✒ OOC Name: Dragon Contact: → AIM: Dragon of Anger → Plurk:dragonoflife Do you play anyone in Myth Making?: No.
✒ IC Name: Xykon Canon: The Order of the Stick Canon Point: Stip 899 Age: 107
Personality: Xykon is Evil with a capital E. Not 'troubled', not 'tragic', not in the least bit sympathetic. Xykon is evil in every possible way, small and large. He is absolutely cruel and willfully sadistic. All things being equal, he will inevitably choose to cause suffering and torment to any creature, including his own allies. In periods of adversity, his team spirit rises, but once he's back in control he ignores anything and anyone that doesn't entertain him -- and the only thing that really entertains him is suffering.
Born a sorcerer, Xykon has no patience for the intelligentsia of wizards, who look down on those who have magic come naturally to them instead of earning their power through study and dedication. Nor does he have patience for tactics, strategy, or planning. He knows this! He is well aware of his general impatience and willful ignorance of these things. In his living years this caused him a great deal of trouble, and led to him really accomplishing very little of substantial note, but after his transformation to undeath he came to realize that it was simply possibly to blast through anything if you're strong enough -- and thus far Xykon has certainly been strong enough to overcome almost any opposition.
The only other thing that truly matters to Xykon is style. It isn't enough to do horrible deeds and pursue ultimate goals -- you have to do them with pizzazz. If he can time the use of a spell to add perfect drama to a situation, he will. If he can showcase his power with some overwhelming display of force, he will. He cracks jokes, delivers one-liners, pauses battles to flaunt his greatness, and lectures the heroes on their flaws and weaknesses while casually ignoring their abilities. But when he's put on the ropes, Xykon tosses style out the window; winning is much more important than losing with style. In fact, Xykon believes the real key to power is simply how far you're willing to debase yourself to win. As he himself points out, he let himself be turned into a lich just to win a battle. Pride, standards, decency, refusing to take a winning action for any reason whatsoever -- these are weakness.
Outside of those moments, though, Xykon is rarely serious. He's on top of the world and he knows it, even with a minor setback here and there. He's got power, style, and everything on his side that matters. And eternity to enjoy it. Why shouldn't he have some fun?
Despite all these advantages, Xykon is no deep thinker. Unless he's being very serious (which is rare), he does things to amuse himself before anything. That means he will cheerfully slaughter his own minions and anger his own allies just for a laugh. He is virtually incapable of making friends; his allies are essentially chained to him by his manipulation, which means they have no qualms about manipulating him in turn if they believe they can get away with it.
Going along with his desire for amusement, he also plays the role of evil villain incredibly straight, including deliberately invoking classic tropes and flaws in that personality. Though by all means a massive threat when he has his act together, he generally prefers to screw around and have fun -- which has massively bitten him on the butt a couple of times in canon, causing him to lose his body because he turned his back on one of the heroes, and much later to lose his phylactery because he'd been toying around with and torturing a paladin. He once conducted a job interview in the middle of battle just because he could, then bragged about it by sending the new hire down to his ally with a note specifically for that purpose.
Interestingly, for all his power, Xykon is absolutely terrible at finding anything to do with it without help. During his entire lifetime he accomplished absolutely nothing of note, despite amassing a massive amount of sorcerous power. Only when an evil scheme of sufficient power was dropped in his lap did he actually manage to become a threat to the world.
As a side note, Xykon's home world is explicitly governed by the 3.5 rules of Dungeons and Dragons, and its inhabitants know that. Even though this one isn't, Xykon has absolutely no problem referencing rules mechanics or abilities (such as referring to an enchanted sword as +5, or noting that he has a +8 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks in so many words).
Xykon is a Epiclichsorcerer under D&D 3.5 rules. The links contain all the details necessary, but some expansion:
As a lich, Xykon is undead and immortal. He is able to endure a massive level of punishment (d12 Hit Dice), can see in the dark, cannot be affected by powers which affect the mind, is immune to poison, paralysis, sleep, stunning, disease, and death effects; cannot be beaten up (nonlethal damage) or weakened (ability damage), and doesn't get tired. Positive energy harms him; negative energy heals him. Any effect that would attack his vitality or health (transformation or petrification, for example) he automatically ignores unless it could also affect an inanimate object. He does not breath, eat, or sleep. He is immune to cold and electricity damage and hostile shapechanging effects. He takes substantially less damage from any physical attack which is not both magical and bludgeoning.
(These are all basic undead 'physical' traits, so they'll still be applicable in-game.)
Under normal circumstances, if destroyed, Xykon would regenerate from his phylactery. Because he does not have his phylactery in-game, normal death rules would apply.
Xykon does not seem to have a fear aura in canon, despite that being a lich ability. He very much does have the ability to paralyze with a touch (although it does not appear to be permanent), as well as harm with pure negative energy.
As a sorcerer, Xykon knows a list of spells and may cast any of them he desires, until he has expended all the spell slots he has available for spells of that level. Canonically, his spell list is as follows (taken from either a provided list, or spells he has been observed casting or showing the results of):
Known Feats: Craft Wonderous Item, Maximize Spell, Still Spell, Craft Ring, Craft Ring (Epic)
Fairy Tale Role: Genie of the Lamp (Aladdin) Fairy Tale Powers or Abilities:
Xykon can grant wishes. Straight up grant wishes, so long as they don't involve messing with rocs or undoing the wok of another genie. The 'owner' of the lamp, which is to say the person physically holding it, must state the wish out loud in Xykon's presence. Making a wish doesn't require an explicit 'I wish' statement, but the statement does need to be directed to Xykon (although what is 'addressed' to him is up to his own discretion).
Xykon, of course, is as chaotic evil as they come, so every single one of his granted wishes will pretty much take a total jackass-genie interpretation unless it's very self-serving. (From an OOC perspective, this is a very significant power-balance on the ability, because frankly there shouldn't be any wish made without a heaping handful of hilarious regret.)
Xykon is bound to a lamp, which he is forced to dwell within until the lamp is rubbed. (For playability purposes, he'll still be able to use his network story book while imprisoned.) Once the lamp is rubbed, he can emerge to do the bidding of the owner, and (again for playability purposes) hang out outside of the lamp until such time as it no longer has an owner or until he is commanded to return to it.
An owner is not limited to three wishes, but may make as many as they want.
Personal Items: Robes, a spell component pouch (which contains spell components in effectively unlimited supply, thanks to the mechanics of D&D which does not require them to be tracked), a Ring of Energy Immunity (fire) (nonfunctional in-game, of course), and a crown that has no magical power but radiates purest evil from long association with Xykon.
First Person Sample: Seriously, what the hell.
I'm not sure what irritates me most -- being imprisoned in a tiny formless void, being stripped of the henchmen and cronies I spent so long digging my metaphorical fingers into the brains of, having only a quill and a book straight out of another intellectual property referencing secret chambers for company, or the fact that I'm so bored I'm actually using that book.
'Slave' of the lamp isn't very politically correct, is it? I'm pretty certain a liberal watchdog group should be campaigning for my release out there. The fez that came with the gig is pretty snappy, though...
Third Person Sample: "It's a deed." When his ostensible 'master' didn't take the rolled-up paper from his hand, Xykon practically shoved it at him. "To Castle Grimfalcon. Approximately twelve thousand miles from the nearest gate point to the Prime Material Plane it's on, but currently all yours just like you wanted. I distinctly heard you say, 'I wish I had a castle.' Well, now you do!" Xykon slapped his master on the back roughly, extending one bony arm in an invitation to view the imagined magnificence of his granted wish.
"Oh, I depleted your wallet and investments to pay off the back taxes to the Kingdom of Skull-Eating Malice, in which the castle is located. One of the better names for a country I've heard. And there's a small dragon infestation in the courtyard, but nothing above wyrm age. And I'm pretty sure the ancient curse of haunting and misfortune only applies to the owner if they're in the same multiverse, which there's a very real if tiny chance we might not be."
Leaving his master to his slack-jawed horror, Xykon stepped a few feet ahead of him, then with an unzipping motion opened a black, red-rimmed portal to the darkest depths of hell itself. From the infernal void beyond, several massive hounds of unfathomable size and truly malefic appearance lunged at the portal, baying like screaming souls and snarling with the desire to rip flesh from bones and souls from bodies. Fire and ash fell from their mouths as they struggled to push past each other into the mortal world. "Now, let's pick out that puppy you wanted."
Xykon | The Order of the Stick | Not Reserved
Name: Dragon
Contact:
→ AIM: Dragon of Anger
→ Plurk:
Do you play anyone in Myth Making?: No.
✒ IC
Name: Xykon
Canon: The Order of the Stick
Canon Point: Stip 899
Age: 107
Personality: Xykon is Evil with a capital E. Not 'troubled', not 'tragic', not in the least bit sympathetic. Xykon is evil in every possible way, small and large. He is absolutely cruel and willfully sadistic. All things being equal, he will inevitably choose to cause suffering and torment to any creature, including his own allies. In periods of adversity, his team spirit rises, but once he's back in control he ignores anything and anyone that doesn't entertain him -- and the only thing that really entertains him is suffering.
Born a sorcerer, Xykon has no patience for the intelligentsia of wizards, who look down on those who have magic come naturally to them instead of earning their power through study and dedication. Nor does he have patience for tactics, strategy, or planning. He knows this! He is well aware of his general impatience and willful ignorance of these things. In his living years this caused him a great deal of trouble, and led to him really accomplishing very little of substantial note, but after his transformation to undeath he came to realize that it was simply possibly to blast through anything if you're strong enough -- and thus far Xykon has certainly been strong enough to overcome almost any opposition.
The only other thing that truly matters to Xykon is style. It isn't enough to do horrible deeds and pursue ultimate goals -- you have to do them with pizzazz. If he can time the use of a spell to add perfect drama to a situation, he will. If he can showcase his power with some overwhelming display of force, he will. He cracks jokes, delivers one-liners, pauses battles to flaunt his greatness, and lectures the heroes on their flaws and weaknesses while casually ignoring their abilities. But when he's put on the ropes, Xykon tosses style out the window; winning is much more important than losing with style. In fact, Xykon believes the real key to power is simply how far you're willing to debase yourself to win. As he himself points out, he let himself be turned into a lich just to win a battle. Pride, standards, decency, refusing to take a winning action for any reason whatsoever -- these are weakness.
Outside of those moments, though, Xykon is rarely serious. He's on top of the world and he knows it, even with a minor setback here and there. He's got power, style, and everything on his side that matters. And eternity to enjoy it. Why shouldn't he have some fun?
Despite all these advantages, Xykon is no deep thinker. Unless he's being very serious (which is rare), he does things to amuse himself before anything. That means he will cheerfully slaughter his own minions and anger his own allies just for a laugh. He is virtually incapable of making friends; his allies are essentially chained to him by his manipulation, which means they have no qualms about manipulating him in turn if they believe they can get away with it.
Going along with his desire for amusement, he also plays the role of evil villain incredibly straight, including deliberately invoking classic tropes and flaws in that personality. Though by all means a massive threat when he has his act together, he generally prefers to screw around and have fun -- which has massively bitten him on the butt a couple of times in canon, causing him to lose his body because he turned his back on one of the heroes, and much later to lose his phylactery because he'd been toying around with and torturing a paladin. He once conducted a job interview in the middle of battle just because he could, then bragged about it by sending the new hire down to his ally with a note specifically for that purpose.
Interestingly, for all his power, Xykon is absolutely terrible at finding anything to do with it without help. During his entire lifetime he accomplished absolutely nothing of note, despite amassing a massive amount of sorcerous power. Only when an evil scheme of sufficient power was dropped in his lap did he actually manage to become a threat to the world.
As a side note, Xykon's home world is explicitly governed by the 3.5 rules of Dungeons and Dragons, and its inhabitants know that. Even though this one isn't, Xykon has absolutely no problem referencing rules mechanics or abilities (such as referring to an enchanted sword as +5, or noting that he has a +8 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks in so many words).
History: Perhaps in wiki form?
Canon Abilities or Powers:
Xykon is a Epic lich sorcerer under D&D 3.5 rules. The links contain all the details necessary, but some expansion:
As a lich, Xykon is undead and immortal. He is able to endure a massive level of punishment (d12 Hit Dice), can see in the dark, cannot be affected by powers which affect the mind, is immune to poison, paralysis, sleep, stunning, disease, and death effects; cannot be beaten up (nonlethal damage) or weakened (ability damage), and doesn't get tired. Positive energy harms him; negative energy heals him. Any effect that would attack his vitality or health (transformation or petrification, for example) he automatically ignores unless it could also affect an inanimate object. He does not breath, eat, or sleep. He is immune to cold and electricity damage and hostile shapechanging effects. He takes substantially less damage from any physical attack which is not both magical and bludgeoning.
(These are all basic undead 'physical' traits, so they'll still be applicable in-game.)
Under normal circumstances, if destroyed, Xykon would regenerate from his phylactery. Because he does not have his phylactery in-game, normal death rules would apply.
Xykon does not seem to have a fear aura in canon, despite that being a lich ability. He very much does have the ability to paralyze with a touch (although it does not appear to be permanent), as well as harm with pure negative energy.
As a sorcerer, Xykon knows a list of spells and may cast any of them he desires, until he has expended all the spell slots he has available for spells of that level. Canonically, his spell list is as follows (taken from either a provided list, or spells he has been observed casting or showing the results of):
0th level: Ray of Frost, 8x unknown
1st level: Magic Missle, Burning Hands, 3x unknown
2nd level: Shatter, 4x unknown
3rd level: Lightning Bolt, Protection from Energy, 2x unknown
4th level: Animate Dead, Greater Invisibility, Resilient Sphere, Stoneskin
5th level: Cloudkill, Overland Flight, Symbol of Pain, Xykon's Moderately Escapable Forcecage (Estimated spell level. The spell creates bars of force around one humanoid creature which anchor themselves in the ground.)
6th level: Contingency, Unknown x2
7th level: Finger of Death, Mass Hold Person, Greater Teleport
8th level: Symbol of Insanity, Ghostform (no link available, but basically does exactly what it sounds like), Unknown
9th level: Energy Drain, Meteor Swarm, Soul Bind
Epic level: Superb Dispelling (ludicrously high chance to dispel magic effects and suppress magic items), Epic Mage Armor (shields the caster with invisible force, making them near-impossible to hit), Cloister (he can't cast Cloister, he doesn't have the focus he needs for it).
Known Feats: Craft Wonderous Item, Maximize Spell, Still Spell, Craft Ring, Craft Ring (Epic)
Fairy Tale Role: Genie of the Lamp (Aladdin)
Fairy Tale Powers or Abilities:
Xykon can grant wishes. Straight up grant wishes, so long as they don't involve messing with rocs or undoing the wok of another genie. The 'owner' of the lamp, which is to say the person physically holding it, must state the wish out loud in Xykon's presence. Making a wish doesn't require an explicit 'I wish' statement, but the statement does need to be directed to Xykon (although what is 'addressed' to him is up to his own discretion).
Xykon, of course, is as chaotic evil as they come, so every single one of his granted wishes will pretty much take a total jackass-genie interpretation unless it's very self-serving. (From an OOC perspective, this is a very significant power-balance on the ability, because frankly there shouldn't be any wish made without a heaping handful of hilarious regret.)
Xykon is bound to a lamp, which he is forced to dwell within until the lamp is rubbed. (For playability purposes, he'll still be able to use his network story book while imprisoned.) Once the lamp is rubbed, he can emerge to do the bidding of the owner, and (again for playability purposes) hang out outside of the lamp until such time as it no longer has an owner or until he is commanded to return to it.
An owner is not limited to three wishes, but may make as many as they want.
Personal Items: Robes, a spell component pouch (which contains spell components in effectively unlimited supply, thanks to the mechanics of D&D which does not require them to be tracked), a Ring of Energy Immunity (fire) (nonfunctional in-game, of course), and a crown that has no magical power but radiates purest evil from long association with Xykon.
First Person Sample: Seriously, what the hell.
I'm not sure what irritates me most -- being imprisoned in a tiny formless void, being stripped of the henchmen and cronies I spent so long digging my metaphorical fingers into the brains of, having only a quill and a book straight out of another intellectual property referencing secret chambers for company, or the fact that I'm so bored I'm actually using that book.
'Slave' of the lamp isn't very politically correct, is it? I'm pretty certain a liberal watchdog group should be campaigning for my release out there. The fez that came with the gig is pretty snappy, though...
Third Person Sample: "It's a deed." When his ostensible 'master' didn't take the rolled-up paper from his hand, Xykon practically shoved it at him. "To Castle Grimfalcon. Approximately twelve thousand miles from the nearest gate point to the Prime Material Plane it's on, but currently all yours just like you wanted. I distinctly heard you say, 'I wish I had a castle.' Well, now you do!" Xykon slapped his master on the back roughly, extending one bony arm in an invitation to view the imagined magnificence of his granted wish.
"Oh, I depleted your wallet and investments to pay off the back taxes to the Kingdom of Skull-Eating Malice, in which the castle is located. One of the better names for a country I've heard. And there's a small dragon infestation in the courtyard, but nothing above wyrm age. And I'm pretty sure the ancient curse of haunting and misfortune only applies to the owner if they're in the same multiverse, which there's a very real if tiny chance we might not be."
Leaving his master to his slack-jawed horror, Xykon stepped a few feet ahead of him, then with an unzipping motion opened a black, red-rimmed portal to the darkest depths of hell itself. From the infernal void beyond, several massive hounds of unfathomable size and truly malefic appearance lunged at the portal, baying like screaming souls and snarling with the desire to rip flesh from bones and souls from bodies. Fire and ash fell from their mouths as they struggled to push past each other into the mortal world. "Now, let's pick out that puppy you wanted."