After reading Aeirk's Lonely Planet guide to Dantooine, I wanted to do one for the planet I've spent the last couple of weeks plus exploring: Yavin-4.
This is based entirely on my observations and any errors are mine. I am sure there are more variations on each creature than I list, though I believe that I have all the creatures. I am not listing coords and I do not know how creature "Effectiveness ratings" work.
With apologies to the late Douglas Adams, the greatest writer of our time:
Yavin-4 on less than thirty Altairian dollars a day
Yavin-4, a lush moon oribiting a gas giant, is a true sportsman?s paradise. With no surviving, intelligent native population, it is largely unspoiled. And while oceanfront property sites are already being snatched up by miners who have made small fortunes here, it is still possible to get far, far away from it all. Beaches, low mountains, jungles, prairies, rivers, islands, it is all here. Yavin-4 is accessible only through Corellia and a round-trip ticket will set you back a staggering 6500+ credits. But why would you want to leave? Well, for training, but from the Isle of Kun to the Taurin Delta to Ersham Ridge, you will find a stunning assortment of flora.
There are two non-military population centers on Yavin-4, a Mining Outpost in the North Central near the northern ocean and a Labor Outpost in the Southwest. Both have Starports but travel between the two is expensive, over 500 credits. Neither is much to write home about with only the bare necessities provided. Training is really at a premium, there are no trainers in the Mining Outpost and no Scout, Artisan or Advanced profession trainers anywhere on the moon. Visitors to Yavin don?t come for the city nightlife, so don?t expect these outposts to be very crowded. People will be there resting and healing after exploring, hunting and mining.
Yavin is gaining a reputation for having resources in demand by artisans throughout the galaxy. There are environmental concerns with this interest, of course, but the lonely life that is Yavin-4 is not for everyone, so it is hoped that the moon will not attract too many prospectors. Metals are the primary interest, though one can find an interesting assortment of organics, energy, liquids, etc.
It is often said that it is a shame that Yavin-4 doesn?t have more of a night life because the night is SO long and SO dark. When the gas giant Yavin is reflecting the sun, it glows a beautiful shade of orange and helps to light up the night. But when it is not, night on Yavin-4 is nothing but black as Yavin?s size helps to block stray rays from peering through. Yavin?s sheer size worked as much as any fighter pilot to protect the moon from destruction. But if you are on Yavin for very long, you will find yourself in pitch blackness more often than you would probably prefer.
While many planets have factions duking it out for control and influence, the only evidence you will find of that in Yavin is between townspeople and thugs. Generally, it is truly a lonely place.
Creatures and humanoids:
There are no indigenous, intelligent lifeforms on this moon. In addition to some rebels and imperials that I will mention later, the Hutts have begun sending small surveying expeditionary forces to Yavin-4. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later. You will also find groups of thieves salvaging pieces of the Death Star that survived the planetfall, they will be more than happy to slit your throat after knocking you out.
One important thing to point out Yavin's animal life: they will just leave you for dead after knocking you out. Only one very rare one will kill you. However, they all run in packs and they never venture far from each other. Yavin is a difficult place to fight if you are by yourself, only the weakest of the creatures won?t overwhelm you if you get swarmed, and that is difficult to avoid.
The information following the descriptions are based on the observations of a character with Hunting III. Different versions of the creature are listed in order of strength and your mileage may vary (Regular means no adjective before race name). The color evaluations are done from the perspective of a character with Expert Polearm and from easiest to hardest are: green, light blue, dark blue, white, yellow, red. V=Vulnerabilities of the creature. % is Effectiveness (combat rating?). Type of hide and meat (bone not shown). I believe all of these have baby versions which are green and can be tamed.
Mamiens ? These primates can be dangerous if attacked but will never initiate attack. Most tour guides enjoy running a group of tourists into the midst of a family of Mamiens to see the effect. The female of the family will sound a loud and somewhat frightening alarm and send the rest of the group scurrying for cover. Some hunters use this to herd single Mamiens toward their friends, though you have to be careful that mama doesn?t come with them. Youth, Male, Female. (Light Blue-White; V=Stun; 10-15%; Wooly hide; Wild meat)
Skreegs - These are the most dangerous and rare of the animals you will encounter on Yavin-4, with the exception in both cases of the pair listed at the bottom of this list. They are also humanoid and probably are some type of primate. Their brown-reddish fur helps them be seen at a distance but be careful, their warriors will have seen you long before you get close enough to get a good look at them. Regular, Warrior. (Red; Special Protection Cold and Energy; V=stun, heat, acid, electricity; 15-20%; Herbivore Meat; Bristley Hide)
Tybis ? These shaggy equine-looking creatures are quite harmless and make for some of the easier hunting that you?ll find on the moon. They are not aggressive in the least. I can?t help but wonder whether an aspiring zoologist will attempt to domesticate these into either pack or riding animals. Youth, Female, Male. (Green-Light Blue; 0%; herbivore meat; bristley hide)
Crystal Snakes ? These are snakes. They look like snakes, they sound like snakes and if I had ever gotten close enough to touch one I feel sure they would feel like snakes. Their giant cousins, who are usually found in the same groupings with regular crystal snakes, pack a mean whallop. These are very aggressive and can sense when they are being watched, at which point they will shake their rattles to warn you away. Steer clear but their prevalence all over requires a lot of steering. Regular, Giant. (Yellow-Red; 20%; Reg V=Stun; Scaley Hide; Carnivore Meat)
Gackle Bats ? One of only two flying creatures worth mentioning that are native to the moon. Beautiful in flight, I have found that there bark is much worse than their bite. Only the giant versions should pose any challenge at all to the decently equipped explorer, most fall with just a couple of stern whacks. These are aggressive, but I?ve accidentally killed more than a few while running away from them. Puny, Regular, Hunter; Ravaging; Giant. (Light Blue-Yellow; Special Protection Heat and Energy; 0-15%; V=Blast, Stun, Heat, Cold, Acid, Electric; Carnivore Meat; Bristley Hide)
Whispering Birds ? True to their name, you will never hear a sound from the huge wings of the only true avians found on Yavin, though will squawk at you if you get too close. They are majestic beauties, never venturing far from their nests, and standing over 10? tall with 30+? wingspans. While I have never attacked one, never really seeing the need, I understand they are on the weak side. They are not aggressive in the least. Hatchling, Male, Female. (Light Blue-White; 0-5%; V=Stun, heat, cold, acid, electric; Avian meat)
Anglers ? Mean little critters...did I say little? These giant spiders are big, fast and will swarm you. The giant versions are especially tricky and they have a spit that allows them to damage you at a rather long range. They are one of the few creatures on Yavin that you can sometimes pull only one of, so they are popular hunting fare. Regular, Lurking, Giant. (White-Red; 15-25%; Ranged attack; V=Stun, Elect; Insect Meat)
Klikniks ? Okay, to be honest, I ain?t entirely sure these aren?t intelligent. They are mantis-like hive-mind creatures, big as a human. Second only to Skreegs in severity on the moon and I wouldn?t want to meet one in a dark alley (i.e. any alley on Yavin-4). Their group tactics are superb, as you would expect with a hive mind, and their scouts are constantly on the lookout for prey. Kliknik queen babies are highly sought after by animal tamers. There are also Dark Klikniks, which I will talk about below. Regular, Defender, Queen. (Dark Blue-Red; 15-25%; Ranged attack; Special Protection Heat and Cold; V=Stun, Acid, electric; Scaley Hide; Carnivore Meat)
Mawgax ? Very large, flightless prehistoric-looking birds. Not aggressive, though it is tough to convince the tourists of this. When you approach a family of them, the largest will charge you and mock-peck and squawk at you. It will never attack you but most people and other animals don?t stay around long enough to find out. The Females tend to be the most dangerous of this species but a good hunter can take any Magwax down with only slight risk. As with all, just don?t let them swarm you. Youth, Male, Female, Giant. (Light Blue-Dark Blue; 5-20%; Giant Special Protection Cold, Energy and Kinetic; V=Stun, heat, electricity; Leathery Hide; Domesticated meat)
Choku ? At first glance these appear to be large and rather aggressive dogs. A closer examination of the coat and mouth, however, reveals the avian origins of these creatures. It is always a fun to see the expression on an experienced hunter?s face when he first cuts one of these opens and finds bird bones. Take care, however, the bones are strong and the claws and bite are stronger. Pup, Female, Male, Hunter, Frenzied. (Light Blue to Yellow; 10-25%; V=Stun, Heat, Acid, Electric; Avian Meat)
Tanc Mites ? Large ticks. These creatures are not aggressive and generally not much of a threat to a prepared adventurer. Puny, Regular, Warrior. (Green-White; 0-20%; Special Protection Energy; V=Kinetic, Blast, Stun, Heat, Cold, Acid, Electric; Insect Meat)
Spined Pucs ? These frog-like creatures are the weakest of the aggressive creatures on the moon. They are one of the few that are not even much of a threat when they swarm. Though I wouldn?t suggest inviting such attention. Regular, Giant. (Light Blue-White; 5%; Special Protection Kinetic; V=Stun, heat, cold, acid, electric; Leathery Hide; Reptile meat)
Stintaril ? Marsupial rat-like creatures with very long tails ending in arrows. Not aggressive but Giants will feint attacks. Not at all pleasant to look at, better to eat. Puny, Regular, Ravager, Giant. Light Blue-White; 0-20%; V=Stun, heat, cold, acid, electricity; Bristley Hide; Carnivore Meat)
Lastly, there are two races that are only find in one place on the planet, as far as I can tell:
Woolamander ? Imagine if you took a Skreeg body, filled it out a big, slapped on a Gackle Bat head and a Stintaril tail. I?m sure the first person to view them thought they looked like a woolly salamander, albeit a bipedal one. I can tell you that seeing one for the first time will do nothing but degrade your overall quality of life. And to further pour on the irony, this absurd looking creature seems to worship itself. They are only found worshipping at and guarding the Temple of the Woolamander in the Val?Arnos Jungles. They are aggressive, but not terribly bright, if you see one then run around a corner and count on the woolamander being too confused to follow. They have no babies that I have seen, thank God. Stunted, Regular, Gatherer, Harvester. (Dark Blue-Red; Wooly Hide; Carnivore Meat)
Dark Kliknik ? While the Woolamander can be dismissed as an ancient idiotic experiment gone wrong, the Dark Kliknik seem much more like to be an ancient experiment gone horribly right. They seem to imbued with the same dark energies that one can barely feel, or is it just your imagination, when near many of the ruins of this planet. It is the rare, and immediately suspect, adventurer that can camp down near one of these and get any sleep. To my knowledge, the Dark Kliknik are only found near the so-called Kliknik Temple in the Taurin Delta. Beware, the Dark Hunters will kill you after incapacitating you. Dark Worker, Dark Defender, Dark Hunter. (Yellow-Red; Scaley Hide; Carnivore Meat)
Landmarks
Anyone every heard of a small, probably insignificant event called the Battle of Yavin-4? There is evidence of it scattered across the mountains and jungles of the moon. Mostly pieces of the legendary Death Star, though those that claim it never existed will undoubtedly claim it is planted evidence. Equidistance from the two outposts, near the river, one can visit the now-deserted Pyramid that served as a rebel base. You can still occassionally find a rebel officer there and you can see inside the hangar, the control room and the heroes hall that Luke Skywalker and Han Solo made their legendary promenade down.
While there is no indigenous population on Yavin now, there are numerous remnants of the ancient Massassi civilization. In addition to the huge pyramid just mentioned, one frequently stumbles onto or over foundations from ancient structures and walls, columns in the middle of nowhere, and even an occassional intact structure or graveyard. I even found a edifice that made me wonder if the ancient civilization had had aqueducts and irrigation. Lastly, there are numerous totem-like statues, usually ranging from 10-20 feet tall. They give evidence that the civilization that was once there were quite artistic in addition to industrious. Despite this, there are eerie and dangerous rumors as to the origins and practices of the Massassi, and their mystically-endowed weaponry. Fooling around in their holy places is not for the faint of heart.
While I?m sure I shouldn?t be mentioning this, I think I would be derelict in my duties if I didn?t point out that there was an Imperial military base in the Southeast. This can be a very dangerous place as Rebel forces assault it periodically, it has even been rumored that either side of the civil war will gladly recruit new operatives on the spot to help with the assault or defense. The AT-STs patrolling the front gates of the small compound testify that the lightly armed resistance has its work cut out for it, however. In addition to this, there are numerous small camps of Imperial and Rebels that were stranded here at or since the Battle of Yavin-4.
Lastly, if you come across a structure that looks like it is probably a prison but has no entrances or exits or guards?just keep running.
Wrap-up
If you are looking to get away from it all, Yavin is the place for you. The low populations have its negative effects and you will occassionally find yourself biting the bullet and shelling out for that ticket to Corellia to find a trainer or entertainer. And you will not find the finest in luxury goods for sale on Yavin, to say the least.
But if you like adventure, are self sufficient, and feel like seeing things that no one has seen for millenia, Yavin may be the place for you. Tell them Anatol sent you...never mind, I probably owe them money.
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