Databank Download: We Don’t Need Their Scum

For examination this time we offer a rogue’s gallery of seedy, deadly, and unpleasant characters, all renowned bounty hunters. Their names are well known: Boba Fett, Bossk, IG-88, and Dengar. These mercenaries have worked together before, often assembled alongside other assassins and criminals prowling the galaxy. Each lacks moral compunctions so long as they get paid. They are professionals, but prefer the dark side of the business, often delivering their targets dead rather than alive.

This squad is not a single force led by a specific leader. Rather, this is a collection of affiliated but independent expert guns for hire. Each is a secondary unit ready to back the play of Galactic Empire generals, mercenary warlords, Sith, fallen Jedi, or scoundrels. These characters are presented in their shady prime, when they answered the call of figures like Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt.

Boba Fett, cloned son of Jango Fett, is a skillful mercenary, one famed for his borrowed Mandalorian armor and possessing an armory of violent options to fulfill his contracts. Several of his abilities focus on the enemy Primary Unit as an expression of his bounty hunting instincts. Both You’re Running out of Options, a Reactive ability which offers either mobility or a bonus attack, and Dead or Alive, his Tactics Ability, assists Boba Fett in cornering his foe. These abilities exploit his jetpack to perform impressive Jumps as he takes advantage of local terrain.

While it isn’t always advisable for Fett to take out a Primary single-handedly, he has the weapons and skills to put even powerful adversaries in a bind. Fett’s Whipcord Launcher can Disarm and Pin a target to make for a challenging escape. His armor is equipped with miniature hidden Knee Rockets that can inflict damage on two nearby foes to soften them up.

Hired Hand lets Boba Fett fit right in among Scoundrels or the Galactic Empire. His Notorious Disintegrator Stance is strong, with nearly equal parity fighting in close or at range. His Combat Tree offers substantial damage together with a relatively easy Disarm. Higher up the tree he gains options to Shove, Strain, or gain a bonus use of an Active Ability like his whipcord or rockets. And his Beskar Armor lets him shrug off glancing hits.

Next is the formidable reptilian Bossk’wassak’Cradossk, aka Bossk, a Trandoshan whose inborn instincts for the hunt serve him well. Having partnered with Boba Fett since the latter was an ambitious teenager, they remain on good terms even if they often work apart. Bossk is quite hardy and difficult to take down, benefitting from Regeneration, which will quickly remove damage if he’s not Strained. He brings ample Explosive Ordnance, which is particularly useful to deal damage and allow Bossk to close.

Bossk is fierce, and his Cold-Blooded Killer Stance represents his reputation well. He is a tactician with his Relby-V10 Mortar Gun, moving enemies where he wants them to be via explosive Shoves. He can defend himself with razor-sharp talons when engaged, capable of tearing even trained commandos to shreds. At the end of the day, Bossk is motivated by money. That he is a pure mercenary is seen in Payday, which gives him great flexibility on his Tags from turn to turn. In theory he could be switching employers right in the middle of a mission. We Have a Job to Do represents a degree of Bounty Hunter fidelity, allowing Bossk to retaliate against an enemy who has wounded one of his peers.

Next in the hunter’s gallery is IG-88B, one of several noteworthy killers constructed on this assassin’s droid frame. Most droids are highly specialized, and so are assassin droids, but their work requires flexibility and creativity. His every movement and action are planned to accelerate the death of his High Priority Target. As soon as he spots his quarry he is already lining up his shot. Calculated Plans allows him to mitigate the vagueries of chance, providing a reroll of up to two failures or attack expertise results so he can seek strikes and criticals.

Like Bossk, IG-88B works quite well in a squad. He Always Gets the Job Done, able to potentially Strain, Disarm, and Expose a target in his proximity, rendering them vulnerable to his or squadmates’ attacks. I Engineer Success, Yet…It Eludes Me lets him bring additional fire to bear to dislodge enemies contesting an objective. This move is a gamble and can backfire, but when timed properly can finish off a damaged foe to seize an objective. IG-88B’s Any Means Necessary Stance proves him every bit the equal in combat of Fett or Bossk, with excellent ranged and melee attack stats, a strong Defense Expertise Chart (with Reposition), and a tactically flexible Combat Tree that offers high damage.

Compared to the others, Dengar may not cut as impressive a profile, but he too is a veteran bounty hunter with considerable combat expertise. Dengar isn’t about fancy moves or gambits but takes the straightforward approach. Like Bossk, he is a pure mercenary seeking that Payday, with no lasting loyalties. Being Underestimated Has its Values, and Dengar doesn’t seek the spotlight, content to be held in reserve to finish off a struggling foe. He jokes that he’s Not Just a Pretty Face, possessing Steadfast and Immunity to Pinned.

Dengar likes sending his Explosive Regards to any foe that dares wound him in melee, giving immediate payback. Thanks to his Brute Force Stance, he is exceptionally fearsome in melee, able to unleash crushing blows with extreme prejudice.

When creating a squad, there are always multiple viable options to pair with a given Primary. But for those running mercenary, bounty hunter, or scoundrel squads, these four infamous individuals have a lot to offer. All serve as hard-hitting Secondaries that cannot be ignored and who have a good chance of neutralizing key adversaries or seizing objectives. All except IG-88B can adopt additional Tags to facilitate ability synergies (IG-88B synergizes in other ways, particularly by hindering and killing priority foes).

When you have an important job and don’t care who gets hurt to complete it, loyalty is overrated. Sometimes you need a bad dude, or droid, you can pay to get the job done, no questions asked.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!