Serp The Serps were sentient , humanoid reptiles indigenous to the planet Serphidi in the Belial system . They were a sexually dimorphic species , with red - scaled and flat - faced males , and orange - scaled and long - snouted females . The Serps once had superior technology , but they used it for devastatingly destructive acts . Eventually , they chose to sign a pact that banned advanced technology and united the planet under a single King . Their remaining technology was simple , and they sublimated their destructive urges with jousting competitions . Each year , they held a tournament to remember the day of peace . Shortly before the eruption of the Galactic Civil War , King S ' Shah came to power . He allied with the Galactic Empire , revived some of the Serps ' ancient technology , and turned the previously nonlethal jousts into deadly affairs . Most Serps disliked S ' Shah ' s reforms and showed sympathy to the Rebel Alliance ; thus , the Human Rebel agent Luke Skywalker came to Serphidi to work with the Rebel - friendly natives in deposing S ' Shah . With the help of an older Serp named Elglih , Skywalker entered the yearly tournament and defeated the King . Elglih became the new monarch , and the Serps officially allied with the Rebel Alliance . Biology and appearance . The Serps were a species of humanoid reptiles . Aside from a few traits held in common between the sexes — including clawed and webbed hands with four or five fingers each , knobby , scaled hides , and sharp , white teeth — the species exhibited a high degree of sexual dimorphism . The males had muscular physiques and a relatively flat face . A scaly ridge defined the brow , which arched above two brilliant , blue — or , rarely , red — eyes . The males had no appreciative nose but a large , oval - shaped mouth brimming with sharp teeth and sporting a pale - red , forked tongue . A caudal , buzz - saw - shaped crest ran atop the heads of some males , while other males lacked the trait . Nearly all male Serps had red scales , although at least some were green . Male Serps were able to grow facial hair , which was red in some individuals but turned white with age . In contrast , females were distinguished from the males by their slimmer physique and prominent breasts . They had a protuberant snout that featured two nostrils . Their eyes were yellow and smaller than those of the males . Females , like some males , had a crest of curved spikes running along the center of the head . They also featured orange skin . In addition to whitening hair in males , with age Serps lost the strength of their youth and their teeth began to fall out and lose their sharpness . Society and culture . The Serps had a highly stratified society with the population ruled by a monarch . Under the King were a band of warriors known as knights . Knights , in turn , were served by warriors - in - training known as squire s . Serps valued age as well , with elders afforded great respect . They viewed time in recurrent terms , speaking of " cycles " rather than years . During the Galactic Civil War , the Doom - Joust s were an annual combat tournament . Serp warriors underwent intensive training to prepare for the Doom - Jousts , traveling to secluded sylvan environments to both perfect mounted jousting techniques by engaging in exercises such as skewering a spinning ball , practicing archery , and drilling with weapons used in hand - to - hand combat . The Doom - Jousts were popular with the Serp populace ; spectators filled the stands , and heralds announced the events by blowing long trumpets . While all the jousting contestants were males , female Serps showed their support by throwing red flowers at the knights of their choice . Before each bout , an announcer called out the names of the challengers . The joust itself consisted of two phases : in the first , two mounted warriors rode at each other with lance s and separated by a wooden fence , while attempting to unseat the opponent . In the second part , the unseated warriors engaged in mêlée combat with hand weapons . The match ended when one of the contestants was killed or yielded . Other recognized Serp vocations included chefs and jesters , who entertained their compatriots with displays of juggling . Serps practiced marriage , with a male and female Serp forming a wedded pair . They found Humans physically unattractive due to what they perceived to be dull coloration , soft flesh , and a lack of scales . Technology . The Serps developed a high level of technology , with access to items such as starfighters and blaster cannons . They lived in high - tech cities with multistory buildings . However , after the Serps united as a single political union , high technology was banned , and their society adapted a simpler lifestyle . Thus , at the time of the Galactic Civil War , Serp technology was relatively primitive by the standards of the outside galaxy . Some Serps lived in simple cottages made of brown wood and thatched with yellow straw . Windows allowed sunlight to illuminate the interior in daytime , while candles served that function by night . Entrance and egress were facilitated by doors . Individual homes lay in fields of green grass , separated from neighboring plots by picket fences . Interior furnishings were wooden and included tables , stools , and benches . Serps used black , metal pots and utensils for cooking and eating and glass jugs for storing liquids . Porridge was one representative Serp meal , although at least some Serps found the flesh of other sentient beings , such as Humans , delectable . The Serp King , in contrast , lived in a large castle known as Castle S ' Shah . The imposing structure was made of stone , boasting large towers and parapets , from which banners streamed in the wind . The castle featured stalwart , wooden doors . Torches ensconced in the walls provided interior lighting . In such opulent settings , glassware was preferred . Serp fighters wielded lances , bow s and arrows , daggers , quarterstaffs , longsword s , net s , and mace s in combat and rode large , green , bipedal , reptiles as mounts . Despite the relatively primitive nature of their technology during the Galactic Civil War , the Serp King S ' Shah reserved for himself a lance that fired energy bolts . Clothing . Serps styles of clothing varied with the individual ' s social setting and occupation . At home , at least some Serp women wore full , long - sleeved dresses whose simplicity was countered by a frilly collar and sleeves as well as a waist apron . A kerchief tied under the chin covered the head . Serp females who served in the King ' s castle wore much less clothing , their outfit consisting of a collar attached to a metallic brassiere , armlets , bracelets , and skimpy panties . Another possible outfit included a wide - sleeved dress and a conical hennin headdress with cloth flowing form its tip . Some Serp males , in contrast , sported long , short - sleeved tunics over boots , accentuating their outfit with wristbands . Outside combat , high - ranking Serp men , such as the King , wore minimalist clothing . For instance , the King S ' Shah wore a sleeveless shirt partially covered by a long cape tied with a brooch , a belt over briefs , a pair of wristbands , and leather boots . A Serp King might sometimes wear a golden crown . Royal guard s dressed similarly , with conical , open - faced helmets , armbands , a sleeveless tunic , a belt , and leather boots . Such guards carried long spears or halberd s . In combat , warriors wore suits of gray , metal body armor , which included pauldrons , a breastplate , pieces to cover the arms , legs , and feet , and a helmet with a hinged visor , and a large shield bearing an emblem . The helmets often sported colorful plumes . Lower - ranked soldiers sported simpler armor , such as conical , open - faced helms , leather boots , and short - sleeved tunics . Meanwhile , Serp entertainers were recognized by their colorful doublets , frilled collars , and hats characterized by several drooping points terminating in pompoms . History . Serphidi , a planet of mountains and forests in the Belial system served as the backdrop for the Serps ' evolution . The planet fell within a region of space first explored by outsiders between 3000 and 1000 BBY , eventually becoming part of the Sanbra sector in the Outer Rim Territories . By 1004 BBY , during the New Sith Wars , the Serp homeworld world had fallen within the domain of the Sith Empire , and by 22 BBY , during the Clone Wars , it was within Separatist space . The Serps advanced to a state of high technology . However , access to advanced weaponry tempted Serp factions to go to war with one another , leading to centuries of conflicts , which , in turn , led to planet - wide devastation . The costs of war grew so dear that , at some point at least several cycles before the Galactic Civil War , the warring groups agreed to a pact : high technology was banned on Serphidi , and the Serps swore fealty to a single King . The annual Doom - Jousts were instituted as an outlet for aggressions once reserved for war . Many cycles before 0 ABY , the Serp S ' Shah assumed the Serphidian throne . The new King broke with tradition and gained access to some of the planet ' s theretofore lost high technology . He used the forbidden knowledge to power his personal jousting equipment , in turn reconstituting the Doom - Jousts as contests to the death . S ' Shah decreed that he could not be removed as the Serps ' King until someone defeated him in the Doom - Jousts . The King took on all challengers and prevailed each time . Nevertheless , Serps continued to train for their opportunity to oust S ' Shah from power ; the elderly Serp Elglih was one example . After the founding of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY , the Belial system lay outside Imperial control until at least 17 BBY . However , the Serp homeworld had fallen under Imperial dominion by the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War . Nevertheless , the Serps sympathized with the Alliance to Restore the Republic in their opposition to the galactic government . When the Empire scaled up its activities in the star system by sending TIE / LN starfighter s , Alliance High Command decided that the increased Imperial activity posed too great a risk to Rebel operations , since the Alliance had no bases nor allies in the sector . The Human Alliance operative Leia Organa thus sent a strike team — made up of the Human starfighter pilots Berl , Luke Skywalker , and Cinda Tarheel — on a mission to Serphidi to attempt to befriend the Serps and thus gain valuable agents in the area who could apprise the Alliance of Imperial activities in the region . The Rebels came under fire by Imperial forces when they arrived in - system . They fled to the planet ' s surface , but there they came under attack by King S ' Shah , eager to add to his legend , and several Serp warriors , including one named Chahis . The Serps killed Berl and injured Tarheel in the fighting , but Skywalker shot some Serps and fled in the nearby woods . The Serp King took Tarheel as a personal plaything , transporting her back to Castle S ' Shah . In the forest , Skywalker stumbled upon the Serp Elglih , who was caught by a carnivorous plant . The young Human rescued the elder Serp , who revealed that he had been practicing for the Doom - Jousts when he fell into his predicament . In his cottage in Harmony Glade , Elglih explained the history of the planet to the offworlder and , realizing he was too weak and old himself to defeat S ' Shah in combat , asked the Human to enter the Doom - Jousts on his behalf . Skywalker agreed . At the castle , the King toyed with Tarheel for a time , dressing her in an elegant gown and feigning physical attraction to her . He finally revealed his true intentions , however : he planned to eat the Human woman . A pair of Serp guards took Tarheel to be fitted for a dress , but she escaped . S ' Shah recaptured the woman and brought her to the Doom - Jousts , which began that day , where she was forced to sit in his personal viewing box . The arrival of the Doom - Jousts brought Elglih ' s intense training regimen to a close . At the tourney , the elderly Serp challenged the King but asked that Skywalker be allowed to fight in his stead as a personal champion . S ' Shah accepted the proposal , and the Serp ruler faced off against the Human in a joust . The King ' s energy bolts proved too much for the offworlder , who was dismounted . S ' Shah ' s attempt to finish his opponent brought him within range of the Human ' s counterstrike and allowed Skywalker to unseat the King and engage him in hand - to - hand combat . Grabbing the King ' s energy - bolt - firing lance , the Human gained the upper hand , and S ' Shah yielded . Nevertheless , he attempted to surprise his opponent with a high - tech weapon known as a micro - jolt . The offworlder shot and killed the King in reaction . Elglih asked Skywalker to take the Serphidian throne , but the Human insisted that Elglih was best suited to rule the planet . The Serp agreed and succeeded S ' Shah as King — and as a loyal supporter of the Rebel Alliance . Decades later , in 137 ABY , Sephidi fell within the domain of Darth Krayt ' s Galactic Empire . Behind the scenes . The Serps were created by writers Michael Fleisher and David Michelinie for the of the Marvel Comics " Star Wars " comic book . Artists Joe Brozowski and Vince Colletta created the species physical appearance . The issue in which the Serps appear was first published in October 1982 . Unlike the other Serps featured in the issue , the Serp depicted on the cover of " Star Wars 64 " has green skin and red eyes . Whether this is a variant phenotype for the species or an artifact of the Rebellion ' s digital display is not indicated . The Serps are mentioned in " ComicScan : Marvelously Silly Aliens , " an article written by Charlie Novinskie for " Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3 " , a magazine first published in Spring 1995 . The article misspells the species ' name " Sepr " .