Th'iruckai

The Th'iruckai were a primitive, reptilian, sentient species from the planet Th'irus. They were a warlike species who had a vast knowledge of poisons. Their society was organized into tribes led by kings called Teruks. When explorers from other species reached Th'irus, the Th'iruckai tribes fought bloody battles over the advanced technology brought to their world. A group of offworld smugglers eventually learned that the Th'iruckai fought because of an ancient misunderstanding and began mediating a ceasefire between the clans.

Biology and appearance
The Th'iruckai were an intelligent species native to the planet Th'irus. They were short, reptilian bipeds.

Society and culture
The Th'irukai were organized into tribes, with a Teruk, or king, as the leader. The species was extremely warlike, developing swords, maces, and bows with their bronze-age technologies. Consequently, they were keen for advanced military technology available from offworld sources once smugglers arrived on the planet. The Th'irukai also waged war with poisons and neurotoxins, and, consequently, had advanced medical techniques to counter those threats. The Th'irukai domesticated bathalz, creatures that closely resembled banthas.

History
The Th'iruckai evolved on Th'irus, a planet located in Wild Space. It was a hot, desert world, with virtually no surface water. They banded together into tribal nations, and after a misunderstanding between several Teruks, a thousand-year war broke out between the various polities. That state of affairs continued until the planet was discovered by the wider galaxy. A group of smugglers then traveled to the world, bringing with them advanced weaponry. Many of the tribes were keen to obtain these armaments so as to secure a significant advantage over their rivals. Consequently, the smugglers were contacted by a number of tribes, immediately causing a battle to break out.

The battle underway, Oolan Krim, the Teruk of the Gallzar clan, arrived with a significant force and beat back his rivals. He then invited the smugglers back to his village for rest, recuperation, and trade talks. Meanwhile, Krim had his warriors drag the smugglers' starship into the desert to use as a bargaining chip in case they did not wish to trade with him.

Hurn Jak, the leader of a competing clan, also tried to exert pressure on the smugglers to trade the weapons to him. Having infiltrated the Gallzar clan with some of his loyal agents, Jak had the smugglers inflicted with yurfloo, a slow-acting poison. As Jak was the only one with the antidote, the smugglers would be forced to deal with him to save their lives. Faced with those difficulties, the smugglers negotiated an understanding with the competing Th'iruckai nations, uncovering the misunderstanding that caused the thousand-year war in the first place.

Behind the scenes
The Th'iruckai were created by Bill Olmesdahl for the Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, a West End Games product for the second edition of their roleplaying game. Published in 1992, the book contained a number of adventure hooks that were designed to be fleshed out by game masters. The Th'iruckai adventure was titled Hostile Natives Of Th'irus and was classed as a smuggler adventure. In addition to the main proposed storyline, presented above, Olmesdahl proposed an alternative version wherein the war between the clans was of more recent origin and was started by offworld traders wanting to stimulate an arms trade.