Illithid in Ravenloft

[The_God_Brain]

Prehaps now instead of needing to be with the god brain to gain intelligence, they have all the knowledge of their parent up to the point of conception.

And they don't even look like illithids anymore, because the new tadpole can't complete the transformation. The human host doesn't change much but their eyes glow when angered. Their mind blast is channeld through psionic gems and the brain-feeding can now be done by there sole tongue-tentacle and their hands.
Azalin recognized the threat and with the help of an ancient mistgate, his agents travel the Core (and islands) to explore it's secrets and fight the illithids.
(Play's Stargate theme as Player's enter the mistgate for the first time.)

Nice .

Actually, to help illithid blend in to human society for infiltration or espionage, I had the illithid IMC ceremorph dopplegangers into half-illithid (Fiend Folio template). Insidious...I call them dopplethids

[William Blackmoor]

Then take a look at Marcu Vasilis from "The Forgotten Children" Netbook. although he's unique, he might be the source of the new tadpole breed.

Link? there is none in the netbook section.

http://www.kargatane.com/

[BlackBoxGamer]

Actually, to help illithid blend in to human society for infiltration or espionage, I had the illithid IMC ceremorph dopplegangers into half-illithid (Fiend Folio template). Insidious...I call them dopplethids

Better than calling them Illithangers.

BBG

[ScS of the Fraternity]

I don't know.. illithangers are very important to dramatic tension. In fact, its always a good idea to end the adventure on an illithanger so the players want to come back for more.

[Gemathustra]

I thought illithangers were what illithids hang their coats on inside of their closets...

[Jester of the FoS]

I like the idea of a Illithid Path for failed power checks. Any idea how that would work?

[Gemathustra]

I like the idea of a Illithid Path for failed power checks. Any idea how that would work?

Didn't friend Alhoon (the lich who isn't a lich) devise such a path for evil psionicists?

[The_God_Brain]

I like the idea of a Illithid Path for failed power checks. Any idea how that would work?

I don't think turning completely into an illithid would be a good idea...but turning into some kind of freakish hybrid, something that neither human society nor the illithid would tolerate, would be a fitting end for an evil psion who used his or her mental powers to dominate others to evil ends.

[Hell_Born]

I like the idea of a Illithid Path for failed power checks. Any idea how that would work?

Didn't friend Alhoon (the lich who isn't a lich) devise such a path for evil psionicists?

I can't believe I missed finding that Path! Damn! And I made a topic just to get any and all Terror Tracks people out there have come up with... oh well.

[daffy72]

Then take a look at Marcu Vasilis from "The Forgotten Children" Netbook. although he's unique, he might be the source of the new tadpole breed.

well there you go. Our ideas aren't original after all. LOL
well there is the Illithid impersonating a human.

I like John's theory that the RL illithids are biomancy geniuses. Perhaps they have something to do with the Alchemical Philosopher momement of Paridon?
I also like people degenerating into brundel-illithids
lol

Actually Night of the Creeps for as goofy a movie as that is, could be a good sourse. The tadpoles are much more resealiant then the regular ones.
Stage 1: Incubation: They incubate in someones head, driving them insane, slowly eating it.
Stage 2: "Birth": They rip out of the head and grow into an Illithid/human hybred.
Stage 3: Insertion: They seek out those with psionic talent and instead of eatting their brains, force tadpoles into the victim which then travel into the brain. (See star Trek two for just how truly disturbing this can be)

Also for another great cuthulu-like adventure you guys should check out the Kython in the 'Book of Vile Darkness'
D&Ds answer to the H.R. Giger Alien.
One could easily have been pulled off the prime material or been summoned into Ravenloft.

Given enough time and the issolated nature of Ravenloft one could grow into a Slaughter King, prehaps in the wasteland of the Mountains of Misery (Arak) or prehaps on the surface of Bluetspur. Once one of these developed they could control the other Kython.
Given their Infernal origins one could also argue that they develop a reality wrinkle over time, it becoming bigger the older a Kython gets.

The Illithid might even want to get their hands on some of the bio-organic weapons the Kython grow from eggs.

This could grow into a threat that one day threatens heroes, innocents, darklords and political leaders so that they are all forced to work together to survive.

Not a very subtle horror to be sure, but it could be at the start.. before the infestation takes hold... wiping out one small group of Broodlings and Juveniles could be forshadowing for a big adventure like this much later on...

[William Blackmoor]

Also for another great cuthulu-like adventure you guys should check out the Kython in the 'Book of Vile Darkness'
D&Ds answer to the H.R. Giger Alien.

And one of the worst ideas in the whole book. Giger's Aliens are creepy to a certain degree, but Kythons...are just fiendish, oversized butchering-machines. The kython's author wasn't really original as he didn't even bothered to invented a new name...and slaughterking... is that the "vile" department of Burgerking?
I would favor the Marikith anytime if i wanted to run an "alien"-like adventure. But that won't happen soon, for as daffy pointed out it's not a very subtle form of horror.
But concerning the illithids "grown arsenal", does anybody remember the "squil"-weapon from "Earth- Final Conflict"? the Taelons had a couple of strange bio-experiments going on that could also work for the Illithids. Additionally there are quite alot of grafts for Illthids in one of the Monster Manuals.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Apart from the entires in the fiend folio about illithid grafts, there is a really neat 2nd edition source in one of the very old Dragon magazine issues. That article introduced a lot of illithid weapons. There was an entry for lizard-men-illithids, who were combat orientated creatures. There was a flying saucer powered by telekinesis and, my fav, a walker made from an illithid head! That had a neat back story - an illithid "volunteer" would be decapitated and their living head would be allowed to grow in a briny pool while grafts were inserted - the resulting creation was hollowed out and used as a vehicle capable of being controlled through telepathy.

Mindflayers don't seem to have the same squeamishness about body modification as humans have. Prior to cerebromorphisis, a human could eb outfitted with all maner of hideous grafts to create an illithid in an entirely new shape.

[daffy72]

Kythons...one of the worst ideas in the whole book.
"Earth- Final Conflict"

Talk about worst ideas. That's as bad as Battlefield Earth (the book and movie) Existenze had a good organic weapon (the restaurant scene).

didn't even bothered to invented a new name...

Elaborate? What's not original about Kython? Snake-like constriction attacks (for the Slaymasters). Like a python... makes sense to me.

Giger's Aliens are creepy to a certain degree, but are just fiendish, oversized butchering-machines.

Alien is one of the greatest Horror films of all time because you never see the creature. And, that alien ISN'T an oversized butchering machine?

All of cuthulu type horror stories involve things so unstoppable that even trying is known suicide. That's the point. That's why its fun to play those types of games. We WERE having a discussion about alienesque and cuthulu type campaigns within the ravenloft setting.
The Kython is a great example for this. You can't bargain with it, you can't control it. It will wipe out everyone and would be a threat to all, especially if they develop infernal reality wrinkles if they grow into Slaymasters or Slaughterkings.

Also remember that's what people on the prime material call them, which could just be a personality description.
They can be called 'whatever' in Ravenloft. Hell, pesants would probably think they were dragons, which would be a nice red herring for players.

Ever see the portrait of King George slaying the Dragon? Players could spend all their time to go after a dragon and its young only to fall into a Kython nest. 'Game over man! game over! They're coming out of the god damned walls! we're $R%^$%^#!'

In the dark of Blutespur, or tunnels and caverns and underworld of Arak the Kython could easily be a horror thrill ride. NOT seeing it would make it more scary. Throw in a few illithangers impersonating Kython's just to get out of the same nest alive and you have one interesting adventure.

[daffy72]

Mindflayers don't seem to have the same squeamishness about body modification as humans have.

I like john's spin from that forgotten children article too that mentioned they were more likely to experiment on the developing flayers and not a full grown Illithid. It wasn't ruled out that they wouldn't do the same thing to a grown mind flayer, they just experimented on the young more.

[Tangent]
Then again i've always been a firm supporter of stem-cell research so it makes sense to me. I would grow a spare set of my own organs in a heartbeat if the technology allowed it.

For those that follow such things they are getting close. They are almost at a point where they can grow a liver in a dish. Another odd development i heard on screensavers the other night was for a robotics convention they grafted living skin on silicone. (It look like skin on a computer graphics card). Pretty weird, this wacky futuristic world we live in says me. [/Tangent]

[William Blackmoor]

Quote:
didn't even bothered to invented a new name...

Elaborate? What's not original about Kython? Snake-like constriction attacks (for the Slaymasters). Like a python... makes sense to me.

Elaborate...hm...
First time I read the Book of Vile Darkness I thought: "Kythons? Aren't they supposed to be those chain wrapped- devils?" Then I noticed that they are some Alien rip-off who IMO lack the creepyness of the real Alien (just look at the pics...all gore and some goofy things) ...and I started reading the next entry of the book.
Maybe the rules are good stuff, but I'm more into background descriptions than rules for combat, so I didn't read them very thoughtfully.
O.k. I admit that it might be the pics that are bothering me the most...I just don't like them.