I have much more to say but I want your saying first on the idea.
What I will say is that to my liking, no true Mind flayers exist on Athas because during the cleansing wars a champion by the name of Barien the desiccater of Illithids found an easy way to enfeeble the Illithid race; destroy all athasian Elder Brains. Without them the Mind Flayers were doomed to counter attack with much force. They were even surelly doomed to survive at all as a race. In a way they did what the Rhulisti once did centuries before; they went into a metamorphosis creating a new race capable of surviving without the need of an elder Brain. with powerfull psionic powers they eventually became the Athilids.
you can find the stats in the 3.5 Fiend folio on page 90(some small changes could be aplyed for a better athasian feel(or not)
Any comments?
Originally posted by Jihun-Nish
I will start by introducing to you a new athasian race which dwells in the keno swamp; The Athilids(half-illithids lizardmen)
I have much more to say but I want your saying first on the idea.
What I will say is that to my liking, no true Mind flayers exist on Athas because during the cleansing wars a champion by the name of Barien the desiccater of Illithids found an easy way to enfeeble the Illithid race; destroy all athasian Elder Brains. Without them the Mind Flayers were doomed to counter attack with much force. They were even surelly doomed to survive at all as a race. In a way they did what the Rhulisti once did centuries before; they went into a metamorphosis creating a new race capable of surviving without the need of an elder Brain. with powerfull psionic powers they eventually became the Athilids.
you can find the stats in the 3.5 Fiend folio on page 90(some small changes could be aplyed for a better athasian feel(or not)
Any comments?
I like these predator like creatures very impressive, I have some Illithids on Athas, but they are hidden beneath a city, details to follow soon
Scott
Originally posted by Gr8Scott
Jihun any pics of them or stats stories, stuff? I'll get you mine real soon
I know your question is quite clear but i just dont see what you mean by it. I mean the pic and the stats are in the same book(and are copy writed) mentionned above!!
And I'm a very poor drawing artist.
As for the Athilids story,well, they should appear,at least breifly, in Jihun-nish's story eventually.
And how do we keep from clogging Athas with New Races?
Do what I did: keep the tablelands mostly as is and create a new region to host all your spiffy new concepts like new races, spiffy new regions, and unorthadox concepts
As for illithids, I could see them existing on Athas, though not in large numbers. Perhaps a small community of them (led by Athas' one and only Elder Brain) dwells under the Mekillot Mountains, after a band of psions and psychic warriors were warped by the Pristine Tower?
--after all, if Athas has githyanki, it might as well have a few illithids, too NB
Cyrus9a, I'm a huge DS purist, as well. I royally hate anything remotely un-Athasian being on my version of Athas. See, it's not experimenting with the setting that I hate; it's experimenting with the setting while leaving the themes of Athas in the dust.
Nero's Boot has summed up the issue remarkably. Experiment if you like, but stay true to Athas.
Originally posted by Cyrus9a
Nero's Boot has summed up the issue remarkably. Experiment if you like, but stay true to Athas.
Thank you. I have always felt that a D&D cosmology must stay true to its original "feel." The Scarred Lands is about the epic clash between god and Titan; Dragonlance is about epic romantric war and divine meddling; and Dark Sun is about the savage struggle to survive on a planet that was once something glorious.
The "feel" of Athas is one of tragedy mixed with savage brutality. The people of Athas once held Paradise in their hands, but repeatedly threw it away. This sense of tragedy and brutality infuses every DS campaign I have ever run.
There shouldn't be orcs, ogres, and pixies on Athas; it fits the feel of Athas that these races were undone long ago. It makes the setting all the sadder and harsher if the "regular" D&D races are no more, gone to dust, while newer, more brutal races have risen to pre-eminance. For crying out loud, a race of hunting-obsessed insects is a major PC race!
Athas is bleak. Athas is sorrowful. And Athas is harsh. Anything else would be a cop-out.
--one must do justice by a setting as rich as this NB
Athas is bleak. Athas is sorrowful. And Athas is harsh. Anything else would be a cop-out.
And sometimes, very sometimes, perhaps when you're climbed a mountain and take a few minutes to look at the landscape, it is just beautiful.
Sounds pretty awful...doesn't it? But it's the impression I got when I first read the Wanderers Journal. I think Athas has its nice moments which I consider important for a DM to describe to the players too.
There shouldn't be orcs, ogres, and pixies on Athas; it fits the feel of Athas that these races were undone long ago
I partially agree. While I think that the thematic nature should hold true to any new aspects that are created (harsh survivalism, oppression, cheapness of life, brutality, tragedy, fatalism, etc), I highly doubt that there's anything that can't be 'modified' to fit Athas. Had the original release not included elves, then later someone said 'Hey, I've got this great idea for including elves in DS!" I would likely be the first one to shout "Heck NO!". But the elves of Athas fit the general themes occuring throughout the setting. Its not new things that are introduced that make my eyes roll, its new things that don't fit the tone.
As for illithids, I think, with a little tailoring, they would make a wonderful addition to any campaign. Depending on the personality and culture of Jihun's alithids, they may very add some variety of fluff to an otherwise unknown region (i.e. the Kano Swamp). Granted, I would personally still like to see the illithids still around (I had an idea brewing about a less intelligent mind flayer that burrowed in the sands with long tentacles that they used to entangle prey walking overhead; they had gone a little more primal and savage from the centuries of feasting on animal brains).
Well Jihun, give us a little more on your Alithids then. I know I'm always starved for more fluff like that.
(NOTE: By naturally-occuring, I mean they are a race unto themselves. Despite their undead nature, they breed by mating, and not by infection. Devourers are the same way, so precedence for such things has been made official.)
--yes, I do believe I'll do this NB
Originally posted by Mach2.5
As for illithids, I think, with a little tailoring, they would make a wonderful addition to any campaign. Depending on the personality and culture of Jihun's Athilids, they may very add some variety of fluff to an otherwise unknown region (i.e. the Kano Swamp). Granted, I would personally still like to see the illithids still around (I had an idea brewing about a less intelligent mind flayer that burrowed in the sands with long tentacles that they used to entangle prey walking overhead; they had gone a little more primal and savage from the centuries of feasting on animal brains).
Well Jihun, give us a little more on your Athilids then. I know I'm always starved for more fluff like that.
Brief History
In the Green age, Illithids were not as powerfull has on other worlds (First: Being in constant war with their ex-slave: the githyanki on a hostile world--even to them--, they haden't had the time nor the rescourses to build an empire worthy to call it as such Second numbering near 9000 individuals is not enough to set off en empire--espacially when that same number is in decline-) But still. They were powerfull enough to be recognised as a race with high intellect and a threat to any other race. Thence, when Rajaat decided to set in motion his cleansing, he chose/created a champion who would dedicate himself as the bane of the Illithid race. The champion was Barien the desiccater of Illithids .
Barien had been given two psionic artifacts for he was mutch more adept as a psion then he was as a defiler: witch made him idealistic for this task at hand. Unlike other races, the Mind Flayers could not flee their citadels for to do so would have been to abandon their only way of survival: The Elder Brains--witch were so big they couldn't be moved. So they fought. At the last elder Brain's nemesis,(the most powerfull of them all) the Illithids knew their doom. They fled. Some went in deep deserts(Mach2.5's ) others went as far as the keno Swamp. In the swamp the illithids began what they thought to be their only chance of survival on Athas. But to do so they had to change thus the drastic mutation at the source: the Tadpoles. with powerfull psionic powers, the Mind Flayers undewent an artificial evolution. Those who were close to lay their eggs(Illithids ley eggs only twice in their entire life.) were chosen for they were the race's only hope. A few months/years later when those same Experiments were ready to put down their eggs, a knew subrace was born.
The mutated tadpole were no longer frail and defensless.
1-- they gestated much longuer in their first refuge: the egg.
2--they were now survivers with a purpose: to one day possess and controle a humanoid.
3--Tadpole could now reproduce(after their 9th year) becoming a race proper.
In their first ten years of existance, they are parasites--they attach themselves on other aquatic creatures(swamp) and slowly eat the brain killing it after a few days.(at this stage they cannot control their host) Once mature(10year/3inches long) they would seek a specific intelligent humanoid: the lizardmen(great survivers of the swamp). (they were not yet whiped out of Athas's soil.)
Once inside the lizardmen, the ceremorphosis could take place.
The Athilids were born.
Nowadays, the Athilids's ancestors are no more since the lizard race was finally whiped out(at least in the Kano swamp) but the Athilids are thriving as masters of their dominion now.
way of life in an other post.
one thing I can say. They have the best of both races but dont live like the Illithids do(they still eat brains and such but they no longuer possess the ancient knowledge of their ancestors. Like any other race on Athas their main goal was/is to survive the arsh world thus the athilids quickly lost how to decipher illithids method of writing witch was called qualith.
--I take you're using the half-lizardman illithid from Fiend Folio? NB
Originally posted by Nero's Boot
Interesting.
--I take you're using the half-lizardman illithid from Fiend Folio? NB
As mentionned in the first post, yes I am. ;)
Arent they just to cool ? When I saw the pic, I immediatelly thought of the Keno swamp.
--granted, one shouldn't overload the setting, but still...NB
On top of that, my DS epic was a post-V:tM earth where Dregoth was the last surviving vampire 5,000 years from now, so to each their own!
--for the glory of Haqim! Er, make that Rajaat...NB
Originally posted by Nero's Boot
Are there any other half illithid types in your Athas?
--granted, one shouldn't overload the setting, but still...NB
from my part. No. But I'm seriousely considering Mach2.5's desert illithids.(those same who can hide in the sand and prey on the unwary.
Nice one mach.