Tatooine
Geography
Tatooine was a planet located in the Outer Rim, a region of the galaxy far removed from its core. It had three moons, Ghomrassen, Guermessa, and Chenini. Long ago, Tatooine was covered in oceans and rainforests, but for unknown reasons, it became a hot desert world. Tatooine orbited twin suns, Tatoo I and Tatoo II. The whole planet was covered in harsh deserts, and only a small part of its northern hemisphere could sustain intelligent life. The landscape was covered with sand dunes, mountains, and canyons, which made traversing the planet very difficult. Due to the absence of surface water, those who lived on Tatooine had to draw moisture through the dry air.
Tatooine had only a few port cities, including Mos Espa and Mos Eisley. Besides those cities, which attracted many criminals, most settlers of Tatooine operated moisture farms in the expanse of the desert. Tusken Raiders often attacked isolated settlements on the fringes of their territory such as Anchorhead, and often took potshots at podracers during the Boonta Eve Classic, celebrated once every year as part of the Boonta Eve holiday celebrating the famed Hutt Boonta Hestilic Shad'ruu and his ascension to godhood. The Max Rebo Band's song "Lapti Nek" ranked number two in the top five of Tatooine's greatest hits, beaten by Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes' number-one single "Mad About Me." The Modal Nodes followed up their success with the number-three hit "The Sequential Passage of Chronological Intervals" and ranked-five hit "Goodnight, But Not Goodbye (Mad About Me Remix)." The Max Rebo Band was left with only two of Tatooine's top five songs, with their number-four hit "(That Joyous Night) I Ate My Mate."
Lawful inhabitants on the planet often utilized moisture vaporators owing to their energy efficiency, resulting in their status as one of the most crucial pieces of equipment for survival. While single vaporators often cost 500 credits each, some individuals bought and owned multiple units, creating moisture farms. Often utilizing the extra water for small hydroponic gardens, few gardens yielded enough to make substantial profits. Also, vaporators required frequent maintenance and security systems to deter attacks from Tusken Raiders, who believed all water was sacred and belonged to them.[8] The Raiders, native to the planet, were a nomadic tribal society with strict social and moral codes, along with defined territorial boundaries. Frequent colonial trespasses on their sovereign territory, along with the collusion between old values and galactic modernization, often forced the Tuskens to attack colonists whom they both vehemently feared and despised.
Jawas were also a native species to Tatooine and as such deeply entrenched into a nomadic lifestyle. Unlike the Tuskens, whom they attempted to avoid, Jawas frequently sold collected scrap metal and droids to the scattered settlers on the planet, earning a reputation as merchants and vagabonds. Myth and folklore also played an important part in Jawa society, with the Jawa's belief that the great Dune Sea was once a true ocean. Later research into ancient fossil-bearing rock and eroded canyons seemed to support this notion. Nonetheless, most of Tatooine's inhabitants refused to believe the story, finding it far-fetched and ludicrous.
Slavery, while banned through Republic laws, was readily and blatantly practiced under the twin suns. An entire section of Mos Espa was purposed as a Slave Quarter. On Tatooine, at least, the institution of slavery was seen as a socioeconomic symbol of wealth and prestige, resulting in highly protective owners who reluctantly parted with their possessions. Used as capital in business transactions, nearly all slavery operations were overseen by the Hutt gangsters, who regarded slavery as a useful institution.
Fauna & Flora
Inhabiting the planet were many native species, the largest of which were the carnivorous krayt dragons. The common krayt dragon, while more plentiful, was shadowed by the greater krayt dragon, which submerged itself under the shifting sands and used its powerful limbs to swim through the dunes. In addition, the common bantha and eopie species also found a home on the world, along with dewbacks, rontos, womp rats, massiffs and scurriers.
Natural Resources
As a result of sporadic and unsuccessful colonization ventures, the planet became a haven for smugglers and criminal activity, while scattered, isolated settlements of hard-working inhabitants attempted to earn a living in the wastes. A long-ago mining boom saw the widespread use of sandcrawlers on the desert plains in an effort to mine valuable minerals. However, after it was discovered that most valuable minerals could be found on the surface, along with most minerals having unwanted metallurgic properties, the sandcrawlers were abandoned and eventually picked up by the native Jawas for use as shelter and mobile bases, from which they collected scrap from thousands of years of crashed spacecraft and failed mining projects. Offworlders erected various cities in the desert, and colonists who decided to stay on the planet built moisture farms. The B'omarr Order on Tatooine kept their disembodied brains floating in jars that hung below their spider-like droid bodies and built a monastery on the planet which would eventually come under the ownership of Jabba Desilijic Tiure as his palace.
Most wealth eventually found its way into the city of Mos Espa, with most of it procured from gambling and off-world trade, especially through the lucrative black market. The influx of commercial ventures fueled Mos Espa's growth, eventually securing its regional importance as a hub of economic and financial activity. With high tariffs imposed by the Hutts, some believed themselves able to escape paying them by doing business in the planet's de facto capital, however, they often found themselves scammed and broke if not through gambling, through simple bad luck.
Type
Desert
Location under
Owning Organization
Contested By
Characters in Location
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Plots
Comments