Hutt

Homeworld: Varl (Original Hutts), Nal Hutta (Modern Hutts)

Description: According to Hutt legend, the Hutts hail from the pockmarked and wasteland planet of Varl, and have survived incredible cataclysm to evolve into their current elevated status of "near-gods." The ancient legends say that Varl was once illuminated by two suns, the gods Evona and Ardos. Evona was lured into a black hole, and Ardos erupted in anger, expelling its gaseous shell, destroying all of Varl's sister-planets. But through all this, the Hutts survived.

While this story have generally been discounted as Hutt puffery, this much is true: there is evidence that Varl was once a green, lush world, and aside from a lot of asteroids, only Varl now circles the white dwarf of Ardos. Other theories postulate that the Hutts themselves destroyed Varl in some ancient conflict.

After the destruction of Varl, the Hutts migrated to other worlds. They are one of the oldest starfaring species in the galaxy, and they have carved out a sizable province known as Hutt Space. The key Hutt world is now Nal Hutta (which translates to "Glorious Jewel" in Huttese). This verdant though polluted world is orbited by the city-covered smuggler's moon of Nar Shaddaa.

The Hutts are a hodgepodge of evolutionary traits. Like annelids, they are hermaphroditic, containing both male and female sex organs. Hutts are generally considered male unless they are pregnant, at which point they are referred to as female. Like marsupial mammals, Hutts nurse their young Huttlets in special brood pouches. Like aquatic sea mammals, Hutts are able to seal their slit-like nostrils, and Hutts can hold their breaths for significant lengths of time. Like serpents, Hutts can open their jaws to incredible widths, allowing them to swallow almost anything.

Hutts most closely resemble gastropods, moving about on a single, giant foot. They have no skeleton, instead relying on an internal mantle that supports and shapes the head, while a specialized radula deep in the throat shreds food in preparation for digestion. The Hutt's greatest defense is its thick skin of blubber and muscle, which is protected by mucus and oily sweat.

When Hutts are born, they weigh less than 100 grams. After birth, the tiny blind creature claws its way instinctively towards the brood pouch. Inside the pouch, the Huttlet feeds on milk, and stays in there for a remarkable 50 standard years. When emerging from the pouch, these Hutts weigh up to 70 kilograms, and measure a meter from head to tail, but only have the intelligence of a ten-year old human. Hutts mature to adulthood at 130 years, at which time they are 500 kilograms, and about the height of an average adult human. Hutts are some of the longest lived species in the galaxy, some of them living at least 1,000 standard years. Jabba the Hutt was about 600 years old, and weighed about 1,000 kilograms.

Despite their criminal ventures, repugnant appearance and immoral indulgences, the Hutts are a proud species. History records that it was the Hutts, millennia ago, before the dawn of the Republic, who brought to an end the scourge of Xim the Despot. From that time, the Hutts have set themselves up as masters of criminal empires.