Inside The Illithid Mind: A One-Stop Mind Flayer Masterclass
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2023
- Everything you need to know about Mind Flayers (Illithid) from the original creator of the Forgotten Realms...
Mind flayers have gotten quite a bit of attention lately, serving as the BBEG in the new Dungeons and Dragons 5e adventure, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, as well as being heavily featured in the game, Baldur's Gate 3. This video is an excellent introduction to the Illithid, will help you better understand how to run them in your campaigns, and is guaranteed to improve your next betentacled session.
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Many more mind flayer stories to come! We've been so excited by the increase in production quality, and we're thrilled to finally share it with you all!
Consider supporting my work by becoming a Protector of the Realms: patreon.com/EdGreenwood
Love you Ed! You had a huge part in my (childhood?) formative years. Thanks for keeping these classic parts alive and ever expanding!
also where do I get that Moloch lamp statue?
The Illthiad brought in mindflayer tadpoles not lords of madness
A book in 2nd Ed revised
I will keep at it!! Thank you! @@watchinghh
My favorite interpretation of Mind Flayers is that they're not maliciously evil, they're evil is routed in false benevolence. They don't think they're evil, they just know better than you, and therefore have the right to dictate what you can do and think. The Grand Design does invovle vengence on the Gith, but also involves building a perfect psionic order to turn the planes into the perfect harmony of Mind Flayer dominance.
I like this idea. Evil is a sort of cartoonish idea - very rarely do "evil" people do the things they do because they actively desire evil. They just, incidentally arrive at it lol.
So they're central planners
@@adamuadamu5081 precisely
@@alexandercross9081 and I bet their skin has red tint to it. They may even choose to have a flag with various farming and smithing equipment
@adamuadamu5081 nope, they're not big on banners or symbols. Don't even have a written language. Also, in my setting, there are 2 groups. Atlanatean Mind Flayers who are aquatic, able to breathe underwater, and have psionic abilities that focus around that, and Anazati mind flayers who live on the surface, practice magic on top of their psionic talents, and have heavily modified their own tadpoles, resulting in mind flayers that look more human, granting benefits with some drawbacks
I could see a more prosaic reason for illithids to not want to directly dominate the minds of their "cattle": it might be considered to ruin the flavor. Refined illithids might brag of the superior dining quality of their "free range" humans or halflings, for instance, which are allowed to roam the "range" (villages, cities) the illithids control and develop superior mental flavor by freely interacting with others of their kind, forming emotional connections and treasured memories that give the eventual consumption of their brains a subtle complexity, with piquant tragedies and rich triumphs to be savored by the distinguished illithid palate.
I like where you are going with this... I'm pretty sure my HOA is governed by Illithids because some of our neighbors are free range humans.
Joking aside, this idea of illithid propaganda creating a wider net of control while they muse about "better nutritional value" is fun.
Yes, that idea was championed by some TSR designers back in the day, but vetoed by one of their bosses (who thought it went "over the line" in treatment of humans, sigh). I agree with the idea.
"Flay that mind!" just makes me think "yaaas, Flay queen!"
This channel is the best thing that happened to the Realms since 3rd edition. I am so, so glad to Ed's resurgence into the frontlines of DnD pop culture.
In our game last night the party had to help an Ulitharid. You see the Elder brain of his colony had produced two Ulitharids at the same time and this guy was the weakest so he decided soon after ceromophis to get the hell out of dodge, he managed to escape and fell in with a Spelljammer crew. For many years he traveled Wildspace. The problem is that his old colony's Elder Brain and the other Ulitharid was both dead and this poor guy was now left with the choice of becoming is colony's new Elder Brain, something he did not want to do as he had not spent time with other Ilithids for most of his life and just letting his colony die and the party had to find a way to save his colony while not becoming a brain in a pool of brine.
I have always admired Ed’s skill at making names for characters and places that sound great to say and hear, and don’t sound “stupid.” It’s hard to explain, but they always sound like they came from another, similar, world and not our own.
Unlike many designers. Mr Greenwood has the gumption to actually pronounce these tongue-twisting words. I'm sure we have all come across the How. The. Heck! Am I supposed to pronounce, that to players.
All books and adventures need a style guide on the back page to help with such issues. Famously, In the Warhammer 40K Universe. No one, not even the designers, can decide how to pronounce one of the main protagonist's names. Only been in the setting for almost three decades! The name is Roboute Guilliman.
@@Yandarval - My personal favorite in WH for silliness is Khorne. How in the world do you pronounce that to a room full of players with a straight face 😂 I just end up calling him only “The Blood God.” Otherwise, too many corn puns nonstop.
After enjoying the Baldurs Gate 3 story very much, I decided to start a Mind Flayer focused campaign. Thank you for some good incite into their personality.
It confused me quite a bit how the Emperor still considered himself to be Balduran. I was pretty sure that keeping memories of the host was rare, and the personality even more so
@@oliviawilliams6204 Some truly exceptional individuals have a strong enough mind to retain memories and personality, but we are talking people who legends are written about. Well, Balduran founded Baldur's Gate. While transforming he was able to fight off and kill the great dragon Ansur, alone, after Ansur tried to kill him in his sleep. Balduran is one of these few legendary people who could overcome it. Elminster who we meet if we have Gale in the party is another who might have the strength and mental fortitude. If Nightsong and Orpheus transformed they could probably do it too, but neither of those are really mortal, but instead demigods, the daughter of Selune and the son of Gith. Potentially the Dark Urge too, due to being a Bhaalspawn, but that is more uncertain.
*Baldur's
Also, it's interesting watching this video knowing Ed was involved in creating the backstory in the "Murder in Baldur's Gate" adventure that led to the "Emperor" character in Baldur's Gate III, whose methods align with some of the subtler mind flayer strategies Ed says he prefers here
Am I the only one that desperately wants to hear Ed Greenwood narrate a story about that time that Elminster met Zagyg?
No, I want to hear that too. ;}
@@edgreenwoodofficial I'm thinking it would probably start when Mystra contacts Eleminster complaining about how some lunatic is doing things with the weave that were never intended to be done...... And for once it doesn't seem to be coming from the Realms or any of the gods in it. At about the same time, powerful figures from Toril, including minor deities start to go missing.... And other deities and supernatural figures start to show up in their place. It doesn't take too long for elminster to figure out that each missing figure represents a place on the classic alignment chart. Turns out a certain someone is using some of his old designs to power the building of a permanent interdimensional bridge between two worlds... And chaos is ensuing. Mystra finds herself having to deal with Wee Jas, various gods of thievery start planning interdimensional heists..... Somewhere in the story needs to be a pub crawl through the city of Sigil although I'm not quite sure what point it would be fit in. And eventually everyone agrees that the matter needs to be put to rest before Vecna decides to rear his head again.,... If he hasn't already. At some point reality buckles and Elf starts to become a player class as well as a race again.
I had Alhoun in one of my underdark games. I had it as a reveal. He was kind of helping the thoroughly lost party in the guise of a human or something like that. The reveal was pretty fantastic. The horror and "dont eat me" after he had been helping them.
LOVE IT!!!!
Ive been obsessed with Mindflayers for years. It’s unreal to see them be that hotness these days
I wonder if Omellum’s research on how to supplement the mind flayer diet could be benefited by sensory crystals. Nutrition from his mushroom brew, and psionic sustenance from preserved sensations and memories
Excellent idea! Definitely worth exploring.
I like it
Ed greenwood is a wizard. You won't convince me otherwise.
Pretty sure he's Elminster.
Respect to the OG dev who understood that reaction isn't as heroic as we're told it is.
The father of the Forgotten Realms! What a treat to get to hear from a D&D living legend
As a mind flayer I prefer my brain diet to be free range, all natural, and uncontrolled by others.
@TalesAscen as a mind flayer murderer, I KEEL YOU! 😂
I still like that bit from the drizzt book where a cute throuple of mindflayers share an apartment and hang out on comfy chairs while they have their gnome slave redecorate.
It’s cozy.
From now on I will be unable to not giggle at illithids (goth - jet black, slinky). Just perfect.
I had no idea that the whole tadpole thing goes back to Lords of Madness! Thank you, as always, for shining a light on the Realms.
It would be *really cool* if you could do a video on your experience of how the Satanic Panic influenced D&D.
Why we don't have a Forgotten Realms live action series is beyond me. Most of them aside from Tolkien are based on the hard work Gygax and Ed did decades ago. Perhaps the last film will help push this idea, but without a bard (laughs in ranger).
It goes back farther, actually.
Ah! I'm involved in one, alongside Luke Gygax (son of Gary; he plays Melf), Keith Baker of Eberron fame, Elisa Teague, and Tommy Gofton (Lynnvander Studios/Six Sides of Gaming). It's the Adventurers League big saga for 2024, and we'll be recording live plays at GaryCon, Origins, GenCon, GameholeCon, and more!!!@@Kenobi_Cowboy
May I just say, that the mic quality, the videography and the editing is incredible in this video! I liked the previous setup it was kind of cozy, but this is a real step-up!
Isn't it great? Watching Ivan and Bleep set things up and fuss over details is wonderful; they won't settle for anything less than the best!
Having also lived through the Panic would love a video on Ed's experiences during it
I don't think it was too bad, the realms were relatively less affected by the satanic panic. Planescape on the other hand, haha
The Satanic Panic was raging for years before Planescape, which was published in part to sidestep the Panic, by taking the spotlight away from demons and devils while we renamed them. @@ronben-ezer8373
Who the heck gets to tell Ed Greenwood what is or isn't D&D?! Sounds like a real 4th edition attitude to me.
I've always found Illithids to be interesting parts of the lore. I've always wanted to have a mind flayer run a thieves guild from the shadows, some sort of necessary evil if you will.
'necessary'. :P
But a thief's gang leader who has to hide what they are from their own gang or they'd attack him is an amusement.
Jo Ed got that Drip with that velvet cloth💯💯
I first encountered Mind Flayers in Final Fantasy Tactics of all places. That battle system with the grid was actually pretty D&D-like come to think of it. They were just a type of monster that would appear in random battles but the higher powered variants would use the famous Mind Blast.
I have recently remembered that FFT was the first place I came across mind flayers. Love that I'm not the only one. :)
Same here. And I later found out that Mindflayers have been in the Final Fantasy series since the first installment. FF1 was so directly inspired by D&D that it even had the spellslot magic system haha.
I played an Illithid in the Spell Jammer era. As a player character. I thought it was somewhat over powered but I think thats more because how broken psionics was. And speaking of positively influencing monsters a Bard (Ranger,Druid,Illusionist,Thief) I created cast Find Familiar (which at that time used wandering monsters tables to determine what answered the Familiar call.), and a Tarasque was making a far in the distance disturbance in my direction. Sight unseen I called upon a Wish that what ever was crashing my way would just be 'Manageable'. Only because it was a answer to becoming a familiar did the wish actually effect the Tarasque shrinking it (him actually) down to Kobold size and intelligence to become bane and savior of the Party. They thought it was cute that he could drink hogs heads of spirits to seeming no effect. Until the dreaded 1 for a saving throw. Wicked drunk, insisted on music which did lull him from being destructive, but 7 hours...the Inn keeper gladly seen our backsides exiting when JawZ! (if you didnt say it with stress on the z and excited he didnt recognize it) finally fell asleep. The hostlery put us up and I slept a day and he slept 2.
LOL the noticable skipping of 4th edition. LMAO
trust not the Mind Flayer!!
great video!
If they ever do a live-action version of Elminster, it NEEDS to be you Ed!
I've always liked mindflayers, what they add to the game and storytelling made me appreciate the game more
The concept of a Mind Flayer who was able to manipulate a tadpole to transform a Dragon would be… horrifying. Imagine a mind blast that could wreck an entire village worth of people at once like a breath weapon…
Elder Brain Dragon says **Incomprehensible Eldritch Noises**
I mean they exist, there is a stat block for them. It's more a matter of getting the tadpole into a mature dragon, but if they were able to hatch a young dragon and mind control it they could certainly try to change them.
@@BouncingTribbles - honestly I had no idea there was - which product?
@@queenannsrevenge100Fizban's Treasury of Dragons! It's a rad book, I really enjoyed getting it to mine for ideas!
ooooh, the carnage My BBEG could unleash with a flight squad of afore mentioned dragons..mwhahahahahaha.
I believe that ceremorphis and tadpoles were actually not introduced in 3rd Lords of Madness but actually in Bruce Cordell's The Illithiad in 2nd edition AD&D
Yep, I have both. The tadpoles are in the Illithiad from late 2e.
I'd like to think that the tadpole inhibits creativity. It is a baby grub after all, so you can't just inject an entire city (no, haven't played BG3 yet) and enslave them all, because you'd have a giant pile of toddlers messing up the place.
Love the idea of mind flayers being more independent. Was thinking about doing a mind flayer character who is out in the open as the sheriff in a wild west style area - the towns folk get their security, the flayer gets his lunch and the bandits.... well no one really cared if the local bandits started turning up minus their skull walnuts.
had no idea Ed had such a great voice.
Who do we have to Mind Blast to get Gnome Squidlings as an official playable race around here?!
Yes, yes, to everything but that shirt is absolutely gorgeous, Ed! What a beautiful colour!
This new set-up looks great! It looks like a Masterclass lecture, very well done.
Yeah. So much this.
Violence, intrigue, seduction. Your TSR contact hadn't read a lot of Conan the Barbarian. A man of great melancholy, a king without a throne, a lover and a warrior, destined for tragedy. You know, the good stuff.
I just got The Making of A Mage because I had no clue where to start with Realms lore, what a fun little touch in the background.
The low-key insidiousness of your original conceptualization of the Mind Flayers is definitely going to wriggle its way into my campaign!
We need a Christmas special where Ed Greenwood is dressed up as Santa.
Didn't expect a Zelda 2/Punch Out reference by the editor.
An small note from an old gamer, Earthdawn RPG had Horror(s) creatures the more powerful they where, they would fed upon emotions over flesh. Our DM was a master at using their abilities. Even a low level horror with ability to “mark” and slowly manipulate a single PC in a group while exploring underground realms into emotional breakdowns terrorized us more then anything I have encountered in RPG’s over 30+ years. I highly suggest using mind flayers with a similar deftness. As Ed says, they are more then a boss in a dungeon.
Allow them to caress your party early in their levels… I used one in a campaign to support a Lich who became the groups benefactor early in their careers (3rd level) and without using abilities and or spells would gently push them into being the “heroes” the region needed. Gaining trust and the narrative allowed them to slowly push their actions first in destroying “evil” rivals too their plots then using their self attained righteousness to steer them into opposing good yet differing agenda factions. By level 13 the players had fallen into villainy before they discovered the truth, the evil they reported too. Then from 13 to epic levels they worked to recover their reputation and end this benefactor. Amazing two years :)
Brilliant! YES to using mind flayers like this.
Fun times. I used to read the Illithiad non-stop as a kid. That combined with a rich lore of Planescape and Spelljammer made me love them even more. And the whole "The Advisory" prophecy evolved and how different authors approached it.
Chronomancy, the Far Realm, Maanzecorian, Alhoons, and more all wrapped up in deep lore and prophecy revolving around The Advisory. Great stuff! =)
5:50 It's very telling that the "holy foes" called themselves BADD (Bothered About Dungeons & Dungeons), because being bothered by a fictional game that has brought so many people joy is just a really "badd" take. People who engage in that kind of censoring are the real-life mind flayers.
Ah cool! I used a Alhoon as reference for turning an adult Oblex into a wannabe wizard.
Great stuff here. I think there is room for both style of mindflayer, and honestly in my games will probably treat them as such. This info is a great primer for how to run Solo ilithids, but I would still leave room in my world for Elder Brains to exist, and potentially enthrall a coven of Ilithids to its will. It brings weight the monster as a big bad, one ilithid is pretty intense, but a group of them working in perfect unified vision would be horrifying.
I really enjoy the improved production value on this video!
The first description of Ceremorphosis goes back to The Illithiad of 2nd edition, not Lords of Madness.
Funnily enough I made a short some time ago asking people if Zoidberg was actually a mind flayer, and there I see your intro haha Love it
There is a 2e book, The Illithiad, that is one of my favorite legacy splat books.
It is the essential guide to mind flayers and is the first appearance of many of their now established trappings.
I would recommend anyone who loves lore to check it out.
I started playing when 3rd edition was new.
The first skilled DM that I met was in the barracks and he heavily played AD&D but begrudgingly ran 3rd for us.
When I asked why he still cared about the old books, he showed me The Illithiad and I was blown away.
Many years later, I started collecting those old books and I chased The Illithiad for another couple years until I broke down and paid a ridiculous amount for my very own copy.
Upon browsing it with a bit more wisdom and a more mature outlook, I was blown away once more.
They really don't make them like they used to.
I used to think the whole satanic panic thing was crazy, but living amidst another wave of it has opened my eyes a lot. It’s always a shame. I like the idea of mindflayers being more independent! I may do that in my games more
Never overestimate the human race 👍
I remember my mother and father sitting me down in the early 80's and talking with me about D&D. Asking me if I knew it was all only a game and make believe. I didn't know what the heck was going on at first. I told them of course I knew it was a game, which I did of course. My dad said, okay then, have fun! I was lucky to have parents that didn't subscribe to the panic of the day. I found out later on about the whole satanic panic crap that was going on. I thought all that was totally ridiculous!
Between the music I listened to and D&D, I'm lucky some random person didn't have me committed!! Thank you, mom and dad, for understanding and letting me grow and be myself!
@@charlescrum2563 - same here. Mom took a good look at the books, had a convo about reality and fantasy (and a talk about God, she was nominally Christian 😄). She just said, "don't talk about it at Church" and left me to it. It was as harmless as the Barbies and GI Joe's other kids were playing with, so she let me do what I wanted
(42 year old gent here), I moved every 2 years in the South (with the last name 'Gay') during the satanic panic as a death metal fan and to say all of that had an impact on me would be an understatement. Having adults everywhere i go tell me i deserve to burn in hell and treat me like shit just for asking questions or not falling in line. There's a reason churches are gettin emptier by the year these days. It's almost like never making amends for being nasty and dismissive is coming back to haunt them now that the kids are parents themselves.
Moral Panics of any leaning will do more harm than good, your ideas need to have solid rhetoric and logic to draw people to them of their own accord rather than bash them over the head with your world view. With force there will always be opposition that digs its heels into the depths of hell to resist you, just because you're forcing your will upon them without their consent.
Its easier to know your audience, speaking to them in a way that will connect, and then do your best to be honest about your own ideas that you put forward, always seeking for them to be challenged so only the strongest arguments can be put forward...their logic will grow in rational minds on its own.
Another wave? What?
This video makes ilithid sound like the Kindred of Vampire: the Masquerade. Cool
Production Value is excellent!! Apparently you guys did an upgrade to camera and lighting. Looks fantastic - well done!
I see the Elminster book in the left corner, I upvote. Ive read that book a dozen times and never get bored of it. One of the best, depicting one of the most interesting character of the Forgotten Realms, along with Drizzt and cie.
Just want to thank Ed Greenwood for all the thousands of hours of fun and adventure he has given so many of us around the world.
I always thought the Mind Flayers were amongst the most dangerous foes to face.
Illithids were plenty horrifying in 2e, especially after the Monstrous Arcana entry of The Illithiad. I have used them similarly in my games.
new set, new look, and Ed looking great!
The editing and sets look awesome.
I see you leveled up your editing! Gratz and thanks for the video!
That's all Ivan! Me slumped in my creaking office chair in front of my computer is...adequate, but this looks and sounds SO much better. Not sure the makeup will make me look pretty, though. ;}
I really got into D&D by playing the SSI games. Later, I started reading all the different novels.
Really like this format, feels like a cozy chat with ed. And the editing is great
This instantly became my favorite channel on RUclips. Thanks for all the great years of stories. I've been collecting Forgotten Realms novels and sourcebooks my entire adult life and I am eternally grateful for what you and your fellow writers created for us.
Love your world building man!!
I have had games run for years. The politics and Plots was crazy. We had so much fun, our and there was plenty of fighting. It all just balanced togather.
BG3 is amazing. Would lööööve to hear what Ed thinks of the added lore abouth the githyanki (especially about Vlaakith). 💛
I would also wanna know more about the pact between the Githyanki and Tiamat
I just beat BG3 last night (had an absolute blast) and as someone who usually isn’t into wildly designed creatures/characters, i was very surprised coming out of it being fascinated by the Illithid and The Emperor…they’re fucking awesome
Wow, eds camera and lighting has improved, this is a lot more watchable
Damn how is Ed Greenwood just SO GOOD at this. Like oh my god.
great stuff!
Mind flayers have been one of my favorite antagonists to come up against and led to one of my favorite characters I ever played, my sword bard Zephyr Blitz; a failed ceremorphosis experiment to see if changelings could become mind flayers while retaining their shape shifting. I don't think I'll ever get sick of Ilithid or the fun possibilities they bring to the game.
Thank you kindly dear Sir ♥ I loved all information about mind flayers personality. Illithids are most fascinating!
Purple is a good color for the subject of this video. It just feels like an illithid’s color.
Loving the new suit! Looking 9th level fly!
These have always reminded me of guild navigators from dune
Mind Flayers are hyper specialized. While they are stronger than humans. They also are not nearly as adaptable, they can only breed by using intelligent creatures. They can only eat one specific food source. They require very specific enviroment condition to live comfortably.
Flay that mind!
Just stumbled on this, while working and I had no idea you had a youtube!
I've been a fan of your books ever since I was a kid checking them out from the library en masse!
Thanks for the childhood memories and I'm glad to see you're well.
You're one of the major influences towards my own dream of being a published writer.
I'm reminded of friends joking about making the spell "Polymorph Head to Ass" just to give Mind Flayers a nasty surprise.
That's actually something that happened in one of Salvatore's books. I think it was when forces from Menzoberranzan tried to invade... Silverymoon...? (It's been over a decade since I read the books, and I went on a massive bender at my local library.) Where a pair of wizards from the city that the heroes befriended (Harkle Harpell I think one's name was) did just this.
From my favorite author to my new favorite RUclips channel about Forgotten Realms, keep up the great work!
Wow! Great analogy as we have a sort of mind flayers at work in real life!
I appreciate your new editing style with mostly clean shots of Ed and less stock footage interjections. Ed is all the production value you need. :) Also, I know it's common practice, but the constant zooming is a little tiring.
Firstly, I've been pronouncing Illithid all wrong, as ILL-ee-thid, rather than il-LITH-id. I love learning new things!
Secondly, Ed has his map of Waterdeep sideways. I can't unsee that. >.<
Love always to Ivan and Ed, OfficialAPoD
I see everything sideways. It helps with commuting, no end.
I like how this is intentionally BG3-spoiler-free.
Amazing Production Quality! Good job on this one!
Having grown up around a parent who fell for the satanic panic conspiracy and sank into actually dangerous levels of paranoia because of it, it always fascinates me to see TTRPG designers who lived through the height of that talk about it and the effects it had on their work. I'd be interested in hearing more about what things looked like behind the scenes during that period and how it affected the game's development. Be that in changes to the lore, or to how the game itself ran, and even sales and marketing.
It was rough as hell to go through, but in spite of that I want to understand just what the hell happened through a broader lens - and I think that's important to talk about now, as we're seeing a resurgence of mass hysteria.
On a lighter note, it's great to see that the old wizard himself is of a similar mindset I go into games with - that the "monsters" are often people as much as the humanoid characters, and that reasoning with them or even befriending them is just as possible as fighting them. Combat stuff is fun, but I think I get the most enjoyment out of solving problems via diplomacy or investigation more than anything else. And I think Illithids in particular are creatures that fascinate me because they offer the opportunity to explore a really alien mindset; one that has its strange perspective and set of ethics that whilst strange and even hostile, still possesses consistent internal logic. Perhaps once I've finished building my Shade Enclave game, I'll try running something based around Mind Flayers and the Underdark?
I was rather fond of the Gith introduced back in 1eADnD. The PCs had gotten into their teens in levels, and had survived fighting Lolth in the Abyss. In ADnD that was a thing PCs did. Having them trek through the Astral plane trying to get back to their homework let me use Githzeri as their sometimes allies against mind flayers and other high level denizens of that place. It was a lot of fun.
Ed, thank you for continuing to make these wonderful videos. My players love some of these little tidbits I insert into our game, as they do so much for immersion! I hope to meet you in person some day (maybe CanCon); your Realms have brought me many years of joy.
Fantastic video Mr. Greenwood and love the new style. But when it comes to mind flayers/ghaik it is the wisest choice to apply a silver sword to them, personally. Keep up the phenomenal work!
As grateful as I am for Ed Greenwood’s insights, I wish he also had Dave Arneson’s or Gary Gygax’s RUclips musings. I know that makes me sound ungrateful for Ed Greenwood’s….legally free…Amazing RUclips channel, I’m not!
How wonderful to get a video like this from one of the long time creators of the world. Great video, and yes DnD can be like this. Who sent the agent who hired the mercenary company who hired the players? My players have never managed to uncover any of the mid flayer conspiracies in my games. They always go after the surface level connections and take down the fall guy. Maybe because I leaned into the gentle steering idea from the beginning.
My take on their society has been to treat them a bit like vampires, in that the mind control of newly created mind flayers is more of an imprinting. It would only last until a young mind flayer has matured by eating and dominating enough minds. The older mind flayers wouldn't abuse it to much because they would soon be their peers, kind of an acceptable level of domination as guidance. More of an apprenticeship than a slavery period, even though they functionally have control over the newborn. This linkage is the end cause of an elder brain, and essentially the evolution of an elder brain would be like a pyramid scheme, with the elder brain absorbing any near fully matured mind flayers that they created before they become elder brains of their own.
I think the grand design and elder brain business is what is meant to distinguish them from vampires. Take that out and they're fairly similar in themes and behaviours.
😂 Can We just take a hot second to appreciate that not even Ed Greenwood acknowledged the existence of 4th Edition in the slideshow of Progression of Mind Flayers? Even though 4th Ed made Faerun the Official D&D Setting / Main Timeline, as opposed to 3rd Ed where it was still technically Greyhawk.
Thought provoking question from BG3 - do Illithids have souls? A prominent character in BG3 thinks they do not, but would this be true in all cases?
They have a God, so yes
That was a great episode!
Are theire some more detailed Mind Flayer charakters that you like?
I always look forward to these, i'm an Ed head
Romancing monsters?
...
So Ed has walked THAT path in BG3.
Anything alien / far realm is awesome
Mind flayers are so cool. I'll gladly be one.
Is this Volo?
Imagine telling the other dnd founders that dnd isn't just a murder hobo simulation.