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| Dragon | - | Monsters | - | Dragon #85 |
| Notes | - | - | - | Appendix |
From the Ramblings, Volume V, of the
sage Nenemith:
A curious creature indeed, the ixitxachitl.
Found in colonies of sometimes as many as
a hundred or more in shallow, tropical seas,
ixitxachitl typically lair in well-concealed
grottos or tunnels in the midst of coral reefs.
They worship the Prince of Demons, Demogorgon, and from him gain the
use of
clerical spells, with some creatures rising in
ability to the equal of a Patriarch.1
Although they are very seldom encountered by humans and humanoids who
travel
in or on the seas, the ixitxachitl are a numerous race and rule large
areas of the
coastal salt waters of our world, relying on
their aggressive nature and their magical
powers to build an undersea empire of
sorts.
Ixitxachitl are carnivorous and prey on
all marine life that they can kill and devour,
this even extending at times (when they
attack in huge hunting packs) to giant octopi, whales, and ? on at
least one documented occasion ? a dragon turtle. The
creatures range far from their lairs in search
of food, and often battle sahuagin, locathah,
and especially tritons and mermen. The
superior organization and tactics of these
opponents have earned them victory over
the ixitxachitl often enough to keep these
magically endowed rays from destroying all
resistance and mastering the oceans. But, at
the same time, the ixitxachitl have certainly
made their presence felt; in some areas of
our world, they have all but eradicated
aquatic elves in warm seas, and the tritons
have largely found it easier to make their
abodes in deeper waters, and only venture
in armed bands into shallower areas as a
result of ixitxachitl activities therein.
Because of the enmity between Orcus and
Demogorgon, intelligent marine undead
(lacedons, juju zombies, and so forth) will
not aid ? and sometimes will actively
oppose ? the rays. Ixitxachitl, for their
part, devour such prey whenever it can be
found, and so the undead largely avoid
ixitxachitl. Those rays with especially powerful cleric abilities can
raise additional
?recruits? for their armies 2
by use of the
animate dead spell, but are unable to Magically control or influence
undead because
the influence of Orcus against them offers
too much resistance.
In battle, ixitxachitl swoop rapidly at
opponents from opposing directions and
levels, seeking to confuse prey by striking at
it from two or more sides at once. In this
maneuver, they are often led by any ixitxachitl present of the so-called
?vampire?
variety, which are envied and personally
powerful war leaders and influential individuals in ixitxachitl society.3
The most
p o w e r f u l l y e n d o w e d o f
t h e s e r v a n t s o f D e m o g
o r g o n ( w h i c h a r e t h e
s o c i a l l e a d e r s o f
i x i t x a c h i t l s o c i e t y ) h a n
g b a c k u n t i l t h e
s i n g l e m o s t p o w e r f u l
o p p o n e n t s a r e i d e n t i f i e d ,
w h e r e u p o n t h e y a t t a c k
w i t h s p e l l s .4
These powerful spell-users typically swoop
together with two or more other ixitxachitl,
so that the target will find it difficult to
escape their attacks.
Sometimes ixitxachitl burrow into
bottom-sand, leaving only their eyes uncovered, to escape dangerous
foes; but more
often they do this to lie in wait for speedy
prey, which they then ambush.
In a manner similar to the way that
sharks do, ixitxachitl can sense vibrations
for great distances underwater, by means of
receptors on their backs and tails ? the
shock waves of explosions, for instance,
they can ?hear? from miles away.5
They
have a form of speech by which they can
communicate openly with one another, and
with some sahuagin that have learned at
least the rudiments of their strange tongue,
and those ixitxachitl with access to the
proper spells can also communicate magically with other creatures.
Ixitxachitl have a
second form of language that they use
among themselves (and with some other
marine creatures, such as sahuagin), which
is best described as ?touch-telepathy.? This
is a form of limited mental exchange possible only between creatures
the ixitxachitl
are actually touching, usually with their
tails. Groups of ixitxachitl sometimes swim
in ?stacks,? fins beating in unison, one atop
another, belly to back. This is believed to be
a form of this mental communication (transmitting emotions or general
thoughts), and
not mating or courting behavior.
The ?devil rays? (as they are sometimes
mistakenly called) all appear externally
identical to other creatures, but ixitxachitl
can apparently distinguish sexes and individuals readily at a distance.
Each creature
mates once a year, at varying times (there
are no ?seasons? as we know them beneath
the surface of the tropical seas). The process
is initiated by a female, which chooses ?
sometimes aggressively ? a male partner.
By this method, some sages argue, the
females deliberately attempt to breed to
improve the race.6
Certain ixitxachitl continue to grow in
strength and power upon becoming adults.
It is from this group that a colony?s leaders
and decision-makers come ? but only those
that are accepted by their fellows are allowed to live long enough
to attain this
status. Potential leaders that are deemed
unsatisfactory, by whatever standards the
ixitxachitl use (perhaps disrespect or disloyalty for Demogorgon is
a factor), are set
upon by the group and slain before they
have a chance to force themselves into
positions of influence and power. This
?weeding-out? process that destroys many
of these special ixitxachitl helps to explain
why the creatures have not risen to a position of absolute domination
of the seas. At
the same time, this process seems to help
insure the unity of purpose that binds.
the members of an ixitxachitl colony together and keeps them, as a
group, strongly
loyal to Demogorgon. In fact, it is said (by
those who should know) that ixitxachitl as a
species are more fervently attached to Demogorgon?s wishes and aims
than any other
species of creature on this plane of existence
we occupy.7
Vampiric ixitxachitl are more feared by
other creatures than even the most powerful
of the non-vampiric ixitxachitl leaders,
because of their lethal bite which saps a
victim?s very life force, and because of their
ability to heal wounds that they suffer. On
very rare occasions, vampiric ixitxachitl
become leaders or lieutenants of a colony,
and such creatures are said by many to be
the most dangerous undersea denizens of
their size.8
Fiercely independent, ixitxachitl cannot
be subdued and will fight to the death if not
stunned or otherwise immobilized. They are
fearless in behavior (but not reckless or
imprudent), cunning in battle, and prone to
collect treasure of all sorts, to bargain with
and in hopes of finding items of magic,
which the leaders take possession of. They
value most highly those magic items which
they can employ; ixitxachitl have been seen
wearing rings on their tails and wielding
rods, staves, and the like that they hold in
their clenched jaws. If they come across
items of magic that they cannot themselves
use, they will hide them away, to keep them
from the grasp of other creatures and possibly to use as a bargaining
tool.
Sometimes ixitxachitl will cooperate with
other aquatic creatures such as sea hags, or
even sahuagin or locathah, for mutual gain,
and have been known to hire or train creatures (such as sea lions)
to work for them.
Sharks can seldom be thus used by their
cousins the ixitxachitl, for sahuagin have
long employed sharks in their battles
against the rays, and sharks seem to have
acquired a dislike for the ?dark rays? ? or
perhaps they merely recall ixitxachitl flesh
as tasty.
More details of ixitxachitl life are few, not
well documented, and understandably
difficult to augment, but research on this
subject, notably by my esteemed colleagues
Ramazith, of Baldur?s Gate, and Alauthym,
of the Moonshae Isles, continues.
Notes
1. Ixitxachitl
gain spell bonuses for wisdom just as clerical spell-casters of other
races do, and can use any magic items not
specifically prohibited to clerics that can be
worn and operated without hands. Most
such items either have, or can be modified
to operate through, mental commands
rather than audible command words. An
opponent using ESP could learn such commands from the mind
of an ixitxachitl while
the commands were actually being made,
but not at any other time, since the commands would not then be part
of the conscious surface thoughts of the creature.
Note also that ixitxachitl can employ their
clerical spell powers without components of
a n y s o r t ( a l t h o u g h
v e r b a l a n d / o r s o m a t i c
c o m p o n e n t s m a y w e l l
b e p a r t o f s o m e
r i t u a l s ) ; t h e s e s p e l l
p o w e r s a r e c o n s i d e r e d
i n n a t e o n c e t h e y a r
e b e s t o w e d b y D e m o gorgon,
and do not need to be triggered by
a n e x t e r n a l o b j e c t
o r f o r c e . H o w e v e r , ? i
n n a t e ? d o e s n o t m e a n
u n l i m i t e d ; a s w i t h
n o r m a l c l e r i c s , i x i t x a c h
i t l c a n u s e e a c h
o f
t h e i r s p e l l s n o m o r
e f r e q u e n t l y t h a n o n c
e
per day.
2 . A n y i x i t x a c h i
t l w i t h t h e s p e l l
a b i l i t y o f
a 5 t h - l e v e l c l e r i c
( o r h i g h e r ) c a n u s e
animate dead and will prefer to do so upon
creatures of its own type. Ixitxachitl do not
have skeletons like humans, humanoids,
and other higher vertebrates do; their
?bones? are unconnected pieces of cartilage
that cannot be animated like a human skeleton can be. The bodies of
dead ixitxachitl
can be animated as zombies, however; these
creatures have AC 7, MV 6?, 2 HD, and
the normal 3-12 bite damage. These zombies do not have cleric spell
ability and
cannot employ magic items or take independent action of any sort; their
principal
function is to add numbers to an ixitxachitl
attacking force. As specified in the animate
dead spell description, these zombies are
subject to the commands of the ixitxachitl
that cast the spell ? but ixitxachitl do not
have any other power over undead of any
sort. Ixitxachitl zombies can be turned or
destroyed by other clerics as usual, and any
cleric attempting to affect them gets a +1
bonus to the die roll for turning
3. Nenemith refers to them as ?so-called?
vampires because this variety of ixitxachitl
does not have all the attributes commonly
associated with vampires; for one thing,
vampiric ixitxachitl
are obviously not
harmed by immersion in running water.
Their only similarities to true vampires are
the characteristics mentioned in the Monster Manual: level draining
and regeneration. They do not assume gaseous (or any
other) form, and they do not infect their
victims with vampirism. In an environment
that is already watery, it is reasonable to
assume that they are not affected by holy
water, since the holy water cannot be
?splashed? on them; if an attacker releases
holy water in the vicinity of a vampiric
ixitxachitl, the fluid would disperse into the
surrounding sea water and be diluted immediately anyway.
4. If an attacking ixitxachitl employs a
touch-effect spell (such as cause light
wounds), the spell will only take effect if a
normal bite attack succeeds. If the bite
attack does not hit, the cause wounds spell
(or whatever) is not dissipated and remains
?stored up? until a hit is scored. Once an
ixitxachitl has decided to use such a spell,
its effects will be felt by the first eligible
victim; the creature cannot withhold the
spell when it does score a hit, with the intent of using it against
a different target in a
later attack.
5. . Ixitxachitl also have 9" infravision
and seem to be able to smell other creatures
at a distance of 1" or less. They can smell
blood, lamp oil, or other foreign substances
released into the water at up to 4? distant
from the source, depending upon water
currents. The normal, color-sensitive vision
of an ixitxachitl extends to the limit of comparable (average) humanvision
in the same
circumstances, being governed by water
conditions ? in pitch darkness, or the murk
of disturbed sediments, visibility can be
reduced to zero, and it can range up to half
a mile or more in clear, calm water lit by a
bright sun.
6. The life cycle of ixitxachitl is still
poorly understood, but can be summarized
as follows: Six months after mating, a female gives birth to a single
young, of 1-1
HD. It is born in full control of its physical
faculties (including regeneration, if it is
vampiric), but does not acquire spell ability
(or level-draining ability, if vampiric) until
reaching adult size in 1-3 months thereafter.
The speed with which it grows to maturity
depends upon available food; a young ixitxachitl in a relatively small
colony with an
adequate food supply will mature (1+1 or
2+2 HD and full powers) in 1 month. Increases in spell capability and
hit dice, for
those rare individuals able to attain them,
come at the rate of 1 level of spell use every
six months and/or 1 hit die every year
thereafter, so that it takes an additional
three years for a leader type (8th level spell
ability, 4+4 HD) to reach full maturity. The
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t p r o
d u c e v a m p i r i c o r
l e a d e r - t y p e i x i t x a c h i t l
a r e a p p a r e n t l y n o t
h e r e d i t a r y ( e l s e t h e r e
w o u l d b e a g r e a t e r
a b u n d a n c e o f s u c h c
r e a t u r e s ) , b u t a r e
p a s s e d o n r a n d o m l y
a n d i n f r e q u e n t l y . M o s t
i x i t x a c h i t l l i v e f o r
3 0 y e a r s o r s o ,
b u t s o m e
a r e k n o w n t o h a v e
l i v e d f o r 1 0 t i m e s
t h a t
l o n g .
7 . A l l i x i t x a c h i
t l h a v e a n a p p r e c i a t i
o n
( p a r t l y i n b o r n , p a r t l y
l e a r n e d ) f o r t h e i r
r a c e ? s a l l e g i a n c e t o
D e m o g o r g o n . E a c h o f
t h e m h a s a t l e a s t
t h e s p e l l a b i l i t y o f
a 1 s t l e v e l c l e r i c , a n
d t h e y g i v e D e m o g o r g o
n f u l l
c r e d i t f o r e n d o w i n g
t h e m w i t h t h i s s p e c i a
l
p o w e r . T h e i r a c t i o n s
w i l l b e g o v e r n e d b y
D e m o g o r g o n ? s w i s h e s a n d
o r d e r s ? o r w h a t
t h e i x i t x a c h i t l b e l i e v e
t h e s e t o b e . T h e y
a r e
o b l i v i o u s t o f e a r (
o f t h e n o n - m a g i c a l s o
r t )
a n d f a n a t i c a l , b u t
n o t p e r s o n a l l y f o o l h a r d y .
T h o s e t h a t a t t a i n h
i g h e r l e v e l s o f s p e l l
a b i l i t y p r e f e r t o l e t
l e s s e r i x i t x a c h i t l d o
t h e d i r t y
w o r k ? a n d p e r i s h ,
s h o u l d m a t t e r s c o m e t
o
t h a t ? i n s t e a d o f
t h e m s e l v e s . T h e s e s p e c i a l
types will always ?run away to fight another
day? rather than impetuously put their lives
on the line, and they often pass grudges on
to young members of a colony, so that certain individuals, heraldic
devices, and types
of creatures will be recognized and attacked
with particular savagery, or pursued tirelessly, by encountered ixitxachitl.
8. Whenever a colony of ixitxachitl contains 100 or
more individuals, one of them
will be a leader type with vampiric powers.
(8+8 HD, 8th-level cleric spell ability, and
usually wearing or possessing at least one
type U magic item, as per the Monster
Manual). If a colony contains at least 80
individuals, one or two of them will be
guard types with vampiric powers (6+6 HD,
6th-level cleric spell ability), but the leader
of the group will still be ?only? a normal
(non-vampiric) ixitxachitl with 4+4 HD and
8th-level spell ability
Appendix
A. The suggested experience point values
for ixitxachitl, as given in Appendix E of <note that this data
is included in the Monster Manual,
instead>
the Dungeon Masters Guide,
can be
amended and expanded as follows if more
detail is desired or needed. In these calculations, the use of minor
spells (lst, 2nd, or
3rd level cleric ability) and the ability of
regeneration are counted as special abilities.
The use of major spells (5th, 6th, or 8th
level cleric ability) and the ability of energy
level drain are exceptional abilities.
Normal ixitxachitl:
| HD | Max cleric spell ability | XP value |
| 1+1 | 1st | 28 +2/hp |
| 1+1 | 2nd | 28 +2/hp |
| 1+1 | 3rd | 28 +2/hp |
| 1+1 | 5th | 65+2/hp |
| HD | Max. cleric spell ability | XP value |
| 3+3 | 6th | 125 + 4/hp |
| 4+4 | 8th | 165+5/hp |
| HD | Max. cleric spell ability | XP value |
| 2+2 | 1st | 105+3/hp |
| 2+2 | 2nd | 120+3/hp |
| 2+2 | 3rd | 120+3/hp |
| 2+2 | 5th | 160+3/hp |
| 6+6 | 6th | 700+8/hp |
| 8+8 | 8th | 1700+12/hp |
B. As put forth in Note 1 above, ixitxachitl with exceptional
wisdom are entitled to
bonuses in the number of cleric spells they
can acquire and use. Those members of a
colony that have high intelligence will possess wisdom
scores ranging from 4-16
(DMG, p.79), and any creature with wisdom of 13 or higher will
get at least one
bonus spell (PH, p. 11).
Thus, a leader type
with 8th level cleric spell ability and wisdom
of 16 would have spells usable amounting to
five 1st level, five 2nd level, three 3rd level,
and two 4th level spells.
C. As noted in the Monster Manual,
ixitxachitl use ?evil clerical
spells.? Following is a suggested list of spells from which to
choose, including some which are reversed
forms of ?good? spells:
1st Level
| 1 | Cause fear |
| 2 | Cause l. w. |
| 3 | Curse |
| 4 | Darkness |
| 5 | Detect good |
| 6 | Detect magic |
| 7 | Prot. from good |
| 8 | Putrefy food & drink |
2nd Level
| 1 | Chant |
| 2 | Find traps |
| 3 | Hold person |
| 4 | Silence 15' r. |
| 5 | Speak w/animals |
| 6 | Spiritual hammer |
3rd Level
| 1 | Animate dead |
| 2 | Bestow curse |
| 3 | Cause blindness |
| 4 | Cause disease |
| 5 | Continual darkness |
| 6 | Dispel magic |
4th level
| 1 | Cause s.w. |
| 2 | Poison |
| 3 | Prot. f. good 10' r. |
| 4 | Tongues |
| HD | Level for s.t. | 10 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| 1+1 | 2nd | 10 | 13 | 14 | 16 | |
| 2+2 | 3rd | 10 | 13 | 14 | 16 | |
| 3+3 | 4th | 9 | 12 | 13 | 15 | |
| 4+4 | 5th | 9 | 12 | 13 | 13 | |
| 6+6 | 8th | 7 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| 8+8 | 10th | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
E. Ixitxachitl cannot function or survive
in a waterless environment. As with other
aquatic creatures, they can be effectively
kept at bay by an airy water spell or similar
magic. Except under the conditions outlined
on page 75 of the DMG,
they cannot hit
characters or creatures able to be struck
only by magic weapons.
F. The generally accepted pronunciation
of the name is ?ick- zit -sah-chittle.?