HYPERBOREA / Ixians

**Posted by Vetus Miles** 10/27/2023 6:06 pm

So I take it Ixians are a lost race (caste) from old earth.
The description says “dusky gray skinned”.

Is that literal? Since they are a lost race that has disappeared. That means they have a melanin that is unlike what is prevalent today?

Kinda like how Hyperboreans in game lore term don’t exist anymore. Or even Neanderthals etc?

Last edited by Vetus Miles (10/28/2023 7:50 am)

**Posted by Blackadder23** 10/28/2023 12:35 am

Whatever the Ixians looked like originally (from hints in the text, they were "Middle Easterners" of some sort), their appearance was affected from years of living in Sharath and on IX. I think a skin tone that is not exactly like anything on Earth would be an interesting idea.

**Posted by Vetus Miles** 10/28/2023 9:10 am

Blackadder23 wrote:
Whatever the Ixians looked like originally (from hints in the text, they were "Middle Easterners" of some sort), their appearance was affected from years of living in Sharath and on IX. I think a skin tone that is not exactly like anything on Earth would be an interesting idea.

Ixians remind me of REH’s Stygians. I wonder if Ixians are Antediluvial In nature like what I assume the Atlanteans, Hyperboreans, Lemurians and Mu are?

Or if they aren’t, then perhaps just a lost race like Neanderthal, denisovans etc. thus why they have a skin pigmentation that is unlike anything that is around today, if grey skin is indeed what they have.

Last edited by Vetus Miles (11/01/2023 12:41 pm)

**Posted by Blackadder23** 11/02/2023 1:39 pm

Yes, I believe the Ixians are indeed Designer Imposter Stygians (with some additional flavor from CAS stories).

**Posted by Vetus Miles** 11/02/2023 8:20 pm

Ok, so Jeff, are Ixians grey skinned as described as a lost caste/race or are they more of a human aspect as their genetics would suggest. Genetics such as Scythian, Indio-Iranian, Egyptian/Canaanite type as written in the book?

I need this for the coloring book in my head!

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 11/03/2023 7:12 am

I think this is best left to our imagination and not nailed down to some fixed thing.

It's your game and idea of Ixians

**Posted by Ghul** 11/03/2023 12:40 pm

I'm not sure I understand the question completely, but I do think that the bases have been covered well enough in the Ixian write-up of the Player's Manual on p. 117. I don't want to sound obtuse or evasive, but typically speaking, when I present something in the game that is described as possibly being one thing ("this") or possibly another thing ("that"), I'm not likely to subsequently pin down for the reader whether it is in actuality "this" or "that," because, as gizmo mentioned above, it is supposed to be left for your imagination to explore. But let us know how you decide to present Ixians in your game, because I love hearing that sort of thing. Cheers!

**Posted by Vetus Miles** 11/03/2023 7:28 pm

In our game I think we view them as Stygians essentially. Great bad guys due to their cultural ways, certainly. All steeped in black magics, esoteric ecclesiastics, lotus, and slavery. Totally great villains, love it.

My original question was are they grey skinned. That threw me off and was just seeking clarification. Nothings a game changer really, just my own curiosity and minds eye view on how they look.

**Posted by Carnby** 11/04/2023 1:50 pm

It is worth noting that both Scythium and IX are right at the edge of the world. Who knows what weird energies and radiations they get there and the effects they have on the human body, especially over thousands of years.

**Posted by Blackadder23** 11/04/2023 3:52 pm

Carnby wrote:
It is worth noting that both Scythium and IX are right at the edge of the world. Who knows what weird energies and radiations they get there and the effects they have on the human body, especially over thousands of years.

Not only that, but before moving to Scythium they spent (per the Referee's Manual) "several generations" living in Sharath, which is constantly being directly blasted by God knows what from the Black Gulf.

**Posted by demetrisathanasopoulos** 3/10/2024 7:41 pm

from 2018, when i started AS&SH, i thought of Ixians as a mix of REH's Stygians, Ancient Egyptians, Current Egyptians with a Hint of Dune Ixians.
I mean mostly Sorcerers and Clerics that worship Yig/Apep/Set or other Chaotic Gods, but also make weird machines for dark purposes.

Last edited by demetrisathanasopoulos (3/10/2024 7:45 pm)

**Posted by Blackadder23** 4/16/2024 12:32 pm

I was thinking about this topic again the other day. Here is one of the Google image search results for "dusky skin"

I think you could argue that this attractive Indian woman has a bit of a "grayish" undertone to her skin (the way people with olive skin, such as myself, have a bit of a "greenish" undertone). Obviously she's more brown than gray (just like I'm more pink than green) but I can see it. It probably wouldn't be hard to find even more "grayish" examples of dusky skin if you wanted to spend more than the three seconds I thought this was worth.

So I think Ixians could range from "dusky gray" in the sense that this could describe some actual people on Earth to "dusky gray" in a completely exotic way. I probably would fall a little more on the "exotic" side myself, but I think the interpretation here is up to the DM!

Last edited by Blackadder23 (4/16/2024 12:33 pm)

**Posted by Ghul** 4/19/2024 10:51 am

That's good, BA23, but I must admit that when I was conceptualizing the race, I had three things in mind -- Egyptians, Scythians, and Stygians from REH's Hyborian Age. As such, I had an image in mind that their skin tone looks something like this:

**Posted by Ghul** 4/19/2024 10:55 am

Blackadder23 wrote:
Carnby wrote:
It is worth noting that both Scythium and IX are right at the edge of the world. Who knows what weird energies and radiations they get there and the effects they have on the human body, especially over thousands of years.
Not only that, but before moving to Scythium they spent (per the Referee's Manual) "several generations" living in Sharath, which is constantly being directly blasted by God knows what from the Black Gulf.

Yes, the idea here is that the people and places of Hyperborea are not a static thing. Migrations, war, disease -- all of these have an impact on the various races of the realm. But then there is the weird and otherworldly impactful events and environments, such as you've cited.

**Posted by Blackadder23** 4/19/2024 1:10 pm

Ghul wrote:
That's good, BA23, but I must admit that when I was conceptualizing the race, I had three things in mind -- Egyptians, Scythians, and Stygians from REH's Hyborian Age. As such, I had an image in mind that their skin tone looks something like this:

Nice picture (although, in fairness, I've also seen actual humans with that skin tone, more or less)!

I've been painting fantasy miniatures for the last couple years (I've gotten around 500 painted). When I was going to paint a flesh golem, I originally considered a greenish "Frankenstein" complexion, but decided that was too corny. Then I was going to paint it a patchwork of different flesh tones, but decided that would be a pain in the butt and might look stupid. I finally settled on DecoArt Mink Tan for the flesh tone. It looks almost, but not quite, like an actual human skin tone, giving an "uncanny valley" effect. If I paint any Ixians, I'll probably do something similar to make them look unearthly (possibly even using the same color).

**Posted by Carnby** 4/19/2024 2:22 pm

Thinking more, I've come to like the idea that while most Ixians look like someone you can meet in real life, there are Ixian sorcerers who are actually grey, but in a monochrome kind of way. Thinking about the "grey dust of corroded planets" found in Sharath, I think people who spend enough time messing with the weird energies and radiations at the edge of the world might find their colour draining away until they look like they're out of a black and white movie. I imagine this is a weird effect that will even affect their clothes and other wearables, or at least as long as they're worn. Laboratories in Sharath end up looking like a scene from the '31 Frankenstein.

**Posted by Vetus Miles** 6/07/2024 8:59 pm

Ghul wrote:
That's good, BA23, but I must admit that when I was conceptualizing the race, I had three things in mind -- Egyptians, Scythians, and Stygians from REH's Hyborian Age. As such, I had an image in mind that their skin tone looks something like this:

Hah, yes Jeff, thank you! That is what I was imagining as well. I thought I’d float the question just in case I was in error. I know, it’s my game. However, I do want to know what the intent of the creators are. I like to stick to canon. It’s my game but I appreciate the framework and the process that goes into it all.

**Posted by Ghul** 6/11/2024 3:12 pm

Vetus Miles wrote:
Ghul wrote:
That's good, BA23, but I must admit that when I was conceptualizing the race, I had three things in mind -- Egyptians, Scythians, and Stygians from REH's Hyborian Age. As such, I had an image in mind that their skin tone looks something like this:

Hah, yes Jeff, thank you! That is what I was imagining as well. I thought I’d float the question just in case I was in error. I know, it’s my game. However, I do want to know what the intent of the creators are. I like to stick to canon. It’s my game but I appreciate the framework and the process that goes into it all.

Excellent. Happy to be of service.

**Posted by francisca** 6/20/2024 10:27 am

My mental image of Ixians comes straight out of Dark Horse's Conan #0.

**Posted by Ghul** 6/21/2024 8:12 pm

francisca wrote:
My mental image of Ixians comes straight out of Dark Horse's Conan #0.

Yes, this is excellent, too.