Krevaaki

Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, the man who trained Exar Kun and later died at his hand on the Senate floor, was a Krevaaki — a tentacled, shell-backed people who, in the millennia before the Galactic Republic Era, produced some of the Jedi Order's most contemplative teachers. They are great explorers in times of peace, spiritual to the core, and almost entirely uninterested in wealth, power, or fame, which makes them one of the galaxy's least likely conqueror-species and one of its most enduring.

A Krevaaki descends from shallow-water crustaceans, and the lineage shows. The body is protected by a red chitinous shell, and the face is a series of shifting plates with only a narrow range of expression. There is no nose — instead, six feelers ring the mouth and read scent by touch. Eight segmented tentacles do the work that limbs and hands do for other beings, and how a Krevaaki uses them changes with age: a child crawls on all eight, while an adult stands upright on six and reserves the two dominant tentacles for grasping and fine manipulation, some of them developing protrusions that act like opposable thumbs. A typical adult stands around two meters tall but weighs only about 65 kilograms, the shell hiding a surprisingly light frame. Glassy black eyes complete a face that other species find nearly impossible to read.

Their homeworld is Krevas, a swampy world out in the Outer Rim, all endless oceans and murky wetland — the kind of place where a crustacean lineage would naturally rise toward sapience. The watery, low-pressure environment shaped both their bodies and their unhurried temperament. Krevaaki tend not to draw attention to themselves, and offworld they often cloak their tentacled bodies in heavy robes, leaving only the two dominant tentacles exposed like humanoid arms, partly out of habit and partly in response to the xenophobia their unusual anatomy can provoke.

Culturally the Krevaaki are thoughtful, patient, and deeply spiritual. They refocus negative emotion through meditation rather than venting it, and they seek to resolve conflict without violence, pursuing wisdom through exploration and quiet study instead of ambition. Their unreadable faces, combined with a physiology that gives little away, make them genuinely hard for outsiders to interpret — a Krevaaki at the negotiating table reveals almost nothing it does not choose to. (In Legends, those keenly attuned to the Force could live up to 200 standard years, against a baseline of roughly 100, so the eldest among them carried lifetimes of accumulated perspective.)

The species' most famous son remains Vodo-Siosk Baas. A revered Jedi Master who taught on Dantooine, he carried no lightsaber, fighting only with a simple wooden quarterstaff in keeping with his people's restraint. He took the gifted, dangerous Exar Kun as his Padawan, and watched him slip toward forbidden Sith knowledge. When Kun — by then a Dark Lord of the Sith — stormed the Republic Senate in 3996 BBY during the Great Sith War, freed Ulic Qel-Droma, and killed the Chancellor, it was Baas who stood in his way. Master and former student dueled on the Senate floor; Kun revealed the second blade he had added to his lightsaber, shattered the old Krevaaki's staff, and struck him down. Baas died promising that the two would meet again and that Kun would fall — a prophecy the galaxy later saw fulfilled.

For a SWURPG table, a Krevaaki is a sage, a scholar, or a wandering mystic rather than a brawler. The +2 Wisdom and -2 Charisma fit a being of deep insight whose alien, near-unreadable face keeps others at a distance, and the twin Knowledge proficiencies (Galactic Lore and Sciences) reflect a culture that prizes exploration and learning above all. Natural Armor carries the shell into play; Tentacled Dexterity captures the grasping dominant limbs that climb and grapple where others struggle; Meditative Patience and Slow Tempo render their unhurried, meditative nature. Lean into the contemplative archetype — the Jedi who would rather end a fight with a word than a blade, and who, like Vodo-Siosk Baas, may carry nothing more than a staff.

Krevaaki are sizable non-humanoid beings, averaging around 2 meters in height and roughly 65 kilograms in mass, with bodies shaped by shallow-water and swamp evolution rather than bipedal land movement. Their forms are dominated by a red, chitinous exoskeleton that provides both protection and structure, segmented into plates that flex and shift as they move. The head and facial region are especially intricate: overlapping chitin plates slide into different configurations, but only within a narrow range, giving them a perpetually solemn or unreadable expression to most outsiders. Their eyes are glossy black and glasslike, reflecting light without revealing much of their inner thoughts.

Instead of a nose, Krevaaki rely on six sensory feelers around the mouth to interpret scents and subtle chemical traces in the air or water. These feelers, combined with the sensitivity of their tentacles, allow them to detect emotional states, environmental hazards, and even toxins with fine detail. They possess eight segmented tentacles in total. As children, they use all of them for locomotion and manipulation, gliding and scrambling through their swampy homeworld with fluid ease. As they age, their tentacles become increasingly specialized: adults typically stand upright on six thicker, more powerful limbs, while the remaining two evolve greater dexterity and protrusions akin to opposable thumbs for tool use and delicate work.

Tentacles trained as legs grow stronger and less flexible over time, ideal for supporting body weight and bracing against uneven terrain but less suited to fine manipulation. The “arm” tentacles, by contrast, retain greater finesse and can wield tools, weapons, datapads, and instruments with precision. Over a lifetime, a Krevaaki’s tentacular musculature and neural pathways become deeply conditioned for particular tasks, which is why older Krevaaki are described as less adaptable in physical habits even though their minds may be more flexible than ever. When excited or strongly emotional, many release a distinctive musk—this biological response is involuntary and can become an amusing or awkward detail in social encounters.

Their coloration typically ranges from deep red to dark rust, sometimes mottled or streaked with darker patches where the shell has thickened or scarred. Some individuals show subtle black patterning along the tentacles or carapace ridges, which may be tied to age or lineage in Legends material. Clothing is usually functional robes, cloaks, and layered wraps that accommodate their multiple limbs while concealing their full body shape. Offworld, it is common for a Krevaaki to present only two visible tentacles like arms, while the remainder remain hidden beneath fabric folds. This has the dual effect of putting other species more at ease and preserving an element of surprise should a situation turn hostile.

Because of their crustacean ancestry, Krevaaki are comfortable in humid, wet, or swampy environments and can adapt to a range of pressures and climates with relative ease, provided they are not desiccated or exposed to extreme aridity for long periods. While not fully aquatic in the way of Mon Calamari or Quarren, they are capable swimmers and nimble movers through reeds, shallow waters, and muddy terrain. Their combination of exoskeletal armor, sensory feelers, and tentacular specialization gives them a silhouette that is unmistakably alien yet highly functional for life on Krevas and cautious exploration of the greater galaxy.

Personality profiles from Legends material consistently portray Krevaaki as thoughtful, wise, and spiritually inclined, with a strong preference for nonviolence and harmonious solutions. They are not naive pacifists; rather, they understand violence as a last resort that carries spiritual and emotional cost. Negative emotions—anger, fear, jealousy—are acknowledged but carefully redirected through meditation and ritual rather than denied. Many Krevaaki see emotional discipline as both a personal responsibility and a communal safeguard against repeating the tragedies of Sith uprisings and galactic wars.

Krevaaki society places high value on exploration, scholarship, and spiritual experience over material wealth or fame. Their great figures are remembered less for conquests and more for teaching, preserving knowledge, or safeguarding others from the dark side. This cultural orientation is embodied in Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, whose life’s work centered on training Jedi to resist the temptations that once consumed Exar Kun. Even Krevaaki who never touch the Force often approach life with a similar mindset: they keep detailed records, respect history, and consider the long-term consequences of decisions measured not in years but decades or centuries.

Customs on Krevas emphasize modesty and self-containment, which helps explain why many Krevaaki cloak their full forms when interacting with other species. The practice of hiding additional tentacles is partly defensive—xenophobia and fear of the unfamiliar are common in the galaxy—but also symbolic. By revealing only what is necessary in a given interaction, a Krevaaki signals restraint and respect for boundaries. Communal rituals may involve deep acoustic chanting (referenced as Dromnyr in some sources), shared meditation, and symbolic acts of cleansing in swamp pools or coastal shallows. These practices are less about strict dogma and more about cultivating inner clarity.

When Krevaaki do travel, they most often do so as scouts, scholars, nobles, or Force adepts. Legends notes that many become scouts or nobles in game terms, while Force-sensitives gravitate toward the Jedi Order or gentler, nonviolent Force traditions rather than aggressive sects. It is unusual—but not impossible—for a Krevaaki to fall to the dark side; figures like Saaj Calician exist precisely to show that even the most contemplative cultures can produce dangerous outliers. In SWURPG play, this tension can create compelling character arcs: a Krevaaki PC might wrestle with guilt over past failures, feel personally responsible for preventing another Exar Kun–style catastrophe, or struggle to reconcile their peaceful ideals with the brutal realities of the modern galaxy.

Socially, Krevaaki tend to be reserved in public but surprisingly warm in private circles of trust. Their humor is dry, observational, and often self-deprecating, and they frequently speak in metaphors drawn from tides, shells, and storms. They mentor younger beings of any species with patience, preferring questions that lead students to discover answers rather than simple lectures. For a SWURPG group, a Krevaaki companion can function as a mentor, archivist, or spiritual counselor, while still being fully capable of stepping forward as a staff-wielding guardian when words and wisdom are no longer enough.