PHB and MM races and their place in the setting

[Graf]

Just a quick comment... do we want to go with "pure" gith vs Illithid.
IIRC Illithids are upper paragon... we're going to be in low heroic for at least several years.

Maybe we could have an illithid like race, or a servitor race, in the setting.
Something that could be used to directly challenge PCs, pariticularly Gith pcs, for the first few years...

 

[garyh]

Just a quick comment... do we want to go with "pure" gith vs Illithid.
IIRC Illithids are upper paragon... we're going to be in low heroic for at least several years.

Maybe we could have an illithid like race, or a servitor race, in the setting.
Something that could be used to directly challenge PCs, pariticularly Gith pcs, for the first few years...

I'm thinking just having a servitor race should be fine. Gives gith a low-level target, but keeps the real deal illithids till later for some build-up.

 

[Graf]

It'd also help distance ourselves from wizard's ip...

 

[Dunamin]

I had not intended for giths and ’thids to be the only inhabitants on the island (far from it), nor even in their own wars specifically. As noted with “enthralled kingdoms”, illithids usually surround themselves with leagues of slaves and indirectly extend their rule over free-willed subjects of those they have enthralled.
I imagine the typical first encounters in heroic tier when going on a quest against the mind flayers is actually with “normal” humanoids who serves a mentally enslaved ruler – usually unknown to the general populace. The heroes then may be beginning to unravel what is going on and work their way through layers of subtly manipulated or directly dominated forces, possibly even face a delevelled mind flayer infiltrator at the climax of the adventure. Illithids make great mastermind villains working behind the scene at heroic tier, and may be encountered more directly at paragon.

I wouldn't say you need to tie down a specific servitor race - anything could effectively serve that purpose to challenge the PCs at all levels. If a DM wants something more directly illithid-like in a combat encounter but not quite the danger that illithids pose, I think appropriate options would be those of aberrant origin (considering how aberrations generally come from the Far Realm in 4E).

I'm thinking we want to keep things open and have a diverse number of creatures on the island, both those related and unrelated to the wars (especially to allow for more interesting PC backgrounds).