Since TotWFS won't be out for awhile, and I need the writing practice, I thought I'd present an early version of an introduction to one of the monsters of the world of Ki. This concerns the Ki version of mind flayers, specificially their world of origin. No stats, just description. Feedback is welcome.
The Core Illithid
The core or original illithid is a small animal resembling Earth's octopus. Since they have only four arms, one is more accurately called a quadropus. The central body is some 3 feet in diameter, with the four arms, evenly spaced around the body reaching out another 6 feet, giving the animal a total diameter of 15 feet. Between the arms is a mantle that gives the typical illithid a "hood" some 6 feet in diameter. At the bottom of the "head" the illithid has a mouth food and the peculiar "sex pods" are placed in for nutrition or procreation.
For this preview we will now take a look at illithid reproduction.
The mind flayer reproduces by sexual means, but does not have genders. They are not, strictly speaking, hermaphrodites. They are, instead, a single sex that produces a single type of gamete that functions both as sperm and as egg. The sex cells are produced in a sac at the back of the illithid's mouth where they are encapsulated in a pod. When two illithids have sex it's a matter of sharing those pods. Each takes a pod from the sac at the back of their mouths and hands it to the other. The recipient then takes the pod and places it in the back of its mouth.
When that happens the recipient releases a second pod from the reproductive sac. When the two pods come into contact they dissolve, releasing the gametes to seek their opposites out and merge with them. When two gametes meet the cell wall between them dissolves, allowing their contents, including the genetic material, to merge. By the time the contents of the pods are swallowed by "mom" the embryoes should be well on their way.
On the way to the stomach the embryoes wiggle through the walls of the esophagus into the mother's blood system. After a short while dining on the various "things" to be fond in a typical illithid's blood the embryo should implant itself somewhere to complete development. Forming a cyst it can rest in, taking what it needs from its host, while being protected from its parents immune system.
If the embryo doesn't find a place to get implanted, mother's immune system will hunt it down and destroy it. Even if the embryo does get implanted the host's immune system is constantly on the prowl for such infestations. You see, illithid "pregnancies" are more like parasitical infestations than the pregnancy of a placental mammal, or even certain species of snake.
Where an embryo implants itself also makes a big difference. Too close to the skin, and the embryo is "released" before it's ready. Too deep inside the body, and the embryo will be trapped inside when it must escape from its host, and die. In addition, the longer an embryo stays inside its host, the greater the chance the host's immune system will find and kill it.
If the embryo implants at just the right place, and it evades mom's immune system, then the cyst will "crown" and burst when the embryo is ready to make its debut into the big, wide world. At which time it needs to find a place to hide before something (including mother or one of its siblings) eats it.
This breeding strategy and the illithids' cannibalism does have the effect of limiting the illithid population. In all but the most evil this is considered a "good thing".
Go ahead and comment, this is your chance to influence an RPG product.
Alan
The Core Illithid
The core or original illithid is a small animal resembling Earth's octopus. Since they have only four arms, one is more accurately called a quadropus. The central body is some 3 feet in diameter, with the four arms, evenly spaced around the body reaching out another 6 feet, giving the animal a total diameter of 15 feet. Between the arms is a mantle that gives the typical illithid a "hood" some 6 feet in diameter. At the bottom of the "head" the illithid has a mouth food and the peculiar "sex pods" are placed in for nutrition or procreation.
For this preview we will now take a look at illithid reproduction.
The mind flayer reproduces by sexual means, but does not have genders. They are not, strictly speaking, hermaphrodites. They are, instead, a single sex that produces a single type of gamete that functions both as sperm and as egg. The sex cells are produced in a sac at the back of the illithid's mouth where they are encapsulated in a pod. When two illithids have sex it's a matter of sharing those pods. Each takes a pod from the sac at the back of their mouths and hands it to the other. The recipient then takes the pod and places it in the back of its mouth.
When that happens the recipient releases a second pod from the reproductive sac. When the two pods come into contact they dissolve, releasing the gametes to seek their opposites out and merge with them. When two gametes meet the cell wall between them dissolves, allowing their contents, including the genetic material, to merge. By the time the contents of the pods are swallowed by "mom" the embryoes should be well on their way.
On the way to the stomach the embryoes wiggle through the walls of the esophagus into the mother's blood system. After a short while dining on the various "things" to be fond in a typical illithid's blood the embryo should implant itself somewhere to complete development. Forming a cyst it can rest in, taking what it needs from its host, while being protected from its parents immune system.
If the embryo doesn't find a place to get implanted, mother's immune system will hunt it down and destroy it. Even if the embryo does get implanted the host's immune system is constantly on the prowl for such infestations. You see, illithid "pregnancies" are more like parasitical infestations than the pregnancy of a placental mammal, or even certain species of snake.
Where an embryo implants itself also makes a big difference. Too close to the skin, and the embryo is "released" before it's ready. Too deep inside the body, and the embryo will be trapped inside when it must escape from its host, and die. In addition, the longer an embryo stays inside its host, the greater the chance the host's immune system will find and kill it.
If the embryo implants at just the right place, and it evades mom's immune system, then the cyst will "crown" and burst when the embryo is ready to make its debut into the big, wide world. At which time it needs to find a place to hide before something (including mother or one of its siblings) eats it.
This breeding strategy and the illithids' cannibalism does have the effect of limiting the illithid population. In all but the most evil this is considered a "good thing".
Go ahead and comment, this is your chance to influence an RPG product.
Alan
