So I'm dming a group which current theme is a bit like the storyline from SWTOR Smuggler Chapter I. Basically they 'acquire' rare goods for a client like artifacts, art, special food, etc. Now the next item on their list will be fetching a dangerous animal for a Hutt. And the setting for this mission is going to be a bit like Ridley Scott's Alien meets the scene in Empire Strikes Back where Han and Leia go outside the Falcon when they are in the worm.
So do you guys know of any SW animals that fits the bill of a scary predator in space. Preferably smart and deadly.
I want to give them the feeling of 'the hunter becomes the prey' and let them wonder and dread about what might be out there.

Nexu (cat thing from episode 2), Rancor (big thing from Jabbas palace episode 6, Icklay (big insect type thing from episode 2) could all fit the bill. depends on group lethality and temperament. The things in the shadows from season 1 of rebels could work too.

The classic is always a Rancor. ;-)

The colo claw fish is quite terrifying, but not really that kind of smart predator your are looking for, blood eagles are cool, but don't fit that good either, but how about Vornskr or Maalraas or Narglatch?

I made a few things that my players have enjoyed.

The first is the fabled Black Nexu and his mate (a cybernetically modified Nexu). One nexu is scary enough, but having a "boss" version and his mate makes it extra tense on the players. Don't hold back either. His behavior is different than normal nexu's and he acts much like the lions in the movie Ghost in the Darkness. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. The lions there kill for fun, collecting trophies, and enjoy terrorizing people. (Plus they were real lions). Put the PCs in a village or ship with other throw away npc and have the nexus terrorize them all and sneak in to drag people out screaming in the night. Do this in different ways over the course of a few day, dropping hints about how this animal doesn't act like they normally do.

I made the Black nexu fight into a mutli-stage encounter. When the players do enough to exceed one of his thresholds, something dramatic happens in narrative form and he gets away. Then the group has to follow or track him down to initiate Stage 2..

______________________________________________

The second thing that I sent after my guys on Halloween was stolen from the Warhammer 40k Universe: a Lictor.

I treated it much like the Predator from the Predator films. Again, if you haven't seen them, then you should! It is a master of disguise and can blend in seamlessly with its environment, until it's too late for its victim. I have it mimic other animal sounds on planets that obviously don't have them just to confuse my players. "Was that a Gundark? Gundarks don't live on Tatooine." It is another example if a smart predator who likes to toy with and terrorize its prey. Capitalize on that and draw it out over several days or more. The players should feel like it might be sitting right above them at any time, and it may very well be. You want them to be on edge. They should't actually see it or be able to engage it even see it until they've been harrased for a while. When the party was resting for the night or in periods of quiet safe-time I would randomly have a beast/human head come rolling in at their feet. "Where the F did that come from?"

Anyway, I hope this helps spark some ideas. Feel free to use it wholesale or modify as you see fit, of course.

There's always a Diagona. They can be any size, live anywhere. Even the depths of a freighter or space station (ala Death Star). You could let your party be attacked in their disabled ship after the pickup, having to try and fix the hyperdrive, eliminate mynocks that are taking advantage of the ships vulnerable state, all while trying to stay out of the path of that slithering mass of tendrils.

You could even have it reproduce inside the ship, having your players come face to face with not only it, but it's spawn. Sounds very "Alien" like, don't you think?

Thanks for the great ideas . I didn't know vornskr or maalraas existed, they sound super dangerous . BTW Ianinak how did you make those encounter sheets?

Ex wives.....

Jared and Bill Cosby are both pretty nasty predators.

Tons of options, almost any predator (or otherwise) enhanced by Sith alchemy would be appropriate. Examples include battle hydras, beck-tori, chrysalis beasts, tomb beasts, hssiss, nighthunters, silooth, Sith worms, tuk'ata Sith hounds, etc.

Their intelligence is suspect, but for preeminence my money's on a terentatek.

An assassin droid can make for a rather terrifying predator if you're not heart set on having something biological.

There’s also:

Lylek -- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lylek/Legends

Acklay -- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Acklay/Legends

Rathtar -- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rathtar

Reek -- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Reek/Legends

Katarns -- http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Katarn

I’m sure you can find even more elsewhere on Wookieepedia.

There’s a list of Creature Adversaries at http://swrpg.viluppo.net/adversaries/creatures/?order_by=level

Anything on that list that is a Nemesis-class adversary would be a potential candidate for what you’re looking for.

If you want to create character sheets like you saw above, you’ll need to use OggDude’s Generator. See the thread starting at https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/89135-another-character-generator/page-1#entry848918

Make up something! Or tweak something...

I took an illustration of a gundark I found and messed around with the colors a bit. Now I have the rare and more ferocious white gundark to spring on my helpless players (should I ever get any...)!

I use regular gundark stats but add a special ability called Gundark Rage: the gundark can make an Athletics check to mindlessly damage vehicles and ships by smashing at them with their brute strength; the difficulty is Silhouette, upgraded by Armor: every two Successes is a point of System Strain, four Advantages or a Triumph can be used to cause a Critical Hit as long as there is at least one uncancelled Success remaining. But the gundark can injure itself with this attack as well. Each Threat is a Wound the gundark takes, and a Despair is a Critical Injury.

Then I also have the White Gundark King: same stats as a gundark, but a Nemesis instead of Rival. 24 Wounds, 14 Strain. Athletics 2, Brawl 3. Talents: Durable 1, Lethal Blows 1. Abilities: Gundark Rage, Silhouette 2. Hamhock Fists: Brawl, Damage 10, Crit 4, Range [Engaged], Knockdown, Disorient 2.

Everyone loves a good old fashioned game of rancor evasion, but the age-old problem with them are their slow speed. To survive a rancor attack, just run faster than the guy next to you. You need a predator with speed and keen tracking skills; you need a http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hunter_rancor

I know this probably is little off, for what OP has in mind, but how about rakghoul ? Somehow Hutt with a personal zoo with a rakghoul in it would be cool idea, and potential avenue for new adventures. I'll probably use that in our game. One version of minion and rival rakghoul stats can be found in D20 radio Ice station Zulu module.

I made this a while ago, it's ridiculous, it's basically Smaug. But don't let them get a vehicle or it will be dead in a single round:

Giant Dragon: "Maw"

Rancor Stats but bigger.

6,3,1,3,3,1.

WT 65

ST 23

Soak 17, Silhouette 4, Adversary 3, Fearsome 3.

Brawl 3, Perception 2, Athletics 3, Vigilance 2, Survival 2, Resilience 2, Cool 2.

Bite & Claw: Engaged, Brawl, Damage 12, Crit 2, Breach 1, Crit 2.

Tail Whip: Short, Brawl, Damage 10, Crit 5, Knockdown, Triumph to hit all engaged with target.

Flaming Breath: Medium, Resilience, Damage 8, Crit 4, Blast 8, Burn 2

I made this a while ago, it's ridiculous, it's basically Smaug. But don't let them get a vehicle or it will be dead in a single round:

Giant Dragon: "Maw"

Rancor Stats but bigger.

6,3,1,3,3,1.

WT 65

ST 23

Soak 17, Silhouette 4, Adversary 3, Fearsome 3.

Brawl 3, Perception 2, Athletics 3, Vigilance 2, Survival 2, Resilience 2, Cool 2.

Bite & Claw: Engaged, Brawl, Damage 12, Crit 2, Breach 1, Crit 2.

Tail Whip: Short, Brawl, Damage 10, Crit 5, Knockdown, Triumph to hit all engaged with target.

Flaming Breath: Medium, Resilience, Damage 8, Crit 4, Blast 8, Burn 2

Pshaw that critters a pushover, I threw a mamma krayt dragon up against my players, I gave it 50 strain (there wasn't a point in giving it wounds) and they took it down with the streetwise skill, talk the talk talent allowing the player to substitute streetwise for knowledge xenology, 2 ranks of street smarts aND they fed it a concussions grenade on a remote detonator that they used knowledge xenology to pick the optimal time to detonate, staggered it for 2 rounds then pressure pointed it into unconsciousness using multiple triumphs to delay when it would recover from being staggered.

Pshaw that critters a pushover, I threw a mamma krayt dragon up against my players, I gave it 50 strain (there wasn't a point in giving it wounds) and they took it down with the streetwise skill, talk the talk talent allowing the player to substitute streetwise for knowledge xenology, 2 ranks of street smarts aND they fed it a concussions grenade on a remote detonator that they used knowledge xenology to pick the optimal time to detonate, staggered it for 2 rounds then pressure pointed it into unconsciousness using multiple triumphs to delay when it would recover from being staggered.

Pshaw, that critter can be tough, if played right. Every creature can, or you are playing incorrectly. If you allow your PCs to one shot your big bad, then don't complain someone else has made creature which is not tough enough for you. You should remember this is very holistic game and many groups can be totally obliterated when you put your mama krayt dragon against them (take any group with inexperienced players and you probably either kill the group or stall the game, and this tells very much about situation and monster). Or are you really saying every opponent in every book is a pushover? (Most of them are lesser that "Maw".) If yes, then, please, give us a creature which is not pushover.

More important topic, than bashing Richardbuxton's "Maw", or bickering is it tough or not, is what does your (or actually in this thread Alteredb's) group need.

I'm sorry if this came up bit attacking. It's just that I don't like posts where someone is saying "You are wrong because it wouldn't work with my group" in situations which are purely situational.

Stormtroopers that hit!... Is that scary enough for ya?

Stormtroopers that hit!... Is that scary enough for ya?

Hey now. Let's not go off the rails here. He's looking for believable foes.

Pshaw that critters a pushover, I threw a mamma krayt dragon up against my players, I gave it 50 strain (there wasn't a point in giving it wounds) and they took it down with the streetwise skill, talk the talk talent allowing the player to substitute streetwise for knowledge xenology, 2 ranks of street smarts aND they fed it a concussions grenade on a remote detonator that they used knowledge xenology to pick the optimal time to detonate, staggered it for 2 rounds then pressure pointed it into unconsciousness using multiple triumphs to delay when it would recover from being staggered.

Pshaw, that critter can be tough, if played right. Every creature can, or you are playing incorrectly. If you allow your PCs to one shot your big bad, then don't complain someone else has made creature which is not tough enough for you. You should remember this is very holistic game and many groups can be totally obliterated when you put your mama krayt dragon against them (take any group with inexperienced players and you probably either kill the group or stall the game, and this tells very much about situation and monster). Or are you really saying every opponent in every book is a pushover? (Most of them are lesser that "Maw".) If yes, then, please, give us a creature which is not pushover.

More important topic, than bashing Richardbuxton's "Maw", or bickering is it tough or not, is what does your (or actually in this thread Alteredb's) group need.

I'm sorry if this came up bit attacking. It's just that I don't like posts where someone is saying "You are wrong because it wouldn't work with my group" in situations which are purely situational.

I was being humorous which Richard got because he liked my post. And I get that humor is easy to misinterpret over the Internet because you can't hear the tone of voice or see facial expressions. And I was surprised my PCs were clever enough to take out the mamma krayt like that. I firmly expected them to run into serious problems which is why I had a 2 or 3 spec NPC (built like a PC + adversary) that was a bodyguard (mechanically and narratively) that was intended to sacrifice himself to save a PC who was about to be killed by the mamma krayt. But they didn't need that safety blanket.

I'm sorry for misinterpreting your humour. Taking 90% out of communication (body language, intonation etc) is sure to cause misunderstandings. What's left are the words.

At the end I just have to say props to you as GM for allowing PCs to solve the situation like that. And to your players for being so inventive.

I was being humorous which Richard got because he liked my post. And I get that humor is easy to misinterpret over the Internet because you can't hear the tone of voice or see facial expressions. And I was surprised my PCs were clever enough to take out the mamma krayt like that. I firmly expected them to run into serious problems which is why I had a 2 or 3 spec NPC (built like a PC + adversary) that was a bodyguard (mechanically and narratively) that was intended to sacrifice himself to save a PC who was about to be killed by the mamma krayt. But they didn't need that safety blanket.

I'm sorry for misinterpreting your humour. Taking 90% out of communication (body language, intonation etc) is sure to cause misunderstandings. What's left are the words.

At the end I just have to say props to you as GM for allowing PCs to solve the situation like that. And to your players for being so inventive.

No worries. I made a decision long ago to not take anything someone said personally unless they directly called me a name (as opposed to merely criticizing something I said). I got into too many flame wars due to making mildly sarcastic replies, to which not quite as mildly sarcastic replies were made, etc. I think Donovan Morningfire learned the same lesson at the same time as he and I were occasional sparring partners over on the wotc and d6 boards. But hey live and learn.

Thanks for the compliment though, if my players come up with an interesting idea I run with it. BTW my campaign is largely player directed. I ask them what they want to see and give it to them, it put a metric crap ton of work into it though, about a solid day of prep for every hour at the gaming table. Gotta give some of them some surprises despite them knowing that I am going to give them what they asked for (they generally speaking don't have much of an idea about the how though)

BTW Ianinak how did you make those encounter sheets?

I used Oggdude's character generator. In it are Gm tools where you can make new adversaries. I just exported it to a .jpg. It is super slick!