Ixitxachitl

Ixitxachitl
Characteristics
Type	Aberration

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, ixitxachitl (pronounced ish-it-SHACH-itl, although iks-it-ZATCH-i-til or ik-zit-zah-chih-tull are both used^[1]) are a race of intelligent, aquatic beings that resemble small manta rays with barbed tails. They have an evil disposition and worship evil powers. They love to hunt marine humanoids, and then sacrifice or devour their catch.

Publication history

The ixitxachitl first appeared in the 1975 Blackmoor supplement.^[2]

The ixitxachitl appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977), and "The Ecology of the Ixitxachitl" was printed in Dragon #85 (May 1984).^[3]

The ixitxachitl appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Master Rules set (1985), and the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).

The ixitxachitl appeared in second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), which was reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993) along with the vampiric ixitxachitl and the greater vampiric ixitxachitl. The ixzan ixitxachitl appeared in Night Below: An Underdark Campaign (1995),^[4] and reprinted in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996).^[5]

The ixitxachitl and vampiric ixitxachitl appeared in the third edition Monster Manual II.^[6] The ixzan appeared in Lost Empires of Faerûn (2005).

Physical description

There are two main types of ixitxachitl, average and vampiric (the latter of whom are not undead, like humanoid vampires, but an ethnicity). Vampiric ixitxachitl are smaller than normal ixitxachitl and have energy drain and fast healing abilities, similar to vampires. Regardless of type, ixitxachitl are aggressive and tend to live for only a short time in an area, stripping it of plant and animal life while living there.

Society

Ixitxachitls live in labyrinthine lairs carved by creatures they've enslaved, and groups of ixitxachitls are led by clerics or vampiric ixitxachitls, who keep others in line using intimidation. They are most often found in oceans, but they can also lair in rivers that run to the sea.

Once they've become established in an area, ixitxachitls wage war against other intelligent creatures that trespass. Those that they capture are used as slaves - including humanoids who have means that allow them to breathe underwater - and slaves can outnumber ixitxachitls two-to-one in large settlements.

Religion

Ixitxachitls often worship the demon prince Demogorgon.^[7]

Footnotes