Gorothite (B’Dellyi)

Last Updated: 12/5/2023

Name: Gorothite (B’Dellyi)

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Alternative/Mineral/Near-Human

Homeworld: Goroth Prime (Celleballen)

Coloration: Gray or Brown

Biology: The Gorothites were a somewhat Human-like species from the hidden planet of Goroth Prime. They were bipedal, but short and hunchbacked. Their skin was supposedly a pale gray or brown, and resembled rock or other minerals. Their skin was a coarse, leathery material, hanging loose from their bodies. This skin was generally heat and radiation proof. They had three-toed feet and four or five-fingered hands, with their legs being muscular and short, while their arms were unnaturally long and almost dragged along the ground if they didn’t consciously hold them up.

Their necks had folds of drooping skin, and their hairless heads were much more rigid than the rest of their bodies. There were three or four rows of craggily crests on the top of their heads which were covered in mottled spots. Their brows were massive, and their eyes were small and slightly sunken into their heads. Their “noses” were wide, lacking the usual nostril openings and instead having four holes in a cross shape on top of it serving as their nostril cavities. They had flat lips that were constantly cracked, giving them the appearance of an elderly human lacking teeth. They were very resilient and muscular despite their appearance, and while they could speak at least some Basic, they usually preferred to speak their own local language of “Gorothite.” (It would also seem that they sometimes had to wear breathing tubes, either to deal with their planet’s harsh surface environments or the non-toxic atmospheres of other planets, although this is not directly clarified.)

Lore: The Gorothite society was based almost completely around the family system, known in their native tongue of “Gorothite” as the “J’ber.” Different eras were determined by which J’ber was most prosperous, numerous, and powerful. J’bers weren’t necessarily hostile towards each other, but they usually remained close to their individual family, mainly interacting with and even marrying within their own J’ber. It is believed that the J’ber gained true sentience sometime between 1,000,000 and 10,000 B.B.Y., although it was probably closer to the latter as that was when the earliest indications of their first civilization was found. However, despite being around for so long, they never made any real technological or societal advancements. Still, the planet was beautiful, bountiful, and perfect for farming and building. While most of it was rocky and mountainous, many offworlders still considered the planet to be a hidden paradise.

In approximately 8,000 a group of Corellian pirates accidentally discovered the planet and it’s hidden inhabitants. These offworlders named the planet Goroth Prime and the locals Gorothites. However, the locals had actually called themselves the “B’Dellyi” which meant “the people” in their language. This was because they had, up until this point, considered themselves the only sentient beings in the galaxy. They also had their own name for their homeworld, although we do not know what it was or what it meant.

Because they had never interacted with offworlders, they were both disturbed and excited by the prospect of another sentient species, other planets, and intergalactic travel. They also considered the pirates to be their superiors, as they advanced unimaginable technologies. The pirates saw the newfound Gorothites as incredibly gullible targets and decided to stay and manipulate them into turning over their valuable goods. Fortunately this did not last long, as a group of Ithorian travelers also braved the intense surrounding nebulas and came across the planet. They reported their findings back to the Republic, causing the pirates to halt their operations and flee for fear of being caught. The Republic then extended a membership offer to the Gorothites, who reluctantly accepted it but still stayed rather independent and closed off to offworlders.

Sometime around 4,000 B.B.Y. the Gorothites got caught in a war between the Corellia and the Ando. By this point, the Gorothites had set up a rather successful Hyperbaride mining industry that drove their planetary economy and both the Corellians and the Aqualish coveted these resources. Both forces used Goroth Prime as the staging ground for their conflict, although the Gorothites were surprisingly able to remain neutral and casualty free.

Now while the Gorothites did have a capital city, P’Dar’Ken, as well as an official president, they answered more to their J’ber than the planetary government. However, the president during the Corellian-Aqualish War, Rel’Kan J’Kek, decided to capitalize on the current conflict and supply much needed resources to both sides of the war. This made him incredibly rich and even more popular, landing him in favor with all of the popular J’ber. Gorothites had a strict four-term presidency rule, however, Rel’Kan J’Kek was the first president to be re-elected for a fifth term and almost get elected for life. He quickly became the planet’s first dictator, forcing the Gorothites into more and more dangerous political situations.

In his greed, President Rel’Kan J’Kek hiked the prices on supplies for both sides to the point where neither could afford them anymore. However, neither side wanted to allow the resources to go exclusively to each other either. Fearing for their safety now, the Gorothites formed a planetary defense force known as the “D’Jar’Min.” Ultimately it didn’t matter, as for one final power move, the Aqualish forced a cluster of nearby asteroids to collide with the planet. This successfully ended the conflict in a draw, but also killed almost 5 billion Gorothites, raved the surface of the planet, evaporated the oceans, and released vaporized Hyperbaride straight into the atmosphere in the process. After this event, the Aqualish would refer to Goroth Prime as “Celleballen.”

Only a few pockets of Gorothites survived, with approximately about 0.2% of the population remaining alive after the day-long cataclysm. This event would eventually be dubbed “Se’Lenti” or “the scouring.” The surviving Gorothites had survived and continued to live in and around the “O’beki,” which meant “haven or enclave.” The 2 million remaining Gorothites emerged to an utter wasteland. The one beautiful Goroth Prime was now a flaming, toxic, crater-filled wasteland devoid of life or sustenance. Without any proper infrastructure, the few remaining J’bers and individuals would have to start from scratch, setting them far behind the rest of the galaxy. It is unclear if the Republic actually sent them any aid or assistance or not.

It would take almost 4,000 years, but by the start of the Clone Wars, the population had grown from 2 million to 500 million. This was still only about a tenth of how many Gorothites there were at their peak, but it was definitely a start. They were still officially a member of the Galactic Republic, however, they had generally been completely forgotten and may not have even held a seat in the current Senate. Still, they had been given a chance to recover and they were slowly retaking their irradiated planet.

That was at least until the rise of the Galactic Empire. A few years into the Empire’s reign, they came across mention of Goroth Prime and the massive reserve of raw Hyperbaride. They quickly relocated the planet and swooped in to take over the mining operations. However, when they arrived they realized it would not be as simple as they had anticipated. The surface was so irradiated that troopers could not survive without specialized RAD gear. It was so bad that droids couldn’t even descend to the surface without corroding and becoming inoperable.

They reached out to a number of Imperial-allied mining corporations, including TaggeCo, and auctioned off portions of the planet to each one. Realizing they couldn’t rely on droids or Imperial miners without paying for expensive radiation gear, they instead enslaved the millions of Gorothites. Because they were now resistant to the local radiation and poisonous atmosphere, they were the perfect laborers and were distributed among the different mining companies, labeled as “client workers” to ease everyone’s consciences.

This would last for 17 years, the Rebellion ignoring the pleas of the Gorothite people as the planet was too heavily guarded and they had no way of viably engaging in combat on the surface. Instead, four Gorothite rebel cells broke out on different parts of the planet. The Gor’Jen’Ar who were a non-combatant political group, the violent T’B’Dellyi’Mai, the religiously-driven K’Len J’Bar Kasoon, and the J’Mer Sab, or “Night Wind,” which was actually instigated by the Imperials to catch any anti-Imperial resistance fighters.

Finally, immediately following the destruction of the first Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance grew bold and sprung a surprise attack on Goroth Prime. It was a surprisingly difficult battle as the Empire had left their valuable mines closely guarded. However, in 0 B.B.Y. Goroth Prime was finally free once again. After these experiences they pulled away from all galactic relations and did not join the Rebellion or New Republic.

Some of the major J’ber families/eras include: The J’ber P’Tel, who were the biggest farming family and one of the first J’ber to gain power. The J’ber D’Reb, who grew as the Gorothites became slightly more industrial. They grew their name by becoming the leaders of transportation and supply shipping. Then there was the J’ber V’Jar, who excelled in research and technology, creating Goroth Prime’s first vehicle corporation, V’jar Technologies. J’ber J’Kek emerged as the first real political family, taking charge of the planetary government and arranging the presidential votes.

Then the Scouring occurred and many of these influential families were completely wiped out. The first real J’ber era after the Scouring was J’ber D’Trel, who led in the restructuring of the planet’s governmental system. In their newfound vulnerability, the rather small J’ber V’Sook rose to prominence, bringing with them a major Gorothite religion known as “The True Faith” or “M’Nes.” After the religious period, the Gorothite warriors began to rise under the guidance of the J’ber Jer’N, owners of Jer’N Weapons Systems. Finally, sometime before their enslavement at the hands of the Empire, the J’ber B’Yen became very influential. However, they had all but died out by 17 B.B.Y. and it is unclear which J’ber was in power during the Galactic Civil War. There were other smaller families, but being a part of one of these gave a Gorothite great influence and prestige.

Legends/Canon: The Gorothites and their history are exclusive to Star Wars Legends.

Unexplored: As far as a species’ history goes, this is fairly well established. Of course, if they are ever transferred to Canon, anything can be tweaked, changed, or rewritten. However, there are some really interesting and unique ideas that could possibly be expanded upon. What was their relationship with the Republic? Did they send aid after the Corellian-Aqualish War, and did the Gorothites have a seat in the Republic Senate by the Clone Wars? How did the different Gorothite resistance cells function and what happened with the Night Wind? Did the Gorothite ever eventually join the New Republic/Galactic Alliance? And what would happen to them in Canon eras like the High Republic or the Resistance Era?

Additional Notes: There’s a lot here I really like with this species. From their gullibility, unique environments, and their role in a war they never even held any stakes in. I would love to see most of this make the transition to Canon as these conflicts would be super exciting and interesting to see play out in more details, especially the Rebellion’s invasion of Goroth Prime! The species itself, as well as the unique J’bers, seem like they’ve been through a lot, and would make for some tragic characters to explore through different eras.

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