Resource The Fanon Thread

Bodyguard organizations


The Azure Shieldmaidens: an all-female semi-monastic order from the planet Eequoria who only works for women, alternative they can work for men but then they will only protect a female charge.

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The Bloodsworn Protectors from Jekatarina: Jekatarina is a savage world of barbarians that was thrown into the galactic community when it was conquered by the pirate-admiral Stella Blackstar who used the planet as her fleet's homebase for nearly twenty years before Republic's forces was able to find and destroy the Blackstar Fleet. Jekatarina was declared a protectorate to the Republic. Jekatarina's people wanted both to try to keep their traditions and homeworld as unchanged as possible while also taking parts of the wonders of modern technology - something that would be hard balance to make since they needed money to buy technology and they had little of rescores that was of interest for the wider galaxy (at least without a great mining operation). What the Jekatarinas did was use their history of conflict and warrior traditions to sell their service as bodyguards to those who wanted to pay.

The Bloodsworn get their name from their tradition to making a blood-oath (usually cutting in their arm) to protect their charge, and dress in barbarian slender with lizard-skin cloaks, fang-n'-claw necklaces, and their traditional weapons hanging beside modern blasters. Many of the people that hirer them do it because they want something unusual, exotic protecting them.

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Grayhert shadow guard: While most bodyguards show of their profession for all to see do the Grayhert Shadow guard hide their true duties, appearing as their empire’s assistant or arm-candy, ready to use their training and hidden weaponry to protake their charge and take out any threat.

Recruit from orphanages all over the civilized galaxy.

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The gun-guard of Atura
[to be expanded]

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Knights of the Empty Throne: A knightly order that are looking for the righteous higher to the throne of their homeworld, they have been looking for generations. Begun as the personal bodyguards of the monarch of their home world, and now a-days finance their search by selling their service as bodyguards.

While on duties they dress in kaftans, under bodyarmour with a smaller tilting shield (showing their order’s heraldry alone or together with the knight’s own) at their left shoulder/armpit.

[Species and homeworld undecided as for now, anybody that use them can pick what they think fits]

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Marlock Household Guards
[to be expanded]

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nice consept, makes me think of The Terrible Old Man and The Strange High House in the Mist, even if the old folks in those storeys didn't trade with other people

suggest making those into links

I guess you mean 'ass' here?

 

Fanon Post for February.
This is based of a, pretty dark, rpg I played with friends last year, thought it might be intresting. Includes a reference to @Gamiel ´s Blazing Chain Clan. Will also see to add some links and a timeline later, maybe even a map if I can find a tool to create it.

The Sicarus Sector

In terms of galactic history and importance the Sicarus Sector is a relatively new region of space, at least as far as the population of the rest of the galaxy are concerned. To its own inhabitants the stories and history of course go back much further. In recent days though the sector has gained a lot of sad fame due to the brutal civil war that erupted there in the months after Endor and that would continue for more than a decade afterwards.



Overview

The Sicarus Sector is located to the north of the galaxy, at the northern border of what is now considered the Imperial Remnant, at the edge of the unknown regions. The sector in total includes around a hundred settled worlds, though many of these might only house a few outposts or mining stations, and a still a considerable number of uninhabited worlds that are considered useable for colonization projects in the future. In terms of its inhabitants, before colonization began there where two major species who had mastered interstellar travel and effectively ruled the sector. The Grak and the Lorean, who could look back at a rich history of enmity between each other with several wars between them in the last few thousand years. Ignored by the galaxy for the longest of time, with the exception of the occasional pirate raids looking for slaves. In the twilight centuries of the old republic though small human colonization's projects where set up in the sector, drawing in even more attention when rich natural resources where discovered, including several worlds with rich cortosis depots(in fact some scientists have stated that around 15 percent of all cortosis discovered in the galaxy is found in this sector). This lead to both conflicts as well as coexistence with the local inhabitants, though it was only a prologue for what was come when the empire invaded the sector, with the goal of both using its resources and turning this northern border territory of their realm into a model colony for humans. Efforts that would lead to two decades of suffering through the sector followed by one of the bloodiest local civil wars in the galaxies history.


Inhabitants

The inhabitants of the Sicarus sector can be broken down to four major groups, the Grak, the Lorean, the human colonists and the great number non human slaves brought in by the empire.

The Grak



The Grak where the first species in the Sicarus Sector to develop interstellar travel and until the arrival of the empire they where the dominant power in the sector. They are a lithoid species of somewhat human proportions. Also called "Stone Angels" by humans, due to both their appearance and their telepathic abilities. Begin large and physically very strong the Grak are able to perform a lot of physical deeds other species need droids for themselves. This combined with a strong natural affinity for everything geology related made them excellent at building cities and later would even help them build spaceships from mainly rock based materials. Their great strength was also a major reason for their long lasting dominance over the Lorean. Generally reclusive, long lived but not very fertile the Grak are not a numerous species, something that would drive their species to the brink of extinction when the empire arrived. Seen as too hard to control and dangerous due to their telepathy the Empire mercilessly hunted them down and confined the few survivors on their homeworld (mainly because some imperial scientists where quiet intrigued by them and thus voted against a total extermination of the species, at least for now).


The Lorean



The Lorean are a vaguely humanoid avian species who mastered interstellar travel less than a hundred years after the Grak, and for thousands of years afterwards where their main rivals for the dominance of the Sicarus Sector. Possessing a relatively small frame and much less physical strength and durability compared to the Grak the Lorean are however a much more numerous race, though their tendencies to inner conflict robbed them of this advantage against the Grak. Eventually subjugated the Lorean became essentially second class citizens in the sector and where forced to pay tribute to the Grak. So when the human colonists arrived many Lorean saw these strangers as a potential ally against their overlords and peacefull relations where established, eventuall growing into alliances. This also lead to many Lorean, at least initially, seeing the imperial invasion of the sector as a chance to improve their lot and thus most of the species collaborated with the Empire. This collaboration earned them a slightly better position than the other non humans in the sector as they were not enslaved and instead used for normal labor and as auxiliary forces to secure the borders. Though as time went on the conditions of Lorean life has begun to worsen drastically, to the point that today most consider living under the empires yoke to be worse than the Grak had been.


The Colonists


While some Human colonists had already been present at the edges of the Sicarus Sector for ages, it was only during the last three centuries of the old Republic that the influx of humans grew. Many of these colonists hail from the lower classes on industrial worlds in the core, who the empire promised "a better life on the frontier" and "a chance for a new start". With promises like this hundreds of thousands where convinced to sign up for the project. In the sector they began building relationships with the Lorean Clans and Tribes, eventually partaking in their wars with the Grak. Over time while some colonists remained largely immersed into human culture others would actually adopt elements of the Lorean way of life, including their religion, while at same time Lorean youths would become interested in human culture.

When the empire rose to power and the Sicarus Sector became a major project for them the influx of colonists grew even further. With many veterans of the imperial army and younger children of the imperial nobility where brought in to protect and rule the new colonies. They also have begun policies to bring the old colonists in line, amongst other outlawing humans to follow the Lorean religion(which itself is begrudgingly tolerated for the time being)or living in mixed societies. Capable youths of these colonists are taken from their parents to be indoctrinated into the imperial ideology.

Despite being the dominant group in the sector life for humans can be very different depending on the position they hold in society, with the best life of course being reserved for political leaders and imperial personnel, followed by the military, while the normal, pro imperial, colonists still tend to lead a better life than they did in the core as much of the hard labor is carried out by the slaves. As with their living conditions the political opinions of the humans also differ quite a bit, and everything from die hard imperial loyalists, over largely apolitical people who just want to live their lives and those who seek to reform the sector into something better to outright resistance fighters who work with the non humans rebels can be found through all parts of society.



The Slaves

As the Grak where deemed too hard to control and the Lorean where not really made for physical labor the empire brought in a large number of slaves, beings of races considered "non or at best semi sentient" like Wookiee, Talz and Barabels, into the sector. Put under utterly horrible living conditions these slaves are forced to work in mines or fields for the sake of their Human overlords. As the empire can "simply ship in more slaves if needed" the mortality rates of their workers matter little to them, in fact only the Death Star construction sites are considered an even deadlier place for non-human workers. This complete and utter mistreatment has driven many of these slaves into attempting open revolts against the empire and even though many of these are put down quickly some managed to find place to hide in the sector to wage guerrilla war against their former oppressors. For some the hatred of the empire has grown so strong that revenge is the only thing that still matters to them.



The Civil War

[Under Reconstruction]


Notable worlds: (will add more as time goes on)

Dorian, named after the first imperial governor of the sector Kinman Doriana is the capital of the sector and one of its few industrialized worlds. During the civil war the governments' treatment of the slaves working here would become even worse than before while more and more of the human citizens where pressed into military service to defend their rulers.

First Landing, the first world colonized by human colonists in the Sector, long before the empire. Possesses some minor industry and a few smaller cortosis mines. Due to its symbolism it is pretty fiercely fought over by the Government and the Military.

New Colchis, the main garrison and training world of the Sector. Doesn´t poses much industry but had rather large stockpiles of stored equipment that gave the military and important edge early in the war. Also known for its cold and desolate wilderness in which the soldiers are trained.

Lorean, the heated desert mountian homeworld of the species of the same name, as one of the few benefits of their "alliance" with the empire the worlds industry has been expanded and modernized quite a bit while only very few humans life here.

Damnation, not the worlds actual name but pretty much what everyone calls the main world these days, the main mining colony possessing the largest cortosis mines in the sector and the place with the most slaves. Fell into bloody fighting followed by brutal reprisals following the uprising of the slaves.

Rean, once a trading hub today for its industry and central location and bloody four way battlefield.

Corlus, ignored early in the war it became a gather ground for refugees though later on it began to suffer from raids by pirates before being overtaken by the government who dragged the refugees back to Dorian as slaves.

 

Although the method of petrification may be unknown, the person who petrified it was Inigo Montoya, and the hand itself (a right hand, to be precise) was once attached to the man who killed his father.

 

Suggest making a link here

That’s a lot; really, really a lot, for such a small area.

Do you mean ‘realm’ instead of “real” here?

any reason why 'lithoid' is written with a large 'L'?

tautology

Should not 'Empire' be written a upper case 'E'?

there should be a space here

Should not 'Empire' be written a upper case 'E'?

since you have not writing "human" with the first letter in upper case, do I think you should not write the names of non-human species with the first letter in upper case. Also, I suggest exchanging barabels into something else since they are not really fitting as mining (or any labour) slaves, there are some species that are known as/for their miners that you could use instead.

I think it's usually written 'non-human' in SW

1) What do you mean with “work in mines of fields”?

2) since we are talking many different planets so do I suggest that some treat them better, if nothing else so because they consider/find it cheaper to keep the slaves at least semi-healthy than having to buy new ones.

Is he the governer of the sector or something else?

Stealing that name for my Spacer Surnames post

feel like you should put a comma or two here to make it easier to read.

Should not 'Empire' be written a upper case 'E'?

I think you are missing a word here.

Any reason why you had him serving under Thrawn instead of any other grand admiral? It just feel like Tharwn is a bit over used.

Suggest having the names of the planets, when first used, in italics. Also, I'm personally missing a short description of the environment and/or local culture of the planets. If you want any suggestion do I have some stuff to offer.



With that said do I really like the grak and the relationship between them and the lorean. Something I was thinking about was that since the mining colonisation begun during the late old Republic so do it feel a bit that the Mining Guild, Techno Union and similar should have been among the colonisators.

Maybe ad some native non-interstellar species an/or lesser client/servant species of the graks and loreans. Once again: if you want any suggestion do I have some stuff to offer.

 

Okay made the gramatical changes you suggested and added two links, as well as pictures for the Grak and Lorean.

Well keep in mind its more and alledged claim not nessesary a fact, also kinda read somewhere once that the Anaconda Copper Mine in the US was belived to be build over like a third of all copper world wide. Don´t think that was actually true but claimed.

Probably something along those lines but a bit more empire esque I guess.

Not sure why Barabels would be unfit for that, also the Claws really make a lot of sense if lead by Barabels, a species known for their agression and disregard for other peoples life.

Was supposed to say "mines or fields".

Could certianly be the case, though keep in mind they don´t have to buy these slaves, the empire is shipping them in when more are needed. Sure some worlds/governors might be more sympathetic and try to treat them better but overall its pretty horrible.

Changed the title to Sector-Governor to make that a bit more clear, could say Moff as well but I always felt that word sounds utterly ridicolous.

Mainly because a) Silverton was something of a critic so Palpatine wanted to keep him out of any major affairs, b) that Thrawn was the only Grand Admiral who also shared Silverton´s more pragmatic/egalitarian approach and c) I played this rpg with friends who didn´t even know much about the other GA other than maybe Zaarin/Grand both of which wouldn´t fit in Silverton´s backstory.

I could add a bit more on those but you can send me your suggestions as well.

Thanks, glad you like it.

Not really maybe a few prospectors. The major disoveries of Cortosis where only made during/after the CW, until then the colonists had at best only discovered some smaller depots. Also could see Palpatine using his influence on Dooku/the CIS to prevent any of their members mining for cortosis there.

There certianly would be some, but as mentioned not interstellar species in the sector. As for clients maybe, but then only in a very limited capacity before the war. Could also see during the war several of these species being dragged into it, like the goverment raiding their worlds for slaves while the ever pragmatic Lorean might conscript them to bolster their manpower. Didn´t include that into our rpg but like the idea so could see it in retroactivley.
Would love to hear your ideas.

 

Wrong temperament and physiology to make them good labour, keeping them in line would be more work than what they can produce is worth - they are more fitting as slaves used as hunting helps, bodyguards, gladiators, and similar.

For mining you really want species used to it (and are not predators), like: twi'leks, sullustans and svivreni

But there is still a cost and somebody that waste resources will be investigated and possibly lose their position and in worse case killed of.

I would not say that Thrawn was egalitarian

I'll works best with some parameters (like a main environment or feeling for the world) since I have so much stuff but I'll give some suggestions later in the Star Wars Planets thread.

Since your ideas take place after the rise of the Empire could you just have that the empire took over those operations and either throw out the people from the Mining Guild/Techno Union (maybe they are now among the underclass in the sector), or killed them all, or made them the first mining slaves, or arrested them all and shipped them away to stand trial for crimes against the Republic/Empire

they could function similar to how the people of the colonies were used by the European colonial powers during WWI/WWII.

As I said before do I work best with some parameters since I have so much stuff (like what they are used for, or what kind of place in a story are they filling, or their homeworld) but I'll post some suggestions later.

 

Under these criteria I'm not sure if wookiees would make for good slaves either and at least from what we see in the Bane novels cortosis mining requires a lot of strenght, so a strong species would be usefull there. Also their clan/family based loyalities could be used to keep them in line.

Tell that to the Hutts or various imperials in various stories who mistreat their slaves to no end.

Will see if I can give you some. Generally I would suggest harsh untamed worlds, as for species as mentioned pre interstellar, also its a pretty dark setting so I would say goofy or gimicky species don't really fit.

Not sure if that fits my timeline. The general idea is that the empire learns of the mineral wealth and then "intervenes" for the sake of the colonists and the "poor oppresed Lorean". Keep in mind this is still early in the empire where Palpatine still pretends to be at least well meaning.

He is at least a lot more than most other imperials. Yes he is complete control freak but he doesn't seem to be the prejudiced as to who his allies are. Only real exception are the Nogrih. Keep in mind I said "more egalitarian" rather than "utterly egalitarian".

Probably yeah.

 

Aha, had missed that.

 

They look a bit more slime than I was first imaging in my head and now with the pic do I understand why they are called "Stone Angels".

Realised that I forgot to ask some of my usual questions: How do their architecture/s look like? How do their spaceships look like? Is there a kind of technology/gadget/items that they don’t have/use or is unique to them? What kind of martial tradition do they have and what arms and armour do they use? Do their home world have any animal and/or plant life, and do they take any of it with them (like how humans have taken cats and dogs with them where ever they go)?

Also, if I used them in a story how should I present them? As in what kind of behaviour/personality do they have and how are they similar/different from humans?

Realised that I forgot to ask some of my usual questions: How do their architecture/s look like? How do their spaceships look like? Is there a kind of technology/gadget/items that they don’t have/use or is unique to them? What kind of martial tradition do they have and what arms and armour do they use? Do their home world have any animal and/or plant life, and do they take any of it with them (like how humans have taken cats and dogs with them where ever they go)? You mentioned that they have a "tendencies to inner conflict" and I take it that they are not a united people, is this right; and if so, what factions are they devided into?

Also, if I used them in a story how should I present them? As in what kind of behaviour/personality do they have and how are they similar/different from humans?

Do you have any list of the worlds most of those colonists emigrated from? Asking since that would colour how to present them and what kind of culture they have. Also, have any area-native culture/traditions developed among them?

 

1) In therms of architecture they tend to prefer building underground or deep into mountains so on the outside its hard to see anything. On the inside you have beautifully carved out cavers that keep a certian natural feel to them(so no flat surfaces like you see in say Moria). Most of these caverns are ilumintaed by fluriscent crystals and gemstones(in a sense like how the glittering caves are described in LotR books)

2+3) As they don´t require regular food they are somewhat incabale of creating it(and no I can´t tell you how their diet actually works cause I don´t understand lithoids that well). As for special tech I would say they are much more skilled at working stone than most other species though not sure if there is any direct technology. They do build ships, from harder rock types, that don´t have any shields but a thick hull that is hard to blast appart.

4) Not much in the way of Martial traditions, all Grak are very strong and steady so all of them can hold their own in a fight against most races. They don´t wear armor because they don´t need to. As for weapons they have special blaster esque guns based, as always on cystals, though they are inferior to regular blasters. Later during the civil war they would also pick up other species weapons to fight, due to their great strenght they can for example hold two e-webs at once.

5) Not really, there might be some smaller organisms but the Grak are a very reclusive species who aren´t very comfortable interacting with other species all that much, due to many of their traits being alien to them.

They are very alien when compared towards humans. Of course in SW many alien cultures/species just come of as "reskinned humans with some culutral hat that has them stand out". The Grak aren´t like that. First as mentioned they don´t eat normal food, also they don´t talk(only telepahtically which can freak other beings out), they don´t have genders nor do they really understand the concept, they have troubles interacting with other races, they are very reclusive and tend to keep to themselves(both in therms of indviduals and as a species).

1) Lorean architecture involves usually pretty slim, tall buildings in white of other bright colours. As they are able to fly stairs are rare in them and people will usually just fly up to their balcony when they come home.

2) The spaceships follow a similar trend than their architecure being slim, brightly coloured and fast. They are much smaller and weaker than the Grak ships and despite their speed just weren´t able to crack the heavy armor of their opponents.

3) Not really aside from keeping a bit more focus on close range weapons the Lorean tech is not all that different from most races, just on a generally lower tech level of course.

4) Hit and Run is their main military tactic, didn´t really work against the Grak who could simply shrug their attacks like nothing but becomes pretty effective during the civil war. As for weapons there is still a heavier reliance on short range weapons than most in the galaxy have due to their ability to fly and thus strike quickly and closely at the enemy.

5) The Lorean keep several variants of bird creatures as their pets, generally not wanting a being that can´t fly.

6) The Lorean are a highly indivdualistic species. There will often be disagreements on many things, but no real factions as most Lorean will usually side with whoever he argees with on the issue at hand only to on the next issue potential agree with one of his oppents from before. Generally their race is lead by nobles but the followers of said nobles tend to shift around quite a bit. To put it bluntly their strong individualism makes personal loyality a thing most Lorean are incapable of. They will go with what they think is right/best for them rather than sympathy to a particular person.

Kinda put most of my thoughts in the above. Again personal loyality isn´t really a thing to them, they tend to discuss a lot and are rarely afraid to say their opinion, they sometimes might side against the majority just because they want to stand out from the masses. Kinda played into their whole relationship with the empire, while they profited they where loyal but had no real love for the empire, so it was no big descision for them to revolt. They also tend to not feel guilty over selfish actions and consider people who do dishonest. On the flipside they also don´t tend to hold grudges against any non personal attacks against them.

That said interacting with other species has introduced some of the perviously alien concepts to several Lorean causing them to actually develop bonds of loyality and comitt themselves to various ideals. Some of the Lorean auxilliary forces for example actually followed the imperial military revolt due to the bonds of comradship that has developed between some Lorean and human soldiers/commanders over the years. And of course all Lorean hate the "official" goverment at this point.

Mainly core worlds, poor factory workers are the main colonists and for them this usually means a considerable step up in living quality. Their culture has been heavily influenced by the empire and while bits and pieces of their heritage may remain most of that has been forced into the background. Of course there are differences from world to world or even person to person and while many utterly embrace the imperial way many others deny aspects or even all of it. Generally the main worlds of the sector are stronger infleucned than some less settled territories.
Another important factor is age, as many young people tend to be stronger indoctrinated to the empire while the older generations are somewhat more sceptical. As seen during the military uprising where many veterans and specialists(i.e the people who knew life outside the empire, where generally more freethinking) revolted while most recuits and younger soldiers(those completly brainwashed in the last two deacdes) stayed loyal.

 

Suggestion: they use vibro-blades with really low battery time and therefore their sheets (which are connected to a larger battery, mounted on the warriors back or similar) function as chargers for the vibro-blades' internal batteries. Alternatively so could they be using battery cords.

Do you know of the vargr from Traveller RPG? As described in the supplement book Alien Races 1 do their alien (to humans) loyalty system sound a bit as the lorean's.

Could this mean that they would not have that much problem working with the grak against a common foe?

Maybe this don't work whit how you have been using them but something you could do to show them as alien is that they can't see/understand the difference between non-grak living beings and droids.

 

Could be, though I guess in their time collaborating with the empire they learned/adapted to use regular vibro blades.

No, don´t know these. Would say its a bit different, the inner conflicts of the Lorean are rarely violent and if that its more a shadowy murdering conflict rather than open fighting, most of the time its more endless discussions and arguments. Also the Lorean don´t have a very strong family loyalities. In fact parents are suggested to not interfere with their kids lifes so much once the kids have reached their mid teens latest. Its actually seen as a sin against their child and bad parenting to dote on ones children too much, as too much parental love and guidance could hurt the childs developing individuality.

Defentely, unless a Lorean has been abused personally by a Grak they would easily do that, and even in the case of abuse they would be more holding a grudge against that particular Grak rather than the entire species. That´s also the reason only very few Lorean have joined the Claws, in their mind going after an entire species for the crimes of individuals and even killing utterly innocent children for their race is wrong and disgusting. And so while many Lorean´s have a grudge against one or several particular imperials they don´t really hate the regular settlers and even soldiers that much, infact there are humans living with and fighting for the Lorean in the civil war.

I think they would recognize that they are made from different materials so to say but yeah I think mentally they would believe there is no real different between organics and droids.

 

Gosh, I'm a little behind in my announcements, aren't I! Here are some new postings that have come in:

For January, we had two new posts: Bodyguard Organizations by @Gamiel and Mysteries of the Galactic Southwest by @Anedon.

For February so far, we've got The Sicarus Sector by Anedon.

Thanks for keeping me informed, as always! Always glad to be at the fanonista's service.

 

other possibilities could be:
- they don't understand gender and use only one type of third-person singular (he/she/it/other) when interacting with others, no matter their gender.
- have hard telling non-grak individuals apart, and even different species that have similar enough looks
- lack a sense of smell, meaning that they don't realise that something might be uncomfortable for other species because it smells bad or that species with strong sense of smell can notice them even when they are hidden

 

Here I am, procrastinating from fanfic writing with a fanon post on old stuff! I may come back and update this at some point since I'm sure there's something I've missed.

Nichitelakosti - Warbeasts of the Sith

The nichitelakosti are one of the oldest, and in recent times the rarest of Sithspawn. They were developed by the Sith people of Ziost and Korriban as cavalry mounts -- and as powerful weapons in ground combat. The nichitelakosti are armored quadrupeds with a hyena-like gait (much like Earth hyenas, their shoulders are high and their back legs short) and a bony-spiked tail. They are technically omnivores judging by their teeth, but nichitelakosti must feed at least sometimes on animals because of how they have been mutated by the Sith.

Though their ancestry is more closely related to the tuk'ata/Sith hound, they share the trait of Force vampirism with terentateks. Specifically, they feed on Force energy through the bone marrow (or various ichors when dealing with invertebrates) of other creatures. Given the option, they will hunt Force-sensitive creatures over anything else, and sentient beings over animals, because these produce the most of the Force energy the warbeasts were engineered to crave. This gruesome habit earned them the nickname "marrow-wolves" during the Great Hyperspace War and later conflicts that introduced the species into the wider galaxy.

While uncontrollable by most Force-sensitives, the nichitelakosti were developed to have a loyalty to their Sith masters. Usually they would be trained from birth for this, because otherwise the feral tendencies of the species made them much too aggressive to their riders and other handlers. They usually bonded to only one person, which was just how the Sith preferred it. The nichitelakosti would become intensely protective of that one person, communicating with them through the Dark Side and following them into any battle. Unusually for Sithspawn, nichitelakosti were known to take this devotion so far that they would lay down their lives for their particular Sith without being influenced to do so.

However, the creatures were very stubborn and prone to being led by their instincts. Obedience wasn't a given and depended on the rider's skill. Given how intense (and time-consuming) this sort of partnership was, the nichitelakosti were often most used among the warrior classes of the various Sith regimes and rarely kept by the most influential Lords. As time went by and the Sith dwindled, they became less and less prone to seek out pitched battles. The nichitelakosti were becoming rare even before the Seventh Battle of Ruusan wiped out all of the Sith excepting Darth Bane, and since then the species has been largely abandoned.

Small populations of the creature remain in a handful of deserted places. These are often remnants of those left behind by former invasion forces. Thanks to their unnatural hunger, they tend to either be wiped out by sentient populations or destroy them. One way or another, a region with nichitelakosti is probably pretty empty. Even in terms of wildlife and vegetation, the perpetual hunting and Dark Side energies of the species tend to slowly drain the local ecosystem dry over centuries.

An adult nichitelakosti can grow past three meters in height, and their armor plating (made of keratin) extends over much of the creature's body. Their sheer mass and the armor's resistance to most forms of energy weapons makes them extremely powerful opponents in and of itself, and their quite literal thirst for the lives of their enemies often drives them to violence beyond what is considered the norm for gladiator beasts and the like. These Sithspawn are further gifted with extraordinary speed and stealth for their bulk. Their feet are canid-like, with sharp but blunt claws, and give them the ability to walk very quietly when they so choose.

One of the more eerie of the nichitelakosti's powers is their speech. There is a species-wide vocabulary of growls and other sounds ranging into the infrasonic range, and they are able to pick up some limited bits of Basic and other languages they encounter. They can sometimes understand simple commands in the Sith language even without hearing it before. (Whether they choose to listen or not is another matter! They respond poorly to most displays of brute force and will often only obey a sentient if they feel they can trust them for some reason.) But beyond that, the creatures are able to imitate sentient voices and phrases so closely that an unaware traveler to their worlds can mistake them for Human or some other species if they stay out of sight. Often the only thing that gives them away is that most of them do not understand what they are repeating, and so there is an uncanny quality to their "conversation". If you listen long enough -- maybe a little too long -- you may hear the last words of their victims.

Nichitelakosti are more or less mammals, though their genetic makeup shows the intense hybridization of Sith alchemy. Though armor plating covers most of their face (creating a skull-like appearance) and much of the shoulders, spine, and tail, they do have dark fur on their underbelly, parts of the legs, and other areas where the plating doesn't cover them. They give birth to two or three live young at a time, but the strongest of the litter often eats the others once they are able.

Their ears have lynx-like tufts and are able to swivel in all directions to pick up on sounds in their environment -- an important feature since vocalizations are a big part of their ability to hunt in packs. Members of the pack will call to each other to triangulate the movements of their prey using infrasonic cries and sometimes a sound that sounds a bit like laughter to Humans. (The use of infrasound can make many beings uncomfortable, and some nichitelakosti are even able to use these low range noises as a weapon to disorient their prey) The spiky bone growths on the creatures' tails are used in communication as well as defense -- rattling sounds are a warning to others to back off.

A pack usually consists of eight or more animals, and in rare cases there may be over two dozen. They are intensely social creatures, and though the competition can be fierce their in-fighting rarely leads to death after they are grown. Pack structure varies by the environment, with the hierarchy being increasingly brutal where food and other resources are in short supply, and more relaxed in times of abundance.

Like the tuk'ata, the nichitelakosti have grazing animal ancestry -- but in their case, it manifests in the growth of tusks that grow outward from the jaw in a curving spiral pattern. These tusks grow larger throughout the animal's lifetime and can be a hindrance if not trimmed -- particularly to the male of the species, which has the larger tusks. (Their sexes are otherwise hard to distinguish, being of similar size and form.)

The nichitelakosti grows antler-like prongs from the central tusk as well, and the size and number of these can vary between individuals. Later dabblers in Sith alchemy have concluded that the tusks and their branching patterns are not only as unique as fingerprints, but also show how successful a given beast is as a predator of Force-sensitive beings and creatures. After devouring a kill with a lot of Force energy, the animals often soon start to grow new prongs. (Needless to say, this was of great interest to those who wanted to breed the nichitelakosti for greater ferocity.)

In some rare cases, nichitelakosti are said to be controlled by Sith spirits whose resting places they live near. This role is more commonly occupied by the tuk'ata, but where Sith deaths and a population of the creatures occur together it's very possible.

(Useful links that a lot of this builds from)
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sith_(species)
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Terentatek/Legends
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tuk'ata/Legends
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/New_Sith_Wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrasound#Infrasonic_17_Hz_tone_experiment
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/cyclotis/language/infrasound.html

 

Cool idea @Kahara

Bear-like then I would guess.

I think you are using ichor wrong here.

A possible way they could have controlled the nichitelakosti, or at least made them easier to control, is cyber implants.

 

@Gamiel, yeah, I'm using ichor as a catch-all term for "bug guts I can't identify", which isn't the exact dictionary definition. They are quite bear-like in some ways (and especially the head, minus the tusks, looks very ursine). And cybernetics would definitely be a possibility! I think the old Sith didn't have great success with it (they were a sneaky bunch, and their enemies could "hack" into it and turn their warbeasts against them). But later Force-users or others (hey, a way for a "regular" mad scientist to get in on that) might absolutely try it.

 

MONSTERS

Abyager
Hyena like beasts, that stand around 1.5 m tall at the shoulders. Their shaggy, coarse fur is broken by patches of scaly hide at irregular places, and a row of curving spines juts from its backbone. It has a furless, whip-like or tentacle-like tail, covered in warts and spines that’s often more than twice as long as the rest of the body. All its spins are covered in a poison that leads to burning pains, swellings and slowed reflexes in the hit body part.

The abyager are clever and cunning beasts, hunting in packs when food is a-plenty, and alone or in breading pares when food is scarce. But unlike natural beasts so are they also driven by cruelty and hatred, if they can prolong the suffering of prey they will and they hunt just for the terror of the prey. They seems to have an understanding for when things are crafted and takes delight in destroying such items.

They were originally created by [undecided, people can use whatever they want for now] as guardian and war beasts, and as such they were highly effective, at least against non-Force-users since their minds are easily manipulated by the Force (even if Jedi have reported that touching the mind of a abyager was an highly unpleasant experience). Outside of using Force-powers and control cyber-implants so are the abyager non-domesticable.

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Fellmaggots
Most likely biosculpted into creation by foul sorcerer-science, fellmaggots are malevolent sentients that resemble oversized, bloated grub with translucent skin and a duros face. Most fellmaggots are between three to five meters long but specimen who have been over six meter have been sighted and there are stories of fellmaggots who have been over ten meters. They have hypnotic voices, making any suggestion made by them seem more reasonable.

Even thou fellmaggots are highly intelligent so is it an intelligence driven by an unending hunger for power and decadence. This, combined with a general laziness and tendency to become impatient the closer they come to whatever goal they have, makes them less of a thread on a larger scale then they could be but they can still create misery and suffering to their near space and all too often get away with it too.

Because of their laziness, fear for their own skin and overall body shape do most fellmaggots surround themselves with minions to serve them and take all the risks. Many of them also try to be the power behind the throne or similar so somebody else became the main target for people’s anger.

There is no known homeworld for the fellmaggots and they can be found on disturbingly many worlds outside of known space.

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Skullboars
Skullboars are suidae animals, with deathly pale flesh and skin that stand 130 to 210 cm at the shoulders. Their names come from that the flesh covering their skulls is so thin, and the bone structure so distinctive, that it’s easy to get the impression that they have no flesh to their heads at all, only bare skulls. They have large, and often sharp, tusks, that they use for rooting in moist earth or undergrowth, and in fighting.

They are highly versatile omnivores, that have no problem hunting and eating smaller animals when given the chance, with an ability to eat even toxic waste - that they actually accumulate in their own flesh without any problems, making them toxic to any predator that try to take a bite. They have been known to smash up and eat droids to get minerals and chemicals. They have a preference for carrions and have no problem crushing bones with their teeth.

What makes the skullboars really dangerous is that they can smell people and places strong in the Force, especially those that recently have used/channelled the Force, this ability span to even the dead remains of the Force strong ones. If they are able to eat the remains of a somebody strong in the Force will their intelligence increase until they can be classified as twisted sentient. If the remains was of a dark side user so is less remains needed for a skullboar to become sentient. A skullboar that have developed this twisted sentient often quickly pick up mysticism, giving them the nickname “witchboars”; they usually know only one to a handful of Force powers but that’s often more than enough to give them an upper hand, or hoof with them, against others. Witchboars often develop strange cultures with rituals to unknown deities or even the Force itself, scar marking, cut markings and/or patterns into surfaces, and reshaping of the landscape after some strange principle. They have also been known to copy bits and pieces of nearby communities’ (if any) culture.
Sentience is not heredity to the next generation.

Skullboars instinctively know that eating the remains of a Force strong being is good for them and will stalk anyone strong in the Force that they get the scent of, looking for a time of weakness. As predators are the skullboars cunning and dangerous, never attacking their prey when it’s strong, instead waiting for it to become hurt or weak. To increase the chances of this the skullboars don’t hide their stalking (even if they themselves remain hidden), making the prey know it’s followed and keeping it up at night by making sounds and movements around it. When the prey is weak enough they attack as a pack: often by having one of them showing themselves to the prey, appearing to be on its way to attack the prey, and as the prey focus on that boar do one of the other boars attack from another direction. Another tactic, often used if there is nothing to hide behind, is to surround the prey in a wide circle and have one or two of the boars attack the prey but more in the form of run-a-rounds and faints than real attacks, after one or two of those attacks the boars exchange place with some other boars that continue the attacks until the prey is to tiered to really defend itself. Witchboars have been known to perform strange acts reminiscent of duelling behaviour when having cornered a sentient prey, like bowing before attacking, or creating “duelling circles”. But this behaviour should not be taken for any kind of honour, there will be no fair fight or mano-a-mano behaviour.

[Their origin will come later]

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Warpwolves
Warpwolves are biosculpted creators that can shift between two forms: the first one resemble a large, emaciated wolves, if with ears and noses resembling the ones of vampire bats; the second one has the same head but is semi-humanoid with clawed hands, a hunched stand and wolf-like legs. They have an extremely fast metabolism, making them nearly constantly hungry, this also means that they heal faster. When it comes to their behavior so are they much similar to wolves and use similar tactic but they lack any respect or fear for sentient creatures, even if they are not foolish to attack if easier prey is around. They are actually semi-sentient, which often comes as a surplice to anybody expecting a dumb animal (few survive that surprise), and know how to use the shock effect that most beings have of seeing them transform to their advantages. They are known to use tools, throwing hard items after prey that they can’t get to, even able to lay traps and recognize traps other have made. Their big weakness is their hunger since it has a tendency to overpower their cunning and patience, sometime making them attack a promising meal before they have thought things through or having the backing of the whole pack.

Originally created to for military use, warpwolves turned out to being extremely hard to domesticate or train, and their shapeshifting nature making control-cybernetics hard to keep whole after implantation. Before their creators fixed those problems* was they apprehended by the Republic law, who did not see kindly on this kind of illegal and unethical life-manipulation. During the apprehension of the warpwolves creators so did many of the former escape into the wild, and it was also found out that many people and groups that did not really care to much about how controllable the creators were (or believed they could control them) had brought warpwolves - this lead to that you can find warpwolves on many different worlds in the galaxy.
* they claim that they would have been able to if they just had more time, many who have seen their works (among them Jedi Master bioalchemists) believe they were delusional.

Because of their created nature and that their creators had not perfected them before they escaped lead to warpwolves often being born with strange mutateon, those mutations often lead to the mutated pups quickly dying (the ones not stillborn) and eaten by their kin, but some of them are able to survive. Among the noted mutations that has been seen on grownup warpwolves are: complete lack of hair; an extremely speeded up healing process, as in the wounds are visibly closing as you look at them; full sentience; no lips; bone plates; areas covered in chitin shells instead of fur;

 

@Gamiel, I like the skullboars! Always enjoy a good monster. With their omnivore traits and Force-absorbing they sound as though they could be a case of convergent evolution (or even a relative) to the nichitelakosti -- but with a totally different spin! It sounds like their species went in a direction more like feral hogs, but eldritch. And I see that they are one in an index of monsters; very much looking forward to seeing more.

 

Thanks. I have to admit that the skullboars are not something I come up by own, they are actually a reworking of a monster from Werewolf: the Apocalypse, as is the (hopefully soon appearing) Warpwolves. When it comes to the skullboars origin so is there no question about evolution, there were originally bioalchemical designs...

 

@Gamiel, that's nifty. It's fun to see all these things from different sources given a Star Wars spin; serious kudos on drawing from such a range of material. And bioalchemical sounds like they were someobody's pet project -- very intriguing!

 

Have added 'abyager', 'fellmaggots' and 'warpwolves' to my Monsters post

 

Hi all! Time for a quickie update for February-March:

@Kahara has a brand new post: Nichitelakosti—Warbeasts of the Sith.

So does Gamiel: a list of various Monsters, featuring information on abyagers, fellmaggots, skullboars, and warpwolves.

Finally, since it's been a while, any ideas for new discussions? (Or even challenges? ) I have a few ideas kicking about, but I'm always game to hear others.

 

Probably, but there should be many of the old blades in circulation, especially after the professional lorean warriors/soldiers have replaced their old vibro blades with imperial standard ones.

Have to say that page I linked to do not give the explanation of the vargr's loyalty system that appear in GURPS: Alien Races 1 that I was think of. It's about how the vargrs can be highly loyal to a group and a cause and then suddenly no longer are.

Suggestion: client-species that only exist on one planet and whose "client" function is to provide resources to the lorean/grak; species that have the role as specialist troops (could be because they are physically or physiologically fit for that role, have a culture that makes them want it, or their "masters/protectors" just decided that they would only be put in that military role); mystics - could be as oracles, curse casters, cunning navigators, protectors from other's curses; master artisans of a specific craft; specialist worksmen that are sent out over lorean-/grak-space to practice their trade(like mining; mining in a special environment (the void, on high pressure world, in the deep sea, lava worlds, etc.), agriculture, foresting, underwater construction, space piloting, hyperspace navigation, etc.) for the greater good of their "masters/protectors"; exotic bodyguards of high ranking loreans/graks;

Also, a client-group don't really need to be a new species, it could be the decedents of a lost colonisation attempt by an already established species.