Anzat

The Anzati (singular: Anzat) were a dangerous and mysterious Force-sensitive near-Human species with two tentacle-like proboscises that curled out and extended from their cheeks, with which the Anzati were able to feed upon the brains of their prey. With the tentacles retracted into seams along each side of their nose, Anzati were indistinguishable from any other humanoid species in the galaxy.

They were an extremely long-lived race, also possessing regenerative capabilities beyond those of the average humanoid. The Anzati were also telepathic, growing more adept at the talent as they aged, allowing them to dominate someone's mind to give them a chance to feed.

According to the Jedi Master Zao, the soup that Anzati drank was the future, and thus, the Force. Because of this, Force sensitive Anzati who drank the soup of another Force-sensitive would strengthen his connection to the Force.

Biology and Appearance

The Anzati were Human in appearance, with bulbous noses, flared nostrils, and grayish-hued skin. Their height ranged from 1.5 to 1.7 meters. Scientists and xenobiologists had little opportunity to study the Anzati, but sketchy medical reports found on the species indicated that they have no natural biorhythm; that is to say, no pulse, and as a result, no body heat. Therefore, it was a total mystery as to how their circulatory system functioned.

The youngest Anzati were ancient. The ages of the eldest could be measured in eons. They roamed the galaxy when the Galactic Republic was just a dream of the Core Worlds. The Anzati could live for millennia, sustained by the life essence they drew from others. An Anzat who did not feed at least once every few days merely grew hungry. Lack of sufficient meals had no more of a supernatural aging effect on an Anzat than it did on a Human.

Because the Anzati preyed upon those whose life force was strong, they must be stronger. While Anzati tended to possess exceptional might and often startling reflexes, they were not supernaturally endowed. At best, they reflected the pinnacle of Human athletic ability; at worst, they merely had the attributes of an ordinary Human. However, physical strength was only a small part of the equation. To sense the presence of a strong life essence in others, they had highly developed sensory organs unknown in other sentient species. To physically drain this life essence's connection from living beings, they had to be physically adapted to do so. For the Anzati, these things were interconnected.

The Anzati were natural predators, preferring to hunt sentient races of all shapes and sizes and kinds. To this end, they possessed two long, prehensile proboscises similar in appearance to tentacles. They kept these proboscises coiled in their twin cheek pockets for feeding on unsuspecting victims; when their proboscises were retracted, they were practically visually indistinguishable from Humans. They fed in a unique way that was described as grotesque.

Using a kind of mind control, which Jedi who had encountered them claimed was akin to Force manipulation, they bewitched their victims in a manner similar to a Jedi mind trick. Using this telepathy, the Anzat lured in their unsuspecting targets by mesmerizing them with their telepathic control. This control strengthened at close range and was even further augmented and honed with age and use.

Once a victim was within their power, the Anzati would uncoil their thin proboscises from their cheek pouches located on either side of its nose and usually inserted them into the subject's nostrils and into the cranium, where the brain was sucked out of the organism, though the Anzati fed by drawing soup out of wherever it resided in a victim, as it varied by species. In most humanoid races, it laid within the brain cavity. Almost of their own, the proboscises sought the victim's soup, and began draining it into the Anzat. The victim could struggle, though often the Anzat's attack was so sudden, so perfect, that it was too late. This action, however, required time and could not be rushed. This behavior led to the nickname of "snot vampires." They also had been known to grasp the victim's head to hold it in place close to them as they fed.

They called this meal "soup," "luck," or the "Sea of Memory." The actual substance they drained out of living beings—the gelid, mucoid medium for the luck or life essence—they referred to as soup. In Anzati traditions, the term referred to the life essence, or spiritual power, of the victim. As well, the Anzati believed that this life essence governed a living being's personal presence. Thus, the more presence a victim had, the more potent the luck was likely to be. Particularly fortunate individuals were tasty meals for the Anzati. It was reputed that Anzati could keep their victims alive for several feedings, taking great pleasure in the fear and terror their prey felt throughout the ordeal.

Though life essence and luck were manifestations of the Force, the luck upon which Anzati fed was only peripherally related. Certainly, beings who were particularly gifted in the Force were appetizing to an Anzat, but this was usually because their close connections with the life energy of the universe presented the appearance of a great personal presence. Of course, experienced Jedi usually had both powerful personal life essence and a close connection with the universe's thought the Force. The Anzat who made a meal of such a Jedi was a rare and terrible creature indeed.

The Anzati, of course, considered such discussions academic. "The Force" was a concept developed by younger species. It was a concept Anzati do not recognize as any more correct than any of a dozen theories before. They knew only that weak-willed beings were as unsatisfying as table scraps. To subsist on the average sentient, an Anzat would have to feed on a dozen beings every day; and since the meal rarely survived the feast, the Anzat would leave a trail of corpses. On a world without sentient beings, or in a place where soup is in short supply, an Anzat could easily starve to death. Most of the galaxy, however, was unfortunate in this regard: the Anzati were not liable to die off so easily—sentient beings were plentiful enough to feed a legion of them.

Despite myths to the contrary, victims of the Anzati did not become Anzati themselves.

Society and Culture

See here.

Special Abilities

  • Anzati Tracking: Anzati are able to sense the Force in others, and each is automatically considered Force-sensitive and possessing of the Sense Force skill. When tracking prey, Anzati oftentimes use Force powers such as Life Detection, Life Sense, Receptive Telepathy, Sense Force, and Sense Force Potential.
  • Long-lived: Anzati are practically immortal, and can live for eons.
  • Stealthy: Because they must secretly hunt sentient beings, Anzati have grown adept at maintaining their stealth and secrecy. This is reflected in a +1D bonus to their hide and sneak skills.
  • Vampires: The Anzati feed from living beings: for every turn spent feeding, 2 pips are subtracted from the victim’s Knowledge, Mechanical, Perception, and Technical attributes. If any one attribute is reduced to 0 or less, the victim dies. The damage to the attributes is permanent, and reduces skills accordingly.
Skill Min. Max
Dexterity 2D+0 5D+0
Knowledge 1D+1 4D+0
Mechanical 1D+1 4D+0
Perception 2D+0 4D+0
Strength 2D+0 5D+0
Technical 1D+1 4D+0
Attribute Points 14D+0
Skill Points 7D+0
Movement 10/12