Actually, this exact question is answered here! Take a look at this post for extra info, or have a scroll through my calendars tag.
Hope that helps!
~ Jacen
Tag: anonymous
Has there ever been anything like a white phosphorous grenade in Star Wars? I feel like the Empire would have something like it but I cannot find anything.
Well if you’re thinking of the smoke-producing abilities in particular, then yes smoke grenades exist and are called such in the Star Wars universe. These smoke grenades don’t normally seem to be lethal, however, and don’t have the same toxic effects as phosphorous. A gas grenade can be filled with many different chemicals, presumably including white phosphorous if you like. I don’t know of any chemical-based grenades that a) produce deadly smoke and b) throw off chemicals that can burn so deep into tissue, so you may want to take a look at chemical load grenades as a middle ground.
I hope that helps!
~ Jacen
This is kind of random, but do you know why the Empire tends to handcuff people in front whereas other baddies like Jabba cuff in back?
I have no idea actually! I haven’t thought of this before! I’m afraid I can’t find reference of it anywhere, but if I had to take a guess I might say it’s because cuffing a person’s hands in front makes it easier for them to attack someone or escape, and a whole lot of on-screen escapes are from Imperial officers, thus making it easier for our heroes. If anyone has a more informed answer please feel free to add on!
~ Jacen
Hi! I really love your blog and appreciate the time and effort you put into it. I’m wondering if you have a masterlist of things a beginner should know about writing in the SW universe?
Hello, and thank you! I don’t have a masterlist per say – that would be a very long list indeed! – but I do have a few resources that might help you get started.
First, you could check out the vocab list for some common terminology used in the Star Wars universe. (This is always linked in my bio, for mobile users, and as always you’re welcome to suggest additions.)
If you’ve got the time, you may like to look through my day to day tag, where I stick things I think might be useful in writing the general life of a SW character. Some won’t apply to you specifically, of course. More tags can be found on my taglist, and if there’s something not on there that you want to know about (for example, the HoloNet) the search function is always available. The not an ask tag would also be a good place to start, because I sometimes reblog general references that may be useful. Give reference, resources and worldbuilding a shot too.
There are a few posts in the masterposts tag, but they’re not nearly as general as what you’re looking for. I’d say ships and ship terminology are always a good thing to read up on, though, so you could give this post a try!
Ultimately, in my opinion, the best thing you could do is just dive into it. Learning by consuming the material is much more fun than reading up on Wookieepedia! (Also a good resource, by the way.) The extended universe is full of little details that will make your writing much more organic. If you’re wondering where to start, try this ask! And, of course you can always send an ask my way if you have specific questions!
I hope that helps!
~ Jacen
By chance, do you know if the Empire used anything similar to the separatists’ defoliator canon? If so, do you think this weapon would be effective in destroying a semi-primitive city of mostly wooden buildings, or do you think the Empire employ something like a squadron of flametroopers to do the job?
I don’t know of any weapon resembling a defoliator that was used by the Empire. Flametroopers (called incinerator stormtroopers in Legends) would definitely be a viable alternative, and have been known to take on this role.
Hope that helps!
~ Jacen
Links / Before You Ask / Tips
Can you hazard a guess at how many Alderaanians might have survived the destruction of the planet? I read somewhere that Alderaan had a population of about 2 billion (not sure if that’s accurate), and I’m struggling to come up with a realistic number for how many might’ve been offworld at the time (working or studying on other planets, moved to their partner’s homeworld, vacationing on another planet, etc). Tens or hundreds of thousands? Maybe even a few million? Thanks for your help!
According to Coruscant and the Core Worlds, about 60,000 Alderaanian citizens were offworld at the time of Alderaan’s destruction. The same book, as well as a few others, cite Alderaan’s population before 0 BBY as 2 billion, so yes that is accurate. This is the estimate I have used personally, but if anyone knows of others feel free to add!
I hope that helps!
~ Jacen
(Mount Anon again) To be specific, I’m looking for a species of small-to-medium sized riding animal (so about Fathiers’ size), that could be used by a rebel cell on a jungle planet (like Devaron or Kashyyyk) similarly to how the Twi’leks used blurrgs. Something fast, agile, and that you could easily fire blasters/use melee weapons while riding, y’know?
In that case, I think a fathier might be a good choice. They’re quite expensive and may be hard to acquire, but they are definitely fast and agile and there is an instance of the Rebellion using them for hit-and-run missions. A falumpaset might also work, as they’re intelligent and used to navigating jungle and swamp, though they won’t be as fast – they may be better used for carrying equipment/ammo. Many ungulate species may also work, depending on where in the galaxy you are, especially the kybuck, a Kashyyykian animal resembling a tauntaun. You might like to look through the ungulates category on Wookieepedia, and see if anything there fits your location and circumstances.
I hope that helps!
~ Jacen
Do you have a tag for animals/non-sentient species? I’m looking specifically for a good animal for a character to ride into combat cavalry-style—something similar to a Tauntaun, though possibly something adapted to a warmer climate. Any ideas?
I do have an animal tag, though I don’t believe there’s anything there to answer your question. One that immediately comes to mind would be a fathier, but I imagine this would depend heavily on the planet and context you’re thinking of. Would you mind elaborating a bit?
~ Jacen
I’m wondering about the production of clones during the Clone War. Specifically numbers. How many during the height of the war? And what did the pipeline on Kamino look like towards the end of the war? If numbers aren’t known, can you speculate given the time it takes to raise/train the clones and what their replacement rate might have been? Thanks!
The actual number of soldiers in the GAR at any point in time is highly unclear and a topic of debate. Writers at the time did not coordinate much on things like the structure of the GAR, designation numbers, and the growing/training process, so different numbers are given by different sources, and often the numbers given do not line up with what we see in the show/movies and seem vaguely implausible. I would recommend reading through the behind the scenes section of the Wookieepedia article on the GAR, as it explains the disparity more thoroughly than I could. Essentially, you may decide for yourself which numbers to go with, though it is a common estimate that there were three million clones in the Army one year after the Battle of Geonosis (21 BBY). Over 200,000 clone troopers were known to be present at the battle, either on the ground or on the ships, and this number is usually assumed to have increased quickly (within six months) to the 1,200,000 quoted by Lama Su.
As numbers are unclear, the rate of production of the clones is also unclear. Supposedly, the Kaminoan cloning process takes ten years to produce one fully grown human, while the Spaarti cloning process takes one year. “Millions” of Spaarti-grown clones were added to the Army towards the end of the war, meaning that Kamino was not the only source. The rate of casualties is unknown, but judging by the existence of the Republic military enhancement bill (21 BBY, authorizing the production of 5 million additional Kaminoan clones), the troops were dying faster than they were being replaced. It is known that the training of the Kaminoan clones was rushed more and more as the war went on. Other than that, very little solid information is available.
I hope that is of some help at least, and sorry I can’t give a more definite answer!
~ Jacen
In canon or legends was the planet Mikkia ever elaborated upon or is it pretty much a blank slate?
It’s pretty much a blank slate, yes, other than the fact that it’s the Mikkian homeworld obviously.
~ Jacen
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