Post by DarthFett on Apr 12, 2011 18:12:35 GMT -5
SALKY HOUND: LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, MILITARY GROUPS, AND CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WELL-TRAINED BEASTS FOR SECURITY, AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERS HAVE LONG ENDEAVORED TO CREATE THE PERFECT GENETIC SPECIMEN. THEIR MOST INFAMOUS AND CONTROVERSIAL CREATION HAS BEEN THE SALKY HOUND. ON REQUEST FROM THE REPUBLIC MILITARY TO DEVELOP A CREATURE TO GUARD INSTALLATIONS IN THE OUTER RIM, SCIENTISTS BRED VARIOUS BEASTS FROM AROUND THE GALAXY. THEY FILTERED FOR SUCH TRAITS AS EXTENDED AND NATURALLY SHARPENED CLAWS, ULTRA-KEEN SENSES, TREMENDOUS JAW STRENGTH, AND A VICIOUS DEMEANOR. THE SALKY HOUNDS WERE THE RESULT OF THIS EFFORT. IN THEIR FIRST DEPLOYMENT, SALKY HOUNDS WERE BRUTALLY EFFECTIVE, BUT WHEN THE MILITARY BEGAN TO STATION THEM IN MORE PROMINENT INSTALLATIONS, THE HOUNDS’ FLAW BECAME EVIDENT: THEIR VICIOUS INSTINCTS WERE IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTAIN. EVEN WHEN ORDERED BY THEIR MASTERS TO SIMPLY RESTRAIN, SALKY HOUNDS ATTACKED THEIR TARGETS WITH LETHAL FORCE. AFTER SEVERAL DOZEN PEOPLE WERE KILLED, THE MILITARY RECALLED THE HOUNDS. SINCE THE MILITARY CANCELLED THE CONTRACT, THE BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING FIRM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SALKY HOUNDS HAS BEEN MARKETING THE CREATURES ON THE BLACK MARKET. SEVERAL CRIMINAL AND MERCENARY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE PURCHASED THE SALKY HOUNDS. RUMORS SUGGEST SOME OF THESE DANGEROUS BEASTS HAVE EVEN BEEN PURCHASED BY ENTITIES ON CORUSCANT. THIS WOULD BE HIGHLY ILLEGAL AS SALKY HOUNDS ARE BANNED FROM THE CORE WORLDS.
GUNDARK: THOUGH THEY ARE CONSIDERABLY SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE RANCOR, GUNDARKS ARE OFTEN CONSIDERED JUST AS DANGEROUS. WHILE RANCORS DOMINATE OTHER SPECIES THROUGH THEIR MASSIVE SIZE AND STRENGTH, GUNDARKS ARE MORE NOTORIOUS FOR THEIR SPEED AND BRUTALITY. THIS IS NOT TO SAY GUNDARKS ARE WEAK—THEY’RE GENERALLY ABOUT TWENTY TIMES STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGE MAN—BUT IT’S THE AGILITY AND FEROCITY COMBINED WITH THAT STRENGTH THAT MAKES THEM SO DEADLY. FOR CENTURIES, GUNDARKS HAVE BEEN AMONG THE MOST AMBITIOUS TARGETS SOUGHT BY BIG GAME HUNTERS. PART OF THE REASON LIES IN THEIR INSTINCTIVE SOCIAL PATTERNS. THOUGH A LONE GUNDARK IS A FORMIDABLE BEAST, WHAT MAKES THESE CREATURES EXPONENTIALLY MORE DIFFICULT TO KILL IS THAT THEY OFTEN NEST TOGETHER IN WHAT APPEAR TO BE PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES, AND EVEN WHEN THEY LEAVE THE NEST, THEY ALMOST ALWAYS TRAVEL IN PACKS. THE FINAL NOTE ON GUNDARKS IS TO BEWARE OF THEIR HEIGHTENED SENSE OF HEARING. THOUGH THEIR EARS ARE SOMETIMES THE SUBJECTS OF CASUAL JOKES, THEIR ABILITY TO DETECT APPROACHING ENEMIES IS DEAD SERIOUS. MANY A BOUNTY HUNTER HAS LEARNED ALL TOO LATE THAT THE ONLY SAFE WAY TO TAKE DOWN A GUNDARK IS FROM A LONG DISTANCE.
VINE CAT: THE SAVAGE VINE CATS ARE NEARLY INSATIABLE. THEIR LARGE SIZE REQUIRES THEM TO FEED OFTEN, AND THEY’VE EVOLVED INTO EFFICIENT AND CLEVER HUNTERS. LONG, HEAVY TAILS PROVIDE THEM WITH EXTRAORDINARY BALANCE; THEY ARE AS COMFORTABLE SCALING ROCKY CLIFFS AS THEY ARE LEAPING FROM TREE TO TREE. POSSESSED OF LARGE, RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS AND A FEROCIOUS BITE, VINE CATS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR THE HEAVILY ARMORED SLEEN APART IN LESS THAN TEN SECONDS. WITH A COMPACT MUSCULAR STRUCTURE AND THE ABILITY TO LEAP EIGHT METERS OR MORE, THE VINE CAT IS NEVER TO BE UNDERESTIMATED. VINE CATS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO NEW WORLDS BY THE SITH, WHO PRIZE THEM FOR THEIR FEROCITY AND CUNNING. THE BEASTS ADAPT REMARKABLY WELL TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS, FROM THE DARK FOREST OF THEIR NATIVE ZIOST TO THE SWAMPS OF DROMUND KAAS. THIS ADAPTABILITY HAS PROVEN UNFORTUNATE FOR MANY NATIVES SPECIES INTRODUCED TO VINE CATS, SUCH AS THE SCRAPBEAK GROUNDLING, DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION WITHIN A MERE THREE MONTHS OF CONTACT. THE SITH HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR THIS SHOW OF STRENGTH AND DOMINATION, AND IT IS LIKELY THEY WILL CONTINUE CARRYING THESE CREATURES WITH THEM TO NEW WORLDS.
TERENTATEK: FEW CREATURES IN THE GALAXY ARE AS DEADLY AS THE LEGENDARY TERENTATEK. THESE BEASTS CUT IMPOSING FIGURES; THEIR HULKING FRAMES ARE COVERED IN AN ARRAY OF SPIKES, AND EACH IS ARMED WITH TUSKS AND CLAWS THAT DELIVER LETHAL VENOM. THEIR PROWESS AND HOSTILITY ARE WELL-KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY, BUT PERHAPS THE CREATURE’S MOST IMPRESSIVE QUALITY IS ITS HIDE, WHICH IS HIGHLY RESISTANT TO FORCE ATTACKS. THIS EXCEPTIONAL DEFENSE, COMBINED WITH ITS RAW POWER AND VIOLENT NATURE, MAKES THE TERENTATEK FORMIDABLE EVEN TO TEAMS OF THE MOST SKILLED WARRIORS. THE ORIGINS OF THE TERENTATEK ARE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY; ONE THEORY PURPORTS THEY EVOLVED AMIDST THE DARK ENERGIES ON KORRIBAN, SHAPED AND CORRUPTED BY THE RITUALS OF EARLY DARK JEDI. ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS CLAIMS THAT THE SITH LORD EXAR KUN CREATED THE TERENTATEK BY SUBJECTING RANCORS TO HIS STRANGE FORCE EXPERIMENTS. REGARDLESS OF THEIR TRUE ORIGINS, THE TERENTATEK POSE A GREAT THREAT TO ANY IN THEIR PATH – ESPECIALLY FORCE-SENSITIVES. WHETHER IT WAS THE PERIOD IN WHICH THEY ORIGINATED OR NOT, TERENTATEK SPREAD ACROSS THE GALAXY MOST RAPIDLY DURING THE REIGN OF EXAR KUN. THE SITH LORD BRED THEM SPECIFICALLY TO DESTROY JEDI HOLDINGS ACROSS MANY WORLDS. THE CREATURES BECAME PERMANENT RESIDENTS ON THESE WORLDS, SEEKING OUT AREAS STRONG IN THE DARK SIDE AND GOING DORMANT FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE RE-EMERGING TO HUNT AGAIN. JEDI HAVE REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO RID THE GALAXY OF THE TERENTATEK, BUT NONE OF THEIR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL TO DATE.
GUNDARK: THOUGH THEY ARE CONSIDERABLY SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE RANCOR, GUNDARKS ARE OFTEN CONSIDERED JUST AS DANGEROUS. WHILE RANCORS DOMINATE OTHER SPECIES THROUGH THEIR MASSIVE SIZE AND STRENGTH, GUNDARKS ARE MORE NOTORIOUS FOR THEIR SPEED AND BRUTALITY. THIS IS NOT TO SAY GUNDARKS ARE WEAK—THEY’RE GENERALLY ABOUT TWENTY TIMES STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGE MAN—BUT IT’S THE AGILITY AND FEROCITY COMBINED WITH THAT STRENGTH THAT MAKES THEM SO DEADLY. FOR CENTURIES, GUNDARKS HAVE BEEN AMONG THE MOST AMBITIOUS TARGETS SOUGHT BY BIG GAME HUNTERS. PART OF THE REASON LIES IN THEIR INSTINCTIVE SOCIAL PATTERNS. THOUGH A LONE GUNDARK IS A FORMIDABLE BEAST, WHAT MAKES THESE CREATURES EXPONENTIALLY MORE DIFFICULT TO KILL IS THAT THEY OFTEN NEST TOGETHER IN WHAT APPEAR TO BE PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES, AND EVEN WHEN THEY LEAVE THE NEST, THEY ALMOST ALWAYS TRAVEL IN PACKS. THE FINAL NOTE ON GUNDARKS IS TO BEWARE OF THEIR HEIGHTENED SENSE OF HEARING. THOUGH THEIR EARS ARE SOMETIMES THE SUBJECTS OF CASUAL JOKES, THEIR ABILITY TO DETECT APPROACHING ENEMIES IS DEAD SERIOUS. MANY A BOUNTY HUNTER HAS LEARNED ALL TOO LATE THAT THE ONLY SAFE WAY TO TAKE DOWN A GUNDARK IS FROM A LONG DISTANCE.
VINE CAT: THE SAVAGE VINE CATS ARE NEARLY INSATIABLE. THEIR LARGE SIZE REQUIRES THEM TO FEED OFTEN, AND THEY’VE EVOLVED INTO EFFICIENT AND CLEVER HUNTERS. LONG, HEAVY TAILS PROVIDE THEM WITH EXTRAORDINARY BALANCE; THEY ARE AS COMFORTABLE SCALING ROCKY CLIFFS AS THEY ARE LEAPING FROM TREE TO TREE. POSSESSED OF LARGE, RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS AND A FEROCIOUS BITE, VINE CATS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR THE HEAVILY ARMORED SLEEN APART IN LESS THAN TEN SECONDS. WITH A COMPACT MUSCULAR STRUCTURE AND THE ABILITY TO LEAP EIGHT METERS OR MORE, THE VINE CAT IS NEVER TO BE UNDERESTIMATED. VINE CATS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO NEW WORLDS BY THE SITH, WHO PRIZE THEM FOR THEIR FEROCITY AND CUNNING. THE BEASTS ADAPT REMARKABLY WELL TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS, FROM THE DARK FOREST OF THEIR NATIVE ZIOST TO THE SWAMPS OF DROMUND KAAS. THIS ADAPTABILITY HAS PROVEN UNFORTUNATE FOR MANY NATIVES SPECIES INTRODUCED TO VINE CATS, SUCH AS THE SCRAPBEAK GROUNDLING, DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION WITHIN A MERE THREE MONTHS OF CONTACT. THE SITH HAVE AN APPRECIATION FOR THIS SHOW OF STRENGTH AND DOMINATION, AND IT IS LIKELY THEY WILL CONTINUE CARRYING THESE CREATURES WITH THEM TO NEW WORLDS.
TERENTATEK: FEW CREATURES IN THE GALAXY ARE AS DEADLY AS THE LEGENDARY TERENTATEK. THESE BEASTS CUT IMPOSING FIGURES; THEIR HULKING FRAMES ARE COVERED IN AN ARRAY OF SPIKES, AND EACH IS ARMED WITH TUSKS AND CLAWS THAT DELIVER LETHAL VENOM. THEIR PROWESS AND HOSTILITY ARE WELL-KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY, BUT PERHAPS THE CREATURE’S MOST IMPRESSIVE QUALITY IS ITS HIDE, WHICH IS HIGHLY RESISTANT TO FORCE ATTACKS. THIS EXCEPTIONAL DEFENSE, COMBINED WITH ITS RAW POWER AND VIOLENT NATURE, MAKES THE TERENTATEK FORMIDABLE EVEN TO TEAMS OF THE MOST SKILLED WARRIORS. THE ORIGINS OF THE TERENTATEK ARE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY; ONE THEORY PURPORTS THEY EVOLVED AMIDST THE DARK ENERGIES ON KORRIBAN, SHAPED AND CORRUPTED BY THE RITUALS OF EARLY DARK JEDI. ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS CLAIMS THAT THE SITH LORD EXAR KUN CREATED THE TERENTATEK BY SUBJECTING RANCORS TO HIS STRANGE FORCE EXPERIMENTS. REGARDLESS OF THEIR TRUE ORIGINS, THE TERENTATEK POSE A GREAT THREAT TO ANY IN THEIR PATH – ESPECIALLY FORCE-SENSITIVES. WHETHER IT WAS THE PERIOD IN WHICH THEY ORIGINATED OR NOT, TERENTATEK SPREAD ACROSS THE GALAXY MOST RAPIDLY DURING THE REIGN OF EXAR KUN. THE SITH LORD BRED THEM SPECIFICALLY TO DESTROY JEDI HOLDINGS ACROSS MANY WORLDS. THE CREATURES BECAME PERMANENT RESIDENTS ON THESE WORLDS, SEEKING OUT AREAS STRONG IN THE DARK SIDE AND GOING DORMANT FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE RE-EMERGING TO HUNT AGAIN. JEDI HAVE REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO RID THE GALAXY OF THE TERENTATEK, BUT NONE OF THEIR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL TO DATE.