Morseerian
Species: Morseerian
Home Planet: Unidentified Morseerian Homeworld
Morseerian
The Morseerians were a sentient species distinguished by four arms and methane-based respiration. Most of a Morseerian's body was covered in semitransparent skin that showed the underlying internal organs. The exception was the elongated head, which featured large, black eyes, a small nose, and a thin, triangle-shaped mouth. When found on planets with an oxygen-rich atmosphere, Morseerians wore full environment suits and breath masks that provided the methane they needed to survive. They usually flew ships that supported methane environments and employed crew members who could survive in such conditions.
Morseerians carefully guarded the identity and location of their homeworld from outsiders, and little was known about their history or culture except that they were a reserved and secretive people who had several colonies—including the world Morseer, for which they were named. The Morseerians were clients of the Drackmarians of Quelii sector; after that species was defeated by the Galactic Empire, Morseer came under the dominion of the Empire. During the Galactic Civil War, Imperial investigations into the location of the species' homeworld drove many members of the species to secretly support the Alliance to Restore the Republic. A few Morseerians gained fame in the galaxy at large, including the fighter pilot–turned–smuggler Nabrun Leids.
Biology & Appearance:
Morseerians were a sentient, bipedal species whose bodies were essentially humanoid. With rare exceptions, though, Morseerians had four arms where humanoids had two. While the upper two limbs were similar or slightly larger in size to those of a comparable Human, the lower pair, which extended from a second set of shoulders, were slightly smaller. These extra arms made them adept climbers and multi-taskers and aided them while grappling in combat or wielding multiple weapons. While all Morseerians had opposing thumbs, individuals had varying numbers of digits on their hands: some had five per hand, others had four, while still others made do with three.
Morseerians had oblong, conical heads covered in overlapping scales of brown, gray, white, green, purple, or tan. The rest of their bodies were covered in greenish, translucent skin that revealed the inner workings of their organs and the flow of their blood. Their large, black eyes lacked pupils and were located above a tiny nose and a triangular mouth slit. Some members of the species had keen hearing. Both males and females had slender builds similar to those of Humans in their early teens, although breasts distinguished adult females from males. Morseerians stood from 1.5 to 1.7 meters tall. They entered adolescence at age thirteen and adulthood at eighteen, and their life expectancy was eighty standard years.
In standard atmospheres, Morseerian biology required them to take special measures that made them look bizarre to strangers. Members of the species required methane-rich gas for respiration; exposure to an oxygen-rich, methane-poor atmosphere suffocated a Morseerian in minutes. Accordingly, those Morseerians encountered by outsiders almost always appeared in full environment suits. A typical example of this protective gear was form-fitting although looser suits were also found and included a complex breath mask. It used an incorporated supply of methane to create an atmosphere similar to that of the Morseerian home planet. Masks featured goggles to protect the eyes and straps to attach to the head; a side effect was that they made the wearer's voice sound mechanical, similar to a droid's vocoder. The durable suits rarely needed repairs or replacement and were built with redundant air pockets and filtration systems so that they still offered protection in the event of a tear or a puncture. Although inconvenient, such suits provided additional protection against airborne toxins. On the other hand, they made their wearers vulnerable to fire, which could ignite the methane supply.
Society & Culture:
Morseerians were introverted, laconic, and secretive. They preferred to keep to themselves, talking to strangers only to obtain information from them. This loner nature prompted Morseerians to avoid confrontation, although they were more than willing to defend themselves if targeted by others.
The Morseerian obsession with secrecy was perhaps most pronounced with regard to the name and location of their homeworld. The planet was uncharted by any but the Morseerians themselves, although rumor placed it in the Outer Rim Territories. A Morseerian would rather die than give up the location of the world. As a result, little was known about their native culture and customs. The Morseerians were at least nominally under the protection of the Drackmarian species. Although the details of the relationship were unclear to outsiders, at least some Morseerians entered into individual contracts with Drackmarian overlords. Breaking such an agreement earned not only the enmity of the Drackmarian master but also a price on the Morseerian's head.
Morseerians spoke a language of the same name. Many learned to speak Basic or Huttese, although these were by no means universal skills.[2] Morseerians had two-part names. Examples included Chall Bekan, Myor Devker, Shalthan Leeru, Nabrun Leids, Bargeth Relb, Nilek Rillion, and Flyrl Sacorbel.
The species had access to galactic-standard technology and manufactured hyperspace-capable starships. Morseerian craft were oval-shaped vessels that ranged in size from small shuttles to bulk freighters. Such ships provided their crew and passengers with a methane-rich atmosphere so that their occupants could move about freely with no need for environment suits.
History:
The Morseerians evolved on a world known only to them, rumored to be somewhere in the Outer Rim. They lived on the fringes of galactic community for more than 12,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. At some point, they learned the workings of hyperspace technology and spread from their homeworld, whose location they were able to protect from outsiders. They also perfected their own starship designs. Morseerians found a niche just on the edges of galactic society, many taking up employment as galactic traders. At some point, they encountered merchants from the Squib species and established favorable trading status. The Morseerians founded colonies, the locations of which were not as closely guarded as that of their homeworld. The species came to be known as Morseerians after the colony world of Morseer, in the Morseer system of the Outer Rim Territories. They preferred environments conducive to their physiology; Morseer had a methane-rich atmosphere, for example, with vegetation beyond recognition to species only familiar with the flora of worlds with nitrogen–oxygen atmospheres.
At some point, the Morseerians came into conflict with a fellow methane-breathing species, the Drackmarians. The reptilians conquered the colony of Morseer, and the Morseerians became a client species under the protectorship of the Drackmarians as part of the greater Quelii sector.
During the Galactic Civil War, the Drackmarians opposed the Galactic Empire but were defeated and subjugated. Morseer was among the worlds claimed by the Empire as spoils of war, although the species officially remained clients of the Drackmarians. The new government instigated an initiative to locate the Morseerian homeworld, and the four-armed species began to secretly report to the Rebel Alliance on Imperial troop and fleet deployments. Nevertheless, few Morseerians openly supported the Rebellion, and a few even aided the Empire instead. In the end, the efforts of the Rebel sympathizers paid off, and the species' home system remained shrouded in secrecy. Following the Battle of Endor of 4 ABY, Morseer and the Quelii sector came under the control of the Imperial warlord Zsinj, only to be annexed by the remnants of the Empire upon Zsinj's death. By 137 ABY, Morseer had fallen within a region of space controlled by Darth Krayt as part of his Sith Empire.
Morseerian in the Galaxy:
Although far from common and rarely seen further Coreward than the Expansion Region, Morseerians were encountered on their colonies and at the fringes of society on other worlds. Morseerian spacers preferred ships of their own design or outdated freighters from other manufacturers that had been modified to provide a methane atmosphere. Crews of such vessels tended to be other Morseerians or members of species comfortable in such conditions, such as Chadra-Fan and Gand.
Because many Morseerians in the greater galaxy took up trading, merchants were in many ways the public face of the species. They preferred to deal with partners with whom they had enjoyed good relations and a bit of luck in the past, particularly Squibs. Morseerians were spotted in cantinas and space ports across the galaxy, including one in Mos Espa on Tatooine, Void Station, the Lazy Bergruutfa Cantina on Betha II, StarForge Station, the Power Dive on Ord Mantell, and Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine. At least a few Morseerians ventured into the Unknown Regions and joined the roving Ebruchi pirates, an adoption that involved them accepting Ebruchi culture as well.
A Morseerian guard served the Black Sun Vigo Darnada in 33 BBY; like the rest of Darnada's entourage, the Morseerian was killed in a strike by the Sith Lord Darth Maul.
Average Morseerian: Dexterity 2D, Knowledge 2D, Mechanical 2D, Perception 2D, Strength 2D, Technical 2D.
Attribute Dice: 12D
DEXTERITY 1D+1/4D
KNOWLEDGE 1D+1/4D
MECHANICAL 1D+1/4D
PERCEPTION 1D+1/4D
STRENGTH 1D+1/4D
TECHNICAL 1D+1/4D
Special Abilities:
Ambidextrous: Morseerians can use any of their four hands with equal skill, and suffer no off-hand penalties.
Multi-limbed: Morseerians have four arms and can use them all at the same time. Penalties for multiple actions still apply.
Sharp-Eyed: Morseerians gain a +2 bonus to all Search skill checks involving sight.
Story Factors:
Methane-breather: If removed from a methane-rich atmosphere for more than six rounds, a Morseerian must make a Moderate Strength check or go unconscious. Each round thereafter, the difficulty increases by +3. Once unconscious, the Morseerian will take one level of damage per round unless returned to a methane-rich atmosphere.
Secretive: Morseerians will never, under any circumstances, reveal the location of their homeworld, nor have many been seen outside of an environment suit, making their appearance a matter of conjecture.
Move: 10/12
Size: 1.5-1.7 meters tall
Source: Wookieepedia (For the Morseerian Description)