The Serps were a race of reptiloids native to the Outer Rim planet Belial IV. The males of the species were characterized by their red scales and their toothy maws, which were filled with row of needle-sharp teeth. A heavy ridge of bony scales ran along the crown of their skulls, protecting their eyes. Females were more subtly colored, with orange scales. Where the male face was flat, the female Serps had a pronounced snout, and lacked the eyebrow ridges of the males. Many centuries before the New Order, the Serps were a highly-evolved race, and had developed superior technologies. However, the advances of this technology led to a series of civil wars in which various tribes fought against each other for control of technology. Eventually, a peace accord was signed among the tribes, and leadership was given to a single King. Violence was relegated to jousting and other contests which proved an individual's combat skills, until King S'Shah took control and began using certain forbidden forms of technology to turn the jousting contests into death matches, shortly before the Battle of Yavin.