Ki-rin (Dungeons & Dragons)

Ki-rin
Characteristics
Alignment Good
Publication history
First appearance Eldritch Wizardry (1976)

In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game, the ki-rin are magical beasts. They are based on the mythological Qilin (or kirin in Korean and Japanese).

Publication history

The ki-rin first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons game supplement Eldritch Wizardry (1976).[1]

The ki-rin appeared in the first edition in the original Monster Manual (1977).[2]

The ki-rin appeared in the second edition in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989),[3] and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[4] The psionic variant of the ki-rin appeared in The Complete Psionics Handbook (1991).[5]

The ki-rin appeared in the third edition Oriental Adventures (2001).[6]

Description

Ki-rin are always lawful good.

Ki-rin worship Koriel.

Ki-rin resemble unicorns somewhat. They are powerful spellcasters, and roam the skies looking for good deeds to reward, and malefactors to punish.

Ki-rin are a race of aerial creatures whose hooves rarely touch the earth, for they dwell amid the clouds and behind the winds. Females are never encountered and Ki-rin are always solitary. They sometimes aid humans if the need to combat evil is great. The coat of the ki-rin is luminous gold, much as a sunrise on a clear day.

Influence

An obituary to Gary Gygax specifically highlights the Ki-rin as an example of the way in which D&D embraces world culture and folklore.[7]

References

  1. Gygax, Gary; Blume, Brian (1976), Eldritch Wizardry (1 ed.), Lake Geneva, WI: TSR
  2. Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  3. Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)
  4. Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  5. Winter, Steve. The Complete Psionics Handbook (TSR, 1991)
  6. Wyatt, James. Oriental Adventures (Wizards of the Coast, 2001)
  7. Jonathan Rubin, "Farewell to the Dungeon Master: How D&D creator Gary Gygax changed geekdom forever," Slate (March 6, 2008).


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