Advice for the next campaign - Big Evil Race

[Nightfall]

I think he means they've been used a great deal in a number of modules by WotC over the past 30 years. But then so have Beholders, Drow, numerous undead, and others. Me, just so long as they don't get used at 1st level and that's ALL you face, then I'm alright.

 

[Ry]

I guess I don't see how the fact that they appear in many modules is a criticism against the kind of gameplay they can help to facilitate.

 

[Nightfall]

Neither do I Ryn, but there you are.

 

[just__al]

Particle,

eh I think since he's used Rakasha, he's not interested in evil outsiders, in or out of the Abyss.

Herobizkit,

Uhm maybe over used but not sure about HORRIBLY over used. The fact is this: Mind Flayers use a lot of thralls to dish out the badness, while standing back and using either psionics or spells. (Most favoring arcane than divine.) Sound likes typical D&D party tactics to me. And then there are half illithids variants that can also be more disturbing than fun. But then that's just me.

We rotate DM's in my group. The DM that's running right now is running a planescape game where we've been to sigil, bytopia, all over the outlands and in various worlds across the prime.

Personally, I've had my share of outsiders. That's an especially odd comment considering that we've been chasing an illithid sorceror all over the planescape for about 4 character levels now and it goes back and forth in my mind as to who's chasing who.

 

[Nightfall]

Al,

Well that is pretty interesting. Illithid sorcerers can be quite the pain, especially when you're chasing them...but obviously you're not 100% if you are. 4 character level eh? Wow that's quite a bit.

In any case I think Ryn and I might be in the minority but honestly Illithids and Aboleths make for excellent enemies to ANY race.

 

[just__al]

Al,

Well that is pretty interesting. Illithid sorcerers can be quite the pain, especially when you're chasing them...but obviously you're not 100% if you are. 4 character level eh? Wow that's quite a bit.

In any case I think Ryn and I might be in the minority but honestly Illithids and Aboleths make for excellent enemies to ANY race.

I specifically meant I'm not sure if we are the hunters or the prey.

He lead an ambush against our employer. The campaign started off with the idea of when somebody put say a portable hole in a handy haversack it would open a rift to the outer planes and leave you there without your memory and sort of scatter all your belongins nearby.

Our employer decided these people needed to be helped and hired on groups of people to go out, find these people and bring them in for help before they got eaten or worse.

He then decided to go on vacation without telling anybody right around the time the "govenors" in sigil decided to shut down his clinics. Then he came back and the clincs opened but we got tipped off it wasnt him who came back. We found him mountain climbing in bytopia and we were visiting with him at his camp when the illithid had all his thralls attack the camp. We successfully defended the camp but the illithid got away and we've been after him since.

We had reason to believe that he was in waterdeep and we went there and we were staying at a very nice inn. Our room got ransacked while we were out selling gear and then we caught someone scrying on us. A commune with my diety confirmed it's the same illithid that attacked the base camp that was scrying and behind the ransacking.

So now are we the hunters or the hunted....

 

[Nightfall]

Al,

I understood what you meant. Until you see an Illithid dead, he's always a threat. More so than most NPCs, Illithids are major nasty foes that if you miss your chance to kill them the first time around, generally you don't live to regret it.

 

[just__al]

Al,

I understood what you meant. Until you see an Illithid dead, he's always a threat. More so than most NPCs, Illithids are major nasty foes that if you miss your chance to kill them the first time around, generally you don't live to regret it.

That's what worries me. It also doesn't entirely bode well that we're discussing my next campaign's start date. You don't think about those things if it's not a possibility (TPK --> Next campaign).

 

[Nightfall]

Al,

Well perhaps but it also might be the DM is looking to take a break. We'll see.

 

[Herobizkit]

I think he means they've been used a great deal in a number of modules by WotC over the past 30 years. But then so have Beholders, Drow, numerous undead, and others. Me, just so long as they don't get used at 1st level and that's ALL you face, then I'm alright.

I guess I don't see how the fact that they appear in many modules is a criticism against the kind of gameplay they can help to facilitate.

I'm not criticizing the kind of gameplay they can facilitate, I am criticizing the fact that, when people think "evil race", the Drow and the Illithids are usually the first monsters people tend to think of... or, at least, I do. They're iconic bad guys. Because they're iconic bad guys, people tend to gloss over all sorts of other races that could be just as interesting, given half the chance. That's why I was loathe to recommend them as a first choice... because they're always the first choice.

I was recommending Ogre Magi under the assumption that the original poster was tired of using the same "typical" bad guy races and wanted some fresh ideas for other races to use.