Vorn Zaday
A quiet Neimoidian woman, Vorn Zaday is a skilled sabacc player who is almost completely unknown to others on the tournament circuit. Vorn was a minor dignitary in the Trade Federation who became quite skilled at the game while playing with the officers aboard a Separatist starship during the Clone Wars. She now lives on Cato Neimoidia, but she has no connection to Darga the Hutt. Her presence in the tournament is just a coincidence, but it might be enough to throw the heroes off of Mirana Fioro’s trail.
For any heroes working for Switch, a chance arises to meet Vorn Zaday, the Neimoidian gambler recently arrived from Cato Neimoidia. She has come to enjoy herself in the tournament and has been saving up for it
since the end of the Clone Wars. A stroke of luck brought her a sizable windfall—the Imperial garrison in Cato Neimoidia was accidentally exposed to a biological weapon left over from the Clone Wars, and her antidotes were the only thing that saved the Imperials from being wiped out. As a result, Zaday decided to take a vacation to Cloud City and test her mettle. She is very good (Wisdom 16, with two instances of the Gambler talent, giving her a total of +7 to checks when gambling), and though she hopes to win, she seems to just enjoy being away from the dreary, devastated world she calls her home.
On the first day of the tournament, any heroes working for Switch notice that Zaday has been placed at the same table as Captain Moro, and the two of them seem to be doing an excellent job of wiping out the rest of the gamblers. They each seem to be winning about the same number of hands, and as their piles of credits grow, the other competitors look more and more ashen. At some point during the first few days, a break is called for, and Zaday goes to the bar for a drink, sidling up next to the heroes to place her order. She nods and exchanges pleasantries with the heroes, giving them an opportunity to ask her a few questions. As with the encounter with Lt. Arandis, the answers she gives could affect how they react to the final day, when they become suspicious of her presence at the tournament.
Here are answers to some common questions the heroes might have for Zaday:
How did you get to be so good at sabacc?
“I used to play a lot back when I worked for the Trade Federation, before the Clone Wars.”
You were a Separatist?
“I didn’t have much choice. Fortunately, we avoided most of the fighting, and I was able to retire safely to Cato Neimoidia.”
Is there any strategy you favor?
“Strategy? Oh, I just take each hand as it comes. Sabacc is like that; the chaos is too prevalent to make many plans.”
You’re from Cato Neimoidia?
“Yes, hardly as glamorous as Cloud City. I’ve been trying to get away from that world for a long time now.”
How did you come to be here?
“I recently made some … good deals that provided me with a small windfall. Just enough to get me here for the tournament.”
Do you know Darga the Hutt?
“I’m not familiar with any Hutts.” (This is a lie. Darga brokered the deal between Zaday and the Empire, though she doesn’t want anyone to know that she would even associate with the Hutt. Heroes who see through her deception won’t be able to get this information out of her, though.)
Do you know Lt. Arandis? Are you affiliated with the Empire?
“I try to mind my own business. If you don’t want someone kicking down your door at night, I’d suggest you consider the same plan.”
