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<blockquote data-quote="Charles Rampant" data-source="post: 6998835" data-attributes="member: 32659"><p>Right lads and ladies, we now come to the Illithid section of the book. I hope you’re not squeamish, because some of this stuff is pretty rank. We begin with the <strong>Alhoon</strong>. a renegade Illithid who turned away from its people - not out of a sense of outraged morality or to join the sunlit uplands of the surface world, but instead because it craved arcane power. They’re nasty customers, and have even more plot potential than normal Mind Flayers.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://trinitywiki.org/images/7/75/Alhoon_2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The image in the book relies heavily upon colour contrast, with the alabaster-pale skin of the Alhoon standing out starkly from the black and midnight-sky robes that it is wearing. Though Mind Flayers don’t really possess expressions, this one nonetheless gives an aura of mad malevolence with its staring eye.</p><p></p><p>So the Alhoons get one of the longest entries in the book, at two full pages, and the space is put to good use. They are renegades who seek out Arcane power, but are also driven by fear of the oblivion of death. As a result, they work together to create and protect special pseudo-phylacteries, and they also tend to search for the secret of lichdom with great vigour. There are a lot of meat on these plot-hook-bones; for starters, you have the fact that Alhoons work together, giving you the perfect excuse for the players to fight a whole series of them. If the players get hold of the pseudo-phylactery, then the wielder gets bonuses against them, which could be really cool; it makes me think of the end of <em>Dark City</em> when the protagonist unlocked his full potential. </p><p></p><p>On top of their semi-lichdom, these guys remain Mind Flayers, so you can still use them as Lovecraftian tentacle horror, and I think that using the usual range of minions (Intellect Devourers, thralls, Cranium Rats, etc) will be fine. Their relationship to the Mind Flayer hive is quite interesting, with them being outcasts but ones who still covet the companionship of the Elder Brain’s communion; some seek to take over a colony and replace the Elder Brain, which might make for a jolly interesting storyline if your campaign is in the underdark. The idea of players working with an Alhoon to stage a coup - in return for a promise of aid or protection for a local community from attacks - is one that really appeals. </p><p></p><p>One final comment that I’d have on these guys plot wise, is that you also have the fact that they are wizards, and will seek out knowledge. If your campaign features magic book shops, or even an arcane university, then an Alhoon disguised as a normal wizard might be a great plot twist. They do, after all, have <em>Disguise Self</em>…</p><p></p><p>The statblock for the Alhoon is interesting, and basically combines the Mage with the Mind Flayer; level 6 spells, as a 12th level Wizard, on top of a Mind Flayer’s <em>Psionics</em>, <em>Mind Blast</em> and <em>Magic Resistance</em>; their undead status also gives them a <em>Turn Resistance</em> ability. The spells are solid combat ones that you will recognise from your party wizard’s repertoire, and features both defensive and offensive options. Their resistances, and especially spell resistance, will be an unpleasant surprise for anyone hoping to win a spell duel. I think that the best use of them will likely be to start with <em>Mind Blast</em> to weaken and slow the party, before then moving onto spellcasting; if you are cruel enough to use multiple at once, then opening with a barrage of <em>Mind Blasts</em> is going to be very effective against many groups, and perfectly sets up the Alhoons to then use powerful spells on the second turn against now-weakened opponents. </p><p></p><p>Finally, we get a lengthy sidebar that tells us how to turn a Lich into a Mind Flayer version, the <strong>Illithilich</strong>, including alternative Legendary Actions. Remember that this version combines immunity to low level spells with advantage on saving throws against all spells, and you will understand why it would be the absolute terror of any spellcasting community that it comes into contact with. Oddly, the Lich has more Mind Flayer abilities than the Alhoon - specifically, the ability to eat brains. I don’t want to make this post any longer than it already is, so I won’t discuss the Illithilich much - others are welcome to do so, however! - except to note that I think they are tough campaign ending bosses to use because of their combined tone; both Lich and Mind Flayer, it seems like they will be harder to theme a whole campaign around them then either a Lich or an Elder Brain individually would be.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charles Rampant, post: 6998835, member: 32659"] Right lads and ladies, we now come to the Illithid section of the book. I hope you’re not squeamish, because some of this stuff is pretty rank. We begin with the [B]Alhoon[/B]. a renegade Illithid who turned away from its people - not out of a sense of outraged morality or to join the sunlit uplands of the surface world, but instead because it craved arcane power. They’re nasty customers, and have even more plot potential than normal Mind Flayers. [IMG]http://trinitywiki.org/images/7/75/Alhoon_2.jpg[/IMG] The image in the book relies heavily upon colour contrast, with the alabaster-pale skin of the Alhoon standing out starkly from the black and midnight-sky robes that it is wearing. Though Mind Flayers don’t really possess expressions, this one nonetheless gives an aura of mad malevolence with its staring eye. So the Alhoons get one of the longest entries in the book, at two full pages, and the space is put to good use. They are renegades who seek out Arcane power, but are also driven by fear of the oblivion of death. As a result, they work together to create and protect special pseudo-phylacteries, and they also tend to search for the secret of lichdom with great vigour. There are a lot of meat on these plot-hook-bones; for starters, you have the fact that Alhoons work together, giving you the perfect excuse for the players to fight a whole series of them. If the players get hold of the pseudo-phylactery, then the wielder gets bonuses against them, which could be really cool; it makes me think of the end of [I]Dark City[/I] when the protagonist unlocked his full potential. On top of their semi-lichdom, these guys remain Mind Flayers, so you can still use them as Lovecraftian tentacle horror, and I think that using the usual range of minions (Intellect Devourers, thralls, Cranium Rats, etc) will be fine. Their relationship to the Mind Flayer hive is quite interesting, with them being outcasts but ones who still covet the companionship of the Elder Brain’s communion; some seek to take over a colony and replace the Elder Brain, which might make for a jolly interesting storyline if your campaign is in the underdark. The idea of players working with an Alhoon to stage a coup - in return for a promise of aid or protection for a local community from attacks - is one that really appeals. One final comment that I’d have on these guys plot wise, is that you also have the fact that they are wizards, and will seek out knowledge. If your campaign features magic book shops, or even an arcane university, then an Alhoon disguised as a normal wizard might be a great plot twist. They do, after all, have [I]Disguise Self[/I]… The statblock for the Alhoon is interesting, and basically combines the Mage with the Mind Flayer; level 6 spells, as a 12th level Wizard, on top of a Mind Flayer’s [I]Psionics[/I], [I]Mind Blast[/I] and [I]Magic Resistance[/I]; their undead status also gives them a [I]Turn Resistance[/I] ability. The spells are solid combat ones that you will recognise from your party wizard’s repertoire, and features both defensive and offensive options. Their resistances, and especially spell resistance, will be an unpleasant surprise for anyone hoping to win a spell duel. I think that the best use of them will likely be to start with [I]Mind Blast[/I] to weaken and slow the party, before then moving onto spellcasting; if you are cruel enough to use multiple at once, then opening with a barrage of [I]Mind Blasts[/I] is going to be very effective against many groups, and perfectly sets up the Alhoons to then use powerful spells on the second turn against now-weakened opponents. Finally, we get a lengthy sidebar that tells us how to turn a Lich into a Mind Flayer version, the [b]Illithilich[/b], including alternative Legendary Actions. Remember that this version combines immunity to low level spells with advantage on saving throws against all spells, and you will understand why it would be the absolute terror of any spellcasting community that it comes into contact with. Oddly, the Lich has more Mind Flayer abilities than the Alhoon - specifically, the ability to eat brains. I don’t want to make this post any longer than it already is, so I won’t discuss the Illithilich much - others are welcome to do so, however! - except to note that I think they are tough campaign ending bosses to use because of their combined tone; both Lich and Mind Flayer, it seems like they will be harder to theme a whole campaign around them then either a Lich or an Elder Brain individually would be. [/QUOTE]
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