Xiomorn

Xiomorn

DESCRIPTION: Essentially advanced earth elementals in an insectile form, the xiomorns possess great magical powers, especially over stone and crystal. Xiomorns are tall and slender humanoid insect hybrids, with green exoskeletons, multiple insectile limbs and emerald compound eyes which glow faintly. They are perfectly adapted for life underground, being able to see in complete darkness, sense vibrations in the ground, and glide through solid rock without leaving a trace.

PREFERRED HABITAT: The xiomorn have constructed immense subterranean vaults in the Anvil and on the Prime, which are tended by small elemental creatures named katesh. Each vault is constructed to run a xiomorn experiment, which might concern the nature of psionics, aberrations, or ways to avoid the dreadful fate that has been prophesied for their race.

PHILOSOPHY / SOCIETY: A very long time ago, xiomorns were the pride of creation of Sairazul (Sunnis) herself. Being a benevolent primordial, Sairazul didn’t design the xiomorn as innately good automatons, but instead chose to give them their own free will to determine their own fate. When Sairazul was imprisoned, Ogrémoch saw an opportunity to corrupt the xiomorns to his side. He showed them visions of their future extinction at the hands of the yith race. Half of all xiomorns elected to surrender the immortal sparks which Sairazul had placed inside them to Ogrémoch, in exchange for the ability to create new xiomorns themselves, while half did not. But in the end, neither of the archomentals gained from this event. The xiomorns drifted to neutrality, and while they do assist their respective archomentals, they have become a host unto themselves, preoccupied by their own obsession with immortality, more than anything else.

ECOLOGY: Xiomorns do not have a concept of gender, cannot reproduce, and live for millenia. Most of the vaults they have created have been largely abandoned by them, especially on the Plane of Earth, where only small numbers of xiomorn remain to keep an eye on their incomprehensible experiments and command their army of slaves. Most of them have moved on to new projects, and the race is now spread thinly across the planes. Graybeards of the Fraternity of Order claim the number of xiomorn can never exceed 65,536, which seems a remarkably specific number, and is frankly the sort of screed you might expect to hear from the Guvners.

COMBAT: Xiomorns have extensive magical abilities including control of crystal, stone, magnetism and dimensions. They throw spells like disintegrate, flesh to stone, teleport and are able to summon elementals to do their bidding. They can turn their opponents into crystal, or make crystals explode with devastating shards of glassy shards. They also wield wands with weird glowing radiation which can poison victims.

VARIANTS: There are two castes of xiomorn, the Vault Builder (Creature 23) and the Vault Keeper (Creature 14). The mythic Vault Builders are masters of crystalline magic, and able to extend their own lifespan indefinitely with an ancient magical item called the Generation Stone. The Vault Keepers are a subservient caste, who are left behind by the Builders to watch over experiments while the Builders move on to invent and construct ever more bizarre vaults.

Sources

Statistics: [ Pathfinder 1e | Pathfinder 2e ]

Canonical Source: Planar Adventures [PF1e] p252; The Emerald Spire [PF1e] p158-159; Rage of Elements [PF2e] p108-109

Source: Margarita, Jon Winter-Holt