Cosian

Last Updated: 09/15/2025

Name: Cosian

Humanoid: No

Classification: Reptilian (Saurian)

Homeworld: Cosia

Coloration: Green, Yellow, and/or Brown

Biology: The Cosians were a bipedal saurian race that stood anywhere from 1.2 – 1.5 meters tall. This was in part due to their slightly hunched backs, as well as ever bent digitigrade legs. Their bodies were very reptilian in nature, with wrinkled skin that was generally shades of green with yellow or gray highlights, and may have been at least partially covered in small scales. They had four-toed feet and four-fingered hands, each appendage possessing large, black claws. They also had a long tail, with a tuft of hair at the end, that they seem to have great, almost prehensile control over.

Their necks were long and extended outward from their oftentimes hunched posture, although it seemed some could stand straighter than others, seemingly stooping lower with age. Their heads were very lizard-like, with a long face ending in a beaked mouth. Their hard beaks were often a different color than the rest of their skin, although they could have the exact same coloration on rare occasions. They possessed large noses that extended from a crest running down from the top of their head. Their eyes were usually featured black pupils while their irises and sclera could be bright yellow, orange, or even red in coloration. Their eyelids were large, and the lower ones appeared to be more prominent. Additionally, their aural cavities were tucked away on the side of their heads behind their hair. All Cosians could grow long hair from the top of their head that they usually wore in ornate hairstyles. This hair could be white, silver, dark blue, or black, growing lighter the older they got.

The Cosians seemed to posses a very high natural midi-chlorian count, with the great majority of the known species possessing some level of Force Sensitivity. While they could speak Galactic Basic Standard with no issue, they were apparently much more comfortable speaking their own language of “Cosian.” This language consisted of chirping and whistling noises that actually resembled the “natural sounds” of their homeworld, Cosia (including insect chirping, bird songs, trees creaking and wind whistling through their leaves, etc.). Cosian diets were believed to consist of almost exclusively insects, which would make them “insectivores” if completely true. We don’t know the exact lifespan of a Cosian, but it was much longer than the average sentient being, living well over 200 years on average.

Lore: We still know next to nothing about Cosian society. Their Deep Core homeworld , Cosia, was known for its grand forests and beautiful rolling hills and plains. The Cosians generally built their cities among the large “Cosa Trees,” and set up small starports in the more open areas of their world. It seems that many travelers frequented Cosia, although we don’t know why yet. The only thing that seemed to drive their society was possibly woodworking and/or rare foliage. They also had no central government or capital city, with each pocket of civilization or town answering only to their local elders. Still, they did have at least one larger “metropolis” known as “Nu Cosa.” Cosia was generally considered an absolutely stunning planet with a clear sky that prominently displayed it’s two shining moons, Tabu and Tebu, as well as the Cosia System’s lone star.

The Cosians themselves were known as peaceful, spiritual, and wise, but still considered to live rather primitively according to galactic standards. They dressed in traditional, modest clothing, spent a lot of time meditating, farming, or building wooden tools or homes. For meals it would seem they prepared dishes made of collected insects, noisy creatures which their language would have also partially imitated. They were not involved with any galactic politics, and while many of them were Force Sensitive, it wasn’t often that they would actually go out of their way to join Force factions like the Jedi Order. We also know that Cosia was occupied by the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War, who constructed a major spaceport somewhere on the planet, although what became of that has yet to be revealed. At some point, a group of advanced Cosian scientists undertook a genetic experiment where their DNA was used to create an artificial subspecies known as the Nu-Cosians. This “subspecies” could be considered “lesser” on all accounts, but were left to their own devices to colonize the nearby world of Cos Secundu, and the Cosians and Nu-Cosians appeared to remain affable.

Continuity: The Cosians existed in Legends, but only due to their single appearance in the “The Clone Wars” the animated series, so nothing was changed when they made the transition into Canon (where they were further expanded upon, mostly thanks to the “The Star Wars Roleplaying Game,” but also The High Republic multimedia event)!

Unexplored: There’s a lot we know about the Cosians, and a lot we don’t. So here are a few questions based on established lore that, if ever answered, would help us even better understand this species and the concrete facts surrounding their existence. We know the Cosians were long-lived and ancient, but how far back were they actually discovered? Were they some of the earliest sentient species, and had they first taken to the stars, or was Cosia visited by trailblazers of colonists dispatched by groups like th early Republic? Given their home among the Core, was there ever a point they were officially a part of the Galactic Republic and represented among the Senate? Is it possible Cosia was a vergence in the Force, or at the very least, a popular location for Jedi (or other Force-based groups) to visit or establish outposts given the locals’ strong connection to the Force? And was the species every plagued by invasions from factions like the Sith or Mandalorians due to this fact?

Why did offworlders frequent Cosia enough to warrant the numerous spaceports that dotted its’ otherwise nature-laden surface? Did the planet have any unique sights, exports, or other features, possibly requiring pilgrimages? How truly advanced were the Cosians behind their simplistic lifestyles? And when did they begin work on the Nu-Cosian project? Why did this experiment take place, and what resulted in the strong desire to develop artificial settlers to colonize Cos Secundu? Were the Nu-Cosians considered failures due to their less than optimal builds and lack of Force Sensitivity, or was that the goal all along? How did the relationship between the two species proceed? And could any Nu-Cosians be found on Cosia, or vice verse? Additionally, given their similar biology, could the two interbreed, and were their any other artificial Cosian subspecies spread across the Cosia System/Cosian Space? Delving into the answers here, as well as more generalized worldbuilding traits, will give us the basis we need to do some really special stuff with this species!

Additional Notes: What an incredible design we have here that just feels so true to classic Star Wars! The Cosians have often found their way into my top 10 sentient species list as of late, and I always get excited when I see them pop up in current stuff, even if it is their tragic live action debut in the form of a deceased Jedi Master Tera Sinube… anyway, looking forward to seeing much more of them in the future, and I would love to learn whether the incredibly colorful Cosian, Lavalox Verzen, was truly that coloration and pattern, or if it was just body paint/tattoos like we see with how Sinube impersonates her later, because that could have pretty big implications regarding the limits of their natural appearances!

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