Battrach

Last Updated: 09/08/2025

Name: Battrach

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Amphibious/Giant/Reptilian (Chelonian)

Homeworld: Arrakan

Coloration: Unknown

Biology: The Battrach were originally an artificial bipedal species developed on the watery world of Arrakan. They stood over 2 meters tall with very thick, muscular bodies. They were biologically akin to turtles, with a segmented shell on their back that came up over their shoulders. Because of this, they had hunched postures and wrinkled chest and torso that gave way to disproportionately massive limbs as well as a small tail. They had four-toed feet and five-fingered webbed hands, each bearing small, pointed claws. They had thick necks and a severe underbite, their hardened upper lip being pointed downward. They also had massive eyes designed for seeing underwater, and nostrils that seemed to be able to open and close at will. 

The Battrach could live above or below the surface of Arrakan, although it is unclear if and/or how they were able to breathe underwater. Due to their massive size, however, they were not proficient swimmers and instead traveled in giant shell elevators or hollow jellyfish designed for transportation. Their average lifespan has never been revealed, nor has the idea that they either were or were not able to speak. At least the first generation of Battrach were genetically engineered, although we do not know if they could reproduce or what species were used to create the Battrach.

Lore: The Battrach did not seem to possess their own society, instead existing to serve the species that created them, the Duors. It is unclear when exactly they were engineered, but they had been around for a very long time by the height of the Galactic Civil War. The Battrachs were assigned to manage any location where the Duors lack of limbs hindered their performance i.e. floating harbors as well as submersible spaceports sporting enormous bivalves and other artificial or coral land masses. (Interestingly, there was mention of a Battrach “Gunrunner” out and about in the galaxy during the High Republic era, so their lore may have changed a bit within Star Wars Canon.)

Continuity: The Battrach originally only existed within one piece of Star Wars Legends media, dubiously licensed at that, though they were relatively recently referenced in Canon “The High Republic” media, with potential discrepancies between both continuities noted above.

Unexplored: Barring the brief, somewhat baffling reference to them in the High Republic, the Battrach do not have their own true society or even cohesion, so there’s not a whole lot we can explore with them in a collective sense. However, if there ever is a time in their future where they are truly given full autonomy away from the Duors, then the question would be, what would they do and how would they react? Would they know what to do without the guidance of their creators? Would they gather together and begin to build their own society, would they go their separate ways and live nomadically, or would they perish not knowing how to survive?

Other things to explore include whether or how they were able to swim proficiently? What species were they created from? Were they able to speak and how intelligent were they? How large could they grow, and what colors could they be? Were they all identical, or did they come in a variety of shapes and sizes? What was their max lifespan? Could they naturally reproduce (and did they even possess the necessary organs), or did they all need to be engineered? What was the extent of the tasks that the Duors had them undertake, and how strong or mobile were they? Most of these questions relate to their anatomy and physiology, however, if at all possible, exploring their morals and philosophies (if they possessed such things) would also be interesting and potentially fruitful.

Additional Notes: This is definitely an interesting design, and many on the internet draw similarities between the Battrach and Tokka from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m a stickler for turtle-like aliens, and a snapping turtle is definitely unique among the Star Wars universe. Originally, the rest of this section stated “The whole concept of the mysterious Duors and their creation is fascinating, so I wouldn’t be upset if they and the Battrach were canonized someday,” and now my wish has come true! It’s been great to see so many of these obscure species popping up in the High Republic!

(I mentioned dubious licensing above, and yes, it’s actually still unclear if the “Legends” media they were introduced in, the RPG magazine “Valkyrie,” was actually ever treated official, licensed Star Wars media at all… so their origins within Star Wars, and even if they can come back with the same appearance, is a bit complicated, and I look forward to seeing how it’s tackled in the future.)

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