Shpadoinkle
2010-10-07, 07:53 AM
I wa reading Lords of Madness, and when I got to the section about illithids and thier need for so many brains it gave me some ideas, so... Yeah. Here they are.
Everyone knows illithids eat brains, right? Lords of Madness says that a single illithid needs, at minimum, one brain per month. That's twelve brains per year. Conservatively, let's say the average illithid is about thirty individuals. That's 360 brains per year, MINIMUM- 720 would be much better, and 1,440 would be ideal. Now, 1,440 people isn't a lot, but bear in mind that these brains have to be harvested, and according to Lords of Madness, illithids prefer to eat in thier own cities, with an audience (so the audience can psychically experience the pleasure of eating a sentient brain too.)
What I'm getting at is that illithids most likely have some influential people - mayors, barons, heads of the merchant's guilds, and other and other people with a lot of money and power- under thier control. These people would set up and fund 'adventurers guilds' in an attempt to get young people out and, well, adventuring. After all, the brain of an experienced adventurer is a lot more flavorful than the brain of someone who's made shoes his whole life.
They'd also be responsible for setting up poorhouses and homeless shelters and the like- the destitute can be harvested fairly easily and aren't likely to be missed by many, and those who will miss them won't have the money or power to do anything about thier mysterious disappearances.
An adventurer's guild is basically a bank where those setting out on thier new careers can take out loans with minimal interest for modest sums (one or two thousand gold, with maybe half a percent interest per month) with the stipulation that they relate thier tales every so often, making it easier to keep tabs on them.
Obviously, the illithids behind the whole thing would keep closer tabs on those who belong to the guild than they would on the local candlemaker, and when the time is right (once they've gotten a few solid adventures under thier belt) thier brains are harvested- generally this would be from levels 4 to 8. Any higher than level 8 would cause the adventurers to potentially pose a not insignificant threat to thier secret caretakers, and illithids aren't known for taking stupid risks when they don't have to.
This could all tie in to a campaign, with the PCs discovering why thier home city was founded, why nothing ever seems to really be done about the lower classes (and why they tend to have such large families,) why the adventurer's guild exists and consistantly gets funding from the local government, and several other things.
Most settings make it explicit that dwarves, elves, goblinoids, etc. have some kind of racial deity who is directly responsible for thier creation... but humans almost never have a patron deity. This could be the basis for all of human civilization and the explanation for why they're so varied and adaptable- they were specifically bred and guided by illithids to gather in large settlements, and give rise to reckless individuals who become adventurers.
Thoughts?
Everyone knows illithids eat brains, right? Lords of Madness says that a single illithid needs, at minimum, one brain per month. That's twelve brains per year. Conservatively, let's say the average illithid is about thirty individuals. That's 360 brains per year, MINIMUM- 720 would be much better, and 1,440 would be ideal. Now, 1,440 people isn't a lot, but bear in mind that these brains have to be harvested, and according to Lords of Madness, illithids prefer to eat in thier own cities, with an audience (so the audience can psychically experience the pleasure of eating a sentient brain too.)
What I'm getting at is that illithids most likely have some influential people - mayors, barons, heads of the merchant's guilds, and other and other people with a lot of money and power- under thier control. These people would set up and fund 'adventurers guilds' in an attempt to get young people out and, well, adventuring. After all, the brain of an experienced adventurer is a lot more flavorful than the brain of someone who's made shoes his whole life.
They'd also be responsible for setting up poorhouses and homeless shelters and the like- the destitute can be harvested fairly easily and aren't likely to be missed by many, and those who will miss them won't have the money or power to do anything about thier mysterious disappearances.
An adventurer's guild is basically a bank where those setting out on thier new careers can take out loans with minimal interest for modest sums (one or two thousand gold, with maybe half a percent interest per month) with the stipulation that they relate thier tales every so often, making it easier to keep tabs on them.
Obviously, the illithids behind the whole thing would keep closer tabs on those who belong to the guild than they would on the local candlemaker, and when the time is right (once they've gotten a few solid adventures under thier belt) thier brains are harvested- generally this would be from levels 4 to 8. Any higher than level 8 would cause the adventurers to potentially pose a not insignificant threat to thier secret caretakers, and illithids aren't known for taking stupid risks when they don't have to.
This could all tie in to a campaign, with the PCs discovering why thier home city was founded, why nothing ever seems to really be done about the lower classes (and why they tend to have such large families,) why the adventurer's guild exists and consistantly gets funding from the local government, and several other things.
Most settings make it explicit that dwarves, elves, goblinoids, etc. have some kind of racial deity who is directly responsible for thier creation... but humans almost never have a patron deity. This could be the basis for all of human civilization and the explanation for why they're so varied and adaptable- they were specifically bred and guided by illithids to gather in large settlements, and give rise to reckless individuals who become adventurers.
Thoughts?