Xargath

Not to be confused with the Xaghash, who serve the Darklords.

A Xargath is a dragon-like sea monster of the Kaltersee. It has been known to sink whole ships and has rendered fishing in these waters virtually impossible.

Biology

Xargath are colossal in size, exceeding 120 feet end-to-end. They have silvery scales, webbed feet, and claws as long as a mammoth's tusk. They possess razor-sharp fangs and eyes ablaze with eerie green fire, which are protected by impenetrable corneas. Their ear canals, however, are a rare weakness.

When Xargath age, they make their final voyage to the western shores of Aarnak Island, whose skeletons litter the coastline in haunting fashion.

History

The Xargath were created by the Nadziranim serving Darklord Zhanshal to protect the seas around Aarnak. However, they have expanded their territory due to the abundance of sealife in the Kaltersee, attacking Sommlending fishermen for a century.

In the gamebooks

During the events of The Masters of Darkness, Lone Wolf encounters and defeats a Xargath while sailing for Aarnak. The Xargath can be instantly-defeated by firing an Arrow into its ear, with an extremely high Random Number Table roll (at least 9 after all bonuses). If the arrow misses, or Lone Wolf does not possess a Bow and Arrow, or the Sommerswerd the Xargath then attacks the ship and gets its head stuck. Not attacking the Xargath results in instant death as the ship is torn apart, so the Xargath must be attacked; in this position, however, this battle is easy, as the Xargath has a very low Combat Skill. If, for some reason, Lone Wolf chooses to evade this combat anyway, this also results in death.

Xargath
Combat Skill 10, Endurance 100
Immune to: Mindblast
↪The Masters of Darkness: §35

If Lone Wolf possesses the Sommerswerd and chooses to use it instead of a Bow, unsheathing it attracts the Xargath's attention immediately. This combat is significantly more difficult than the above scenario, and closer to an average combat situation in this book.

Xargath
Combat Skill 32, Endurance 100
Immune to: Mindblast
↪The Masters of Darkness: §192

In the original books, the non-Sommerswerd Xargath fight was even easier, with the Xargath only possessing 10 Endurance points rather than 100. In the Project Aon versions, which use the values above, the errata states that Project Aon decided to modify this fight, as the fight was otherwise a foregone conclusion, and the option to evade suggests that this fight should have had some element of difficulty.

Both Xargath encounters have the highest Endurance points of any enemy in any Lone Wolf gamebook.