Mind-flayers vs. Yuan-ti : the alien threat

[Turanil]

Okay, I've just read two threads that inspire me to begin a third:

This could work for D&D, for d20 CoC, and for a Grim Tales homebrew in which are only humans.

This is a world where Yuan-ti and Mind-flayers are powerful races that have been battling each others for centuries (mankind in between). Both are powerful races when it comes to magic, they are not a handful of monsters in the underdark.

- Mind-flayers are a race from beyond the stars, something Cthulhu-like. They come through gates that open when the stars are right.
- Yuan-ti were the first evolved intelligent race long before humans. They retreated back on some continent for whatever reason, but are still stronger than humans.


So what else? Ideas to add?

 

[Geron Raveneye]

Okay, I've just read two threads that inspire me to begin a third:

This could work for D&D, for d20 CoC, and for a Grim Tales homebrew in which are only humans.

This is a world where Yuan-ti and Mind-flayers are powerful races that have been battling each others for centuries (mankind in between). Both are powerful races when it comes to magic, they are not a handful of monsters in the underdark.

- Mind-flayers are a race from beyond the stars, something Cthulhu-like. They come through gates that open when the stars are right.
- Yuan-ti were the first evolved intelligent race long before humans. They retreated back on some continent for whatever reason, but are still stronger than humans.


So what else? Ideas to add?

Throw in Freeport, the conflict between Yig, Father of Snakes and the Great Old One should fit into it like a hand into a glove. Take a peek at the first adventures for Freeport, they are nice to set the scene with forbidden cults and old, mysterious gods.

 

[DaveStebbins]

I've always imagined mind flayers and snake-men as being two of the original four races created by the gods. They enslaved the other two (dragons and elves) and made war upon each other across the globe for millenia. They used (now lost, of course) shaping magics to create most of the other races and many other creatures. Eventually the war came to head when the mind-flayers cursed the race of snake-men, making them cold-blooded. In retaliation, the snake-men cursed the mind-flayers, making them allergic to the sun. Both races fell into decline as snake-men were forced towards the tropical regions of the world and mind flayers were forced underground. Thus ended the ancient times...

Gives some background to two major villain races IMC.

-Dave

 

[Cheiromancer]

Like Dave's only the climate changed.

It used to be that the world was swathed in thick clouds, and it was much warmer and moister. Jungles from pole to pole.

Then something happened. The world got colder and drier, and the yuan-ti retreated to the tropics. But at the same time the clouds thinned and the solar radiation drove the mind-flayers underground. Other races (humanoids, mostly) flourished under the new conditions.

 

[Turanil]

Hey! There is plenty of good ideas here! Keep them coming!

So far we have:

1) In ancient times the world was swathed in thick clouds, and it was much warmer and moister. As such the world was covered with jungles from pole to pole, and continuously gloomy (clouds and thick jungles).

The Sarukh (progenitors of the Yuan-ti) were the first intelligent (evil) race to reign on the world. Then came the Mind-flayers from beyond the stars, through gates opening "when the stars are right". Hence, there was a war between Yig, Father of Snakes, and the Great Old Ones.

Then something happened to the planet's climate. The world got colder and drier, and the yuan-ti retreated to the tropics. But at the same time the clouds thinned and the solar radiation drove the mind-flayers underground. Thus ended the ancient times...

Other races (humanoids, mostly) flourished under the new conditions. Yet they were at first the slaves of the Yuan-ti and the Mind-flayers, horribly perverted by them. Ages later, as both the Yuan-ti and the Mind-flayers are now totally behind the scenes, humans (and other humanoids) don't remember them. However, in many places (like Freeport) still exist forbidden cults and old, mysterious gods.

PCs: They will discover that the world is not what they think, and... and???

 

[Jupp]

You could add the Neogi as allies to the Illithids. They are quite a cool race to have in a campaign due to their alien society.

 

[Gez]

Maybe the atmosphere got thinner. This resulted in the colder temperature and clearer skies. It also explains why the world became drier. (Does it shows that I'm readin Kim S. Robinson's Mars trilogy right now?)

Also, it forced the dragons to rely on magic to keep their flight, for they no longer had the buoyancy required in that depressurized atmosphere (Archimedes' push and all that). Likewise, it caused the extinction of giant insects, except in places where their existence was saved by combinations of factors, like magics or sealed underground ecosystems.

You can tie several other monsters with the illithids. Most notably, grells and neogis. Servants of the yuan-ti could include most of the reptilian humanoids and monstrous humanoids -- lizardfolk, troglodytes, for example.

 

[Geron Raveneye]

PCs: They will discover that the world is not what they think, and... and???

Well, that kinda depends on where you want to go with your story now. Do both parties try to resurrect their gods power through forbidden cults? Mayb change the climate to what it was before? Or do they simply use the younger races to further their schemes of simple survival? Have they forgotten most of what has happened, and wage a secret war just because it's done for millenia? Maybe the stars will be right again with a certain constellation, and the PCs have to cooperate with the Yuan-Ti, the only ones who know when and where the gates will open, to stop an invading army of fresh Illithids to conquer the world again? Maybe they uncover a Yuan-Ti plot to turn all humans into snake-slaves and help them eradicate all mind flayers? The possibilities are endless...

 

[Kemrain]

Mind Flayers and Yuan Ti... These are two great villanous races because they touch upon deep seated human fears. They evoke reactions within us very powerfully, and they are easy to despise.

Mind Flayers are the embodyment of unknown and unknowable horror. Cthuloid horrors that rape the mind and view human beings with all the caring and compassion we give to insects. They perform experiments upon our bodies and twist our minds in the persuit of cold, sterile, uncaring knowledge, or dark unspeakable pleasures. As far from man as possible, they reach out with writhing tentacles into our nightmares. They are the Alien horror.

Yaun Ti, on the other hand, are rooted in our fears and taboos. Once they were human, but incest, dark sorcery, and devotion to unspeakable powers has twisted their forms beyond all that we hold dear. The corruption of innocence and purity is what Yaun Ti embody; evil men damned to crawl on their bellies like snakes for the wicked sins they infect upon the world. Worse than the Abominations is the Purebloods, for anyone could be one. You could even have the cold blood of snakes running through your veins, and feel the pull of evil in your mind and soul without knowing of your heritage. Yaun Ti are the Familiar horror.

Both of these races are great villans, but I'm not sure how well they'd be played against eachother. You've come up with a lovely way to have a war where the PCs'll feel dirty for even consitering taking a side. However, it sounds like there might be too much evil going on for the players to truely appreciate it. These creatures are supposed to be (in my mind, at least) creatures thay you can relate to and empathise with even less than Fiends!

The Yaun Ti spoken of earlier in this thread seem to be a race unto themselves, created by gods, which I think detracts from their evil and horrific nature. Yaun Ti are scary because they were human, but gave that up for the promise of power. But to each his own, and I wish you luck. I merely wished to suggest that you not forget to establish how differently evil these creatures are from eachother, without making one side of the war seem less evil. No cuddly snake men or plush cthulhu dolls, okay?

- Kemrain the Eldritch Horror from Out th' Stars!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

- Mind-flayers are a race from beyond the stars, something Cthulhu-like. They come through gates that open when the stars are right.
- Yuan-ti were the first evolved intelligent race long before humans. They retreated back on some continent for whatever reason, but are still stronger than humans.


So what else? Ideas to add?

What if the mind flayers were actually a whole race of tentacled cthulhu like creatures?

And the yuan-ti had not just snake men, but also crocs, lizards, turtles, other reptiles?

And what if they retreated, not just to another continent, but to a whole different planet?

Like, I dunno... Mars or something.


Wulf