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Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Leatherhead" data-source="post: 6998858" data-attributes="member: 53176"><p>As a contrast to the Illithilich, the Monstrous Manual has a variant stat block for a Mind Flayer Arcanist: A CR 8 living Mind Flayer with the spellcasting power of a level 10 wizard. Using this example, you could easily glue some tentacles on to the various wizards found in the back of Volo's Guide. Just remember that their CR is going to be a minimum of 7 after such a modification.</p><p></p><p>I actually think it would be relatively easy to theme a campaign around an Illithilich, the hardest part being incorporating psionics into your world (the current UA leaves much to be desired, but they are working on it)</p><p></p><p>Let's start from the bottom Up: The Party finds out about the Gith.</p><p>The Gith can be introduced at a low tier of play, the Githyanki Warrior clocks in at CR3, making them ideal "first bosses". Where a Githzarai Monk pulls CR2. Both of them are Humanoids, allowing them to pilfer other humanoid stat blocks with ease. </p><p></p><p>Setting up the first arc, a Group of Githyanki come to the Prime in order to hunt down and kill some mind flayers, being the evil kin of the Gith, they don't give a damn about what gets in their way. Gith are known to be warriors, mages, and especially warrior-mages (the origin of the word "Gish") allowing many different kinds of encounters to be set up to feature them. They like to ride around on red dragons, salt the earth in their wake, all that kind of jazz. Good stuff for a t1-t2.</p><p></p><p>The Githzerai, on the other hand, also hate mindflayers, but don't go too far out of their way to find them. However, having heard that the Githyanki may have found a potential layer of them, they will investigate. Githzerai are Monks, and Mystics(psions), and Mystic-Monk/warriors who are called Zerth. Also potentially Clerics, but not often. They aren't all about the salting of the earth, and don't have red dragons to back them up, so they may be convinced to acquire aid from the PC's, if the PC's don't end up blindly attacking them due to the fact they look like the Githyanki.</p><p></p><p>At any rate, these two groups will naturally start to fight eachother, as they are inclined to, do to their religious upbringings. Causing a good many plot hooks until the PC's are powerful enough to actually fight the mindflayers minions themselves. Featuring all the aberrations that you know and love to hate in the underdark below whatever town the PC's happen to be housed out of.</p><p></p><p>I would also recommend using an Ulitharid as the leader of the Mind flayers instead of an Elder brain, they are significantly easier to fight, and also serve as a plausible reason as to why the Illithids were found out. They lack an experienced Elder Brain to lead them, and the snowball started rolling from there.</p><p></p><p>During this climatic fight is where the twist to the campaign comes in. The Mind flayers are routed, but not all of them, and not before killing off a Githyanki Mage (necromancer, possibly), securing her spellbook in the process of a grand three-way brawl. From here, the PC's think they have won the day, having stopped two threats at once, and go home to get some drinks or whatever.</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, the surviving Mind Flayers start dabbling in magic, because they have access to it now, and because their previous plan exploded so horribly in their squid-faces that anything else seems like it could be a good idea. After learning to cast spells, they start raiding wizard towers and schools across the land, using the combination of their abilities to great effect and amassing more arcane power. This second arc is short lived due to necessity. The PC's know what it looks like when a mind flayer flays a mind, so they will get into gear really quick. Expect some curb stomping, and for the PC's to become slightly more paranoid after the fact.</p><p></p><p>In the third arc, the we pull a bait and switch. Using a plot thread from from the Lich itself, we throw demons and cultists of Orcus at the party, letting an undead menace sweep out across the land. The PC's should take this at face value, because you just used mind flayers as a plot point twice, and Orcus is an end-game threat himself. The party gets on the trail, hunting down various undead, leading up to a Dracolich of some kind. Because Dracoliches are cool, and also serve as an experiment in lichdom. Once they confront the Dracolich, they learn who made such a horrible thing: The Alloons, who are quickly unlocking the secrets of true lichdom. </p><p></p><p>Now in arc 4, party must track down the mind flayers again, only this time with all kinds of the most twisted undead experiments imaginable blocking their path. Eventually, the party finds the way, only to find they were too late, and now have to fight an Illithilich.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Also, check out these sweet helmets on the Illithids, again from Dragon+. This is my second favorite look for them, right behind their Origami rendition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Leatherhead, post: 6998858, member: 53176"] As a contrast to the Illithilich, the Monstrous Manual has a variant stat block for a Mind Flayer Arcanist: A CR 8 living Mind Flayer with the spellcasting power of a level 10 wizard. Using this example, you could easily glue some tentacles on to the various wizards found in the back of Volo's Guide. Just remember that their CR is going to be a minimum of 7 after such a modification. I actually think it would be relatively easy to theme a campaign around an Illithilich, the hardest part being incorporating psionics into your world (the current UA leaves much to be desired, but they are working on it) Let's start from the bottom Up: The Party finds out about the Gith. The Gith can be introduced at a low tier of play, the Githyanki Warrior clocks in at CR3, making them ideal "first bosses". Where a Githzarai Monk pulls CR2. Both of them are Humanoids, allowing them to pilfer other humanoid stat blocks with ease. Setting up the first arc, a Group of Githyanki come to the Prime in order to hunt down and kill some mind flayers, being the evil kin of the Gith, they don't give a damn about what gets in their way. Gith are known to be warriors, mages, and especially warrior-mages (the origin of the word "Gish") allowing many different kinds of encounters to be set up to feature them. They like to ride around on red dragons, salt the earth in their wake, all that kind of jazz. Good stuff for a t1-t2. The Githzerai, on the other hand, also hate mindflayers, but don't go too far out of their way to find them. However, having heard that the Githyanki may have found a potential layer of them, they will investigate. Githzerai are Monks, and Mystics(psions), and Mystic-Monk/warriors who are called Zerth. Also potentially Clerics, but not often. They aren't all about the salting of the earth, and don't have red dragons to back them up, so they may be convinced to acquire aid from the PC's, if the PC's don't end up blindly attacking them due to the fact they look like the Githyanki. At any rate, these two groups will naturally start to fight eachother, as they are inclined to, do to their religious upbringings. Causing a good many plot hooks until the PC's are powerful enough to actually fight the mindflayers minions themselves. Featuring all the aberrations that you know and love to hate in the underdark below whatever town the PC's happen to be housed out of. I would also recommend using an Ulitharid as the leader of the Mind flayers instead of an Elder brain, they are significantly easier to fight, and also serve as a plausible reason as to why the Illithids were found out. They lack an experienced Elder Brain to lead them, and the snowball started rolling from there. During this climatic fight is where the twist to the campaign comes in. The Mind flayers are routed, but not all of them, and not before killing off a Githyanki Mage (necromancer, possibly), securing her spellbook in the process of a grand three-way brawl. From here, the PC's think they have won the day, having stopped two threats at once, and go home to get some drinks or whatever. In the meantime, the surviving Mind Flayers start dabbling in magic, because they have access to it now, and because their previous plan exploded so horribly in their squid-faces that anything else seems like it could be a good idea. After learning to cast spells, they start raiding wizard towers and schools across the land, using the combination of their abilities to great effect and amassing more arcane power. This second arc is short lived due to necessity. The PC's know what it looks like when a mind flayer flays a mind, so they will get into gear really quick. Expect some curb stomping, and for the PC's to become slightly more paranoid after the fact. In the third arc, the we pull a bait and switch. Using a plot thread from from the Lich itself, we throw demons and cultists of Orcus at the party, letting an undead menace sweep out across the land. The PC's should take this at face value, because you just used mind flayers as a plot point twice, and Orcus is an end-game threat himself. The party gets on the trail, hunting down various undead, leading up to a Dracolich of some kind. Because Dracoliches are cool, and also serve as an experiment in lichdom. Once they confront the Dracolich, they learn who made such a horrible thing: The Alloons, who are quickly unlocking the secrets of true lichdom. Now in arc 4, party must track down the mind flayers again, only this time with all kinds of the most twisted undead experiments imaginable blocking their path. Eventually, the party finds the way, only to find they were too late, and now have to fight an Illithilich. Also, check out these sweet helmets on the Illithids, again from Dragon+. This is my second favorite look for them, right behind their Origami rendition. [/QUOTE]
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