Gands are a mysterious insectoid species whose
"findsmen" treat tracking quarry as a religious duty.
They are exceptionally good at divining the location
of individuals through ritualistic methods that off-
worlders might consider backward and barbaric.


Physiology: Though prevalent in the fringes of the
Outer Rim, Gands remain a puzzle to xenobiologists.
Over a dozen distinct subspecies of the Gands have
been reported. All are covered in a dense chitinous
exoskeleton and reach a height at adulthood of about
1.6 meters. They have three fingers on each hand,
which are as dextrous as those of other humanoids,
allowing them to manipulate equipment designed for
five-fingered individuals.


Where Gands subspecies differ from one another is
in their respiratory biology. Most Gands who travel the
spacelanes do not seem to need to breathe at all. The
digestion of food in their stomachs produces the ammo-
nia necessary for their biochemistry. Wasteful byproducts
and extraneous ammonia are expelled through their exo-
skeletons. These Gands often emanate an unpleasant
methane musk. Other Gand subspecies possess actual
lungs and cannot produce ammonia through digestion,
instead requiring a special breathing apparatus.
Questions about Gand biology continue to go unan-
swered, since the Gand refuse to permit other species
to study them. Some xenobiologists conjecture that
Gand religious rituals dictate genetic manipulation,
which has produced many different varieties of Gands.


Society: Gands have a closed culture. What is known
about them is that religion and life are closely en-
twined. A gathering of elders called the Ruetsavii
observes the various religious sects that represent
the virtues of Gand life. Off-worlders are most famil-
iar with the religious sect known as the "findsmen."
These are the Gand who leave their home planet on
ritualistic hunts to catch prey and bring divine bless-
ings to their people. Many other sects are rumored to
exist, particularly in the fields of genetics, medicine,
and engineering, but their exact natures are unknown.


Homeworld: Sharing the same name as its species,
Gand is an Outer Rim world clouded in ammonia and
methane. Trade is handled through orbiting stations
as foreigners are rarely allowed on the planet's sur-
face. Those non-Gand who land on the world must
stay in the specially equipped Alien Quarters.


Language: Droids fare much better than well-trained
humanoid linguists in reproducing the clicks and chir-
rups of the Gand spoken language. Without the need
to intake breathable gases, most Gand lack the vocal
cords to make the sounds of Basic and other languag-
es. They must use droids or translation devices to con-
verse in groups that do not understand their language.
The grammar that Gand use reflects their place in
society. Before a Gand earns his identity and is ac-
cepted among his peers, he refers to himself in the
third person, calling himself "Gand." Once he has
done a deed of distinction, a Gand may take his fam-
ily name. Gand cannot use their first names until they
have become "persons of greatness"—janwuine in
their own tongue—and received commendations from
their peers. This causes many off-worlders to view the
Gand as a people of extreme humility.


Life on the Fringe: Since Gand findsmen have such
a high success rate of catching targets, employers are
perfectly willing to ignore cultural mysteries and odd
smells. Gand findsmen are in constant demand as
bounty hunters, private investigators, assassins, skip
tracers, and security advisers.


Those without lungs do not respire and gain all necessary metabol-
ic substances through food. When playing a Gand,
each player chooses whether he wishes his charac-
ter to have lungs or not. If he selects to be playing
a lungless Gand, his character is immune to suffo-
cation (but not the wounds suffered from being ex-
posed to vacuum).