Out now is the Galaxy at War campaign guide, an RPG sourcebook from Wizards of the Coast for which I contributed a chunk of the writing. The book is an all-in-one resource for playing a soldier character in the Star Wars roleplaying game.

I worked on this book with Rodney Thompson, Gary Astleford, and Eric Cagle, contributing the section about military organizations. I love the look of this book (224 pages, hardcover, compact squared-off trim size) and the illustrations are great, such as this one of a Hapan Royal Guard. Here's some of my background notes and thoughts:

Ailon Nova Guard
This group originated in the vastly underrated gaming supplement Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim from West End Games, with a significant update appearing in issue #15 of the Star Wars Adventure Journal. The Ailon Nova Guard are an interesting bunch because they worship fighting and have no loyalty other than following the biggest dog. Accordingly they have done mercenary work for the Empire, the New Republic, and the Yuuzhan Vong.

Every new military organization features a quote, except in the cases where the quote got cut for lack of space. In this case, the Nova Guard quote would have read:

"I could break you in a hundred places and kill you in a thousand ways. Yet your territory is vast and your power immense. The Nova Guard will serve you."
-- Ailon High Marshal Raumpf, accepting Supreme Chancellor's Affeltelti's offer to join the Republic

Among the triumphs mentioned here are the "toppling of King Satyr Azzlectico" and the "Sundering of Slession." Both are newly-created and don't really refer to anything in particular.

The teams that participate in war games on the Nova Guard homeworld are named after minerals: ethromite, oridium, and feldspar. Aside from feldspar, those are "Star Warsy" minerals with no counterpoint in real life. I've always been intrigued by the little-known fact that the Tydirium-the stolen Imperial shuttle from Return of the Jedi - is named after a mineral. (In fact I wanted to use the name tydirium here but thought it'd be distracting.)

Churhee's Riflemen
Like the Nova Guard, Churhee's Riflemen originated in Galaxy Guide 9 and reappeared in the Star Wars Adventure Journal. They seemed like a good choice for inclusion because they're mostly a ranged attack unit - "riflemen" is right there in the name - unlike many of the military organizations in this section. They are snobs when it comes to marksmanship.

Hapan Royal Guard
The Hapans first appeared in 1994's The Courtship of Princess Leia and are one of the matriarchical societies in the Star Wars galaxy. It was refreshing to play with that here. The ranks of the Royal Guard are 95% female, and the ranks of the elite Favored are 100% female.

One thing that makes them unique in this book is that they're a more of a secret police force than a military unit. In fact, they have creepy powers to seize any citizen without cause, commandeer public resources for any reason, and tap into private communications. This is all in the interest of protecting the Queen, and most Hapans are only too happy to let them do it.

Their quote got cut for lack of space. It was:

"Erenada! You have no equal, and I have no life beyond you. My eyes, my hands, my heart, and my blade will kill and die in your service."
-- From the induction oath of the Hapan Chume'doro

Kaleesh Kolkpravis
The Kaleesh are the species of General Grievous. When writing this entry I collaborated with Abel Peņa, writer of "Unknown Soldier: The Story of General Grievous" which delved into detail about the Kaleesh and their dirt-poor homeworld. Their history - in which the Republic armed them against invaders only to create an enemy that could fight them in turn -- is analogous to that of the natives of Afghanistan and the Russian and American invaders, with the Czerka Outland rifle being a stand-in for the AK-47.

Katarn Commandos
The Katarn Commandos first appeared in the Heir to the Empire Sourcebook as a military unit answerable to Lieutenant Page. Their name comes from the katarn animal found on Kashyyyk, though the retconning of video game character Kyle Katarn as a member of the Commandos led some to speculate that the team was in fact named after Kyle. Galaxy at War establishes that the "animal" explanation is the correct one, with Wookiee member Frorral as the commando who suggested it (and Kyle Katarn's membership being nothing more than coincidence). But the book cut some of my text for this passage (suggested by Abel Peņa), which would have left it at humorously ambiguous:

Around this time the unit changed its name to the Katarn Commandos - some say as a tribute to Commander Katarn, though Wookiee member Frorral insisted the name referred to her homeworld's jungle predator. No team member dared mention Frorral's crush on Katarn as a possible contributing factor.

Lightning Squadron
These guys show up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, during the "Ryloth trilogy" of episodes (Storm Over Ryloth, Innocents of Ryloth, Liberty on Ryloth). At the time I wrote this entry the first episode hadn't yet aired, nor was I able to get my hands on a script or synopsis. I knew only two facts: they were clones that rode AT-RTs, and they'd worked with Mace Windu. Given that, I think it turned out OK.

Mandalorian Protectors
By now, many Star Wars fans have heard that Lucas intends to change the backstory of the Mandalorians slightly in Season 2 of the Clone Wars cartoon series. Apparently, the planned changes to the Mandalorian/Fett lore prompted novelist Karen Traviss (who developed much of the EU lore related to the Mandalorians) to bow out of writing any future Star Wars novels. I mention this only to point out that I completed my work on this entry well before it became known that anything was changing, so my relatively by-the-book approach isn't intended as a retcon of a retcon.

Mistryl Shadow Guard
Timothy Zahn created the Mistryl for his Thrawn trilogy (in the form of bodyguard Shada D'ukal), but didn't flesh them out fully until his novels Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future. They are a female-centric group of mercenaries. Loruna Scathe, mentioned in this entry, is an ex-Mistryl who first appeared in the online MMO Star Wars Galaxies.

Nimbus Commandos
The Nimbus originated in the comic Star Wars Republic during the "Battle of Jabiim" storyarc (which spanned issues #55-58). They are deadly soldiers who operate on a planet soaked by constant rain, a place that even Yoda would sneeringly call a "slimy mudhole."

Here's the coolest thing about the Nimbus: repulsorlift skates. These are boots that allow them to glide above the mud. Kind of like Marty McFly's hoverboard, but skates!

Onderon Beast Riders
Originating in the very first issue of Tales of the Jedi way back in 1993, the Beast Riders are a pretty cool bunch who also appear in the video game Knights of the Old Republic 2. I liked creating their rank hierarchy: Warriors, Berserkers, Conquerors, and Warlords.

Republic Rocket-Jumpers
These guys briefly appeared in Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising - and by briefly, I mean one panel. But they seemed extremely cool, and the Tales of the Jedi Sourcebook helped flesh them out a little. I continued that work here, making them "space marines" in attitude and reputation if not necessarily job description. The motto includes the line "from the sands of Socorro to the seas of Seffi," which is an obvious reference to The Marine's Hymn and its famous line "from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."

The entry also makes mention of famous rocket-jumper battles such as the Second Herglic Feud (9757 BBY), the Waymancy Storm (7811 BBY), which are newly-created.

Senate Guard/Senate Commandos
I mention in this entry that the uniforms of the Guard changed from century to century but two elements kept recurring: the color blue and a helmet design reminiscent of the Notron Centurions. I realized really late in the game that the Senate guards in the Tales of the Jedi comics have neither blue uniforms nor comparable helmets. Fix: change the words "were constant" to "kept recurring."

The Emperor's Imperial Senate Guard and Imperial Senate Sentinels are references to video game baddies from The Force Unleashed.

The quote for this entry would have read:

"Yes, Senators are powerful. But never forget that you're their guard, not their friend. You accept even the tiniest kickback, and I'll kick you all the way down to the Undercity."
-- Lieutenant Yonarium, addressing new recruits at the Coruscant Guards' Academy

Sun Guards of Thyrsus
In the 1989 roleplaying supplement The Imperial Sourcebook, the Sun Guards of Thyrsus were mentioned as the design inspiration behind the armor worn by the Emperor's Royal Guard. Pretty cool, except nobody really did much with them after that, other than a pseudo-appearance in 1993's great Wanted by Cracken. So they were still largely a blank slate when I started this entry. I worked closely with Abel Peņa, who had created some backstory for the Sun Guards in his article "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties."

Having just written the Mandalorian entry, and knowing how important armor was to the Sun Guards, I thought it would be fun to essentially make them the arch-enemies of the Mandalorians. A Mandalorian fighting a Sun Guard would be an epic fight that would get onlookers wagering their mortgages.

I also found some clean synergy in contrasting the Sun Guards with the Echani, a group that they'd been linked to in the past. The Echani, female-dominant, cold, and controlled, played nicely against the Sun Guards: male-dominant hot, and angry.

Also fun was sneaking in a reference to the "Sun of Suns." This is something that has been kicking around Star Wars continuity since George Lucas second draft of the script: And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior and he shall be known as THE SON OF THE SUNS -- Journal of the Whills 3:127. I remember making a "Son of Suns" reference in some earlier project and having it get nixed by Lucasfilm, so I was pleasantly surprised that it survived editing. In this interpretation, it's one of many prophecies that has existed in Jedi lore but it's one that the Sun Guards really glommed onto given the use of the word "sun," to such a degree that they think one of them is the savior. This makes them easily malleable by the Sith.

Their military ranks were meant to sound vaguely Roman Empire: Stellar Legionnaire, Stellar Tribune, Twisuns Legate, Twisuns Praetor, Thychani Commander, Thychani Dictator, and Supreme Sun Guardian.

This quote also got cut for lack of space. It was:

"The Sun Guards? Drop-dead scariest fighters I ever saw. Fools should have remembered one thing, though - never trust a Sith."
-- From a holorecording of retired general Solomahal

Trianii Rangers
The Trianii Rangers originate in Brian Daley's excellent 1979 novel Han Solo at Star's End. I'm a fan of the novel and the Trianii, so this was fun to play around with. The illustration is killer, too.

This entry makes mention of the "Kwapi pirates," and the "maggot-cyborgs of Hydra," both newly-created. I kind of hope I get a chance to revisit those maggot-cyborgs someday.

Wraith Squadron
This group of oddball pilots first appeared in the book of the same name (X-Wing: Wraith Squadron) by Aaron Allston. Their quote also got cut for space, but it was a quote I pulled from the first book as opposed to one I invented from scratch:

"Hand them an ordinary set of instructions and they'll carry them out in an ordinary fashion. Hand them an objective without instructions and they accomplish it in some strange way."
-- Commander Wedge Antilles

In the group illustration you get a look at Hohass "Runt" Ekwessh, the Thakwaash alien nicknamed "Horse Pilot." More info on Horse Pilot here!

Dan
(writing projects and current releases)