CHAPTER TWO

The Planet Naboo

By far the most elysian planet we have thus far seen in the Star Wars saga, the planet Naboo certainly doesn't seem to belong in the Outer Rim. While most Outer Rim systems suffer under the tyrrany of despotic warlords or criminal enterprises such as those of the Hutts, Naboo is a progressive planet ruled by a benevolent monarch and represented in the Galactic Senate by one of the most respected political figures on Coruscant. Home to two sentient species, the human Naboo and the amphibious Gungans, Naboo breaks the mold yet again in that these species not only co-exist peacefully, but they actually benefit one another. As far as Outer Rim territories go, Naboo is the diamond in the rough...a glittering jewel.

The ecology of Naboo is interesting, to say the least. On the surface, Naboo is a world of rolling, grassy hills, dense temperate jungles, and striking cliffs cut by powerful waterfalls. But beneath this verdant paradise lies an entirely different ecological structure...the oceans and lakes of Naboo run staggeringly deep, and are interconnected by a honeycomb of natural tunnels and chambers that criss-cross the planetary interior, creating one massive aquatic environment. Just under the water's surface lies the Gungan city of Otoh Gunga (theoretically there may be more Gungan cities, but that is as-yet unverified), but in the caverns and tunnels of the deep lurk gigantic and deadly aquatic predators locked in the life-and-death struggle of their own unique mega-fauna food chain. In terms of its spectrum of native life, one could say that Naboo is two planets in one!

The Naboo people and the Gungans share a particularly complex, yet peaceful, existence. Although they both feign indifference (and sometimes outright contempt) for one another, the two peoples are nevertheless very much dependent on eachother. Naboo technology utilizes materials and products obtained from Gungan cities, and vice versa, though this is almost never mentioned to offworlders by members of either species. Socially, the Gungans and the Naboo are very different, yes, but even the rifts of theology and sociology don't really account for this superficial divisiveness. Upon further study, one realizes that at one time, the Gungans had to have existed upon the planet's surface, since they can breathe both water and air, and wouldn't have always had their shield-dome technology to protect them from the predators of the Naboo depths. There are even ancient Gungan structures still standing in the Naboo jungles, revered as sacred places by the Gungan people. Perhaps the first human settlers of Naboo drove the insular Gungans underground through their very presence, or perhaps there was even war in those primitive times...whatever the case, there is some historical reason for the split, even though it has gradually become little more than an issue of racial pride (WEBMASTER: The possibility that George Lucas was simply making a general statement about our social divisiveness shouldn't be overlooked, as repeated viewings of Episode I tend to reveal more and more such statements layered into the story...those critics that complain of a "lack of depth" in Episode I are missing the entire picture, since this film was designed to cater to the fans interested in the complexities of the Star Wars universe, and not just the casual moviegoer on whom most of the underlying meaning of the Star Wars saga is utterly wasted...OOPS! Forgive me, I appear to have started ranting...). In this era, regardless of past history, the symbiotic circle formed by the Naboo and the Gungans appears to be generally a good arrangement for all.

(WEBMASTER: If playing on post-invasion Naboo, the Gungans and the Naboo may be mingling socially a great deal more, judging from the final reel of the film, but how this is approached is up to the GM and how much he/she is willing to risk possible contradiction from Episode II later down the line...in my campaign, continuity is a serious concern, but in yours, it may be less-important.)

The jungles of Naboo are home to numerous species of what appear to be large reptiles, such as the kaadu and the massive fumbaa beasts, although few of them appear to be predatory...one could theorize that these creatures' niche in the food chain is to feed off the plants of the shallows, keeping certain species' of plants from dominating resources required by other strains, while eventually falling prey to aquatic predators lurking close to the surface, which in turn get eaten by larger predators deeper in the water, and so on and so forth the further down one goes beneath the surface.

While there is a great deal of industry on the planet, both the Naboo and the Gungans are very conscious of their relationship with their environment. Naboo suffers from no pollution, as the environmentally-conscious Naboo people regulate their industires very studiously, and the Gungans utilize as many organic methods as they possibly can in developing their own unique technology.

If Naboo was less remote, it would probably be one of the galaxy's hottest tourist spots, given its relative safety and natural beauty.

Naboo is not entirely self-sufficient, however, even in spite of the Gungan/Naboo symbiosis. The planet lacks the resources for the manufacture of its own hyperdrives, and its long years of peace have left it without a large standing military...thus, Naboo is dependent upon the Republic and its bureacracy for protection in military matters (and in this age of mind-numbingly slow bureaucracy, we've seen how well that works), and dependent upon the Trade Federation in matters economic and technological. In this era, Senator Palpatine is known as a charming and respectable politician, but we know just what he really is...and we can see how the future-Emperor is playing one vulnerability against the other, turning Naboo into the staging-point for his political takeover of the Senate...and eventually, the Galaxy. Look at our own history...every despot has needed a good political "soapbox" to build his Empire upon...and Naboo is Palpatine's soapbox, for certain. Episode II should reveal to us layers of this scheme that we have as-yet only guessed at...

Adventuring on Naboo
Naboo would be a difficult planet to base a campaign on...if you based the campaign pre-invasion, there just wouldn't be much to do! There aren't any seedy spaceports like Mos Eisley or fancy hangouts for upscale spacers (high-stakes gamblers and their pals)like Coruscant or Cloud City. Post-invasion, the planet is very much in the public eye as Senator Palpatine takes the reins as Supreme Chancellor of the Senate, and in many ways such a galactic hot-spot can be very tricky for some of the shadier character types. Instead, Naboo is best suited for use as a diversion in a campaign...just a couple sessions during a point in the story when the GM needs to distance the players from the "heart" of his campaign for a while, perhaps. A hyperdrive malfunction in this area of the galaxy can leave the PCs grounded for a day or two waiting for parts to arrive from another system, thus giving them time to enjoy some adventure on the planet in the meantime. Maybe the players are entrepreneurs hoping to carve out a niche for themselves as a "third party" in the post-invasion marketplace on Naboo, since the Trade Federation's actions after the blockade will have no doubt created an economic void...there are options, to say the least. But really, in game terms, Naboo's greatest potential lies in the example it sets as a model for much of the Prequel-Era galaxy...as this chapter continues, we'll be discussing certain technological and social developments on Naboo that may very well reflect a good portion of the galaxy, and just why that is so.

One more thing...GMs really wanting to just mess with the players' heads should arrange a stop-off on Naboo and a run-in with Senator Palpatine...just so the GM can get a good laugh from watching the players struggle to stay in-character and be nice to the Good Senator...after all, the PCs don't know what we know...