Bask Gupgar sat alone on his bed at the inn, the door halfway open to allow the evening breeze to cut through the hot night air. Today had not gone as he’d planned; far from it, in fact. The crew that had hired him to navigate to a remote outer rim planet — that even Bask had never heard of — had lied to him about their cargo. He felt completely blindsided; they had seemed so excited about getting to their destination, like they couldn’t wait to explore a new world.

After a long sigh, he reached down to pull open the creaky, dusty drawer by his feet. He pulled out a marbled, peach-colored conch shell with holes drilled between the ridges and a bronzed, elaborately embossed mouthpiece affixed to one end. He leaned back on his bed, put the shell horn to his mouth, and blew. A soulful, bluesy melody filled the room.

When the refrain tapered off, he lowered the horn and looked up. A frog woman he’d never seen before leaned in the doorway, with her arms crossed. “Not bad,” she said with a smile. “Ever thought about joining a band?”

Bask was born on Mon Cala into a loving family: a museum curator mother, a music teacher father, and three younger siblings. His father had the honor of tutoring the Mon Calamari Royal Family, and as a result the Gupgar family led a very comfortable yet modest life. When Bask became of age, his father gifted him the family shell horn, which had been in their family for generations. Instead of teaching his son the ceremonial music customary for such an instrument, he taught him how to alter his technique to play what his mother always called “cantina noise.”

When he wasn’t playing music, Bask always looked to the skies, dreaming of a life in the stars. For most of his young life, however, he settled for exploring Mon Cala, leading land, sea, and air expeditions for tourists. One day, an extremely wealthy “whale,” as many in his trade called her, asked Bask to accompany her on her cruiser as its new navigation specialist. "But, I have no experience on a starship," he said. "Don't matter. I like your instincts, kid," she replied. He hasn’t looked back since, and is now a freelance galaxy guide for hire.

Back on Mon Cala, Bask’s mother once said, “Greatness comes in all forms. You yourself may not mark your name in any history book, but you have a precious gift: you can help others find their way.” Supportive, encouraging, and at times maddeningly optimistic, Bask always wants to help others not only get to where they need to go, but be the best version of themselves. His clients often assume they’re hiring a taxi driver, but they end up with a life coach. This sometimes gets him into trouble, as he’s a notoriously bad judge of character. Taking the wrong job often strands him on remote planets, desperate for his next job.

Ambition: Combination of wanderlust/novelty and expertise. Bask loves roaming the galaxy and will take anyone anywhere they want to go just to see something new. He also wants to perfect his skill of helping others self-actualize. He’ll do something just because he thinks it will help someone else become better or make some kind of personal breakthrough.

Secret Motivation: He partly spends so much time and energy helping others because he’s unsure he himself has any value to anyone else. So being asked to join the band made him happier than he would ever admit because someone wanted not his help, but his talent.

Bounty: One of the several times he unwittingly joined a shady crew, a rival crime syndicate placed a bounty on his head because they assumed he was part of the plan to steal a shipment of spice from them. (10XP)

Bask’s most distinguishing feature is a big walrus-style “mustache” that frames his wholesome grin perfectly. He’s medium build for a Mon Calamari. His skin is a dark reddish rust color. He has pale green eyes. You can usually spot him in a crowd by looking for his forest green knapsack.