Skrilling

Last Updated: 11/20/2023

Name: Skrilling

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Alternative

Homeworld: Agriworld-2079

Coloration: Green, Blue, Purple, Gray or Brown

Biology: The Skrilling were a large sentient species that has appeared a handful of times across Star Wars. They could stand anywhere between 1.5 and 2 meters in height, although they were very wide and their large limbs and general musculature made them seem much bigger. They had thick, often wrinkled skin that has been observed being green, blue, brown, gray, or purple in coloration, although other pigmentations may have been possible. They possessed massive extremities with large feet and enormous, three-fingered hands.

Skrilling had large heads, with a pronounced forehead that was hard and bony. Their foreheads were largest when they were young, as they used them to bust out of their eggs. Still, many Skrilling had a defined crest running from their forehead over and down to the nape of their neck, lined periodically with small holes surrounded by fleshy protrusions, although the purpose of these holes remains unknown at this time. Their small, sunken eyes were obscured under their large, wrinkled brows, with small pupils and yellow or red irises (although some have also been depicted as being solid white). The Skrilling had notoriously poor eyesight, and had to make up for it with their other senses.

The large, ribbed “nose” running down the middle of their face possessed a total of 8 nostril-like openings leading to their complex breathing tubes. These tubes had a multitude of functions, including, of course, breathing (and filling their large lungs), as well being responsible for their fantastic sense of smell, producing acids which assist with digestion, expelling said burning acids at high velocities, and even producing loud whistle sounds that could be heard for miles away. Both the acids and the loud noises were used for self-defense, although the acidic concoction only mildly burned skin and only did real damage when in an individual’s eyes.

The teeth of a Skrilling, however, could be used much more offensively. Tucked away under their nose-like growth, their mouth was full of large, razor sharp teeth used for tearing and shredding. As the Skrilling were exclusively carnivorous, these fangs came in incredibly helpful. Because of their odd digestive system, they could only actually consume carrion that had been decomposed for quite some time. Eating food that could not easily be broken down or digested caused major discomfort, health problems, or even death in certain Skrilling. Their palettes had become quite peculiar over the years, and they were fairly picky, consuming only the smelliest, most rotted meat if they had the choice.

Skrilling were known for being slow and lumbering, but were also incredibly strong with an almost unbreakable grip. They were slightly below average in the intelligence department, at least in relation to most other similar bipeds found throughout the galaxy. They had an average, if not above average, natural baseline midichlorian-count, and quite a few Skrilling ended up becoming Jedi. As mentioned above, they also had a non-traditional reproductive cycle for bipeds of this nature, laying eggs instead of live young. Their overall average lifespan was never revealed. And the Skrilling did have the ability to clearly pronounce the standard language Basic, despite their unusual facial anatomy.

Lore: The Skrilling were discovered fairly early into the galaxy’s development, although we were never given an exact date. Within the context of Legends, it may have been as early as the Old Republic era, although in Canon it was at least well before the High Republic time period. Unlike many species who were discovered by Republic explorers and scientists, the Skrilling were actually first introduced to the greater galaxy thanks to a species known as the M’shinni. The M’shinni were known colonists, and spread out to many of the Mid Rim worlds to help support their exploding population.

While most of the M’shinni Colonies were completely uninhabited, the Skrilling homeworld was not the case. When the M’shinni arrived they discovered a primitive, nomadic species on a planet with no name. Quickly determining the world to be perfect for farming, it was designated as Agriworld-2079, and the M’shinni took complete control of the planet, it’s resources, and it’s population. Treating the natives as lesser than themselves, they refused to accept the pre-existing culture and instead sought to integrate the locals into their empire. They avoided any sort of communication, and instead simply called the natives “Skrilling,” which meant “bone-picker” or scavenger in the M’shinni language.

While this was most likely derogatory in nature, and the M’shinni were anything but respectful, the Skrilling had no choice but to adopt the ideals and culture of the men who had come from the skies. Adopting both the “Skrilling” name, as well as the title “Agriworld-2079” for their homeworld, they slowly lost any original distinctions or identity and folded themselves into the greater M’shinni conglomerate. While not slaves, most Skrilling did become farmers or shepherds employed to keep the Agriworld running, and were offered very few chances for growth or progress as a species.

Even then, the Skrilling were never truly citizens of the M’shinni Empire, and weren’t even the M’shinni’s primary workforce, often subservient to much more advanced labor droids or high ranking M’shinni botanists or nursery workers. They were considered beneath the M’shinni due to their lack of natural connection with plants, and many Skrilling maintained a philosophy of humbleness, revolving around the fact that they held little worth and only lived to serve. At some point well into their history, some Skrilling began to grow rebellious and sought to travel among the stars, and every once in a while a handful of Skrilling would assemble a space-fairing vessel out of scraps and would set out to explore the greater galaxy.

Others were actually assigned to the various M’shinni Agriworlds throughout the Mid Rim, and slowly but surely they became known to the rest of the galaxy, including by the Galactic Republic who, while acknowledging their existence, apparently never granted them a seat on the Republic Senate as they were still legally citizens of M’shinni space. The Skrilling also found it very hard to adjust to galactic norms and social settings. Never experiencing anything outside of M’shinni culture or their own, the Skrilling often did things that were less than acceptable by most other races, earning them a less than favorable galactic reputation.

This was often caused simply by the fact that the Skrilling were still scavengers and would often steal or barter for trash or scraps from anyone they encountered. They also found most food inedible, and would usually just eat raw carrion, often in front of others, sometimes even resorting to eating the rotting corpses of other sentient species. Aside from these undesirable acts, they were also considered loud, rude, unpleasant, derelict, and would constantly degrade themselves in front of others. Because of this, Skrilling were often shunned or made outcasts, unaware of the reasons simply due to their naivety.

This led many members of the species to fully resort to crime, and Skrilling gangs began to grow more commonplace. Many also became subservient to the Hutts, although they found it to resemble their old lives living under the M’shinni. Others became a special sort of vagabond which would travel the galaxy in search of carnage and wars. They would wait until a fight was over, then live on the battlefield consuming the corpses of the fallen. These particular Skrilling often became feral and would never reintegrate into galactic society. It even became so common that the term “Skrilling Fodder” was coined to refer to someone who was going to be left for dead.

Despite this, a select few Skrilling would fully integrate into the galaxy, learning how to conduct themselves and even gaining some status. Because of how intimidating they were, Skrilling in power were very influential, some even being seen among the Jedi Order in the years leading up to the Clone Wars. As of the time of the Clone Wars, they had been spread all across the galaxy and were a fairly common site, although there were still a large number who had never left the service of the M’shinni. 

During the Galactic Civil War, however, that all began to change. When the Empire rose to power and began to extend their authority, the M’shinni buckled down on their own personal territory. This meant that they militarized their own people, and stripped away many personal freedoms from the Skrilling. Inspired by the Rebel Alliance and their efforts, the first true Skrilling Rebellion was born. Rising up all across the M’shinni colonies, the Skrilling fought back against their now tyrannical overlords, although more often than not this involved protests and strikes rather than outright violence, as the Skrilling attempted to maintain their peaceful ways.

Still, this surprise attack caused the M’shinni to be divided among two fronts as they attempted to both quell the Skrilling uprising and suck up to the Empire’s demands in an attempt to prevent their territory from being usurped. This caused them to lose much of their territory, and in the process, many Skrilling were “freed.” A large number of Skrilling would side with the Rebellion, turning out to be surprisingly efficient spies as they often slipped under the radar and could annoy information out of many individuals. 

We didn’t see much of the Skrilling following the war, although we do know the M’shinni remained in control of many colonies and their conflicts would continue. The Skrillings also began to look into their history and what they were like before the arrival of the M’shinni, however, nearly all records regarding their previous culture, names, languages, traditions, etc. had been lost or erased. The Skrilling were also affected by the cataclysmic Legends event known as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, although details regarding their involvement is scarce.

Most recently, we learned that the Skrilling were present and already integrated into the greater galaxy as of the High Republic era, and have been known by the Galactic Republic for at least 200 years before the start of the Clone Wars. They may not have been a common sight at the time, but at the very least they were out there, and some were even affiliated with the massive criminal organization known as the Nihil, which is very true to form and may affirm the rest of their lore still exists in some form canonically.

Legends/Canon: As referenced directly above, the Skrilling do exist in Star Wars Canon, but almost nothing is known about them outside of what we have literally seen in Return of the Jedi, The Clone Wars, and some recent media in The High Republic. Still, all the lore doesn’t necessarily conflict with any Canon lore, it just hasn’t had a reason to be referenced as of yet. The only things that might bring up issues are, of course, anything pertaining to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and maybe some stuff to do with the M’shinni and their relationship with the Empire.

Unexplored: So the Skrilling were already given a ton of lore in Legends, and a clear limitation was put on how far they could be explored. However, in Canon, it’s a lot less clear. Odds are that a lot of the information above will eventually make its way into Canon, although there is always the off chance that it doesn’t. So in that case, here are some things to explore within the specific context and confines of established Canon lore. Keep in mind that we have little basis to go off of, so some questions raised are rooted in ideas brought up in Legends.

When were the Skrilling first discovered (as the time and era can influence a lot about a story)? Do the M’shinni exist in Canon, and if so, what similarities or differences do they have compared to their Legends counterparts? What was the baseline intelligence level for the average Skrilling, and how adaptable were they? How many Skrilling frequented battlefields, and were they considered a common site or simply more of a myth? Did Skrilling possess elevated natural midichlorian levels? And were they ever truly involved in any galactic politics?

What sorts of produce, animals, or exports did they produce on their homeworld? What was said homeworld’s original name, as well as the Skrilling’s original name? Canonically, how frequently were Skrilling found among the rebellion? Were they known for their fighting prowess, or were they still pacifistic in situations like these (if at all in Star Wars Canon)? Why did so many end up specifically in the employment of the Hutts? And finally, if at all possible, could we possibly get an in-depth anatomical and biological breakdown of their breathing tubes/nostrils, as well as their “head holes” and even hidden mouths?

Despite being well fleshed out, and honestly appearing in quite a few pieces of media throughout the years (providing us with a whole host of illustrations), they still somehow remain relatively ambiguous. Of course, within the context of Canon alone they are also mysterious and seldom explored. So it would be great to get follow ups on a lot of these questions in some sort of lore, or you can just use these prompts to explore your own Skrilling OC in whatever fan media you are currently working on!

Additional Notes: The Skrilling definitely flew under the radar for me for years, but they have still been a fairly consistent staple species throughout the franchise and there’s some surprisingly interesting, obscure EU lore here. Of course, I really hope the idea of those Skrilling battlefield scavengers makes its way into Canon. But with their inclusion in media from The High Republic, it does raise questions regarding how that might fit into their previous continuity from Legends and how much can now still be translated over to Canon without conflict.

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