A bowcaster could only be used by a being of immense
strength, so it's no surprise that the Wookiees adopted
it as their chief weapon, as a long-range alternative to
their hairy fists.
While a bowcaster's projectile looked similar to a
standard laser bolt fired from a blaster, it was in fact a
simple quarrel wrapped in an energy envelope that
channelled the quarrel's explosive force into the target.
The result was a weapon considerably less advanced
than a blaster, yet one that delivered an equivalent
amount of damage. The bowcaster notched the
bowstring and loaded a quarrel from the ammo cartridge, though tremendous strength was needed to just accomplish this. This primitive arming system limited the bowcaster's rate of fire and placed great emphasis on the Wookiee's patience and marksmanship, since it took several seconds for the warrior to get off another shot. Some Wookiees modified their bowcasters by adding multiple bowstrings, dual bows or an automatic recocking system.
The traditional weapon of Wookiees inhabiting their native Kashyyyk, the bowcaster was primarily designed for use in the planet's dense jungles - it was a way of killing a dangerous predator without getting too close - though many were modified when Imperial forces began to take over Kashyyyk. The rebellious Wookiees bolted blaster rifles to their bowcasters for added firepower. Though Kashyyyk was duly occupied by the Empire, bowcasters still stayed in use throughout the Galactic Civil War and beyond. |
