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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GreatLemur" data-source="post: 3696822" data-attributes="member: 28553">See, I think the awesomeness of the aboleth is that it doesn't really need to be in the spotlight at all.  They make really great mastermind characters, I'd think.But, if you really want to put them in the players' faces, why keep them in underground lakes?  If all they need is water and darkness, and they have the power to dominate humanoid slaves and gain power and influence in other civilizations, then hell, you could give one and indoor pool in the middle of a city.Just picture it: You've got an aboleth or an affiliated group of aboleths running some kind of criminal organization / secret society / political faction / etc., and the players would mostly just see their mentally-dominated slaves (as rycanada pointed out, giving them some more potent kind of control might be a good idea).  The nature of the group's true masters is a complete secret; the non-dominated members think that some other humanoid (who is, of course, totally mind controlled) runs the show.  But they do own a big, darkened warehouse in the middle of their territory, and the PCs might observe regular deliveries of seafood and fresh water to the place, as well as the fact that only certain members of the organization are ever allowed to enter...Also, the image of an aboleth in a big, mobile fishbowl-type thing is awesome.  Kind of a guild-navigator-from-Dune bit.  I keep imagining it with with thick, image-distorting glass; kinda art nouveau ironwork all over it; rubbery, waterproof cuffs to reach tentacles through; and either some kind of floaty magic to move it around, or maybe just big, metal wheels.  And there'd have to be some big, complicated water filtration system at the back of it.  The players could see it for the first time from a distance, and be totally unable tomake out just what's in it.  Let them wonder why a tentacle just dragged someone inside, and none of the people standing around it even reacted.</blockquote>

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