Keepin Corellia Weird
Verd'strill - The War Strill
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Another very rare/legendary companion animal for the Mandalorian people
Image Credit: HERE (Strill by Nyninr on DA)
Canon: N/A
Links:
GENERAL INFORMATION
Name: Verd’strill
Designation: Non-sentient
Homeworld: Kuar
Language: Grunts. Growls. Howls.
Average Lifespan: 200 years
Estimated Population: Rare (300-500 total verd'strill at most, if that. Only on Kuar)
Description: Thick, leathery skin except around the head, which provides a more canine look and feel to it, and resembles a mastiffs face. Parts of the head and face (like the eyes and nose and ears and underside of the jaw) are devoid of the leathery skin elsewhere, and covered in loose folds of shortly furred skin instead. A war strill’s tail is lithe and fragile, a whip like thing devoid of leathery coverings, and used primarily for balance and the like. Six legged, it’s legs are also devoid of leathery skin, and are thickly muscled while still being spindly. The legs are connected by rolls and folds of loose skin to the knee joint, and the canine like creature has a vicious set of jaws, while carrying it’s predecessors habit of excessive drool and a pungent scent.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Breathes: Type 1
Average height of adults: 1.2m
Average length of adults: 1.3m
Skin color: Varies (Common canine colors of pink/flesh & black most frequent)
Hair color: Reds/Russet(Rarest), Greys, Tawny/Gold, Black(Rare)
Distinctions: A blockier, armored skin versioned of the strill crossbred and genetically spliced with the akk-dog and vornskr, the Verd’strill has long, pointed ears resembling a Doberman pinchers when cropped, a mastiff-like face full of jowls and slobber, flappy fold skin around it’s legs, and sharp teeth like a natural carnivore the strill always has been.
Races: N/A
STRENGTHS:
(+)Majestic Flap-Flap: Part of the origin of their smell, the folds of skin around their legs can, as with the normal strill they were bred from, allow for short glides and hops for a few meters, longer if from higher up, but never true flight.
(+)Leathery Skin: Heavy, scale or banded like leather skin, similar to the Akk Dog some of their stock was taken from, this thick plate like skin gives them a natural armor. This does convey protection against damage sources as listed below
Resistances
- Blasters: High
- Kinetic: Low
- Lightsabers: High
- Other: Low
[*]
(+)Reverberating Howl: A high pitched and terrifying ululating cry that freezes lesser prey animals in place, and may even hurt the ears of sensitive species. It is momentary at best, allowing the Verd’strill to pounce!
[*]
(+)Oya! Hunt!: Verd’strill are clever and can learn a variety of commands, and with their ancestry mingling with the Akk Dogs, they form a similar bond to their owners as their ancestor, making the complexity of commands and quickness they learn from their imprinted owner faster than a normal strill.
[*]
(+)Force Hunter: Verd’strill are tuned into the Force due to their Vornskr ancestry. They can be trained by their imprinted owner to react in certain fashions when they sense it or it's used, effectively alerting their owner to such.
NEUTRAL:
(+/-) Too Many Legs: With six legs, the strill is agile, fast, and well balanced for its size. But due to the rather spindly nature of said legs, and the absence of the armored skin from them, they are also glaring weak spots for the creatures, given only the elbows have any of the thickened Akk Dog like skin on them
(-) Dwindling Pack: Due to an origin of selective breeding aided an impacted by genetic engineering and splicing, the Verd’strill was notorious for being not only low in number, but having a high rate of still-births, low birth numbers in general (2-4 may be born alive, 1-2 may make it to maturity). This reason alone led to the Scientists who created them to abandon the project and releases what specimens had been made to the wild when they abandoned Kuar.
(-) Oh Radar!: Though their keen hearing is an amazing boon for hunting and tracking, they are also particularly susceptible to sonic weaponry as a side-effect of that boon. Depending on the Verd’strill in question, and the weapon being used the effect varies from ruptured eardrums to hyperemesis and even borderline psychotic killing frenzies t the right frequency.
(-) A Pack Alone: Though they have the ability to bond deeply, learn swiftly, and share a love with their imprinted handler, the Verd’strill is notoriously independent and also fiercely stubborn, making them astoundingly hard to train. They will turn on almost anyone at any sign of fear or hesitancy in command.
(-) Fungus Among Us: Certain types of fungus, most notably mushrooms and their relations, will induce hyperemesis and violent episodes of fever, diarrhea, and weakness. Often without immediate medical attention, the Verd’strill will die from these effects.
CULTURE
Diet: Carnivorous. Has varying allergic reactions to digestion/ingestion of mushrooms and similar plants.
Communication: Vocal - Growls, Barks, Howls.
Technology level: N/A
Religion/Beliefs: N/A
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Originally made by Mandalorian Scientists in an effort to help fight Combat Arachnids, Kuar natives, and for the Wars planned ahead, the Verd’strill was a research project conducted along with the front lines army as it fought.
The scientists started with selective interbreeding of the Akk Dog and venerable strill. The resultant products were further bred down to make an ideal companion in war. Resilient, keen sensed, loyal, and fierce as well as more than reasonably cunning. Once achieved, the resultant specimens were decided to be further enhanced.
Having discovered the vornskr’s affinity for tracking Force using prey, the scientists spliced in the responsible genes for those senses. Unfortunately, there were many mishaps that resulted from the splicing, and while some (like the spontaneous turning on handlers without warning, or mitigating some not growing the Akk like skin by winding up with said skin growing as the Verd’strill matures) were able to be toned down or bred or fixed genetically, there were other issues with breeding and allergens that could not be fixed.
Ultimately, despite their fierce nature and efficiency as a beast of war against both Jedi and Sith, the Verd’strill were abandoned on Kuar and left to die to nature due to their low number of births and difficulty in living to maturity making the species too rare for reliable use in war. Until recently, their very existence was regarded as skeptical and likely propaganda or myth even by the Mando'ade.
