In 2011 I was researching Star Frontiers on the internet trying to find the most obscure sites possible and that led me to archived snapshots of the internet dating back to the late 1990’s. I began to find tantalizing stories on lost internet sites concerning a yazirian honor weapon called a khad’dan by different authors. The Khad’dan was often incidental to the story but the fact that more than one author was using it in the same context led me to believe that there was something more to it.

After tracking down the creator of the khad’dan, Mathew Crymble, and some email tag, he graciously spent an evening with me on the phone talking about Star Frontier’s fan sites and cons of a decade ago as well as the khad’dan.

I liked Mathew’s reasoning about the yazirian race requiring an honor blade that would work with their natural racial ability to enter battle rage which only impacts melee combat. The existing honor blade, the zamra, from canon material was a throw weapon. He had further reasoned that based on the racial ability modifiers of the yazirian (penalties to strength and stamina in exchange for bonuses to agility and intelligence) that yazirians would desire a weapon that would take out an opponent with the first hit. The khukri knife, also known as the ghurka knife, with its forward swept blade and heavy tip became the inspiration for the khad’dan. The only difference is that the khad’dan is of sword length and deeply imbedded in tradition and yazirian culture. I immediately fell in love with the khad’dan and began talking about it and using it in one of the main Star Frontier forums. Eventually, in dawned on me that with a little bit more fiction, a collection of short stories could be assembled about the khad’dan. Thus this project was born, an anthology of short stories involving those from more than a decade ago and fresh offerings from the Star Frontiers community on line.

NOTE: As of 2018 the Book of Khad'dan project had lingered in the dusty submission cue of the Star Frotniersman/ Frontier Explorer largely through my fault for not pushing it forward. Now that WotC had to defend the Star Frontiers trademark they have cancelled all fan licenses and this material is likely to become orphaned and lost. Rather than allow that to happen I will be publishing bit by bit the Khad'dan material here to preserve for posterity.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thomas Verreault

jedion357

Chapter 1 Shades of the Blade by Darron Patton

Chapter 2 Brother Flit Tail by Darron Patton with guest author Mathew Crymbal

Chapter 3 Honor by Eric Johnson

Chapter 4 The Beast Who Steals Our Sleep by Philip Campanaro