Pada

Last Updated: 11/10/2024

Name: Pada

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Beast (Feline)

Homeworld: Unknown

Coloration: Yellow

Biology: There Pada were a race of bipedal felinoids, possessing two arms, two legs, one head, and standing approximately the same height as the average Human. They possessed five-fingered hands with pointed, sharp claws at the end of each finger. Pada bodies were covered in a layer or yellow fur, seemingly thickest on their heads. Said heads were feline in nature, being somewhat lion-like, with pronounced brows and bushy eyebrows, large eyes, wide, upturned noses, and big mouths with pronounced overbites allowing their sharp, widely-spaced upper teeth to rest on the outside of their lips at all times. Pada ears were large and pointed, extending up and outwards. The species also possessed two prominent spiral horns that seemed to be dark in coloration. Described as warm blooded mammals, Pada had the capacity to speak Galactic Basic, and were said to have superb eyesight, strong grip strength, and natural climbing abilities.

Lore: We have currently ever seen one Pada in the Star Wars universe, an individual known as Sidney Shortfang. Because of this, we at least know the species had been introduced into the galaxy sometime prior to the Galactic Civil War, and that they were at least somewhat known by the galactic denizens. Though we don’t know their homeworld, it has been alluded to having mountainous, cliffy environments, and potentially dark caves, requiring the Pada to be good climbers, as well as possess eyesight that was good for long ranges and dark conditions. As for the people themselves, we know they possessed very strong moral codes, and valued honor and peace among all things. This made them strictly pacifistic, banning them from ever engaging in the act of killing sentient beings, with doing so being the gravest sin they could ever commit, something they would never be able to recover from.

Continuity: The Pada are exclusive to Star Wars Legends, relegated to the one-off “Jedi’s Honor” choose-your-own-adventure book.

Unexplored: We know more about the Pada than most species from sources like these, yet their lore is still noticeably lacking, and with good reason. Without further appearances, we can’t expect much in the way of fleshing out, so until that eventually (hopefully) happens, we can only speculate and ask questions about their ultimate existence. These questions include: Where did the Pada come from, what was their homeworld like, and was it rocky and potentially dark as we’ve been led to believe? When were they first discovered, and by whom? Were they ever members of governments like the Galactic Republic, or allied with any other groups, corporations, species, peoples, or planets? Did they have any sort of galactic reputations, were they scarce and little known, or were they about as standard a species as they come?

Why were the Pada pacifistic? What shaped their morals, philosophies, codes, and/or religious beliefs? Did their anti-killing ideas extend to non-sentient beings, potentially going against their evolutionary identity as toothy predators? On that note, what sort of creature did they evolve from, was it more canine or potentially more ovine, as they do share at least some similarities to goats as well? What happened to the species during the rise of the Galactic Empire, and what was the in-universe reason as to why we almost never saw them? Were they isolationists, or maybe they naturally or artificially had a low population count? Did they ever officially ally with the Rebel Alliance, and could they still find a way to be helpful as non-combatants? What were the species up to in future eras, and would/should/could there be any differences between the Pada in the EU and what they may become should they ever be introduced into Star Wars Canon? As always, it would be additionally beneficial if we could see their generic worldbuilding traits fleshed out encyclopedia-style, and new illustrations or appearances wouldn’t hurt either!

Additional Notes: When one thinks about throwaway species, this may be what comes to mind. “Lion with goat horns” isn’t exactly the most creative thing, and generally species like the Pada might not even be named. However, they were, and so we are here, speculating about how they can be made more interesting and memorable. Hopefully they’ll follow many other species in first being referenced by name in a Canon novel somewhere, then getting illustrated in the background of a comic issue or something, before finally getting the dedicated spotlight, either through a lone, prominent individual, or a glimpse into their world as a whole. We may be a ways away from that eventuality, but as long as more and more people read about and, in turn, talk about the Pada, their chances can only increase of finally deserving the recognition that all named sentient species in Star Wars, in my opinion, deserve!

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