Xella Blacktongue is a hexblood armorer and merchant obsessed with Aeor. He is played by Alexander Ward.
Description[]
Xella is a tall and lean man with light purple skin, black hair up in a messy bun, double-proned pointed ears, black teeth, and glowing green pupils that are almost divided in two; despite his fey-looking appearance it is still clear he was human once. He wears round spectacles with a chain, and ornate studded leather armor with mechanical modifcations, including one connected to a gem in the center of his left palm.
He is a cautious but curious man, very focused in his area of interest.[3]
History[]
According to the story he told the Re-Slayer's Take, when he was very young his parents gave him up for adoption to a night hag, Agatha, and he grew up near her influence for years (until his late teens, according to Farah Vallari's estimation), causing him to be transformed into something new; he lived in her lair, in a very small room in which he kept toys and drawings. Eventually he became a talented artificer and joined the League of Aeorian Historians, developing a great interest in Aeor and gathering as much knowledge and historical evidence as he could.
Around 839 PD[4] Xella and his bodyguard, traveled to the Spectrum Gorge to investigate, and stayed with the people of the Embersmith & Embersmith Mining Company. Eventually, during a mission Sasha and ten other people were attacked by a magma landshark in the mines, and they didn't return. Xella had given his bodyguard an enchanted tooth, so for a time he waited, not wanting to waste its magic in vain; when he finally did, to see through Sasha's eyes, he saw only fire, concluding that she was trapped inside the monster.
Two weeks after Sasha's disappearance there was a landslide in the Spectrum Gorge, and from the building, Xella saw the landshark attacking an adventuring party. He quickly Disguised himself as one of the dwarves of the mine, and sent his bat construct to guide them to him. However, when they arrived, despite his attempt pretending to be a miner, Heera Agneheart noticed he was using an illusion, so he revealed his true appearance. After openly expressing his curiosity about Frog the Aeormaton, he talked to the group about his job in the area and his personal origins, trying to soften them at first, although Heera told him that they wanted to deal with him even if he had connections to a hag. He guided them to a workshop, where he catched a piece of metal that threw itself towards Frog; when noticing the magnetic force pulling it, he let it go, seeing how the body of the Aeormaton absorbed it, and theorized that said piece woudl allow Frog to Identify things. The adventurers reached an agreement with Xella, by which they would defeat the landshark and do business with him later if he helped them, and he agreed.
After a short rest the artificer guided the Re-Slayers through a tunnel towards a river that the monster avoided, and asked them to stay close to him, since his magical boots could protect them from tremors; as they were walking he took the chance to ask Frog stuff, and at first she was happy to share information about her mechanical nature, but seemed uncomfortable when Xella suggested to examine her, so he clarified they wouldn't do anything she wasn't comfortable with. In that moment Heera Commanded him to sit, and his armor immediately activated, producing insect-like legs to keep him standing.[5] When they saw that purple fungus was obstructing the course of the underground river, Xella agreed that they should destroy it to access the water, and Heera decided to trust him, freeing him from the effects of her spell. Once Timpani confirmed that magic worked against the fungus, the artificer used his armor to shoot a lightning blast against it, although he needed to shoot a second time in order to create a small opening. He stayed there with Frog for a bit, but when the landshark appeared and part of the group started fighting it, he joined them, shooting acid at it but getting burned by its breath (although Frog restored the river's current seconds later, putting out the fire). Timpani used Cure Wounds on Xella, who attacked the monster again, damaging its last marionette bulb before. The artificer cast Faerie Fire on the undead landshark, and Heera defeated it shortly after, freeing Sasha.
Since the bodyguard wasn't waking up Xella asked for help, and after Frog realized a spell was weaking her, Timpani was able to heal her; when Sasha was conscious again, she was alarmed but calmed down after confirming Xella was ok. The artificer used the Guardian Mode of his armor as he helped Sasha walk out of the mines, and his mechanical bat immediately started checking on her when they returned to the workshop. Since the Re-Slayers had helped, Xella rewarded them with three items: a Quick Coil Wand for Heera, Graviturgy Boots for Farah, and a Scrapfinding Compass for Frog (so she could find more Aeorian pieces by herself). Remembering their previous conversation the monk told Xella that he could still examine her if he wanted, but he politely refused, telling her he had other priorities at the moment. Before they left, the artificer told the adventurers about strange things happening in a gnomish village nearby, and adviced them that in order to work well together they should avoid keeping secrets from each other. After that, Xella and Sasha stayed together, and he declared he wanted to go to a nice place for once.[6]
Relationships[]
Agatha[]
Xella was given to this night hag when he was young and grew up around her for years, becoming a hexblood because of her, although in his adulthood he seemed ashamed of admitting it. He lived with the witch in a hovel under a dead willow tree, and she brought the young Xella with her whenever she made deals with other people.[7] During a time he truly saw her as his mother, and portrayed her as such in his drawings.[8]
League of Aeorian Historians[]
Xella is a member of this sociaty, focused on finding unusual artifacts from the flying city of Aeor, sharing most of their interests. A half-orc warrior named Sasha, acts as his bodyguard, and he seemed baffled when they described her as "his Sasha";[9] after Sasha was rescued she seemed very concerned about Xella's safety, calming down only after feeling he was alright. She blushed when Frog wondered if the artificer's priority was the half-orc herself.[10]
Professor Alexander Parade might also be a member of this society, despite his unfounded speculations about Aeor and its denizens. He apparently met Xella when he was younger.[11]
Character information[]
Notable items[]
- Spectacles
- Studded leather armor with modifications
- Micah the mechanical bat
Abilities[]
Hexblood abilities[]
Unless otherwise noted, the following abilities are assumed from the standard Dungeons & Dragons materials:
- Darkvision
- Eerie Token: As a bonus action Xella can harmlessly take a body part (like hair, a tooth, or a nail) and make it magical until the next long rest. During that time if another person holds the token and is within 10 miles, Xella can talk to them sending messages of up to 25 words. or trance for 1 minute and see and hear through the other person's senses, although this last option destroys the token.[12]
- Hex Magic
- Disguise Self (1/day)[13]
- Hex (1/day)

Official art of Xella and his bat, by Elaine Tipping.[art 2]
Artificer features[]
- Magical Tinkering
- Spellcasting
- Infuse Item
- Armor of Magical Strength[14]
- Artificer Specialist: Armorer
- Arcane Armor
- Armor Model
- Guardian
- Infiltrator
- Extra attack
- The Right Tool for the Job
- Tool Expertise
Artificer spells[]
Spell level | Spell | Notes |
---|---|---|
1st | Magic Missile | Armorer Spell |
1st | Thunderwave | Armorer Spell |
1st | Faerie Fire[15] | |
2nd | Mirror Image | Armorer Spell |
2nd | Shatter | Armorer Spell |
2nd | Melf's Acid Arrow[presumed] | One of his armor attacks caused an effect very similar to this spell.[16] |
Appearances and mentions[]
- The Re-Slayer's Take
- "The Masked Man" (RT2x02), mentioned only, unnamed
- "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03) (first appearance)
- "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04)
- "The Confounding Cavern" (RT2x06), mentioned only
- "The Terrible Twigmen" (RT2x11), mentioned only, unnamed
- "The Hexed Hive" (RT2x12), mentioned only, unnamed
- "The Decomposing Domicile" (RT2x13), mentioned only
- "The Cursed Contract" (RT2x16), mentioned only
Quotations[]
- (to Timpani Guff, so he would help Sasha) "Please, I... Can't fix living things."[17]
Trivia[]
- His name could derive from the Kurdish xela (famine/hunger).
- He is the first known Exandrian hexblood.
- Devexian talked to Frog about him and his reputation, but it is unclear if they met personally.[18]
- Since Xella told Frog how rare it was to see an Aeormaton alive,[19] it implies that either he didn't meet Devexian directly or he wasn't aware of his nature.
- During the battle against the magma bulette Xella cast a spell and then hid. It is unclear if this was meant to confirm some levels in rogue (since that class can hide as a bonus action) or if the GMs allowed him to hide regardless of how he used his action in that turn.[20]
- His old room had some inanimated twigmen holding toy weapons. The way they were presented suggests they might had been either the prototypes for the twigmen or toys the hexblood made himself imitating Agatha's creations.
References[]
- ↑ Farah judged he had spent his teenage years with the hag, implying he no longer looks like a teenager.
- ↑ See "The Terrible Twigmen" (RT2x11). In 839 PD Alexander Parade said he had met Xella as a child thirty years before, and described him as irritating and presumably old enough to understand him when he told him to shut up.
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03).
- ↑ George Primavera confirmed the date on Discord. See a photo of his answer.
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03).
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
- ↑ See "The Terrible Twigmen" (RT2x11).
- ↑ See "The Hexed Hive" (RT2x12).
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03).
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
- ↑ See "The Terrible Twigmen" (RT2x11).
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast, Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, p. 18.
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03).
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03). The armor prevented him from sitting, and one of the purposes of this infusion is to avoid the prone condition.
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
- ↑ See "The Masked Man" (RT2x02).
- ↑ See "The Dire Descent" (RT2x03).
- ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
Art:
- ↑ Official art of Xella and his bat, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Official art of Xella and his bat, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.