Does Xykon want to die? (SoD spoilers)

[Lupy]

I have just read Sod, and I was wondering, based on Right Eye's comment "All he's wanted to do since he went undead is watch things die." Maybe Xykon wants to be able to die, does he miss knowing he'll get to watch the demons and devils clashing in the afterlife? It seems to me like he does. Or am I just overthinking? :smallconfused: (Sorry, I'm sure this has been discussed before but I didn't see a thread on page 2 or 3.)

[pendejochy]

To draw from the Giant's preword at the begining of that book, I don't think Xykon really has any sort of a "deep" reason for why he watches things die. Its likely because, as the Giant said "He [Xykon] is a bit of a ****."

Basiclly, watching things die is all Xykon wants to do is simply for meanspirited and sadistic entertainment.

When Xykon killed the paladins in such an unnessicary manner, when he subjected O-chul to his sick little games, its merely for the sake of his own amusement.

[Calinero]

I would love to think that there is something deeper to Xykon, but I honestly think there isn't much. He's just Evil, capital E. Redcloak is the one with the most depth and ambiguity (though that's starting to change with recent comics.) If he really wanted to die, it wouldn't be that difficult to find an adventurer trying to kill him. However, I do think that he does not fear death like the average person would...he didn't seem too alarmed when Soon was about to kill him and Redcloak. He did order Redcloak to run away as soon as he realized the danger to his phylactery, though, so he must have some sense of self preservation.

[Theodoriph]

Well he couldn't taste coffee anymore, and his wee-wee hadn't worked in the past 16 years, so I guess watching things die and conquering the world were the only pleasures he had left :smallbiggrin:

[Dohmaker]

No, Xykon knows something. When he was gone 3 years, he didn't stand idle. Something happened where he got that ring that renders him immune to positive energy, and I'm pretty sure it involves that chick from Helldeathdoomfire Volcano. I don't know what though.

[factotum]

Xykon ALWAYS enjoyed watching things die. The thing is, while he was still human he had other things he enjoyed--drinking terrible coffee, for instance. Once he became a lich he lost all those, so the only enjoyment he had left was watching things die--that's what Right-eye meant.

[Nerdanel]

I don't think Xykon wants to die. He wants to live but doesn't know how.

I think Xykon isn't as one-note evil as you might think. I think he deeply misses the pleasures of living to the point where he can't admit it to himself that he might still be a human man inside. The pure inhuman monster thing is a shield against his own despair. (Xykon was always something of a monster, but never quite 100%.)

Note that he says to Tsukiko that he isn't a biophiliac, although he showed a lot of interest in living women in SoD. I think in reality he's very much attracted to Tsukiko, but he denies it to himself, because to admit that he needs some Treasure Type O but can never get it would be too painful.

[Tempest Fennac]

In regards to the ring, a lot of people have suggested it was his Ring of Wizardry 3 due to no other rings being found on him. The idea that something happened while he was gone could be right, though (I'd also agree with Nerdanel's theory based on the scene where he realises he can't taste coffee anymore).

[Milandros]

I don't think Xykon wants to die. He wants to live but doesn't know how.

I think Xykon isn't as one-note evil as you might think. I think he deeply misses the pleasures of living to the point where he can't admit it to himself that he might still be a human man inside. The pure inhuman monster thing is a shield against his own despair. (Xykon was always something of a monster, but never quite 100%.)

Note that he says to Tsukiko that he isn't a biophiliac, although he showed a lot of interest in living women in SoD. I think in reality he's very much attracted to Tsukiko, but he denies it to himself, because to admit that he needs some Treasure Type O but can never get it would be too painful.


I disagree. Xykon is basically as one-dimensional as he seems, I think.

Right from the beginning in SoD, the only moment of compassion is when his dog dies - and that is more "Waaah! My toy is broken!", as all sadness disappears as soon as he relaises he can animate the corpse. Heck, this is a teenager who murdered his own parents and reanimated their corpses.

Sure he took pleasure in occasional other things, such as coffee, and by the hints in SoD he quite enjoyed rape as well. I hardly think that that's a great redeeming factor, though.

Xykon is the simple, uncomplicated, nasty, nasty, nasty creep (unfortunately with incredible power) that makes more complex villains like Redcloak interesting.

[Gensuru]

Well i have not read SoD so far but wasn´t it Redcloack that turned him into a Lich there? If he really wanted to die he could have died then already. Or he could have let Soon destroy his...soul-bottle-thingy (please do not ask me to write a word as complicated as that). He didn´t let himself get killed in either case.

I think it´s pretty simple. Just try to imagine what you would do if you fulfilled the following conditions: 1. no pity for others. Other people are not even real persons. To you they might as well be walking tables. 2. Power. Well that does not need a lot of explanation right? Being more powerful than most beings you will encounter is known to corrupt people incredibly fast. 3. No goal in life. Let´s face it THIS is the root. What is Xykon up to? World Domination. Why? I know not a single reason so it´s probably: Why not? Xykon is incredibly bored seeing that he has already considerable magical power while lacking any real goal in life. So why not spend your time "alive" as amusing as possible. Being able to control a huge number of creatures just helps with that. You have a lot of creatures you can order to do horrible things to each other (acid-spitting beetles to hint at one example). Seeing that you lack any connection to anyone (therefor no pity) seeing others suffer doesn´t make you feel bad and you can laugh at their reactions and such.

And yep i am fully aware that this sounds evil. But that is the point of it: Xykon IS evil and sometimes evil is just as simple as i just pointed out. They say it´s hard to kill...well in that case someone please tell me where all the murder victims in our world come from. All the people getting killed in wars...anything you name it. Killing is hard? Some facts somehow make me doubt that as sad as it may be.

Other than that: Belkar is about as one dimensional as Xykon and yet this thread asks only if Xykon wants to die...since Belkar is about as simple as Xykon and clearly evil...why didn´t you ask if Belkar wants to die as well?

[Alex Warlorn]

Xykon was a murderer even before he was an adult. He makes no excuses for his selfish choices in life and is proud of that fact. Before he was a lich he used prejudice towards sorcerers as a thinly veil justification for his misdeeds. He is as shameless as he is apathetic towards any and everything. He hasn't even really HATED anyone in over half a century!!!!! Nothing is personal with him (where for Redcloak everything is personal).

That being said, Xykon was ready to kill Redcloak when he realized that becoming a lich had cost him the little pleasure in life that made his career in evil worthwhile.

While Xykon is a simple if black hearted man, I do think there is some reasoning behind him only finding pleasure in observing the death of things since entering his undead state. While he clearly doesn't envy them, perhaps that's the very reason. His faux immortality is pretty much the only plus to his undead state that he still gets a thrill out of after learning of no longer being able to enjoy bad coffee. I think that seeing things die, knowing that he'd have out lasted them anyway, is the only comfort he has left. That he's going to outlast them all. And seeing things die reminds him of that fact, that he's somehow now 'better' than them.

[Kami2awa]

If Xykon wanted to die, he wouldn't look so horrified at the thought of his phylactery getting smashed here...

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0462.html

[Lupy]

Thanks all for posting :smallsmile: !

I think Xykon is very 1 demensional, where was Red Cloak is very 3D, you make convincing arguements (and I mentally discredited my most recent theory just now...), so I think it's true, he always did like watching things die, but with nothing else to do it's all he does now.