Exar Kun, Sith Lord

An excerpt from the Dark Side Sourcebook

by Bill Slavicsek and JD Wiker

Tempted by the promise of powers he arrogantly believed he could control, Exar Kun went from promising Jedi apprentice to formidable Sith Lord with barely a backward glance. Filled with curiosity and convinced there was nothing he could not handle, he heeded the advice of the Dark Jedi spirit Freedon Nadd, who found in Exar Kun an apt and willing pupil. But even Freedon Nadd was surprised at how eagerly Exar Kun embraced the dark side.

Consumed by pride and ambition, Jedi student Exar Kun had a dark place in his heart that even his vaunted master, Vodo-Siosk Baas, could not reach. An excellent student and a master swordsman, Exar Kun was fascinated with the powers of the ancient Sith Lords. Supremely confident, Kun felt that he could separate out the dark side from the abilities used by the Sith, and use those abilities to greatly expand the Jedi Order's understanding of the Force. But Kun was stymied by Master Vodo, who constantly warned his student to heed only the lessons Vodo himself taught him. Impatient and irritated, Exar Kun abandoned Master Vodo's training and went in search of darker power.

His travels brought him to Onderon, where he learned of the Sith tomb of Freedon Nadd on Onderon's moon, Dxun. Encountering Freedon Nadd's spirit, Exar Kun learned of the Sith crypts on Korriban, and journeyed there to continue his search. On Korriban, he again spoke with Freedon Nadd's spirit, who tricked Kun into at first accepting the dark side, then embracing it. Under Nadd's ghostly tutelage, Kun traveled on to Yavin 4, the last stronghold of the Sith Empire, where a thousand years before Naga Sadow went into exile. Captured there by the primitive descendants of Sadow's Massassi warriors, Exar Kun escaped his own execution and seized a dark side amulet from among Sadow's treasures, using it to escape the gargantuan dark side beast that the Massassi brought forth to devour him. He then turned the weapon on Freedon Nadd, destroying the dark side spirit forever.

Now the master of the Massassi rather than their captive, Exar Kun sought out the ancient relics Naga Sadow brought to Yavin 4 and discovered among them the instruments of Sith alchemy. Turning these devices on his now-loyal Massassi subjects, Exar Kun transformed them into mighty warriors, then set out in Naga Sadow's ancient battleship to track down others who Kun sensed had the dark side training to usurp his power. He found them on Cinnagar -- the Sith acolyte Aleema Keto and her Dark Jedi lover, Ulic Qel-Droma. He and Ulic fought for supremacy, but their battle was cut short by the appearance of a group of Sith spirits, led by none other than Marka Ragnos -- Naga Sadow's predecessor. Ragnos declared that Exar Kun would be the new Dark Lord of the Sith, and that Ulic Qel-Droma would be his first apprentice. Together, the two would conquer the galaxy and build a new Sith Empire.

Exar Kun began his part of the work by recruiting several impressionable Jedi students from the Jedi learning center on Ossus, bringing them to Yavin 4, then using the power of a Sith holocron to turn them to the dark side. After sending them out on missions to assassinate their former masters, Kun traveled to Coruscant to secure the release of Ulic Qel-Droma, who had brashly attacked the center of the Republic in hopes of a swift victory. In the process he once more faced his former master, Vodo-Siosk Baas, this time armed with a double-bladed lightsaber of his own construction. Master Vodo did not have a chance, and fell to his former student.

Kun and Ulic escaped back to Yavin 4, where they planned their next attack against the Jedi learning center on Ossus. Arranging for Aleema Keto to use a Sith artifact to trigger a supernova, the two launched their forces at the evacuating Jedi, while they themselves went in search of Jedi relics to plunder. While Ulic battled his brother Cay Qel-Droma, Exar Kun returned with his treasure to Yavin 4 -- only to be betrayed by Ulic to the Jedi. Blocked from using the Force -- light or dark -- by his former paramour Nomi Sunrider, Ulic Qel-Droma surrendered to the Jedi and told them where to find Exar Kun's secret base.

Seeing that the Jedi fleet in the skies above him was poised to destroy him, Exar Kun opted for a somewhat risky escape. Utilizing the alchemical apparatus he used to mutate the Massassi, Exar Kun divested himself of his physical body and took refuge within one of his temples, knowing that his spirit would live forever and waiting for the day when he could take his vengeance on the Jedi.

Exar Kun: male Human, Jedi Guardian 9/Sith Lord 8; IM +3 (+3 Dex); Def 26 (+13 class, +3 Dex); Spd 10m; VP/WP 158/17; Atk +21/+16/+11/+6 melee (dmg 5d8+3/5d8+3, crit 19-20, double-bladed lightsaber), +20/+15/+10/+5 ranged; SQ Resource access, Minions, Exceptional minions; SV Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +9; SZ M; FP 8; DSP 18; Rep 12; Str 17, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 11, Cha 13. Challenge Code H.

Equipment: Double-bladed lightsaber, Sith amulet, dark armor (+2 equipment bonus on saves against light side powers), Sith battleship, alchemical apparatus.

Skills: Computer Use +4, Craft (lightsaber) +8, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (Jedi lore) +12, Knowledge (Sith lore) +17, Read/Write Basic, Read/Write Sith, Speak Arkanian, Speak Basic, Speak Ryl, Speak Sith

Force Skills: Affect Mind +13, Alchemy +20, Battlemind +18, Enhance Ability +13, Force Defense +21, Force Push +14, Move Object +14, See Force +10

Feats: Ambidexterity, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (double-bladed lightsaber), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (lightsaber), Force-Sensitive, Heroic Surge, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (lightsaber), Weapon Group Proficiency (blaster pistols), Weapon Group Proficiency (simple weapons), Weapon Group Proficiency (vibro weapons)

Force Feats: Alter, Burst of Speed, Control, Deflect Blasters, Force Lightning, Knight Defense, Lightsaber Defense, Master Defense, Rage, Sense

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