| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 18 Apr 2005 : 07:24:21
My warmest greetings to all forum members who read this topic. To be straight, does any member here knows the origins of the Illithids, the mind flayers and any information related to them. Also, how is it that there are undead mind flayers can also be in existence, though both the undead and living mind flayers possess psionic powers, what differentiates them.
I gladly thank any forum members for replying and never mind if the information cannot be found about them, I still gladly thank all for reading this forum topic. A warm thank you to all. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Sage |
Posted - 10 Jun 2005 : 02:12:43
It doesn't matter for a true illithid either. The tadpole is integral to the entire process of ceremorphosis.
|
| AlacLuin |
Posted - 09 Jun 2005 : 20:53:15
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
Did the new book change the requirement for the host of the tadpole needing to be human to make a true Mind Flayer?
That's not a requirement. Most humanoids can become illithids if they undergo the process of ceremorphosis. There are only a few demihuman races that cannot.
I'm talking true mind Flayer, not the Half Template.
In DDGttU, svirfneblin and lizardmen are specified as being special ceremorph successes.
The half template is significantly weaker then a true Mindflayer.
|
| Osieu |
Posted - 09 Jun 2005 : 08:53:45
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
There's also a Ulitharilich in Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark.
Yes, but as I recall, Thalynsar was a "unique" example of such an illithid. Still, a hybird ulitharid, illithilich, and elder brain, is an intriguing curiosity among the mind flayer race.
He's dead. WoTC killed him for no reason. You Murderers!!! 
It's mentioned in 3.5 FR Underdark book that Thalynsar drained too much power from the elder brain and lost his mind. Other illithiliches were forced to destory him to stop his madness.
Why don't WoTC kill those boring goodie two-shoes and leave the old cool villains alone?  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 09 Jun 2005 : 02:52:17
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
Did the new book change the requirement for the host of the tadpole needing to be human to make a true Mind Flayer?
That's not a requirement. Most humanoids can become illithids if they undergo the process of ceremorphosis. There are only a few demihuman races that cannot.
Lizardmen for example, which I believe was included with the half-illithid template, are a viable example of races that can undergo the change.
|
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 09 Jun 2005 : 01:44:03
Thanks Tauster . . . 1989 . . . great flaming hair dye, but I'm getting old. I remember sitting down and writing an adventure for my players as soon as I got that issue. I wrote in on my brother typewriter becuase my Adam computer was out of ink and I couldn't find anyone that still carried ribbons for the printer . . .
(must stop this torture . . . back to mind flayers)
In my campaigns I changed the half-illithid thing to any medium sized humanoid creating a full blooded illithid, and only creatures that either weren't standard humanoids or weren't medium sized created halfs.
That way humans, dwarves, drow, orcs, and hobgoblins are all similar enough to create true illithids, but deep gnomes, goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, bugbears and the like use the half template.
But thats just me. |
| AlacLuin |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 17:54:05
Did the new book change the requirement for the host of the tadpole needing to be human to make a true Mind Flayer?
I know supposedly any other creature make a half- Illithid.
I always found this requirement a bit “odd”, not unworkable, but just a little unbelievable.
As in, they must have a large population of human slaves deep in the underdark so they can procreate.
|
| The Sage |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 08:07:38
Don't discount the ulitharids. Remember, ulitharids are the result of 1 out of every 25 illithid tadpoles reaching ceremorphosis. They are usually considered superior to most other mind flayers, and often reach significant places of power within an illithid community.
Of course, in terms of raw power and intelligence, one need not look past the elder brain itself.
|
| Shadovar |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 07:21:58
I think there are two that can be said to be superior to the rest. They are : 1) Neothelids 2) Urophians. Both possess great offensive abilities.
|
| silverpriestess |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 07:13:50
So among all the illithid types, which one among them all is the greatest and the most superior of the illithid variants? |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 07:04:29
The elder brain also acts as the Illithids last line of defense against assault. The elder brain is a very good at detecting intruders and able to shatter defenses such as nondetection. If it detects a non-friendly sentient being, it would mobilize a attack immediately. The elder brain do possess some very interesting ailities besides what I mentioned. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 07:04:27
quote:
Originally posted by Hammerfist
Are there any more details on the Elder Brain? like what are their purposes? For I do not possess the Lords of Madness: Book Of Aberrations so I am unsure about the Elder brains.
The Illithiad, a 2e tome, has the most information about elder brains, and the other types of illithids.
Basically, the elder brain is a sentient, disembodied mind that lies at the center of most illithid communities. It resides in a pool of briny fluid and rules the community through a mingled conglomerate of illithid minds which form a united and collective consciousness. The illithid minds are "givern over" to the elder brain to form the collective.
It is considered the duty of every mind flayer to one day join the elder brain by uniting their mind with the collective elder brain's mass of brain tissue.
|
| Sandhrune |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 06:52:34
Well elder brains eat illithid tadpoles all the while acting as an incubator for them. |
| Hammerfist |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 06:46:26
Are there any more details on the Elder Brain? like what are their purposes? For I do not possess the Lords of Madness: Book Of Aberrations so I am unsure about the Elder brains. |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 07 Jun 2005 : 09:28:06
I even heard that a few elder brains are working long and hard to 'extinguish' the sun forever, so that they can take over the surface world. In some ways, the mind flayers are like the phaerimm, both dislike sunlike though sunlight can cause some 'skin' damage to the latter-the phaerimm. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 06 Jun 2005 : 17:15:08
quote:
Originally posted by Forge
Dunno Sirius, the Harpell "Rectal-cranial Inversion" Polymorph worked pretty well methinks, and it's not covered in that link.
I'm curious though if there is any rationale to the high incidence of mind flayers in the Underdark, or if that is just their "natural" habitat?
Illithids seriously hate sunlight -- to the point that I've seen a couple of references to an illithid plot to extinguish the sun. I don't know if that's still around in 3E, or not, though. It seems a silly plot, to me. Not only is it way too big a plot, but I'm thinking that when the world froze over, there wouldn't be nearly as many sentient brains to eat... |
| tauster |
Posted - 06 Jun 2005 : 16:53:28
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Does anyone remember the (very) old Dragon Magazine that had the Illithid creatures in it, supposedly from their homeworld . . .
there was "the sunset world - in the realm of the mind flayers" by stephen inniss (dragon magazine, october 1989), and the "dragon bestiary" in the same issue detailed the monstrous inhabitants of this world. |
| Forge |
Posted - 06 Jun 2005 : 16:38:13
Dunno Sirius, the Harpell "Rectal-cranial Inversion" Polymorph worked pretty well methinks, and it's not covered in that link.
I'm curious though if there is any rationale to the high incidence of mind flayers in the Underdark, or if that is just their "natural" habitat? |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 06 Jun 2005 : 11:21:41
WOTC has just posted Winning Tactics against Mind Flayers
for those interested. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Jun 2005 : 02:50:06
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
There's also a Ulitharilich in Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark.
Yes, but as I recall, Thalynsar was a "unique" example of such an illithid. Still, a hybird ulitharid, illithilich, and elder brain, is an intriguing curiosity among the mind flayer race.
|
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 18:26:47
Does anyone remember the (very) old Dragon Magazine that had the Illithid creatures in it, supposedly from their homeworld . . . |
| khorne |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 18:23:45
quote:
Originally posted by silvermage
So far there are some types of illithids listed, They are:
1) Ulitharids
2) Illithid sorcerers
3) Alhoons
4) Mind Flayer vampires(but lacks intelligence)
5) Neothelids
6) Urophians
I have never heard of Neothelids or Urophians. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 16:09:41
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by silvermage
So far there are some types of illithids listed, They are:
1) Ulitharids
2) Illithid sorcerers
3) Alhoons
4) Mind Flayer vampires(but lacks intelligence)
5) Neothelids
6) Urophians
In addition, we have the Elder Brain, which is actually a collective of illithid minds that form a unified consciousness which jointly rules and directs the affairs of an illithid community.
There's also a Ulitharilich in Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 15:06:26
quote:
Originally posted by silvermage
So far there are some types of illithids listed, They are:
1) Ulitharids
2) Illithid sorcerers
3) Alhoons
4) Mind Flayer vampires(but lacks intelligence)
5) Neothelids
6) Urophians
In addition, we have the Elder Brain, which is actually a collective of illithid minds that form a unified consciousness which jointly rules and directs the affairs of an illithid community.
|
| Shadovar |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 11:30:15
Well, the mind flayers can said to be very greedy for brains despite the restrictions and laws of their community. Thats why they organoze performance eating. The performance eaters train hard at extracting every nuance from the eaing experience, the process of feeding is well planned and every detail given the fullest attention. The eating event is shared by the audience by telepathic means, so the illithid audience experiences the meal as if they were right there eating the brain. But they love the brains of adventuerers as they think it is a delicacy. Yes, Stromlancer, you are quite right, the mind flayers do this for entertainment. |
| StromLancer |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 11:23:58
i heard the mind flayers do organize some sort of public brain eating event, what are they for? Entertainment? Or to let the audience drool over some brains? |
| Shadovar |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 11:20:29
I think among all the illithid types, the Neothelids are the most dangerous adversaries ever faced. |
| silvermage |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 11:17:47
So far there are some types of illithids listed, They are:
1) Ulitharids
2) Illithid sorcerers
3) Alhoons
4) Mind Flayer vampires(but lacks intelligence)
5) Neothelids
6) Urophians
|
| Shadovar |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 11:09:13
quote:
Originally posted by silverpriestess
Excuse me everyone for raising this well long closed topic, I cannot help but be very interested about Mind Flayers. I do not possess the book that is supposed to talk of Mind Flayers, but can I ask some information about how do they reproduce and the various kinds of Mind Flayers? Your information posting would be greatly appreciated.
Very well, based on the D&D book of Abberations, the way the illithids reproduce is simply one word- Grosteque.Yes, quite similar to the way Phaerimm reproduce.
well, a mind flayer spents the first part of its life as a tadpole hatched from an egg. The egg is derived from a briny pool containing numerous eggs. Tadpoles spent 10 years in the pool and fed with gruesome food such as brain matter. But at the bottom of the briny pool is the elder brain, of course, it preys on the tadpoles,for food or sport? I not sure. Only a few survivr-so called the best and the fittest- and they will undergo ceremorphosis.
The illithids will seek a host such as an orc or drow, the tadpole will be inserted into the ear, nostril, eye, and the tadpole will proceed to and feed on the host brain. Then the victim brain is replaced with the tadpole bloated tissue. The tadpole will neurologically meld into what remains of the lower brainstem and assume complete control. The victim dies.
The ceremorphosis takes a week to complete,at the end of the weel, the victim tissues had been replaced with mind flayer tissue. But to fully mature and "grow up" takes 20 years. |
| silverpriestess |
Posted - 05 Jun 2005 : 10:56:40
Excuse me everyone for raising this well long closed topic, I cannot help but be very interested about Mind Flayers. I do not possess the book that is supposed to talk of Mind Flayers, but can I ask some information about how do they reproduce and the various kinds of Mind Flayers? Your information posting would be greatly appreciated. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 20 Apr 2005 : 06:03:00
Of special note also is Paradigm Concepts Unveiled Masters: The Essential Guide to Mind Flayers tome. Inside a completely alternate historical conception for the mind flayers is proposed. We learn that the Illeth (who are the OGL "name" for illithids) are the progeny of a Cthulhu-like entity who serve beings of pure madness.
Unveiled Masters also makes reference to a Great Illeth (Illithid) Empire, an ancient outer planar war against celestials, and the enslavement of a humanoid species reminiscent of the gith. There are notable and inspired differences however, enough to warrant my purchase of such a sourcebook.
|
