Sneevel/Legends

"Get ready to crash! Get ready to burrrrn!"

- Boles Roor

Sneevels were a furry, humanoid species from the Mid Rim planet Sneeve, known for their characteristic smell and their daredevil tendencies. While Sneevels showed little interest in galactic politics, they nevertheless did not like being restricted to their native world. One famous Sneevel was the glimmik singer and podracer Boles Roor.

Biology and appearance
Sneevels were bipedal humanoids averaging 1.6 to 2 meters in height. Covered in fur, their shades varied from blond to black with a tendency to become white in old individuals. Sneevels had large heads that were distinguished by their portly muzzles and faces surrounded with bristly strands of hair. Their relatively small bodies were more nimble than a typical Human's. This, combined with the naturally-high Sneevel reflexes, gave the average member of the species an exceptionally good reaction time, a gifted talent to avoid damage by dodging, and an outstanding aim with ranged weapons.

Sneevels produced a strong, ever-present smell that varied depending on their emotional state, giving clues about the emotional state of the individual to any knowledgeable person who could sniff that Sneevel. As the species communicated information odorously, the native language of the Sneevel, Snee, was partially based on these "mood musks." Due to the strength of this scent, however, other species commonly considered Sneevels to be stinky creatures, and some aliens could even collapse if they stayed too long near one Sneevel. A Sneevel's average lifespan lasted seventy-six standard years.

Society and culture
Sneevels felt a need to live adventurously and feel thrills or other strong emotions; consequently, many of them died needlessly in their risky pursuits. Sneevels tended to follow dangerous professional careers, such as hyperspace-route exploration, extreme sports, or the most hazardous fields in other jobs, including scientific research on quantum fields. Sometimes, Sneevels performed perilous feats for a noble cause, but more commonly they were following more egotistic goals, mostly personal reward in the form of excitement. Sneevels had little interest in galactic politics in particular, and in the galactic cultural community outside their homeworld Sneeve in general, but many commonly learned Galactic Basic Standard as a second language.

History
Sneevels established a technological society by themselves on Sneeve, their Mid Rim homeworld, with their pioneering interests leading them to explore the summits of their highest mountains and the bottoms of their deepest trenches. They developed a tricky sub-light space travel using shoddy submersible vehicles with attached rocket-boosters, and began exploring their own system. In 13,975 BBY, Duros explorers discovered Sneeve, and the Sneevels joined the galactic community. Duros, and later Human, traders provided the Sneevels with other, more efficient space travel technology. Although the Sneevels found these safer vehicles to be more boring than their own, they adapted to them to settle their system, and then to expand to other parts of the galaxy.



Sneevels enjoyed pursuing new experiences throughout the galaxy, and they became leading figures in daredevil occupations, such as podracing and horizon skimming. They also excelled in creative fields, including visual arts, holovid, and music. However, politics was too prosaic for their interests, and they rarely showed real talent in it; nevertheless, Sneeve had representation in the Galactic Senate.

During the Separatist Crisis, Sneeve was an active supporter of the Military Creation Act, campaigning to attract other potential allies under Senator Jollin Resbin. Sneeve also joined the Refugee Relief Movement, a non-profit organization to aid people who had been displaced due to the conflict. With increasing immigration becoming a problem due to the secession of more and more worlds, Sneeve and nine other planets formed the Refugee Resettlement Coalition and relaxed their local immigration restrictions to shelter refugees.

After the Clone Wars, the Galactic Empire discouraged the presence of Sneevels outside Sneeve, and tried to contain them on their home planet. This caused the opposite effect, as running the metaphorical blockade instilled intoxicating agitation in the Sneevels. The Empire then appointed a local governor and approved laws to tighten interstellar travel, causing what the Sneevels felt to be an intolerable oppression. Many of them then joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic, not because they had any interest in overthrowing the Empire, but because they felt imprisoned on their own planet, or they thought it would be exciting. As Sneevels felt a daredevil need to look for adventure even if it could cost them their lives, more than a few died heroically and were remembered as martyrs for the cause; however, many more Sneevels died gratuitously when it could have been avoided.

Sneevels in the galaxy
Sneevel explorers commonly felt restricted on their planet and jumped to hyperspace looking for adventures. They were prominent scouts, artists, scientists, and athletes. An example of this was Boles Roor, who was successful both as a galaxy-wide known glimmik singer and as a podracing ace, twice winner of the prestigious Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine, and never defeated by local favorite Sebulba. Like many Sneevels, Roor was rude in person, but this did not affect his lucrative career.

Although Sneevels and politics did not mix, Sneeve senator Jollin Resbin was mentioned in galaxy-wide press as of 22 BBY. Resbin had personal contact with then-retired superstar Roor, and he knew how to use the connection in his interest. Sneevels also worked with the Rebel Alliance during the times of the Empire, both to fight the oppression their planet was having under an Imperial governor, and to have some excuse of a cause to risk their lives in haphazard perils.

Behind the scenes
Sneevels were created for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, with podracer Boles Roor being the first Sneevel in canon. However, although Roor's name is uttered by the announcer, Roor himself is not seen on screen in the movie. Roor is again mentioned in the novelization, and is first seen in the comic adaptation; he seems to have a horned nose in his only panel. The Databank at StarWars.com was the first source to identify the name of the species. The roleplaying supplement Alien Anthology (October 2001), by Steve Miller and Owen Stephens, was the first to provide a backstory about the species.

The sources are in conflict in regard to the galactic region where the Sneevel homeworld is; Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Episode I (October 2000) and Alien Anthology place Sneeve in the Expansion Region, while the website HoloNet News (2002) and Star Wars Insider 65 (February 2003) locate it in the Mid Rim. Given that the HoloNet News releases and the Insider article are the most recent sources, this article assumes Sneeve is indeed in the Mid Rim.

Alien Anthology gives the Sneevels a +6 natural bonus to Dexterity (with several penalties to compensate for it). It is the second highest ability bonus to a player-character species in all of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game (after the +8 to Strength for the Mantellian Savrip), and the only use of that exact number (other species commonly have +2 or +4 as their bonus).

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Rebel Force: Target
 * Rebel Force: Target
 * Rebel Force: Target