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No matter where you come from, who or what you are, or what kind of life you've led, we already know a few things about you. As good as you are with handling a weapon or a ship, you want to improve your skills. You get restless if you stay in one place for too long. You know the laws of countless star systems, but you have no intention of using it in a courtroom. If time allows, you will not enter a building before you've discreetly checked it over and marked all the potential exits. You're not averse to fighting to get what you need. You've killed, but you're not a murderer. You have no time, and precious little respect, for those who can't defend themselves. You take satisfaction in doing things right.
How do we know these things? Because we're the same. We are hunters.
No matter how anti-social you may feel in general, you know there are disadvantages to working entirely on your own.You need information and connections. To stay alive and get the job done, you sometimes require support and allies to watch your back. In other words, you need the Bounty Hunters' Guild and the Guild needs you.
As long as there are criminals, there will be bounties. As long as there are bounties, there will be bounty hunters. And as long as there are bounty hunters, there will be always be a Guild.
Thanks to countless holo-thrillers, the popular opinion of bounty hunters is that we're cold, calculating, individuals who measure a person's worth by the price on their head. Most civilians, and even many governmental officials, regard us as greedy, trigger-happy opportunists. They have even been known to call us scum, and other, even less civilized, names; right until they come knocking.
We know the truth about who we are, and what we do.
The Basics
But every hunter has to start sometime, and we understand that you're new and don't know all the ins and outs of the trade. Here's how the job works. Someone commits a crime. The Republic, a local government, a corporation, or an individual issues a notification to the Bounty Hunters' Guild, offering a reward for the capture or execution of the criminal. The person that issues the notification is known as the originator. The criminal who is the subject of the notification is called the acquisition. The reward, of course, is the bounty.
The originator usually issues a bounty notification because the local or regional law-enforcement service are unable or unwilling to tackle the challenge on their own, or the originator doesn't want them involved in the first place. After the notification arrives at a Guild office, a Guild contractor determines which hunter will track down and apprehend the acquisition.
The hunter must capture and deliver the acquisition – or the remains or other evidence of the acquisition's death – to a designated person, corporation, or location, known as the receiver. The bounty is typically paid in credits, either hard cash or a direct transfer through the Guild. Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Sure, it's easy. Like playing Count My Teeth with a pack of rabid nexu.
If the job was easy, anyone could do it. But you're not just anyone. You're a member of the Guild.
Misconceptions about Bounty Hunters
- Do bounty hunters kill for money? Yes, but not indiscriminately, and not merely for personal gain. Members of the Bounty Hunters Guild accept rewards for killing criminals, and only when a lawfully issued bounty notification requires the acquisition dead.
- Are bounty hunters murderers? No. Murderers kill unlawfully, and for free.
- Are bounty hunters assassins? No. Assassins typically target specific individuals for political or religious reasons, and do not necessarily profit from the killing. Most so-called professional assassins have no compunction about accepting money to kill innocent people
- Do bounty hunters kill innocent people? Never intentionally, and not without consequence. When accidents occur, the Guild's legal and insurance departments work with other authorities to compensate innocents and their relatives for any specified loss, damage, illness, and death. Guild hunters appreciate keeping a low profile, and opperating effeciently. This means staying on good terms with the general population, i.e. not harming innocents. The Guild is not responsible, however, for injuries, deaths, or damage caused by acquisitions during a hunt.
- Do Republic laws apply to bounty hunters? Yes. Again, bounty hunters are legally commisioned operatives, and Guild hunters are expected to comply with Republic law while operating in republic space. While the Guild has negotiated leeway in most systems regarding minor misdemeanors, stiff fines, prison sentences, forced labour camps, and death are among the possible sentences for hunters who break laws.
- Are bounty hunters mercenaries? Absolutely not. Mercenaries are freelance soldiers hired to serve in foreign armies. Bounty hunters have little regard for anyone whose allegiance is for sale. Besides, business is booming at wartime, why mess with good thing?
- Are all bounty hunters members of the Bounty Hunters' Guild? No. Unfortunately for them, some hunters prefer to work independently. They don't last long.
- Do bounty hunters compete with each other? Not if they're members of the Bounty Hunters Guild. Because Guild contractors assign Guild hunters to pursue specific bounties, Guild hunters seldom cross paths, but when they do, they respect each other as allies, and occasionally partners. Some even prefer hunting in a squad. As for non-Guild hunters, if they interfere with an authorized Guild hunt, the Guild will make sure they never compete again.
- Do bounty hunters do freelance work? Guild hunters are allowed to pursue any sanctioned bounties with the provision that their work for the Guild comes first. But remember that “freelance” is not an excuse for bad behaviour. You are not a petty thug. You are a liscensed bounty hunter, the longest arm of the law, and don't let anyone tell you different. You are not a wage slave, and you cannot be bought.
Requirements for joining the Bounty Hunters' Guild
Tell them to keep aiming low if they want to stay alive. Tell them to join the Republic Navy if they're so keen on wearing armour. No one who has the will to become a hunter will hear those words and run home crying. Standards for joining the Guild are high, and we don't let every homeless scrub that comes knocking on our door become a member, for a hunter is only as good as his reputation, and the Guild is only as good as it's hunters.
- Hunters come from vastly different backrounds, and some are more noble than others. Before joining, make sure you don't have any current warrants on your head.
- Each candidate for membership in the Bounty Hunters Guild must have a minimum of five (5) confirmed captures, with bounty payouts totaling at least 20,000 credits.
- Each candidate for membership in the Bounty Hunters Guild must survive the initiation test.
That last one is the kicker. That clause, affectionately known as the Fighting Third by the Guild members, exists to scare off the scrubs, and ensure that only the most determined and talented hunters joins the Guild.
We're not saying you'll die during the initiation. Of course, we're not saying you won't, either.
The Bounty Hunters' Creed
The Creed's six tenets are what separates bounty hunters from bodyguards, mercenaries, and thugs. It draws authority not from outside institutions of law, but from us, its backers.
- The First Tenet: People don't have Bounties, only Acquisitions have Bounties. Think on this. When a person gets a price on his head, he's no longer a person. He's an acquisition. He's hard merchandise. That's what moral crusaders don't understand about hunters. We're not the villains, and we didn't post the bounty. The acquisition did the bad stuff. You're not the target's judge, or his conscience, or his mother. You're just his reconing.
- The Second Tenet: Capture by design, kill by necessity. Wanted postings often say Dead or Alive, and sometimes they just say Dead. So you can kill when the job gives you that flexibility. But if you kill outside those parameters, you're just an assassin. Now, sometimes captures turn into kills. Shootouts end badly, or acquisitions choose suicide over a Hutt prison. Don't make a habit out of it, it'd embarassing to all of us.
- The Third Tenet: No Hunter shall slay another Hunter. If the Creed lowers bounty targets to the level of merchandise, it elevates bounty hunters to the status of professionals. You try not to kill an acquistion, unless it's part of the job. You must not kill a hunter, no matter what. Hunting is a competetive buisness, so this needs to be spelled out again and again, using short words. Listen up. There might be a dozen of independent hunters working the same job you are. Silencing one of them with a shot to the helmet would make it easier for you to nab the bounty free and clear. But you're not going to do it. Put 'em in their place and move on, assuming they are smart enough to let you. Self defense is self defense if it's legit. Furthermore, a hunter who's been drummed out of our fellowship is a hunter no more. On them, it's open season.
- The Fourth Tenet: No Hunter shall interfere with another's Hunt. If you thought the third tenet was tough to swallow, this one will really burn your gut. But it's no mystery why it's needed. Bounty hunting is a careful art. It can take months of prep to locate a target's hidey-hole. Don't dishonour a fellow guild hunter by kicking over his cards. We've got enough of that from chuff-sucking hunt saboteurs.
- The Fifth Tenet: In the Hunt, one Captures or Kills, never both. None of that “killed while trying to escape” stuff, said with a wink and a smirk, which the hutts do so well. If you capture live, you deliver live. Hunters aren't murderers. And preferably as intact as possible. We're also not torturers.
- The Sixth Tenet: No Hunter shall refuse Aid to another Hunter. It's written into the Creed that a hunter must help out a rival if asked, and any real hunter will honour that directive. Nobody expects your generosity to go unrewarded, however. If you're asked to help another hunter capture a big bruiser like an esoomian, you can expect to take ten to fourty percent of the bounty (depending on how much work your new partner put into the setup). That keeps things fair and profitable. Just make sure you agree on the split before the takedown!
Guild Regulations
The Guild is strong because it's members are strong. And how does the Guild keep you strong? How does it offer you Guildhouse training, or a starship repair yard, or an armourer's office where you can sign out a jet pack?
Well, the answer is three-fold. First, you have your annual dues. You pay 2,000 credits to the Guild each year to keep your spot in the Guild, in order to help cover the services mentioned above, not to mention the countless members of the Guild's support staff, such as the invaluable contractors, our legal and insurance office, and our top notch medical teams.
But as you might have surmised, the Bounty Hunters' Guild can't live on dues alone. The second piece of the Guild's annual intake is what it collects from actual bounties. For each bounty you bring in as a member of the Guild, the Guild in turn takes a percentage of that fee. This contractual percentage is levied no matter what you think you deserve. Nobody cares how many kicks to the head you took getting the acquisition under control. Besides, noone is making chump change off guild bounties.
The third part of the Guild's income is generously rewarded from the Republic itself. They cover some of our fees, and helps smoothe over our interactions and cooperation with Galactic and local law-enforcement agencies, be it CorSec, CSF, or Kuat Corporate Security. The last thing you want to do is end up in a legal argument on whether the star yacht your acquisition stole in order to escape is on you – or the Guild – or not.
You want to keep every cred you collect? Go it alone and see how well you do. The Guild is the best because of what it provides, and like everything else worth having in this galaxy, that's all built on money. And unlike anybody else you're likely to meet, we're the only ones who are honest about it.
That's not the end of the codes, not by a long shot. Every Guild hunter needs to submit to an evaluation by the Guild Council's agents at least every three years, or once a year for probationary members. Worried about passing? You probably don't have anything to worry about. That shows you care about your job. Hunters who let things slip are the ones who should watch their backs. The ones who don't keep their gear running or their permits current. The ones who keep racking up complaints from local law offices – or worse, from clients. Fail an evaluation and you might get a warning, if the Council's having a good day. Fail two, and you're out. No matter what.
Guild Rules
- Accept the job your Guild contractor gives you. Guild hunters don't always pick whatever hunt sounds like fun. At least, the rookies don't. There's a good reason why a contract may be assigned one way or another.
- Always complete your job. Once a contract has been accepted or assigned to you, you complete it. There is no excuse for failure to deliver your acquisition. It makes you look bad, and it makes the Guild look bad, you won't get paid, and the Guild's cut comes out of your next job!
- Never deny aid to a Guild member. This goes deeper than the Bounty Hunters' Creed, and the reason should be obvious. If the Creed demands that you even help out scrub hunters, how much more should you give your brothers and sisters in the Guild? You give them your right arm, that's how much.
- Submit disputes between hunters to the Guild for arbitration. If it's something you can solve with punches, go right ahead. But if it's the kind of thing where one of you is likely to pull a blaster, submit it for arbitration! If you kill or maim the other guy, you just cost the Guild a dues-paying hunter. And guess who's going to repay the lost credits? Call it in and make your accusation. A conclave will be convened. These meetings are called hunters' lodges.
Trial and Sentencing
Of course, a hunters' lodge can be called just about anywhere, from a starship's hold to a tavern's storage room. You need a minimum of three hunters to listen to the lodgement of accusation. Each party has the right to air their case, and the verdict is determined by a majority vote by the assembled hunters.
A hunter found guilty of violating the Creed has dishonoured the bounty hunting profession. The guilty are expelled from the Guild and forever banned from hunting. Even if they try to scratch out a living as an independent hunter, they're no longer protected by the Creed's tenents, including “No Hunter Shall Slay Another Hunter.” Nobody will get teary-eyed if these types meet with a bad end.
But most lodge trials boil down to personal grudges, and the related penalties aren't nearly so severe. A hunter who's been judged to be in the wrong might be ordered to fork over a stack of credits, or maybe to settle it with the other hunter in one-on-one combat right there at the lodge. If that happens, there are usually no weapons, but then again some Guildhouses love to stage cutlass duels. If you're the kind of mudlicker who's always angering his friends, and if you happen to operate out of the Guildhouse on Castell, then you might want to look into swordfighting lessons. A word to the wise, don't upset anyone if you're at the Guildhouse of Trandosha. Trandoshan arms grow back. Yours' won't.
The Republic Bounty
The posting is a legal instrument, technically a Notice of Civil Remandation (NCR). The instant a bounty notice goes up, the target in question is officially an outlaw and stripped of the rights of a Republic citizen. The bigger the crime, the bigger the payout.
While the Guild accepts some funding subsidies from the Republic, our hunters are NOT explicitly Republic employees. We are recognized as the only agency granted authority to accept and act on ROCI bounties within Republic space. As such, the guild requires it's members to stay current with their Republic liscenses. Once more: the BHG is not a Republic agency. If we were they would have to own to all the dirty work they outsource to us...
Bounty Classifications
Bigger crimes equal bigger payouts. Except for all the times when a client throws a fortune on the head of somebody who humiliated them over something small. It happens all the time, and all in the name of pride. But in general, there's a predictable incentive riser backed into the system. From bigger to smallest, here's how the ROCI and the Bounty Hunter's Guild classify hunts:
(Bounty range in excess of 200,000 Credits)
These are the big dragfish, the ones the Republic calls imminent threats to public safety or Republic security. The money is great, but don't be stupid enough to think of these as your retirement tickets. Everybody on the Most Wanted list is there for a reason, one that could be purely political but could also involve some serious mayhem. At the very least, a criminal on this list has done an incredible job of avoiding capture. That's why they're now our problem, and not buried in some law officer's case file. Killers and maniacs on the Most Wanted list are usually marked “dead or alive.” Political dissidents are marked “locate and detain”, which means don't shoot unless you're sure the target is going to survive a blaster bolt where you're aiming!
Crimes that land people on the Most Wanted list include:
- Conspiracy, sedition, or treason against the Republic.
- Destruction/theft of Republic property valued in excess of 250,000 credits.
- Impersonation of a Republic official.
- Flight to avoid Republic prosecution.
- Obstruction of Republic authority.
The last one is vague on purpose and often used to justify some petty power trips. Lots of people will complain to your face about it, but we bounty hunters are just the messengers. If they want to get mad at someone, they can go shake their fists at the Senate.
Galactic
(Bounty range: 50,000 – 200,000 Credits)
These sleemos aren't bad enough to land on the Most Wanted list, but they've earned a galaxy-wide bounty just the same. The Galactic list is tens of thousands of names long (where the Most Wanted list is only a few hundred), and some of them have been listed for decades.
Crimes that land people on the Galactic list include:
- Aggression against a member of the Republic security forces.
- Aggression against a member of the Republic Senate.
- Bribery of a Republic official.
- Transportation of restricted items. This is a bigger offense than simple smuggling, and usually means stolen prototype weapons, dangerous pathogens, toxins and similar. Cargo that could potentially devastate entire sectors.
- Piracy. Especially those Rim-runners who prey on Republic drone-barges.
- Possession of a cloaking device.
Regional
(Bounty range: 20,000 – 75,000 Credits)
Like it says, a regional bounty is offered only within a specific galactic region, the Core Worlds excepted. That can be anything from Colonies, Inner Rim, Expansion Region, Mid Rim, and Outer Rim all the way to specialty haunts like the Centrality. Notable exceptions are the Corporate Sector and Hutt Space, where local officials direct their own bounty operations independently of the ROCI. Eight out of ten regional bounties are posted within the Outer Rim Territories, so get used to it. It's the biggest place for a target to hide. The Hapes Consortium and the Core Worlds are officially No Hunt Zones, but that just means you need to slip the officials a bribe and operate discreetly.
Crimes that will earn somebody a spot on the regional bounty list include:
- Murder of Republic government personnel. Regular old murder isn't enough to rate a regional bounty.
- Forgery. A good forger can reproduce anything from a Republic Peacekeeping Certificate (RPKC) to a 100,000 credit note, and a good forger is smart enough to not get caught. A forger who's earned a Regional bounty probably got backstabbed by a partner (which, if you're smart, is where you should start your hunt).
- Operating an unlawful starship. A private freighter that's got military grade shielding and a torpedo rack is breaking dozens of laws just by existing. It's rare to see a bounty posted for this crime, but it can happen if a captain skips out on the Bureau of Ships and Services annual shakedown.
- Transporting stolen goods. This one is on the books to target the smuggling kingpins who regularly move million-credit payloads. When you track one down, don't be surprised when they offer double or triple the bounty value to pay you off. I trust you know by now that nothing comes between a hunter and an acquisition.
Sector, System, and Planetary
(Bounty Range: 3,000 – 50,000 Credits)
These bounties are offered within a specific sector, system, or planet's gravity well. They'll probably only show up when you're searching a localized node of the DataCore. Even though they don't have big payouts, a decent hunter can collar this level of low-grade merchandise again and again, making more in pin money than they would if they spent tracking Jaarl the Conqueror to score a single big payday.
Here's what lands somebody on this list:
- Aiding and abetting criminal activity.
- Murder.
- Kidnapping.
- Transportation of passengers in violation of customs laws.
- Possession of an illegal weapon.
- Smuggling. These are usually small jobs.
- Operating an illegally modified starship. Usually the equipment is legal, but somebody forgot to get the permits.
- Breaking into a Republic installation.
- Jamming official communications.
Corporate Bounties
That's it for ROCI bounties, but the rules are different when somebody other than the government puts a price on a head. Corporate bounties for example, have almost nothing to do with public safety. What kinds of crimes will make an exec mad enough to hire a hunter? It's all about protecting their profit statements:
- Industrial espionage.
- Theft or destruction of corporate property.
- Criminal trespass on company facilities.
- Unauthorized use of company databases.
- Malicious corruption of company records.
- Attempted bribery or intimidation of company employees.
- Illegal replication of a trademarked device.
- Violation of a company's security agreement.
Underworld Bounties
Underworld bounties, by contrast, are always a surprise. You'll see lots of death marks slapped on the heads of majordomos who stole from their masters or turned traitor by testifying for Republic prosecutors. But because of a good chunk of these bounties are posted by the clan leaders on Nal Hutta, a “crime” can be anything that made a Hutt cranky. A chef who put too many fleek eels in the pudding, for example. An animal wrangler who was on duty when the nos monster died of old age. At the rates they pay, they are allowed to.
Alternative Contracts
1. Property Bounties ($ varies) Sometimes a client doesn't need the thief brought back, as much as they do the custom light frieghter or priceless heirloom that was stolen. Often this are tagged onto tradition bounties as a bonus, or addendum, but often the property in question can be the bounty itself. Don't lose it. Don't break it. Think about keeping it, and you will be taught the meaning of regret.
2. Fetch ($$$) These bounties exploit a fun loophole in galactic law. While most sentient bounties are required to meet the local court's standard of proof or reasonable suspicion of guilt, fetch bounties require no such burden. For a hefty mark up, these bounties are essentially sneaky missing person reports that allow anyone with the money to post a bounty for the safe delivery of the aquisition (alive). These can be placed on anyone , without legal precient.
3. Retainers ($$$$) These are a little differnt, and the result of a variety outsidde requests. First of all, both in and outside of the republic, the Guild had clients we can safely call regulars. If you need this explained further you may be in the wrong business. If these regulars prefer the services of a specific hunter, they can make a request. If they want to pay through the nose to solicit the continued services of that hunter for a limited time, that's a retainer. While commonly contracted by Hutts in this way, a huge push for these contracts came from Republic Senators after a series of distasterous political snafus on Corellia. While public appearances are sometimes an unfortuante reallity of being on retainer, the Guild draws a clear line with these Contracts. Hunter's are not private thugs, hitman, bodygaurds, or fashion accessories. Most of these contracts are more along the lines of on-call P.I., or security specialists. Guild Contractors will never allow Retainers without the Hunter's consent, and allow some of the details to be worked out between both parties, with one exception. Guild first. Retainer does NOT mean owned, and if the Guild calls you in, you come.
Hunting Permits
Every Bounty Hunter needs to carry a current Republic Peacekeeping Certificate (RPKC). It's 500 credits, payable to the Republic Office of Criminal Investigation (ROCI), and is subject to annual renewal. Specifically, it lays down these rules of engagement under Republic law.
- The bounty poster reserves the right to determine proper treatment of the acquisition.
- Injury, incapacitation, or death of an acquisition may only occur if the subject has refused to surrender.
- Only a clear and reasonable application of force may be used against an acquisition.
- A licensed bounty hunter will not accept any illegal, or informal contract while opperating within the Republic.
Your RPCK also gives you a law-enforcement waiver on weapons restrictions.
Guild History
Since long before the birth of the Republic, countless Bounty Hunters have prowled the galaxy, tracking acquisitions. Although many hunters operated alone, many also formed alliances. Whether these hunters teamed up to tackle a single bounty or to cooperate with other law-enforcement agencies within specific areas of space on an ongoing basis, they knew the advantage of strength in numbers and dependable reinforcements.
Historic records indicate various incarnations of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild over the past 25 000 years. The earliest records date to shortly after the formation of the Republic, with a guild in the Kashyyyk system. This guild was essentially a social club for Trandoshan hunters and their sons, but Trandoshan hunters take great pride in the fact that their Guild was the first. Over the centuries, hunters from other systems formed their own guilds, and some of these guilds - including the Trandoshans’ - became affiliated as the Bounty Hunters’ Guild. Although this guild operated more like a coalition of associations than a unified professional organization, historical records describe this group of hunters as a notably efficient group.
During the centuries that followed, there occurred several notorious conflicts between undercover Jedi and bounty hunters in the Colonies and Inner Rim. Unfortunately, the conflicts took place while the Jedi and the bounty hunters were unwittingly following the same criminals. Subsequently, the Galactic Senate proposed that the bounty hunters should follow the example of the Jedi Order, and create a governing body to organize themselves and communicate more openly with other law enforcement agencies.
Many independent hunters scoffed at the idea of organizing under a ruling body, but four influential clan leaders were quick to recognize the practical aspects of some kind of union. These leaders were Thrassk of Trandosha, Teesoo of Rodia, the Twi’lek outcast Saya Ksi, and Keekrim Pon of Corellia. Banding together, they wrote the Bounty Hunters’ Creed, and founded what was then called the New Bounty Hunters’ Guild. According to their vision, the Guild would unite hunters under specific rules and regulations, promote the training of apprentices in the ways of hunting, and encourage hunters to collaborate with one another.
Advantages of Guild Membership
There’s nothing wrong with being an independent hunter. Really. If you enjoy digging up information about recently posted bounties, chasing down receivers to collect the bounties, counting your credits while watching your back, sorting out your finances to maintain your weapons, armour, and ship, and planning your retirement while you occasionally pursue acquisitions, when you ever have the chance, then by all means keep doing what you’re doing.
In case your head is so thick that you missed the point: most independent hunters have so much to do that they spend the bulk of their time not hunting. Sure, some independents will tell you how much they save by not paying annual guild fees or sharing percentages of bounties, but instead of listening to these hunters, take a good look at what they have to show for their time and effort. Do you see aching joints and bad backs? Scarred flesh and third-rate prosthetics? Antiquated weapons and late-model starships that are one jump away from the junk heap? Honestly, do you want to wind up like that too?
This might surprise you, but the Guild isn’t in business just to profit from capturing criminals. The Guild’s primary function is to support Guild members in every aspect of their work. If you’re not spending most of your time bagging acquisitions, you’re losing money. Still think being an independent hunter is the way to go? Suit yourself. But if you’re smart, you’ll become a member of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild.
Want to know the specific advantages of Guild membership? Read on and learn something.
Equipment
The Bounty Hunters’ Guild offers equipment and supplies to all members. Equipment includes everything from the essentials for operating in unique atmospheres and planetary environments to Guild-owned starships and privately subsidized transportation. If you require expensive or specialized items for a hunt, the Guild rents equipment at a fixed rate, the cost of which can be deducted from future bounties.
Make no mistake, the equipment offered to guild members far surpases civilian tech. Not only do we have some of the glaxies finest arrmorsmiths and shipwrights in our ranks, but an RPKC and Guild membership offers access to law enforcement and military grade tech.
Information
The Guild is much more than just a “bounty broker”. It’s a full-service information supplier. When you as a Guild member receive an assignment to pursue an acquisition, the Guild wants to make sure you’ll have the most accurate data available. You’ll receive frequent updates on current bounties, additional details regarding a subject’s methods of operation, personal habits, known aliases and associates, and last known whereabouts.
Mediation
Let’s say you’re on a remote world, and an outraged civilian tells you that you exceeded your authority when you captured or killed an acquisition. Before you can respond, another local insists he’s entitled to a share of the bounty because he directed you to the cantina where you found the acquisition. Then out pops the receiver, a bureaucrat who decides to withhold payment on a technicality. Let’s also say that all three loudmouths are connected to some powerful people, so it would be a horrendous mistake to resolve this with your blasters
If you’re a lone, independent hunter in this situation, you really are alone, pal. But if you belong to the Guild, which has officers prepared to act as your intermediaries and legal representatives, and hundreds of other hunters itching to come crashing down on any meddlesome bores who stand between you and the bounty, you can bet your last credit that those troublemakers will think twice before wasting your time.
Reciprocity
The Bounty Hunters Guild have strong ties with law enforcement institutions on many worlds, and these organizations maintain various reciprocity agreements. What does that mean to Guild members? If you venture into another syndicate’s territory, you may apply for and expect to receive assistance from the local syndicate. The costs of any such assistance are paid by the Guild and are deducted from any forthcoming bounties. Be sure to itemize all expenses and pay your dues, and everyone will get along just fine.
Repairs
Did you lose a sensor array during a chase through an asteroid belt? Bust your blaster rifle over a fleeing felon’s skull? Dent your landspeeder while ramming an acquisition into a well? No worries if you’re a Guild member. That’s because any damage to Guild or personal property, from blasters to starships, can usually be repaired at little or no cost. Most repairs are done either at spaceports or at docking yards run by Guild members. If a Guild-owned facility isn’t convenient, nearly any local weapons shop or shipping guild will be glad to make repairs for a tradeoff of services. Arrangements can also be made for local or planetary governments to extend repair services for a small fee. The Guild will take care of you and your stuff, allowing you to concentrate on getting those acquisitions.
Reputation
Why does the Republic enlist the Bounty Hunters’ Guild to pursue acquisitions, and keep coming back to the Guild for more? Because we’re so good-looking? No, it’s because of our reputation. As a Guild member, you’re part of that reputation.
Unlike most independents, the Guild has a promotional budget. We enjoy letting the galaxy know about our professionalism and the accomplishments of our members, as such publicity helps make the Guild more acceptable to the general public. Our most successful members garner special rates for especially delicate or dangerous hunts, and that should encourage you to do your best on behalf of the Guild, too.
The next time the Republic draws up a particularly lucrative bounty, trust that they won’t give the contract to just any law enforcement agency. They’ll give it to the Guild, because our reputation deserves it.
Sanctuary
In the event that a Guild member runs afoul of a spaceport official or member of another syndicate, the Guild can offer sanctuary and will also defend the hunter against questionable charges. And when it comes to accountability and dealing with interplanetary governments and other law enforcement agencies, Guild members have a big advantage over average citizens. That’s because the Republic recognizes the necessity of bounty hunters, and grants the Guild a certain degree of autonomy in how we govern our members.
But be advised that the Guild has it’s own internal system of justice and punishment, and most galactic laws apply to Guild members, including laws established by the Republic. If you assault a Republic officer you might as well forget about seeking sanctuary from the Guild. If you believe you have a legitimate gripe with the Republic, take it up with a guild mediator. The Senate does reserve the right to observe Guild criminal proceedings.
In short, the Guild can’t protect you from everyone and everything. You are responsible for your actions. But if you have need for judicial assistance, or require a safe house to maintain peace, the Guild won’t let you down.
Training
Retired hunters may become teachers to train Guild members, but that training is not limited to younger members. Even veteran hunters - the smart ones - are keen on improving their skills, learning new techniques, and testing new weapons. The Guild offers training for all members and encourages members to take full advantage of training resources.
Following the example of Trandoshan and Rodian hunters who maintain ancient hunting reserves in their own star systems, the Guild’s resources include training facilities on numerous worlds. These facilities are staffed by instructors with extensive experience in everything from tracking and camouflage to marksmanship and demolitions. By special arrangement
Leadership
Guildmaster: @Diva Tumi
Council: @Kiro , @Sreeya
Roster:
8D3 (@Melomex )
Allister Cross (@Phantom )
Jace Lorso (@Ecclessey )
Xaya Soulscar, aka "Mythica" (@Xaya )
Aska Ryun (@Karvon Tulos )
Jason Bates (@Benvenu7 )
Isaac Dayley (@Eddie )
Lara Night (@Marko_Jenks )
Jai Vogu (@Coted )
Ito Kai (@Killtec )
Xa'Shardi (@Tinrog )
OOC INFORMATION
Welcome Scoundrels and Bad asses.
My intention here simple: This is SW universe. SW needs bounty hunters. Don't let the fine print scare you, the guild is mostly a spcae for us collaborate and coordinate, and be the best at what we do. Namely chase down other PC's for credits. I am always open to thoughts, questions, concerns.
There are only two actual requirments for faction membership in the BHG.
- FL and/or AFL approval
- Though the three pre-requisites to Guild membership listed above are NOT required to be accpmplished IC, I would like to see them touched on in your character's BIO. If you would like to take the trails for fun, I have several scenarios handy and will happilly help you create that thread.
This faction does not operate quite like other factions. While I will actively be looking for opportunites to involve Guild Hunters with other factions and stories, and occasionally generating bounties and missions; I will need your help. The site is wide, and I encourage all BHG members to keep their eyes peeled for other PC's engaged in illicit activity, and those who may be interested in their capture or detainment. Then we can collectively generate bounties, and make it open season.
If you have a character that you want a bounty put on, let me know.
Let the hunt commence!
Special thanks to @Kiro for creating all original BHG materials.
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