Breathing New Life Into Old Monsters

[PingosHusband]

As a GM I often find the need to put in a new angle on various monsters that have been otherwise worn out through overuse.

 

Here's one I thought of this morning (I don't plan to use it since I'm not going to be running D&D for a while).

 

Mind Flayers are usually depicted as running a society based on enthralling other creatures through mind control and using them as a combination of labor force, food source, and breeding bodies.  The life of the thralls is dull and horrible.

 

But suppose that the touch of an Illithid tentacle to a brain stimulated vast ecstatic pleasure better than any sensation in life.  Instead of mind controlled slaves, the thralls would be tentacle-touch addicts, eager to work for and please their Illithid masters.  Illithid infiltration of cities would be like the wokrings of a drug cartel.  The Mind Flayers would have armies of eager servants, begging to be recognized and given more contact.

 

As for brain eating, with such a large population serving them, the Illithids can give the dying a day or so of pleasure then consume their brains.

 

As for Cerebromorphosis. the Illithid breeding cycle wherein a larval flayer consumes a brain over the course of a week and takes over their body, that would be the greatest experience of all, one solid week of pure, unending bliss followed by death.  The thralls would be vying for the honor and experience of it.

 

This makes the job of adventurers trying to overthrow mind flayers even harder, because they have to contend with willing servants and secret addicts. 

 

For added measure one can make the Githyanki and the Githzerai immune to this effect provided they live lives of grim unhappiness. 

[canuckotter]

This seems like a rather fun idea... I may have to steal it at some point.  

[Chaoswolf]

I agree, that is a very cool idea. I may also steal it; I have a campaign in the offing (first game is this afternoon) that I haven't worked out the middle/end of yet.

[PingosHusband]

Feel free to steal it.  I recently finished a psionics intensive game (it's the one Pingo painted the ship for), and don't plan to run D&D any time soon, and if I did mind flayers would not likely be a major part of it.

[Dr.Bedlam]

A vurra different take. It would also tend to damp down any rebellious impulses on the part of the slave class...

[Matbar]

I like it a lot.  It would be a very interesting take on the subject, and fun to play.  It would really mess with some of the characters who have a higher morality.  Is it right to overthrow the Mind Flayers because it IS a lot like drugs?  Is it wrong to take someone away from a choice they made freely, even if it's bad for them?  It should add a lot of depth to the roleplay.

[joshuaslater]

Game mastering for the grown ups table. Most excellent.

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

Reminds me of the wire addicts from the Ring World universe. Well done.

[etherial]

Reminds me of some of the aspects of the Goa'ould from Stargate: SG-1.

[BLZeebub]

Way cool idea.  I love twisting the old tropes to make them new. 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, I remember the version of mindflayers that I made for Pathfinder, way back when Pathfinder was new.

 

In that case the mindflayers ate the brain, and regurgitated an infant 'flayer into the skull cavity - which had the memories of the now devoured brain. (I call them 'thids.)

 

Over time the 'thid gets less and less human. The first obvious sign being when the tentacles erupt from the mouth....

 

Came in handy later, when Reaper released their version of the Hounds of Tindalos....

What happens when a canine is impregnated by a 'thid.

 

The Auld Grump - I have been tempted to do an elephant that has been chosen as a host....

[lowlylowlycook]

Huh.  That Hound of Tindalos really should have been added to the Mythos expansion of KSIII.

[redambrosia]

Fantastic idea!  I bet my hubby will like it. Always fun to put ideas in his head *gulp*

[TGP]

Reminds me of the wire addicts from the Ring World universe. Well done.

What were those things called, Drouds?

 

Worn behind the ear...sorta like a blue-tooth device...   

Larry Niven predicted the illicit sale of human organs too...   

 

___________

 

 

The most creative thing I ever did (and 'twasn't much of a much really) was to create Doubled-Down Doppel Dragons.

 

These were nothing other than taking the base stats of two different dragons and just adding them across the board. So a green dragon would contribute, 9HD, cloud breath weapon, and green scales and a black dragon would add, 11HD, acid jet weapon, and black scales...

 

Result: 20HD Dragon, Alternating Black/Green scale pattern, choice of two breath weapons, three shots of each type, etc.

Edited October 12, 2015 by TGP

[ShadowRaven]

I like it. Such a marvelous way of creating a really awkward situation for the PC's to be in. How do you deal with a slave population that is literally addicted to their overlords? 'rescue' becomes far different when the populace does not want to be rescued.