Xixchil Hands - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Xixchil Hands

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
korimyr_the_rat
Sep 08, 2005 8:28:31 Alright, I'm normally the guy that reminds everyone that fantasy physics don't follow our physics, and that alien minds don't think like human minds... so please bear with me.

Why don't the Xixchil have hands?

From descriptions, it seems pretty plain to me that they were originally Thri-Kreen, or at least related to Thri-Kreen-- and Thri-Kreen have hands. It's also quite clear that Xixchil eat, drink, and breathe functionality-- their lives revolve around being as functional as possible.

So... why did they cripple themselves? Or, if they never had hands... why didn't they fix it? Hands are more useful than any set of specialized manipulators, unless you're a single-task robot.

I can understand, almost, replacing one pair of hands or the other with the scythe-blades; formidable natural weapons could be a survival advantage. But I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they'd forego both pairs of hands, especially since the lower pair aren't usable as weapons.

Also... if I were to change this for my own games, and generally assume that they do have hands, would it be considered heresy? Would people flame and rail at me for changing one of the iconic Spelljammer races?
#2
nightdruid
Sep 08, 2005 8:49:03 Flame? Naw. Here's how to look at it: an Xixchil views their body like a house. Therefore, they have no qualms with changing it, much like you'd remodel a living room, that's how they view things like hands & arms. So an Xixchil might have no hands, one hand, two hands, or ten hands, depending on their needs. Something else to consider is that hands can be easily damaged, so they might model their bodies such that hands can be withdrawn into protective sheaves unless needed. Actually, a typical Xixchil might have two sets of hands: on fairly human-like for mundane tasks like counting money & such, and one set (of how many, who knows) that much smaller and much more delicate for use in their surgury. Or at least reasonable faximalies. Basically every Xixchil is unique, so changing an individual is par for the course
#3
zombiegleemax
Sep 08, 2005 12:58:02 Xixchil have never been nothing more then a one shot monster for my campaign. Reason being is that once one PC has gone to one and come back with an Eagle Head so they can have "eyes of an eagle", PC will avoid such 'hacks' in the future.
As for use a monster to used as an oppenent, well figure i just use another critter to spar against the PCs. For the most part I just removed them from my spelljammer campaigns.
#4
armitage
Sep 08, 2005 20:29:38 The description in their original Monstrous Compendium Appendix entry refers to "fine scalpel-like manipulators at the ends of their forelimbs".
Dragon#266 elaborated with "Ecology of the Xixchil", although there is some conflict with the picture in the MCA. According to Ecology, Xixchil walk on their rear four limbs and only use the front two for manipulation, with the scalpels being natural finger-like tarsi. The MC picture shows scalpels strapped to the ends of a small pair of midlimbs.
Of course, middle limbs aren't "forelimbs" as specified in the monster description. Most likely, the xixchil in the picture is battle-hardened and the small arms are extra weapon arms and the rear legs aren't visible.
So while they don't have actual hands, they do have fingers.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 korimyr_the_rat Sep 08, 2005 8:28:31	Alright, I'm normally the guy that reminds everyone that fantasy physics don't follow our physics, and that alien minds don't think like human minds... so please bear with me. Why don't the Xixchil have hands? From descriptions, it seems pretty plain to me that they were originally Thri-Kreen, or at least related to Thri-Kreen-- and Thri-Kreen have hands. It's also quite clear that Xixchil eat, drink, and breathe functionality-- their lives revolve around being as functional as possible. So... why did they cripple themselves? Or, if they never had hands... why didn't they fix it? Hands are more useful than any set of specialized manipulators, unless you're a single-task robot. I can understand, almost, replacing one pair of hands or the other with the scythe-blades; formidable natural weapons could be a survival advantage. But I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they'd forego both pairs of hands, especially since the lower pair aren't usable as weapons. Also... if I were to change this for my own games, and generally assume that they do have hands, would it be considered heresy? Would people flame and rail at me for changing one of the iconic Spelljammer races?
#2 nightdruid Sep 08, 2005 8:49:03	Flame? Naw. Here's how to look at it: an Xixchil views their body like a house. Therefore, they have no qualms with changing it, much like you'd remodel a living room, that's how they view things like hands & arms. So an Xixchil might have no hands, one hand, two hands, or ten hands, depending on their needs. Something else to consider is that hands can be easily damaged, so they might model their bodies such that hands can be withdrawn into protective sheaves unless needed. Actually, a typical Xixchil might have two sets of hands: on fairly human-like for mundane tasks like counting money & such, and one set (of how many, who knows) that much smaller and much more delicate for use in their surgury. Or at least reasonable faximalies. Basically every Xixchil is unique, so changing an individual is par for the course
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 08, 2005 12:58:02	Xixchil have never been nothing more then a one shot monster for my campaign. Reason being is that once one PC has gone to one and come back with an Eagle Head so they can have "eyes of an eagle", PC will avoid such 'hacks' in the future. As for use a monster to used as an oppenent, well figure i just use another critter to spar against the PCs. For the most part I just removed them from my spelljammer campaigns.
#4 armitage Sep 08, 2005 20:29:38	The description in their original Monstrous Compendium Appendix entry refers to "fine scalpel-like manipulators at the ends of their forelimbs". Dragon#266 elaborated with "Ecology of the Xixchil", although there is some conflict with the picture in the MCA. According to Ecology, Xixchil walk on their rear four limbs and only use the front two for manipulation, with the scalpels being natural finger-like tarsi. The MC picture shows scalpels strapped to the ends of a small pair of midlimbs. Of course, middle limbs aren't "forelimbs" as specified in the monster description. Most likely, the xixchil in the picture is battle-hardened and the small arms are extra weapon arms and the rear legs aren't visible. So while they don't have actual hands, they do have fingers.