Protocol droids are vital in smoothing differences encountered by the many
far-flung cultures interacting on a regular basis throughout the galaxy. Programmed in etiquette and equipped with formidable language skills, protocol droids assist diplomats and politicians and also serve as administrative aides and companions for high-ranking officials. They come in as many shapes and sizes, but most are humanoids, like their inventors or their "masters". They mostly have two legs, two arms, a face, and they can speak. Asimov has been playing with the idea of robotics, and also, we have seen many movies which picture droids as a companion, an assistant of the human race. However the robots rise against the human mankind in some movies (like in Terminator, I, robot, etc.) mostly they are peaceful, they help us, their work for us, and they even can play with the children. In Star Wars, there are also robots, droids. "Good" ones, and "bad" ones. C-3PO and TC-14 are examples of protocol droids.
These protocol droids from the KotOR series which are illustrated and introduced here at Custom Star Wars, are considered as the ancestors of the protocol droid series 3PO, which can be met in the Star Wars films. Therefore these droids are often called by many sources as the "ancestor of C-3PO".
A protocol droid is a type of robot in the Star Wars fictional universe. A protocol droid assists its owner in communicating, mainly with the translation of languages in the Star Wars universe and in correctly observing the norms and etiquette of unfamiliar cultures and civilizations. The most notable protocol droid in the Star Wars series is C-3PO, built by Anakin Skywalker, who brags about being "familiar with over six million forms of communication." Protocol droids can alternatively be used primarily as a mobile data processing system. Because they are frequently called upon to accurately replicate various rituals and forms of polite address, they usually have a humanoid body shape that allows them to supplement their speech with appropriate gestures and posture, as opposed to the more utilitarian, non-anthropomorphic design of other droids.
Probably because a protocol droid is a familiar sight in the circles of the wealthy, diplomatically or governmentally important and other common targets for their services, some assassin droids, like HK-47, masquerade as protocol droids to avoid attention and get close to their targets. However HK won't bring a tea jug, but his
assassin rifle with him.
J
And we all know HK-47, if he gets close, he will happily kill the target person.
Protocol droids were used for many other purposes. Let me tell you some examples fro the games. We meet protocol droids very often in both games. The most general, and the most common usage of protocol
droids is a kind of host service, they are
greeters, or receptionists. The first time, when we meet them in KotOR1, they greet Revan
at Taris. They are programmed to serve the Sith rule, and to give
information for the visitors, also to tell the rules for them. He is silver colored, like the one I have, but he has no name.
Here is an other protocol droid, who is, or let's say who was serving the good guys. This one welcomed and guided the
travelers at the Dantooine airport, when the Jedi Enclave was fully operational, and the Jedi Order was working there, before the Sith destroyed both the Order, and the Enclave. This protocol droid was damaged in the fights, that is why he is
called "battered protocol droid". However the Exile Jedi and/or T3-M4 is able to reactivate and reprogram it, to gain access into its memory cores, where they find valuable
information of the war events, and even the past of the Exile Jedi. He is greenish, and does not have name.
Telos
Security Force (TSF) are also employing this series of protocol droids at their head
quarter in KotOR2. He is an ideal receptionist here, serving TSF, never goes out to the toilet, never goes out to the city in the
lunch break, and stands at attention when Lt. Dol Grenn, the boss of TSF comes by. He helps Exile with information, however he is not authorized to tell secrets and inside TSF
information to the Exile, or anyone else. He is the warehouseman, he stores the goods, and gives access to to warehouse when the Jedi Exile wants back his weapons, and goods after they were freed from the prison. He is a silver colored droid, pretty the same type like my custom figure, but
he has no name, just a "TSF protocol droid".
Some warehouses,
and shops also employed these protocol droids. They are very good at calculating numbers,
they perfectly make the inventory of the shop, they are able to carry even the heavy
goods in the warehouses. There is a greenish shop assistant droid
at Kebla's shop in KotOR1, at Taris Upper City. This is the "working class".
These droid often commanded other droid in their works,
like in KotOR2, in Vogga's warehouse. That
is the "medium class". They are the "medium management" you know.
J Also, occasionally they
were perfect to sell the goods for the customers alone, without supervision, or
control, for example there is a white merchant droid called 1B-8D
in KotOR2, in the western square of Iziz, who seems to sell his goods alone. He
is a capitalist, from the "upper class". :-)
Here is the next one. He is standing in the lounge of the Czerka Corporation. He is not only the
receptionist, but also private secretary of executive Lorso, the chief of the Czerka here at Telos. He even makes some of the telephone calls instead of her. He's granted full access to the server room, even has the law to download data from the mainframe. The Light Sided Exile helped the Ithorians to lure this protocol droid to the Ithorian compound, they captured him, and reprogrammed, to get into the server room, and get vital data from the mainframe. Using
B4-D4 you can control him, to infiltrate the Czerka HQ, and to get those data
therefore this golden protocol droid the one and only playable protocol droid of the KotOR series.
Protocol droids are polite and helpful, they know how to talk even to the drunk people, so they are perfect to serve as a bartender. Also, they know millions of languages, so they are able to communicate with the wide variety of foreign species that are
visiting the cantinas from all around the universe. They are fast, and won't be tired. Also, they are not
disgusted with the bad smell of the cantinas, neither the smoke, nor that typical pub-smell. And won't steal from the cash register, and won't cheat the guest, therefore they are popular bartenders in the KotOR series. This one is more like white, then silver colored,
does not have name, simply a bartender droid.
Sometimes protocol droids are employed in
hospitals, and medical facilities. Zelka Forn, who was a doctor at Taris in KotOR 1, also
used a protocol droid as a medical assistant droid. The droid treated the
patients, talked with the foreign species, and had some scientific duty in the
laboratory. He was white, like the hospital crew should be, had no name, just a
medical droid.
They are machines, therefore they don't often make mistakes. However this may happen occasionally,
(as C-3PO told about R2-D2: R2 has been
known to make mistakes from time to time), but that is not typical of them. As they are controlled by their programs, they can be
prepared for the dangerous swoop races. As a swoop pilot, this protocol droid won all grand prix so far at Nar Shaddaa. He is a valuable
champion of his owner,
no one could overtake him, and no one could beat his track times. Also, he makes
a good living for the owner, because the challengers must bet against the droid for a pretty nice
sum, but as I mentioned, none could beat him, or win the bet. Nowadays nobody wants to race at Nar Shaddaa, because of this pilot droid. The angry citizens wanted to destroy this protocol droid, to get rid of this not-fair opponent, which can not be competed by a human. His name is
C9-T9, he is metallic
blue colored. As he hasn't got an opponent at Nar Shaddaa, he is said to racing on the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. :-) Imagine the following top eight pilots after a wet race: C9-T9, Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica, Massa, Raikonen, Kovalainen, Glock. However I fear either his racing here, or a rainy race is very unlikely, of course this was only a joke. :-)
Protocol droids usually have a personality in the Star Wars Universe. C-3PO is for example
scary, and pedantic, sometimes he is pretty irritating for me.
They sometimes have a habit, or a special feature. This droid has a bad habit - he has a passion for gambling,
he likes to play pazaak. His name is S4-C8 and he is the most common silver colored. However this is a malfunction, and he hasn't programmed to do that, therefore he is pretty ineffectual, and not good at playing cards. Almost always he loses, but he does not care, just keep playing. You have to beat him, and other players in the pazaak den to reward a bonus game with the champ at Nar Shaddaa. If you repair his processor, he start working properly, and refuses to play with you card games.
Other, but pretty similar special feature
can be observed when you meet C8-42 at Dantooine in KotOR1. He is Elise's
personal
assistant droid. The woman is obsessed with her droid, she treats him as his
dead husband. That is weird, ain't it? Especially if you hear the droid's
opinion of her. The woman does not meet other people, spends all her time with
C8-42. The droid seems the right-minded from those two, suggested her to treat
him as a droid, and to build connections with human partners. Elise refused the
idea, so the protocol droid escaped her, and listen now - he went into the
Dantooine plains, to commit suicide, and went to the most dangerous region, to
meet wild animals, that could destroy him. This kind of self-sacrifice, sense of
responsibility, and this kind of thinking-like programming is very unique even
amongst this protocol droid series.
KotOR1 and KotOR2 gave us a wider appropriation of the protocol droids,
compared that we saw in the films. They are not
interpreters this time, but used in other, and important tasks. The modern science and the mankind were always interested about robotics, and it may really happen one day that robots and droids would be working around us. I hope you liked this article, and I managed to introduce you the past of the protocol droids 4000 years before the Star Wars movies, and maybe the future of the human mankind.
Please take a look at my custom protocol droid figure!
custom protocol droid figure
custom protocol droid figure and a reference photo
Thanks for you attention, come back soon to see the other new figures!
written by: Norbert Rostas
2008.07.31. the figure was made years before