Rio Ca’tal

Learn all about my Twi’lek Mandalorian, one of my favorite original characters for Star Wars. Also including stats for the Edge of the Empire TTRPG if you’d like to use her as an NPC in your tabletop games!

Character Highlights

Mandalorian

While Rio wasn’t born into Mandalorian culture, she clawed her way out of a miserable early life and discovered the Shael Clan as her new found family.

Sniper

Rio is skilled in several forms of combat, and can hold her own with a pair of daggers or pistols just fine. She has a full suite of Mandalorian gadgets as well. But nothing is more precious to her than her custom made sniper rifle. Her accuracy is downright deadly, and the rifle is powerful enough to make every shot count.

Confident

You don’t carve your way out of the slums of Nar Shaddaa without gaining a bit of an ego along the way. Rio is full of sass, snark, and attitude. She knows she’s good at what she does. She doesn’t have to boast about it. Her skill in combat and at catching marks will speak for themself, giving her plenty of time to give everyone else a hard time.

Biography

Rio’s first memories aren’t of the streets, but of the sewers of Nar Shaddaa. A world full of nooks and crannies and hidden passages, perfect for a twi’lek war-orphan to eke out a living – until the day the slavers were faster.

She found herself in the tutelage of a Hutt. At the oversized squeaky-slug’s bidding, she learned dance, learned music and entertainment… as well as hand to hand combat, sleight of hand, and close combat weaponry. She was one of his prized Jewels: beautiful ladies who were equal parts arm candy and bodyguard to the hutt. His last line of defense against an attack – no one would expect the entertainment to be holding a knife, after all.

But Rio wanted freedom. And she knew the only way to her freedom lay overtop his corpse.

She waited. She was patient; she knew he’d make the mistake of leaving her alone with him. When that opportunity finally arrived, she didn’t hesitate, moving in for the strike – only for a Mandalorian warrior, in glistening black and grey armor, to crash through the wall just before she could enact her plan.

The Mandalorian got the kill; the hutt had pissed off the wrong people, and the bounty on his head was substantial. Rio, unceremoniously, got her freedom. But not without forming a vendetta against the Mandalorian who took the pleasure of killing the hutt from her.

For the next few years, she chased the Mandalorian and his partner across the galaxy. Initially, the Mandalorians spurned her efforts to kill them, but over time, she learned. Became a brilliant sniper, and an expert in hiding and sneaking into places she didn’t belong. Her attempts to kill them grew more cunning, and the three were locked in a deadly race over several bounties.

Over time, though, that relationship began to change. She learned that the Mandalorians’ names were Talos and Desdemira of Clan Shael. And through their games of cat and mouse, they grew a liking to each other. Rio started to discover she actually liked working with them more than she did trying to kill them.

She did, finally, admit that Clan Shael had become more than just a means to an end, and took her oaths to join the Mandalorians, her people.

It would, however, take her several more years to finally admit to Talos and Desdemira that they were maybe – possibly – potentially – a bit more than family to her, too. But she still loves her sniper rifle more than anything else in the world, and they all know that.

Amber Brite cosplaying an original blue Twi'lek named Rio

Mandalorian Armor

Unconventional Beskar Armor

Rio didn’t grow up with the Mandos. She was an adult by the time she became a Foundling. And so she’d already had her own sense of style. Her own aesthetic. And she took the Mandalorian armor, and put her own spin on it.

This means it’s a lot less covering than others – it’s a set of armor built as much for looks as it is for function. With it’s bright gold beskar and dark silver accents, all layered on top of a laminated compression suit… Rio’s armor strikes a very noticeable, very memorable appearance.

But her armor is also modular – if she’s not expecting a fight, or if she’s planning on sniping from half a kilometer away, she can wear something lightweight. If she’s planning to wade into a warzone, she can swap out parts for a much heavier, more protective set of beskar that will keep her safe. In fact, Rio’s armor is so modular and has so many combinations of parts, the Shael clan jokes that she never wears the same combination of armor twice.

But like any Mando, her armor is always well equipped for the job. Depending on her needs, her armor may come equipped with:

An integrated jetpack
A whipcord built into her gauntlet for ensnaring enemies or climbing walls
A slicing kit built into her other gauntlet
A comm unit
A full T-Visor helmet that fits around her lekku, and comes with a full HUD integrated with her sniper rifle to assist with firing

Rio is a very successful bounty hunter. And with the help of her clan, who specialize in high tech gadgetry, she’s always well equipped for her work.

Personal Deflector Shield

One of the things that allows Rio to get away with wearing an actual crop top armor into battle is her custom Personal Deflector Shield.

Developed by the Shael Clan, this personal shield is small, quiet, and efficient. Though it does need to be recharged after use, it’s capable of absorbing a considerable amount of punishment before it’s expended.

These sort of shields are very rare, and most of them are much bulkier than the one Rio owns. So those shields often catch her enemies by surprise when she starts brushing their blaster fire off.

Outfits & Armor

Rio Ca’tal (Light Armor)

Mandalorian, Twi'lek

Star Wars

May 2020

Weapons & Gear

Roleplay Tips & Guidelines

Using Rio in your RPG campaigns

So many people have asked me if they can use Rio in their roleplay. I’m so flattered that people love her as much as they do! She’s been one of my favorite characters to play for over a decade now. I was very happy to put this page together and give people all the info they needed! But, please understand… I’m also very protective of her, and it was very hard for me to put this out there for everyone to just use without me having creative control. So… I have a few guidelines that I would like people to respect if you decide to use her as an NPC.

Rio is a Mandalorian through and through – she values a good fight for the right cause. She’s a morally grey character. Not a good guy, not a bad guy. She respects strength, and those strong enough to take what’s owed them.
Rio is in a committed relationship. She’s not likely to ever admit it, but she loves her two partners very dearly and would never leave them or cheat on them. Please don’t have Rio be ‘the love interest’ in a story.
Rio’s also no ‘damsel in distress.’ She’s a trained warrior with a whole slew of tricks up her sleeve. She does not use her sex appeal to gain a combat advantage. Rio’s never the type to ‘dress up like a dancer to infiltrate a hideout.’ She’d rather go in guns blazing. After her history being forced to be a dancer, she never wants to be portrayed like that again.
A good reference for Rio’s personality would probably be Yelena from Marvel’s Black Widow movie! Just very snarky, full of quips and jokes. Very skilled and reliable, but going to have a remark for everything. The scene where Yelena calls Natasha a poser? That’s very Rio. So is the part where Yelena sees an impending avalanche and goes “This would be a cool way to die…”
Rio has a very standard Common accent. There’s no trace of the typical Twi’lek accent there.

Ideas for Using Rio in Roleplay

Tag along with the crew

Rio has her clan, but she also travels alone a lot, and joins other random crews for a job or two. If the job aligns with her interests, or presents a challenge, or even stands for the right cause, she’ll be happy to help out for a little bit. Just don’t expect her to stick around long term.

Give the crew some intel

With a reputation like hers, and the connections she has, Rio can be a great person to turn to when looking for information, or for work. She knows who’s who. She knows who’s paying well for bounties in this sector. She knows where some safe houses are, some weapons dealers. She might even know when something big is about to go down that might present certain opportunities for your crew.

Help the crew out of a sticky situation

“I know a guy,” your character says. It turns out, it’s Rio that they know. Maybe they owe her money from a job together a while back. Maybe they were on opposite sides of a conflict once. Rio will be happy to help out, whether it’s with her combat skills, her gadgets, or even just her underworld connections. Just be prepared for her to rib your character the whole time about needing her help.

Adversary for the crew

Maybe your crew of bounty hunters is competing against her for a mark. Maybe someone on your crew is the mark that she’s after! Rio can make a great adversary for a campaign, because she’s not the type to hold grudges. In fact, if you beat her, she might even respect you for it. It’s all just business, after all. Just be ready for her to (playfully) get even, later.

NPC Sheet for Rio Ca'tal

Edge of the Empire NPC Sheet

Rio's full write-up for use as an NPC in Edge of the Empire! Be warned, she's on the powerful side. DM discretion encouraged - using her at her full potential could trivlialize certain encounters. But I wanted to make sure DMs had the full breadth of her skillset to work with as needed!

Download NPC Sheet