Xill

Xill
Plane	Material Plane
Height	4 to 5 feet tall

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Forgotten Realms	Xill

The xill is a gruesome four-armed creature, feared for its ability to materialize suddenly from the Ethereal Plane to ambush travelers. They use a paralyzing venom to capture victims alive, carrying them off to their ethereal homes for some dreadful purpose.

Xill is pronounced "zil". The plural of xill is xills, although the plural xill has also been used.

Description

Appearance

A xill is a bipedal creature whose appearance combines reptilian and insect-like features. They have four arms, ending in sharp claws. They have red, scaly hides, with dark and penetrating eyes. Xills typically stand between four and five feet tall, and weight around a hundred pounds.

MC14 Monstrous Compendium: Fiend Folio Appendix (1992) lists the xill as 4 feet tall, while the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1998), p.120-121 and third edition Monster Manuals describe them as ranging between between 4 and 5 feet. The 5th edition Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019) only notes that is Medium size. Xill have red skin in AD&D sources and in D&D 3rd edition, but their skin color is not specified in 5th edition.

Some xills have been observed by planar travelers to wear clothing and wield manufactured weapons, which they are capable of deploying in all four arms. Other, less civilized xill may eschew weapons, instead simply fighting and and grappling using their claws.

Personality and alignment

Xills are vengeful, selfish, and power-hungry. They are extremely malevolent, with a love of cruelty. Even the most civilized xills are known for their brutality and totalitarianism.

Xills are intelligent, and are capable of using group tactics in combat. A common xill tactic is to engage a strong opponent to draw their attention, then to fight defensively while allies maneuver around to their advantage. Xills fight courageously, always able to flee to the Ethereal Plane beyond the reach of most enemies. However, when attacked on the Ethereal Plane, their first instinct is to flee.

Based on the accounts of planar travelers who have encountered them, the attitudes of xill to non-xill can vary considerably based on their social background (see High Clan and Lower Clan). The civilized High Clan xill happily conduct trade with other societies, while the Lower Clan xill have a reputation as violent raiders obsessed with reproduction.

Xills are lawful evil by inclination.

According to the Monster Manual for both D&D 3.0 and 3.5, xills are "Always Lawful Evil". In D&D 3rd edition, the alignment qualifier "Always" means that xills which are not lawful evil could exist, but they are extremely rare.

Abilities and traits

Xills are capable of shifting between the Material Plane and Ethereal Plane at will. This rapid ability often takes targets by surprise.

Prior to their appearance in D&D 5th edition's Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019), shifting back to the Ethereal took more time, during which the xill is immobile, potentially giving adventurers time to rescue an captured ally. In AD&D sources, xills have magic resistance, which they lose while shifting, while in D&D 3rd edition they have spell resistance, and do not lose this while shifting.

A xill is capable of injecting a paralyzing poison or venom into a victim. It uses this to capture its prey alive, then take them to the Ethereal Plane. This poison is secreted by glands in the xill's body, which only produce and hold a small amount, enough for around two uses per six hours. The poison is capable of paralyzing a victim for up to four hours. The poison is believed to be injected through a stinger in the xill's claws, although some sources claim it can be injected by bite. Accounts of the civilized High Clan xill also suggest they have weaker venom sacs through underuse, and they are only able to use it once per day; as such, they only use it as a last resort.

Xills possess darkvision.

Weaknesses

Spells that protect against evil may be able to ward off a xill.

While earlier editions' protection from evil is effective at protecting against xill, the same cannot be said for that spell's equivalent in D&D 5th edition, protection from evil and good. This is because xill as presented in Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019) are now of the monstrosity type, which the 5th edition spell does not ward against.

Ecology

Environment

Xills are natives of the Ethereal Plane.

According to the most popular current theory on the origin of xills, xills inhabit a demiplane hidden deep within the Ethereal, created by the archwizard Keraptis.

Planar travelers of the Great Wheel have encountered civilized xills of the High Clans, who describe great xill cities within the Deep Ethereal constructed upon chunks of solid ether. They likewise describe that the more barbaric Lower Clan xills frequently occupy locations in the Border Ethereal, where they focus their attention on other planes which they can easily raid.

Xills have also been found in several other planar locations, including Arthenmyr's Wrath in Niflheim. In the world of Eberron, they are found in deep tunnels within Khyber.

Lair

Lower Clan xills are said to retain secret lairs somewhere on the Ethereal Plane, where they house their young and captives. If a Lower Clan xill's lair is attacked, its first priority is to protect its young, then to move captives to a safe space, before attacking the intruders or fleeing.

Life cycle

Xill are asexual. While their method of reproduction is not well known even to the great lorekeepers of Greyhawk, planar travelers report that xills reproduce by laying eggs. These eggs are implanted into the stomach of a living human or other intelligent host, where they absorb sustenance before hatching. Xill are believed to dedicate considerable effort to acquiring humanoids for this purpose.

Xill eggs reportedly hatch within four days after implantation in the hosts' stomach,, although other sources suggest it may take as long as 90 days. During this incubation period, the eggs absorb nutrients from food eaten by the host. In the week after hatching, the larvae grow and mature, dealing severe internal injury to the host's body. After this, the creatures burst forth from the host, killing it instantly. Around 2 to 16 small xill are produced this way, which grow rapidly to their full size in just a few hours. Prompt medical treatment or spell such as cure disease may remove the eggs from the victim before they hatch. However, the spell contagion ward could protect the egg from such magic.

Based on the understanding of planar adventurers, xill tend to live around fifty years, with an individual producing eggs perhaps only twice in its lifetime.

This need to acquire living humanoids as hosts is believed to be a major motivation for Lower Clan xill raiders. They target adventurers in particular, who are easily located by searching for sources of magic through the Border Ethereal; such hardy individuals are more capable of surviving the lengthy xill incubation process.

D&D 5th edition's Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019), p.21 leaves the purpose of the xill abductions ambiguous. While the 5th edition source suggests that xill abduct victims to become slaves for Keraptis, sources in earlier editions described the xill's gruesome reproduction cycle, and its need for living hosts, as the primary motivation. Both possibilities are presented in this article.

Diet

Adult xills are omnivorous.

Treasure

Harvesting

A xill's claw is valued as a material component used in the spell arms of plenty.

A full set of xill scales can be used in a component to create a ring of protection. To the right buyer, it has a market price as high as 400 gp.

History

Origin theory

The details of the xills' origins are debated by scholars. Recently, the most commonly accepted theory is that they were created by the near-mythical archwizard Keraptis, whose personal domain is a demiplane hidden within the Ethereal Plane.

According to this theory, Keraptis created the xills as a race of servitors to guard his demiplane. A collector of magic items and artifacts, Keraptis used the xills to steal magic items from across the multiverse. He also uses them to capture humanoids to serve as mind-controlled servants within his ethereal domain, and brainwashed to guard his various dungeons. This theory is supported by the xills' tendency to capture up-and-coming adventurers rather than simply raid commoners.

Keraptis's domain has thus far never been discovered, but is theorized to be heavily protected by great armies of xills and brainwashed adventurers.

Society and culture

Organization

Xills are sometimes encountered on the Ethereal Plane in dangerous bands of between one and four raiders.

Servants of Keraptis

Xills are suspected to dwell in countless numbers in the hidden demiplane of the archmage Keraptis, deep within the Ethereal Plane. This plane has yet to be located, but it is believed that Keraptis uses his xill servitors to capture rare artifacts and skilled adventurers for his own use.

High Clans and Lower Clans

According to the accounts of planar travelers of the Great Wheel, numerous xills inhabit the Ethereal Plane, where they form clan-like structures. They are divided into two major groups: the civilized High Clans, and the barbaric Lower Clans. The Lower Clans carry out most of the attacks on the Material Plane.

High Clan xill manufacture and employ high-quality weapons, bright clothing, and other goods. They are rarely encountered outside of the Deep Ethereal, where they are believed to occupy cities built upon chunks of solid ether. They conduct trade with other planar travelers, exchanging goods and information. Their method of reproduction is never seen by outsiders, but is rumored to involve a place called the Mewling, a demiplane hidden within the Deep Ethereal where human slaves are farmed for use as hosts.

Lower Clan xill eschew the use of manufactured weapons. These xill form small bands that help to protect each other and their young. They are the most common type encountered by adventurers and others on the Material Plane, during their raids for intelligent hosts. They do not conduct any business with the High Clans, and consider other species to be no more than prey. The term "Lower Clan" is applied by others, and is not a term the Lower Clan xill use for themselves.

Allies

Xills are sometimes conjured as planar allies by clerics of lawful evil deities. Devourers often summon small groups of xills for a single raid.

Enemies

Xills are feared in the Material Plane and the Inner Planes. They target humans and humanoids for capture, but otherwise have no interaction with human civilizations.

Xill are occasionally hunted by wild creatures of the Ethereal Plane, such as the enormous fishlike magran. The xill in turn commonly hunt the nathri, short humanoid scavengers native to the Deep Ethereal.

Religion

Xills of the High Clan civilization worship a variety of deities, with a few of their number becoming clerics of limited ability.

Both civilized and savage xill worship Sixin, an alien, reptilian lawful evil god of their race. The civilized clans know him as The Highest, while the more barbaric raiders revere him in another aspect as The Rampager, or The Wild. Xill clans' clerics often serve a role as leaders of a gang of up to four others.

Language

Unlike many intelligent creatures, Xills are not known to possess any unique racial langauge of their own. They are fully capable of understanding and using languages; sources that tie the xills to Keraptis note they speak Common, while other sources note that xills speak Infernal.

Planar travelers have observed xills using telepathic communication, with which they communicate with each other and outsiders. However, other sources suggest they simply use spoken language like any other intelligent creature.

The AD&D Fiend Folio (1e) (1981) initially made no mention of the xills' communication ability. They are first described as possessing telepathy in the AD&D 2nd edition MC14 Monstrous Compendium: Fiend Folio Appendix (1992), while the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1998), p.120-121 asserts that all xills are telepathic and that they have no spoken language.

However, from D&D 3rd edition onward, the xill loses its telepathy ability, having no listed language in the Monster Manual (3.0) (2000) and speaking Infernal in the Monster Manual (3.5) (2003). The statistics in Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019), p.21 show a xill speaking Common. All sources, however, concur in that they do not show any specific "xill" language.

Notable xills

For a full list of xills, see Category:Xills.

• Caldre, a cleric
• Quel, a cleric of Loviatar
• Ssigg, a civilized xill scribe

Publication history

AD&D 1st edition

The xill as it appeared in the Fiend Folio (1e) (1981).

The xill first appeared in the Fiend Folio (1e) (1981) for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition. They were depicted in art by Russ Nicholson. Brian Asbury is credited as its creator (see Creative origins).

AD&D 2nd edition

The xill as it appeared in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1998).

The xill was updated for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition in the MC14 Monstrous Compendium: Fiend Folio Appendix (1992). The design work on this update for the xill is credited to Gred Swedberg and Al Boyce.

It was described in more detail in the Planescape sourcebook Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1998), p.13,120-121, which introduced the division of civilized High and barbaric Lower Clans, as well as their use of telepathy to the exclusion of language. Some information was repeated in A Guide to the Ethereal Plane (1998), p.73.

The xill appeared in the 1993 Trading Cards Factory Set (1993) as card #404.

D&D 3rd edition

The xill as it appeared in the Monster Manual (3.5) (2003).

The xill appeared in the Monster Manual (3.0) (2000), p.187, and Monster Manual (3.5) (2003), p.259-260. It is depicted in art by Scott Fischer, wearing armor and carrying weapons. In 3.0 it has the Outsider creature type with the Lawful and Evil subtypes, while in 3.5 it is an Outsider with the Extraplanar subtype. The 3.0 and 3.5 Monster Manuals do not directly reference the High and Lower Clans, but differentiate between civilized and savage xills, with the 3.0 book describing the different daily use limit for poison as previously established in Planescape.

Savage Species (2003), p.30, suggests that xill rangers may know the secret of Improved Multiweapon Fighting. That book did not provide any special rules for xills as player characters, although the 3.5 Monster Manual had already presented xills as having a level adjustment of +4, which including their 5 hit dice gives a total ECL of 9.

Knights: Honor and Chivalry in Any D&D Game, Dragon #299 (Sep 2002), suggested the lawful xills could form interesting knightly orders.

Xills appear on the cover of Dungeon #95 (Nov/Dec 2002), where they illustrate the adventure The Jackal's Redemption.

Living Greyhawk

Xills appear in the Living Greyhawk adventure module COR5-01 The Stone Man's Missive, featuring the xill huntmaster Silixz, a ranger/monk whose specialty is hunting magical beasts. In COR8-04 Bridge over Svartjet, thousands of immature xills are used to power a plane-shifting ship. In GRM5-02 Enemy of My Enemy, civilized xill are hired to attack the player characters.

D&D 4th edition

The xill did not appear in this edition.

D&D 5th edition

The xill returned for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition in the digital supplement Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1 (2019), p.21. It is depicted in art by Max Dunbar. The Outsider type no longer exists in D&D 5th edition, and the xill do not hail from the Upper or Lower Planes, making them neither Celestials or Fiends. Instead, they now have the Monstrosity type.

D&D miniatures

Wizards of the Coast released the following miniatures products featuring the xill:

• D&D Miniatures: Archfiends set #39 (2004)

Creative origins

The xill was the original creation of British D&D player Brian Asbury. Asbury submitted several monsters for inclusion in the Fiend Folio, but the xill was the only one which appeared in the book. In 2009, Asbury stated that TSR changed his submission so heavily that he does not consider the creature as printed to be his own work.

Reception and influence

In Polyhedron #159 (July 2003), editor Erik Mona noted the xill as an iconic D&D creature, stating that most D&D players would recognize it. He mentioned it alongside the grell, kenku, and mephit as famous D&D creatures which originated in the original Fiend Folio.

Like most D&D 3.5 monsters, the xill was imported into Paizo's Pathfinder role-playing game. In Pathfinder's continuity, xills are an all-female species, and often come into conflict with phase spiders, night hags, and destrachans.

The xill was also referenced in Malhavoc Press's Dungeons & Dragons 3.5-compatible d20 System sourcebook Beyond Countless Doorways. The book described a plane known as the Wheels of Sostea, where xill build floating hive-cities, atop spinning wheels, that collide with one another.

External links

• Xill at the Hypertext d20 SRD

References

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