Dire Wofven

The Dire Wofven was a native predator to the planet Landris, located in the Maridis Sector. The Wofven was a large canine-like creature and was the largest natural predator on Landris.

Wofven were social predators that lived in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair, their offspring and, occasionally, adopted immature wofven. They primarily fed on ungulates, which they hunt by wearing them down in short chases. Wofven were the apex predators throughout their range, with only humanoids posing significant threats to them.

History
The Dire Wofven were first encountered by Antrixian settlers who were the first to colonize Landris. While they were not overtly aggressive towards the colonists when initially encountered, the Wofven were seen to be aggressive when cornered or surprised, which usually led to serious injury.

When House Strykia formed on Landris, the Lord of House Strykia adopted the Dire Wofven as part of their House Sigil due to the natural beauty and behavior of the creature. Over the course of the years, a few Dire Wofven had been captured as pups and had been domesticated. House Strykia was said to have two Dire Wofven that were taken as pets for the youngest children during the Clone Wars.

Appearance
Adult wofven were 1.6 to 1.8 meters in length and .6 to .8 meters in shoulder height. The tail is ⅔ the length of the head and body, measuring .2 to .35 meters in length. Wofven had very dense and fluffy winter fur, with short underfur and long, coarse guard hairs. Most of the underfur and some of the guard hairs were shed in the spring and grew back in the autumn period. The longest hairs occurred on the back, particularly on the front quarters and neck. Especially long hairs were found on the shoulders, and almost formed a crest on the upper part of the neck. The hairs on the cheeks were elongated and formed tufts. The ears were covered in short hairs which strongly project from the fur. Coat color ranged from almost pure white through various shades of grays, browns, and blacks. Differences in coat color between males and females were largely absent, though females may have had lighter tones. Fur color did not seem to serve any camouflage purpose, with some scientists concluding that the blended colors had more to do with emphasizing certain gestures during interaction.

Behavior
In popular literature around the Maridis Sector, wof packs were often portrayed as strictly hierarchical social structures with a breeding "alpha" pair which climbed the social ladder through fighting, followed by subordinate "beta" wofven and a low ranking "omega" which bore the brunt of the pack's aggression. This terminology was based heavily on the behavior of captive wof packs composed of unrelated animals, which would fight and compete against each other for status. Also, as dispersal was impossible in captive situations, fights became more frequent than in natural settings. In the wild, wof packs were little more than nuclear families whose basic social unit consisted of a mated pair, followed by its offspring.

The wofven that were tamed as pets tended to be less manageable and predictable then traditional pets found in households. They did tend to form a tight bond to their owners however which bordered on pack behavior. They were often times very protective of their owners and the owner’s family members.

RPG D6 Stats
Type: Forest/Mountain Predator

DEXTERITY 3D

PERCEPTION 3D+2

Search 4D

STRENGTH 4D

Special Abilities:

Teeth: STR+2D damage

Claws: STR+1 damage

Tracking: Due to it's strong sense of smell and hearing, a Dire Wofven gains +2D to Search rolls when actively searching for a target or following a target.

Move: 17

Size: 0.8 meters tall at the shoulder, up to 1.8 meters long (including tail).