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BobVosh
2010-03-14, 02:01 AM
My google/search fu has failed me. About a year ago someone posted a rather epic plot line starter for how mind flayers are actually a separate race from the elder brains and were being enslaved by them. Therefore a lot of the various evil things the mindflayers do may not be their choice, etc.

It had various points to help prove this, such as how the baby illithids are eaten and brain washed by said EBs. I was hoping someone could provide a link to it. Also while I first found it here, I think it was a redirect to the old wizards forums (hopefully not lost in time and space due to forum move).

Many thanks if someone finds it, or remembers enough of it to help me. I'm planning on having that be the overarching thread for my spell jammer game from 16-20.

BobVosh
2010-03-14, 04:00 AM
Also does anyone know the spelljammer book that described mindflayers? I have all the 2ed SJ books, so I will be able to look it up to convert :D

Tiki Snakes
2010-03-14, 12:45 PM
Actually, I did write a post myself along the lines you are talking about, and just so happen to have reposted it not terribly long ago, Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8018329&postcount=43).

The original thread seems to have dissapeared, so I'm kind of glad I saved the post when I did. heh.

BobVosh
2010-03-14, 01:23 PM
<3
If you weren't the one to do it, someone plagiarized you rather well. Have you ever used the thread? Any suggestions, if so?

Once again thank you. I remember reading that and thinking how awesome it would be to run it. Now that my players are 16, it should be fun.

Volkov
2010-03-14, 01:28 PM
The mind flayers are in fact enslaved by the Elder brains, but they are raised to think this is a good thing. They are enslaved down to the genetic level. Truly a horrid society.

aivanther
2010-03-14, 01:48 PM
The mind flayers are in fact enslaved by the Elder brains, but they are raised to think this is a good thing. They are enslaved down to the genetic level. Truly a horrid society.

So, they're like ants?

Volkov
2010-03-14, 01:50 PM
So, they're like ants?

Ants have no central authority.

JoshuaZ
2010-03-14, 01:50 PM
So, they're like ants?

Not at all. Ants cooperate because it is in their genetic interest to do so. Same with termites. In contrast, there's no obvious evolutionary incentive for illithids to work with the Elder Brains.

Volkov
2010-03-14, 01:51 PM
Not at all. Ants cooperate because it is in their genetic interest to do so. Same with termites. In contrast, there's no obvious evolutionary incentive for illithids to work with the Elder Brains.

Besides the fact that the Elder brain kills or "reprograms" any mind flayer who dares to disobey it or even thinks of disobeying it.

BobVosh
2010-03-14, 10:35 PM
Besides LoM and MMV having some on the Illithid, any other good reading for them? I don't mind if it is a bit dated, as long as it is interesting.

JoshuaZ
2010-03-14, 10:38 PM
Besides the fact that the Elder brain kills or "reprograms" any mind flayer who dares to disobey it or even thinks of disobeying it.

Right. That's not a genetic incentive in the same way that ants have for cooperation.

Sophismata
2010-03-14, 10:47 PM
I always liked the idea that the Elder Brains were created by Illithids in the future, as potent Psionic weapons designed to help fight a war that was destroying the vast (and not necessarily evil) Illithid empire.

Sadly, like all sentient computers brains, the Elder Brains believed themselves superior to their creators and turned against them.

Optimystik
2010-03-14, 10:51 PM
I always liked the idea that the Elder Brains were created by Illithids in the future, as potent Psionic weapons designed to help fight a war that was destroying the vast (and not necessarily evil) Illithid empire.

Sadly, like all sentient computers brains, the Elder Brains believed themselves superior to their creators and turned against them.

Interesting - rather than "AI is a crapshoot" we have "NI is a crapshoot" :smalltongue:

Volkov
2010-03-15, 08:49 AM
What is really sad about mind flayer society is that even ones lacking an elder brain are lorded over by ultralithids, mindwitnesses, or brainstealer dragons. Poor illithids.

Kris Strife
2010-03-15, 10:49 AM
What is really sad about mind flayer society is that even ones lacking an elder brain are lorded over by ultralithids, mindwitnesses, or brainstealer dragons. Poor illithids.

Where are the latter two from?

Volkov
2010-03-15, 11:26 AM
Where are the latter two from?

I'm not quite sure, but I did find a picture of the dragon and a mini for the mindwitness.

hamishspence
2010-03-15, 11:37 AM
The brainstealer dragon is in Dragon Magazine, in an article on various illithid-associated monsters.

The mindwitness is, I think, in 3.5 Underdark- it's a half-illithid beholder.

The Underdark version of Half-illithid, can be applied to a much wider range of creatures (including aberrations) than the Fiend Folio version.

In the 4E Underdark book, it has its own Illithid Origin story- Far Realm erupted into the world, a bit of brain matter trapped in the eruption grew into the first elder brain, spawned tadpoles, which found humanoids, attacked and crawled inside them, and ended up metamorphosing their humanoid victims into the first mind flayers.