Goa-Ato

Goa-Ato or Grand Protector's Hunters' Guild, was an ancient guild of Rodian bounty hunters, first founded when the ancient Grand Protectors bestowed a talented bounty hunter his first off-planet hunt.

The offices of the Goa-Ato were located in the Eanca Goa-Ato in the city of Iskaayuma on Rodia.

All hunters who gained the right to leave Rodia for extraplanetary challenges, automatically became members of the Guild. To gain this right, hunter candidate would often had to pass some trial, like the capture of some droid in unknown terrain; sometimes such trials were rigged to serve clan intrigue, infighting and favoritism.

Dispatches of the Guild Assignments Group were charged with giving to hunters an employer and their first hunt, although these choices were again influenced by the politics, usually the Grand Protector's favor. A hunter who returned alive usually sought a career in the Goa-Ato, and achieving the highly prized Atiang award, but few chose to work independedly. The Guild Hall contained a Chronicle Room with records of the achievments of the Guild's members; falsifying testimonies would result to expulsion from the Guild, even banishment from the planet.

The Master of the Guild was the Grand Protector himself. He directed the policies of the Guild which were followed by the actual leadership of the Guild. Sometimes the Grand Protector chose to intervene in exceptional hunters; he could also provide allies, or assign a dangerous target (should he prefer to destroy a hunter).

The Goa-Ato also held a hunting competition, and the winner was named the Supreme Hunter. During the Galactic War, the incumbent Supreme Hunter of the Goa-Ato-competition on Rodia paid people for hints to the whereabouts of all remaining winners.

By the time of the Galactic Civil War, some negotiatiors from intergalactic organizations (both governmental and criminal) cooperated with the Guild to recruit bounty hunters among those who had permission to leave the planet. As these employees reported directly to the Grand Protector Navik the Red, he used the Guild system to have eyes and ears all around the galaxy, and used them as contacts to their employers.

Text and facts from the “Goa-Ato/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.