Adarian

Last Updated: 12/5/2023

Name: Adarian

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Alternative/Near-Human

Homeworld: Adari

Coloration: Brown, Tan, Gray, or Pink

Biology: Adarians were a brown or gray near human species hailing from the planet Adari. They stood approximately the same height as an average adult human, if not slightly shorter, and had similar body proportions. Their bodies from the neck down were nearly identical to that of humans, with five fingers and toes on each appendage. Their skin was usually smooth and took on a natural tan or gray coloration.

Their heads suffered wildly from other humanoids, however, as they were exceptionally elongated and contained a hole directly in the center, making their skull take a loop shape. They lacked both a nose and ears as well, but made up for it with some unique biological occurrences. Their head was covered with incredibly fine hairs which was sensitive to most frequencies and sounds, allowing them to actually hear better than most species. There were also glands underneath their skin that allowed them to detect surrounding odors, but their sense of “smell” was not quite as strong as their superb hearing.

The Adarians lacked lips surrounding their mouths, and instead possessed strange boney plates that could move similarly to lips themselves. Their eyes were often glossy black, gold, or sometimes blue. They also had large throat pouches that they can fill with air, and dispel to create a subsonic call that could be heard by other Adarians over 20 kilometers away. Their sensitive hairs allow them to pick these calls and communicate back and forth with each other over long distances. Adarians only had lifespans of around 65 years, and have the ability to speak Basic despite their strange biology.

Society: By the time the Adarians were discovered in 25,000 B.B.Y. they had already developed space travel. They were quickly invited to join the Galactic Republic, which they did enthusiastically. Despite being a part of the Republic, they still remained very untrusting of everyone, and explored many of their own as spies throughout the galaxy. Because they made incredibly covert operatives, many other Adarians were hired by private corporations or even pirates crews to be spies or mercenaries.

They maintained this state of being until the end of the Clone Wars, when the Galactic Empire rose to power. The Adarians quickly struck a deal with the Empire, buying their neutrality in exchange for all of the previous materials mined from Adari. The Empire accepted this deal under the agreement that the Adarian people would not rebel, which is why there were almost no Adarians present within the Rebel Alliance, and even the New Republic at first.

It is believed that Adari is not actually this species’ homeworld, and that they only adopted it as their own before they were discovered in order to claim the abundant minerals and metals found within the planet. This cannot be proven, as they adopted the planet’s name as their own, and all records of their original homeworld or species name are lost. Because of their mining and espionage industries, the Adarians were an incredibly rich world, and most of the upper class citizens were never forced to leave their world for any reason. Only the lower class individuals went out to find employment under other private or galactic corporations.

Legends/Canon: The Adarians were originally set to make their first appearance in Jabba’s Palace in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, even though the puppet/costume was created (see below) they were cut from the finished product. They would linger outside of Canon for some time following Disney’s acquisition of the franchise. Fortunately, they were finally Canonized in the Smuggler’s Guide Reference Book, and their appearance was reinstated in the Lando ROTJ one-shot a few years later, although there is still next to no lore surrounding them canonically.

It is worth noting that in Legends, the Adarians also interacted with Grand Adrmiral Thrawn after the Battle of Endor, first supporting him but eventually swapping their allegiance to the New Republic. This was short lived, as they were quickly conquered bye the Yuuzhan Vong. Not long after they had recovered from this otherworldly occupation, they were again invaded and became a part of Darth Krayt’s ever growing New Empire. While most of the information in the main Lore tab above could be Canonized eventually, this bit of information never will be, relegated forever within Star Wars Legends.

Unexplored: The first question to ask in regards to the new Canon is “how much do we want to bring over from Legends, and how much do we want to create from scratch?” Even then, their Legends info is fairly sparse so it would be beneficial to lay some extra groundwork in regards to their economy, society, traditions, and history. I would avoid exploring too much into their original homeworld, as that is intentionally left unanswered as to add some mystery and characterization to the species. Instead, it would be cool to explore what exactly they contributed to the Clone Wars, and whether Adari was ever the location of a resource battle between the Grand Army of the Republic and the CIS.

You could also look into how they convinced the Empire to allow them to remain neutral and strike up the trade bargain in the first place (if that lore route is even chosen) and explore their thoughts on the Civil War and if they saw the Rebellion as heroes or nuisances who were messing up their perfectly satisfactory arrangement. Lastly, you can explain their role within the New Republic, what finally convinced them to severe all ties with the Empire (or at least the Remnant), and whether they regretted their past decisions and viewed themselves as cowardly, or still held fate to the idea that they simply did what was best for the survival of their people.

Additional Notes: I can’t say I necessarily care for the original Adarian prop that was supposed to appear in Episode VI, but I can really appreciate it’s design in all of the amazing artwork that followed. Said design has really grown on me, and their unique biology opens up the potential for some very creative storytelling scenarios. Their history of supposed neutrality within the Galactic Civil War is a fairly unique one, and their near-inclusion into the Canon from the get-go, being cut from live action and not canonically introduced until so much later, is even rarer. I think there is still a lot of storytelling potential left with the Adarians, so feel free to try and include one in your next applicable Star Wars works!

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