Jotaz

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"So, the jotaz. Local fauna. Incredibly strong and durable. Any weak points at all?"
"All the report says is that they can be overcome with overwhelming force."
"So if we can't kill one it won't be my fault. Got it."

―Two stormtroopers discuss the jotaz^[1]

Jotaz were a species of large and aggressive but slow predators found on the planet Zeffo. With a thick hide and strong forearms, the Jotaz used brute strength to overwhelm their enemies but had vulnerabilities such as the abdomen region where the skin was thinnest. Cal Kestis discovered and killed a rabid member of the species while exploring a crashed Venator-class Star Destroyer.^[1]

Biology and appearance[]

"What intel do you have on the jotaz creature?"
"Its powerful enough to rip arms right out of their sockets."
"Oh. They're that strong, huh?"
"Oh, stronger then that! They can rip a person right in two."
"I think that's enough intel for one day."

―Two stormtroopers stationed on Zeffo^[1]

The jotaz were a type of highly aggressive and formidable predator found in the mountains on the planet Zeffo. They were strong, but slow, using brute strength to establish supremacy, but becoming enraged and confused if an opponent used rapid strikes or unconventional attacks. The forceful blows and impressive reach of their long forearms made up for their lack of speed, and they were strong enough to rip a person in two or tear their arms from their sockets.^[1]

Jotaz had a thick white hide with mottled black patterning across their back and two arms. It provided armor-like defensive support but was vulnerable along the jotaz's abdomen region where the skin was thinnest. Standing on two plantigrade legs, the bulky jotaz had three black-clawed digits on each of their four limbs and a stooped posture that placed their head over their protruding belly. A jotaz's face consisted of two wide-set black eyes, a reddish snout, and a large mouth with thick teeth. A fleshy appendage hung on each of side of the head from beside the eye to below the chin.^[1]

History[]

"What do we do if we run into a jotaz?"
"Well… you cover me. And I'll run."
"Why should I cover your?"
"Someone should survive. Might as well be me."

―Two stormtroopers stationed on Zeffo^[1]

The jotaz proved an issue for the Imperial forces stationed on Zeffo during the reign of the Empire, with one stormtrooper witnessing another trooper killed in a single hit from one of the beasts.^[1] In 14 BBY,^[2] a jotaz attacked a stormtrooper and scout trooper on the landing platform of the Imperial Headquarters on Zeffo. As it battled the pair, the fugitive Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis climbed onto the platform and ultimately defeated the jotaz and Imperials.^[1]

Stormtroopers had also spotted a jotaz near the Abandoned Village and several of the creatures roamed in the lakeside debris of the Crash Site, where a Galactic Republic Venator-class Star Destroyer had crashed after a battle against a Confederacy of Independent Systems dreadnought. Inside the Venator wreckage itself the Rabid Jotaz, a super-aggressive, diseased berserker, was capable of delivering critical damage to anything within its reach despite its horrible condition.^[1]

This section of the article assumes 100% game completion of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Any alternate stories may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canon.

Kestis then had his droid companion, BD-1, scan the deceased jotaz. Another jotaz later kicked through an ice wall in the subterranean Ice Caves on Zeffo and attacked the Jedi, having come from a sealed in cavern where the Imperial officer Krane had become trapped by a cave-in and perished. On a later visit to Zeffo, Kestis also slew the Rabid Jotaz and encountered another jotaz fighting stormtroopers in the Tomb of Miktrull.^[1]

Assumption ends here.

When Kestis and BD-1 were captured by the Haxion Brood crime syndicate and imprisoned on the asteroid space station Ordo Eris, the syndicate had captive jotaz held aboard the station for use in gladiatorial matches. While escaping, Kestis passed a chute through which numerous jotaz corpses were falling alongside the remains of other creatures. The Jedi and BD-1 then ended up in on of the Haxion Brood's gladitorial arenas, where a jotaz was released alongside a wyyyschokk to fight the pair. Kestis slew both creatures and escaped from Ordo Eris soon after.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Jotaz first appeared in the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, developed by Respawn Entertainment.^[1] Jotaz was the first creature Respawn Entertainment designed for the game.^[3]