How to start a mind Flayer campaign?

[Potato_Priest]

So I've been thinking about starting a mind flayer campaign. (A campaign where the players are all mind flayers recently released from service to their elder brain)

I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to brew the mind flayer race, and I have some ideas for custom backgrounds based on what peoples jobs were within the colony, but I've been having some trouble thinking about what level to start the campaign at.

I would explain mind flayers' adventuring careers by having them capture an adventuring party, eat their brains, and absorb their memories, thereby each acquiring the powers of their chosen class. This leaves me with several options open. I could have the PCs start at level 5 to be approximately the same power level of the mind flayers in the book, or I could start them at level 1 or 3 to represent them slowly learning the ropes and piecing together the memories of the adventurers they ate.

So, which do you guys think would make the most in-world sense (too-weak mind flayers vs. very rapid skill acquisition), and which would make for the best game?

[Unoriginal]

So I've been thinking about starting a mind flayer campaign. (A campaign where the players are all mind flayers recently released from service to their elder brain)

I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to brew the mind flayer race, and I have some ideas for custom backgrounds based on what peoples jobs were within the colony, but I've been having some trouble thinking about what level to start the campaign at.

I would explain mind flayers' adventuring careers by having them capture an adventuring party, eat their brains, and absorb their memories, thereby each acquiring the powers of their chosen class. This leaves me with several options open. I could have the PCs start at level 5 to be approximately the same power level of the mind flayers in the book, or I could start them at level 1 or 3 to represent them slowly learning the ropes and piecing together the memories of the adventurers they ate.

So, which do you guys think would make the most in-world sense (too-weak mind flayers vs. very rapid skill acquisition), and which would make for the best game?

I'd advise you to not do the "eat adventurer brains, gain power" thing. It sets a bad precedent for how your PC acquire knowledge and power, and it doesn't fit the Mind Flayers's established capacities.

Personally, I would start it as the PCs being young Illithids who are about to be sent on their first missions, but the city is attacked and the Elder Brain killed. The PCs have to escape, disconnected from their guide for the first time.

Also, being level 5 isn't equivalent to a MM's Mind Flayer. the Mind Flayer is CR 7 and has 13 HD.

[Sigreid]

Personally, I would start with the vase mindflayer and give them one class level on top.

Do
Keep in mind that they aren't first level characters.
Keep in mind that everyone hates them since they not only have a bad rep, but are creepy and weird.
Keep in mind that even mindflayers will hate them since they will be seen as having gone rogue.
Play up the special dietary needs. Starving or drawing attention/ire should be an ongoing devil's choice.
Keep in mind that the more fame they get, the more likely they will be hit by a Gith raiding party striking at them from out of another dimension.

[GooeyChewie]

If it were me (and it ain’t, so I won’t feel bad if you ignore my suggestions!), I would use the first session to set up the premise of the campaign. Let the players start as young thralls to an Elder Brain, when a well-prepared adventuring party comes through.

If the players fail to fight off the party, have the adventurers kill the Elder Brain and leave the player characters for dead, mistakenly assuming they cannot survive without the Elder Brain. The players wake up to find themselves freed from the Elder Brain and the adventuring party long-gone. If the players successfully fight off the party, have them find that the Elder Brain was mortally wounded, but have him reward them by giving them their freedom before he expires (and maybe some other cool-but-not-gamebreaking benefit, like a cool magic potion made from his brain juice!).

[Potato_Priest]

I'd advise you to not do the "eat adventurer brains, gain power" thing. It sets a bad precedent for how your PC acquire knowledge and power, and it doesn't fit the Mind Flayers's established capacities.

Also, being level 5 isn't equivalent to a MM's Mind Flayer. the Mind Flayer is CR 7 and has 13 HD.

A level 5 mind flayer PC will generally be weaker defensively but stronger offensively than a normal mind flayer, so I'd call it about even (albeit just after eyeballing it)

It is true that getting powers by eating brains isn't a thing they do routinely in their fluff (and I might not end up using this as an introduction, especially if they start at level 1), but that doesn't mean that it's not possible, at least on the level of "I remember when this guy cast this one really awesome spell, and also when and how he learned it. I could learn to do that too!"


Personally, I would start with the vase mindflayer and give them one class level on top.

I want to at least give them a chance to get different ability scores to make a class other than wizard a viable choice.

[Sigreid]

A level 5 mind flayer PC will generally be weaker defensively but stronger offensively than a normal mind flayer, so I'd call it about even (albeit just after eyeballing it)

It is true that getting powers by eating brains isn't a thing they do routinely in their fluff (and I might not end up using this as an introduction, especially if they start at level 1), but that doesn't mean that it's not possible, at least on the level of "I remember when this guy cast this one really awesome spell, and also when and how he learned it. I could learn to do that too!"



I want to at least give them a chance to get different ability scores to make a class other than wizard a viable choice.

I was thinking more of the powers than the stats.

[Potato_Priest]

I was thinking more of the powers than the stats.

Yeah, I definitely plan to give them most or all of those. (I'm waffling on the spellcasting).

With regards to eating brains: normally to gain the benefits of a long rest you need to eat a ration during said rest. I'll change this slightly for them so that they can benefit from the long rest as long as they've consumed a brain in the last 24 hours. Hopefully this will encourage them to start cults and things to feed them brains more easily.

[Unoriginal]

A level 5 mind flayer PC will generally be weaker defensively but stronger offensively than a normal mind flayer, so I'd call it about even (albeit just after eyeballing it)

What kinds of attack are you going to give them for that?