Tlincalli

Tlincallis, also know as manscorpions, scorpion folk, scorpionmen, and stingers, were terrifying monstrous humanoids with the lower bodies of giant scorpions.

Description
The upper part of a tlincalli was the upper body of a human. The lower part of the tlincalli's body was of a six-legged giant scorpion. Plates of armor made from bone covered the body from the upper abdomen down. Tlincallis were completely hairless. Their hands were not dexterous, as they had two large fingers and a thumb. Their human-like facial features were handsome&mdash;except for their segmented, insect-like eyes&mdash;and exuded calm.

Combat
Tlincallis were organized warriors. As they frequently patrolled their territory, squadrons of six to eight warriors were most often encountered by other creatures. The leader of the squadron was also the only spellcaster in the group. The favored weapons of tlincallis were bolas and macas.

A standard tlincalli tactic was to engage an opponent from afar, using their bolas or other ranged weapons. Afterwards, they charged and surrounded their target, engaging in fierce melee combat. In addition to using a maca, they used their sharp claws and strong tail to knock opponents off their feet. The stinger at the end of their tails delivered a fatal venom. Additionally, their bony armor was covered in poison.

Another favored tactic was to engage an enemy from below (or if fighting underground, occasionally from above). They possessed a supernatural ability to drive their bodies straight through solid earth, suffering minor injuries in the process but granting them the ability to strike swiftly and without warning from unexpected directions.

Both female and male tlincallis were trained and skilled in combat.

Abilities
Tlincalli spellcasters used divine spells, including hishnashaper spells. They were capable of detecting the vibrations of a walking creature up to away.

Society
Tlincalli lived in tribes, some tribes settling and founding cities and some tribes nomadic. Dwarves and humans were often captured by tlincalli. They were used as slave labor in tlincalli mines and smithies. Nomadic tribes were scavengers, stealing what they required from their victims.

Tlincalli culture was philosophical and sophisticated, if a bit difficult for most other peoples to understand. For example, they would perform complex divination rituals in which groups of males and females would use their tremorsense from underground to map out arbitrary grids on the surface, and then lie in wait for days as they studied the patterns of living creatures moving through the grid and connecting ostensibly mystical locations. Based on the results of their seemingly random observations, they might launch an attack or decide how to treat the next stranger they met, always with absolute confidence in their actions.

An even more bizzaire tradition was one in which tlincallis would sometimes engage in what appeared to be sudden and inexplicable mass suicide. These events were called "stinger races" by observers, and featured groups of up to twenty tlincallis&mdash;almost entirely males&mdash;who would leave their nests and just run as fast they could&mdash;stopping for nothing but to defend themselves from attack&mdash;until they all dropped dead.

Religion
Tlincallis were pessimistic and also had a devout belief in omens and portents. They were ferocious fighters due to their belief that their death was predetermined. Their belief in divination was so strong that the ruling caste of a tlincalli settlement were diviners.

About one in five tlincallis were clerics. The tlincalli pantheon contained at least nine major and two minor deities. They used their own zodiac system, which was composed of eleven symbols. About one in five tlincallis were clerics. Little was known about the tlincalli religion, but it was understood that Huoxopica and his wife Ixtilli were the two main gods and Corantllil was the tlincalli god of continual labor. The clerics of some tlincalli tribes worshiped Nula, Plutoq, or Zaltec.

Ecology
Tlincallis were obligate carnivores and consumed any meat they could find, either freshly killed or carrion left behind by another predator. Tlincallis were not hunted by other predators. Tlincallis laid their eggs in a dark, warm nest, usually surrounded by cacti. The eggs had firm shells on which a powerful poison was found. Any creature who came into contact with an egg became paralyzed. When the eggs were about to hatch, tlincallis tied captives in the nests. Upon hatching, the young fed on the hapless victims.

A scholarly treatise on tlincallis was found in Tym's Monstrous Book. It contained a detailed analysis of the ecology of tlincallis.

Uses
The poisonous coating of a tlincalli's bony armor was sought after by alchemists, who extracted it and used it as a component.

History
Tlincalli originated in Maztica and eventually spread to Faerûn's Underdark. In, tlincalli diviners in Maztica created a gate and transported an expeditionary force of over a thousand of their people into the caves under Amn. The tlincalli journeyed deeper into the Underdark and founded the realm of Oaxaptupa in the abandoned dwarven kingdom of Xothaerin. They met little resistence to this incursion save for some creatures of elemental fire that had previously inhabited the ruins of Xothaerin, namely salamanders and efreeti.

Around, a unit of two thousand enslaved tlincallis was part of the army of the City of Brass. The unit was called the Black Darts, and they used javelins in battle.

By, the tlincallis had fully secured their new realm beneath Amn, and had begun sending out scouting parties to explore the nearby regions of the Underdark.

In, tlincallis erupted from the Underdark beneath Amn and attacked Murann and settlements along the Trade Way from the Cloud Peaks to the Forest of Tethir. They demanded recompense for all treasure looted from Maztica.

Trivia
When a tlincalli was used in heraldic designs, it represented readiness and betrayal.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Shattered Mask • Star of Cursrah
 * Video Games
 * Dungeon Hack • Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide