Name: Kuryida Edee (Mando'a - Lit. "Murder Teeth")
Designation: Non-sentient
Homeworld: Wayland
Language: Body language and vocal tones
Average size of adults:
- 5m at hips
- 15.8m long
- Weight range between 14-28 tonnes
Hair color: N/A
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
- Vongified - A product of the vong biological tests on the planet Wayland, the Kuryida Edee is inherently Force Dead and therefore immune to many, if not most, Force abilities.
- Apex Predator - The Kuryida Edee lives entirely up to its name in more than just visual appearances. The reptile has enhanced senses of smell and sight, easily able to sniff out their quarry or spot them with ease across a clearing.
- Murder Teeth - Powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth are the first thing most notice when face to face with a Kuryida Edee. The creature's jaw is capable of easily crushing prey to death while its teeth punch cleanly through flesh and bone alike. Even the reputed Mandalorians with their beskar armor rightly fear and avoid personal encounters with one of the predators as even beskar armor cannot withstand the crushing bite of a Kuryida Edee. In addition, the creature's teeth and bones are resistant to damage, deflecting even lightsaber blows.
- Scaled - The Kuryida Edee is not only well armed for a predator, but also well armored. The thick, scaled hide of the monster is capable of withstanding a variety of attacks from bullets to blasters. Even lightsabers have difficulty piercing the thick hide, the blade glancing off when striking. This hide keeps the predator safe from potential hunters, making the creature not only lethal to find, but difficult to hunt.
- Rare - While lethal and highly dangerous, Kuryida Edee are rather difficult to find in a broad sense. One could search an area of several dozen kilometers and find, perhaps, one of the creatures. The beasts are territorial and finding more than one in a claimed area generally implies that a territorial contest is in order between two adults, the beasts are in the midst of mating season, or that a mother and her young have been discovered.
- Cold Blooded - While an apex predator and capable of running down prey, the Kuryida Edee is, in fact, cold-blooded. Therefore, the beast is susceptible to low temperatures and cold or frozen environments. In fact, the creatures are only found in the warm climates of Wayland.
- Ill-Tempered - Aggressive and highly territorial, the beasts are incapable of domestication through all known methods in the galaxy. This makes the creatures unviable for use as weapons or mounts entirely.
Average Lifespan: Approximately one hundred to two hundred standard years
Races: N/A
Estimated Population: Insubstantial/Rare - Found only on Wayland
Diet: Carnivore
Communication: vocal and body languages
Culture: As the Kuryida Edee are not sentient, they have no culture. That said, some Mandalorian clans on Wayland do actively hunt a Kuryida Edee as a verd'goten
Technology level: N/A
General behavior:
Kuryida Edee are, outside of their size and stature, equivalent to any non-pack hunting apex predator. The creatures are lone hunters and solitary predators for the majority of their lives. A lone Kuryida will stake out a claim of territory using pheromones and, unless forced from their territory, will spend their lives hunting within their boundaries. Occasionally, a territory dispute arises where two or more of the creatures will vie for the same territory. When this occurs, the beasts spend a few days marking territory and overhunting the location, trying to drive the competition out. Should that fail to work, the struggle climaxes in an all out brawl between the creatures where the winner drives the other out or kills them in the struggle.
Mating season occurs once annually for approximately a month. During this time, female Kuryida Edee will alternate from a territorial defense to a roaming predator. When she enters a male Kuryida Edee's territory, the male will often try to impress the female with displays of strength and size and offerings of caught prey. If the female is suitably impressed, the female will reside with the male for approximately a month or so before returning to her own territory. If unimpressed, the female will move on into other claimed territory until a suitable partner is found.
Kuryida Edee mothers lay eggs within two to three months of a successful mating season. The mother remains with the eggs and subsequent young until the young are capable of successfully hunting. Once old enough, the young are pushed out of the mother's territory and out into the world. Between territorial disputes and starvation, few Kuryida Edee mature to adulthood, keeping the population low.
It should be noted that when sentient species enter and attempt to settle within a Kuryida Edee's territory, the predator often perceives the intrusion as a territorial dispute and will react accordingly.
History:
Formed by Vong shapers some time during the vong invasion in the past, Kuryida Edee quickly made themselves one of the most dangerous predators on the planet. Since then, anyone residing on Wayland has treated them with respect due to such large predators.
The beasts are well known to Wayland and are almost iconic to some regions of the planet. In addition, the creatures are often the target of many focuses from documentaries to big game hunters. In fact, a select few Mandalorian clans on the planet use the animal as a hunting goal for verd'goten trials in some situations.
Currently, the total population of the Kuryida Edee is unknown, but scientists estimate that that the overall population of the creatures low enough to not inhibit or unnecessarily endanger sentient settlements on the planet.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: Who doesn't like a big beastie to hunt or run away from? Toss in some stuff to make sure the playing field is fair to both FUs and NFUs - if not extremely lethal in general - and you have yourself a neat little plot device/animal kingdom boss NPC for Wayland. Plus, if you can kill one, you have a nice little bit of bling from the hide, the teeth, and the reputation.
