valuable Jagganath points in the eyes of the Scorekeeper. Savossk’s faith in the Scorekeeper never wavered, but he had no interest in returning to his homeworld.
Mos Eisley[]
At the height of the Galactic Empire, Savossk retired from slave gathering/pelt hunting and moved his operations to Nar Shaddaa, the smuggler’s moon where he pursued closer ties and business connections with the Hutt Cartel. But within only six months of operation his businesses on Nar Shaddaa went bust. Having lost all his investiture and savings, Savossk was near destitute and left Nar Shaddaa to join a Doshan street gang in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, known as the T’Doshok. Only a month after Savossk joined the T’Doshok, other members of the gang (which included Falcore Extrerriba, Karrava Riax and Ostixu Taanga) faked execution with the aid of the Imperial Garrison in an operation to bring down Eisley mafia boss Drexxyl. Savossk was not involved in the planning of this elaborate scheme and found himself alone in the city while his gangmates went into hiding. This caused Savossk to start mistrusting those he considered brothers to him, especially Riax and Extrerriba. Soon the gang was re-united, and fought for dominance of Mos Eisley against just one gang, the so-called ‘Desert Mafia’. Savossk fell out with Riax and Extrerriba over a Wookiee slave, and was expelled from the T’Doshok. Angry and bitter Savossk left for Dosha and swore never to place absolute trust in another being again.
Mos Entha[]
In 1 BBY Mos Eisley suffered an attack by Sandpeople. In panic, an evacuation was ordered and many of the populace took up residence in Mos Entha. Extrerriba did well there, setting up a seemingly legitimate business out of the Fallen Star club and became friends with the corrupt city mayor. Intrigued by the news, Savossk went to Entha and, after several run-ins with local minor gangs, made amends with his former gang mates. He became a bouncer for the Fallen Star, and worked under the cunning Kisra Mesa Shei’ri and the odious Lella Lombardi. Savossk took an instant dislike to them both. Soon his arguments with Lombardi came to a head, and he was set upon by his colleagues at the Star. Outnumbered due to Extrerriba and Taanga being out of town, he was tortured and humiliated by Shei’ri, his arms cut off, and he was left for dead out in the desert. Forced to fend for himself deep within the Dune Sea, Savossk survived on hatred and willpower alone. His limbs regrew thanks to Doshan regeneration, and he began to plot his revenge against those who betrayed him. This horrific experience did not come without value, however. Savossk suspected his survival did not come purely out of his devotion to the Scorekeeper, indeed he began to disbelieve in her very existence. He realised there was a power within his very being that manifested itself when his life was critically hanging in the balance, and he sought to learn more of it. He returned to Mos Entha, still considerably weakened after his ordeal, but delays his retribution by subterfuge and trickery. He retook his old post at the Fallen Star, still working beneath Shei’ri and Lombardi. So deeply did he let his contempt and anger lead his thoughts, he started exhibiting Force sensitivity. Shei’ri gave him loose tuition on these new found skills but neglected to take him on as a full apprentice, still learning the ways of the Force for herself.
Departure from Tatooine[]
Lombardi was revealed as a Rebel spy and was sacked by Extrerriba, infuriated by her dishonesty and deceit. Kisra had already left for parts unknown, leaving Savossk as one of the few of the original staff members to remain. Activity at the Star and in Mos Entha declined as the Empire clamped down more restrictions on freedom of movement and speech, and with several controversial executions, many residents left the city. With the departure of his brothers Extrerriba and Taanga from Tatooine, and the sale of 49% of shares in the Star to another business consortium, Savossk’s appearances in Mos Entha public life start to decline. He was once again on the forefront of new hunting expeditions on Kashyyyk, and for the first time, he started accepting bounty contracts on Rebels (after becoming enemies with a Rebel sympathiser, Mos Entha Chief of Police Orlot Oriagi). His status as an alien prevented him from joining the Imperial Army, however, so he became a mercenary-for-hire.
Force training (3 ABY–16 ABY)[]
Hunt for knowledge[]
By sheer luck while hunting a bounty in the Outer Rim, Savossk found a holocron on the ancient Sith world of Ch'hodos. The holocron only revealed basic knowledge of the Force before it gave out, but it did give him locations of other centers of Force knowledge. He would spend several more years in search of these secrets, while also meditating and working on his new skills. It was during this time that Savossk became deeper embroiled in the dark side. He spent time in seclusion among the High Priests on Dosha, and then returned home to take leadership of his clan, using his newfound abilities to defeat his rivals. These skills also inspired him to return to bounty hunting, and slowly he began to rebuild his former fortune. He was not to enjoy his rejuvenated status for long, however. During his search for prospective students, Luke Skywalker found Savossk and invited him to his Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV.
Jedi Academy[]
Savossk took up Skywalker's offer and arrived at the Praxeum in 12 ABY. In his first few months Savossk became aquaintances with fellow student Desann, as they shared similar attitudes, and both were very talented. Savossk contemplated leaving the Academy when Desann fled after killing a student, but was persuaded to stay by the teachers, who wanted to keep him from becoming another potential threat like Desann. Savossk still held all the others in contempt, but knew his best hopes for increasing his powers lay within the tutelage at the Academy. Nevertheless, the darkness around him was well known by the rest of the students, and this combined with his bad attitude made him somewhat a loner. Despite this, he assisted in the defense of the Academy against the Empire Reborn, and was injured in a duel with Desann, who attempted to harvest the Academy's Force Nexus. This helped him regain some trust in the eyes of the teaching staff, but Savossk was still despised by his fellow students.
A year passed and Savossk grew more and more impatient with the teaching methods at the Academy. He felt he had learned all he possibly could from the light-siders; there was only so much lecturing on healing and other defensive powers he could take. What he sought most was knowledge of the dark side itself. He was aware of Luke's past and how he walked down the dark path. One day, Savossk confronted Skywalker and demanded extra teaching. Skywalker denied this request, and tried to calm Savossk down, telling him to be patient and at peace. Savossk laughed in Skywalker's face and left the Academy. The Ch'hodos holocron, which Savossk had kept hidden during his time at the Academy, had given him knowledge of other centres of Sith knowledge. Savossk knew he could use these to learn more about the dark side of the Force. As far as he was concerned, he had mastered the basics of the Force, and had become an accomplished swordsman with the lightsaber. He would no longer take any lectures from the Jedi.
Building a lightsaber[]
Savossk knew that Sith space would hold many dangers for him, so he spent a brief time in preparation. The first task was building himself a lightsaber. Savossk already had the basic materials needed, such as the casing, handgrip, and power cell, courtesy of his time at the Academy. The difficult part was getting the rare focusing crystals. Savossk returned to Ch'hodos and found the ruins of an ancient Sith temple. Underneath the temple was a network of caves, formed millions of years before when Ch'hodos had flowing underground rivers. As he was excavating lumps of crystal-laden rock, he was attacked and captured by members of the Sith (the same group that would later go on to form the New Sith Order).
Personality and traits[]
Savossk had no regard for any life other than his own. He saw those weaker and more disadvantaged than him as unworthy of his respect or charity. It is for these reasons why he related more to the authoritarian Galactic Empire than the democratic Alliance to Restore the Republic. This of course segregated him from mainstream society and he was feared and loathed by many. His desire for dominance over others actually brought him into conflict with the Empire, despite his sympathy for its values. The Emperor's anti-alien policies made Savossk a target and scapegoat by the Imperial garrisons on Tatooine.
In his time with the T’Doshok and later the Fallen Star, Savossk partook in petty crimes such as theft and violence, and mafia conspiracy. He had very few real friends and those he did make usually ended up betraying him, or he them. Impatient and driven by his lust for power, he took perverse pleasure and satisfaction in the fear, pain and misery he brought to others.
Feats and abilities[]
As a Trandoshan, Savossk had the ability to see in infa-red and also possessed hard, scaly skin that was difficult to rupture by standard means. He was tall and muscular like many in his species and was tough to equal in melee combat. He also had decent skill in handling blasters of most common shapes and sizes. He was reasonably skilled as a pilot insofar as it aided him in the profession of bounty hunting. Savossk used an FWG-5 flechette pistol for short-range combat and a DLT-20A blaster rifle for picking off targets further away. In melee he often used a stun baton.
Because of his weight and size, Savossk had difficulty fighting smaller, more agile opponents, and his focus on using aggressive, destructive Force powers often inhibited his other abilities (one example being his inability to use the Force to heal himself). He was quick to anger and very impatient, and found it difficult to make allies, but easy to make enemies.
Savossk showed considerable talent in manipulating objects using the Force, by way of telekenesis. These objects included other living beings. The powers he preferred to use on his enemies included Force grip and Force push.
During his learning at the Jedi Academy, Savossk became proficient in all lightsaber combat forms, but particularly excelled in Form V, and had a good understanding of Form VII. His main weakness was Form IV, a style that was more reliant on mobility than brute strength.
Behind the scenes[]
Savossk originated as a character in Star Wars Galaxies.
The player behind the character was a member of the Mos Eisley and Mos Entha roleplaying communities on the Europe-Chimaera server. All of the events depicted in the Mos Eisley/Mos Entha sections of this article occurred in game.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Galaxies (First appearance)