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View Full Version : Can a thrall ever be normal again?



Scubasteve0209
2010-04-25, 11:25 AM
I have an idea for a character concept, but I'm not sure if the background works.

The character, Rothe, was kidnapped and thralled (or enslaved, not sure if there's a difference) by a mind flayer in his youth. Years later an adventuring company kills his captor and discovers Rothe to be cogent, with psychic powers that may have developed naturally, or as a defense to the mind flayer's presence. The adventurers adopt Rothe into their fold where he goes on to be their party psion.

I've done a little bit of research into thralling etc. and there's a lot of conflict between editions as to how mind flayers create their slaves. Some say it's a dominate spell that's refreshed, while others say it's a permanent mental lobotomy. Also I can't find if all slaves are thralls, or vice versa.

Would it be reasonable to say that a psychic might be able to resist some of the thralling process, or at least maintain a glimmer of their personality until their mind flayer dies?

~Scubasteve

shadow_archmagi
2010-04-25, 11:27 AM
I'd say maybe the mind flayer never bothered with mental domination because it enjoyed using whips and chains and other fun slave-related stuff.

Nidogg
2010-04-25, 11:28 AM
They should retain most personality but have a KIND of shell shock when they see an Illithid, almost a auto-charm. However thats my thoughts. This is in no sources.

Mongoose87
2010-04-25, 11:30 AM
Well, this is probably completely non-canon, but, in Baldur's Gate II, the Illithids used collar to control the slaves, probably connected to their psionic powers.

ShadowsGrnEyes
2010-04-25, 11:48 AM
you had a particularly cocky and sadistic mind flayer who who prefered refreshed dominate because its more fun to see the terror in their eyes in the brief seconds between domination.

or somthing like that. . . no reason to over think it. its a fun idea. i'd also go with the phobia of mindflayers idea though

mucat
2010-04-25, 11:58 AM
Even if you decide the thrall process is a mental lobotomy -- which to me, seems more illithid-like -- it's not necessarily irreversible. This is a universe where clerical magic can heal most anything, and where people have immaterial souls as well as organic brains. You can make the recovery process as slow and grueling as you and the player both want, and make the group's cleric work like hell for each incremental bit of personality the guy recovers...but it wouldn't strain disbelief to have him eventually get better.

Eurus
2010-04-25, 12:00 PM
Alternately, Psychic Chirurgery might at least partially fix it even if it is normally permanent.

CockroachTeaParty
2010-04-25, 12:03 PM
Lords of Madness seems to imply that while many slaves start off dominated, eventually the daily tortures, indignities, and the efforts of other thralls, eventually breaks the slave, turning them into a proper thrall.

Apparently, once a thrall has been processed (a mundane, magical, and psionic procedure), they are eager to please and ready to serve without question. At the same time, a thrall is fully aware of what they are doing, yet can't help but do as they're told, like an awful waking nightmare.

A freed thrall would probably need a great deal of time to return to anything close to normal. There would be PTSD, Stockholm's Syndrome, and probably a need for magical or psionic aid, through spells or powers such as Restoration, Psychic Chirurgery, Aura Alteration, or Heal.

No single thrall is probably completely beyond redemption, but the process is probably time-consuming enough that most parties won't have the opportunity or resources to save every thrall they come across. In many cases, killing them would be a mercy.

An illithid thrall is probably one of the hardest slaves to restore and recuperate. Other decent options involve characters enslaved by the less-strict neogi, or perhaps sold into extraplanar slavery on some horrible outer or inner plane.

hamishspence
2010-04-25, 12:08 PM
in book 2 of the Dark Elf Trilogy, Drizzt becomes a slave, possibly a thrall, since he appears to be in a state where he loves his illithid master.

He shrugs this off rapidly though- when his pet panther turns up- regaining his normal mind.

Suggesting it may not be quite so hard to cure- since he had the eagerness to serve, yet became normal again in a short space of time.

MCerberus
2010-04-25, 12:08 PM
With contradictory things being said about how something happens in a game world, you just ask the DM which version of the fluff they want to use. Usually they're fine with what the player wants to do.

lord_khaine
2010-04-25, 12:12 PM
It would seem logical that slaves in less important positions would be less broken, to the point where the Illithids would just use Dominate once per week or so and call it a day.

hamishspence
2010-04-25, 12:17 PM
Maybe Charm magic plays a big part- less like puppets, than brainwashed to be loving and loyal.

With Dominate used as a backup.

Mongoose87
2010-04-25, 12:17 PM
in book 2 of the Dark Elf Trilogy, Drizzt becomes a slave, possibly a thrall, since he appears to be in a state where he loves his illithid master.

He shrugs this off rapidly though- when his pet panther turns up- regaining his normal mind.

Suggesting it may not be quite so hard to cure- since he had the eagerness to serve, yet became normal again in a short space of time.

I believe that was thanks to a racial feature non-evil Drow have.

hamishspence
2010-04-25, 12:19 PM
Racial Feature: "Protagonist"? :smallbiggrin:

After the elder brain died, plenty of evil slaves (duergar) also regained their minds.

Lord Vukodlak
2010-04-25, 12:55 PM
Mongoose, I'd think its because he's the protagonist of the story, and thus has a greater strength of will[not simply will saves] and when given a reminder of his old life he was restored.
So yes racial feature protagonist.

Or he was simply faking it.

Curmudgeon
2010-04-25, 05:05 PM
Check out the Iron Mind feat (Races of Faerūn, page 165):
You are descended from duergar who escaped enslavement by the illithids. The blood of these psionic-resistant former thralls runs thick in your veins. Looks like it's possible, at least if you're a gray dwarf.

Thajocoth
2010-04-25, 05:58 PM
This is the background for a fantasy character. It is a character that you wish to play (I'm assuming). Therefore: yes. It doesn't matter if there are stats to do it, as you've already done it. You don't need to roll to do it because it's a part of history. Character backgrounds don't have to fit game mechanics.

Asbestos
2010-04-25, 06:19 PM
The Gith races got over it pretty well so there must be at least some slaves that aren't lobotomized.

LibraryOgre
2010-04-25, 06:43 PM
The Gith races got over it pretty well so there must be at least some slaves that aren't lobotomized.

Well, they learned to endure. And in Enduring, Grew Strong.

wumpus
2010-04-25, 07:22 PM
Why would think they would kill off their food supply? Even if they prefer to eat newly captured slaves, it would be pretty silly to destroy the brains of all their cattle.

Ravens_cry
2010-04-25, 07:23 PM
Well, they learned to endure. And in Enduring, Grew Strong.
Not to mention becoming scrawnier then a supermodel stranded on a desert island. (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MotP/Githyanki_Githzerai.jpg)

Coidzor
2010-04-25, 07:35 PM
Would it be reasonable to say that a psychic might be able to resist some of the thralling process, or at least maintain a glimmer of their personality until their mind flayer dies?

I believe this is the Canon explanation for how the evil Gith Queen came about.

LibraryOgre
2010-04-25, 08:30 PM
Not to mention becoming scrawnier then a supermodel stranded on a desert island. (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MotP/Githyanki_Githzerai.jpg)

Yeah, but they've been that way since the early 80s.

http://www.deigames.com/Ff0096.jpg