RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer
The RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer was a training/gladiatorial droid system developed by Rodian D-Tec to help track and eliminate prey during the Imperial Period.
Description
Master Control Unit
The RHTC-560 system consisted of one bipedal control unit and around ten smaller hunter trainer drones. The master controller unit was bipedal in shape and form; resembling both its Rodian creators and an armored arachnid. Towering at a height of 1.8 meters and armed with sharp claws on both their hands and feet, these droids excelled in their role as gladiatorial/training droids. The RHTC-560 master unit's ferocity in combat was further reinforced by its speed and agility. Its advanced programming also gave it access to some of the latest stealth and evasion techniques available in its time.
Since it was also required to interact with its masters, the controller unit was equipped with a vocabulator, a wideband communications transceiver, and a sensor array system. Meanwhile, a scomp link access port allowed the droid to pilot the drones through any obstacle as well as to replay recordings of its activities while being debriefed following a hunt. Some were even modified to carry two forearm-mounted blasters.
HT Drones
In stark contrast to the towering controller units, the HT drones were small droids about half the size of an R2-series astromech droid. Each drone came with two forward retractable arms for manipulating objects and two hind legs for traversing over the jungle floor. They were circular in shape and also came with an anti-gravity repulsorlift unit for hovering over their targets. To enhance their effectiveness, they were equipped with stun blasters.
For operations in the dark of night or the depths of a jungle, these drones were equipped with high-intensity searchlights to locate their prey. As with most other simpler droid designs, these drones lacked independent personal programming and were entirely controlled by their control unit within a range of 50 km which impaired their effectiveness in long-range hunts. However, this was compensated by the RHTC-560 system's creativity subroutine which allowed it to remain operational even in a wide range of tricky situations. Even if the control unit was submerged underwater, it was still able to command its associated drone units.
History
The RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer system was originally marketed locally by Rodian D-Tec on the Rodian homeworld of Rodia to suit the native Rodian appetite for violence and combat. Their customers ranged from bounty hunters, to the various Rodian clans which used them in both their clan wars and hunts, to even the dictatorial Grand Protector Navik the Red. It was alleged that the Grand Protector's RHTC-560 system had been modified with lethal disruptor cannons for used against his captives in competitions.
Throughout the Imperial Period, their popularity was sufficient enough for the series to be marketed offworld beyond the confines of Rodia. With 5,000 credits for each control unit and another 2,000 credits for each HT drone, the series was economical enough for many non-Rodian bounty hunters, as well as local planetary militias and police academies. Three were also given to the captain of the Anya Karu, Aron Harcourt. They would later fight, and lose to, the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Appearances
"Fair Prey"—Star Wars Gamer 1 (First appearance)- Empire 28
"Jungle Hunt" – Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
Sources
- Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide (First mentioned)
- The Essential Guide to Droids ("RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer")