March comes in like a Pritarr! It feels seasonably appropriate to select a leonine creature for the next pet in this series. There are no shortages of available options to pick from, but the bright red mane and yellow stripes mark the Proud Pritarr Cub as one of the most distinctive feline pets in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Pritarrs are predators found in the jungles of the planet Onderon. Their debut in Star Wars lore was in SWTOR’s Onslaught expansion. Like many other creatures in this galaxy far, far away, the Pritarr share traits with several very different animals from Earth. In addition to the obvious similarities to the king of the jungle, they have large, bat-like ears and seem to have moveable eyes like a chameleon. We know that Pritarrs have ultrasensitive hearing allowing for low frequency communication across great distances, and those eyes suggest their vision is particularly sharp.
Pritarr’s hunting prowess and sensitivity to their environment is considerable, and the clan of Onderonian beast riders known as the Untamed keep Pritarrs close both to detect earthquakes and as guards for their lairs.
The Lucky Pritarr and Kingpin’s Predator mounts, Proud Pritarr Cub and the Taxidermy: Pritarr decoration.
Pritarrs are unique to SWTOR, and aside from the creatures encountered in the wilds of Onderon, players can also earn two differently colored Pritarr mounts: the brown Lucky Pritarr and the blue Kingpin’s Predator. Both mounts and the Pritarr Cub pet can be won in the summertime during SWTOR’s yearly Nightlife event. Players wishing to furnish a trophy den in their Stronghold can acquire three different types of Pritarr taxidermy decorations.
If you want an example of how far SWTOR graphics have come over the years, the Proud Pritarr Cub is a great example. This pet features textures and details that are far and away above those seen on other pets in the game, including some I’ve covered already in this project. It’s neat to see the care and attention the art team gives to even the smollest creatures these days, and makes me excited to see what might (and really should) come in future updates.
Adult Pritarrs bask in the sun on a Onderon lakeside beach.
The Pritarr’s homeworld of Onderon has a long, legendary history in Star Wars lore, debuting in the first issue of Dark Horse’s Tales of the Jedi comic series in 1993. The stories told in the various Tales series set in the earliest days of the Old Republic form the backbone of much of SWTOR’s setting, and over the generations of stories set there, many prominent Jedi have visited the world from the the Qel-Droma brothers Cay and Ulic during the Beast Wars, the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik in the centuries before SWTOR and in the millennium to follow by Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi and Ashoka Tano during the Clone Wars.
Finally there are two prominent natives of Onderon in greater Star Wars lore worth mentioning, the first is the revolutionary fighter Saw Gerrera who was introduced in the Clone Wars cartoon, but is probably most well known for his important roles in the earliest days of the Rebellion against the Empire in both the movie Rogue One and the streaming series Andor where he was played by the great Forest Whitaker. However, Onderon’s most famous and beloved daughter is most likely Her Imminence, Queen Lina, whose deeds her translator-droid C2-D4 is infamously known for his desire to expound upon. Should he actually be reassembled and avoid interruptions from his current owner, perhaps one day we will hear these stories in full.
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