We are progressing along faster than I anticipated, but enjoying the ride. After freeing 9 Wookie slaves on a Trandoshan freighter as they were about to be taken to auction, my players are returning the Wookies to Kashyyyk, where Kharrukaa, a Wookie Hired Gun / Bodyguard, will be joining the party. He was one of the Wookies captured and is going to take on a life-debt to repay the hero that freed him from the slaver. He is also a hero to the Wookie clan back home as he saved many from the slavers and because of it was captured himself. He will take on the debt of many and will undertake his oath in front of his clan.

I'm trying to think of the ceremony that might come about as the Wookies lose a family member who saved many. I was thinking I would have each of the ones he saved directly come to him during the ceremony and clip a braid of their hair and hand it to Kharrukaa. He will then yank a hair from his own head and tie the braid and place it in a pouch on his bandolier. The new bandolier had been made for him by his mother after they returned. His brother gave him carved Wroshr tree emblems (possibly small statues of his immediate family... father, mother, brother). His father will give Kharrukaa his first bowcaster, the one his grandfather passed down. It is slightly less effective and is likely to be left on the ship more than carried out and about for general usage out of respect, though if Trandoshans are involved, it may be used (it will also not be able to be modified... if auto-fire is desired, make it yourself!).

Other than this, I have no strong guidelines for the ceremony. Is there anything written in the new books that would describe a Wookie ceremony on Kashyyyk? Or is this described anywhere in the EU or other source that might have insight? Or have any of you done a ceremony (odds are life-debt ceremonies on Kashyyyk are very rare, but I'm sure there could be similarities to other ceremonies) that would give details that I could glean from? Basically I just want to add a lot of color and make it a special moment for the character receiving the honor and obligation (yeah, she won't see that coming, but suddenly she is going to be a lot more concerned about things involving Wookies... heh heh... especially any that Kharrukaa has saved himself and carries a braid for).

I bet wookies like BBQs....

Hmmm... food... yeah, definitely need to detail that. And have the players roll Cool at one of the plates.... lol... definitely more thought needed here!

As for BBQ... I got a lucky click...

"Barbecued trakkrrrn ribs were made from the ribs of a trakkrrrn, which were native to Kashyyyk. They were served at Chewbacca's wedding to Mallatobuck, as well as his funeral."

So yeah, that is definitely in!

I've read all of the new canon books and don't recall anything w/ Wooks fwiw

Actually... I am surprised at how little information there is on anything related to Kashyyyk. No planetary maps. A potential list of cities, but mostly from video games. Some of the best info so far is from roleplayers in SWG, which I guess is better than no information. KOTOR information doesn't really count, because it doesn't really address Shadowlands versus the life in Wroshyr trees appropriately IMHO (aside from the deadly creature aspect of it).

Guess I'll have to get out my shears and cut some whole cloth... at least I have till Friday... let's see... need about 30 names (ish) with minor details and relationships. Full menu with odd and spicy food. Starlight setting and music (dangit, something else I need to find). Moderate map as I'll need to grow things in and around it for backstory and future hooks. Minor details to spice up interior of living space. Guess I better get crackin'!

Maybe a large part of the ceremony is some kind of big event to last, some kind of remembrance, like a big hunt or something

Maybe a large part of the ceremony is some kind of big event to last, some kind of remembrance, like a big hunt or something

And they BBQ what they kill...

All of that sounds pretty awesome to me!

Oddity: Bantha Rump was a traditional Wookie meal for Life Day

1: Wookies live in very large trees

2: Wookies rarely travel on the ground (called the Shadowland) due to dangerous beasts and things

Granted: Wroshyr trees are large enough for Banthas to travel along certain branches

Now... how many Banthas have you seen in any sort of Movie, Clip, Trailer, Teaser, Game inhabiting the upper branches of the larger cities of Kashyyyk?

I mean, I get that it is possible to maybe carry a large bantha calf up into the canopy once you have a city, but for it to be a traditional Life Day feast, one would think it would be something that Wookies had hunted for generations and had readily available. And the numbers you would have to have for feeding a large city like Rwookrrorro (or any number of other cities depending on where you pull the cities from) on a festival day.

Maybe this is a recent thing... still... how many thousand Bantha Butt Steaks do you have to have imported for the 12 days of Life Day celebration?!? Mind boggling either way...

Ok, back to work, but sometimes you just go "Hmmmmm....."

2: Wookies rarely travel on the ground (called the Shadowland) due to dangerous beasts and things

That may be true for many Wookiees, but there are places on Kashyyyk where there aren’t much in the way of trees and the standard super-nasty ground life forms aren’t around. I would think those would be suitable places where Banthas might be kept.

2: Wookies rarely travel on the ground (called the Shadowland) due to dangerous beasts and things

That may be true for many Wookiees, but there are places on Kashyyyk where there aren’t much in the way of trees and the standard super-nasty ground life forms aren’t around. I would think those would be suitable places where Banthas might be kept.

Depends on the source of the material. I have seen that as little as 2% of the entire planet is not covered by trees (even though 40% is covered with water... they still have a canopy). There are also places that say some of the trees are not as large as others. And yet there are cities on the ground in some places, very large cities. Regardless, if you go from these stats, as many as 500 million inhabitants are on this planet (?!?!?) and Bantha roast / surprise is a common life day feast. Even if only half of them have it just once during the 12 day festival, that is a lot of Bantha Tenderloin!

Maybe once we have all the major splatbooks we can go in and start getting some planet books detailing different regions, features and how the natives live. Just don't do it before Bounty Hunter one comes out or people will riot! These would work across all three lines very easily and would be very interesting to a lot of us, at least I think it would...