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- "My Master later told me that the whole of Felucia was like a single living thing. The planet was strong in the Force… but it was chaotic, wild… sliding toward the dark side. All of Felucia's inhabitants were susceptible. All were on the verge… of becoming monsters! Fortunately, my Master had some experience battling monsters."
- ―PROXY, on Starkiller's experience on Felucia
The Jungle Felucians, more commonly referred to as the Felucians, were an amphibious sentient species native to the planet Felucia. Viewed as strange and unusual by other species, the Felucians possessed two sets of arms—one ending in four webbed digits, and the other in three dexterous fingers—as well as a head consisting of a thick mass of tendrils. Members of the species usually stood 1.9 meters tall and weighed ninety kilograms. The Felucians were naturally sensitive to the Force and were in tune with their home planet's ever-changing balance of that energy field. The Felucians possessed no advanced technology and lived a somewhat primitive lifestyle. Unlike many other primitive species, the Felucians were not divided into multiple tribes; rather, they were all members of a single tribe spanning the entirety of Felucia. However, the species did have strict class stratification. Three of their most prominent classes were the warriors, the shamans, and the chieftains.
The Felucian warriors were responsible for hunting and protecting their people, using their burgeoning Force powers and their traditional weapon, the Felucian Skullblade. The Felucian shamans were the most exceptional Force-users in the species. They were the mentors, the spiritual guides, and the watchmen for their kin, ensuring that every Felucian who fell to the dark side of the Force was fed to the giant sarlacc creature nested in the Ancient Abyss, a sacred Felucian sacrificial ground. Tall and commanding, the Felucian chieftains were the leaders of their people and wielded ceremonial staffs and shields hardened with the help of the Force. Thanks to their Force-sensitivity, the species was also able to domesticate their homeworld's vicious rancor predators, painting them with phosphorescent dyes and using them as war beasts. The Jungle Felucians lived in seclusion from the rest of the galaxy until 27,000 BBY, when Gossam colonists settled on Felucia. As eons passed, the Gossam took over most of the planet, driving the Felucians deep into the planet's dangerous jungles. During the Clone Wars, Felucia was ravaged by battles between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems that took place there. After the end of the conflict, the Felucians set off to rebuild the planet's damaged ecosystem.
During the Great Jedi Purge, the Felucians harbored fugitive Togruta Jedi Master Shaak Ti and her Zabrak Padawan Maris Brood. Ti trained the Felucians in the use of the Force, helping them to overcome the temptations of the dark side. In 3 BBY, however, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader dispatched his apprentice Starkiller to kill Ti. The Felucians fought the apprentice, but he made his way to the Ancient Abyss, where he confronted and killed the Jedi Master. Brood survived the slaughter since she had been ordered by Ti to go into hiding. Stranded on Felucia without a Master to help her contain her anger, Brood fell to the dark side, and her influence corrupted the entire planet and the Felucian species, the members of which mutated into deformed, bloodthirsty monsters. At the same time, the Galactic Empire began a full-scale campaign on the planet to eradicate the Force-sensitive species entirely. In 2 BBY, a strong opposer of the Empire, Senator Bail Organa, arrived on the planet in search of Shaak Ti, but he was captured by Brood, who hoped to use him as a bargaining chip in case the Empire found her. However, Starkiller, on a mission to band together the Empire's foes, returned to the world, rescued Organa, and defeated Brood, although he let her live when she promised to abandon the dark side and leave Felucia.
Biology and appearance[]
A member of the Felucian species
The Jungle Felucians,[3] or simply the Felucians, were a tall, bipedal, sentient species, who were generally considered strange, mysterious, and unusual to outside observers. As an amphibious species, the Felucians were adapted to living both on land and in water; they were able to breathe in both environments and to easily traverse the fungi and swamps of their home planet, Felucia. Long, horizontal marks were visible on the species' torsos. The Felucians' arms and legs ended in four large, webbed digits, with suction-cup fingertips. Growing from the underside of each arm was a shorter, smaller arm that ended in three large agile fingers. A Felucian's head consisted of a thick mass of long, flexible tendrils with illuminated tips. The mouth and eyes, which glowed bright red in some individuals, appeared as black holes within that mass.[1]
The Felucians were adapted to survive the harsh environment of Felucia. Their gray skin, with its blue, red, or yellow markings, allowed members of the species to easily blend into their surroundings and to instantly disappear into the jungle in order to evade attack or to surprise prey. The species was extremely resilient and agile,[1] although there were variations between various Felucian castes.[4] For instance, the Felucian chieftains had denser flesh than the rest of their kin.[5] The Felucians moved with great speed and were able to see in low light. The species' average lifespan was eighty-five years. A Felucian reached adolescence at nine years and was considered adult at twenty, middle aged at fifty, and old at seventy-one. Members of the species stood 1.9 meters tall and weighed ninety kilograms, on average.[1] The entire Felucian species were Force-sensitive and connected to the Living Force of their home planet.[6] The connection was so deep that when a Felucian fell to the dark side of the Force, his entire appearance changed as well. His facial features became elongated and stretched, and his head tendrils dried and were now hanging limply from the skull.[7]
Society and culture[]
A united people[]
- "The Felucians seem to be more organized… and powerful than Imperial records would indicate."
"Hmm, a Jedi's hand is at work." - ―Juno Eclipse and Starkiller
A group of Felucian warriors
The Felucians spoke a guttural, barking language called Felucianese[1] or Felucian.[8] Common Felucian names included Gokkuul, Kargrek, and Hagark. The Felucians were subject to wild mood swings, reacting in unpredictable ways to different situations. They were generally viewed as primitive[1] and even barbaric[9] by other species. Indeed, the Felucians did not possess advanced technology,[1] wearing simple garments, such as loincloths, made of vegetable material and bone. The clothing was decorated with beads and tassels. Large ceremonial headdresses, worn by some Felucians, obscured their faces from the neck up. The species lived in small bulbous huts hollowed from the boles of giant fungi, with circular doors and windows,[10] and they were proficient with a variety of primitive weapons. The Felucians also learned to extract venoms produced by Felucia's plant life and used them to make both poisons and medicine.[1] The species formed a symbiotic relationship with the Yerdua Poison-Spitter, a semi-sentient plant capable of emitting thick venom. The Felucians trained the Yerdua to guard their villages and sacred sites from wild animals, and in exchange they fed the Yerdua meat and removed parasites from the plants' stalks.[11]
One of the species' most remarkable features was their innate Force-sensitivity and deep connection to the Living Force. Although not as powerful as trained Jedi, the Felucians were able to use the Force to control their environment,[6] and their connection to the Force gave them a somewhat primal attitude. Faced with the ever-shifting balance of the Force on their homeworld,[1] the Felucians struggled to resist the dark side throughout their history. Many individuals, and even entire entire tribal pockets descended into violence and madness.[6] The influence of the dark side also affected them physically, causing their bodies to mutate to reflect their tortured psyches.[7] Outsiders viewed the Felucians as strange and alien beings because they operated on a different social level, much like the Tusken Raiders on the planet Tatooine. Unlike some other primitive species, the Felucians did not split into separate tribes, but were instead all members of a single tribe, which spanned the entire planet and spread across their various villages. The social arrangement helped the species to maintain the same social hierarchy in every village. The Felucians were divided into a caste-based society, with each member fulfilling various roles.[1] However, in the years leading up to the Clone Wars, there were records of multiple Felucian tribes, who were in conflict with each other.[12]
The Felucian warriors[6] and the Felucian scouts[1] formed the core of Felucian society. They were trained to hunt and protect their kin against intruders, using their natural abilities to blend into nearly every environment and crawl nearly every surface to ambush prey. The Felucian warriors had blue markings on their skin and used their Force powers to imbue their crude jawbone weapons,[6] called Felucian Skullblades,[1] making them both more damaging and resistant to other weapons, including lightsabers.[6] Such strength was possible due to the fact that the crude weapons were made from the bones of native Felucian creatures that contained trace amounts of Force-reactive crystals.[1] The warriors wielded the skullblades with great proficiency and showed no mercy to their enemies.[13] The Felucian skullblades were considered weapons of great honor and importance to the Felucians, and were normally available only on the species' homeworld, but a few made their way to the black market at a cost of 
1,500.[1] Warriors were able to project a small shield of Force energy that protected them against enemy attacks.[4] They also used the Force to generate spheres of compressed air called Force blasts,[1] which they hurled at enemies.[6] The power was second nature to all Felucians.[1]
Leaders spiritual and tribal[]
- "These aliens seem to be well trained, but if you can find and eliminate the leader of each group you might be able to demoralize the rest."
- ―Juno Eclipse, to Starkiller
A Felucian shaman
Those Felucians who demonstrated greater than average skill and interest in the Force were trained in the ways of the Felucian shamans—whether they actually wanted it or not—because the Felucians could not allow an exceptional Force-user among them to roam the planet without obtaining the skills necessary to resist the dark side. The Felucian shamans were distinguished by their red markings and acted as spiritual leaders and mentors in the ways of the Force for their brethren, performing ceremonial rituals with the skullblades. Considered some of the most powerful natural Force-users in the galaxy, the shamans focused on manipulating their natural Force abilities, and, as such, were able to wield Force powers with greater skill than the other castes and to telepathically link with other individuals.[1] They were capable of defending themselves in battle;[14] using shields that they wore on their hands; drawing upon the power of Felucia for strength; and using a much more powerful incarnation of the Force blast called the sickening blast, which could worsen the physical condition of an opponent.[1] However, the shamans preferred to keep themselves out of harm's way, instead focusing on healing injured warriors, rallying them into battle by blowing a special horn, and projecting a Force aura that harmed an enemy that approached them.[14] As such, the death of a shaman during a battle could have a negative impact on the performance of the rest of the warriors.[4] Therefore, when pressed into combat, the shamans usually attempted to flee by using a combination of the Force and their natural blending abilities.[14]
Most Felucian shamans studied healing arts to treat various infections and maladies common on their homeworld, and they used the Force to protect other Felucians from dangers native to the planet. The Felucian shamans were in tune with the flow of the Force on Felucia—which could be easily influenced by a presence of a powerful Force-user, light or dark—and served as watchmen for the entire species, constantly keeping an eye out for the Felucians who approached the dark side and training other shamans to stay away from it. Fearful that the presence of a strong dark side user would corrupt the entire planet and the Felucians themselves, the shamans ensured that any darksiders were executed by being fed to a giant sarlacc creature that lived in the Ancient Abyss, an ancient sacrificial ground for the Felucians. However, even the shamans themselves were not safe from the grasp of the dark side, and certain individuals succumbed to it, also becoming victims of the sarlacc.[1] The Felucians worshiped the sarlacc and even built a village in the Ancient Abyss, erecting their homes to accommodate the creature's giant teeth that protruded from the ground[10] and covered hundreds of kilometers of the planet's landscape.[15] The teeth acted as fences defining gardens or lanes.[10] The Felucian shamans were careful about who they shared their secrets with, and only a handful of non-Felucian Force-users were ever trained by the shamans.[1]
A Felucian riding a bull rancor
The highest-ranking members of the species were the Felucian chieftains. Taller and more massive and commanding than the other Felucians, the chieftains displayed yellow markings on their skin. They were much hardier than the warriors and had a denser flesh that protected them from attacks but were slower than the Felucian warriors. The chieftains were the leaders of the Felucian species and inspired awe and fear in their followers. Trained from an early age to wield a ceremonial staff in battle, they were able to channel the Force through it and launch a powerful blast of energy. In addition to the ceremonial staff, the chieftains also made use of sturdy shields that had been fashioned with the help of the Force to increase their effectiveness.[5] The title of the Felucian chieftain was not restricted only to members of the species. On some occasions, a non-Felucian could become a chieftain, as was the case with the Togruta Jedi Master Shaak Ti.[9] Additionally, the Felucian society had a class of mushroom farmers.[10]
The species' Force-sensitivity allowed them to have some success in domesticating the vicious rancors, carnivorous creatures that inhabited the planet's jungles. The Felucians used the rancors as mounts and war beasts, painting them with phosphorescent dyes in order to confuse and frighten prey.[16] The rancor riders were predominantly of the chieftain caste.[4] However, they were wary of the much larger bull rancor subspecies that acted as guardians of the legendary rancor graveyard[17] and emerged from the deepest jungles only once every few years.[1] The Felucians believed that the much more aggressive bull rancor could not be tamed or captured,[17] although at least one chieftain rode one of the creatures.[2] The species also domesticated a number of other beasts, including a hat-backed species, which they used to travel on water surfaces.[10] Despite the species' social achievements, the Galactic Empire considered the Felucians disorganized and weak.[4] That perception changed when Shaak Ti arrived on the planet in the midst of the Great Jedi Purge and began training the Felucians in the ways of the Force, helping them to stay clear of the dark side.[9] After Ti's death, the dark side influence of her fallen Padawan, Maris Brood, affected the Felucian species and their culture. Their features twisted, the Felucians became aggressive barbarians[18] who yearned for killing and attacked anything in sight.[7]
History[]
Early history and the Clone Wars[]
A Felucian shaman armed with a Force-charged skullblade
The Jungle Felucians were native to the fungus planet of Felucia, a world they shared with another indigenous sentient species, the diminutive Felucians.[3] The Jungle Felucians lived in seclusion on their home planet until 27,000 BBY, when Gossam Courivers, a group of explorers from the Gossam species, arrived on Felucia using an experimental tumble hyperdrive. Full-scale colonization soon followed, although the Felucians tried to resist it by besieging Gossam settlements. However, as more and more colonists arrived,[8] the Felucians were forced to retreat deep into the jungle. There, they maintained their seclusion, since the colonists were wary to venture into such dangerous wilderness. Throughout their history, Felucians were often regarded by most other sentient species to be primitive and savage. They long flourished in the wild jungles of their home planet without the development of any advanced technology, which was in part due to their natural affinity to the Force. Conflicts between the Felucians and the colonists only arose when the latter tried to isolate Felucian settlements from one another in complete disregard of the Felucians' unified nature.[1]
Around 32 BBY, a conflict arose between the multiple tribes of Felucians, causing the Jedi High Council to dispatch Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to mediate the dispute. The Felucians would later claim, however, that not one, but two Jedi arrived on the planet, and that after the peace talks had failed, Sifo-Dyas was killed when his shuttle crashed on the surface of the planet. The Felucians extracted the Jedi's body and cremated it according to Jedi customs. In reality, Sifo-Dyas had never reached Felucia in the first place, as he had been previously dispatched by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum on a secret mission to negotiate with the criminal organization called the Pyke Syndicate on the planet Oba Diah. When Sifo-Dyas was recalled to Felucia by the Council, the Pykes shot down his shuttle over the desert moon of Oba Diah, killing him. As the mission to Oba-Diah was of a delicate matter, Valorum classified all files pertaining to it, including most of Sifo-Dyas's personal dossier, causing the official records to state that Sifo-Dyas had perished on Felucia, in accordance with the Felucians' version of events.[12]
During the Clone Wars that lasted from 22 BBY to 19 BBY,[19] Felucia was converted into a major stronghold for the Commerce Guild, a Gossam-ruled organization that was allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the enemy of the Galactic Republic.[1] As such, Felucia became a major target for the Republic, and, along with Mygeeto and Saleucami, a part of what Supreme Chancellor Palpatine called the Triad of Evil.[8][20] During the conflict, Sifo-Dyas's shuttle was found on Oba Diah's moon, which conflicted with his officially listed place of death on Felucia. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker were dispatched to Felucia to find out more about the late Jedi Master, but the Felucians only repeated the information contained in the official records.[12]
The Felucian species was endangered during the war, as large-scale battles left vast portions of the land barren and uninhabitable.[6] The Felucians organized resistance cells throughout the planet, aided by members of other species, such as the Human Mak Pra, who found shelter in a Felucian village and learned to speak their language. Early in the war, the Commerce Guild planned a daring attack on Coruscant, the capital planet of the Republic, planning to use the deadly trihexalon chemical during the operation. In preparation for that move, the Commerce Guild allied itself with the Trandoshan slavers, who spent six months experimenting on Felucian farmers and members of resistance cells using trihexalon, or "dragon's breath." One of the resistance's informants in the Commerce Guild found out about the organization's plans of an attack, although not the specific target. Upon receiving this information, Mak Pra contacted other resistance cells, planning to attack Commerce Guild Presidente Shu Mai's headquarters on Felucia and learn more about her plans. However, several days before the scheduled attack, Jedi Master Mavra Zane and a pair of her Padawans, along with the Wookiee Chewbacca, arrived on Felucia after escaping captivity from the Trandoshan Providence-class carrier/destroyer Nihilist in orbit, destroying the ship in the process. Pra and a group of Felucians arrived at the landing site of Zane's ship, the Star Runner, helping her and the Padawans fend off a Trandoshan attack. They then escorted the Jedi to their camp, where Pra explained the situation to Zane. Realizing that they would have to strike now, Pra and Zane agreed to move their plan of attack.[21]
The next morning, Pra, the Jedi, and the Felucians charged toward the Commerce Guild's headquarters using speeder bikes. While Pra and the Jungle Felucians fought the enemy forces, the Jedi infiltrated the facility, learning that Shu Mai's target was Coruscant itself. However, the Jedi were then captured and escorted toward a sarlacc pit, where they were to be executed. During that time, Republic reinforcements arrived on Felucia, led by Jedi Master Yoda. Landing on the planet, Yoda rendezvoused with Pra and Chewbacca and used the Star Runner to reach the sarlacc pit and free Zane and the Padawans. After a brief fight, Shu Mai escaped from the planet to the orbiting Commerce Guild fleet, with Zane in hot pursuit. A battle broke out betweem the Republic's and the Commerce Guild's fleets, but the latter soon proceeded to Coruscant to execute Mai's plan. Zane managed to foil the Presidente's plans, although Shu Mai herself evaded captivity[21] and eventually found her way back on Felucia. When Shu Mai was finally chased by the Republic forces from Felucia in the closing stages of the war, she activated a fail-safe mechanism that poisoned the planet's water supply.[8]
At the Clone Wars' end, the Felucians set about to rebuild their ecosystem and encourage the regeneration of Felucia's forests.[6] With the Confederacy defeated, the Felucians were joined by some of the surviving Separatist soldiers, such as the former Human Confederate commander Vazus Mandrake. An elderly shaman, who acted as the leader of a Felucian village populated by more than a dozen Felucian families, granted shelter for Mandrake, who had become an expert in the Felucian language. Mandrake also brought with him a number of kybuck mounts that he had imported to the planet while his unit had been stationed there.[22]
Life under the Empire[]
- "Peace! Please, stop fighting!"
- ―Vazus Mandrake, trying to convince the Felucian scouts and Bail Organa's agents to stand down
With the Confederacy defeated, the newly established Galactic Empire mostly retreated from the planet. A small Imperial presence was maintained in order to protect a secret Imperial prison facility called the Vanishing Place located deep within the planet's jungles. Several months after the end of the Clone Wars, however, scouts from Felucian villages started disappearing. Those Felucians were being captured by Imperial agents and experimented on by Captain Vischera, an Imperial scientist who sought to create a new breed of mutant Felucians, similar to what the Techno Union had done to the Nelvaanian species on the planet Nelvaan during the war. A number of his failed experiments produced mutated Felucians with weapons built into their arms and chitinous scales taken from rancors grafted into their skin. The experiments made the Felucians stronger and more aggressive and completely loyal to the Empire. Those Felucians were kept isolated in the Vanishing Place's medical research bay. Two of Vischera's most successful experiments were the mutated Felucians Hagark and Kargrek, who were mutated even more than the Felucians in the medical bay. They were much larger and stronger than their brethren, and they received combat training from Vischera himself, to whom they were loyal.[22]
Moreover, several Felucian children from the village that harbored Mandrake fell ill, their skin fading to sickly gray and their muscle mass thinning to the point that they could not support their weight. Unbeknownst to the Felucians, the children had contracted a deadly virus developed by Vischera inside the prison facility. At the time, a Felucian scouting party from the secret village encountered a group of individuals in the jungle. Having become wary of outsiders because of the recent kidnappings, the young and impulsive Felucian scouts believed the newcomers to be Imperials coming to steal more of their kin and attacked them. In the midst of the battle, however, Mandrake intervened, assuring both sides that the incident was just a misunderstanding. The outsiders were then escorted to the Felucian village and introduced to its chief, with Mandrake acting as the translator. The group revealed that they were agents dispatched by Senator Bail Organa, a notable enemy of the Empire and the leader of Alderaanian Resistance. They had arrived on Felucia via the starship Banshee under the command of Captain Sirona Okeefe. The agents had been sent by Organa to infiltrate the prison and liberate Imperial Admiral Gilder Varth, who was seemingly planning to defect from the Empire. After surviving a harsh landing that rendered the Banshee inoperative, Okeefe had remained to repair the ship, while Organa's men wandered through Felucian jungles in search of the prison until they encountered the Felucian scouts.[22]
The landscape of the Felucians' homeworld was dominated by fungi and mushrooms.
Assuring the Felucians that they were not Imperials, the agents gained the chief's trust by sharing their supplies, advanced weapons, and medicine with the villagers. Medics among the group healed the sick Felucian children. The chief then agreed to provide the outsiders with a Felucian guide who would lead them to the Vanishing Place. Additionally, when they mentioned their intention to raid the prison, Mandrake confessed to them that he had been meaning to destroy it and asked the operatives to complete his plan. When they agreed, Mandrake handed them an explosive device, which, when detonated inside the prison's communications center, would destroy the entire facility and overload Imperial communications systems on the planet. At that moment, Organa's men spotted an Imperial scout trooper on a speeder bike, who had seen the Felucian village. The scout trooper was unable to report its location via comlink, since the mushrooms located in the area had chemicals in their stalks that blocked long-range communications. Therefore, the scout trooper sped toward the Vanishing Place. Realizing that the Imperials would invade the village if alerted, Mandrake begged the newcomers to chase the scout on the kybucks. The agents chased the Imperial to a secret outpost, killed everyone there—preventing the Imperials at the prison from learning the Felucians' location—and returned to the village.[22]
Once the preparations were complete, the Felucian guide led the outsiders to the prison facility, showing them a secret unguarded entrance. However, the guide was then killed by Imperial forces, who took the entrance under guard. Inside the Vanishing Place's medical research bay, the infiltrators fought their way through a number of mutant Felucians. After defeating them and planting Mandrake's explosives in the communications center, the adventurers freed Varth. Inside the communications center, they also learned that Imperial Inquisitor Valin Draco was due to arrive soon to pick Varth up for processing. Unable to escape from the prison the same way they had come in, the operatives decided to make their way to the prison roof, where Okeefe—who had repaired the Banshee—could pick them up. Before reaching the roof, however, the agents arrived at the building's command center, where they encountered Vischera, backed by Kargrek and Hagark. After defeating the mutants and Vischera, the agents and Varth reached the roof and escaped on the Banshee, taking advantage of the distraction provided by explosions in the communications center. Unbeknownst to Organa's men, Admiral Varth only pretended to be a defector, and was in fact in league with Draco, his goal being the infiltration of the Alderaanian Resistance.[22]
A conflicted civilization[]
- "The dark side was strong on Felucia. And Shaak Ti was a beacon in that darkness. Shaak Ti's command over Felucia was impressive. She communed with its native species… commanded its flora and fauna to attack. But even with an entire planet at her command… she could not hold Starkiller. No one could…"
- ―PROXY
Not long thereafter, the Felucians, who now comprised seventy-five percent of Felucia's total population, were contacted by[1] Jedi Master Shaak Ti, one of the last surviving members of the Jedi High Council, who had fled the horrors of the Great Jedi Purge and sought refuge on Felucia, along with a young Zabrak Padawan, Maris Brood.[9] Brood's Master had disappeared while trying to discover what had happened to the Jedi, his last message to Brood being that the Jedi Order had been all but exterminated by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader.[23] Ti and Brood had struggled to survive in Felucia's wilderness before making contact with the Felucians and establishing rapport with them.[1] Ti eventually became a respected Felucian Chieftain,[9] learning to control the rancors and understand the Felucian language, securing the Felucians' loyalty to the point that the Felucian warriors appeared on her first summon.[4] In turn, Ti helped the species to stay clear of the dark side and guided them to learn control of their innate abilities. She hoped that the Felucians would protect Brood against Darth Vader[9] and would one day aid a reborn Jedi Order.[24]
Starkiller is confronted by the Felucians.
Ti especially focused on teaching the Felucian shamans specific powers so that they could fight Imperial troops and agents sent by Vader.[1] Meanwhile, Brood, harboring deep hatred for Vader,[23] began exploring the Force on her own, slowly slipping close to the dark side.[1] The Felucian shamans trained Brood in some non-Jedi Force techniques, teaching her to control various creatures, including rancors.[25] In 3 BBY, Vader finally discovered Ti's whereabouts and sent his secret apprentice, Starkiller, to assassinate her. Noticing Starkiller's ship, the Rogue Shadow, approaching Felucia, Ti told Brood to hide in the rancor graveyard, as they had trained. Brood wanted to fight, but she grudgingly obeyed her Master. The Felucians were ordered by Ti to attack the assassin, while she went and waited at the Ancient Abyss. The Felucians obeyed her every command, fighting bravely and fiercely, although it did not stop the Jedi hunter. Starkiller made his way through the Felucian village located inside the lair of the sarlacc and confronted the Jedi Master. After a lightsaber duel, Ti, having received mortal injuries, flung herself into the maw of the great sarlacc to her death. A group of about fifty Felucians surrounded Starkiller, but deeply affected by Shaak Ti's death, they did not attack, and Starkiller walked away.[10]
Descent into darkness[]
- "This whole planet has gone insane…"
- ―Starkiller, upon his return to Felucia
With Shaak Ti gone, Brood took control of the native Felucians. Enraged and grief-stricken over her Master's death, and faced with loneliness on dangerous Felucia, she fell to the dark side. She continued to train the Felucian shamans in the Jedi ways, but her rage corrupted them into turning to the dark side as well. Brood also trained many rancors to do her bidding, including a bull rancor.[1] Soon enough, the entire Felucian species embraced the dark side, becoming hideous monsters[26] with twisted features,[7] and the Felucian culture degenerated into a barbaric society driven to the brink of madness by Brood's uncontrolled powers. The entire planet deformed into a humid landscape, reflecting Brood's corruption.[18] The Felucian warriors became more vicious, aggressive, strong, and resilient, and they attacked anything they viewed as a threat.[7] The Felucian shamans' strong connection to the Force allowed them to retain much of their intelligence, but they lost all sense of goodness and compassion, and were driven only by an intense bloodlust, sending more and more of the warriors into battle to certain deaths.[27] Of all the Felucians, however, the chieftains devolved the most dramatically. Instead of leading and protecting their people as they had been trained, they now only cared about killing and roamed the planet unchecked, attacking anything in sight.[28]
Maris Brood backed by a pair of deformed Jungle Felucians
Moreover, the Empire arrived on Felucia in full force with the intent of purging the world of the Force-sensitive species. Imperial stormtroopers scoured the planet, driving the corrupted Felucians into hiding. The Felucians attempted to take shelter inside the maw of the sarlacc in the Ancient Abyss, but Imperial engineers constructed a giant device called the sarlacc stabilizer that was meant to restrain the sarlacc's tentacles and allow passage into the monster's maw via a turbolift.[29] When the stormtroopers began the war with the Felucians, Brood was certain that she would be exposed, so she kept in hiding and spied on the Imperials from afar, watching for any sign of Vader or his assassins.[26] In 2 BBY,[10] her Felucian scouts spotted an Imperial transport landing on the planet.[26] Aboard that transport was Senator Organa, who had come to Felucia in search of Shaak Ti—unaware that she had died—in order to recruit her for a rescue mission on the planet Kashyyyk, where his daughter, Princess Leia Organa was kept prisoner by Imperial Captain Ozzik Sturn. Brood captured the Senator and kept him in the rancor graveyard under the guard of her bull rancor, hoping to use him as leverage should Darth Vader find her.[4]
Soon thereafter, however, Starkiller, who was on a mission to recruit those who opposed the Empire, arrived on Felucia to rescue Organa. Starkiller was now working with Jedi Master Rahm Kota, and he had recently rescued the Princess on Kashyyyk. The maddened Felucians attacked him, but he fought his way through both them and the stormtroopers. When he reached the Ancient Abyss and sensed the sarlacc's suffering, he released the chains holding the creature's tentacles before descending into the maw. After he emerged from the belly of the beast, Starkiller found the rancor graveyard, where he defeated Brood in a lightsaber duel. As Starkiller prepared to deliver a final blow, Brood begged him to spare her, promising that she would leave Felucia and abandon the dark side. Starkiller spared her and left Felucia with Senator Organa.[4]
After the Empire's defeat at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY and subsequent fragmentation of its territories, the Felucians' homeworld fell within the boundaries of Warlord Zsinj's pocket empire. It remained under Zsinj's control until the Warlord's death in 8 ABY. After the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Felucia became a part of the Borderland Territories contested between him and the nascent New Republic, but in 9 ABY Thrawn met his end as well. When the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong invaded the galaxy, Felucia fell under their control by 27 ABY. After the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, the Felucians' home planet became a refuge for some members of the Ithorian species, whose own homeworld of Ithor had been devastated during the war. Decades later, in 137 ABY, Felucia was under the control of Darth Krayt's Sith Empire.[8]
Jungle Felucians in the galaxy[]
Few Jungle Felucians ever left their homeworld. Those who did found themselves in professions where they could practice their Force-sensitivity, although no Felucian was known to have joined the Jedi Order. Other Felucians became soldiers or scouts.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "In Revenge of the Sith, audiences were introduced to a new planet in the Star Wars universe, Felucia. A world covered by giant fungi of all shapes and sizes, Felucia is beautiful and colorful, but very little time was devoted to the planet in the film. In The Force Unleashed, the team rallied around the planet as a centerpiece of the game because of its connection to the prequels. The team was also excited about the prospect of creating an entirely new alien species, the native Felucians."
- ―W. Haden Blackman and Brett Rector, the authors of The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The planned Felucian classes that did not make their way into The Force Unleashed
The Jungle Felucian species, originally known simply as the Felucians, were developed for the 2008 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed multimedia project, whose main focus was the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game.[4] When the planet Felucia was chosen as a setting for The Force Unleashed game, the development team decided to create an entirely new alien species to populate it and serve as enemies to the protagonist, Starkiller. The creation of the Felucians was one of the most challenging tasks for the team design-wise. Inspired by the Expanded Universe's Witches of Dathomir, initial Felucian concepts represented an all-female Amazon–like army wielding weapons resembling lightsabers and riding huge mounts. Believing that using such a concept would be too derivative, the game's art director Matt Omernick instead came up with an idea for a Tusken Raider–like society: fearsome warriors adapted to surviving their native environment.[30]
After experimenting with various looks for the species, the developers settled on the final amphibious design. Many Felucian classes were designed, such as Felucian assassins, brutes, hunters, spies, etc. However, only three made it into the game: the warriors, the shamans, and the chieftains. Substantial work was put into making the Felucians look different in the light and the shadows.[30] The sounds that the Felucians made in the game became the favorite of the game's sound designer David W. Collins, who found them "creepy."[31]
Before appearing in the video game, the species were first mentioned in October of 2007 in an article that was part of a series titled The Force Unleashed Preview, published by Wizards of the Coast on their website to promote the upcoming The Force Unleashed-themed Star Wars Miniatures line.[25] The same month, the Felucians made their first in-universe appearance in The Traitor's Gambit, the first adventure in the Dawn of Defiance campaign for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.[22]
Concept art of Starkiller battling Jungle Felucians
The main wave of The Force Unleashed merchandise was released in August and September of 2008, including a novel by Sean Williams,[4] a graphic novel by W. Haden Blackman,[2] and the main installment of the entire multimedia project, The Force Unleashed video game published by LucasArts.[4] The Felucians made appearances in all three media adaptations and were mentioned in other supplementary material, such as The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed[30] and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Prima Official Game Guide.[32] The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide, a supplement for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, released during the same period and written by Sterling Hershey, Peter M. Schweighofer, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Rodney Thompson, fleshed out the Felucian species' culture and history.[1]
Inconsistencies and gameplay alternatives[]
In April of 2010, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode "Bounty Hunters" introduced a diminutive farmer species called the Felucians, creating a situation where two species shared the same name.[33] That was rectified with the publication of Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 67, which identified the Force-sensitive Felucians as "Jungle Felucians" and clarified the farmer species' name as simply "Felucian."[3] In April of 2012, the Jungle Felucians made their second video game appearance in the Xbox 360-exclusive title Kinect Star Wars.[21]
In 2014, the Felucians were mentioned in another episode of The Clone Wars series, titled "The Lost One," as part of the narrative describing Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's search for the clues to the mysterious death of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Originally, the episode was even set to feature the species on screen, showing their savage tribal disputes, but the scenes set on Felucia were dropped during the rewrite process.[34] The episode also introduced a conflict with the earlier description of the Felucian society in The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide. The reference book described the Felucians as members of a single tribe, spanning the entire planet. However, the episode mentioned multiple Felucian tribes existing among the species.[1]
There are several optional gameplay elements available in The Traitor's Gambit adventure, such as providing the Felucians with supplies and helping the sick children. However, doing so increases the agents' reputation with the Felucian chief, who provides them with a guide only if he trusts them. Planting Mandrake's explosives inside the communications center is not required to complete the adventure, but the distraction created by the explosion helps the adventurers in their escape.[22] In The Force Unleashed video game, releasing the sarlacc from the chains is an optional bonus objective and is not required to complete the game. In the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Nintendo DS versions of The Force Unleashed, the chieftain class is not featured. Instead, the Felucian shamans sport the yellow skin markings, which distinguish the chieftains in the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions. In the iPhone/iPod Touch/N-Gage and mobile phone versions of the game, the Jungle Felucian species are not featured at all. In those versions, Starkiller fights only Imperial stormtroopers and Felucia's vegetation on both of his visits to the planet.[4]
Appearances[]
- Kinect Star Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Lost One" (Mentioned only)- "The Traitor's Gambit" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
- The Force Unleashed novelization (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic (In flashback(s))
