The creatures of StarWars....

Darth Lucifer · Post by **Darth Lucifer** » 2005-03-17 09:42am

BTW, I want to say to everyone, thanks for posting the screencaps...they make great wallpaper!

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2005-03-18 02:15pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Could someone tell me how exactly could a Rancor kill the Acklay?

Off the top of my head...it might try to just smash the Acklay into the ground and pound it 'til it stops moving, or it might go straight for the head, or if it manages to grab the thing and pick it up, it would most likely either smash it against something or just try to bite its head off.

The acklay appears to be a dominant "big-and-nasty" predator in its own habitat, similar to the rancor; however, its methods of attack seem best-suited for smaller, faster prey (judging by its similarity to a crab and similar 'weaponry').

The rancor, on the other hand, seems to be a clear-and-away eating machine. It's difficult to tell how it would move normally in a less-cramped space than the cave in Jabba's palace, but I would hazard a guess that it is at least a semi-aquatic creature, judging from its dorsally-located nostrils. In its natural habitat, it might very well dine on creatures similar to the acklay (in gross bodily configuration, at least).

I would guess that if the rancor manages to get vital in its mouth (like the acklay's head), then it's all over. If I remember correctly, the inside of the rancor's mouth appeared to have large ridges, which would probably be used to pulverize shelled prey, while the outwards teeth would be used either to tear chunks of flesh away from a more tender creature.

IF the rancor is, in fact, an aquatic ambush predator as its physiology appears to indicate (dorsal nostrils, large overall body size with a noticeable 'slime' or sebaceous coating, tooth configuration), then its most successful method of dealing with the acklay (if it is unable to just grab it and pull it underwater, as the acklay appears to be an airbreather) would be to attempt to pin it down and then start ripping off various limbs. While this might result in some damage to the rancor's skin, it appears to be fairly tough and leathery in close-ups in RotJ; also, the slime might help close a wound and prevent serious blood loss.

Keep in mind that the rancor in RotJ most likely does not act in a representative manner for its species; it has been kept in a dark, enclosed space not nearly big enough for a creature its size for gods-only-know how many years, most likely mistreated, and basically made into a gigantic, ill-tempered pet. A wild Rancor would most likely be much less hesitant than the specimen that Luke fought. (Also, there's the inevitable lag between OT special effects and the vis f/x of present day...were Lucas to make Return of the Jedi now, I doubt the rancor would have been made so halting in its movements).

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-19 01:10pm

I recently put together this rough size comparison between the Rancor, Canyon Krayt Dragon, and Acklay (seeing that they are the three most favored combatants). Its probably not entirely accurate but I think it gives us a rough idea of how these creatures stack up against each other.

-The Rancor is about 10 meters high which was taken from the (5-10 meter figure found on the StarWars.com website). The image I used was that of an Ancient Bull Rancor from the Star Wars Galaxy game (as all the screencaps I found didn't show the Rancor's whole body).

-The Krayt Dragon is 10 meters tall from head-to-foot and more than 10 meters with the horn. I scaled it in this way when I realized that the height of the Dragon from horn-to-foot is inconsistent with it's given length of 30 meters from head to tail (it might still be a bit on the short side).

-The Acklay's height of 5.35 meters was scaled from Obi Wan's height in one of the previous screencaps posted in this thread. Its probably not exact however as I crudely assumed that Obi Wan was ~1.8 meters tall in that picture (being that he was hunched over).

-Personally I think the Dune Krayt Dragon (which dwarves the Canyon Krayt according to StarWars.com) could easily kill any of the aforementioned contestants, the biggest Rancor (those that are 9-10 meters tall) might give a fully grown Canyon a run for its money. The Ackley, Reek, and Nexu are all cannon fodder next to the Krayt and Rancor and the rest of the contestants don't even belong in the arena.

Captain Cyran · Post by **Captain Cyran** » 2005-03-19 01:17pm

Like Necron said. There's a good reason the Tuskans run like hell when they hear a Krayt. Those fuckers are big and scary. Krayt for the win.

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-19 01:27pm

Sriad wrote:Didn't that Tales of Bounty Hunters book have a story where Jaba had the Rancor fight a Kryat Dragon? Maybe not, it's been a long time since I read it, and it isn't very high on the cannon scale.

Yes, I believe Malakili, the Rancor's trainer/caretaker was afraid that his Rancor was going to be killed by the Krayt Dragon and secretly arranged to have the creature shipped off-world before the bout. Of course, than Luke Skywalker showed up and the Rancor was killed anyways.

Kintaro · Post by **Kintaro** » 2005-03-19 02:04pm

What about this krayt dragon ?

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-19 02:17pm

Kintaro wrote:What about this krayt dragon ?

Yes I believe thats the Dune Krayt Dragon that was previously referenced, judging from its multiple sets of legs and capacity to swim in the sand. Does anyone have a definite length for this beast (preferably from a reputable source)? sw.com only gives a passing reference to it in the EU section.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2005-03-19 02:45pm

Well KOTOR has canyon Krayt Dragon that's about 30-40 meters (it walks like a croc so it doesn't seem that tall) plus the guy who kills that thing uses a minefield to bring it down (and even then that thing survives at least three anti-personel mine detonation under it).

Kintaro · Post by **Kintaro** » 2005-03-19 02:46pm

BringerOfLight wrote:
Kintaro wrote:What about this krayt dragon ?
Yes I believe thats the Dune Krayt Dragon that was previously referenced, judging from its multiple sets of legs and capacity to swim in the sand. Does anyone have a definite length for this beast (preferably from a reputable source)? sw.com only gives a passing reference to it in the EU section.

Well, there is a size comparison in the book, The Wildlife of Star Wars,
although I think it does not state exactly how long it is.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-03-19 03:20pm

Judging by the picture in the above line, the Dune Krayt's head is about 20-25 meters long (about the size of the whole hunched Canyon Krayt, I generously assumed the hunched posture of the Canyon Krayt shortened it's length more than five meters).

The neck and body is about five times the length of the head (~110 meters), the tail is at least eight times the length of the head (~200 meters)

If I've shoddilly scaled this monster remotely correctly, it will be about 330meters in length

Someone please call me on that. . .

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-19 03:39pm

The Original Nex wrote:Judging by the picture in the above line, the Dune Krayt's head is about 20-25 meters long (about the size of the whole hunched Canyon Krayt, I generously assumed the hunched posture of the Canyon Krayt shortened it's length more than five meters).

The neck and body is about five times the length of the head (~110 meters), the tail is at least eight times the length of the head (~200 meters)

If I've shoddilly scaled this monster remotely correctly, it will be about 330meters in length

Someone please call me on that. . .

Well, after doing some searching, I found this site which supposedly is referenced from the previously mentioned "Wildlife of Star Wars" book. I'm not sure how reliable it's information is but supposedly, the Greater Krayt Dragon is 140m long according to the excerpt.

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-03-22 08:21pm

I don't recall the WoSW having RPG stats, I think those are fan-made. Though he may have done more comprehensive scaling than me. . .

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2005-03-22 08:27pm

The Original Nex wrote:I don't recall the WoSW having RPG stats, I think those are fan-made. Though he may have done more comprehensive scaling than me. . .

They don't. Those are done just for the benefit of gamers.

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-22 08:28pm

I don't recall the WoSW having RPG stats, I think those are fan-made. Though he may have done more comprehensive scaling than me. . .

Your probably right, one of the previous posters didn't see any size figures either in WoSW publication either.

Geez 330 meters, I'm gonna try to see if I can add that to my size comparison (I'll probably have to down-scale everything to dust particle-sized specks though).

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2005-03-22 08:30pm

BringerOfLight wrote:Your probably right, one of the previous posters didn't see any size figures either in WoSW publication either.

Geez 330 meters, I'm gonna try to see if I can add that to my size comparison (I'll probably have to down-scale everything to dust particle-sized specks though).

not nessery you can always only part of creature to the pic.

BringerOfLight · Post by **BringerOfLight** » 2005-03-22 09:00pm

Shoot, I can't find any good pictures of the Greater Krayt (the one that was linked was nice but just too small for good scaling and out of context with the other 3d rendered creatures).

So, can anyone find any larger, preferably 3d depictions of the Greater Krayt? I heard that Star Wars Galaxy (which is what I got the Rancor render from) has them but cannot confirm it (having never played the game before).

nightmare · Post by **nightmare** » 2005-03-22 10:28pm

Krayt Dragon, probably. They can grow to over a hundred meters in the deep desert while the Canyon Dragon get up to 30.

Jabba's Rancor was a rather small, underfed specimen. In KOTOR you get a better idea of how large and ferocious a Rancor could get. (Not on the Rakatan planet - those are young ones. The one in the Taris sewers). I don't remember exactly how many grenades you need to chuck at it before it goes down.

GeneralTacticus · Post by **GeneralTacticus** » 2005-03-23 12:17am

8-12 frag grenades, maximum, IIRC. Less if it fails a few saves.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2005-03-23 06:06pm

Just wondering, has anyone ever seen an official or semiofficial account of the rancor's natural habitat and physiology? I'd like to see if my crackpot theory was anywhere near the mark ^_^

The Original Nex · Post by **The Original Nex** » 2005-03-23 07:59pm

Their homeworld is unknown. There's a lot of domesticated ones on Dathomir, but it's only speculation as to whether or not Dathomir is their world of origin. Dathomir is predominantly forested and swampy, though there are desert regions as well. . .

squidman001 · Post by **squidman001** » 2005-03-27 10:42pm

i keep seeing that people have seen the greater dragon on kotor 2. could someone maybe be able to get a screen shot of it? ive seen that done before...

Hellfire · Post by **Hellfire** » 2005-04-13 01:25am

Rancor. Especially the ones on Dathomir. Eats AT-STs for breakfast.

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The creatures of StarWars....

Size Comparison Graph

...screenshots