- This article about the character. For the gamebook featuring this titular character, see The Deathlord of Ixia.
The cloying stench of decay is overwhelming. As you reel backwards, you see the Deathlord raising the Deathstaff that hums with the terrible power held precariously within its haft. A ghastly laugh issues from his goat-skull face as he levels the evil weapon and directs its tip towards your heart.
— Lone Wolf prepares to fight Deathlord Ixiataaga[1]
Deathlord Ixiataaga, also known as The Deathlord of Ixia, was a Child of Agarash and ruler of the land of Ixia. Ixiataaga was Agarash's most powerful lieutenant, powerful enough to serve as master to a fellow Child of Agarash, Tagazin. He was a master of Death, having been born from it, and studied its power for ten millennia. Under Agarash's command, he conquered the land of Ixia, turning its inhabitants into a legion of undead, but was imprisoned in a secret tomb in Xaagon by the Elder Magi after his master, Agarash, was defeated. Millennia later, Naar brought the Deathstaff to Ixia to reawaken Ixiataaga, and Lone Wolf was sent to destroy him, a quest in which Lone Wolf was successful.
He is the titular character of the gamebook The Deathlord of Ixia, where the fight against him is notoriously one of the toughest in the game series.
Appearance[]
- An illustration of Deathlord Ixiataaga is available at The Deathlord of Ixia: §77.
Ixiataaga is a tall creature with a goat-like skull. In his eye sockets are fiery cores of scarlet energy and he reeks of the stench of death and corruption.
Biography[]
During the Age of Eternal Night, Agarash and his army exterminated countless races on Magnamund. Agarash captured the souls of the last standing members of each race in Greater Necris Orbs, and enslaved their souls. These Necris Orbs were used in a ritual to summon Death itself in a temple within Naaros, embodied in the form of a Deathlord — Ixiataaga.[2] After being summoned, Ixiataaga set his eyes on the land of Ixia. He summoned a foul power from beyond the Veil in the Daziarn, erasing all life from the city of Xaagon and a hundred miles around. These lives were trapped in eternal undeath, where Ixiataaga forced them to burrow into the ice and erect endless tombs and monuments to his power.[3] He also added even more souls to the same chamber where he was born.[2]
Ixiataaga went on to become Agarash's most powerful lieutenant, even serving as master to Demonlord Tagazin, a fellow Child of Agarash.[2] A master of Death, he researched the lore of death and magic for ten millennia.[3][4] Such was his mastery of the arcane, even the Elder Magi were no match for the extent of his knowledge.[3]
Despite being no match for his knowledge, as a group, they were able to work a powerful spell to seal him within a tomb in Xaagon, trapping him still in a solid block of ice. However, Ixiataaga, while trapped in Xaagon, was able to move. The Elder Magi were at least satisfied that he would never leave Xaagon, and left. However, although Ixiataaga was unable to leave Xaagon, he was able to manifest his power outside of it. He managed to lure and entrap several Drakkarim explorers to the city, and sought to continue to expand his influence or even shatter the curse sealing him in. Ironically, it was the Elder Magi's own interventions that led to Ixiataaga becoming interested in the world outside of Ixia, to their own detriment.[3]
His power was so feared, even the Darklords avoided Ixia, fearing that they could accidentally release the Deathlord, after which he would dominate and destroy them.[5] Darklord Nhorg was an exception, albeit for the wrong reasons: After gaining the favour of Archlord Vashna for eliminating a rival, he chose Gourizaga, near Ixia, as a reward, thinking that its remoteness would offer him protection against his fellow Darklords and their political squabbling. However, his domain was instead constantly raided by the undead of Ixia. Despite this, Nhorg believed that the power of Ixia held the keys to his path to becoming Archlord — which did not occur.[6][7]
In MS 5077, during the events of the The Legacy of Vashna, after Cadak's attempt to resurrect Darklord Vashna with the Deathstaff had failed, the god Naar used a Shadow Gate to bring the Deathstaff to Ixia. The weapon reanimated an undead, and the undead used the Deathstaff to free the Deathlord from his prison. During the events of The Deathlord of Ixia, the Lencians, fearful of what this would bring, summoned Lone Wolf to destroy the Deathlord before he could build an army capable of destroying all life on Magnamund. Lone Wolf successfully destroyed Ixiataaga, and with the Deathlord's demise, the land of Ixia came alive again.
Despite Ixiataaga's power, Banedon feared that the return of Archlord Vashna, merged with the Nengud-kor-Adez, was potentially a greater threat than Ixiataaga.[8]
In the gamebooks[]
The Deathlord of Ixia[]
Deathlord Ixiataaga is the titular final foe of the book The Deathlord of Ixia. He is notoriously one of the most difficult unavoidable foes in the entire series. His Combat Skill (60) is joint-second-highest (with Kekataag) in the entire series, bettered only by Vaagarash (62). However, secondary effects[note 1][note 2] means the fight against Deathlord Ixiataaga is likely to be far more difficult, even for characters brought through the entire series.
Deathlord Ixiataaga is immune to normal weapons, and must be fought with either the Sommerswerd[9] or the Power Spike.[10] Fighting with a normal weapon, even enhanced by a Dessi Stone, results in death.[11] Before combat, Lone Wolf must still face a roll of death beforehand.
- Deathlord Ixiataaga (with Deathstaff — uncharged)
Combat Skill 60, Endurance 39
Immune to: Mindblast
↪The Deathlord of Ixia: §214/§77
As Ixiataaga is undead, the Sommerswerd deals double damage to him.[4]
The Dusk of Eternal Night[]
Although Ixiataaga does not appear in The Dusk of Eternal Night, some lore about his origins is available in Naaros, should Grand Master choose to explore a chamber with a glowing blue hue.[12] A Small Onyx Key can be obtained from an Ixian dignitary's corpse, at the cost of 4 Endurance points (unless Grand Master is wearing Zaaryxa). However, this key has no use in the book, and exploring this chamber means that Grand Master misses the chance to obtain a Darkflame Zejar-Dulaga in a different chamber, which can be used to avoid a fight with Shasarak later on.[13]
Notes[]
- ↑ Most importantly, Lone Wolf gets a different Combat Results Table than Grand Master; furthermore, Lone Wolf encounters Deathlord Ixiataaga at a lower Kai rank than Grand Master encounters Vaagarash.
- ↑ The fight against a full-strength Zakhan Kimah at the end of The Cauldron of Fear is even more difficult, statistics-wise. However:
- Later editions of the book reduced Kimah's Combat Skill
- It is possible to fight a weaker Zakhan Kimah with careful choices.
References[]
- ↑ The Deathlord of Ixia: §90
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Dusk of Eternal Night: §39
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hahn, August [2004]. Lone Wolf: The Roleplaying Game, Dever, Joe, Mongoose Publishing, p. 208.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Deathlord of Ixia: Project Aon footnotes for §214
- ↑ The Deathlord of Ixia: The Story So Far...
- ↑ Hahn, August [2004] (2011). "Darklands Geography: Gourizaga — The Province of Cold Death", The Darklands, Dever, Joe, Second Edition, Mongoose Publishing.
- ↑ Hahn, August [2004] (2011). "Darklords, Demons and Gods of Darkness: Nhorg, Lord of Gourizaga", The Darklands, Dever, Joe, Second Edition, Mongoose Publishing.
- ↑ Dead in the Deep: §350
- ↑ The Deathlord of Ixia: §113
- ↑ The Deathlord of Ixia: §296
- ↑ The Deathlord of Ixia: §215
- ↑ The Dusk of Eternal Night: §49
- ↑ The Dusk of Eternal Night: §153