Ximtal

From PathfinderWiki
Ximtal
(Creature)

Ximtals are sahkils that feed on the fear of not belonging and isolation from the rest of a community or society.12

Appearance

The ximtal has a crab-like body, with a rat's head and two tentacular tails ending in hands erupting from the towering bulk. A ximtal stands 14 feet tall and weighs nearly 1,000 pounds.12

Ecology

Ximtals are manipulative schemers by nature. Caring nothing for law or chaos, a ximtal uses any perceptible weaknesses in order to gnaw positive thoughts and actions and keep strong-willed mortals from acting on beliefs that would aid the greater good. They foster the vulgar and abusive voices in all sides of a conflict, subjecting the sensible and sensitive to ill treatment from these voices. They instil dread and despair, and make people feel always alone and unacknowledged.1

Ximtals delight in working through gullible and aggressive voices. They know that if they can convince someone to use terrible tactics in pursuit of a good ideal, they can corrupt that message with fear, shame, and dread. In this way, ximtals hope to transform the righteous into fanatics.1

Ximtals sometimes focus their attention on having their ultimate targets, the truly virtuous, discredited by their own friends and allies. These people are encouraged to misrepresent the target's intended cause. They gradually corrupt people who act on spreading their ideals and motivations, leading them to treat others with aggression and contempt and make counter-productive decisions, in the hope of subverting the paragon's message, miring them in despair and isolation.12

Society

Ximtals rarely cooperate with other sahkils, preferring to spread across the multiverse. Sometimes, they work with pakalchis, and together the two can destroy not only friendships, but entire families or organisations.12

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary 6, 244–245. Paizo Inc., 2017
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary 3, 221–222. Paizo Inc., 2021