Spelljammer [Spelljammer] Illithid to Remain "100% bad guys" -- Neogi maybe not?

[Demetrios1453]

I'm pretty sure I made it clear that I thought it was interesting that Crawford did not include neogi when asked. That's why it is being discussed -- because it is potentially interesting. I did make any claims at all, so don't paint it that way, thank you.

Did he not include them, or did the editors of the article just leave that part of the repsonse out? It would be odd as the article does have a focus on the neogi, but we've all seen weider editing decisions...

 

[Reynard]

Did he not include them, or did the editors of the article just leave that part of the repsonse out? It would be odd as the article does have a focus on the neogi, but we've all seen weider editing decisions...

Given that we haven't seen the books, it isn't especially relevant to an otherwise hypothetical discussion.

 

[RangerWickett]

Heck, now I'm intrigued by the idea of writing a non-evil Illithid. Like, sure, his species developed to require the brains of conscious beings as sustenance, but he's come to the decision he won't abide hurting people, at least not on a cosmic sense, so he goes adventuring to find evil people, whose brains he feels he can eat guilt-free. And occasionally he'll swing by a village and offer great treasure in exchange for the chance to consume the brain of an elder who only has a short life ahead of them. He'd be trying to come up with some way to free illithids from their dependence on sapient minds, and he's constantly hounded by minions of the elder brain that sees his reformation goals as a threat to the order that has kept it alive for eons.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Yes I was just editing to note that.

However the way it works means Neogi cannot long-term mind-control any significant number of people. You'd really be looking at three at most and that would require a good degree of diligence and for them to all consistently fail their saves, which they wouldn't because the DC is only 14 so even someone with +0 WIS saves succeeds about a third of the time - and the Neogi cannot them re-cast it until it rests, so has to deal with this person running around who it just tried and failed to mind-control. I know, I know spells aren't physics, but this seems intentional.

The point is that they have the ability to magically compel others into their service and as written do not have any reservations about using that power.

Even if the logistical effectiveness of the ability in the base statblock isn't all that impressive from a "build up an army of enthralled minions" perspective, it still makes it something core to their default nature. And historically, humans have not exactly needed mind control powers to enslave others, so their innate abilities might only be one of a number of tools at their disposal, to that end.

I'm not seeing anything to imply that the slaver history of the neogi is being written out... At best, it's just being downplayed a bit.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I'm not seeing anything to imply that the slaver history of the neogi is being written out...

Except that slavery isn't mentioned, nor their belief, from earlier editions, that all other beings are property.

That seems kind of an important thing to leave out, especially when you also make them incapable of using mind-control to do that. Then again it does talk about "those they capture", so there is that. I guess we'll see.

 

[Faolyn]

I imagine that they'll say that some neogi (possibly former slaves themselves, possibly they just lack the enslave ability that neogi have) have managed to escape from neogi culture and set up elsewhere. So the bulk of neogi are evil but some are not evil or evil-but-works-well-with-others.

 

[Faolyn]

Yes I was just editing to note that.

However the way it works means Neogi cannot long-term mind-control any significant number of people. You'd really be looking at three at most and that would require a good degree of diligence and for them to all consistently fail their saves, which they wouldn't because the DC is only 14 so even someone with +0 WIS saves succeeds about a third of the time - and the Neogi cannot them re-cast it until it rests, so has to deal with this person running around who it just tried and failed to mind-control. I know, I know spells aren't physics, but this seems intentional.

I guess in 5E Neogi will just be jerks who will have no compunction about trying to mind-control you, which is fine but seems less compelling and less worthy of fear, especially as their mind-control is so unreliable and limited in targets.

I imagine that the mind-control is a stop-gap measure and they use more traditional means to cow their slaves as well.

 

[Weiley31]

Have we even seen any pictures of Neogi in 5E yet?

Baby Neogi pics appear in Spelljammer Academy on DNDbeyond.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Baby Neogi pics appear in Spelljammer Academy on DNDbeyond.

link?

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

link?

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