Daskarian

Daskarians were a mammalian humanoid species native to Daskar in the Betazoid system. Daskarians were infamous for their violent culture, which sprang from the difficulties of life in the jungles of their homeworld. Though they were often relegated to the fringes of galactic society as bounty hunters or criminal henchmen, Daskarians were not merely simple-minded thugs. The Daskarian people managed to produce artists, merchants, and politicians who were found even among the upper classes of the Interstellar Confederation.

Biology and appearance
The Daskarians resemble humanoid stoats, weasels, ermines and ferrets found on Canopus.

Culuture and society
Daskarian culture was obsessed with violence and death, due to behaviors and practices that were ingrained since their earliest ancestry. Their densely-packed jungle homeworld was ill-suited for agriculture, requiring Daskarians to compete with vicious predators for most of their food. Some of these predators, such as the Giant Daskar Dragon, could wipe out entire Daskarian villages. As the Daskarians developed cunning hunting tactics to survive, the hunt became central to their culture. Eventually, having driven most of the other predators on the planet to near-extinction, they began to hunt each other in various wars and gladiatorial contests.

Millennia later, all of Daskar was dominated by a handful of large, powerful clans, which had eliminated or enslaved their smaller neighbors. The leader of the most powerful clan, the Tetsu Clan, eventually proclaimed himself Intasirina, or Grand Protector of the Daskarians. Through the rest of Daskarian history, the title of Grand Protector shifted from clan to clan with the subsequent changes in loyalties and power. Grand Protectors ruled all of Daskar as dictators. The following is a listing of several known clans:


 * Abetti Clan
 * Bradock Clan
 * Hado Clan
 * Lodero Clam
 * Somanei Clan
 * Tetsu Clan
 * Zeromari Clan

When scouts from the Interstellar Confederation arrived on Daskar, they too were hunted, until a clever Grand Protector realized the advantages of contact with galactic society. The hunts were called off, and a new policy was implemented. The Grand Protector declared that the best hunters, as proven by success in various gladiatorial contests and hunts on Daskar, would be allowed to leave the planet for work as bounty hunters, mercenaries, slavers, or similar occupations. The Grand Protector's Bounty Hunters' Guild, the Corsair, instituted annual awards for the best hunters. The awards, called Kinggu, contained such categories as "Best Shot," "Longest Trail," or "Most Notorious Capture."

For what many would consider a vicious and bloodthirsty species, Daskarians were also renowned for their drama. Daskarian theater began as a simple series of staged fights, encouraged by Grand Protector Takado Tetsu as a way for his people to burn off their aggression. Over time, it developed into a vibrant, albeit violent ,theatrical tradition. Though not as honored a profession as hunting, each clan had at least one troupe of actors that performed clan legends. Despite that actors were barred from directly seeking political power at home, drama also became an acceptable way for dissident elements to challenge established ideas.

Of course, not all Daskarians found off-world were bounty hunters or artists. Some were refugees from clan feuds who illegally left Daskar in search of asylum. Illegal emigrants and their descendants born off-world could travel the galaxy freely and work in a variety of professions, from peaceful merchants and technicians to arms dealers and criminal henchmen. Daskarian authorities treated off-world born Daskarians as though they were alien galactic citizens and illegal emigrants were generally not permitted to return to Daskar (though some used forged or legitimate documents to claim off-world status).

Bounty hunters
The strong association with violence in the Daskarian culture led to many pursuing careers in crime offworld. Most popular among these professions was bounty hunting; a direct application for the hunting skills acquired by many Daskarians. Some Daskarians became very successful at this, such as Hulas, the leader of the secretive Ravager bounty hunter group, and Menndo, Hako Armado, Slyder, who were all active during the days of the Dark Mind Crisis.