Nautolan

Nautolans are an amphibious humanoid species native to the aquatic world of Glee Anselm. They are most immediately recognizable by their large dark eyes and the flexible tentacle-like tresses extending from their heads. Nautolans can breathe both underwater and in open air, allowing them to live and work comfortably on land despite their aquatic origins.

Glee Anselm lies away from the major hyperlanes and is dominated by water. SWTOR's own records note that relatively few outsiders have visited the planet, leaving much of Nautolan life on their homeworld poorly documented by the wider galaxy. This makes it useful to distinguish between what SWTOR establishes directly and cultural details drawn from broader Star Wars material.

Nautolans who travel beyond their homeworld can be found in many professions. SWTOR describes them as having a reputation for intelligence and practicality, while several Nautolans are shown serving within the Jedi Order and alongside the Galactic Republic. With the return of the Sith Empire, Nautolans fought beside the Republic, although some among their people reportedly feared the suffering that greater involvement in the galactic conflict might bring.

For roleplay, being Nautolan provides a distinctive biology and possible cultural background without determining a character's personality or profession.

A Nautolan raised beneath the oceans of Glee Anselm may have a very different relationship with language, community, and the wider galaxy from one born on Coruscant, raised aboard starships, brought up on Nar Shaddaa, or taken into Imperial territory.

Ancient Origins

Unlike Humans, whose earliest point of origin is obscured by enormous prehistoric migrations, Nautolan identity remains firmly associated with Glee Anselm. Both SWTOR and wider Star Wars material identify the predominantly aquatic planet as their native world.

Glee Anselm's isolation from the major hyperlanes helped limit outside contact. As a result, a Nautolan originating directly from the homeworld may reasonably come from communities and traditions unfamiliar to many ordinary Republic or Imperial citizens. SWTOR deliberately leaves considerable room unexplored rather than providing a complete account of Nautolan civilization.

At the same time, Nautolans have clearly traveled far beyond Glee Anselm. SWTOR presents them on other worlds and in occupations ranging from ordinary civilian life to military service and the Jedi Order. Their amphibious origins do not prevent them from functioning normally in terrestrial environments.

Roleplay Note

Decide early whether the character was raised on Glee Anselm or somewhere else.

A homeworld-raised Nautolan may have strong ties to aquatic environments, Nautolan language, and local traditions. An offworld Nautolan might instead identify primarily with the planet, faction, community, or family that raised them.

Being Nautolan does not require a character to have grown up underwater.

Nautolans are amphibious humanoids capable of breathing both air and water. Their physiology makes them naturally comfortable in aquatic environments, but SWTOR explicitly describes them as completely at home on land as well. Their most recognizable characteristics are their large dark eyes and the numerous flexible tresses extending from the head.

Broader Legends material expands on these adaptations. Nautolans are generally described as excellent swimmers with strong low-light vision suited to underwater environments. Their head-tresses contain sensitive chemical receptors capable of detecting pheromones, allowing a Nautolan to perceive certain physiological and emotional cues from nearby beings. This ability is generally described as more effective underwater.

For roleplay, this pheromone sensitivity should not function as telepathy or an automatic lie detector.

A Nautolan might notice that someone is frightened, distressed, excited, or angry without knowing why they feel that way or whether what they are saying is true. Species unfamiliar to the Nautolan, environmental conditions, distance, artificial atmospheres, medical conditions, and deliberate concealment can all provide reasonable limitations.

The head-tresses can therefore add interesting social texture without replacing ordinary observation, conversation, investigation, or another player's control over their character.

SWTOR does not provide a prominently established Nautolan lifespan in its species Codex.

Broader Legends references generally place the Nautolan lifespan at up to approximately 70 standard years. This should be treated as supplementary Legends information rather than a precisely defined SWTOR biological limit.

For StarForgeRP, approximately seventy years works well as a general guideline rather than an expiration date.

Individual health, medical treatment, environmental conditions, occupation, warfare, and other circumstances may affect how long a particular Nautolan lives. Characters substantially beyond the normal range should simply have an appropriate explanation rather than treating the figure as absolute.

The traditional Nautolan language is Nautila.

Broader Legends material describes Nautila as a language adapted specifically to underwater communication. Spoken sounds are accompanied by chemical or pheromonal components dispersed through the water, meaning that portions of the language cannot be reproduced properly in open air.

This gives Nautolans a practical reason to learn other languages when interacting with the wider galaxy. Galactic Basic is an obvious choice for Republic society and interstellar travel, while a Nautolan raised elsewhere may instead learn whatever languages are common to their family, community, profession, or region.

A character does not need to speak Nautila merely because they are biologically Nautolan. Someone born far from Glee Anselm might understand very little of it, while a homeworld-raised character could consider it their first and most natural language.

Roleplay Note

Nautila creates useful opportunities for cultural distinction without requiring players to invent entire conversations in an alien language.

A Nautolan may find ordinary spoken Basic comparatively limited when attempting to describe subtle emotional or social information they are accustomed to communicating underwater. Conversely, an offworld-raised Nautolan might regard Nautila as a heritage language they understand imperfectly or not at all.

This can become part of a character's relationship with family, identity, immigration, or belonging.

SWTOR deliberately provides only limited information about Nautolan civilization on Glee Anselm. The planet's isolation and relatively small number of outside visitors mean that galactic accounts are based heavily on Nautolans who have chosen to travel offworld.

This uncertainty is useful for StarForgeRP because it leaves room for homeworld communities, regional traditions, family customs, professions, and local institutions without requiring every Nautolan character to share the same background.

Broader Star Wars and Legends material generally characterizes Nautolans as socially expressive and often peaceful, while still capable of defending themselves effectively when necessary. Their pheromone-sensitive physiology is sometimes associated with a tendency to respond strongly to the emotional atmosphere around them.

These descriptions are best treated as cultural tendencies and physiological influences rather than personality rules.

A Nautolan can be restrained, aggressive, introverted, calculating, pessimistic, disciplined, cruel, anxious, cheerful, or anything else their history supports. Sensitivity to emotional cues does not require emotional conformity.

Broader material also preserves Nautolan traditions concerning an ocean spirit associated with balance and the natural order of Glee Anselm. This can be useful as a religious, philosophical, folkloric, or cultural tradition, but it should not be assumed that every Nautolan believes in it or interprets it identically.

For roleplay, culture should therefore come from a combination of homeworld, family, community, environment, faction, and individual experience rather than from a single species stereotype.

There is no clearly established universal Nautolan naming convention.

SWTOR itself provides Nautolans with names of several different forms. Characters such as Bengel Morr, Leeha Narezz, and later Veeroa Denz demonstrate that two-part personal names are entirely appropriate, while broader Star Wars material provides additional examples without establishing a rigid grammatical pattern.

For StarForgeRP, Nautolan names therefore do not need to follow a strict collection of syllables, apostrophes, prefixes, or suffixes.

A character raised on Glee Anselm may carry a traditional Nautolan name. Someone raised elsewhere might have a name influenced by another culture, an adopted family, a religious order, military service, slavery, immigration, or personal choice.

Avoid assuming that an unusual-looking alien species requires an equally unusual-looking name.

Naming Recommendation

When creating a Nautolan dossier, consider whether the character's name reflects Nautolan heritage or upbringing.

A Nautolan raised on Glee Anselm may have a traditional family name whose history matters deeply to them. Another born on Coruscant could have a name indistinguishable from those of neighboring Humans, Twi'leks, or other residents.

Both approaches can be believable when the character's history explains them.

Nautolans are established participants in the wider galaxy rather than an entirely isolated people.

SWTOR describes Nautolans traveling beyond Glee Anselm, taking up varied professions, joining the Jedi, and fighting alongside the Republic during its conflict with the Sith Empire. Their homeworld may be comparatively remote, but individual Nautolans can be encountered far from it.

Their ability to perceive pheromonal cues can also affect interpersonal relationships.

A Nautolan accustomed to reading subtle biological signals might find some species unusually difficult to interpret, while others could find the Nautolan's awareness of emotional states intrusive or unsettling. These differences provide opportunities for misunderstandings, unusual friendships, diplomatic advantages, or cultural boundaries.

They should not imply that Nautolans automatically understand every alien they meet.

A character's actual opinions of Humans, Twi'leks, Sith Purebloods, Chiss, Hutts, droids, or any other people should come from personal history rather than species-wide assumptions.

Galactic Republic

Nautolans have strong established connections to the Galactic Republic during the SWTOR era.

The in-game species Codex states that Nautolans fought alongside the Republic following the arrival of the Sith Empire, although it also notes that some feared greater involvement would bring unnecessary suffering to their people. This provides room for both committed Republic supporters and Nautolans who would prefer Glee Anselm remain distant from galactic warfare.

The Jedi Order provides another visible connection. SWTOR-era Nautolans include Jedi such as Bengel Morr and Leeha Narezz, demonstrating that Nautolans could rise through Jedi training and participate directly in the Republic's conflicts.

A Republic Nautolan therefore requires no unusual explanation.

They might be a soldier, Jedi, diplomat, physician, spacer, scientist, merchant, intelligence operative, refugee, explorer, criminal, or civilian whose life has become entangled in the Republic–Imperial conflict.

Republic alignment should not automatically imply enthusiasm for war. A character may support the Republic politically while opposing military escalation, or fight the Empire precisely because they believe leaving it unopposed would threaten Glee Anselm.

Sith Empire

A Nautolan living or working within the Sith Empire has a more complicated social position.

SWTOR portrays Imperial society as strongly hierarchical and exclusionary toward many non-Human species. Its Chiss Codex, for example, describes even the Empire's privileged Chiss allies as occupying a second-class position compared with Humans and Sith.

That does not make an Imperial Nautolan impossible.

SWTOR itself eventually introduces Veeroa Denz, a Force-sensitive Nautolan who had been enslaved and was subsequently forced into Sith acolyte training on Korriban. Her history provides a direct in-game example of a Nautolan entering the Sith system through circumstances very different from those of a traditional Imperial aristocrat.

For roleplay, an Imperial Nautolan benefits from having a clear history explaining their relationship with the Empire.

They might have been born in Imperial-controlled territory, enslaved or captured, recruited for a useful skill, raised by an Imperial family, drawn to the Sith, employed as a mercenary, granted unusual patronage, or simply chosen the Empire for personal reasons.

Their presence does not require them to approve of Imperial species prejudice. They may accommodate it, exploit the system where possible, resent it, challenge it, internalize it, or attempt to rise above it.

Nautolans can be Force-sensitive.

SWTOR's own Nautolan Codex notes the existence of several Nautolan Jedi when discussing their relationship with the Force. Characters such as Bengel Morr and Leeha Narezz provide direct SWTOR-era examples within the Jedi Order.

This should not be interpreted to mean that most Nautolans are Force-sensitive.

For roleplay, Force sensitivity remains an individual trait rather than a defining feature of the species.

A Republic-aligned Nautolan might be discovered and trained by the Jedi Order. Someone born far from Republic institutions could discover their abilities much later or receive unconventional training. An Imperial Nautolan could be discovered by the Sith, deliberately concealed by their family, or forced into Imperial training under circumstances similar to those seen elsewhere in SWTOR. Veeroa Denz provides a later SWTOR example of a Nautolan entering Sith training after her Force sensitivity was discovered.

Their pheromone sensitivity should also remain separate from Force abilities.

Reading chemical and emotional cues through the head-tresses is a biological characteristic described in broader material; sensing intentions, distant presences, visions, or disturbances through the Force is something different.

When creating a Nautolan character, the most useful questions are:

• Where were they raised?

  • Glee Anselm, a Republic world, an independent settlement, Imperial territory, a space station, or somewhere else?

• How important is aquatic life to them?

  • Someone raised beneath Glee Anselm's oceans may view water very differently from an offworld Nautolan who has spent most of their life on land.

• What does Nautolan culture mean to them?

  • Are they deeply connected to homeworld traditions, part of an offworld diaspora, or largely disconnected from their species' culture?

• Do they speak Nautila?

  • Is it their first language, a family language, something they learned later, or something they cannot speak at all?

• How do they handle pheromone sensitivity?

  • Does reading emotional cues make them observant, uncomfortable in crowds, difficult to deceive emotionally, overly responsive to tension, or simply accustomed to signals other species overlook?

• How do they relate to the Republic?

  • Their species fought alongside it, but that does not require personal loyalty or enthusiasm for galactic war.

• If they are connected to the Empire, how did that happen?

  • An Imperial Nautolan can be entirely believable, but their history should account for the Empire's treatment of non-Humans.

• Is the Force part of their life?

  • If so, consider who discovered their abilities, who trained them, and whether their path led toward the Jedi, Sith, or something outside either institution.

• How much do other people know about Nautolans?

  • Glee Anselm is comparatively isolated, so some characters may know little about Nautolan customs beyond what they have personally encountered.

• Are you treating biology as personality?

  • Pheromone sensitivity, amphibious physiology, or broad cultural tendencies should create possibilities for characterization rather than dictate temperament.

• What makes this Nautolan specifically theirs?

  • “Nautolan” should provide context for the character, not replace their history.