I'm starting this thread for two reason. 1) I'm looking for insights and ideas on Bothans & Bothawui (their homeworld). 2) I'm sharing some of my ideas and concepts that I've employed. (I'm not going to share any insights on these forums until I've presented them to my Players in game so all of my information is after the fact).

In my AoR/FnD themed campaign, I am assuming that Bothawui will play a prominent role in the campaign and since the player characters decided to follow a plot line in that direction I've put some serious thought into this location recently. In thinking about this element, I found myself coming up with a series of Bothan Sayings and here's the list:

Bothan Sayings:

“Open displays of hostility are unwelcome on Bothawui.”

“Bothawui may seem like the ideal location for a shadow port, but it isn't. So don't make the mistake of assuming it is one.”

“ Angering the Bothawui Counsel would be . . .unwise. If you displease the Counsel, they may be inclined to do nothing.”

“Information without Action is useless.”

“Everyone Talks, but Bothan's listen.”

“Bothans may seem adverse to direct action, but they have the means to employ such as needed (or wanted).”

These sayings helped me as a GM keep a frame of mind for the Bothan PC's and I was also surprised at how often I found these "common" phrases being employed by various Bothan NPC's during last night's session.

The other thing that I kept in mind was that Bothan's use information as the "coin of the realm." This doesn't mean that they don't use credit or other hard currency, but those are instruments for facilitating the transfer of information.

So those were my assumptions going in.

The session played out in an interesting fashion and I think the experience seemed quite surreal for the players.

When the group Hypered into the system, it was obvious that there was a modest Imperial fleet, an obvious Rebel Fleet, & a third fleet that they identified as a Hutt Fleet, with no indications of impending conflict. When the PC's asked about the various fleets they were told that each fleet was there to conduct business on Bothawui and asked why there wasn't any fighting, they were told that the various fleets understood that the Bothan Council would be displeased if there were any open acts of violence.

The local "window washer" simply offered to take care of the ships needs if the captain answered some simple questions. (Where are you from, what's the cargo, what are you picking up, who are you here to visit, all seemingly innocuous questions one would expect from a customs official) but the ships stores were topped off and the ship cleaned . . . at no cost.

Their taxi was well accommodating, and the driver hit them with another barrage of friendly questions. They were chatted up amicably pretty much anywhere they went and there were a lot of amicable social conversations that the PC's found themselves engaging in, from wait staff, merchants.

And then the people they began meeting seemed to know their names upon arrival, the Taxi drivers began to address them by name and knew where they were headed. It became obvious to the PC's that all of these Bothans were sharing information about the group.

Part of what triggered the interest was that the PC's had shown up in a cargo ship without cargo and no indication that they were really interested in picking up cargo, plead penury, and were trying to meet with a government official under obviously bogus claims of representing various worlds. In the context of the game, the Bothans became very interested in this odd little collection of aliens.

The other thing that stood out as odd to the PC's was that as long as they were willing to answer the various Bothan's questions, they weren't being charged for most of their services. One PC even sought medical aid at a local hospital and agreed to having blood work drawn and done. No charge for that! (Although I don't think he realizes that the Bothan's now have his DNA profile on record . . . ).

So that's what I'm doing with the Bothans, but I'm very interested in what other people know or think about the Bothan culture and motivations. I think that I'm going to begin interjecting more Bothan encounters and I'd like to know a lot more.

I like what you're doing with the Bothans.

I run the Bothan Spynet as something that is denied by the Bothan government but everyone knows it exists. The Spynet is a trading network for information more than an active network of agents. Despite this, Bothan-backed spies (99% or more of Bothan spies are not of the Bothan species) are also blamed for almost all espionage in the Galaxy, even if they have nothing to do with it. In effect, it is much like Russian hackers IRL.

Interesting take on how the Bothans would operate. I wonder if there would be very little small talk from bothan to bothan in public. If information is the coin of the realm, chatting in public would be the equvalent of tossing money out the window.

4 minutes ago, korjik said:

Interesting take on how the Bothans would operate. I wonder if there would be very little small talk from bothan to bothan in public. If information is the coin of the realm, chatting in public would be the equvalent of tossing money out the window.

Are you giving out reliable info or spreading misinformation, though? And can those listening take a chance in either case?

Maybe chatting in public is a polite way of telling each other interesting misinformation. Less gossip, more storytelling. The challenge is in getting your point across without revealing anything actually useful in the process.

13 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

The challenge is in getting your point across without revealing anything actually useful in the process.

That sounds like quality/risk review meetings at my last job.

Last session, I played the Bothans as very sociable and talkative. I think my NPC's talked more than in any other session.

I also tend to wear rose colored glasses and my approach to life and RPG's can sway to the optimistic.

And to clarify, the phrase "Information without action is useless" also correlates to "in-actionable information has no value."

And in this campaign this means that some of the offers being made to the PC's did not involve money. The group is actually trying to acquire information (so that they can take action) and the Bothans are, in their own way, trying to figure out the value of that information. And they want something in return for that information and they've been offering the PC's appropriate work to barter for that information.

Almost after the fact, I realized that one of the encounters, the PC"s had a casual conversation with a Bothan who was interested in the Hunting techniques of the Whiphid (yep, one of the PC"s is a Whiphid hunter). THAT particular Bothan was interested in the information, as available from the PC. Coincidentally, the PC's were able to meet with their appointee later.

So in effect once the PC's were able to impart of information that was valuable to a Bothan, there was an exchange set up that allowed the PC's to advance (the plot). And I think part of the problem that this group ran into (with my assumptions) was that they played their cards too close to the vest and weren't sharing any useful information, to the point that the Bothans found no value in working with them. (This may sound weird but this JUST occurred to me. I was fairly exhausted from moving to a new house so I was literally running on fumes).

My other thought is that the Bothans are anthropomorphic Lions, which are a pack or group animal who work closely together as teams. So I'm also assuming that they are cooperative and they do set up networks with other Bothans who can provide useful information.

In essence, it's the opposite assumption, where Bothans are open with what information they have in the hopes that what they have to offer is valuable.

Alright, I've got to run, but I really appreciate the insights and thoughts on this subject. I obviously need to think on this more and I appreciate the challenges to my own assumptions.

Also play up the paranoia and distrust with Bothans. They will always assume the worst from the PCs and expect that they are using some sort of deception to take advantage of them.

39 minutes ago, Mark Caliber said:

My other thought is that the Bothans are anthropomorphic Lions, which are a pack or group animal who work closely together as teams. So I'm also assuming that they are cooperative and they do set up networks with other Bothans who can provide useful information.

I would stay away from the anthorpomorphization here - bothans have fur and snouts that are vaguely feline or canine (depending on the writer and artists), but they're really not anthro lions and I don't think there's anything that implies they are. The only connections to be drawn are really physical similarities: beauty and hygiene may work differently for furred species than for "naked" ones.

39 minutes ago, Mark Caliber said:

In essence, it's the opposite assumption, where Bothans are open with what information they have in the hopes that what they have to offer is valuable.

Alright, I've got to run, but I really appreciate the insights and thoughts on this subject. I obviously need to think on this more and I appreciate the challenges to my own assumptions.

I think the interesting thing about information as a trade good is that it is far easier duplicated than physical goods. You can easily sell the same information several times - but it loses in value each time because more people know it and thus the number of potential sellers (and the number of people who may be rivals in using it) rises.

18 hours ago, Stan Fresh said:

Are you giving out reliable info or spreading misinformation, though? And can those listening take a chance in either case?

Maybe chatting in public is a polite way of telling each other interesting misinformation. Less gossip, more storytelling. The challenge is in getting your point across without revealing anything actually useful in the process.

While I wouldn't necessarily use that for bothans, I think it makes for an interesting society. Perhaps the idle chit-chat is not just storytelling, but also code: You make up lies about something when you also know the truth about it - for a price. If another party is interested in trading, they might reply by connecting that first "rumor" to a second one that indicates what they're willing to give in return, whereupon the first party can either dismiss the whole thing or ask to be told more in private, setting up an exchange of actual information.

5 hours ago, Mark Caliber said:

My other thought is that the Bothans are anthropomorphic Lions, which are a pack or group animal who work closely together as teams. So I'm also assuming that they are cooperative and they do set up networks with other Bothans who can provide useful information.

4 hours ago, Cifer said:

I would stay away from the anthorpomorphization here - bothans have fur and snouts that are vaguely feline or canine (depending on the writer and artists), but they're really not anthro lions and I don't think there's anything that implies they are. The only connections to be drawn are really physical similarities: beauty and hygiene may work differently for furred species than for "naked" ones.

@Cifer is correct here. If you want “anthropomorphic lions” look at the Cathar.

4 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

If you want “anthropomorphic lions” look at the Cathar.

Or the Gorvan Horansi...

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gorvan_Horansi

It's too late for now. All of my players already know that Bothans are Anthropomorphic lions . . .

3 hours ago, Mark Caliber said:

It's too late for now. All of my players already know that Bothans are Anthropomorphic lions . . .

They look nothing like Lions. IF anything they look like a cross between a dog and a camel.

Or they can look like whatever him and his players want them to look like

Plus, he never said 'looks like'. A rather cursory examination should have shown he was talking behavoir, not looks

No worries. There are a lot of different and varied images of what Bothans might look like and they do help me try to get a grasp on a species.

To endorse Korjik's point, I AM more interested in the culture & unique personality of the Bothans.

I've gotten a lot of good feedback so far and I'm happy with the participation and insights. Thanks everyone!