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Sphinxes were a race of intelligent, immortal magical beasts. It was said that they once held a vast kingdom given to them by the gods in an effort to teach mortals the way of truth. The sphinxes had their own methods, however, by teaching mortals to think for themselves with riddles and parables. The four most common subraces of sphinx were the androsphinx, criosphinx, gynosphinx, and hieracosphinx.[citation needed]
Description
All sphinxes had leonine bodies with great feathery wings.[2] They possessed the heads of humanoids, with their facial features being an attractive mix of humanoid and feline.[citation needed]
Ecology
Sphinxes tended to be very solitary creatures and were territorial. Many made their lairs within the ruins of ancient civilizations or in isolated caves. They were neither good nor evil, but followed their own path, just as any mortal did.[citation needed]
Language
Sphinxes spoke their own language as well as Common and Draconic.[2]
Types
Androsphinx
Androsphinxes were a male subrace of sphinx. They were physically powerful creatures with inherent magical powers and a terrifying roar. While they tended to be short-tempered and terse, androsphinxes possessed good-natured ideals and always attempted to do the right thing.[citation needed]
Gynosphinx
A gynosphinx was a female sphinx. While not as physically powerful as an androsphinx, the gynosphinx was still a capable combatant and possessesed a number of magical powers. The gynosphinx was the sole female sphinx subrace.[citation needed]
Gynosphinxes prefered to pursue intellectual ideals. They loved to collect knowledge and ancient lore, and delight in solving riddles, puzzles and mental challenges.[citation needed]
Other Types
- Astrosphinx — Malevolent sphinxes whose heads resembled goat skulls[4]
- Canisphinx — Jackal-headed, predatory sphinxes[5]
- Criosphinx — Male ram-headed sphinxes with low intelligence and generally had the sole aim of finding a gynosphinx mate
- Crocosphinx — Crocodile-headed, prefered to swim rather than fly.[5]
- Dracosphinx — Evil, crocodilian sphinxes that made their lair on river banks[6]
- Hieracosphinx — Evil, savage and animal-intelligent hawk-headed sphinxes
- Loquasphinx — Leonine, knowledge-seeking sphinxes that were particularly interested in Truespeech (the language of true names)[7]
- Luposphinx — Wolf-headed, forest-dwelling sphinxes[8]
- Saurosphinx — Reptilian-faced, conversational sphinxes[5]
- Threskisphinx — Ibis-headed, sagely sphinxes known for their skill as magical artisans[5]
Notable Individuals
- Firaleene, an ancient sphinx who lived inside the consciousness of the primordial Achazar.[9]
Appendix
See Also
External Links
Sphinx article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 245. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 232–234. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ Johnathan M. Richards (February 1998). “The Ecology of the Sphinx”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #244 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 84–89.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, Bruce R. Cordell and JD Wiker (March 2005). Sandstorm. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-3655-X.
- ↑ Scott Bennie (February 1990). Old Empires. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 978-0880388214.
- ↑ Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic (2006).
- ↑ Hopkins, Benedetti, Collins, Lent, Hankins, DeForest, Greenwood, Bowman, Offutt, Wlodarski (March 1987). “The Dragon's Bestiary: A walk through the woods”. Dragon #119 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 49–50.
- ↑ Template:Cite LFR/MINI1-05/Pyrophobia
Connections
Androsphinx • Criosphinx • Gynosphinx • Hieracosphinx
Minor Subspecies
Canisphinx • Luposphinx • Saurosphinx
Related Creatures
Dracosphinx