Friday, June 6, 2014

Invid's Guide to the Star Wars Universe: Alien Species (#123)

The Massive Index (Posts #1-#100)
The Less Massive Index (Posts #101-#110)
The Second Less Massive Index (Posts #111-#120)

1221. Vray. Peaceful. Had to evacuate to escape Yuuzhan Vong.

Rating: 1/5.

1222. Vrot. Small.

Rating: 1/5.

1223. Vulptereens. Vulptereens basically look like monkey/platypus hybrids. They apparently lack central brains, but this isn't an advantage because their nervous systems are apparently wired oddly; they are known to suffer aphasia (!) if losing a limb. They supposedly aren't "smart enough" to be Jedi, according to someone or another. (Uh, unfortunate implications much?) They're also highly resistant to toxic conditions.

They apparently were long-time members of the Old Republic, having joined it between fifteen and twenty thousand years before the film era. In the same time period that Episode I took place in, the Trade Federation took possession of their homeworld and started mining it and using it as a landfill.

There was a Vulptereen podracer named Dud Bolt.

Rating: 3/5. This is mostly by appearance.

1224. Vultans. I was initially inclined to speculate that the Vultans must be some form of winged near-humans, but that isn't the case; instead, they're "pale olive-skinned" near-humans with fleshy tentacle-like things in a sort of funnel cake-like mass on their heads. (If that isn't a helpful image, just look at the page image.) Supposedly, they're known for skill with technology and for keeping up on trends and fashion.

One was a Jedi at some point; another was leader of some prequel-era megacorp or another.

Rating: 3/5. They look modestly interesting and getting to describe their heads as funnel cakes amused me.

1225. Vurks. Whenever I look at Vurks, the first thing I think is "nose-heads," because their heads are shaped kind of like noses. They also have large noses. This inevitably reminds me of a villain from Power Rangers, which drove me to check the date on the Super Sentai debut of the costume; it debuted a full year before the movie the Vurks debuted in was released.

Nerdiness aside, I like the general appearance of the Vurks.

Anyway, the Vurks are one of those races who are materially "simple" BUT NOT PRIMITIVE DON'T YOU MISJUDGE US type groups, with the notable and odd custom of male Vurks remaining bachelors for their whole lives if their parents can't arrange marriages for them before they reach adulthood. They are also noted as compassionate but not unable to defend themselves... though the first Vurk to appear in the films, Coleman Trebor (...yeah, they have super-ordinary names by English-speaker standards...), was a Jedi who was gunned down by Jango Fett.

Rating: 4/5. Mostly for appearance.

1226. Vuvrians. Vuvrians are twelve-eyed beings who vary from cartoonish and hideous to reasonably cool-looking. As a result of their world lacking significant predation and wind (uh, what?), their skin is incredibly sensitive, and while it isn't uncommon for them to be Force-sensitive, they generally lack combat capacity by virtue of their low pain thresholds.

Vuvrians are, despite their homeworld's peaceful nature, naturally very inquisitive and friendly, apparently having an easy time winkling out aspects of other cultures and being natural diplomats and traders because of it. One Vuvrian trader actually was the individual who purchased Luke Skywalker's landspeeder from him in A New Hope.

Rating: 3/5 based on the nicer-looking pictures. I find the description of their homeworld ridiculous, though.

1227. W'iiri. W'iiri have six legs, plating, and pinchers, meaning they probably resemble crabs or somesuch to some degree. They possess enough strength that three of them were able to critically damage one of Xim the Conqueror's (well-maintained though incredibly ancient) war droids, which were basically smallish walking tanks, and enough dexterity to operate a grenade launcher. A number of them were part of a labor force on the backwater planet that turned out to hold Xim's lost treasure, who would end up clashing with Han Solo and others for possession of the (actually worthless) treasure. They were also mentioned in The Pirate Prince, a relatively contemporary drama written about Xim.

Rating: 2/5. I'd like to see a picture.

1228. Waroot. The ancient conflict between the Waroot and the Farangs led to the creation of a board game. Because of the age and uniqueness of the conflict, the conflict itself and the board game alike are considered of interest to students of tactics and strategy.

Rating: 2/5, same as the Farangs.

1229. Wasbo. Insectoid. Traded with Killiks during Swarm War.

Rating: 1/5. Predictable.

1230. Wasilsi. The Wasilsi coexisted with the Tikiarri in ancient times; however, despite a supposed advantage in strength, they went extinct some time ago, a mysterious event which is sometimes suspected to have been caused by a plague that only affected the Wasilsi.

...Just because the Wasilsi were "stronger" than the Tikiarri doesn't necessarily make them "superior." If they were literally more physically powerful, there's still any number of reasons why the Tikiarri might have won a conflict with them anyway, including attrition through superior breeding capabilities and the Wasilsi having a narrower diet more susceptible to ecological destruction.

Rating: 1/5.

-Signing off.

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