Star Wars Universe Roleplaying Game

Mustafarian

Mustafarians are an insectoid sentient species native to the volcanic world of Mustafar, a barely habitable planet of lava rivers, ash-choked skies, and shifting crustal plates in the Outer Rim. Life on such a hostile world has shaped the Mustafarians into a hard-worn, resilient people who adapted to survive not by taming their environment, but by learning to live around it—deep in underground tunnel networks carved by native lava fleas and reinforced over generations.

Two distinct subspecies share Mustafar’s blistering landscapes: the tall, lean Northern Mustafarians and the shorter, broader Southern Mustafarians. Both share the same dark gray chitinous skin, long nasal trunk, and steeply sloped forehead that give them a passing resemblance to Kubaz, but their lifestyles and roles differ sharply. Northerners typically serve as scouts, riders, guides, and overseers, while Southerners shoulder the heaviest mining labor and frontline work near the lava flows. Together, they form a tightly coordinated society built around extracting the planet’s rich mineral deposits.

Mustafarians have a reputation for being insular and wary of outsiders. Most are far more interested in mining, trading raw materials, and maintaining clan holdings than in galactic politics. Yet offworld powers have repeatedly intruded on Mustafar’s resources—from the Techno Union’s corporate arrangements during the waning days of the Republic to the hidden operations of the Separatist Council and later Imperial activity around Darth Vader’s fortress. To the Mustafarians, these events are storms that pass overhead while they endure belowground, focused on survival and the slow work of rebuilding whenever catastrophe strikes.

Despite their reclusive nature, Mustafarians are keen observers. They watch offworlders carefully from behind lenses and respirators, weighing every word and gesture. Their curiosity is strong, but it is tempered by harsh experience; most see the galaxy at large as a source of trouble rather than opportunity. A rare few, however, leave Mustafar to trade, negotiate mining contracts, or simply escape the claustrophobic tunnels and constant haze of ash—often becoming resourceful mechanics, scouts, or technically skilled fixers who understand how to keep fragile life-support systems running in unforgiving environments.

Home Planet: Mustafar
Physical Description: Mustafarians are slender, insectoid humanoids with dark gray, chitinous skin and distinctive facial features dominated by a long trunk-like nose and a forehead that slopes steeply back toward the neck. Their eyes are typically concealed behind protective goggles, both to shield them from volcanic glare and drifting ash and to hide their expressions from offworlders. Most Mustafarians are rarely seen without thick environmental garb: layered heat-resistant fabrics, hardened plates, and respirators that together create a uniform, almost anonymous silhouette. Two main subspecies are recognized. Northern Mustafarians are tall and thin, most commonly standing between 2.0 and 2.2 meters with a lean but wiry build suited to riding lava fleas, scouting routes over unstable crust, and serving as guards or overseers. Southern Mustafarians are shorter and more heavily built, typically around 1.6 to 1.8 meters tall with a broader frame and denser musculature adapted to heavy labor and close work near lava flows. Both forms share the same chitinous plating and segmented joints, which provide some protection from impacts and heat but also make their movements slightly stiff and mechanical compared to more flexible humanoids. Up close, the chitin along their limbs and torso shows subtle ridges and plates grown over a lifetime of exposure and strain. This natural armor helps blunt minor injuries and shock, though even Mustafarians rely on additional armor and gear when working near open lava. Their voices often carry a filtered or buzzing quality due to masks and rebreathers, reinforcing their enigmatic presence in the eyes of visitors.

Average Height: 2.1 meters (Northern), 1.7 meters (Southern)
Average Weight: 75–90 kilograms depending on subspecies
Age of Adulthood: 16 years

Personality & Customs: Mustafarians are cautious, observant, and intensely pragmatic. Life on a world where the ground itself can betray you has left them with little patience for grand ideals or reckless heroics. They value reliability, careful planning, and hard work, and they tend to judge others not by their promises, but by what they can actually deliver. Around outsiders, they are reserved to the point of seeming standoffish, preferring to watch, listen, and quietly assess motives before committing to any agreement. Culturally, Mustafarians are deeply tied to their underground communities and clan structures. Most live in cave networks carved by native lava fleas and expanded into sprawling warrens of fungus-shaped dwellings, workshops, and tunnels. Surface excursions are purposeful and often dangerous—whether to mine minerals from lava flows, ride lava fleas along precarious ridges, or carry out coming-of-age rituals that involve leaping over active lava without protection. These traditions reinforce a grim sense of courage: fear is acknowledged but mastered through discipline, preparation, and respect for the environment. Mustafarians have little interest in galactic affairs beyond how outside powers impact their trade routes, mining rights, or planetary stability. This long-standing cultural isolation makes it difficult for many of them to relate to offworld customs or diplomacy, and it is common for Mustafarians to misread social nuances or simply withdraw from complex negotiations. Those few who do leave Mustafar tend to be mechanics, engineers, scouts, or negotiators tied to industrial or mining interests. Even then, they remain shaped by their homeworld—practical, somewhat aloof, and more comfortable in machine rooms, tunnels, and maintenance bays than in salons or senate halls.

Languages: Mustafarian

Example Names: Chivos, Donko Jen, Fralideja, Renlo Hens