When he left the R&D department of Baktoid Combat Automata, XR-3 was only the third of a line of prototype tactical droids developed for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. An upgraded version of the T-series tactical droid, the XRs were designed as tactical advisors and helmsmen on capital ships. Even better, they addressed complaints from Separatist commanders who found the T-series' off-the-shelf personality too arrogant and their voices too grating. The result was a more personable droid with a rough but endearing demeanor. Nevertheless, the XR-series never made it to mass production, as the Separatist leadership approved another prototype, the super tactical droid, for mass production instead.

For XR-3 ("Exxer," for short), none of that mattered. He was assigned to the [i]Sole Proprietor[/i], a [i]Munificent[/i]-class star frigate under the command of a Muun woman named Ivisi Bahan. Exxer helped Bahan win several key engagements with Republic forces in the Inner Rim, often overseeing the droid gunners against their Republic opponents.

But it wasn't to last. While on a patrol in the Bestine system, the [i]Proprietor[/i] came under Republic attack. Exxer did his part to fight off the enemy ships, but a mere one year, one-hundred and twenty-four days, seven hours, fifty-one minutes, and sixteen seconds after he entered service on the vessel, XR-3 made a mistake: He told the droid gunners to hold fire and aim, which gave an incoming Republic battleship a chance to fire an ion cannon and knock the [i]Proprietor[/i] offline. Republic naval troopers, under the leadership of a Jedi Master, boarded the ship and took Captain Bahan into custody. Those droids they didn't destroy they confiscated—Exxer among them.

When he came back online, Exxer's internal chronometer told him that two months, five days, and seven hours had passed. Exxer was now a prisoner in a secret Republic base, where a powerful restraining bolt gave him little choice but to follow the enemy's orders. For the better part of a year, Exxer was forced to lead captured Separatist vulture droids in war games against Republic starfighter pilots. Usually, XR-3 had to work from a mock battleship helm, but often the exercises included simulated boarding drills. In these engagements, Exxer and his small team of battle droids were only permitted stun weapons. The cadets shot to kill.

To his surprise, Exxer's captors never wiped his memory between wargames. The trauma of repeated defeat and destruction nearly drove his droid brain insane, but pride in the Confederacy and a sense of duty to his troops kept him from going over the edge. His existence became a string of endless mock battles—some he won, many he lost—interspersed with debriefing and repair sessions with the Republic engineers, and then long periods offline. But with no memory wipes, Exxer was free to learn from his enemies and innovate. He studied their tactics, analyzed their decision trees, and used that knowledge against them. Before long, he was winning as many engagement as he lost, and his battle droids became a crack force at fending off encroachments onto their mock bridge. All the while, he kept up hope that one day the Separatists would find this place and liberate their assets, himself included. The last thing Exxer remembers is losing a particularly hard-fought war game—one where the Republic trainee slammed him against a bulkhead without even touching him. As his systems went offline, he knew he'd be repaired yet again and forced to fight another pointless battle. He had always felt pride in the CIS, but he really hated the Republic. That was 20 years ago.

Drive (Redemption): Exxer feels intense guilt for being captured by the Republic and turned into a toy in their war games. He now has a severe distrust of the Republic and anything related to it (including both the Empire and the Rebellion), and he is obsessed with redeeming himself for his past failure—a drive that influences every order he gives and every decision he makes.

Obligation (20): Restricted Property: As a Separatist tactical droid, XR-3 is a piece of property outlawed by the Empire. As with a Bounty or Criminal Obligation, he must be careful that bounty hunters, law enforcement officers, and military personnel do not recognize him for what he is. Buying down the Obligation may involve legal proceedings, expensive permits, or changing his appearance.

After endless mock battles with Republic forces-in-training, Exxer has taken just as much damage as he's dished out. With each mock battle, his paint was chipped, and sometimes entire limbs were taken off. Republic technicians paid little attention to aesthetic niceties when repairing him, so his current chassis—while still that of a standard tactical droid—sports a hodgepodge of paint schemes, decals, and carbons scoring. In fact, it's this patchwork look that keeps him from being as easily recognized as he might otherwise be when at large.

His photoreceptors glow blue, and his personality and voice are not unlike those of a gruff nerf-wrangler from a far-flung rim world.