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.[5] Four common subraces of sphinx included the androsphinx, criosphinx, gynosphinx, and hieracosphinx.[6][7]
Description[]
All sphinxes had leonine bodies with great feathery wings.[3]
Ecology[]
Sphinxes tended to be very solitary creatures and were territorial.[3] Many made their lairs within the ruins of ancient civilizations or in isolated caves.[2] Alignment among sphinx subraces differed vastly; androsphinx were known for their good nature, while hieracosphinx were inherently evil.[6]
Language[]
Sphinxes spoke their own language as well as Common and Draconic.[3]
Types[]
Androsphinx[]
Androsphinxes were a male subrace of sphinx, with the body of male lions, masculine humanoid faces, and massive wings. They were physically powerful creatures with inherent magical powers and a terrifying roar.[8] While they tended to be short-tempered and terse, androsphinxes possessed good-natured ideals and always attempted to do the right thing.[6]
Gynosphinx[]
A gynosphinx was a female sphinx, with a winged female lion body and feminine humanoid facial features. While not as physically powerful as an androsphinx, the gynosphinx was still a capable combatant and possessed a number of magical powers. The gynosphinx was the sole female sphinx subrace.[6][9]
Gynosphinxes preferred to pursue intellectual ideals. They loved to collect knowledge and ancient lore, and delight in solving riddles, puzzles and mental challenges.[6]
Other Types[]
- Canisphinx — Jackal-headed, predatory sphinxes[10]
- Criosphinx — Male ram-headed sphinxes with low intelligence and generally had the sole aim of finding a gynosphinx mate.[6]
- Dracosphinx — Evil, a red dragon-headed sphinx that lived on bleak cliff sites.[11]
- Hieracosphinx — Evil, savage and animal-intelligent hawk-headed sphinxes. [6]
- Luposphinx — Wolf-headed, forest-dwelling sphinxes[12]
- Saurosphinx — Reptilian-faced, conversational sphinxes[10]
Notable Sphinxes[]
- Firaleene, an ancient sphinx who lived inside the consciousness of the primordial Achazar.[13]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Further Reading[]
- Johnathan M. Richards (February 1998). “The Ecology of the Sphinx”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #244 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 84–89.
Appearances[]
- Adventures
- Desert of Desolation • Shadowdale • A Dozen and One Adventures • Temple of the Sky God
- Referenced only
- Fires of Zatal
- Novels
- Prince of Lies • Swordmage
- Referenced only
- Masquerades • The Abduction • The Crimson Gold • Heirs of Prophecy • Ascendancy of the Last
- Board Games
- Mertwig's Maze • Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins
External links[]
Sphinx article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 245. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 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.
- ↑ Rob Heinsoo, Stephen Schubert (May 19, 2009). Monster Manual 2 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 188. ISBN 0786995101.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ Don Turnbull (1981). Fiend Folio. (TSR Hobbies), p. 119. ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.
- ↑ Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 324. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 325. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Rydia Q. Vielehr (December 2009). Pyrophobia (MINI1-5). Living Forgotten Realms (RPGA), p. 18.
Connections[]
Androsphinx • Criosphinx • Gynosphinx • Hieracosphinx
Minor Subspecies
Canisphinx • Luposphinx • Saurosphinx
Related Creatures
Dracosphinx