Xiuh coatl

Xiuh coatl

(Creature)

Rare

NG

Large

Beast

Coatl

Level

12

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary 3, pg(s). 57

Type

Outsider
(native)

CR

12

Environment

Any mountain

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: For Queen & Empire, pg(s). 86f.

Xiuh coatls, pronounced "shoo", are coatls that are much rarer, fiercer, and more powerful than their more common quetz coatl cousins. Xiuh coatls seek out evil creatures and offer them a chance of redemption, ruthlessly executing its punishment on those who refuse this offer or those who cannot be redeemed.

Appearance

Xiuh coatls look like winged serpents draped in electricity and glowing with flames. The colour of their feathers spans the entire rainbow's spectrum. Their tail ends in a small flame that moves and flickers according to their moods. A typical xiuh coatl is 20 feet long with a wingspan of 25 feet, and weighs 4,500 pounds. The flight of a xiuh coatl can be heard from a mile away, resembling a rain of fire and thunderstorm.

Ecology

The breath of a xiuh coatl is a fearsome ray of fire and lightning that is used not only to attack foes but also to burn away corruption.

Xiuh coatls are powerful psychics, and use their power to locate evil creatures. Once it finds such a creature, the xiuh coatl will send it prophetic dreams to dissuade it from evil. If this is not successful, the xiuh coatl then visits the creature, offers to share its knowledge of virtue, and shows the creature the differences in its life if it chooses good or evil. Those that continue evildoing are ruthlessly destroyed by the xiuh coatl.

Xiuh coatls are long-lived, and some have been living since the Age of Legend. Xiuh coatls can only mate once in their life and females lay a single ash-black egg, which hatches into from one to ten offspring. Xiuh coatls usually feed on large wildlife like deer or wild horses, and sometimes they hunt large creatures dangerous to people or the environment, like rocs or dragons.

Habitat

Xiuh coatls are solitary creatures and nest in remote places like volcanoes or storm-wracked summits where few would disturb them. Abandoned xiuh coatl nests have a tendency to attract fire and lightning elementals. Xiuh coatls are extremely rare on Avistan, but are more common in central and southern Garund as well as central Arcadia.

Society

Xiuh coatls sometimes bond closely with another of their kind; the closest such relationships are between a parent and an only child. These relationships can last as long as millennia, but are universally temporary before the xiuh coatls return to solitude. Against powerful evil foes, xiuh coatls can acquire powerful allies, but they always move on once the evil has been vanquished.

Xiuh coatls are sometimes called on by the gods Sarenrae, Shelyn, Desna, and Kazutal to destroy evil creatures or aid individuals in need. These individuals are gifted weapons by their patrons, without being aware that these weapons are actually transformed xiuh coatls.

External links

• Xiuhcoatl (real-world mythological character) on Wikipedia