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Roleplaying Question: Feasible for my bounty hunter to carry a Ysalamiri?


Disastersaurus

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As a sort of method of occasionally getting the jump on Force Users, and because I think they're adorable.

 

For those unfamiliar, Ysalamiri are furry lizards hailing from Myrkyr that can project a Force-repelling bubble when they sense danger around them. Some troopers and jedi hunters used them in order to provide protection against force attacks, like so:

 

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070818153307/starwars/images/thumb/c/cf/Ysalamir_effect.jpg/250px-Ysalamir_effect.jpg

 

Obviously I don't want to do anything overpowered, but I figure it's easy enough to balance between trying to keep the lizard safe, it getting tired/exhausted/hungry, and him only using it when he knows he needs to ambush a force user.

 

Thoughts appreciated!

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Could work. However!

 

In the novels in which they're introduced, the ysalamiri are described as sessile tree-dwellers - that is, they stay in one place, having fixed themselves into a tree and stay there, deriving nutrients from the tree. When they're used as man-portable defences, the Empire had to use bulky nutrient frames on their backs to keep the ysalamir alive.

 

This may come with a few issues, such as not being able to wear a jetpack.

 

Also - although the ysalamir does prevent your Hunter from being detected and from direct uses of the Force, it's not complete immunity, as you note yourself. Even if you can't be detected through the Force, you can still be seen and heard. A force-user with a lightsaber is still able to predict and deflect blaster shots and the like if they pass out of the ysalamir's 'bubble'. The Dark Jedi against whom these were used initially soon figured out a way to attack someone with a ysalamir, too - he simply telekinetically threw rocks at them from outside the bubble, and let physics do the rest of the work.

Edited by smartalectwo
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Yeah, those are things I'd want to consider. I noticed the nutrient harnesses alternate between looking very bulky and very slim, however, and I figured a balancing factor could be he only brings it with him when he's not using his jetpack. And I'm glad that the ysalamiri doesn't offer total immunity; just a bit of a chance to provide some extra defense!
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You also have to consider the fact that it is extremely difficult to extract an ysalamir from its tree without killing it. Talon Karrde is the only one on record to have figured it out, and he won't be born for a few thousand years. So in order for your hunter to carry one with any degree of feasibility, you'll need a well-developed backstory involving Myrkr that makes sense and won't have others rolling their eyes. But hey, we've got an Ewok companion, so I guess you can explain away just about anything. :rolleyes:
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