Star Wars Universe Roleplaying Game

Sakavian

Sakavians are a small, unusual, and tragically obscure gastropod species native to the frozen world of Sakavi Tar, a planet shrouded in mystery and known primarily through fragmented accounts, half-remembered legends, and the stories of one particularly talkative Sakavian fisherman. Despite their diminutive size—standing no taller than 0.6 meters fully grown—they developed a surprisingly complex maritime culture rooted in frigid seas, wandering icebergs, and generations of hunter-fishing traditions.

Biologically, Sakavians are bipedal gastropods with round, compact bodies covered in rough, wrinkled orange skin that darkens across the back and lightens toward the chest and face. Their toothy, wide mouths sit beneath a spray of wiry quill-like whiskers, giving them an almost bearded appearance. Two long eyestalks rise from the top of their heads, each ending in glossy black eyes capable of sweeping nearly all directions at once. Their stubby limbs, four-fingered hands, and two-toed feet may seem awkward, but with proper gear they are capable swimmers and surprisingly agile on slippery decks. Evolution gifted Sakavians a natural tolerance for extreme cold—but paradoxically, not for the crushing pressures and shock temperatures of their own oceans, forcing them to rely on specialized pressure-regulated breather suits when diving or traveling offworld.

Sakavi Tar itself is a world almost entirely composed of deep, icy seas broken only by scattered glaciers and floating ice cities. These environments shaped Sakavian culture into something that resembles a nautical tradition pulled straight from the pages of an exaggerated sailor’s tale: communal wharfs, tales of monstrous sea creatures exchanged in raucous pubs, clan-fishing expeditions aboard skiffs, and a deep reverence for the vast and dangerous waters that sustained them. Some Sakavian villages even preserved rites of passage involving legendary beasts such as Oondun—a colossal tentacled creature spoken of with awe and wariness.

For generations, the Sakavians survived through disciplined fishing, precise knowledge of migratory patterns, and the efficient technologies they developed for boating, ice-navigation, and underwater hunting. But everything changed with the onset of the Great Fish Famine. Years of overfishing—some by the Sakavians, but far more by offworld opportunists drawn by rumors of plentiful aquatic life—rapidly collapsed the planet’s ecological balance. Industrial harvesters exploited the weakened environment, and by the time many Sakavian communities realized the danger, it was too late. Entire villages starved, their populations dwindling with heartbreaking speed.

One Sakavian, Skoova Stev, became the only widely known offworld traveler of his kind. Seeking to protect his home from predatory outsiders, he boarded the starship Grapnel and guided its crew to seek valuable fish elsewhere in exchange for leaving Sakavi Tar alone. His trust was betrayed; he was cast aside, and when he finally returned home he found his entire village gone—victims of the famine. Stev’s later life on Koboh, where he continued fishing and recounting stories to any who would listen, is one of the few sources of Sakavian lore in the modern era.

Today, the Sakavians teeter on the edge of extinction, their homeworld ravaged, their population scattered or lost, and their future uncertain. What remains is a species defined by resilience, maritime tradition, and the echoes of a culture shaped by cold seas, colossal predators, and legends whispered on icy winds. Whether their lore—mostly told by Skoova Stev—is perfectly accurate remains unknown, but in a galaxy where facts often survive only through stories, the Sakavians live on through his words.

Home Planet: Sakavi Tar, a frozen ocean world in the Sakavi Tar system of the Outer Rim Territories.
Physical Description: Sakavians are tiny, bipedal gastropods with rounded bodies, thick wrinkled orange skin, stubby limbs, and long eyestalks tipped with glossy black eyes. They possess wide mouths filled with long white teeth, framed by quill-like whiskers resembling beards. Their hands have four short fingers, while their feet end in two elongated toes that help them balance on ice. Although tolerant of extreme cold, they require specialized pressure and temperature suits to survive underwater or anywhere offworld.

Average Height: Sakavians stand no taller than 0.6 meters when fully grown.
Average Weight: Typically 10–15 kilograms.
Age of Adulthood: Sakavians reach adulthood around 6 years of age.

Personality & Customs: Sakavian culture revolves around maritime life: fishing expeditions, seafaring traditions, and communal storytelling in lively pub gatherings. Their speech—loud, boisterous, and thickly accented—matches their hardy, big-spirited personalities. They come from tight-knit iceberg villages where knowledge is passed by stories of colossal sea beasts and treacherous waters. While good-natured and talkative, Sakavians are deeply shaped by hardship, loss, and the Great Fish Famine that nearly annihilated their species.

Languages: Sakavians speak their native tongue and can speak Galactic Basic with a loud, boisterous accent.

Example Names: Skoova Stev, Danniok, Vokirn, Nesska, Brullik, Tavro.