| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Alignment | Good |
| Publication history | |
| First appearance | Eldritch Wizardry (1976) |
In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game, the ki-rin are magical beasts. They are based on the mythological Qilin (or kirin in Korean and Japanese).
Contents |
The ki-rin first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons game supplement Eldritch Wizardry (1976).[1]
The ki-rin appeared in the first edition in the original Monster Manual (1977).[2]
The ki-rin appeared in the second edition in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989),[3] and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[4] The psionic variant of the ki-rin appeared in The Complete Psionics Handbook (1991).[5]
The ki-rin appeared in the third edition Oriental Adventures (2001).[6]
Ki-rin are always lawful good.
Ki-rin worship Koriel.
Ki-rin resemble unicorns somewhat. They are powerful spellcasters, and roam the skies looking for good deeds to reward, and malefactors to punish.
Ki-rin are a race of aerial creatures whose hooves rarely touch the earth, for they dwell amid the clouds and behind the winds. Females are never encountered and Ki-rin are always solitary. They sometimes aid humans if the need to combat evil is great. The coat of the ki-rin is luminous gold, much as a sunrise on a clear day.
An obituary to Gary Gygax specifically highlights the Kirin as an example of the way in which D&D embraces world culture and folklore.[7]
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