Niado Duegad hailed from the planet called Vodran. His species bore resemblance to the dianoga, a species indigenous to Duegad's homeworld. During the time of the Galactic Civil War, a major conflict fought between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Duegad worked as a mercenary. His species and their culture were able to manipulate their surroundings using terraforming techniques. Niado Duegad's adrenal glands were enhanced, allowing him to achieve short bursts of incredible physical power. Duegad's skin was a reddish-brown hue with black stripes, and he possessed a single eye that was hazel-colored. Furthermore, he exhibited a certain degree of sensitivity to the Force-attunement.
The character of Niado Duegad can be traced back to the production of the 1983 film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. During this time, various alien maquettes were created as possible additions to the scenes set within Jabba the Hutt's desert palace. One of these concepts, a dianoga-like alien referred to as "Alien 18," was ultimately removed before the film's final version. The "Alien 18" model was deemed too challenging to create as a puppet due to its non-humanoid form.
The name Niado Duegad was first assigned to the alien on a card featuring a modified image of the maquette in the 1998 Special Edition Limited expansion for Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game. This appearance officially integrated the maquette into Star Wars Legends canon. The name Niado Duegad is an anagram of "Dianoga Dude."
- Star Wars Chronicles (First pictured) (Maquette only)
- Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Special Edition Limited (Card: Niado Duegad) (backup link) (First mentioned)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Back from the Drawing Board: Recycled Star Wars Aliens on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)