| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aureus |
Posted - 11 Mar 2009 : 19:07:48
Do (adult) mindflayers need to have some brain from time to time in order to survive? (they can eat other food, or else they wouldn't have teeth)
If so, how regularly do they have brain while being neither a glutton nor anorexic?
What about their adolescence? (unless they get out of the pool, in which they serve as food for the elder brain, as adults or almost adults) Could a mindflayer suffer from underdevolopments (in varies ways) What if there was a lack of brain in his youth? (I doubt the other mindflayers would let the underdeveloped live in their community, but it is not the point here)
At what age could a mindlflayer survive outside the brainpool (and not eaten by the elder brain? (any necessary food the little brainsucker provided)
And lastly, do they have genders? (even if not distinguishable by humans without magic or very intimid knowledge of mindflayer anatomy and the possibility of check very closly without being killed by the illithid or having killed it) |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kilvan |
Posted - 12 Mar 2009 : 00:37:53
First of all, great post Jamallo, you beat me to it. Indeed, The Illithiad is THE sourcebook for anything regarding mind flayers (and EPH, if you use psionics). Lords of Darkness is not bad, but nowhere near the illithiad
quote:
Originally posted by Aureus
And lastly, do they have genders? (even if not distinguishable by humans without magic or very intimid knowledge of mindflayer anatomy and the possibility of check very closly without being killed by the illithid or having killed it)
IIRC, they have none. The gender of the host (the body used for ceremorphosis) has no impact on the resulting illithid. The race used has no influence either, though there is a list of which can be used, those I remember are humans, elves, githyankis and githzerais. All illithids lay a few thousand eggs twice if their lifetime, and are left in the elder's brain pool, most to be used as food. |
| Aureus |
Posted - 11 Mar 2009 : 22:53:51
that's sick!
Thank you :) |
| Jamallo Kreen |
Posted - 11 Mar 2009 : 20:18:24
Many of your questions may be answered by consulting the wonderful old book The Ilithiad.
For starters, illithids do not have an experience analogous to "adolescence" -- a tadpole is implanted into a humanoid which then (unless it is rescued right quick) undergoes "ceremorphosis," turning into a neophyte illithid, identical to an "adult" illithid, but weaker and less knowledgeable. Consumption of a brain within one month of ceremorphosis is necessary to avoid starvation; this is often done at the climax of a ceremony in which the neophyte controls the mind of a thrall to compel it to present itself for eating; success in both endeavors is a coming-of-age ceremony which publicly shows that the neophyte illithid has become an adult illithid.
Here's what author Asmus Anagogue of the Arcane Order had to say about illithid eating:
quote:
Bichemicals and hormones found only in brain tissue are essential nutrients for adult illithids. However, illithids eat brains more for the psychic quotient contained in sentient gray matter than the physical nutrients. The psychic essence metaphysically nourishes the illithid far more efficiently than a diet of mere flesh ever could. Illithids use this liberated psychic essence to reenergize their metabolism so effectively that the consumption of only one brain a month constitutes a healthy illithid diet. Of course, illithids sometimes eat many more brains in one month's time if they can procure them without depleting future supplies.
Asmus further says that, "an illithid uses its teeth to masticate and swallow exposed brain tissue extracted from the victin's skull."
There are great differences among illithids regarding what constitutes prudent (dare one say "polite"?) feeding, and we know from the Cloakmaster series that an illithid can travel easily among ship crews of humans and demi-humans ... er ... humanoids ... without eating any of them, provided that it has previously fed, even if only on a kobold.
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