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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Munin" data-source="post: 1188036" data-attributes="member: 5722">Major Players on the S-Files world, part IThe Ithillids, because nothing says evil quite like a mindflayer!Ithillid involvement in earth began nearly two thousand years ago, after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the daoine sidhe*. Ironically, it was because of the sidhe that the ithillids discovered the alternate reality of earth and began to formulate plans to dominate this race of weak-minded ‘humans’ both for food and as fodder against the sidhe.Through abduction and experimentation, the ithillids soon discovered that humans possessed rudimentary psionic powers which could be developed and exploited for their own nefarious purposes. By the dark ages, the mindflayers began a systematic program of abduction which culminated in the creation of a new sub-race of humanity with greatly heightened (though still inferior to ithillid) psionic abilities. These creatures, which stand between four and five feet high, have large, tear shaped eyes, oblong heads, and gray, mottled flesh, are called ‘Fraal’ by the ithillids, but simply ‘greys’ by humanity. By the start of the 19th century, Fraal began their invasion of earth in earnest, using psionic-powered aircraft capable of traveling between the two realms. Sightings of these craft, and of the greys themselves, have only increased since that time.The ithillid strategy is simple. Using the greys, they strive to unite humankind under one government, and then use their incredible powers of mind control to dominate that government. The idea is that controlling one body of people is much easier than controlling hundreds of fragmented societies, and through this proxy government enslaving the rest of humanity would only be a matter of time.Once humankind is under their control, they can then move to the next phase of their plan. Part of humanity will be quietly shipped off to serve as food for the ithillids, but the majority will be focused on the task of defeating their ancient enemies, the sidhe. All while the ithillids remain safely in the Shadow realm, pulling the strings on their human and fraal lackeys.As one might guess, the principle human agent that the ithillids work through is the United Nations.Ithillid strengths:The single greatest strength of the ithillids is their unmatched psionic and mental capabilities. Another is their secrecy. They have a knack for remaining behind the scenes. Up to this point, even the Hoffman institute is not aware of their existence, assuming the greys are an independent alien species. One of the mysteries hidden in the campaign is the fact that the greys come from human stock, and all the implications that bit of knowledge might reveal.They also have advanced technology, in many cases exceeding that of humanity. Fraal aircraft, the famous ‘flying saucers’ are a product of ithillid design and are quiet adept at defying the laws of physics.Ithillid weaknesses:The greatest weakness is their lack of numbers. Ithillids procreate at a slower rate than even the sidhe, and have never recovered from the slaughter they sustained in the war with the sidhe. To this day, they are still savagely hunted by them in the Shadow realm. Really, this plan to enslave humanity is a desperate play by a race on the verge of extinction. If they fail, or are revealed, the end of their race would be all but inevitable. Mindflayers are by no means a united group. They are not as fractured as the sidhe, fighting for your very existence will do that, but they are far from harmonious. Infighting does occur, as does ‘turf wars’ between the various groups of Fraal active on earth.In practice, the pcs will rarely encounter an ithillid. These creatures prefer to remain in the Shadow realm and use their Fraal proxies to accomplish their purposes. In fact, one of the major conspiracies of the game will involve the discovery of the human origins of the Fraal and the true power behind them. More on the history, structure and present goals of the ithillids in the future. Next up…the daoine sidhe.*Very little is known of the conflict between ithillid and sidhe in the shadow realm, but the enmity between the two groups is deep-seated and intense. It is apparent that the ithillids where the dominate race until full-scale exodus of the sidhe after their defeat in the pre-historic ‘War of the Ring’.The sidhe poured their wrath out upon the unprepared ithillids and quickly established a foothold in the Shadow Realm. Defeating the ithillids was a much longer and bloodier process, but it is clear that at a point which roughly coincides with the rise of the Roman empire on earth, the ithillids were defeated and driven underground to avoid genocide.</blockquote>

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