Slig

ALL SMILES

Sligs are one of the many mutant humanoid races native to the Dungeons & Dragons world of Dark Sun. Unusually intelligent compared to many other wasteland-prowling man-beasts, that doesn't make them any less dangerous... if anything, it makes them worse, because it means sligs are actively smart enough to make plans to ensure their success in the hunt.

They should not be confused with the tentacle-faced cyborg slug-men from Oddworld.

Physically describing sligs is a little tricky... This is what their entry in the Monstrous Compendium: Dark Sun Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr has to say about them:

Sligs are wide-jawed humanoids of the desert wilderness. Male sligs are tall and muscular, standing seven feet tall and weighing more than 300 pounds. Their skin color varies from a sickly white to tan and deep brown. Long red or auburn hair grows on their heads, forearms, and thighs, and sometimes on the back and rump as well. This hair is sometimes braided but more often left long. They have no ability to store fat in their bodies, so are especially lean in appearance.

Sligs seldom stand to their full height, instead adopting a hunched posture that allows their arms to assist in locomotion. Their arms and legs are extremely powerful. Their hands have a thumb and three very long fingers, each tipped with blunt black claws. Their heads are tapered at the top giving way to an extremely wide, but not protruding jaw. Their teeth are nasty, broken, and yellow, and are always displayed in a maniacal grin. Their eyes vary in color from black to silver beneath thick, almost reptile like ridges. Female sligs are similar in appearance, but much smaller, standing about 5 feet tall. Their hair is always braided, and their skin color is very light, usually white or tan. All sligs wear clothing made from animal skins and leather and carry their possessions in pouches. Different clothing denotes rank within the war band.

One of the more cursed mutant races of Athas, the slig's inability to store fat forces them to eat constantly or else they will starve. As a result, they hunt three times per day - dawn, midday and midnight - and will die after three days without food. This metabolic rate is clearly unnatural, and it extends to other areas of slig biology; female sligs give birth after a three month gestation period, and baby sligs reach adulthood in a year. This, then, is the source of their animosity towards other races; it's not that the sligs have anything personal against the demihumans of Athas, it's just, well, meat's meat and slig's gotta eat!

Among the more advanced "monster cultures", sligs form permanent homes for their tribal bands, sculpting crude but sturdy environments from their terrain using whatever tools they can scavenge or assemble for themselves. Aided by their powerful racial affinity for telepathy, slig males leave these camps to hunt in war bands; they don't rely on a leader, but instead telepathically coordinate their efforts - success as a hunter improves a male's chance of being chosen as a mate by a female during the thrice-yearly breeding seasons. Slig hunters use all manner of cunning tricks and traps, including ambushes, luring victims with bait, and even kidnapping or stealing gear from travelers to lure them into a more favorable environment.

Alchemists have noted the pseudopsionic nature of the slig telepathy and seek specimens with which to experiment. It is believed that slig blood or marrow is actually a stimulant to psionic activity, but these are just old wives’ tales. Serious attempts by alchemists to prove them right, however, have made sligs quite valuable. Some in Raam and Balic have offered as much as 20 cp for a live slig.

No relation to Oddworld.

Playing Sligs

Being less "Chaotic Evil" and more "Neutral Hungry" in terms of alignment, it's perhaps unsurprising that fans of Dark Sun have experimented with playable sligs.

The Complete Book of Athasian Humanoids for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2e offers this profile for would-be slig-players:

Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 7/20, Dexterity 5/20, Constitution 7/20, Intelligence 5/20, Wisdom 5/20, Charisma 5/17

Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Strength, -1 Constituion, -2 Charisma (note: increase Cha by +2 when dealing with NPCs of the same race)

Racial Class/Level Limits: Fighter 16, Gladiator 14, Ranger 10, Cleric 10, Thief 10, Psionicist Unlimited

Racial Thieving Skill Adjustments: Open Locks -5%, Move Silently -5%, Hide in Shadows -5%, Detect Noise +10%, Forge Documents -5%, Bribe Officials -10%, Dig Tunnels +5%

Natural Armor Class: 8

Movement: 12

Telepathic Coordination: Sligs gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls when fighting together, whih increases to +2 if they gang up on the same target.

Natural Weapon: A slig can bite once per round for 1d3 damage.

Infravision 60'

Water Recycling: Sligs only need 1/2 gallons of water per day to stay healthy.

Ravenous Appetite: A slig must eat 3 meals per day or they will suffer Constitution loss as if dehydrated.

Obligate Carnivore: A slig can only derive nourishment from meat.

Bonus Proficiency: Hunting

Mandatory Proficiency: Any Crafting NWP (Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Weapon Smithing, etc)

Roleplaying Disadvantage: Sligs from other tribes regard each other as prey. Sligs are also unpopular with humans and demihumans in general, but are particularly in danger near Raam and Urik, where there is a bounty on their heads.

In contrast, Terrors of Athas for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition gives them this statblock instead: Terrors of Athas, on the other hand, gives them this profile:

Ability Score Modifiers: +4 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution, -4 Charisma

Size: Medium

Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft

Speed: 30ft

Racial Hit Dice: 4 levels in Humanoid (4d8 hit dice, BAB +3, Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1).

Racial Skills: Skill points equal to 7 X (2 + Int modifier). Class skills are Craft (Weaponmaking), Listen, Spot, and Survival.

2 feats

Weaepon Proficiency: All Simple Weapons, All Martial Weapons, Slig Natural Weapons.

+4 natural armor bonus.

Low-Light Vision

Natural Weapons: 1 Bite (1d3)

Formation Attack (Ex): If two sligs are flanking the same opponent, they get a +4 bonus to their attack rolls rather than +2. Other sligs in melee with that opponent but not flanking it receive a +2 bonus to their attack rolls.

Slig Telepathy (Su): Sligs can communicate telepathically with any other slig within 30 feet.

+10 racial bonus on Survival checks made to track or look for food.

Automatic Languages: Slig. Bonus Languages: Common.

Ravored Class: Fighter

Level Adjustment: +1