ABYSSIN

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Abyssin were a species of mammalian, cyclops-like humanoids native to the Outer Rim world Byss in the Byss and Abyss system. As a people the Abyssin were often described as "primitive and violent", and were often hired as petty thugs.

Discovered during the Kymoodon Era by Arconan scouts hailing from the Galactic Republic, the Abyssin were greatly distrustful of the explorers when they attempted to create a dialogue with them. Rebuffing all attempts to establish relations with the Arcona, the Abyssin finally relented and the Arcona shared their desert survival techniques in order to establish trust and respect. While the Abyssin had no desire to leave their home world, the travelers who had heard of the planet's strong, vicious warriors flocked to acquire slaves. Rarely impacting the galactic political or economic climate, the Abyssin have fought on the side of the Republic and its opponents throughout the course of history. By the time of the Galactic Empire's rise to power, a number of Abyssin lived on Phaeda and Dubrava.

**Personality:** A primitive tribal society, the Abyssin of Byss were known as violent and brutish and their planet was avoided by most beings in the civilized galaxy. On the arid planet of Byss, unstable resources did not allow for mass population growth or for the stabilization of a central government, economy or trade system. Existing simply in nomadic tribes, the Abyssin groups could and did interact peacefully with one another through trading, though only if both groups had plentiful water and food supplies. Otherwise, they began a 'Blooding', a brawl which ended only when one tribe's warriors were all killed, captured, or incapacitated. Warriors who survived a Blooding were usually allowed to join the winning tribe once they finished their regeneration. This tradition led to some violent incidents when spacers tried to trade with Abyssin tribes with scarce water resources, especially since the Abyssin assumed the alien traders could regenerate as quickly as they did. Elderly Abyssin lost these regenerative abilities, and either voluntarily exiled themselves to die in the desert or were ritually killed by their tribe.

The Abyssin (language) consisted of grunts and growls while they used hieroglyphs to communicate in written form. Abyssin did not keep family names and typically were known only by a single name. Examples of Abyssin names included Anami, Easym, Mador, and Polcyc.

**Physical Description:** At about two meters tall, the hulking Abyssin had long limbs and a single large eye that dominated their greenish-tan foreheads. Typically well-muscled, the Abyssin had a slightly hunched appearance. A distinctive trait of the Abyssin was their ability to heal quickly and regenerate any body part, which some believe contributed to an especially violent racial culture. Their fast regeneration is believed to have been an adaptation to prevent fluid loss from bleeding. Abyssin body cells were replaced every 80 hours and organs which typically were paired in other species appeared singularly in the Abyssin body. Because of their regenerative abilities, Abyssin could live up to 300 standard years.

**Home World:** Abyssin were uncommon in the greater galaxy. Those who were found off Byss were often slaves, bodyguards, or mercenaries. Abyssin were sometimes referred to as "monocs", "cyclops", or "One-Eye". The Abyssin generally found these terms insulting and would often react violently to them. One of many Abyssin slaves of the Sith Empire during the Cold War, Qawohl served the Sith apprentice Teneb Kel dutifully until witnessing his master's treasonous deeds in the Imperial capital Kaas City. Demanding his freedom, Kel killed Qawohl while feeling mildly regretful. Several millennia after the Sith Empire's destruction, an Abyssin had been trained in the ways of the Force and achieved the rank of Jedi Master. Master Quarmall was active during the Clone Wars and considered a radical by the Jedi High Council due to his decision to take on the training of the entire Bergruutfa Clan as his Padawans.

**ABYSSIN SPECIES TRAITS**

• • +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.

• • Medium-size: Abyssins have no special modifiers due to their size.

• • Speed 10 meters.

• • Extraordinary Recuperation: Abyssins regain hit points at twice the normal rate.

• • Limb Regeneration: With a number of days equal to 40 minus the Abyssins Constitution score, the Abyssin can regrow an entire lost limb or organ.

• • Poor Depth Perception: Because of their singular eye, Abyssins have very poor depth perception, and suffer a -1 penalty on all ranged attacks.

• • Primitive: Abyssins can not gain Personal Firearms Proficiency, or use a technological weapons. An Abyssin counts all firearms and technological weapons as Exotic Weapons, receive a -2 penalty when using any sort of technology beyond their own, and must take the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for each individual weapon.

• • Skill Bonus: Abyssins gain a +4 species bonus on Survival checks in arid environments.

• • Automatic Languages: Abyssin.