Skittermander
Skittermanders are a race of peaceful mammalian humanoids from the planet Vesk-3. They are instinctually helpful, which vexed the vesk to no end when they tried to invade their homeworld.1
Appearance
Skittermanders are six-armed, furry creatures measuring 3 feet tall and weighing about 35 pounds. Skittermanders living in hot climes have short, soft fur, while that of their arctic cousins are tough and shaggy. Their colouration is variable, with blue, green and violet being the most common, but with no obvious correlation to their surroundings.1
Skittermanders begin life in a larval stage. A skittermander whelp looks like a miniature version of an adult, but with more prominent ears and a tiny, secondary mouth on its abdomen which can attach itself to prey and secretes a numbing mucus.1
History
Skittermanders split off from their stridermander cousins following a planetary disaster millions of years ago. The population that remained on the surface evolved into the skittermanders, and became prey to the stridermanders when their cousins returned to the surface.2
When the Veskarium commenced the invasion of Vesk-3, the skittermanders were more than happy to get out of the invaders' way because of their innate desire to help. Recognising the Veskarium's superior strength but not understanding that they came to subdue the world, skittermanders felt they could best aid the empire by simply not being in the same location as its soldiers so they could quickly achieve their goals and move on. This was vexing to the vesk, whose code of honour forbade them from firing on an enemy that wasn't interested in a fight.1
Eventually, in a meeting later considered to be the official date of Vesk-3's conquest, a vesk general plainly told a group of skittermanders that the Veskarium ruled their planet. The skittermanders nodded and got back to their lives. Since then, the Veskarium has been ruling Vesk-3, though not really in control of it.1
Ecology
There's no parental care in skittermanders, and their whelps have to fend for themselves. Skittermanders are omnivorous, capable of digesting leaves, fruits, seed and meat. Their abdominal mouths allow them to attach to and graze at large prey. Less intelligent animals rarely notice this, due to the numbing mucus secreted by the mouth. A swarm of skittermander whelps can bring down a trundling bovine monoux in minutes. After 6 years, whelps mature, begin to walk upright and lose their secondary mouths.1
Society
Skittermanders are individualistic but not anarchic, and somehow unable or unwilling to grasp the concept of permanent governance. They enjoy teamwork and naturally follow a leader to undertake large projects, but the leader no longer holds sway after the project is done.1
Skittermanders cheerfully accept jobs given to them by vesk, but never truly acknowledge them as the rulers of their planet. Some outsiders believe skittermanders are being deliberately obtuse to annoy their vesk 'overlords' and maintain their autonomy while still reaping the rewards of being part of the Veskarium.1
Skittermanders can be found across the galaxy in positions that allow them to aid as many people as possible. Their employers have to give them missions with open-ended parameters, as a skittermander who feels they have completed a task can be distracted from reporting back by someone whom they think that needs their help. They're often compared to goblins without the goblins' malice.1
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 . Alien Archive, 106–107. Paizo Inc., 2017
- ↑ . Alien Archive 3, 105. Paizo Inc., 2019