Drovian The Drovians were a sentient species that was bipedal in form , with corpulent bodies several times heavier than that of Humans . Their four limbs were extremely strong tentacles , which terminated in three pincers . Their bodies were grey or orange , with black or brown hair . Most Drovians developed an addiction to zwil , originally an offworld cake flavoring agent . The Drovians were native to Nim Drovis , a planet in the Meridian sector . The species was split into two tribes , the Drovians — from whom the species name was derived — and the Gopso ' o . Having developed into a network of pastoral communities , these two tribes were engaged in a vicious civil war that persisted for centuries , its original cause lost to time . The first to make contact with the wider galaxy , the Drovian tribe became ascendant , with higher education , income and technology levels . Several Drovians spread out into the galaxy , eventually appearing on worlds such as Jebble , Taris , Tatooine and Cato Neimoidia , involved in criminal endeavors , such as swoop gangs , gladiatorial contests and working for underworld kingpin Jabba Desilijic Tiure . While a member of the Galactic Republic , on several occasions , the Drovians found their homeworld located within Sith territory , such as during the Jedi Civil War and the New Sith Wars . Nim Drovis was part of the Imperial splinter faction known as the Greater Maldrood , before joining the New Republic . The civil war came to a head in 13 ABY during a Death Seed pandemic , when the Gopso ' o tribe almost gained control of the planet while financially aided by the Loronar Corporation . Eventually , emissaries from the New Jedi Order managed to peacefully resolve the conflict . Biology and appearance . The sentient Drovian species was bipedal in form , with corpulent bottom - heavy physiques . They averaged twice the weight of a standard Human and were comparatively tall , averaging around two meters . Their stocky bodies were supported by two thick , trunk - like legs ; a form of extremely strong tentacle . Each limb ended in three , sharp , articulated pincers . These could be either the same color as the limbs themselves , or a different shade . Drovians breathed through membrane - lined breathing tubes on their necks , often covered in mucus . Through these , most Drovians would suck fist - sized plugs of raw zwil . Zwil was a yellow , cake flavoring agent from Algarine cuisine , smelling of cinnamon and vanilla , that had a mild narcotic effect on Drovians . Zwil was introduced by offworld traders and became so prevalent that virtually all Drovians were addicted to the substance . This led them to develop a more potent variation known as Drovian zwil , which had a narcotic effect on other species too , such as the Shistavanens , and which soon became available on major worlds such as Coruscant . Drovians had numerous sensory devices in their bodies , giving them exceptional aim and depth perception . Drovian skin pigmentation included gray and orange . Tufts of dark hair grew from their heads , which was worn according to cultural affiliation . Society and culture . Prior to contact with the Galactic Republic , the species had developed into a pastoral network of tribes . The two major tribes were the Drovians — from whom the species name was derived — and the Gopso ' o . The tribes were separated by cultural differences , such as hair styles . The Drovian tribe cropped their hair short , while the Gopso ' o tribe grew their hair in a long topknot . They braided into this topknot random shapes of colored plastic and rubber used as animal totems . Both tribes spoke Drovian , though they had slightly different meanings for certain words . For instance , the word for truth was singular for one tribe and plural for the other . This difference in meaning was theorized as a possible origin for a civil war that broke out between the two tribes ; however , the exact origins were lost to time as the conflict raged unresolved for centuries , with atrocities building up on both sides . The Drovian tribe gained a significant advantage over the Gopso ' o by making first contact with the wider galaxy . Ultimately , they became the dominant tribe , with higher - level technology , and greater access to quality education and higher paid employment . The Drovians also adopted Galactic Basic Standard as their lingua franca , leaving the more primitive Gopso ' o to speak Drovian . When speaking either language , Drovian voices were nasal , and , coming as they did from esophaguses stuffed with zwil plugs , sounded bubbly . The civil war occupied a central and sensitive place in Drovian psychology , with every inhabitant of Nim Drovis , circa 14 ABY , knowing casualties of the war . When questioned as to the origins of the conflict , otherwise agreeable Drovians were known to react violently , reciting litanies of grievances attributed to the other side . Alleged atrocities committed by the Gopso ' o tribe included using molds to torture and kill captives . This burnt the bodies so badly that the corpses were unrecognizable . They were even believed by some Drovians to take pleasure in killing innocent family members of their enemies . During skirmishes , Gopso ' o warriors often invoked the names of their murdered ancestors , shouted some of the Twenty - Five Personifications of Virtue , such as Truth and Beauty , or yelled some other choice oath such as " " chunder " . " Those members of the species not directly involved in the civil war occupied a range of positions . Gopso ' o tribespeople worked on slugranches . These ranches produced bulk protein , which was purchased by interplanetary corporations . Some Drovians worked as professional mold - and - fungus removers , while others worked as small - time providers of goods and services . Members of the Drovian military were given three - hour rest breaks . These were often spent alongside assorted other Drovians consuming alcohol , spice , and other chemicals in local cantinas such as the Wookiee ' s Codpiece . By the time of the New Republic , the architectural style common on Nim Drovis was represented by heavy stone walls , supported by thick , wooden supports . Buildings also sported numerous balconies , plank gardens , and bird traps . The city of Bagsho , divided into a new and old town , contained numerous canals , spanned by wooden bridges . It included a slum known as the Thousand Stinking Ditches , which was primarily occupied by Gopso ' o . Their lower levels of education and lower paid work combined to confine them to such dilapidated areas . History . Galactic Republic . The Drovian species evolved on Nim Drovis , a planet located in the Meridian sector of the Outer Rim Territories , a sector located on the Perlemian Trade Route and one sector rimward of the border with the Mid Rim . The climate of Nim Drovis was hot and humid , with the planet prone to monsoons and flooding . Other species to evolve on the planet included slugs , marsh - gunnies , gulper s , green - eyed wadie - platt s , reeds , fungi and many forms of carnivorous mold . The Drovians developed into an agrarian society , farming the slugs in ranches . As for the mobile carnivorous mold , many Drovians worked with acid and flame - throwers to exterminate the fungi . Eventually , the Drovian species divided into two tribes , the eponymous Drovians and the Gopso ' o . Civil war was sparked between the tribes , although the exact cause was soon lost to memory . The Drovian tribe was the first to make contact with the wider galaxy , sometime prior to 4000 BBY , by which stage Nim Drovis was considered part of the the " civilized " galaxy . This provided the Drovian tribe with access to technology far in advance of their domestic capacity , which they soon translated into dominance over the Gopso ' o . Contact with the galaxy had other effects : It produced immigration to Nim Drovis , with colonists from the Core Worlds ' planet Alderaan establishing a freeport on the world . It also saw the introduction of the narcotic zwil from Algar , to which eventually nearly all Drovians became addicted . Between 3959 BBY and 3956 BBY , the Drovian homeworld was part of a large swath of the northeastern Outer Rim Territories that was absorbed into the growing territory of Sith Lord Darth Revan , who invaded the Galactic Republic with a massive fleet constructed from an ancient , hidden factory known as the Star Forge . The Republic defeated the Sith Empire in 3 , 956 BBY , and five years later scattered the Sith Triumvirate that had arisen to replace it . Following these victories , the Republic slowly began reintegrating its lost territory . Some three - thousand years later , Nim Drovis again fell within Sith territory , this time during the conflict known as the New Sith Wars . This conflict ended in a climactic battle on Ruusan , with the Republic emerging victorious and the organized Sith hegemony collapsing . Under the Republic , a number of Drovians could be found offworld , such as the Force - sensitive Drovian , Silus , who competed as a gladiator in the Outer Rim in 33 BBY , and several Drovians in the employ of Jabba the Hutt . The next major galactic conflict facing the Republic , the Clone Wars , also involved the Drovians ' homeworld , which fell within one portion of the territory of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . The Confederacy sought to break away from what it perceived to be a corrupt Republic . The conflict lasted for three years , from 22 BBY until 19 BBY , before the Confederacy was defeated and a new form of galactic government established : The Galactic Empire . Galactic Empire . The Empire was a centralized , pro - Human administration . Its policies attracted opposition in the form of an Alliance to Restore the Republic , which succeeded in 4 ABY in killing Emperor Palpatine , and proclaimed itself the New Republic . This defeat swiftly led to the once unitary Empire splitting into several feuding fragments . From 4 ABY until 8 ABY , Nim Drovis was claimed as part of the Greater Maldrood , under the control of Imperial Admiral Treuten Teradoc . Teradoc was convincingly defeated by Admiral Ackbar at both | Maridun and Thanos , following which he abandoned his holdings and fled to the Deep Core . Imperial control of Nim Drovis and its surrounds was soon asserted by a new Imperial commander , Grand Admiral Thrawn , who almost brought the New Republic to its knees only to be assassined by his own bodyguard . Nim Drovis then joined the New Republic . New Republic . Under the New Republic , Nim Drovis ' largest freeport , Bagsho , became a link with the neutral planets of the Meridian sector . However , continuing unabated throughout these various galactic conflicts was the Drovian civil war . It came to a head in 13 ABY , when the Loronar Corporation organized planetary rebellions on a number of planets , including Nim Drovis . Loronar had aligned with Seti Ashgad , a former - Imperial senator who had been made a political prisoner , who sought power in the Meridian sector . Loronar sided with the Gopso ' o tribe , equipping them with smuggled Loronar blaster rifles . After months of unrest , the Gopso ' o launched a coordinated assault against the dominant Drovians , bombing public buildings and rumored to use bilal and rush gas on civilian neighborhoods . The Gopso ' o had numerous successes , including capturing a minor spaceport . Pinned down by the outbreak of the Death Seed plague and other conflicts in the Meridian sector , promised New Republic troops were unable to assist the beleaguered Drovians in Bagsho . Eventually , however , the Drovian government managed to drive back and subdue the attackers without Republic support . Afterwards , in amends for the lack of aid and the damage caused by the Death Seed plague , the New Republic took a greater interest in Nim Drovis . In addition to financing a weather station to control the incessant teeming rain — enabling the prolific molds to be controlled . This change allowed for slug ranching to became big business on Nim Drovis . Jedi Knights from the revitalized New Jedi Order also visited Nim Drovis during this period , and succeeded in brokering a historic peace accord between the Gopso ' o and Drovian tribes . Nim Drovis also continued to host the Sector Medical Facility . In 25 ABY , the Yuuzhan Vong species invaded the galaxy . As part of a convoluted plot to destroy the Jedi Order , the Yuuzhan Vong Elan and her familiar , Vergere , defected to the Republic . They were initially transferred to the Nim Drovis Sector Medical Facility , where Republic Major Showolter took custody of the pair , before transferring them offworld . The pair ' s plot was foiled , although Vergere later played a key role in the Yuuzhan Vong War . By 29 ABY , virtually all the territory in the vacinity of Nim Drovis was in Yuuzhan Vong control . By 137 ABY , Nim Drovis was in territory controlled by Darth Krayt ' s Sith Empire . At some point during this period , the Shi ' ido anthropologist Mammon Hoole included an entry on the Drovians in his publication " The Essential Guide to Alien Species " . Drovians in the galaxy . Since contact with the Galactic Republic , Drovians spread out into the galaxy , able to be found on a number of Outer Rim planets such as Tatooine , and Taris . The Drovians on Taris were part of the Black Vulkars , a notorious swoop gang in the Lower City . In 3964 BBY , they managed to apprehend the rogue Padawan Zayne Carrick and his Snivvian partner , Marn Hierogryph , both marked with large bounties for the murder of a number of Jedi Padawans . However , the pair successfully escaped from the gang members , tricking them into believing a stash of spice was nearby . Later , Wargo , one of those Drovian gang members , was conscripted into the Mandalorian forces on Jebble . Through their long war against the Gopso ' o , many Drovians developed into tough fighters . A fine example of this was the Force - sensitive , pit - fighter Silus . Fighting in a gladiatorial competition , he combined his natural fighting abilities with Force tricks , killing numerous competitors such as the Aleena Tabor and his brother . When his dark Force abilities threatened to alert the Jedi Order , the Sith Lord Darth Sidious dispatched his apprentice Darth Maul to deal with him . In order to test Maul , the Drovian was offered the opportunity to displace Darth Maul if he could kill him . However , he proved to be no match for the Sith ' s abilities . Another Drovian of this time was Kurjj , who worked as a mercenary for Jabba the Hutt . It was during this period that Boba Fett first offered his services to the crime lord . When Fett stood his ground against Jabba , Kurjj tried to kill Fett using a litch - knife . Warned by Kurjj ' s hot breath on his neck , the young bounty hunter disarmed him , dropping him to the ground . After his defeat , Jabba condemned Kurjj to death by his pit beasts . Jabba was known to employ a number of other Drovians as guards and servants , although none dared challenge Fett after Kurjj ' s death . Drovians also operated on Cato Neimoidia as bounty hunters . Drovian soldiers included Ethras , whose children had their flesh torn off by Gopso ' o , and Garnu Hral Eschen , who was disemboweled during the wars with the Gopso ' o . Their descendant , Sergeant Knezex Hral Piksoar , worked for the New Republic on Nim Drovis . Piksoar and his squad greeted Han Solo when he landed in Bagsho with wounded from the New Republic cruiser " Corbantis " . Piksoar continued his family ' s fight against the Gopso ' o , resisting their uprising in 13 ABY . When Solo ventured into the city to discover what has happening across the sector , Piksoar and his squad , together with Ism Oolos , accompanied him . Encountering Gopso ' o , and roving molds , they successfully escaped through the Thousand Stinking Ditches . During the Yuuzhan Vong War , many Drovians were employed at the Sector Medical Facility based in Nim Drovis ' capital city of Bagsho , both as security guards and as secretaries . There , they aided Major Showolter and Doctor Saychel in interrogating Elan . Later , in 138 ABY , a Drovian was present on The Wheel , a Mid Rim space station . Behind the scenes . The Drovian species was created by Barbara Hambly for her novel " Planet of Twilight " , published by Bantam Spectra in 1997 . Following this , the species received mentions in " The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons " and the " Star Wars Encyclopedia " , both published in 1998 , before Nim Drovis was again visited in 2000 in James Luceno ' s " " . While the former " " had listed both Drovians and Gopso ' o under Nim Drovis ' species , the latter " The Essential Guide to Alien Species " , published in 2001 , clarified that the two were separate tribes of the same species . Drovians made appearances in Elizabeth Hand ' s " " ( 2003 ) and " " ( 2004 ) ; the latter mistakenly spelled Drovian as " Drovion . " A Drovian also featured in " Marked , " a comic written by Rob Williams and pencilled by Cully Hamner . " Marked " was published in " Star Wars Tales 24 " in 2005 , and was later referenced in " " . Drovians then appeared in several arcs of John Jackson Miller ' s " " comic series . These were " " ( 2006 ) , " " ( 2007 ) and " " ( 2008 ) . In 2009 , Randy Stradley , under the pseudonym Mick Harrison , included a Drovian in " " , while their homeworld was included in " The Essential Atlas " . This provided information on Nim Drovis ' affiliation throughout a number of galactic conflicts .