
Hazard Kitten
So, there's apparently some very interesting thing about Illithids in AD&D in a set of modules that really gets basically tossed out by everyone else who has written them since

Hazard Kitten
"They're evil, xenophobic and eat brains," right? WRONG!

Hazard Kitten
They don't have to eat brains to survive, they can survive off of psionic energy, but the reason they eat brains is entirely because of the Elder Brains

Hazard Kitten
who are their leaders-slash-libraries, and the Elder Brains want to maintain their hold over their brethern

Hazard Kitten
so they purposely pit mindflayer against mindflayer so they don't band to overthrown the brains, carefully edit out the fact they can live without eating brains from their memories

Hazard Kitten
and the large reason these distrustful loners end up keeping slaves is in reality, they're extremely social as a base before getting groomed into arrogant loners by the Elder Brains, so they literally need slaves to emotionally/psychically bond with or else die of loneliness

moontouched
that's neaaaat

Hazard Kitten
and it is quite possible for someone getting turned/becoming a host for a future illithid to retain their personality if taken outside of an Elder Brain's influence

Master Chieve
So with enough therapy

Master Chieve
you COULD have a heroic illithid

Hazard Kitten
so like how the Drow were shaped into efficient soldiers who will betray their own families in service of Lloth, the Illithids are psychically and culturally manipulated by their leaders so they'll never overthrow them

Hazard Kitten
turning very social creatures that can passively absorb psychic energy to arrogant slave-owning brain eaters

Hazard Kitten
so yeah, heroic illithids are quite possible

Hazard Kitten
Yeah, funny how two of the big Underdark races are evil largely because of cruel despots who completely destroyed their ability to bond with their own people to hold onto power

Le Comtesse
ah yes. the Illithiad. I have a PDF of it around here.