Genuine question - they're presented as these dangerous crime lords and they control a vast region of Space. Yet appear to have no great ability to impose their power. Aside from their inability to pose a direct threat to anyone who can walk out of LOS out of one (including, given how long it probably takes one to turn around, behind it), I don't see any support infrastructure, back-up, anything much really, that would lead the Hutts to rise to the top of a criminal empire.

All I've ever seen of the Hutts are a handful of high-level crime lords (plus Ziro's mother in one episode of TCW). Are there Hutt thugs, Hutt pilots? Engineers?

I get that Joe Average walking into Jabba's palace is going to be met with some scary lackeys who can beat him up or kill him and will do so. But how is it the Hutts get there over all the other aspiring criminals or can hold off military forces to retain "Hutt space". In short, what enables bloated slugs with stubby arms to rule over others? I don't get it. It seems unfeasible. When it was just Jabba in the movie - okay, there could be any backstory there. But now I'm reading through EotE, it seems the entire species has some edge but I don't see what.

Hutts are very wealthy and very crafty. They can play the political game as well as any species, and the have the money to get things to go their way. Way back when the Hutts did engage in warfare (in repulsorlift-equipped battle armor), they made treaties with several subject races. Those races are still bound by the treaties (and several see the Hutts as gods) and serve them as armies.

What HappyDaze said. The Hutts have waged wars among the earliest species, and after a catastrophic war 15.000 years BBY they decided against open warfare. A council of Elders was established and the policy of kajidic was put in place, using money and influence to get what one wants instead of military conquest.

But make no mistake and look at any star chart and consider the size of Hutt Space, that they grabbed mostly by conquest.

If a Hutt would go to do violence himself he'd usually get an old battle armor running .. i think there is one in SW:TOR.

Several subjugated races. Knowing how to manipulate them to do your bidding. Vast wealth that includes hundreds (maybe thousands) of star systems and beyond, the contacts and network to make it all do your bidding, and hundreds of cronies looking to improve their station, even if it means killing the one above them

In one game I introduced the Hutts to a smuggler who just won his ship. Left on the pilots seat was an an envelope that said "Open this when you survive your next assassination attempt" inside was an envelope that said "Open this when you find out the assassination was ordered by a Hutt", inside that was a note that stated "Make two more envelopes"

I get that Joe Average walking into Jabba's palace is going to be met with some scary lackeys who can beat him up or kill him and will do so. But how is it the Hutts get there over all the other aspiring criminals or can hold off military forces to retain "Hutt space". In short, what enables bloated slugs with stubby arms to rule over others? I don't get it. It seems unfeasible. When it was just Jabba in the movie - okay, there could be any backstory there. But now I'm reading through EotE, it seems the entire species has some edge but I don't see what.

My son had the same question, and it is hard to imagine them as warriors or how they physically dominated anyone else. But they live a long time, are very hard to kill, and are really smart. But you could ask the same question of any leader today. Drug and crime lords, and dictators, probably aren't the toughest hombres around, heck Robert Mugabe is around 90 years old, and still runs Zimbabwe...who knows how. Kim Jong-un is a dweeb who inherited it.

People follow because that's what social creatures do. Very few people have the temperament or desire to lead, and those that inject themselves as leaders are very often sociopathic (think religious or political fanatics who gain a following). So having Hutts lead a whole chunk of the galaxy when they are born brilliant sociopaths and negotiators, actually fits really well.

Established. Rich. Smart. Ruthless. Patient. Those are all probably good reasons, pretty universal also.

I'll try to keep this explanation short:

1) As HappyDaze said, they are wealthy and crafty. Paranoia is standard among them as well. So what happens when you have someone with a lot of money, political resources, and paranoia to boot?

Part of the wealth is tied to be crafty, and vice-versa. They tend to see a big picture for the most part, often planning many years ahead. They also have a tendency to use that wealth to learn weaknesses (spies), exploit those weaknesses by application of money ("gifting" spice, "giving" artwork, "borrowing" close family, "supporting" a family member in the hospital), and then hold that sentient in their slimy hands.

This can create a pretty endless cycle of money and personnel acquisition.

2) As HappyDaze and kinnison have mentioned, they have subjugated races working for them. Many of these races are known to be great and/or brutal warriors, and serve the Hutts without question. It was these races that helped make the Hutts such a powerful force thousands of years ago (I mean, they've rivaled Xim the Despot AND the Republic).

3) Hutts are surprisingly hard to kill. While they are slow (even while they are young and spry), it is hard to actually get in to damage their organs both due to size and a tough hide. Hutts are also very resistant to poisons, leaving an assassin with only a few (and very obvious) options to remove them.

Hutts are also physically formidable. . .to a point. Their tails can crush and pin most beings, making them something you don't want to mess with.

Additionally, during many of these wartime events, Hutts who went into battle would use Hutt Battle Armor, which made them stronger, faster, more resilient and almost silent while moving.

4) Not only were they hard to kill, but Hutts can get OLD. The "average lifespan" (i.e. when they die of old age) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 years old.

Think about that for a second. It was about 3600 years between the Cold War Era of the Old Republic to the Battle of Yavin. This means that less than 4 Hutt life-spans passed.

You pick a feud with a Hutt, and you won't be outliving him. You'd need to live to 100 and have your children and grandchildren for MANY generations to outlive a single Hutt. Blood Feuds are a VERY bad idea. . .

This also means that Hutts are usually out seeing the big picture. 5 year plans are more like 50 year plans, with contingencies in place just in case.

5) Hutts are clan based. This means that they have "friendly" rivalries with other members of the clan and some powerful alliances (or rivalries) within and outside of the clan. These rivalries can be minor, sharpening their skills for the galaxy at large, while others are pretty major with takeovers being the goal, adding more resources to the Hutt.

Alliances are pretty big as well, as you can get the allies you have from your clan (or personally) to join you on whatever insanity is going on. At that point, you're not only competing against ONE Hutt, but his clan, his clan's allies, and anyone and everyone that they are allied with or bought.

Oh, and don't forget that they may just paint a target on you that their foes will go after with the hopes of weakening their true target.

This means you can have THOUSANDS of years of preparation, alliances, money, and plans. That. . .is a formidable force.

Those are the biggest points. They aren't valid for every single Hutt of course, but they are the ones you should be worried about.

Edit: whafrog beat me to a few of these points, but you may want some further elaboration that I have here.

I never want to see Libraria give a long answer.

You also have to remember what universe this is. The Star Wars universe is not subtle. Everything pretty well has one facet.

Jawas are scavengers

Hutts are gangsters

Gammoreans are brainless thugs.

It's not unique to races. Nearly all planets have one biome, droids have one function, characters are archtypes.

Some of the EU is a bit more nuanced, but Hutt's were created in the movies. In your game you can change things however you want, but the universe as portrayed in the movies is pretty black and white. My advice, don't think about it to hard. Hutt's are gangsters, because they're gangsters. There doesn't need to be another reason.

Thanks for all of those replies and Libraria - the extra information was useful.

I'm pretty convinced by those replies and I get it now. I think the two things I was missing most was that the Hutts are really long-lived and that they had already established themselves long ago. I was trying to work out how the species managed to carve out a large empire against humans and other such creatures when they had so many disadvantages. But if they established themselves against less-developed races long ago I can see that working and I can see how once established, long-life and big resources could help them stay on top. Especially with servant races. Can I take it that the Gamoreans (sp? The piggy types, one of which got eaten by a Rancor in the OT) are one of those races?

I never want to see Libraria give a long answer.

Believe me, I don't like GIVING long answers. I just like giving the answer people need.

And yes, I am a real librarian with a love of Star Wars and a gaming habit. Let's just blame that. ;

You also have to remember what universe this is. The Star Wars universe is not subtle. Everything pretty well has one facet.

Jawas are scavengers

Hutts are gangsters

Gammoreans are brainless thugs.

It's not unique to races. Nearly all planets have one biome, droids have one function, characters are archtypes.

Some of the EU is a bit more nuanced, but Hutt's were created in the movies. In your game you can change things however you want, but the universe as portrayed in the movies is pretty black and white. My advice, don't think about it to hard. Hutt's are gangsters, because they're gangsters. There doesn't need to be another reason.

Mmmm. That's true. However, if I'm going to be running a game in the setting, I like to be able to justify anything to my players. And details like this help make it a bit more immersive and real as well. But yes, point taken.

If you read tales from Jabba's palace you learn a few things. Everyone around the hutt are plotting against the hutt. Problem is they are all plotting against each other so in order to get ahead of the others they rat each other out. Is it paranoia when every one is actually out to get you?

Thanks for all of those replies and Libraria - the extra information was useful.

I'm pretty convinced by those replies and I get it now. I think the two things I was missing most was that the Hutts are really long-lived and that they had already established themselves long ago. I was trying to work out how the species managed to carve out a large empire against humans and other such creatures when they had so many disadvantages. But if they established themselves against less-developed races long ago I can see that working and I can see how once established, long-life and big resources could help them stay on top. Especially with servant races. Can I take it that the Gamoreans (sp? The piggy types, one of which got eaten by a Rancor in the OT) are one of those races?

If memory serves correctly, the Gammoreans aren't a servant race in the same way the Nikto or Klaatooians are. Gammoreans, due to their warlike nature, tend to work for the Hutts solely because it gets them offworld to fight event more things.

Some view this as a way of keeping the Gammorean population alive, really, because they'd be killing each other off on their own world. Sometimes, it's the "weaker" Gammorean group that goes offworld as they would be killed at home otherwise (note: this is mostly speculation on part, but it feels pretty accurate).

I never want to see Libraria give a long answer.

Believe me, I don't like GIVING long answers. I just like giving the answer people need.

And yes, I am a real librarian with a love of Star Wars and a gaming habit. Let's just blame that. ;

this is the most batman thing ever.

It is important to note that not all Hutts are the same. The films present things in very black and white as someone has said before.

The Clone Wars has done a good job of showing races in other occupations. Daxter Jettster is a Besalisk, we only saw him as a representative of his race and so the stereotype was that all or most Besalisk's were owners of Diners and chefs etc.

However, we later meet a much more athletic and in shape Besalisk, who is a Jedi. Likewise there's also Embra the Hutt who was actually a very kind and compassionate Hutt, as far as we know he was affiliated with the Hutt Crime Syndicate, but we get no confirmation in the books. Though it is said he commanded a lot of respect from his hirelings, it could be that which kept him in power, that when it came down to someone wanting to betray him, the others were far to loyal to let anything like that happen.

You can pretty much justify anything with a little work.

It is important to note that not all Hutts are the same. The films present things in very black and white as someone has said before.

The Clone Wars has done a good job of showing races in other occupations. Daxter Jettster is a Besalisk, we only saw him as a representative of his race and so the stereotype was that all or most Besalisk's were owners of Diners and chefs etc.

However, we later meet a much more athletic and in shape Besalisk, who is a Jedi. Likewise there's also Embra the Hutt who was actually a very kind and compassionate Hutt, as far as we know he was affiliated with the Hutt Crime Syndicate, but we get no confirmation in the books. Though it is said he commanded a lot of respect from his hirelings, it could be that which kept him in power, that when it came down to someone wanting to betray him, the others were far to loyal to let anything like that happen.

You can pretty much justify anything with a little work.

We can also note that in the Legacy comics, we meet a Hutt who is pretty much a kind religious figure and another who has an information network and guards but otherwise runs a cantina.

I can also support the idea that anything is viable. In other books, they've put in Kaminoan Jedi, which was claimed to be impossible. Well, it happened with a magic hand wave!

Anything is pretty much possible, even if you want to stick to canon. You could argue that it is almost impossible for the Chiss as a character species to exist in the game of EotE because of how much of an inclosed society they are and how mysterious their race was, consider that by the time Thrawn came around, most had forgotten about the Chiss.

Honestly as big as the known regions in the Star Wars Galaxy are there could be several thousand Chiss running around known space and unless some of them become famous like Thrawn did most people won't have heard of them, and even those at see them probably won't ask a lot of questions about their culture, unless they are historians, or something.

Things that make Hutt's fairly dangerous is that while they might not like each other much, its a case of brother vs brother, unless someone else turns up and then its 2 brothers vs that problem. Very clannish and have long, well established ties to one another.

So, assuming you get through the waves of angry, well equipped, violent types they keep on retainer and blow up the Hutt with a thermal detonator... that's just the start of your problems.

You now have that Hutt's family and their clan out for your blood and they'll never give up, they're very rich and you'll probably spend the rest of your life jumping from one shadow to another waiting for a snipers bullet to take you out, a bomb on your ship or poisoned with something every time you eat

You can pretty much justify anything with a little work.

I agree, but your comment does make me want to create a Hutt Jedi to test that.

Hutts are also extremely long lived. Jaaba's father was over 1,000 years old when he was assassinated. A single Hutt is capable of holding a grudge against someone that spans generations for most every other species.

The Hutts as a species also had the advantage of becoming a highly advanced civilization at the same time that the Core Worlds were developing, but because of their isolation, they were able to develop a vast empire in the outer rim, well beyond the Republic's reach and before the Republic could make it's presence known.

The Hutts are also one of the most powerful organizations in the Galaxy at this point. If you broke up the 5 most powerful factions at the moment in terms of resources it would look like this.

1. The Empire

2-3. The Rebellion and The Black Sun (nearly equal in terms of resources)

4. The Hutts

5. The Corporate Sector

You can pretty much justify anything with a little work.

I agree, but your comment does make me want to create a Hutt Jedi to test that.

It's been done. Enjoy.

You can pretty much justify anything with a little work.

I agree, but your comment does make me want to create a Hutt Jedi to test that.

It's been done. Enjoy.

You have warped my fragile little mind

Hutts are also extremely long lived. Jaaba's father was over 1,000 years old when he was assassinated. A single Hutt is capable of holding a grudge against someone that spans generations for most every other species.

The Hutts as a species also had the advantage of becoming a highly advanced civilization at the same time that the Core Worlds were developing, but because of their isolation, they were able to develop a vast empire in the outer rim, well beyond the Republic's reach and before the Republic could make it's presence known.

The Hutts are also one of the most powerful organizations in the Galaxy at this point. If you broke up the 5 most powerful factions at the moment in terms of resources it would look like this.

1. The Empire

2-3. The Rebellion and The Black Sun (nearly equal in terms of resources)

4. The Hutts

5. The Corporate Sector

I'm curious, what sources are you basing the rankings off of? Also obviously they have different forms of power. Blac Sun and the Hutts have tons of financial and information but they would be lucky to be anything near the top 5 in terms of mility resources and power IMO.