Mantellian Savrip

"They're delicious."

―Omnino on Savrips^[4]

The Mantellian Savrips were a species of large, sentient reptiles native to Ord Mantell.

Biology[]

Mantellian Savrips were 4 meter tall bipedal reptilian humanoids with thick armored hides that came in blue, grey, brown, and green. Their reptilian heads sometimes possessed curved horns and their mouths contained a row of sharp teeth that produced a poisonous bite. While they had long necks, Savrips spent much of their time hunched over to make themselves appear more intimidating by exaggerating their mass. Attached to their stocky torso were two muscular arms that were long enough to drag on the ground. Despite walking on two relatively short legs, the Savrips could run at considerable speed. Both their hands and feet had 3 digits. Their sharp claws were also poisonous. Savrips were carnivorous predators that typically preyed on rodents, lizards, and other small creatures. While they could live up to 500 years old, elderly Savrips were rare given their violent lifestyle.^[1]

Society and culture[]

"Flashy can bulls-eye a savrip between the eyes five times before the critter even knows it's dead."

―Corso Riggs, on his blaster, "Flashy"^[5]

Mantellian Savrip G1 — Mantellian Savrip with Renci Tosh and Teerik

A reptilian species of sentient brutes native to the planet Ord Mantell, their sentience was a contentious subject to xenobiologist from the Core Worlds. While often believed to be simply very cunning semi-sentients by many galactic authorities,^[1] the Savrips were technologically primitive, and had their own informal language composed of roars, shrieks, and growls. Preferring to wear clothing and wielding simple tools and weapons, some Savrips had learned to speak accented Basic. Savrips were naturally inclined to combat, and this, coupled with their unusual language, only fostered the notion that they were unintelligent.

Savrips organized themselves into tribes and are passionately territorial of their land claims. They developed a violent warrior culture and aggressively attacked anything that entered their tribal lands. They displayed no fear of their enemies and charged blindly into combat even if they were faced with a superior number of opponents or superior firepower. Savrips never retreated from battle and fought their opponents to the death. Even juvenile Savrips stood and fought instead of retreating. Savrips prefered to wield simple hand weapons such as clubs and bludgeons, but they were also proficient in unarmed combat. Their most common unarmed attacks were slashing with their poisonous claws, pulverizing with their fists, and grappling their target before crushing them. Despite their seeming lack of intelligence, Savrips made use of simple traps and tactics to prevent opponents and prey from escaping. After charging at an enemy, Savrips herded their targets in the direction of camouflaged pits placed along the most convenient avenues of escape.^[1]

History[]

When Humans began to colonize Ord Mantell in 12,000 BBY, the Mantellian Savrips immediately attacked the expansionist outsiders. They were no match for the colonist's advanced weaponry and were forced to flee into the planet's shrinking wilderness. Following these initial violent conflicts, Savrip killings were sanctioned and sizeable bounties on their flesh and hide nearly drove the race to extinction.^[1] Many were hunted or exported, and, by the time of the Galactic Empire, few Savrips remained on Ord Mantell, keeping to themselves in the Scraplands. The Warlord Taxer Sundown used the Mantellians' prejudice against the Savrips to blame the murders his organization carried out on them. Savrip meat was also enjoyed by some, such as Baroness Omnino, who, with her son and the aforementioned impostor Jedi Sundown, planned to breed them for food on Ord Mantell in the years up to 37 BBY. However, this plan failed due to the intervention of Qui-Gon Jinn.

Savrips were commonly captured and exported off Ord Mantell to serve as gladiatorial beasts around the galaxy. They were one of the most popular attractions in underground fighting rings with Savrip fights garnering thousands of credits in bets. Their ubiquity in blood sports caused the Savrips to gain a reputation as one of the strongest creatures in the galaxy. Many noble houses, educational institutions, mercenary units, and sports teams adopted the Savrip as a symbol in their heraldry. The Mantellian Savrip was even featured as one of the most powerful pieces in the holochess game called Dejarik.