Before I started playing the campaign, I tried to find some backstories on the heroes, to increase immersion and ownership for the people playing the Rebels. I was disappointed when I found only a couple short backstories in the promo articles (Fenn's, which I copied word-for word; and Jyn's and Gideon's, which were pretty sparse).
So I decided to write my own. I stole some from the promo articles on the FFG website, and the rest I had to glean from the side missions and flavor text. I posted these on the BGG forums, and decided to copy them here too. Here's my take on their stories; feel free to use/modify/improve/critique them as you'd like!
Mak Eshka’rey
Mak was a Bothan spy, one of the few who initially sided with the Imperials in the galactic civil war. His ingenuity and marksmanship earned him a reputation, and a special assignment from the Emperor himself: a deadly sabotage mission in a residential district of a planet sympathetic to the Rebellion. Seeing that it would result in the death of thousands of civilians, Mak refused, and barely managed to escape with his life. He found refuge with the Rebellion, and in return for their protection, offered his services and valuable inside information.
One piece of this valuable information was the location of an Imperial research facility developing advanced armor for covert operations. After proving his loyalty in other operations, Mak was assigned to lead the strike force tasked with destroying the facility. What was supposed to be a cut-and-dry mission quickly fell apart - Mak’s incomplete intel led them to greatly underestimate the size of the force defending the facility. Wounded, outnumbered, and with each other member of his team dead or captured, Mak was forced to retreat. He never forgave himself for his failure, and has since taken on the most difficult and dangerous missions he can find in an attempt to prove to the Rebellion, and to himself, that he is worthy of his reputation.
He wields a longblaster, which he has illegally customized himself for pinpoint accuracy at long range, alongside an array of military tech from his connections in the Bothan Spy Network. He prefers to take out high-priority targets from long range, but has no problem dealing with closer combatants, either by evading or ignoring them as he focuses on his objective.
Loku Kanoloa
Loku was well-established in the Mon Cal Special Forces, where he served as a sniper and lookout, when he began to take interest in the Rebellion. His assignments took him across his Imperial-occupied homeworld, and everywhere he went he saw the Empire’s cruelty and corruption. When the Mon Calamari revolted and succeeded in throwing off the Empire’s hold, he was quick to offer his services to the Rebellion. The merging of the Rebel and Mon Cal forces resulted in the dissolution of his team, where he had forged many strong bonds of friendship with his brothers in the special forces. It was with great sadness that he left them for his assignment to an elite task force within the Rebellion. Once the Empire is defeated, he hopes to rejoin his friends on the Mon Cal homeworld.
Through the rigorous training undergone by all Mon Cal Special Forces, and an innate talent for observation, Loku is able to gather every piece of relevant information about the battlefield. This information about the terrain and his enemies provides a decisive advantage to his team, and he becomes a focal point of intel and clarity in the chaos of battle. This information, combined with his remarkable aim, enables him to spot and eliminate enemies before they even become a threat to him or his allies.
He uses a durable, reliable, and precise all-weather rifle, and prefers to find locations on the field where he can attack from range and provide direction for his allies.
Verena Talos
Verena Talos was born to a high-ranking military family on Corellia. Her father raised her and her twin brother to revel in competition and combat from an early age, and it was no surprise when they were both accepted into the elite Corellian Security force, known as CorSec. Each driven to surpass the other, they rose quickly through the ranks. Verena focused on honing her combat skills, learning dozens of martial art forms and becoming proficient with thousands of firearms. Verena soon became a member of the Tactical Response Team, leading precision strike missions against terrorist encampments and organized crime rings. Her brother, though a strong fighter as well, chose to excel in information gathering, learning how to observe and analyze his enemies to learn their weaknesses, and often provided information to Verena’s team about the methods and equipment of their targets.
Despite her desire to outdo her brother, Verena felt no enmity toward him. When she discovered by accident that he planned to join the Imperials and deliver CorSec’s intel into their hands, Verena, in a rare moment of sisterly affection, went to him to plead with him to change his mind. He arrogantly refused, calling her weak-minded and foolish. Instead of calling for a team to take him into custody, Verena decided to bring him in herself. She underestimated him, however, and after a brief struggle Verena found herself lying dazed on the floor, bleeding from a wound inflicted by her own knife, as she watched her brother escape with the Intel. Determined not to let him enjoy the final victory, she joined the Rebellion and put her ferocity and skill in battle to use in destroying the Empire her brother serves.
She is skilled both with ranged and melee weapons, but prefers the latter, engaging her foes at close quarters where she can use her knowledge of the martial arts to bring her enemies’ own weapons to bear against them and their allies.
Gideon Argus
Even dropouts from Alliance SpecForces training are among the best fighters; those that complete it are some of the most fearsome soldiers in the galaxy. The men who lead them are legends. Such is Gideon Argus, who founded the renowned Saber Team of Alliance SpecForces and led it for many years. Their success drew the admiration of the Rebel leaders, and, apparently, the attention of the Empire. When a suspiciously botched mission left him with an injured leg, he used his long period of recovery to investigate the members of his team. He never found any proof of betrayal, and he didn’t know if his suspicions were merely the result of frustration and bitterness at their failure and his resulting injury. Unsure if he could even trust his own judgement, much less the operatives he was investigating, he resigned his position. He took an administrative position for several years until the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star, when he was asked to return to the field and lead a ragtag team to investigate a mysterious Imperial broadcast…
Gideon’s weapon of choice is a portable and reliable holdout blaster, an anniversary gift from his wife. Though his greatest strength is his ability to command others, using his tactical knowledge to focus their efforts and inspire them to victory, he is a formidable soldier in his own right, and his age does not prevent him from fighting beside his men on the front lines.
MHD-19
MHD-19 is a 2-1B surgical droid, heavily modified with reinforced armor and an advanced AI that includes combat training and battlefield treatment protocols. His maker is unknown, and his earliest records are of forced service to Jabba the Hutt. Jabba used his capabilities for healing his guards and torturing his captives for many years before MHD-19 was purchased by a smuggler named Draylen. Draylen had intended to set the droid free, but out of gratitude, and relieved to find a human who respected droids, MHD-19 asked if he could join Draylen’s smuggling operation. Draylen agreed, and as they travelled the galaxy together the two became close friends.
They parted ways when they fell in with the Rebel Alliance; Draylen’s connections and experience led him toward the Intelligence field, while MHD-19’s abilities were better suited to work in the medical bays of the Rebel fleet. Dreylen had insisted that he be exempt from the memory wipes normally used on droids in his line of service, and so MHD-19 was able to develop a strong personality and human-like qualities - particularly a fierce loyalty to those he calls his friends.
MHD-19 uses a sidearm blaster in combat, as well as the standard medical loadout for his model, which allows him to keep his allies healthy and enhance their abilities. His retained memories also allow him to develop an understanding of his own mechanisms and design his own upgrades, including some that are more offensive in nature.
Jyn Odan
Jyn Odan was an honest smuggler before the Galactic Civil war found her. She is quick on her feet, even quicker with a blaster, and faster yet with her wit. These skills, along with a healthy dose of cockiness, made her a natural fit for the smuggling life. Her partnership with the Trandoshan Szark was a successful one, but eventually Szark saw an opportunity to make some credits and earn favor with the Empire. He betrayed her to the Imperials, informing them of the time and location of one of her smuggling runs.
She barely escaped, losing her cargo, her crew, and her ship in the process. With nothing left but her blaster and her life, and on the run from the Empire, Jyn sought refuge with the Rebel Alliance. Her knowledge of Imperial operations and security was invaluable to the Rebellion, and her skills with a blaster and as a pilot made her a versatile asset to the Rebel Special forces.
Jyn prefers blaster pistols to rifles, and is most comfortable with an older model given to her by her father. She is quick and agile, making her way across the battlefield with ease, and finds most problems can be solved by getting there first and firing a few blaster bolts along the way.
Diala Passil
Diala Passil had not yet completed her training to become a Jedi Knight when Darth Vader tracked her and her master, Shu Yen, to Yavin 4. Shu Yen saw a vision of Vader’s arrival, and, knowing that Diala would refuse to leave if she knew the truth, sent her off-planet on a training mission without telling her of the vision. When she returned, Shu Yen was gone, and the temple where they had trained emanated a darkness in the Force. Unable to even approach the temple, she fled to the Rebel Alliance and joined their fight against Darth Vader and the Empire.
Even before her Jedi training, Diala was a capable fighter, and she grows stronger as she learns new ways to weave the force into her actions on the battlefield. She was not able to create a lightsaber before her master fell, but she wields a plasteel staff with similar deadliness.
She is humble, honest, and has little regard for bragging and reckless showmanship. She is able to remain calm and focused in combat, using the resilience form taught to her by Shu Yen to protect herself and turn her enemies’ attacks against them.
Gaarkhan
Little is known about Gaarkhan, the wookiee warrior from Kashyyyk. He sought out the Rebellion and offered his services as a fighter, proving his worth in his first battle by storming Imperial trenches on Onderon. In that same battle, he met Fenn Signis, carrying him to safety when he was near death. They were both commended for their bravery, and were assigned to a special task force as soon as they had recovered from their injuries.
In combat, Gaarkhan is the epitome of wookiee ferocity: he charges forward to engage the enemy with his favorite weapon, a deadly vibro-ax. Any enemies who remain to return his attack will find that he is most dangerous when injured, and any who threaten his friends and allies will find him even more terrifying.
Fenn Signis
“A native of Alderaan, Fenn Signis joined the Rebel Alliance at seventeen years old and served two full tours of duty as an exemplary soldier. He was garrisoned at the Rebel base on Arda I when he heard of Alderaan’s destruction by the Death Star. Swearing to avenge his homeworld, Fenn Signis joined a Rebel SpecForces squad, and now, he aims to put his deadly skills to work against the Galactic Empire.
Fenn Signis’s fury and skill with arms can quickly fell any Imperial soldier. Like every professional soldier, Fenn Signis relies on his comrades, but he also has a powerful independent streak.”
- Quoted from Fantasy Flight Games Article
Saska Teft
Saska Teft is a black market tech dealer whose connection to the Rebellion was formed when she took refuge in a Rebel hideout after an Imperial raid. Though she refuses to formally join the Rebellion, she is occasionally called upon by Rebel leadership to assist in crucial missions. Her connections in the criminal underground also provide a steady stream of information about Imperial movements.
She is highly intelligent and has an intuitive understanding of all things electronic and mechanical. Because she is so often absorbed in her work, her social opportunities (and, therefore, skills) are limited. Her lack of social graces is an asset, however, in the black market circles she runs in. There, her eccentricity is often mistaken for incompetence, causing others to underestimate her.
Her inventions, while unconventional, can mean the difference between success and failure in the hands of resourceful soldiers. And none is more resourceful than Saska herself, who uses her own devices and illegal weapon modifications to wreak havoc on the Imperial forces.
Biv Bodhrik
Biv Bodhrik has no memory of his biological family; he and his younger brother were raised by Wookiees on Kashyyyk after their parents were lost in the turmoil following the Wookiee uprising. Biv’s adoptive father was the leader of a force of guerilla fighters, and so Biv and his brother learned to fight from an early age. When they were old enough to join the guerilla forces in their raids against the Imperials, they proved to be fierce warriors, even by Wookiee standards.
Their successes, unfortunately, drew the attention of the Empire, and soon an elite force of stormtroopers was sent to destroy their camp and end the guerilla movement. In the attack, Biv’s brother was killed. In his rage, and ignoring the fact that all his allies had retreated or fallen, Biv fought on until he had killed every remaining stormtrooper, except one. He and the one remaining trooper fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat until Biv collapsed, and the stormtrooper left him for dead. When Biv recovered, he left the planet, angry at the wookiees for abandoning him and vowing vengeance on every Imperial Stormtrooper for the death of his brother.
Though he wields a heavy blaster, Biv often chooses to fight at point blank range, where he can bring his great strength to bear. He has no fear of death or injury, nor patience for cowardice or hesitation. He also has no qualms about looting the bodies of his fallen foes, using their stolen weapons and armor to great effect.
