The sand demon was a type of semi-sentient, six-legged insectoid species that naturally occurred on the planet of Tatooine. Respected with fear by all other lifeforms on the desert world, sand demons hunted various prey, even the famed krayt dragon. These sand demons often existed for centuries, moving under the desert's surface as if the sand was an ocean and drilling through rock with their exceptionally sharp legs. The native Tusken Raiders of Tatooine had a belief that sand demons consumed the life force of their victims, growing in strength with each kill. Sharing physical characteristics with the tentacled lyleks of Ryloth, sand demons were frequently tracked by members of the Jedi Order as part of the Tusken Raiders' Demon's Blood ritual. While some brave hunters would attempt to slay these beasts, their rarity and fierce nature kept them as figures of myth and legend.
Sand demons were sizable, six-legged insectoids, varying in size from the average Human height to more than double that. Originating from the desert planet Tatooine, they had red eyes positioned on extended stalks on each side of their strong, tooth-filled mouth. Each eye stalk was protected at the top and bottom by chitin, and the eye itself was covered by a membrane resistant to sand. Their jaws allowed them to grasp their prey with an almost unbreakable hold. Each of their six talon-like legs was covered in brown to black chitin, matching the broad shell that protected their upper body. Their underbelly was soft and vulnerable, with unarmored sections ranging from gold to a greenish-tan.
Sand demons went through periods of hibernation, preceded by skin shedding and significant bleeding. Upon waking, their new skin was coated in a glistening gel, similar to that found on newborn sand demons. They bore a strong resemblance to the lylek, a six-legged predator of Ryloth, but lacked the lylek's two prominent tentacles. According to the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine, sand demons could live for centuries.
A sleeping sand demon
As a semi-sentient species with a degree of intelligence, sand demons moved beneath the desert sands in a manner described by locals as "sand swimming," gliding under the surface as if it were an ocean. They could also dig through rock and sand with their talons, creating tunnels and caves beneath Tatooine. They would burst from beneath the desert to devour their prey. Sand demons were at the top of Tatooine's food chain, being the only known predator of the massive krayt dragons, lizards that averaged thirty meters in length and ten in height.
By the time of the Cold War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, sand demons were known to the natives of their homeworld, Tatooine, yet were mostly figures of myth and legend. Due to grainy satellite images and the accounts of Tatooine's nomads, the rest of the galaxy couldn't dismiss sand demons as pure myth, and most attempts to study them ended poorly. The Tusken Raiders thought that the sand demons absorbed the life essence of their victims to grow stronger, and they created cave paintings of ancient sand demons that had supposedly lived for centuries this way, believing them to be immune to injury. The mercenary Kord Murdok hunted sand demons on Tatooine for a time, and the Demon's Blood ritual had been a tradition for generations, though it was less known by the Cold War. In this ritual, members of the Jedi Order seeking enlightenment would track a sand demon into the deserts to anoint themselves with its blood. Those Jedi who returned successfully would then visit the Tusken Raiders to learn their unique path to self-discovery.
A sand demon challenges intruders in its cave.
Several sand demons nested in an abandoned mining complex in the Dune Sea region in 3643 BBY, drawn by seismic vibrations from the Republic's stolen Shock Drum superweapon. These sand demons were killed by a young Jedi Knight who sought to disable the Shock Drum and rescue Jedi Master Bela Kiwiiks, whom the Sith Lord Praven had left to die before the weapon.
Around the same period, the Padawan Jaesa Willsaam underwent the Demon's Blood ritual by finding an ancient sand demon in a cave in the Shattered Basin region. With the aid of an explorer named Sharack Breev, a Sith apprentice later followed Willsaam's path during the Sith's search for Willsaam, neutralizing the beast and performing the ritual. Around 3638 BBY, a sand demon was affected by a Seed of Rage, a Sith alchemical artifact planted in the Dune Sea's northern reaches, causing significant physical changes. The sand demon developed gray-black growths, its eyes turned red, and its skin became covered in red energy.
The sand demon was first seen in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a video game launched by BioWare and LucasArts in 2011. The creatures are featured in the Jedi Knight-class mission "The Sand Demon's Lair," where the player must fight through several sand demons to reach the Shock Drum in the next chamber. Players can choose to sacrifice the family of the Jawa Brrik to eliminate some sand demons, resulting in dark-side alignment points. However, as a Republic character, the Jedi Knight is assumed to only choose the light-side options, so this article likewise assumes that the Knight did not sacrifice Brrik's family.
A lylek
The sand demon's appearance is almost identical to the lylek, a predator from Ryloth, though the lylek has tentacles. However, two lylek mini-pets were introduced to The Old Republic in March and April 2013, and the pets use a recolored sand demon model to represent a lylek, though both lack the tentacles that distinguish the lylek from the sand demon.
Another sand demon appears in the Sith Warrior-class mission "Demon's Blood," where the player performs the Demon's Blood ritual. Depending on the choice made, the player gains either light or dark alignment points or none at all. If the player outright attacks the beast or subdues and then kills it, the player will gain dark alignment points. If the player subdues the beast and waits for it to shed, the player will gain light alignment points. If the player fails to subdue it, no alignment points are given. The game's text files reveal that the sand demon in the Sith Warrior storyline was originally planned to be a krayt dragon; the conversation file for the confrontation with the creature is labeled "ancient_krayt_dragon.txt." "Sand Demon" is capitalized within the game, though the 2012 reference guide Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia, which gives additional information on the creatures, does not. A sand demon also appears in the game's first digital expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, in which a sand demon is under the influence of a Seed of Rage on Tatooine. Sand demons can also be summoned as combat companions in the "Done and Dusted" Uprising in Update 5.1 of the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion.