Basilisk war droid

"The Basilisk war droid is the epitome of weapon technology. State of the art weaponry, armor, and maneuverabilty."

- Zuka

The Basilisk war droid was a Basiliskan battle droid. When the Mandalorians conquered the Basiliskan homeworld, Basilisk, around 3,997 BBY and subjugated the intelligent Basiliskans into simple-minded Lagartoz War Dragons, they also seized the designs of the droids and continued to manufacture them. The droids gained infamy during the Mandalorian Wars, when Mandalorians using the droids as mounts terrorized a large swath of the galaxy.

Design
The original Basilisk was a large animal-like droid created by the Basiliskans in their own image, though outside commentators would remark that it resembled a combination of a Zalorian rock lion and a Karren beetle. When the Mandalorians began producing them, they included a dorsal control mechanism with which a mounted rider could control the droid in battle. Despite this, the droids retained a large amount of artificial intelligence. It was said that a Mandalorian and its Basilisk shared a common bond, almost like a friendship. If the droid was destroyed in battle, its pilot would give it a warrior's funeral before sending it into a star. Mandalorian tinkering eventually spawned countless customized variants of the droid, some departing dramatically from the original design. Later versions included closed cockpits, larger wings that served as s-foils, and the virtual elimination of animal-like features, giving the droid an appearance closer to that of a starship.

Capabilities
The Basilisk war droid could operate in both atmosphere and vaccuum, and readily participated in fleet engagements. Space combat would require a Mandalorian rider to wear a pressurized suit into battle. If the tide turned and help was needed planetside, the droid could even plunge down from orbit to participate in ground battles. It was armed with laser cannons, shatter-missile launchers, shockwave generating rods, and heavy brawling claws, though some variations omitted the heavier weaponry in favor of performance. The pilot could even secure his own weapons to the droid, such as blasters or axes.



Legacy
After the Jedi Civil War, Canderous Ordo's Mandalorians on Dxun created a modified Basilisk capable of holding three people. During the Second Battle of Onderon, such a vehicle was used to bring the Jedi Exile from Dxun to Iziz, the capital of Onderon, much to the fear of the locals having seen this droid in action many times during the recent war with Mandalorians.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Basilisk, especially later derivations, would influence MandalMotors' StarViper-class attack platform design.

Behind the scenes
"The basilisk war droid version presented in K2 was an intentional departure from the ones presented in Tales of the Jedi, and we are happy, because frankly, those look really stupid. This is much the same reason that many of the designs in K1 are a departure from the ship designs in TOJ, and with good reason. So yes, the basilisk droid version was an intentional depature from the older models, and we take full responsibility. It is noteworthy that LucasArts and LucasFilm agreed with our decision on the first pass, much as they agreed with the decisions made with K1's look."

- Chris Avellone 


 * There is a discrepancy between the Basilisk Canderous describes in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the actual appearance of the vehicle in the sequel. Canderous indicates that the vehicle is a small, open aired mount, whereas its sequel portrays a closed fighter, looking remarkably like Prince Xizor's Virago. This was a conscious decision by the developers, who attempted to bring the more "ancient" look of the comics to the more modern, plausible, look of the movies. However, this difference may also be because of the difference in models of the war droid, for varying situations.


 * The artists of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint seem to have made an effort to reconcile the design variations, depicting Basilisks with both the body of the traditional mount-type droid and the wings and details of the Virago-like KOTOR II design.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords