Krykna were predatory beings from Atollon, resembling spiders, yet lacking sentience. These creatures were naturally resistant to blaster fire. Their heightened sensitivity to negative emotions made it incredibly challenging to tame them using the Force. A signal from sensor beacons acted as a repellent to them.
Possessing six legs, krykna were spider-like creatures distinguished by their tough hides. They constructed underground hives where they cocooned their captured prey. Their mouths were characterized by a beaked structure, flanked by a pair of fanged pedipalps. The krykna's skin offered considerable resistance to blaster weaponry, even enduring blasts from starship cannons. Despite this durability, their eyes remained a weak point, and they were also susceptible to attacks from lightsabers and grenades. The radiation signature of sensor beacons was strongly disliked by them. Their primary food source was dokma.
Although a connection through the Force was possible, their acute awareness of negative feelings made it exceptionally difficult. They were not inherently aggressive; however, the presence of negative emotions could trigger hostile behavior towards those exhibiting them.
In 3 BBY, krykna abducted Lieutenant Dicer while he was establishing a sensor perimeter near the newly formed rebel base on Atollon. Sabine Wren and Rex faced an attack by krykna while investigating Dicer's disappearance. The krykna demonstrated an immunity to blaster fire. While Sabine managed to eliminate some by targeting their eyes, Rex was captured and taken away.
During the successful rescue of Rex, the Spectres encountered multiple krykna. These predators employed webbing to ensnare the Ghost, preventing its departure. Sabine, recalling their aversion to sensor markers, deployed one to deter the creatures. Meanwhile, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger utilized their lightsabers to free the ship. To prevent subsequent krykna attacks, the rebels constructed a perimeter fence of sensor markers around their base.
In 2 BBY, Bendu, a being of immense power, guided Kanan in conquering his fear of the krykna by relying on the Force to guide his senses. Bendu explained that fear and other negative feelings disrupted his connection to the Force. Following the Sith Maul's abduction of the Ghost's crew, Kanan and Ezra were compelled to retrieve the Malachor Sith holocron from a krykna-infested cave. Kanan successfully employed the Force to communicate their peaceful intentions to the spiders.
When an Imperial infiltrator droid landed on Atollon, it was attacked by krykna before it could reach Chopper Base. Garazeb Orrelios discovered the damaged droid surrounded by dead krykna.
During a wilderness training session with the Darksaber for Sabine, Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine passed several krykna on their speeder. Later, during the Battle of Atollon, Kanan went to the krykna nest where Bendu resided, hoping to persuade the Force-wielder to assist the rebels against the Empire.
Ro Thran, a Gran hunter, once captured a bull krykna for the Tyn Syndicate.
The krykna's design originates from Ralph McQuarrie's artwork depicting a Dagobah creature known as the knobby white spider. This artwork was based on a sketch from February 1979 for The Empire Strikes Back. The knobby white spider first appeared in Kevin J. Anderson's 1995 Star Wars Legends novel Darksaber and The Illustrated Star Wars Universe. This design also served as inspiration for the spice spider and the knobby white ice spider. The article "Fon Davis: Model Shop Role Model" incorrectly combines the knobby white spiders and krykna.