The minxaer'Iqe (pronounced: minx-A-er-Ike) are a race from the PLANESCAPE setting. It is rumored that they originated from humans or humanoids that made their home on the Astral plane. These strange creatures sustain themselves on knowledge and intelligence. Having no known vocal cords, the minxaer'Iqe communicate via a weak for of telepathy and sign language. This communication is very limited, but becomes greater with age and experience (HD/levels).

Supreme masters of the inner workings of mind, the minxaer'Iqe can become nearly any type of wizard. Minxaer'Iqe cannot become Wild Mages because of their strict thought patterns, nor can they become Song Mages, as they have no vocal cords. Excelling in matters of the mind, it is no surprise that most minxaer'iqe chose to become effect specialists in the school of Mentalism.

Ability Score Adjustments: Minxaer'Iqe's, because of their diet of knowledge and intelligence receive a +2 to Intelligence and a +1 to Wisdom to their initial ability scores. Their alien appearance and their diet also tend to scare and horrify other races, penalizing their initial ability scores with a -2 to Charisma and a -4 to Comeliness.

Thieving Skill Racial Adjustments: pick pockets -10%; open locks -10%; find/remove traps -10%; move silently +5%; hide in shadows +5%; detect noise +10%; climb walls +0%; read languages +20%.

Class Mixing: Although most minxaer'Iqe are single classed, minxaer'Iqe PCs may become a fighter/mage, mage/priest, mage/thief, or a fighter/thief; furthermore, any minxaer'Iqe can also be a psionistist in addition to any of the above combinations, as they, like the githyanki are very adept at using portions of their minds forgotten or unused by most creatures. Minxaer'Iqe's with extremely high ability scores in their prime requisites may gain levels above the given racial maximums, as per Table 8 in the DUNGEON MASTER GUIDE. Minxaer'Iqe PCs cannot be bards, paladins or rangers. Futhermore, the minxaer'iqe only worship gods who preside over magic or the mind; because of their affinity for the mind, minxaer'Iqe can only become specialty priests of gods of the mind.

Suggested Kits: Minxaer'Iqe can choose any kit suitable for the classes that are available to them, barring racial, regional and world specific kits. The following are the most widely used kits among the minxaer'Iqe.

Hit Dice: Minxaer'Iqe PCs receive hit dice by class; minxaer'Iqe fighters receive a bonus 2 hit points due to their increased size.

Typical Alignments: As a race, the minxaer'Iqe tend toward a neutral alignment, but minxaer'Iqe PCs may choose any alignment.

Natural Armor Class: 10; minxaer'Iqe fighters gain a +2 bonus to their AC as their skin is thicker and tougher than a normal minxaer'iqe (multi-class fighters only receive only a +1 AC bonus).

Age Categories: Starting age = 20 + 3d6 years; Maximum Age Range: 250 + 2d20 years; Average Maximum Age: 210 years; Middle Age: 60 years; Old Age: 120 years; Venerable Age: 180 years.

Average Height and Weight: 60 + 2d12 inches; 85 + 2d12 pounds (Fighters: 80 + 2d12 inches; 120 + 1d30 pounds).

Movement Base: 12; on the Astral plane a minxaer'Iqe has a movement of 96 (as per the githyanki ability).

Appearance: Minxaer'Iqe resemble extremely pale, sexless humans, except for the fact that they have no visible mouth, nose or ear cavities. They communicate via a unique form of telepathy with each other, but they must otherwise learn languages like other PC races to communicate with other species. A minxaer'Iqe's head is bald and human-like, except for the large ridges resembling the creatures eyebrows and their piercing, almond-shaped eyes. The color of the creatures eyes change depending upon the emotions it's experiencing (lighter when angered or excited; darker when sad) and the power of the creature (See Table 3). As a minxaer'Iqe's HD or level improves, it's eyes change color from deep black as a newborn to the inevitable glowing-silver of an elder or archmage. These strange eyes grant the minxaer'Iqe both normal human vision and ultravision.

Habitat: The natural habitat of the minxaer'Iqe are the "dead god" islands, which float throughout the Astral plane. There the minxaer'Iqe build invisible-camouflaged dwellings from magical force or by reshaping the landscape with their powerful minds. It is here that the minxaer'Iqe venture forth to trade for books and other forms of knowledge, disguised as normal humans or githyanki.

Since time does not pass while on the Astral plane as it does on other planes, they've evolved to compensate for this effect of the plane and have become very long lived. At some point after they reach venerable age, the minxaer'iqe return home for the final time. There they effectively become immortal, as long as they don't venture from the Astral for too long.

Never appearing outside their sanctuaries in large numbers, the minxaer'Iqe can be found anywhere hospitable to humans. A few have also been recently sighted in Sigil, the hub of the multiverse.

Society & Religion: An old race forgotten in time, the minxaer'Iqe have developed glass technology to its utmost limit. They can construct glass weapons nearly as strong as steel (50% chance of breaking on a natural roll of 1 on a d20) and even unique, flexible glass for use in making bows and crossbows. This flexible glass is made from the unique materials found on the minxaer'Iqe's "dead god" landscapes (this material is similar to the silvery metal mined by the githyanki).

All thing accomplished in minxaer'Iqe society is for the overall gain of knowledge and intelligence. Although coming into contact with a possibly infinite number of cultures, the minxaer'Iqe have remained unchanged in their outlook on life and knowledge.

Minxaer'Iqe theology is restricted to the gods of magic and the mind, although there are numerous gods of that type in the PLANESCAPE setting. Their specialty priests so devote, that only the gods of the mind may so diligently be served. In reverence to those minxaer'Iqe that have been killed or actually died of old age, all minxaer'Iqe bodies are eaten by their friends or family (if none are around the deed falls to the closest minxaer'Iqe). This is done in order to preserve and carry on the knowledge and intelligence they gained in life. This leads to the enhanced knowledge of the consumer, by giving him 1,000 experience points/level of the dead minxaer'Iqe (the consumer also has a chance to gain 1 point of Intelligence and a point of Wisdom; 5% chance for each).

Minxaer'Iqe society is lead by the elders and archmages, who in turn, provide sanctuary and dwellings for the community. Although rare, the fighters of the minxaer'Iqe protect the community, while digesting their foes brain matter in order to increase their knowledge and station. Extremely rare fighter/mages or fighter/priests are the elite beings of the minxaer'Iqe, although it is the most rare and powerful Wizard/cleric/psionisists that often rule over and above the elders when they come of middle age.

Languages: All minxaer'Iqe communicate to each other via a unique form of telepathy and use other mind powers as they advance in level to communicate with other races (see Table 3).

Special advantages: Minxaer'Iqe all have 60-foot ultravision, +2 on saving throws vs. Mind-based spells, and can detect invisibility out to their normal range of their vision. All minxaer'iqe of at least 10th-level can digest the brains of their victims, this increases their knowledge (the consumer gains 100 XP/level of the victim), but some powerful beings hurt the minxaer'Iqe in the process. For example, eating a Balor's brain would cause 1d12 points of damage to the consumer.

Note, minxaer'Iqe fighters can perform this type of feeding at first level.

Special Disadvantages: Minxaer'Iqe cannot speak and can only learn to communicate with other races through exposure and experience. All minxaer'Iqe must consume knowledge to stay alive. A normal informative book or scroll (or average intelligence being) will sustain a minxaer'Iqe for up to 1 month; magical knowledge, such as scrolls and magical books and tomes will sustain the minxaer'Iqe for 1 month/spell, 2 months/protection scroll, and 1 year/book or tomb (the minxaer'Iqe eats the book or tomb; if read first, the minxaer'Iqe can also benefit from the work). If they do not yet have access to their mouth, the minxaer'Iqe simply consentrate to "injest" the source of the information; this process takes 1 turn, minus 1 round per level of the minxaer'Iqe. Archmagi minxaer'Iqe typically use this method, as it is so fast it is considered to be at will. Items consumed in this way turn into fine silver powder, much like that which is left over from a disintegrate spell.

Weapon Proficiencies: Minxaer'Iqe can use any single-handed weapons available to their class (warrior minxaer'Iqe may be able to use two-handed weapons in one hand, because of their huge stature).

Nonweapon Proficiencies: All proficiencies are available to the minxaer'Iqe regardless of their class, including the following new proficiency:

Gass'Iqe Construction	Relevant Ability:	Cost:
	Int -4	3 slots

This proficiency allows a minxaer'Iqe to create weapons, armor, and all other equipment out of a super-strong, glass composite named glass'iqe. Glass'Iqe costs triple the normal cost of other metal materials and must be gathered from minxaer'Iqe on the Astral plane or from a travelling minxaer'Iqe with the raw material. All items created from glass'Iqe are considered +1 items for saving throws and hit and damage bonuses, but are not magical in any way; although they are half weight and have half the speed factor as a normal weapon. These unique items call roughly 5 times the normal cost (in gold pieces) of a similar item made from normal materials. For example, a glass'Iqe whetstone would cost 5 gp, instead of the 1 cp it costs for a common whetstone.

Starting Possessions: Minxaer'Iqe begin play with the same gold and/or items received by other members of their chosen class.

Role-Playing Suggestions: The minxaer'Iqe are aloft and extremely intelligent, and as such, they tend to like others with similar interests (knowledge; not eating brains). They are strait-forward, often to the point of insulting some beings. They seek knowledge and intelligence with an almost fanatical approach.

Minxaer'Iqe warriors are cunning and savage, using numerous fighting techniques and their horrid mouth in combat (a bite attack is an additional attack, above the normal attacks for the minxaer'Iqe's class and level).

Other Information: Minxaer'Iqe warriors and other minxaer'Iqe of at least 10 HD can at will, open up a crack in their face's (where their mouth used to be), revealing the atrophied remnants of their mouth and teeth. Multi-class fighters gain access to their mouths at 5 HD, which cause the same damage as listed below for fighters. They can make a bite attack in addition to their normal attacks; warriors bites cause 1d4 points of damage, plus strength. When attaining 10 HD all other minxaer'iqe gain access to their mouths, which cause 1d3 points of damage, plus strength.

When minxaer'Iqe warriors reach 5 HD (multi-class fighters at 9 HD) their bite causes 1d6 points of damage, as they sustain themselves on a diet of knowledge and glass'Iqe, which reinforces there teeth. This actually transforms their teeth into glass'Iqe after about 4 levels on this type of diet, thus only a 10 HD minxaer'Iqe mage, priest or thief could begin to eat glass'Iqe. By the time the mage, priest or thief is 14 HD, their teeth would become glass'Iqe (causing 1d4+1 points of damage).

With access to there mouths, minxaer'Iqe can begin to digest brain matter and eat magical knowledge (the effects of this are listed in benefits & hindrances).

* Warrior minxaer'Iqe can roll for exceptional strength as humans, with a +20% for their huge size and a strength score ranging from 18/21 to 18/00 (Maximum for a human).

Minxaer'Iqe also gain more control over their mind powers, by learning to communicate in more complicated ways as they achieve higher levels. The rate of improvement is shown below on Table 3.