Kell dragon

"You talk brave for one who is about to journey down the throat of my favorite kell dragon."

- Jabba the Hutt to Kyle Katarn via hologram

Kell dragons were quadrupedal predators sometimes utilized in disposing of captives by crimelords and Dark Jedi.

Biology and appearance
Kell dragons were hardy creatures related to the much larger krayt dragons indigenous to Tatooine, and like their larger cousins, were most comfortable in deserts. The squat, scaly reptilians walked on four three-clawed legs. Their roughly triangular heads held yellow eyes, and jaws that were filled with sharp teeth that jutted out when their mouths were closed. Three rows of spikes ran down the beasts' backs to the ends of their tails.

Behavior
Kell dragons generally attempted to neutralize their targets by biting with their toothy jaws. They could jump forward in order to deliver bites to particularly elusive prey.

History
During the Galactic War, Dread Master Styrak had a pet kell dragon on the planet of Darvannis. It was killed during the ensuing battle, but then the Dread Master revived it and bolstered its strength against his attackers, but it was once again killed, along with his master.

A number of kell dragons lived on Ruusan. While rare, they were the planet's most dangerous predator, and were found most commonly near the fabled Valley of the Jedi. There, they posed a threat to both archaeologists and those attempting to make a pilgrimage to the Valley. No one knew if they were indigenous to the world or had been introduced by the Sith.

Jabba the Hutt kept several as pets aboard the Star Jewel, and would feed prisoners to the kell dragons for entertainment. Kyle Katarn was intended to be the victim of Jabba's favorite dragon, but the mercenary was able to defeat the beast with his bare hands. Upon escaping the dragon's den and retrieving his weapons, he proceeded to exterminate Jabba's entire complement of the beasts in his search for Rebel agent Jan Ors.

The Dark Jedi Jerec had one kell dragon in captivity at his private palace at the city of Barons Hed. There were also two of the creatures lurking in the Valley of the Jedi ruins on Ruusan.

Behind the scenes


Kell dragons were created as enemies for the 1995 PC game Star Wars: Dark Forces. PC Gamer magazine stated that the dragons designed for the game were intended to be krayt dragons. Until the game's production and release time, Krayts had never appeared anywhere else; therefore, Dark Forces would be making their first appearance.

Since the Krayt dragons were officially stated to be much larger, for canon and gameplay reasons the game creatures were renamed "kell" and became only a relative species of krayts. Note that some kinds of krayts were quite similar to kell dragons.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Dark Forces
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II