Xorn

Xorn

Xaren, Crystalline Sentinel

DESCRIPTION: One of the most well-known creatures of the Plane of Earth is, of course, the xorn. These three-sided stone-based beings biologically resemble galeb duhr, yet they are much more active, and insatiable. Xorns are sapient and surprisingly communicable.

PREFERRED HABITAT: The xorns prefer to live on the Plane of Elemental Earth, where they hunt gemstones. While they would surely have richer pickings on the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Minerals, they are mercilessly hunted there by Quasi-Elementals, and few xorn apparently think this is worth the risk.

PHILOSOPHY / SOCIETY: Xorns often form small nomadic communities. Sometimes these communities even ally, forming small, constantly moving “kingdoms” that may even have a central palace.

ECOLOGY: Xorns feed on gems and crystals, which they can “smell” (or, more accurately, they use their tremorsense to locate resonant soundwaves which are indicative to crystalline structures). Any gems will do, but generally xorn prefer the more pure and symmetrical ones. They will even consume crysmals, and hungry xorns are known to attack galeb duhr and eat their innards too. Xorn leave behind tunnels and pockets where they have completely consumed a mineral.

COMBAT: Xorns avoid attacking non-crystalline creatures and instead try to barter with them, offering to exchange knowledge for gems. Few creatures willingly attack xorns, and even dao just tell them to stay away—unless they are hunting xorn for sport, or keeping them for slaves. Superstition on the Plane of Earth says it’s bad luck to kill a xorn—but this could just be screen put about by the xorn themselves. When xorn are forced to fight, they like to surprise opponents by blending into stone and then leaping out.

VARIANTS: Xaren are a subspecies of xorn, who can digest metals, even magical ones. They are smaller than xorn, but their metallic hides are more durable. Dao also hunt xaren, although they do not seem to enslave them. Xorn and xaren are indifferent to one another. Crystalline sentinels are a more dangerous sub-species of xorn, who carry a curse which slowly petrifies afflicted creatures into solid crystal.

Sources

FULL STATISTICS FOR: [ AD&D 2e | D&D 3e | D&D 5e ] [ PF2e ]

CANONICAL SOURCE: Monstrous Manual [2e] p367; Monster Manual [3e] p260-261; Monster Manual [5e] p338

SOURCE: Margarita and Jon Winter-Holt