Gill Man

General Information

Gillman

Almost human, a strange creature who appears to be a reptilian humanoid, very closely related to man. This creature is extremely powerful and fast in the under sea world. Gillmen are fully fledged race, there being male and female specimens of varying ages. They are unlike the majority of the underwater aliens as they bear none of the signs of genetic alteration or surgical deformation. It is possible we are looking at some ancient branch of our own species.

Source: Terror From The Deep Ufopaedia

Gillman Autopsy

Once surgery began it became clear this is no alien, but an Earth born creature, an ancient pre-historic race that was thought destroyed at the very moment mammals became dominant. In a time when dinosaurs roamed these creatures lived, the Gillmen-amphibious, intelligent and strong. The cataclysm that ended the reptile rule on this planet forced these creatures into a symbiotic relationship with the newly arrived aliens. A small electronic device is lodged in the skulls of the creatures.

Source: Terror From The Deep Ufopaedia

Gillman
Time Units		40 - 74
Health		45 - 60
Energy		80 - 118
Reactions		45 - 72
Strength		47 - 64
Bravery		80 - 90
Firing Accuracy		18 - 94
Throwing Accuracy		50 - 65
MC Skill		0 - 62
MC Strength		30 - 43
Front Armour		6 - 18
Left Armour		4 - 14
Right Armour		4 - 14
Back Armour		5 - 16
Under Armour		4 - 14
Hidden Attributes
Melee Accuracy		54 - 79
Energy Recharge		30
Victory Points		15 - 20
Standing Height		?
Kneeling Height		?
Intelligence		2 - 4
Aggression		1 & 2
Other information
Armour category		Gillman
Possible Ranks		Soldier, Squad Leader, Technician, Commander
Unique Attributes		Commander has Molecular Control attack

The Gillmen are the first or second "alien" species you will encounter in TFTD. More precisely, they are an Earthly species and have prostrated themselves before the Aliens in an attempt to save their miserable hides. Luckily for X-Com, Gillmen are rather slow and make poor soldiers.

Their only strength is their high amount of health, which means lower-tech weapons will often need 2, sometimes 3 shots to bring one down. Once you get Sonic weapons, however, they'll start dying like flies. In addition, they easily fall prey to Molecular control, and thus make good "test subjects" for training your Aquanauts' M.C Skill.

Only Gillman Commanders possess M.C. ability, but they aren't particularly good at it, and are only encountered in Dreadnoughts or during Base Defence missions.

While seemingly uninteresting, Gillmen are nonetheless important to X-Com's research efforts:

• For whatever reason, a Gillman's corpse is needed in order to research the Thermic Lance. Since Gillmen are a very common enemy in the early stages of the game, obtaining one shouldn't be a problem.
• On land-based Terror Missions, Gillmen will be accompanied by Deep Ones, who are an absolutely vital alien for researching any sort of armor (try to capture both a live one and a body).
• Researching a Gillman Commander will not unlock T'leth, the Aliens' City, but it will unlock The Ultimate Threat (provided you have already researched Alien Origins).

Compared to Enemy Unknown, the Gillman is roughly equivalent to a Floater, but lacks the ability to "fly". Its relatively high Health makes it more equivalent to a Snakeman in terms of resilience, though.

Notes

• Gillmen don't have Medics or Navigators. Squad Leaders will be used in place of Medics, and Technicians in place of Navigators.
• Trivia: The Gillman is loosely based on the eponymous monster from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon.

See Also

• Alien Life Forms
• Overviews of Aliens
• Xarquid
• Deep One