Illithid Paladin?! Say what?

[Ricochet]

I think this is an awesome idea.

A mind flayer would make an excellent paladin, due to their high intelligence and wisdom, they are always two steps ahead of everyone else fighting the good fight.

The really interesting dilemme comes when the Illithids kin suspect what he's doing, and that could make for some interesting adventures.

 

[Zappo]

The ring of sustenance takes a week to attune, and must be reattuned if you take it off for just a second. Having it stolen is an issue, because whether you recover it or get a new one, you are going to have to feed normally for a week.

Anyway, the biggest problem I see here is that Illithids are so far from human that I doubt they can really be roleplayed correctly... they are basically Lovecraftian monsters.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Super heros, the Lone Ranger. It is possible to hide your ID to protect others or knowledge of you would be considered dangerous to others.

 

[FunkBGR]

Awesome idea.

If you ask me - don't let rules get in the way of creativity.

Maybe he ritually removed his tentacles (since they're only good for feeding, in his eyes) and for this - he never has to feed. Maybe the god granted him slightly different paladin abilities, one such being that he can sustain himself without brains. Maybe the god made it so he finds normal food palatable.

Recommendation: If you want to learn more about Mindflayers, pick up a copy of The Illithiad - a very nice book on their lifestyle, etc. Would let you in on exactly all the difficulties this guy would be facing.

Also - how awesome would it be, to have every instinct, every person you know, pressuring you into eating? It could be a fall from grace sort of thing, of epic proportions.

 

[hammymchamham]

Thanks everyone, given me some great ideas. And looks like I am going to the book store to see if I can find "The Illithiad"

As always, more ideas would be great.

 

[mistergone]

I think this is one of those ideas that seems really cool and might even look really cool on paper, but ultimately, it's not a good idea at all.

Not in the sense that it isn't creative or clever. In the sense that, it is not feasible. Sure, you're dealing with a fictional situation, but assuming the realities of the fiction, it is rather unworkable without much... stretching the limits of credibility. It also screams "twinky".

You're players are not gonna like it, for one. You will probably have to railroad them into not trying to kill the thing. You have to ask yourself if it's worth the battle. Maybe if you were planning on killing their characters, then sure. It will be the most needless slaughter ever.

Of course, it's your game, you're gonna do what you will, no one can change your mind, carry on, and here's one of these

 

[the Jester]

In the Illithiad, it talks about rare personality fragments left over from the being that was turned into an illithid via tadpole implantation (cermorphis). Most illithids don't even know their leftover fragments exist, but there are legends of a mind flayer whose remnant personality took over...

 

[Sixchan]

As a paladin, he can cast 3rd-level cleric spells, right? So give him a travelling companion who lets him eat the visual and aural lobes of his brain and then cast remove blindness/deafness on him. Maybe the Illithid guy saved his life, or maybe he's a masochist or something.

 

[Eridanis]

While you're at teh store, pick up Green Ronin's Avatar's Handbook (one of my best d20 purhases, IMO). Among the provided templates is one (whose name escapes me) that gives the character pluses to all mental scores, a good alignment, and represents a character more fully at peace and in tune with the universe than the norm. Sounds like a perfect fit for your NPC.

 

[hammymchamham]

Ok, so its been brought up in difficulties in brining in said NPC. That the typical reaction (cept Drow) is to shoot first and ask questions later...

now what if this creature SAVES the PC's from a group of Mindflayers? Or group of other baddies?

What if he wasn't disguesed as a human or other humanoid?