Rishi¶

Background¶

Rishi was a tropical planet in the Rishi system, located in the Outer Rim Territories.¹

For a very long time, Rishi remained ignored and untouched on the fringes of the Outer Rim. Its dominant species — the intelligent, avian Rishii — lived a simple and mostly serene existence on the island-flecked world. But when a pirate craft crash-landed on Rishi more than a hundred years before the Treaty of Coruscant, all that changed.²

With its plentiful fossil fuel reserves and close proximity to a largely unexplored dwarf galaxy, this tropical pearl of a planet has since become a favourite hub for underworld types in search of riches, refuge from authorities, or just a good time.²

History¶

Rishi was discovered more than a century before the Treaty of Coruscant by a group of pirates, the Nova Blades, when their starship crash-landed on the planet after a failed attempt to explore the Rishi Maze. Unable to leave Rishi, the Nova Blades settled on the planet and eventually learned to refine its fossil fuels. However, the Nova Blades later chose to stay on the planet and made Rishi a paradise for many criminals in the galaxy.²

Rishi Maze¶

The Rishi Maze, also known as Companion Aurek, was an irregular dwarf satellite galaxy in a close and decaying orbit around the larger galaxy that was home to the Galactic Republic. It was located twelve parsecs away from the planet Kamino, toward the galactic north.³

While it was a dangerous galaxy to travel, it held other-worldly artifacts and resources that would often tempt pirates for high-risk high-reward treasure hunts. A handful of talented smugglers have been known to start illegal energy mining operations near the black hole at the center of the galaxy, with Republic law enforcement simply unable to stop them.

One of the most popular of the few routes to the Rishi Maze was the Zareca String, a vertical hyperjump accessible via the Rishi system that linked the main galaxy to the Rishi Maze satellite.

Exonium¶

Exonium was a fossil fuel that could be used to produce energy. Rishi was rich in deposits of this mineral, and the native Rishii used the mineral in food preparation. More developed cultures used the mineral as a power source for weapons and starships.⁴

While the Nova Blades on Rishi made a sound income from extortion and slave trafficking, their strongest growth category had been in mining exonium. In its solid state, exonium coals were easy to ignite and burn for a long time at a high, stable temperature. In fact, the Rishii had long used exonium to keep warm and render fish fat. Its real value, however, came from refinement.⁵

In attempting to return to the stars after being stranded on Rishi for an extended period, the Nova Blades found that refined exonium not only made a suitable fuel for propulsion systems but also acted as an effective reactant fuel for their hypermatter drives. Because of its value, the Nova Blades tried to keep the origin world of exonium a secret, but anxious prospectors soon began to trickle in from all over the galaxy. Whether these prospectors would pay the Nova Blades' recently introduced Exonium Export Tax remained to be seen.⁵

Locations¶

Horizon Island¶

A jungle island, Horizon Island was the site of the port town of Raider's Cove during the Cold War. The town sat on the eastern edge of the island while the Western Jungle Expanse lay to its west, with hills and canyons such as Skyline River Pass and Gorge Hollow River Pass forming a barrier between the two.

The Nova Blades, a pirate gang, made their headquarters in the crashed starship Aggressor that lay in the western mountains of the island. Shaclaws, known locally as shore crabs, were common along the beaches, and the jungles were filled with tonitran lizards, jungle wampas, krak'jyas, and orobirds.

Raider's Cove¶

Raider's Cove was a beach town and trade port on Horizon Island. First built by the Nova Blades pirate crew, the town soon became a pirate haven where members of various gangs mingled in relative peace. The southern part of the town was a trade port centered around Bootlegger's Market, while the northern district was more sturdily built — with a thick stone boundary wall and polished buildings — and centered around the Blaster's Path cantina.

The trading port was built on supports out over the coast, resulting in slums underneath the port that often flooded in high tide. In addition to pirates, Raider's Cove was also popular as a vacation destination for adventure seekers and treasure hunters.

Western Jungle Expanse¶

Creatures¶

Most of the wild creatures on Rishi can be found in the Western Jungle Expanse.