Lurmen

Last Updated: 12/1/2023

Name: Lurmen

Humanoid: No

Classification: Dwarf/Beast (Simian)

Homeworld: Mygeeto

Coloration: White, Brown, Gray

Biology: Lurmen are a small, simian creature hailing from the snowy planet of Mygeeto. They closely resemble real life lemurs, with little variation. They have rather large hands and claws, tufts of hair extending out of the sides of their head (which is generally a different color from the fur on the rest of their body), and large, yellow eyes with red or black pupils. They had large fluffy tails and their fur is usually striped or splotched with much darker shades. The hair on their faces is substantially shorter than that on the rest of their bodies. They also have the ability to curl their body up into a ball and roll around at high speeds, similar to Amani (or even Droideka).

Lore: Lurmen originated on the icy world of Mygeeto, hence the thick fur. They were pacifists by nature, and hated even being near the Clone Wars. At least one group of Lurmen were able to board a transport and fly to the plains planet known as Maridun. These settlers became peaceful farmers and tried to stay away from the entirety of the outside galaxy. It is unknown if these Lurmen actually interacted with the true locals of Maridun, the Amani, or not. The Lurmen were known as a fairly primitive and conservative people. They often relied on old traditions and local medicines. They also believed living off of the land made them evermore peaceful, and many offworlders considered them as having lesser intelligence, even going as far as calling people “Lurmen” as an insult and replacement for the word “stupid.”

The Clone Wars inevitably came to Maridun, and much to their disdain, the local Lurmen assisted the Republic and Jedi in warding off the Separatist occupation forces and their Nemoidian leader, Lok Durd. They were forced to temporarily abandon their peaceful ways, acknowledging that they weren’t actually hurting anyone by fighting the droids, and defended their village from said occupation instead of just giving up as they originally intended. This appears to be the extent of their involvement with any warring faction (until the Cold War), and the Lurmen on Mygeeto never allied themselves with either side of the war. After the Clone Wars, the Lurmen were enslaved (possibly by the Zygerrians) and were distributed across the galaxy. Some of the surviving Lurmen joined the Resistance in their fight against the First Order.

Lurmen generally prefer to live in primitive huts, most likely carved from ice on Mygeeto, and from large tree pods on Maridun. They did not believe in owning or wielding weapons, but they did have primitive tools that they could use for protection of the dire need arose. They were seemingly fearful of the Amani people that also inhabited the planet, but their biggest threat were the local predatory Mastiff Phalones. Before the start of the Clone Wars, the Lurmen did interact with the Mygeetan people, bartering and trading their wares for Republic Credits. This was most likely where they adopted Basic as their official language, however these interactions were short lived. Their economic operations were shut down when the Banking Clan took control of Mygeeto. (They also may have recently set up a colony on Batuu, but this has yet to be entirely confirmed.)

Legends/Canon: For the most part, Lurmen lore has remained the same across both Legends and Canon. The only difference is that some of the information about the Mygeetan Lurmen is no longer contained within Canon material. However, it has been replaced with information regarding their enslavement during the Galactic Civil War and subsequent involvement with the Resistance after the Battle of Endor.

Unexplored: One Of the biggest unexplored aspects of the Maridun Lurmen is their interactions with the Amani. Both of these primitive, sentient species had the ability to curl up in a ball and travel via rolling, however, one was much larger, territorial, and even predatory in nature (Amani) while the others were small, timid, and pacifistic. Did they ever get along, or did the Amani hunt and kill the Lurmen who came and colonized their home without direct permission.

We also don’t know a whole lot about the Mygeetan Lurmen, especially now in Canon. How were they affected by the Banking Clan, the rest of the CIS, and the Clone War in general? Did they ever interact with Ki-Adi-Mundi while he was present on their planet? What did they think about some of their brethren abandoning them for a new home? How soon after Order 66 were they enslaved, and was it the Zygerrians, the Empire, or some other faction that did so? You can also explore everything that happened with the individual Lurmen spread out across the galaxy during the Galactic Civil War and Resistance era. While there may be limitations to how they are utilized during the Clone Wars, the other eras are completely open to characterization and cultural exploration.

Additional Notes: The Mygeetan Lurmen were actually supposed to look somewhat different from their Maridun brethren, as you will see below (notice the lack of a tail), however, this idea was seemingly scrapped. After that, we really don’t know what they look like or how they act, so there is a whole lot of potential there. They may be small, but characterization and lore-wise, this species packs quite the punch!

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