-
Human (LOL)
Humans were the galaxy's most numerous and politically dominant sentient species with millions of major and minor colonies galaxywide. Believed to have originated on the galactic capital of Coruscant, they could be found anywhere, engaged in many different pursuits: spacers, mercenaries, smugglers, merchants, soldiers, assassins, farmers, crime lords, laborers, slavers, slaves and many others, including Jedi. Since Humans were the most common sentient species, they were often considered to be a standard or average to which the biology, psychology, and culture of other species were compared.
-Biology and Appearance
Like most of the galaxy's sentient species, Humans had a torso, two legs, two arms, and one head. Other sentient species with a body type roughly similar to Humans were often referred to as humanoid, since Humans were the most common example. Their heads had two eyes, one nose for breathing and smelling, and a mouth for eating, breathing and communicating. Human arms had five-fingered hands for manipulation, mirrored by their legs' five-toed feet. Also, like most species, they came in two sexes, male and female.[4]
Unlike other mammalian species (such as Wookiees or Ewoks), they had only a light covering of body hair, with males being hairier than females. Most of their body hair was concentrated on the head and (in the case of adult males) face. This hair was grown, cut, and styled for aesthetic or ritualistic reasons (as with the elaborate hairstyles of the Royal Naboo and the traditional braids of Human Jedi Padawans.) Older Human males often demonstrated loss of the hair on their head. The facial hair grown by adult males could be grown, styled, or shaved completely.[5]
Despite overall physiological uniformity, baseline Humans varied greatly in appearance. Their hair color ranged from blond to dark, sometimes with hues of red or brown, changing to gray or white as years passed. Their hair could be straight, wavy, or curly. Their eyes came in shades of blue, green, gray, or brown.
Gradiation of skin tone was also seen among baseline Humans, usually limited to various shades of brown, ranging from pale yellowish brown (e.g.: Bana Breemu[5]), to light brown (e.g.: Luke Skywalker[4]), and dark brown (e.g.: Lando Calrissian[6]). Diversity in appearance was seen on many Human populations, and no particular features seemed to have been traceable to specific isolated communities on any locations. The planet Socorro could have conceivably been an exception, as most of its known Human inhabitants seemed to possess dark skin and hair.
Luke Skywalker was catalogued by Mistress Mnemos as a "10th Degree" Human, though it remains unknown what this classification entailed.[7]
-
Twi'lekFrom the Movies
Few things are as graceful as a female Twi'lek in motion. This beautiful image has forever doomed generations of young Twi'leks into servitude, as the wealthy and corrupt have taken to brandishing Twi'leks as badges of prestige.
Twi'leks are tall, thin humanoids with skin pigment that spans a rainbow of colors. Their most distinctive feature is a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grow from the base of their skulls.
In the waning years of the Republic, the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth was represented in the Galactic Senate by the corpulent blue-skinned politician Orn Free Taa. Even a politician of high office was not above flaunting a pair of lovely Twi'lek aides as a sign of influence and wealth.
From the Expanded Universe
The Twi'leks use their head-tails, or lekku, when they speak their native tongue of Twi'leki. The language is a combination of physical and linguistic communication, with spoken word being supplemented by subtle twitches and moves from the lekku.
Twi'leks are omnivorous, eating cultivated molds and fungi, as well as meat from bovine animals called rycrits. They have a sly disposition of patience and adaptability. As the Twi'leks learned from evolving through the harsh storms of their world, strength does not always come from confrontation. Often, as a Twi'lek proverb says, "one cannot defeat a heat storm, one must ride it."
The Twi'leks have developed an industrial-level technology, with windmills and turbines providing power to their homes and industries carved into the Ryloth mountains. Each city complex is autonomous, and governed by a head-clan. Having no native space-faring technology, the Twi'leks instead rely upon neighboring systems (such as Tatooine), pirates, smugglers, and merchants for their contact with the galaxy.
The planet Ryloth provides the galaxy with ryll, a powerfully addictive recreational substance and mineral. Twi'leks have adapted to the criminal attention brought to their world by selling their own people into slavery. This way, the Twi'leks have something to give the criminals, and still retain control of the ryll mines. Unfortunately many Twi'leks, mostly female, bare the brunt of this despicable trade-off.
During the Galactic Civil War, the Twi'leks remained neutral, not wanting to become involved in the struggle. They viewed the Rebel Alliance and the Empire as two heat storms that would eventually dissipate. Only after the storm had cleared, could the opportunist Twi'leks emerge and prosper.
-
WookieeFrom the Movies
Shaggy giants from an arboreal world, the tall and commanding Wookiee species is an impressive sight to even the most jaded spacer. Despite their fearsome and savage countenance, Wookiees are intelligent, sophisticated, loyal and trusting. Loyalty and bravery are near-sacred tenets in Wookiee society. When peaceful, Wookiees are tender and gentle. Their tempers, however, are short; when angered, Wookiees can fly into a berserker rage and will not stop until the object of their distemper is sufficiently destroyed.
During the time of the Galactic Republic, the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk was represented in the Galactic Senate by a number of Wookiee potentates. Loyal to the Republic, Kashyyyk was of prime strategic importance, serving as a major navigational point for the entire southwestern quadrant of the galaxy. This made it a target of the Confederacy, who invaded Kashyyyk during the Clone Wars. Republic forces, under the command of Yoda, were dispatched to protect the Wookiee homeworld. Yoda had fostered a good relationship with the Wookiees over his many years, and they trusted his leadership. Jedi, clones and Wookiee forces fought fiercely to protect the tree cities of Kashyyyk.
Kashyyyk's loyalty meant little to the unscrupulous Empire that arose to replace the Republic. Despite their proven intelligence, Wookiees were enslaved by the Empire and exploited for their brute strength. Their homeworld was blockaded, and a free Wookiee was a rare sight in the galaxy.
Perhaps the best-known free Wookiee was Chewbacca, loyal co-pilot and friend of famed Corellian smuggler Han Solo. Chewbacca was instrumental in the defeat of the Empire, and the eventual liberation of his people.
From the Expanded Universe
Kashyyyk is a world enveloped in immense forests. Inland, the trees are so tall and dense that a layered ecoystem has evolved within its branches. The closer one approaches to the forest floor, the more dangerous and primeval the environment becomes. Wookiees inhabit the upper levels of the forest, having built their massive cities within the interwoven canopy.
Though Wookiees do have a primitive appearance, they are quite comfortable with advanced technology. They can repair and maintain modern starships. They have developed a unique projectile weapon called a bowcaster. The Wookiee city of Thikkiiana was one of the key manufacturers of sophisticated computer componentry in the New Republic.
An average adult Wookiee stands more than two meters tall, and has a lifespan of several centuries. Aside from great strength and keen senses, Wookiees also have impressive regenerative abilities that allow them to recover from injury at a remarkable rate. Wookiees also have wickedly curved retractable claws used for climbing. Wookiee honor dictates that these claws are never used in fighting. A Wookiee that breaks this covenant is shunned and exiled, branded a "madclaw" and banished from the cities.
Wookiees are deeply respectful of nature, and have a strong connection to the sanctity of their world's ecology. When the Empire began exploiting the Wookiee homeworld, it was as if the giant people felt the pain inflicted upon Kashyyyk. Wookiees have also shown their own particular affinity for the Force.
When the Empire legalized slavery, one of the first species to profit were the Trandoshans. These reptilians are from a world neighboring Kashyyyk, and have long had grievances with the Wookiees.
Though Wookiees can understand Basic, and other galactic languages, their limited vocal apparatus can only produce their native tongues. The most common Wookiee language is Shyriiwook, a dialect of barks, growls, howls and roars. Wookiee language is very complex and liquid. Violence is such an everyday concern that there are 15 separate words for it in the Wookiee vocabulary. Wood and the crafting of woodwork and technology is so important that over 100 words exist to describe it.
Wookiees have a primitive patriarchy with a complicated lineage structure, initiation rites, and a religion that rejects materialism. One of the most important Wookiee customs is Life Day, wherein extended Wookiee families gather and celebrate a day of joy and harmony, as promised by the Tree of Life. Even the Imperial blockade could not keep Wookiees from recognizing this most important day.
Wookiees greatly value morality, courage, compassion and loyalty. A sacred and ancient Wookiee tradition is that of the honor family. An honor family comprises a Wookiee's closest friends and companions. These family members pledge a commitment to lay down their lives for one another, as well as members of any honor families these individuals may have. Like the similarly sacred Wookiee life debt, Wookiees extend this tradition to members outside their species. Chewbacca considered Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their children and Luke Skywalker part of his honor family.
After the Empire was overthrown, the Imperial slaving operation collapsed. The invading Nagai aliens attempted to resurrect the despicable practice, but were repulsed by agents from the Alliance of Free Planets.
-
BithFrom the Movies
The Bith species of humanoid are characterized by their large craniums, huge round, lidless eyes, and tiny mouths under their fleshy face folds. They are found throughout the galaxy, from the backwater dives of the Outer Rim Territories, to the Jedi order on Coruscant during the time of the Galactic Republic.
From the Expanded Universe
Bith are highly advanced craniopods from the planet Clak'dor VII, in the Colu system, Mayagil sector. The Bith are so evolved that their ancestral predecessors are impossible to determine. The Bith have become totally dependent on technology, having long since lost all their animalistic traits and instincts. Bith have atrophied senses of aggression, concentrating their energies into art, music and technology.
The reproductive organs of the Bith have atrophied and are useless. Bith reproduction is handled through technology. Prospective parents donate DNA samples to a Computer Mating Service (CMS), which then uses a complex computer program to produce a CP, or child pattern, displaying what possible children would look like from different mates. The Bith decide which child pattern appeals to them the most, and the CMS bonds the two DNA patterns to produce a child. A year later, CMS delivers a child to the new Bith parent.
The Bith have evolved past the need for routine sleep, unless sufficiently exhausted. The epidermal folds around their mouths collect molecules for olfactory analysis. Bith have a single lung, which draws in oxygen, strips each molecule of the necessary gases, and expels the waste gases through the skin. The Bith eye is very advanced, capable of focusing on microscopic detail. Their sense of hearing is so acute that they percieve the tonal qualities of sound in much the same way other species percieve color. As such, Bith musicians are noted for their virtuoso skills and complex musical arrangements.
Centuries ago, conflict erupted when two Bith cities, Nozho and Weogar, were competing for a patent on a stardrive. The end result of the conflict was biological warfare that wiped out 90 percent of Nozho's population, and transformed the garden world of Clak'dor VII into a monster-filled wasteland. The war crippled their technological centers, and the Bith had to turn to imported devices to help sustain their society. The Bith hermetically sealed their cities, and retreated from the growing wilds of their planet.
During the Separatist crisis, the Bith attempted to remain neutral to the conflicts splitting the galaxy. As more and more neighboring systems seceded, the Bith were eventually persuaded to support the Separatists in their cause.
-
JawaFrom the Movies
Maker defend the droid that has wandered away from its masters on the desert world of Tatooine. Of the many dangers that travel the dunes and crags of the arid world, few can send a droid's behavioral matrix circuitry into a tizzy like the Jawas.
They are hardly monstrous, appearing as meter-tall humanoids completely hidden behind rough, hand-woven robes. Their faces are concealed within the dark folds of a cowl, from which peer their sickly glowing yellow eyes.
The Jawas are a scavenger species. They comb the deserts of Tatooine in search of discarded scrap and wayward mechanicals. Using their cobbled-together weaponry, they can incapacitate droids and drag them to their treaded fortress-homes, immense sand-scarred vehicles known as sandcrawlers.
Jawas form an important link in the circle of trade that connects the distant Tatooine communities. They sell their hastily refurbished junk to moisture farmers who are hard-pressed to find a better selection elsewhere. For their shoddy work and vagabond ways, they have a well-earned reputation as hucksters out to hoodwink the outlander colonists on Tatooine.
From the Expanded Universe
Few have ever seen the ugliness that lies beneath a Jawa mask. Jawa faces are obscured by a cloud of insects that gather in the recesses of their hoods, attracted by their foul odors. Their particular stench is a combination of poor hygiene and a mysterious solution into which Jawas dip their clothes to retain moisture. To Jawas, the odor is packed with information about each other, such as clan lineage, health, emotional state, even the last meal eaten.
Jawas have evolved several important survival traits, such as exceptional night vision, a strong immune system, and an efficient digestive system that draws all the needed nutrients from the Jawa staple diet of hubba gourd.
Jawas have long been scavengers, as the Dune Sea provides a bounty of refuse. It is littered with derelict spacecraft wreckage from millennia of star travel. The Jawas have built homes and tools from these ancient scraps, and travel the dunes in sandcrawlers, cast-off mobile smelters from failed outlander mining attempts.
Jawas live in familial clans, each with distinct territories for living and scavenging. While half the clan is crammed into the warren-like compartments of a sandcrawler, scouring the deserts for usable salvage, the other half resides within a thick-walled fortress. These desert homes were built to protect the Jawas from Sand People or roaming krayt dragons.
A chief leads each clan. Jawa leadership is usually conferred upon males -- females are viewed upon as second-class citizens at best, property at worst. The few females afforded respect in Jawa culture are the shamans. A Jawa becomes a shaman when she is overcome by an illness accompanied by a hallucinatory vision. Depending on the outcome of the vision, and indeed if the Jawa survives the illness, she is usually decreed a shaman, and her words are given the respect that such wisdom dictates.
Once a year, the scattered Jawa clans gather for the great swap meet. Here, numerous sandcrawlers converge and the Jawas meet to exchange salvage. Marriages are arranged and Jawa children and females are exchanged among clans.
-
RodianFrom the Movies
The Rodians of planet Rodia are a species of green-skinned humanoids found throughout the galaxy. They have large, black eyes, tapir-like snouts, long flexible fingers terminating in suction cups, twin saucer-like sensory organs atop their heads, and a ridge of spines cresting their skulls. Rodians can be found among the Core World elite -- like Senator Onaconda Farr or Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's aide, Dar Wac -- to the lowest of the Outer Rim fringe -- like the bounty hunter Greedo.
From the Expanded Universe
Rodians evolved as hunters, killing much of the wildlife and predacious species on their planet to extinction. The Rodians grew restless with nothing to hunt, and turned to hunting each other in gladiatorial combat. One of the greatest of the Rodian Grand Protectors called an end to this self-slaughter around the time that Republic ships made contact with the species. The Grand Protector saw the expansion into the galaxy as an opportunity for the Rodians to hunt new species and targets.
As a result, many Rodians have taken to bounty hunting. Many take on contracts as part of grand games and contests, caring nothing for the concept of law enforcement. Rodian society awards bounty hunting in a wide variety of categories -- Longest Trail, Most Notorious Capture, Best Shot and more. Because some Rodians have taken to padding their hunts by allowing their quarries to commit further crimes, increasing their bounties, these aliens have a shady reputation. This, combined with the pungent pheremones that Rodians naturally exude, has fomented an increasingly common intolerence towards their kind.
Despite the Rodian thirst for violence and a history marked by interclan wars, the Rodians have a rich culture. Harido Kavila, a renowned Rodian Grand Protector, further attempted to steer the violent tendencies of the Rodian people into a more constructive direction by encouraging the production of drama. Rodian theater works are now among the most poignant, well-respected, and violent productions in the galaxy.
-
Tusken RaiderFrom the Movies
Fearsome desert savages inhabiting the rocky Jundland Wastes, Tusken Raiders are the foremost reason Tatooine colonists do not wander far from their isolated communities. Extremely territorial and xenophobic, Tusken Raiders will attack with very little provocation. They show no allegiance to even their native world-mates, as these nomads have attacked Jawa scouting parties on occasion. They have even gathered numbers large enough to attack the outskirts of smaller towns like Anchorhead.
Covered from head-to-foot in tattered rags and robes, Tusken Raiders -- or Sand People as they are also known -- brandish a deadly bladed club known as a gaderffii. They also carry projectile rifles with which to shoot at passing vehicles. The male of the species tend to be the aggressors. Females can be distinguished by their elaborate jeweled masks with eyeslits and torso-covering sand-shrouds. Tusken children wear unisex cowls and simple cloaks.
For transportation, Sand People have domesticated the hardy bantha -- a longhaired spiral-horned quadruped also found on Tatooine. These nomads purposely travel in single file, to conceal their numbers.
From the Expanded Universe
So dangerous are the Tusken Raiders that few xenobiologists are brave enough to venture close to them. What little information that exists on the nomadic brutes is often contradictory and incomplete. Indeed, there are those in official government positions that question the relative sentience of the Tusken Raider altogether. Alien-rights activists, however, believe that such claims are being made to justify the indiscriminate slaughter of the Sand People and the acquisition of their land.
The current leading theory is that the Sand People are the descendents of the Ghorfas, a society that built caves within the cliffs of Tatooine. Their civilization collapsed when offworld settlers disrupted their water supply, leading to their current nomadic existence.
Tatooine colonists had already established a number of communities on the desert world before running into the Sand People. One such outpost was Fort Tusken, northwest of Mos Eisley. The settlers inadvertently constructed their fort on land sacred to the nomads. The resulting Sand People attack was brutal. The name Tusken Raider, along with their fearsome reputation and the Sand People-outlander tension were indelible outcomes of that bloody day.
Tuskens live a strictly ritualized life. Among their sacred tenets is a rich oral history told by a venerated raider known as the storyteller. The storyteller must recount the detailed Tusken tradition verbatim at each telling -- it is considered blasphemy to botch a single word. Such a crime results in instant death and the appointment of a new historian. Tuskens travel in family groups of 20 to 30 individuals and their banthas. Tusken life is harsh and deadly -- as is the desert environment that bore them. Tusken youths are taught the dangers of desert survival at a young age. They must pass through an arduous rite of passage before being accepted as adults. Such trials could include hunting and slaying a krayt dragon or raiding an outlander camp.
The strangest aspect of the Tusken Raider is the mysterious relationship with the bantha. The bantha and its rider are intrinsically linked, as if on a telepathic level. A tribe member who has lost his bantha is considered incomplete and an outcast. Similarly, when a raider dies, his mount becomes frenzied and suicidal. Such crazed banthas are set loose in the desert.
Tuskens are strongly divided among gender lines. The females tend to the camps while the males hunt and fight. As children, Tusken youngsters -- called Uli-ah, wear unisex garments that conceal their entire bodies, making it impossible to visually determine the gender of a child. Once each year, all newly recognized adults are paired for life in a ceremony that involves the mixing of the blood of husband and wife, and their respective bantha mounts. Sheltered in a privacy of tent, the Tusken couple then slowly unwrap their bindings to see their true forms. Only their mate is allowed to know a Tusken's true appearance; an accidental glimpse of an unwrapped Tusken warrants a blood duel.
-
IthorianFrom the Movies
Ithorians are commonly called "Hammerheads" throughout the galaxy because of their most prominent feature: a long, curving neck ending in a t-shaped dome of a head. These tall, gentle herbivores hail from the planet Ithor.
From the Expanded Universe
Ithorians speak Basic, albeit with a peculiar twist. On the sides of their curling necks, Ithorians have two mouths. This creates a disconcerting stereo effect when they speak Basic, and a difficult yet interesting sounding native language.
Ithorians worship the "Mother Jungle," a spiritual entity of Ithor embodying the lush, tropical ecology of their world. Most Ithorians never set foot on their own planet, instead they lived in floating cities above their world. Only three of their continents had been developed, the other two never having been touched by Ithorian hands.
Ithorians are gentle and peace-loving, devoting much time to contemplating their ecology, and respecting all living things. Ithorians are curious and gregarious, and many have found their way to the stars. Their floating "herd" cities also have space-worthy counterparts, traveling the space-lanes like huge caravans. Each Ithorian herd-ship has a complex life-support system that replicates the environment of Ithor, complete with jungles, wildlife, and even weather patterns.
The people of Ithor practice a communal form of government. Each herd is autonomous and self-supporting. Once every Ithorian season (about five standard years), the herds gather for "the Meet." A grand site above the surface of their green world, the herd ships would join each other in a festival and regal ceremony.
During much of the Galactic Civil War, the Ithorians maintained a neutral stance. They had no reason to favor one side over the other, as long as they were allowed to continue their activities in peace. After the Battle of Yavin, an Imperial Star Destroyer placed a garrison on Ithor. Despite Ithorian complaints, the Empire stayed to "monitor" Ithorian mercantile activities.
Ithorians found peace after the defeat of the Empire, but it was sadly short-lived. During the Yuuzhan Vong crisis, the planet Ithor was utterly devastated in the war against the alien invaders. The once lush world is now lifeless and the Ithorians are forever forced to travel the stars.
HuttFrom the Movies
The Hutts are rotund gastropods with their pudgy fingers deep in the criminal activities throughout the galaxy. They are so influential that they control the commerce on entire worlds scattered throughout the Outer Rim and elsewhere. One prominent member of this loathsome species was Jabba the Hutt, who operated from a dank palace on Tatooine. Hutts are about three meters long and have thick, oily skin. Two short, stunted arms protrude from their upper bodies. They have wide mouths and small yellow or red eyes.
From the Expanded Universe
According to Hutt legend, the Hutts hail from the pockmarked and wasteland planet of Varl, and have survived incredible cataclysm to evolve into their current elevated status of "near-gods." The ancient legends say that Varl was once illuminated by two suns, the gods Evona and Ardos. Evona was lured into a black hole, and Ardos erupted in anger, expelling its gaseous shell, destroying all of Varl's sister-planets. But through all this, the Hutts survived.
While this story have generally been discounted as Hutt puffery, this much is true: there is evidence that Varl was once a green, lush world, and aside from a lot of asteroids, only Varl now circles the white dwarf of Ardos. Other theories postulate that the Hutts themselves destroyed Varl in some ancient conflict.
After the destruction of Varl, the Hutts migrated to other worlds. They are one of the oldest starfaring species in the galaxy, and they have carved out a sizable province known as Hutt Space. The key Hutt world is now Nal Hutta (which translates to "Glorious Jewel" in Huttese). This verdant though polluted world is orbited by the city-covered smuggler's moon of Nar Shaddaa.
The Hutts are a hodgepodge of evolutionary traits. Like annelids, they are hermaphroditic, containing both male and female sex organs. Hutts are generally considered male unless they are pregnant, at which point they are referred to as female. Like marsupial mammals, Hutts nurse their young Huttlets in special brood pouches. Like aquatic sea mammals, Hutts are able to seal their slit-like nostrils, and Hutts can hold their breaths for significant lengths of time. Like serpents, Hutts can open their jaws to incredible widths, allowing them to swallow almost anything.
Hutts most closely resemble gastropods, moving about on a single, giant foot. They have no skeleton, instead relying on an internal mantle that supports and shapes the head, while a specialized radula deep in the throat shreds food in preparation for digestion. The Hutt's greatest defense is its thick skin of blubber and muscle, which is protected by mucus and oily sweat.
When Hutts are born, they weigh less than 100 grams. After birth, the tiny blind creature claws its way instinctively towards the brood pouch. Inside the pouch, the Huttlet feeds on milk, and stays in there for a remarkable 50 standard years. When emerging from the pouch, these Hutts weigh up to 70 kilograms, and measure a meter from head to tail, but only have the intelligence of a ten-year old human. Hutts mature to adulthood at 130 years, at which time they are 500 kilograms, and about the height of an average adult human. Hutts are some of the longest lived species in the galaxy, some of them living at least 1,000 standard years. Jabba the Hutt was about 600 years old, and weighed about 1,000 kilograms.
Despite their criminal ventures, repugnant appearance and immoral indulgences, the Hutts are a proud species. History records that it was the Hutts, millennia ago, before the dawn of the Republic, who brought to an end the scourge of Xim the Despot. From that time, the Hutts have set themselves up as masters of criminal empires.
DugFrom the Movies
Dugs are slender, powerfully-built beings with a somewhat humanoid build and a unique method of walking. Their strong arms are used as legs, and their lower limbs are used as arms. Dugs have smooth skin, which hangs loose and pouchy around their necks, fin-like ears, and pronounced snouts.
Dugs are known for their ill-tempered demeanor, and many are little more than bullying thugs. Diminutive Dugs often feel the need to throw around their strength in bids to establish dominance. One of the best known Dugs is Sebulba, a Podracing champion from Pixelito on Malastare.
From the Expanded Universe
The strong Dug physique comes from evolution on a high gravity world. On Malastare, the Dugs are arboreal beings, brachiating among the canopies with alarming speed. They have built primitive villages called tree thorps in the Malastare forests of the western continent.
Eight thousand years ago, the Galactic Republic established an outpost on Malastare as the planet is located at a key spot along the Hydian Way trade route. Following the Republic, a contingent of Gran colonists settled on the planet. First contact between the Gran and the Dugs was bloody, and a long, brutal war ensued.
The Republic settled the violence in the Gran's favor. The Dugs were demilitarized, stripped of political power, and pushed to the fringe of their own planet. The Gran rule Malastare and represent the planet in the Galactic Senate. Dugs are little more than subservient laborers toiling for the enrichment of the Gran.
GranFrom the Movies
The peaceful Gran have been active members of galactic society for ages. With colonies on Malastare and Hok, the Gran have spread to several planets. In the twilight years of the Republic, a Gran delegation represented Malastare in the Galactic Senate. Among its members were Senators Aks Moe, Ainlee Teem and Ask Aak.
The Gran are easily distinguished by their triple eyestalks. They have hircine faces, small horns, and a jutting jaw-line.
From the Expanded Universe
The Gran have maintained a peaceful civilization on their homeworld of Kinyen for over ten millennia. Their society is evenly balanced, and a strict program of career quotas ensures that every Gran is trained for a specific job that best serves his or her talents. While advocates of free will would criticize such a rigid social system, to a Gran it is not only logical but essential. A typical Gran places the betterment of society above the betterment of self, and is keenly aware of his or her role in the bigger picture.
About a thousand years ago, the Gran began expansionary efforts that saw colonies erected on Hok and Malastare. This left large holes in their delicately balanced society, and the politicians on Kinyen reacted with isolationism, preventing any Gran from leaving Kinyen without permission and not allowing offworlders into their population centers. The Gran colonies continued independently, and while they too exhibited the strong social bonds found on Kinyen, the loosened social codes allowed for corruption and graft in the upper echelons of Gran society. The Gran Protectorate of Malastare was particularly disreputable in its treatment of the indigenous Dug population.
Those Gran are unusual, as most members of the species are peaceful, amiable beings content to adapt to difficult situations. Gran are keenly aware of each other's emotions, being able to judge disposition through subtle changes of body heat and skin color. Gran are very loyal, and need to be with someone for companionship. A Gran left alone will go insane or die of loneliness.
The Gran have excellent vision, able to resolve more colors than most species. Gran have multiple stomachs, having evolved from herbivorous ungulates.
