Morodin
Species: Morodin
Home Planet: Varonat
Morodin
The Morodin were enormous, sentient herbivores. They were mottled yellow with spoonbill snouts, stubby legs and wide teeth. They left a slime trail on the ground as they walked. Morodins are giant, herbivorous beasts which inhabit the Great Jungle of the planet Varonat. They have six stubby legs and spoon-billed snouts filled with flat teeth for chewing on the flora of Varonat. The average adult is 15 meters long. Morodins are not native to Varonat, but came to create an agricultrual colony 1,000 years before the Old Republic was formed. Bringing stores of food which would allow them to produce edible plants from Varonat's grasses, the Morodins transformed an immense section of plains into what is now the Great Jungle of Varonat.
Food was harvested and sent back to the Morodins' homeworld on great organic space vessels to support a growing population. When an ecological disaster on their homeworld prevented the Morodins from growing their organic starships, the colonists on Varonat were left to fend for themselves. They have continued to experiment and modify Varonat's flora to suit their nutritional needs.
When the human colonists appeared, the Morodins attempted to aid them with their crops, but communication was nearly impossible. The colonists, convinced the Morodins were wild beasts trying to destroy their crops, began to hunt them.
Much later, when several beings ventured into the jungles to sow aleudrupe plants, the Morodins believed they were genuinely interested in working on an agricultrual cooperative. The Morodins aided them by adding the aleudrupe planting sites to their rounds of crop fertilization and experimentation. A common base nutrient in all Morodin slime seemed to please the new jungle farmers, and they returned to harvest and sow aleudrupe plants. Every few months, several members of the Morodin tribe helping these newcomers would be killed by hunters, but the Morodins did not associate the two group of hunters and farmers.
The Morodin "maze-runninng" is the Morodins' means of fertilizing an area with their nutrient slime. The practice is also an intellectual exercise, and it helps the Morodin elders to teach their young the art of biochemical agriculture. Morodins keep track of which areas were fertilized by the patterns of the maze.
History:
They colonized the planet Varonat after their homeworld became uninhabitable. They were exploited by the Galactic Empire and hunted in safaris. Eventually, the hunting of Morodin became outlawed under the New Republic.
Attribute Dice: 12D
DEXTERITY 2D/4D
KNOWLEDGE 2D/4D
MECHANICAL 0D/1D+2
PERCEPTION 2D/4D
STRENGTH 3D/6D
TECHNICAL 0D/1D+2
Special Abilities:
Biochemical Agriculture: Morodins have extensive knowledge of Varonat's plant life, and modify it through their own biological niche in Varonat's ecosystem. By digesting certain plants and spreading their nutrient slime over other plants, Morodins produce new strains of plant food, some more nutritious than others.
Nutrient Slime: The Morodins' prime agent for implementing their biochemical agriculture is the nutrient slime secreted from a gland in their underbellies and spread in their path. Their slime - which changes in nutrient value depending on the Morodin's diet - encourages growth and mutation of plant life.
Story Factors:
Hunted Species: Because the Morodin have no established cities, farms or other signs of a civilization, they are mistaken for wild beasts and are often hunted.
Move: 12/15
Size: 15 meters tall
Source: Alien Encounters (p.95-96) & Wookieepedia (For the Morodin Description)