The vaguely reptilian xill are natives of the Ethereal Plane. Four-armed, leathery-skinned humanoids brilliantly colored red by some strange twist of fate, these beings are feared on all planes that border the Ethereal (in other words, the Prime and the Inner Planes). ’Course, some xill claim that these fears are unfounded, but peery members of other races believe that even the so-called civilized xill harbor a dark secret.
All xill communicate telepathically – fact is, they have no spoken language – and they can travel back and forth from the Ethereal Plane (via the Border Ethereal) as they wish.
Habitat/Society: Xill can be classified as members of the Lower Clans or the High Clans. Lower Clan xill rarely use weapons, preferring the strength of their claws, and they never create anything of their own. They seemingly live only to reproduce, and thus raid other planes looking for intelligent hosts for their eggs. Interestingly, the xill of the Lower Clans don’t refer to themselves as “Lower Clans”, don’t even acknowledge the High Clans, and can’t look upon any other race as anything more than prey. If encountered on the Ethereal, Lower Clan xill are likely to flee after first securing the safety of their young and any prisoners serving as egg hatcheries.
High Clan xill lead more sophisticated lives, crafting tools, weapons, clothing, and other necessities for themselves. The High Clans rarely leve the Ethereal, but if they’re encountered by planewalkers, they don’t automatically size up the situation as predator/prey. In fact, many High Clan xill trade goods and information with travelers to the Misty Shore. Cutters looking for such xill can find them in the Deep Ethereal, dwelling in refined cities built on chunks of what’s known as solid ether. Some High Clan xill can even be paid to serve as guides to the mysterious plane.
Chant is, however, that the High Clans xill still need to use intelligent creatures as hosts in which to hatch their young. According to these dark rumors, somewhere hidden in the Deep Ethereal is a vast hatchery/nursery where human slaves are bred and grown like cattle to serve as hosts for xill eggs. These poor sods’re supposedly the descendants if victims captured long ago and kept as living prisoners rather than implanted with eggs – for just such a long-term plan. The modern slaves, if they eist, are said to have lost all traces of intelligence or sophistication, and rarely live beyond their late teens before serving as htcheries. Most folk hope that this rumor isn’t true and try not to think about it too much.
In any event, a canny blood should always keep in mind that despite their sophistication, High Clan xill are still evil – vengeful, selfish, sometimes backbiting, and always power-hungry.
Ecology: Xill live for approximately 50 years, reproducing twice during that time. To do so, they must impant their eggs in a living, intelligent host – only a live body provides the sustenance that the young creatures will need when born.
The eggs take four days to hatch (during which time a cure disease spell will remove the infestation), after which the larvae begin to eat their way out of their host. This horrible process takes another seven days (at this point, only a wish or limited wish can save the victim), during which time the host suffers 1d10+10 points of damage each day. Eventually, 2d8 young xill emerge from the victim, killing him instantly if he’s not in the dead-bokk already.