At long last, I finally have official art of the Xyidos. Xyidos are the concept that pioneered the entire Nightmareverse canon. They are a power-fantasy setup designed give characters a sense of incredible power and fight against incomprehensible odds. To those who know the Onyx Path, they are basically scifi Solars (more powerful than Alchemicals) that you wear as a power suit.
Here we have Tyress, part of my Xyidocyber campaign to first deliver Xyidos to the Nightmareverse using my “Xyido – The Legacy” splat book that I wrote for Exalted 3e. Tyress belongs to Grim and this wonderful art was finally realized by the wondrous dsw7!
If you’re interested in a bit of their lore, here’s an excerpt from Xyido – The Legacy: The Xyido Hyper advanced symbiotic autonomous battlesuits, conceived by S.A.G.E. and built by the Vath Wraith Forges. The Xyidos are composed of a mutable phase-metal inspired by Nemesis matter, a mortal take on the Nemesis resilience, called Xyidonium. The Xyidos have fully sapient synthetic intelligence with a predisposition toward protecting their Driver and heroic action. They have a charging power source that is wirelessly transmitted across space/time through a source that not even the Xyido can identify. They also have a dry matter pool from which they can synthesize anything within their memory bank that they know how to construct. The Xyido can adapt their library of inventory by carefully disassembling devices, studying blueprints or downloading schematics of equipment. Simpler materials and objects not already known to the Xyido can be improvised with imagination. Likewise the Xyido can provide nutrients for their Driver by synthesizing them. Furthermore medical care can be performed on the Driver in the same way, by creating medical chemicals for aid in addition to applying nanomechanical “grey goo” to mend wounds rapidly or purge toxins from the body. Xyidos are capable of emotion and reason like any living being they are predisposed to valour with the only condition imposed on their will being their inability to harm their Driver.
First conceived in the year 1,900 of the Dying Light (Vajra calendar, almost 2,000 years into the war) on Dhanvan. Xyidonium took a century of diligent work to perfect and another 10 years in the Wraith Forges to complete, resulting in Proto-Whover (pronounced woo-ver) and Proto-Reros. The first two experimental Xyidos would serve as the archetype for all future mass produced Xyido models. The two prototype Xyidos would be the experimental deployments to test two different versions of the design that would later become the archetype for all future, mass produced Xyidos. XYD-PROTO00001 would ultimately become the model for future designs as XYD-PROTO00002 put far too much psychological burden on the Driver, furthermore the similarities in design from the second prototype to the Nemesis proved to be too much of a liability.
Xyidonium is a dimensional flux metal inspired by Nemesis observation. The Nemesis are often phased out of sync with the material universe making them impervious to the laws of physics. This phase state allows Nemesis to be both solid and immaterial at the same time, move through physical barriers and be impervious to all forces. The fact they can even walk or move through the universe seems more of a manifestation of will and perception than it is kinetic momentum. Like the Nemesis, Xyidonium is a quantum nanomechanical compound that is partially phased out of sync with reality. While not to the same extent as a Nemesis, it provides the Xyido with tremendous resistance to physical forces and provides the capacity for the dry matter pool.
Xyidonium is mutable and flexible with a tremendous energy diffusion and absorption rate, allowing it to naturally mitigate energy from kinetic, thermal and ionizing forces. Additionally the metalloid is ablative and as it takes damage by absorbing too much radiation or deflecting hyper velocity impacts and so on, it is replaced by new metalloid “tissue” from the Xyido's dry matter pool.
The Xyido has a decentralized neuro-net spread throughout the entire mass, where each cell is composed of a quantum suspended atomic structure about four times the size of element 118 (oganesson). This structure gives the Xyido the liquid or gaseous states used for transformation as well as the methods of applying medicine and nanolathing.
The living metalloid cells are spherical in shape and all have a CPU (nucleus) and communication system allowing the cells to communicate with each other to execute tasks. All the metalloid cells are regulated constantly by the decentralized control of the Xyido's synthetic intelligence. These living mechanical cells are wholly immune to the effects of electromagnetic pulse as their power and communication methodology is neither chemical nor electrical but something not understood by current science. When questioned, Xyidos merely describe their power/communication matrix as an “aura.” The nanomachines of the entity can move freely through the Xyidos body and are all modular; changing their job to suit whatever they need to do at any particular time.
An example of this is the impact resistant nature of Xyido fusion with their Driver. Their metalloid tissue, “skin,” typically is about 1mm thick yet is able to nullify 99.98% of all small arms fire; weather by thermal, kinetic or even ionizing forces. To the Driver wearing the Xyido it would feel like soft tapping or a subtle warmth. Higher yield weapons such as plasma cannons, death rays, hypervelocity rifles, missiles and rockets will penetrate or heavily damage the armour. Despite this, it may still not be enough to kill the Driver, but just injure them.
The Driver The Driver is the Xyido's partner and can be any species. When the Xyido bonds with someone that person becomes the Xyido's Driver, from there on out the pair are typically inseparable as their bond is quite intense. A Xyido prioritizes the health and safety of their Driver above all other protocol and when either fusion or aside they will fiercely defend their Driver, even at the cost of their own lives.
Once fusion not only is stamina shared with the Xyido, but the thoughts of the Driver are also read by the Xyido, allowing the two to speak unimpeded through the mind. fusion with a Xyido is a unique experience and can be frightening because of the feeling of having a tight second skin stretched over ones entire body. Once the Driver has gotten used to fusion however they could technically live fusion, as there are no restrictions or downsides to being fusion except aesthetic notoriety.
Fusing and Companion The Xyido comes in two states: Fusion or Companion. Fusion is as the term implies, the state when the Xyido and their Driver are working together as one, with the Xyido worn as a second skin power armour over the body of the Driver. Aside is when the Xyido and Driver are separate, allowing them to operate independently. The fusion process has the Xyido first memorize everything the Driver has on their person before atomizing it all. The fusion process can either be akin to a liquid application or a light based cloud. In either form the Driver is stripped naked by the Xyido so that their contact is direct as it is important for Xyido integration. Once aside, the Xyido will rebuild the clothing and items the Driver may have been wearing before, directly back onto their body.
In their companion form the Xyidos appear as sleek, synth-organic machine, almost too smooth to be just machine or just an animal. The access to their inventory is limited as is their higher functions but they gain alternative mobility by being able to move through tighter spaces as a liquid in addition to faster recharge rates.
dsw7!
