... This is awesome.

And the reasoning behind so many multiclass feats, is that sometimes when he eats brains, he absorbs some of that person's memories and personality. Hence why he's left the Underdark and started adventuring.

Likely he started as a regular old flayer, then he ate a musician and he was like "Whoa... Music's kinda cool." And that sparked his adventuring career.

I figure the rest of his classes would be something similar, he eats a cleric and suddenly he finds himself worshiping a deity he really has no inclination towards (perhaps Pelor?), eats a Shaman and that guy's spirit starts following the flayer around, and so on.

>I really want something that emphasizes music, but all the Bard PP's suck.

This is incorrect. If you're a Cunning bard, the Summer Rhymer makes you an excellent healer: with Improved Majestic Word is going to heal HSV + 2d6 + Cha mod + Cha mod hit points, grant Cha mod temporary hit points, AND slide your ally 1 square. If you're a Valor bard, the War Chanter is your only option, since spending an action point gives all of your allies within 5 squares an UNTYPED bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls equal to your Constitution modifier, not to mention that the other level 11 feature makes you hand out temporary hit points at a disturbingly fast rate.

tl;dr = Summer Rhymer and War Chanter are awesome.

Additionally, here's a little trick if you're a Cunning bard at level 11: have everyone in your party, including yourself, take the Agile Opportunist paragon feat, and have everyone who doesn't have Strength primary take the Melee Training heroic feat. The former feat makes it so that whenever you're pushed, pulled, or slid adjacent to an enemy, you get to make a free opportunity attack. Now, consider that you get to slide an ally as a free action once per round with the Virtue of Cunning, and your Majestic Word slides as well, thereby resulting in free attacks for everyone each round.

>>4132071

Well what I mean is that none of the Bard PP's really focus on music. The Summer Rhymer is nice, yeah, but there's nothing really... musical about it, singing and poetry looks like it... Plus thematically it doesn't really fit a mind flayer.

If there isn't another option though, that's probably what I'll take, and I can probably just blame the conflicting themes on someone he ate.

But I thought 4e couldn't handle cool characters!

Are you telling me the 3.5 fans lied to me?!

>>4132100
>The Summer Rhymer is nice, yeah, but there's nothing really... musical about it

>Song of the Queen's Protection
>Song of Spiral Paths
>Song of the High Court

Fuck you.

>>4132118

Fine, my problem is just the fluff then. Call me picky, but a mind flayer following some fairy queen just doesn't seem quite right.

I guess like I said I can assume it's someone he ate that's behind it, but I was hoping to find some PP that was a bit more generic...

Pity they didn't include a Virtuoso or something similar in the PHB2.

rolled 45 = 45

I... can't even begin to fathom how to convince one of my groups DMs to let me do this in D&D, but I'm totally stealing this idea for the supervillain campaign we're starting soon.

>>4132230

You know, if you're already willing to use a homebrew race (Illithid), you could also take it a bit further and tweak the fluff of whatever paragon path you pick, because I am 100% certain that there are no mind flayer-based PPs in 4e because they don't even exist as a player race. You could at least go for a psychic musician schtick with the Blood Mage wizard paragon path, which is the closest thing you'll get to a psionic paragon path in 4e. Destructive Salutation is one hell of a stunning psionic blast.

>>4132249

Feel free. If it helps, I'm using homebrew stats for the illithid (since it was never officially statted) that I found on the WotC forums.

+2 Charisma, +2 Intelligence.
Size: Medium.
Speed: 6 squares.
Vision: Darkvision.

Languages: Common, Deep Speech.
Skill Bonuses: +2 Bluff, +2 Dungeoneering.
Aberrant Origin: You descend from subterranean creatures with links to the far realm. You are considered to have the aberrant origin for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.
Telepathy: You can communicate telepathically with any creature in ten squares as a free action. While other creatures will not hear what you "say," the target must respond to you verbally. You must speak a language the target understands. This telepathic communication fulfills class feature or power requirements that a target be able to hear you.
Mind Blast: You can use mind blast as an encounter power.

Mind Blast Mind Flayer Racial Power
You create a blast of psychic energy that tears the minds of nearby creatures
Encounter
Minor Action Blast 3
Target: All creatures in blast
Attack: Intelligence, wisdom, or charisma +2 versus will
Hit: 1d6 + Intelligence, wisdom, or charisma modifier psychic damage.
Increase bonus to +4 and 2d6 damage at 11th level and +6/3d6 at 21st level.

>>4132263

True enough, reflavoring is quick, easy and painless... I'll probably just do that then

Now fluff-wise, I'm wondering what kind of impact these different 'personalities' will have on him.

The first thing, of course, is the bardic influence. He's probably eaten several bards, developed a taste for music (harharhar), maybe started playing himself. That's probably when the other Illithids kicked him out, starting his adventuring career.

Somewhere in there, he eats a Cleric. Next day he finds himself giving praise to that Cleric's deity without thinking.

Similar events happen when he eats a Sorcerer. Boom, he's got a little bit of draconic magic in him; eat's a warlock and foom, he finds himself beholden to that person's Pact (at least partly); eats a rogue and finds himself eyeing everyone's pockets and casing shops; goes for a Druid and then he can shapeshift, a talent he actually finds useful for camouflage purposes; and then he eats a Shaman, and discovers that guy's spirit companion following along, albeit grudgingly...

And now I just discovered one empty feat slot. What else should I multiclass into? With my stats I can get... Swordmage, Wizard, Ranger, Avenger, or Invoker.

>>4132409
What sort of group are you running with where they won't mind hanging with a brain-munching mind flayer? And how do you plan to solve the problem of the common folk being scared shitless of you?

>>4132421

Not a clue as to the rest of the group. As for getting by, I'd say yay to Word of Friendship, +22 Diplomacy check with that and a "I'm not here to cause trouble, officer. Promise. I'm just a traveling minstrel, I'm not even armed."

If that doesn't cut it... Wildshape and pose as a party member's animal companion.

>>4132462

Clarification: I do not know what the rest of the group are running, but we aren't the kind of group to get into inter-party hostilities. We've had a lot of mosntrous PC's in the past, so I should be good.

>>4132477
Monsterous PCs are one thing, but Mind Flayers come under the "really, seriously evil" category. Not to discourage you from playing it, it's an awesome concept, but give some thought about why the group would be pals with you. Unless your group glazes over such things.

>>4132517

We do tend to glaze over it, yeah. There might be a sorta tense moment when everyone meets for the first time, but I doubt it'll go much farther than that. (Although I might casually measure their heads from time to time, just for fun.)

>>4132540
That's a thought: what alignment are you going with? I'm guessing he's somewhat humanised from absorbing all that thought-matter into his own head, since a standard Illithid, if memory serves, has utterly alien thinking and nothing resembling positive human emotions. Hell, he'll probably frighten himself with how "strangely" he thinks from time to time.

>>4132562

Oh indeed, most of what he does he probably doesn't think about. But if someone were to point it out to him, he'd likely get really freaked out for a while.

Party Member: "Hey man, what are you doing over there."
Illithid: "Just making a quick offering to Pelor."
PM: "You... worship Pelor? The god of the sun? Don't you people live underground and hate the sun?"
Illithid: "Of course we do, we can't stand the sun!"
PM: "Then... why?"
Illithid: "I... do not know. Stop asking so many questions, mortal!"


As for alignment, strictly unaligned. He's been humanized, sure. He may value life on some level... but he also still eats brains, whenever he can. The fresher the better.

>>4132596
For some reason I can't help but read his dialogue in Edwin's voice. And is he going to use an instrument, or is he going for mind-song and all that?

Wear a cowboy hat and act like Cad Bane.

>>4132617

Using an instrument, definitely. Reflavor some of the mandolins and harps as guitars, and go for the look in my opening post.

Ilsenhoon stepped back and let the elf’s body fall to the floor with a wet thump. He clacked his mandibles several times, sure to dislodge any stray bits of skull or brain matter. Searching his pockets, he produced a handkerchief and dabbed at his tentacles, wiping them clean.

He sat down in his chair and looked at the corpse in front of him. Not long ago, it was pleading for its pathetic little life. Some nonsense about hunting drow. Ilsenhoon cared not, it had stumbled upon his territory, and its life was forfeit.

It did carry peculiar gear, however. Most would go to the city of course, to arm the thralls and perhaps to be traded off to duergar, or the beholderkin. But something caught his eye. It was oddly shaped, and he was sure he’d never seen such a thing before, but nonetheless, he recognized it. Reaching down, the grasped the guitar and untangled it from the cooling corpse. He held it as if he’d played his whole life, and gave it one quick strum.

It made such a pleasant noise… But no, such things were for lesser mortals. Weaklings. He set the guitar aside and departed his quarters… maybe he’d keep it though. The city wouldn’t miss it. And it sounded so nice too. He couldn’t help as his cheek twitched, in a twisted mockery of a smile.

>>4132725

This is good.

>>4132725
Now I want to see how his kin react when he becomes too humanised to tolerate.

It had been several weeks since he’d eaten the elf musician. Since then he’d been experimenting with the guitar. He certainly knew how to hold it… he knew all the chords, and he could make quite a racket with it… but there was something that eluded him. Something he did not yet grasp. It infuriated him. There was something he didn’t understand about it. It sounded well enough, but it didn’t sound right.

Ilsenhoon was browsing the slave pens, examining the new stock. They all stood, half-dressed in the cages like scared animals. They shrunk away as Ilsenhoon passed. He moved on to the benches of equipment, things taken from the chattel as they were stripped down and imprisoned… there it was. A mandolin. Certainly not a guitar, but it was close. Perhaps its owner could reveal the secret of this ‘music.’

He grabbed the instrument and held it up towards the cages. WHOSE INSTRUMENT IS THIS? His thoughts boomed out across the sea of deadened, inferior minds. Almost all flinched at the telepathic contact, but one of the slaves, a human, looked up at the object with a look of familiarity. Ilsenhoon knew it was the owner.

He looked to a nearby thrall guard, BRING THIS ONE TO MY CHAMBERS. It nodded and gathered more guards to open the cage.

Ilsenhoon returned to his quarters with the mandolin and the slave in tow. He tossed the mandolin aside, it was not the thing that intrigued him. He picked up his guitar and pelted out a few chords.

IT SOUNDS WRONG. TELL ME WHAT I AM DOING WRONG, his thoughts cracked into the human’s head.

The human flinched away for a second, and then spoke up in a nervous, hurried tone, “Ah… you’re not making any music… you’re just playing random notes… You need to give it rhythm. Let me go and I’ll teach you!” It looked hopeful. Stupid chattel.

THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. THRALLS, RESTRAIN HIM.

There’s nothing better than a nice, fresh meal.

Later that night, a sweet, soft melody rang out in the halls around Ilsenhoon’s quarters.

>>4132852
>>4132859

Holy shit. My second RPG character ever was an illithid bard.

He got shot down by a helicopter. Also, the DM refrained from telling me that one of the other PCs was secretly using the illithid slayer PRC.

A month later, Ilsenhoon was brought before the Elder Brain of the city, held fast by two orcish thralls. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, he boomed to all within range, struggling against his captors.

Ilsenhoon stared down into the iridescent blue pool, just able to make out the grand splendor of the Elder Brain, its massive tentacles gently undulating in the murky depths, without causing a single ripple on the surface.

Other Illithids circled around the pool. The orcs forced Ilsenhoon onto his knees before retreating and leaving the chamber. How strange, thralls were only forced to leave during certain proceedings… implantations, military and diplomatic meetings (usually one in the same), and… Ilsenhoon’s milky white eyes narrowed… banishment.

The illithids stepped close. Ilsenhoon was sure he could even see several ulitharids, and the city’s only alhoon among the circle.

ILSENHOON, the Elder Brain cracked, its thoughts entering his mind like a fine razor. YOU HAVE MADE A REQUEST TO HOLD A ‘CONCERT’ DURING THE NEXT IMPLANTATION CEREMONY. EXPLAIN.

Well, you could adapt the Illithid Savant from savage species...

Ilsenhoon shook his head for a moment, clearing his thoughts and gulped, feeling nervous for the first time in his life. OH GREAT ELDER. A CONCERT IS AN EVENT WHICH FEATURES MUSIC. I AM TOLD IT IS QUITE ENTERTAINING, AND HELPS TO INCREASE MORALE AND PROMOTE FRIVOLITY.

Immediately Ilsenhoon could feel dozens of voices inside his head, all shouting, all angry. One rang out above them all, silencing them. SILENCE. WE DO NOT NEED FRIVOLITY. WE DO NOT NEED MORALE. WE ARE ILLITHID. WE ARE SUPERIOR.

The circle closed in further, their thoughts striking him as one. ITS MIND IS UNCLEAN. IT HAS BEEN TAINTED.

CONFIRMED, the Elder Brain’s thoughts again silenced the rest, cutting into Ilsenhoon’s mind painfully. YOU ARE TAINTED. EMOTIONS CRACK THE BORDERS OF YOUR MIND.

There was a moment of absolute silence for a long while, deafening silence. Ilsenhoon knew they were communicating amongst themselves… deciding his fate.

The Elder Brain’s thoughts returned. YOU WILL BE BANISHED, WITH THE LOCATION OF ALL ILLITHID CITIES STRIPPED FROM YOUR MIND. YOU ARE NEVER TO RETURN TO OUR KIND. YOU WILL LIVE OUT YOUR REMAINING DAYS ON THE SURFACE WORLD, NEVER AGAIN TO SEE THE GLORY OF THE ILLITHID EMPIRE.

A cacophony of thoughts entered his mind again, overpowering him, and pushing him into unconsciousness.

He later came-to, at the mouth of a cave… the vast night sky laid out before him. He couldn’t remember where he came from… but he held his guitar close and struck out into the world.

Don't play 4e. Don't worry though, not here to troll. Just weighing in on the awesomeness of oddly raced bards

>>4133152

Eh, truth be told I like 4e and 3.5 both... but this concept works so much better with 4e.

In 3.5, I'd have to deal with the whole ECL of Mindflayers, which I think is something like +12 or higher... and then I wouldn't be able to get the spiffy multiclassing/personality things without keeping it merely fluff, or dipping into a lot of classes, thus making me all but useless.

3.5 has its good points, but facilitating the use of this character isn't one of them.

Incidentally, I'm currently working on a homebrew system I like to call "All-Bards". It's relatively simple in theory, really hard to actually MAKE. Basically, it came about after watching FLCL and Legend of Black Heaven. The idea is simple, all weapons on Earth are equally useless compared to a musician of enough skill. Basically, imagine Black Metal being used to raise dark gods from their graves which are then beset by a ska group versed in the workings of anti-demon brass instruments. Then they later find out that this is all the work of some giddy evil pop-star. Also, because it's cool, magic powers make instruments nearly indestructible. Because guitar fights must happen

>>4133081
>>4133125
>>4133149

Nicely done.

Before I get writefagging the other classes... what do you guys think should be his new patron 'Deity', and perhaps what form should his spirit companion take?

>>4133220
Herman Li

Yog-Sathoth, master of the Music of the Spheres, of course.

>>4133235

"Spirit companion, come to my aid!"

Herman Li: "This is how I make the Pac-Man noise."

>>4133152
Actually, a Warforged would make a pretty good Valorous Bard.

On another note, I am copying and pasting the writefaggotry as fast as I can.

>>4133220
>what do you guys think should be his new patron 'Deity'
HELM
>perhaps what form should his spirit companion take?
GIANT RAVEN

>>4133235
>>4133259

Amusing as those would be, semi-serious campaign needs semi-serious answers.

>>4133250

Similar here. Worshipping the Old Gods seems good for a regular mindflayer, but this guy will have picked up the worship from some poor sap he just ate.

>>4133220
>>patron deity
Pelor for maximum irony.

>>spirit companion
Giant mantis shrimp if stalker spirit, giant cuttlefish if protector spirit.

>>4133343

Yeah, I've been thinking Pelor too. It's just too hard to resist, I gotta go with that one...

But I think I'll go for >>4133316's giant raven, unless something better comes up before I get to the Shaman bit.

How about Corellon? God of arcane magic and the arts. Push him even more towards bardish tendencies.

>>4133413
I just don't see Pelor grantign favor to an ithilid.

Helm, maybe, but Pelor, no way.

He better have a fukken wicked axe, that's all I'm saying.

(Level 1, first feat taken, Warlock multiclass)

The first creature Ilsenhoon came across was a robed figure, smelling of sweat and blood. Ilsenhoon approached cautiously, unable to call out at distance with his thoughts, being so far from an Elder Brain.

Ilsenhood got within range of the creature and hailed it with his thoughts, HALT. I MEAN YOU NO HARM, MORTAL.

The figure jumped and spun round, facing the illithid with wide eyes and a gaping jaw. It appeared to be human. From its fragile mouth it stuttered, “Wh-what did you say?”

Ilsenhoon frowned, and then remembered that inside the collective cities, the combined psionic power translated all speech, telepathic or not, for them. He searched his mind for the right language, using the common tongue. IS THIS BETTER?

The human nodded. The surprise in his eyes was rapidly diminishing, replaced in equal parts by excitement. “I can’t believe it… They actually sent me one.”

Ilsenhoon raised a brow. WHO SENT YOU WHAT?

The human pointed upwards towards the stars, “They did. The old gods themselves! I’m a warlock, by trade, you see… I’ve made a secret pact with the old gods, a while back, and just last night, I gave them a human sacrifice in hopes of gaining their favor. And now, you’re here! My very own minion!”

Ilsenhoon’s brow furrowed as he glared at this weak, pitiful human. It actually thought it could command an illithid… as a mere minion?

“Now with you at my side, I’ll be able to finish off that damn town once and for all.” The human whooped and hollered at the air, too caught up to notice the piercing, furious stare of Ilsenhoon.

Reaching out and grasping the human’s neck, Ilsenhoon gave the inferior creature’s mind a fierce blast of raw, psychic energy. The creature howled in pain, but to Ilsenhoon, it sounded only like a mewling kitten. THERE IS A REASON YOUR KIND CALL US MIND FLAYERS. YOU WILL KNOW SOON ENOUGH.

Ilsenhoon shoved the human onto the grass, his mind constantly sending psychic power into his victim. Bit by bit he could feel the thing’s mind degrading, losing coherency, thoughts and memories jumbling together. Pain, pleasure, anger, fear. Emotions of every kind contorted its face, like some horrible painting left too long in the rain. It bit its tongue, blood rushing into its mouth and making it choke. The fleshy bit of tongue flopped to the grass.

Soon it would choke on its own fluids. Best to eat while it’s still alive…

The next morning, Ilsenhoon struck out towards the town. He was stopped at the walls by a near-legion of armed men, mostly working stiffs by the looks of them, but nonetheless Ilsenhoon raised his arms, and thought out, I MEAN YOU NO HARM.

“Codswallop, that!” A wizened old human in chainmail called out and marched forth, “Yer workin’ with that warlock up on the hill, ain’tcha. Here to snatch away more of us, eh? Well it ain’t gonna happen, freak.”

NO, I OWE NO ALLEGIANCE TO THAT DECEASED HUMAN. Ilsenhoon watched them close. There was a soft whispering among them.

“Oy, wot? Deceased? Ye mean he’s dead? How?” the old human said.

I KILLED HIM. More whispering, some looks of fear, some of respect. Mostly of fear.

The human backed off a little bit… “Why would one such as you kill him? Ain’t he your type, all into the squiddies…” It looked at Ilsenhoon’s face again and shuddered.

IT WISHED TO USE ME TO KILL YOU. SO I KILLED HIM. More whispering.

After a minute, a cheer went up into the crowd, many lowered their weapons and the elder human stepped forward, extending a hand. “Well… ye may be ugly as sin, but we owe you a debt, then… he’d been plaguing our town for near goin’ on two moons now, blathering on about old gods and such…”

Ilsenhoon looked at the hand, not knowing what to do. The elderly human wavered and then withdrew it, then caught sight of the guitar on the illithid’s back. “Yer a minstrel, then? Come on down to the pub and regale us with a tale, then!”

Ilsenhoon nodded, happily. He thought of telling them he only helped because of the warlock’s labeling him a minion, not because of killing off the town itself… but maybe later. A tale needed to be told, and songs needed to be sung.

someone should archive this, based on pure coolness of writefaggotry.

Ilsenhood requires more writefaggotry!

How are you going to eat? Illithids eat brains are you going to just hand wave that? Or just eat minions?

>>4133715

Enemies, probably.

>>4133715
Illithids require 'normal' food in addition to brains, the usual three meals a day.

According to the 3.5 Lords of Madness book, however, mind flayers require at the bare minimum one brain a month to avoid starving to death and typically prefer to consume a brain every week or two weeks as supply dictates.

>>4133752
>>4133729
>>4133715

And that's what bandits are for. Win yourself over with the townsfolk, and get some decent meals out of the matter too. Winner-winner, brainfood dinner.

Epic writefaggotry!

>>4133152
I'm with this guy. I'm not a fan of 4e's system or setting, but the basic idea of your character is awesome.

Mr writefag, can we expect more, or is this all you shall give us?

>>4133795

I'm working on level 2 (and Sorcerer multiclassing) right now.

Ilsenhoon remained at the town for a few days. Although many shunned contact with him, largely due to his appearance, the barman had said, he had won several over. He regaled them with tales of heroic adventurers, descending into the Underdark for fame and glory. Truth be told, he really didn’t know where those stories came from… they just popped into his head. Sometimes when he’d describe the heroes, he’d get flashes, blurred memories of slaves in cages… but those thoughts were too indistinct.

He even played several songs for the bar, without a telepathic commentary. Oddly, he’d thought, more people seemed to enjoy those segments. Perhaps they didn’t like the telepathy… no, that couldn’t be it. He’d just have to find better stories later.

On his fourth day in the town, Ilsenhoon met up with a small group of so-called adventurers. Two humans and a dwarf. They said they had heard of his bravery and decided to invite him along as they looted a mage’s tower. Perhaps this would serve as decent story material, Ilsenhoon thought, and promptly agreed to go.

The journey there took well over a day, during which time the dwarf constant expressed its disapproval of Ilsenhoon. He didn’t care, of course. Duergar were inferior in every way to the mighty Illithid. And from what he’d heard, surface dwarves were inferior to even duergar. This furry-faced creature was little more than a noisy annoyance, but for now he was necessary. There were no thralls to be had, so willing allies would do.

This is win, i may finally give 4e a chance after this, good job OP, good job

>>4133827
Uhm, isn't it technically level 3? With Bard being 1, Warlock 2 and now Sorcerer 3?

>>4134013

That's not how 4th edition works anymore.

They reached the tower, and began to make their way up, fighting off all manner of foul creature as they did. Ilsenhoon kept back while the three warriors carved a path through them, even encouraging them with bits of song now and again, keeping their spirits up. It definitely seemed to help, they often ignored their wounds and kept fighting, beating back skeletons, and generally keeping everything away from Ilsenhoon.

Eventually they made their way to the top of the tower and came face-to-face with the dreaded master mage himself… naught but a shriveled old man upon his deathbed. As we entered he rose his head ever-so-slightly, blind eyes searching in the dark for intruders.

Ilsenhoon glanced at the others, who shrugged, “We’d heard he was dying… Usually a place like this would be a death trap… but a dying mage doesn’t pose much of a threat, eh? C’mon you guys, lets loot this place and head out. The old geezer can sit here and die for all I care, he ain’t gonna bother us.”

The other three began rooting through desks and tearing apart shelves. Ilsenhoon casually looked through one bookcase, hoping to find a tome on spells, or even tales of old… but alas, there was nothing. He approached the old, sick man and sat on the bed next to him, his thoughts reaching out to touch the mage’s thoughts.

YOU HAVE MAGIC. WHERE ARE YOU MYSTICAL TOMES?

The mage gave a stuttering cough, and a slight chuckle, “I cannot see you. I can barely hear you. Soon I will depart this world. You may loot my tower, take a few potions… maybe a cookbook or two… but you see,” he fell into a coughing fit for a moment, flecks of blood splattering his already dirty bedsheets. “But you see… I am no wizard. Everything of magic I know,” he raised a wrinkled, almost shriveled finger, to his temple and tapped it, “is up here. The draconic magics are not learned… they are inherited, you filthy brigands… Now leave me be. Let an old man die in peace.”

>>4134026
OK, bit of a Derp on my part, as I do not know how it works...

Carry on then, nevermind what I said.

>>4134045

It's ok.

Multiclassing is handled by feats now...

So he starts out as a bard, taking Warlock for his level 1 feat.

And then Sorceror for his level 2 feat.

Normally, in 4th edition, you can only multiclass into one other class, but bards are exempt.

>>4134055
Ahh, right, so whenever he levels he picks up another one of these feats, eh? Pretty slick.

Will he eventually use a bit from all the classes he gets? I ask this because all we've seen so far is Bard. This is just me being impatient, not often do I see good writefaggotry in progress.

F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5

Ilsenhoon considered it a moment. There was no history here. No tales of epic adventure. Not even a book of magic he could use for himself… All of this for naught? No… there was something else to be gained.

NO, SORCERER. INHERIT IT, I SHALL. YOU WILL DIE, BUT YOU WILL LIVE ON.

Ilsenhoon descended upon the old mage, his tentacles wrapping around its head, constricting its windpipe. The illithid’s beak bit into its skull with a sickening crack and began draining its contents. Blood seeped from around Ilsenhoon’s mouth, down the old sorcerer’s head and pooling on the bed.

The mage gave a final choke and went limp in Ilsenhoon’s tentacles. He let the head drop, the hollow skull resting peacefully on the bloodsoaked pillows.

Ilsenhoon’s mind raced with the new information. Now he had magic… now he had history. And more importantly, now he had a story to tell.

>>4134027
I almost feel sorry for the old fart.

>>4134090

Given there's no feat to be gained at 3rd level, maybe I'll just give a general story next, without brain-eating and memory absorbtion?

ARCHIVE THIS!

>>4134027

Nice way to end it there. How do his "party" react to him eating brains though? MOAR! Ilsenhoon is epic.

>>4134090

Feats are gained at levels 1, 11, 21, and every even level. So no feat at level 3 and so on, but yeah.

A multiclass feat usually carries with it a small boon, like being able to use sneak attack once per encounter, or gaining the ability to Wild Shape. They also qualify you for power swap feats, which essentially let you give up one trick for another. You might give up practicing a song of healing to learn the way a sorceror summons platinum scales on his skin, for example.

4th edition multiclassing lets you pick up a few tricks from another class without giving up your progression in another. Wizards don't get screwed out of spell levels, there's no characters with one level of everything, and what have you.

However, if you're a rogue you won't ever defend as well as a fighter, and if you're a Paladin you won't ever learn to cast as well as a sorceror. But you can certainly become good within a limited range.

>>4134128

You also gain training in one of that classes associated skills. (I'm going under the assumption that if a feat grants Ilsenhoon a skill he already knows, he just picks one from the class's skill list instead)

At 12th level, the current plan I have of him, has him trained in: Arcana, Dungeoneering, Intimidate, Diplomacy, Bluff, Thievery, History, Stealth, Religion, Nature, Heal

>>4134160

And that's without using up the last feat... I still don't know whether to take Avenger, Invoker, Wizard, Ranger or Swordmage next.

Well, Oath of Enmity requires melee attacks, and so far you seem to have a more ranged outlook.

It might be handy to pick up one of the Wizard's many useful at wils by picking up the wizard feat... what're your stats?

Then again, going after an Avenger or Ranger next might make for a more interesting story...

>>4134290

Str 12 (hence why I can't get Fighter, Paladin and suchforth classes yet), Dex 13, Wis 14, Con 15, In 19, Cha 22, as of level 12.

DM is kind enough to let me use those stats for choosing my feats, otherwise my multiclassing would get quite limited.

(Action sequences were never my thing, especially in short stuff like this)

Ilsenhoon wiped the blood from his tentacles with mild disgust. Some chattel age like… what did humans call it? Right, fine wine. But this one was more like milk. It was old and sour… but he got what he needed out of it. His mind filled with adventures, songs and tales to be sung and told.

He turned back to the party, who were looking at him aghast. Ilsenhoon quirked an eyebrow, WHAT? DO I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY TEETH? He inquired and opened his maw wide. The group shrunk away, looking thoroughly sick.

The furry-faced dwarf was the first to speak, “I told ye, that flayer was trouble! Goin’ off and eatin’ brains! Let’s just kill it an loot the body!” It brandished an axe and took a step forward.

SILENCE, Ilsenhoon commanded. I HAVE FOUGHT YOUR BETTERS, THE DUERGAR. THEY ARE WORTHY FOES, BUT YOUR KIND… YOU SURFACE FOLK ARE WEAK, DWARVES MORE SO. A RACE SO USED TO THE DARK, THE MOUNTAINS, AND YET HERE YOU ARE, SCUTTLING ABOUT IN THE DAYLIGHT.

The dwarf’s face went red with anger, its fist clutching the axe white with strain. Its face contorted, mouth spewing words like a plague victim spew sickness, “And wot does that make ye, then, flayer? Yer even moreso out of yer element!”

Ilsenhoon’s eyes narrowed with anger. True, he never thought of that… banished he was, no memory of how to get back… The humans began backing away from the dwarf, content not to get involved in this scuffle. That was all he needed. No slight goes unrewarded.

Ilsenhoon reached his thoughts out and blasted the dwarf’s primitive mind, sending searing pain throughout its body. It was certainly no pushover, however, and charged forward, swinging its axe towards Ilsenhoon, narrowly missing him.

Not liking to be so close to a foe, Ilsenhoon gripped his foe’s thoughts and twisted, sending the dwarf reeling backwards several steps. It shook its head and charged forward again, swinging its axe furiously, catching him in the shoulder with a deep cut.

Ilsenhoon had it, none should be allowed to touch him… he was after all, Illithid. Illithids were superior. Though he was no longer of the Empire, he was still superior to all other races. YOU WILL STAND DOWN, his thoughts boomed, slicing into the dwarf’s head like a hammer into a melon. It shook its head again, and again, and then slumped to the side, eyes rolling back and forth in their sockets.

Ilsenhoon waved a hand to the humans and strode towards the door. HE WILL LIVE. YOU WILL NOT FOLLOW ME. YOU WILL NOT BOTHER ME AGAIN. AND YOU WILL KEEP HIM FROM DOING EITHER AS WELL, OR I WILL NOT BE AS GENEROUS NEXT TIME.

Bump for the awesome that is the Flayer of Chords.

F5ING WITH THE FURY OF A THOUSAND SUNS!

>>4133081
The story is pretty good except for
>The illithids stepped close. Ilsenhoon was sure he could even see several ulitharids, and the city’s only alhoon among the circle.
Alhoons are undead ilithid, something illithid hate and despise above pretty much everything else, which says a lot for illithids.

Great work though!

>>4134621

Right, right. My bad. That can be editfagged out by anyone saving copypasta.

must I request archival again? I'd do it myself, but the site seems to be borked for me.

>>4134670
I'm saving the entire writefaggotry and will probably post it in 1d4chan when it's done. No need for an archive.

>>4134670
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/4131937/

Ilsenhoon left the tower behind. He never did see the three again. In retrospect, he might have overreacted, but in the Illithid Empire, nothing goes unpunished.

Months later, Ilsenhoon found himself in one of the larger port cities on the continent. He was allowed inside, albeit reluctantly, after he gave up his weapons and spoke of his deeds, saving a town from a deranged warlock. Luckily, one of the watch had relatives in those parts, and confirmed his stories, thus allowing him entrance.

Ilsenhoon took care to hide his appearance after entering, though, purchasing a cloak and pulling the hood up to obscure his face. He wandered from tavern to tavern, looking for other bards, other stories to hear. But there were none. And they didn’t care to hear his either. Ilsenhoon was downcast, wandering the streets, dejectedly strumming his guitar as he went. If this is what human cities were like, he would rather live in the towns.

He sat on a bench in the city square, watching the people as they went about their daily lives. Humans were growing on him, he had to admit. They were like velvet fungus in the Underdark. Sure, it’s fungus, and it grows everywhere with no regard for order, or the regard of its betters, but during the autumn seasons, it sparkled like phosphorescent lamps on the ceiling. Truly beautiful, and a sight to see. Plus it tasted quite good, so the analogy was quite accurate.

Now feeling unwanted and homesick, Ilsenhoon stood and prepared to leave, but then something caught his eye. Some humanoid creature with pale yellow-green skin entered an alley nearby. There was something chillingly familiar about the skintone… Ilsenhoon gripped his guitar tight, his weapons still with the guards, and followed the figure into the alley way.

The alleys twisted and turned, until Ilsenhoon finally caught up with the figure deep between the buildings, the hustle and bustle of the city left far behind.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF, Ilsenhoon’s thoughts rang out.

The figure hissed horribly, slowly turning into a cacophonous laugh. It turned to face Ilsenhoon and threw back its hood. Its yellow-green face was withered, but not from age. It was naturally that way, Ilsenhoon knew. Spots dotted around its eyes and down its face.

Ilsenhoon flinched away. If he could mutter, he’d mutter ‘Gith!’ under his breath. The Githyanki grinned, showing off its yellowing teeth and drew a vicious-looking serrated dagger. “My, my, my, said the spider to the fly,” it chortled, “Will you walk into my parlour?”

Another githyanki dropped down from a nearby building, this one wielding a wicked, silver longsword. “I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high. Will you rest upon my little bed? Said the spider to the fly,” the new one spouted.

Ilsenhoon backed away. Gith. The bane of illithid existence. The wretched creatures that took down the Empire. His face morphed into a look of rage and his thoughts were as steel, LEAVE NOW, OR YOU WILL JOIN YOUR ANCESTORS IN DEATH.

They both laughed and advanced, “Sweet creature! Said the spider, You’re witty and you’re wise. How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I’ve a little looking glass upon my parlour shelf, if you’ll step in one moment dear, you shall behold yourself!” The two sang in unison.

A third githyanki dropped down, this one also wielding a dagger, and said “What they mean to say is, we’re gonna show you your eyes. And your guts.” They grinned wider and kept advancing.

>>4134979
and??

AND!?!?!?

moarmoarmoarmoarmoar!!

Retarded Mary Sue.

>>4135286
Wow just....wow.

Ilsenhoon gulped, but began to recompose himself. So what if they outnumbered him 3 to 1. He was still an Illithid, damnit. It took their whole gith race, every last one of them, to take down the Empire… and certainly the Empire was outnumbered more than 3:1.

He gripped the neck of his guitar and gave it a quick, powerful strum, sending a wave of sound toward the first gith. The note ripped into him like a blade, shredding the cloak from his back. The three lunged, each taking a swipe. Ilsenhoon managed to avoid both the daggers, but the silver longsword cut him along the lower forearm. Purple-blue blood trailed down his hand and dripped onto the pavement below.

He didn’t want to be this close, but he had no choice. Ilsenhoon reached out psychically, shouting into the first gith’s head, making him reel backwards, howling in pain. The other two struck again, again dodging the dagger but the sword nicking his other arm this time. Ilsenhoon dug deep, closing his eyes momentarily, searching for something. There it was…

He grinned disgustingly, his tentacled maw spreading wide, as he opened his eyes, now red and slitted… like a dragon’s. With the sorcerer’s power, he gave the guitar a heavy, powerful stroke, directing it at all three of them, blasting them backwards several feet.

He didn’t have long, they wouldn’t be dazed for long. Gripping the guitar by the neck, he swung it at the third gith, wincing as the wood and metal broke apart on contact with the creature’s skull. The first gith lay in the alley, nearly unconscious. And the second gith, the one with the silver sword stood back, glancing between Ilsenhoon and the two downed gith before backing away, leaving the alleys.

“You will enter my parlour soon, said the spider to the fly. And within my little parlour, you’ll ne’er come out again,” it spoke before turning and rushing out of the alley.

Ilsenhoon tossed the ruined remnants of his guitar away before turning his attention to the live gith. I AM GOING TO ENJOY THIS.

The downed gith looked at him in fear, trying to pull itself up and run away, but all it could do is struggle against the ground. Ilsenhoon hoisted it up, wrapping his tentacles around the head of one of his people’s worst enemy, and slowly feasted, making sure the gith was alive until the very end.

(Level 4, rogue multiclass feat.)

Awesome.

Proceed.

>>4135550

I'ma start working on level 5 soon, I'm eatin' right now

>>4135591

...eatin' brains?

>>4135667

Githyanki brains.

>>4135679
Delicious!

Aren't gith resistant to psionics?

This thread gets its own tab now.

>>4135918
>A tab at Dr. Genome's browser? What an honor!

>>4135955

>DrZoidberg.jpg

>>4135955

>>4135913
With training, probably. But if it was an innate, natural trait... well, they wouldn't have gotten enslaved by a bunch of psychics, now would they?

Ilsenhoon soon took to the world, travelling from city to city, town to town, spreading his songs and tales as he went. He never spent too much time in once spot. If he did, he was sure he’d see his gith nemesis, the Spider, stalking him from the rooftops. He didn’t like the Spider… The other gith had been chumps, but the Spider was, Ilsenhoon hated to admit it, a worthy adversary.

He’d bought a new guitar, though he still carried the broken remnants of his old one with him. He didn’t want to say for sentimental reasons… but really, it was his first guitar. It was what got him in this whole predicament in the first place, he didn’t want to just throw it out.

Ilsenhoon occasionally found companionship among adventuring crews. He’d accompany them, patch up their wounded, take a portion of the loot, and then tell stories of it later. It was all win-win, in his mind. In fact, he figured he came out a little bit ahead, as he got loot and stories, and stories were far more valuable.

But his forays with adventurers were usually short-lived, as they grew too unnerved by his nature. Not outright hostile, but he couldn’t help but be proud of his race. If that meant berating an idiotic companion for failing to live up to Illithid expectations, so be it. Really he began to pity these humanoids instead of hating them. Here they were, so much potential in them… but they weren’t, and didn’t want to be, Illithids.

On the road towards his next destination, Ilsenhoon slowly paced onwards. He was in no particular hurry, there would always be patrons to entertain. But as he heard the telltale sound of an approaching wagon, he figured it might be worth a shot to ask for a ride. Sticking out his thumb, he looked backwards to see the approaching cart, but he froze when he saw the driver.

Around the human’s neck was a holy symbol. A golden sun, in the middle: a face. A servant of Pelor.

>>4135999
>>4135975
I read it in his voice.

>>4136011
Thought they evolved under the massive empire (which lasted quite a long time if I remember my fluff correctly)

Ok so let me see if I get this right - you already made this character and this writefaggotry is just the background story?

THE SUMMER RHYMER!

how did you stat out the mindflayer, anyway? won't he be too over/underpowered?

>>4136028
Well, if wikipedia can be trusted in this case:
"Eventually, these slaves developed mental resistance to their masters' mind control and, under the guidance of their leader Gith, revolted, causing the downfall of the illithid empire."

>>4136028

I believe the fluff goes, the gith were once humans, enslaved by the Illithids. They evolved, and were actually bred into the Gith race. It's possible they developed resistance to psionics and that's how they broke free... then some followed Gith (and then Vlaakith, the firsth Githyanki Queen) and became the Githyanki, and the rest followed Zerthimon and became the Githzerai

How long did the illithid empire last?
And didn't they make massive space structures?

>>4136054
see
>>4132268

>>4136028
I agree with this anon. I thought the idea was that was what enabled the uprising in the first place. But remember, resistance =/= immunity. And he has been adventuring for a while now, he is a bit stronger then the average illithid (yes, I know mechanic-wise when it comes to his psy-blast this means nothing. But this is more fluff-wise anyway).

>>4136114
lol, slow typing...

>>4136034

Pretty much. Got bored, writefaggotry ensues.

>>4136054

See >>4132268 It looks pretty balanced to me.

>>4136085
Why would anyone do anything BUT serve the glorious Illithid masters?

>>4136085

You *know* the history of our people.

I have to say, this is dandy.

>>4136142
And I have to say, this must continue...

>>4136140
I *hate* the way you put emphasis on know.

>>4136178

I loved it. *Know* that it's a special philosophical concept for him, after all.

The thing I find really lulzy about the whole thing is that, if fluff is to be believed, Illithids are the evolved form of humanity, sent back in time to rule the multiverse. So what do they do? Enslave themselves for cheap labor.

You ask me? The only reason the Gith got free is to avoid the paradox of Illithids killing their ancestors off.

>>4136028
some evolved that trait through decades of psychic onslaught.

it still took an overwhelming number of them to put an end to the ithilid empire.

The cart stopped alongside Ilsenhoon, and he lowered his hood. MAY I ACCOMPANY YOU INTO THE NEXT TOWN?

The cleric paused at seeing Ilsenhoon’s face, but apparently his reputation preceded him. “You’re that flayer minstrel? Yeah, all right, climb aboard.”

MY THANKS, he replied and pulled himself up onto the back of the cart.

“So, ah, I hear you’re like a good guy?” The Pelor-worshipper asked.

NOT REALLY. PEOPLE CALL ME SUCH. BUT GOOD IS TOO LOOSELY DEFINED.

The cleric nodded, “I hear you there… So what do you, y’know, eat?”

Ilsenhoon considered it for a moment, I HAVE GROWN RATHER FOND OF YOUR DELICACY, I BELIEVE IT IS CALLED A SHISH-KEBAB. WONDROUS. MEAT, MUSHROOMS, PEPPER. ALL ON ONE STICK. ONLY HUMANITY CAN THINK OF SUCH A DELECTABLE DISH.

The cleric laughed. After a moment, he piped up again, “And is it true that you used to eat brains?”

The illithid examined the back of the cleric’s head. Pelor. God of the sun. The wretched sun. If the Empire could just destroy it, blot it out, the world would be theirs. Only a few races could function perfectly in the dark, and chief among them was the Empire of course. Sure the Drow would try to capitalize on it of course, but they would be too caught up with revenge against the elves. And the Duergar, Aboleths and Beholders, well they’re all too content in their tunnels. No, if the sun were out of the way, the world would fall for the Illithids.

USED TO? Ilsenhoon asked, inching closer. Maybe this cleric has information that could help. It’s a long shot, but he could use the information to secure his return to his people. And he hadn’t had a brain in so long… it was just too tempting.

His arm shot out, wrapping around the cleric’s neck as he descended upon its skull. This death would be quick, and painless.

Afterwards, he pushed the corpse over the side, but paused. It seemed, somehow disrespectful… Climbing off, he removed the cleric’s holy symbol, draping it around his own neck. He also retrieved a copy of the Light of Pelor, which he tucked into a pocket, and then proceeded to dig a grave for the poor soul.

(Technically glossing over Level 5 and going right to Level 6: Cleric multiclassing)

>>4136274

Gith didn't win by tactis or strategy, they basically zergrushed the brainsquid until they gave up, is that what you mean?

>>4136383

Someone must now draw Ilsenhoon enjoying a kebab. This is win.

>>4136391
More or less.
There was some strategy and tactics, and they did have a level of psionic and magical resistance, but ithilids keep a LOT of slaves.

The biggest ithilid city is 26,000, and only 4,000 of them are ithilid.

Awesome thread

wiki sez
>However and whenever it occurred, when the illithids arrived in the Material Plane of the far past, they immediately began to build an empire by enslaving many sentient creatures. They were very successful, and soon their worlds-spanning empire became the largest one the multiverse had ever seen. They had the power — in terms of psychic potency and the manpower of countless slaves — to fashion artificial worlds. One such world was this empire's capital, called Penumbra, a diskworld built around a star, which was a thousand years in the making. Such was their might that the Blood War paused as the demons and devils considered a truce to deal with the illithid empire.

I should totally steal this ide-
I mean...
Awesome idea, OP.

>>4136748

By all means, feel free. I can't stop you.

>>4136554
yes illithids kicked ass

>>4136813
Is the story over? This tale is addictive.

Ilsenhoon trundled along in his cart, his symbol of Pelor proudly draped around his neck. He was considered a chief convert for the church, who tried to use him to sway more people to their cause. Ilsenhoon would have none of it, however. He was simply a casual follower. And besides, they would hate to know how he was converted…

He scribbled in his spellbook, a messy collection of mystical rituals he knew. All copied down in the form of songs, of course. It made them much more fun to perform. He glanced around while passing through the square of a common port destination of his. It was usually quite busy, so workers would manually lead horsecarts through, leaving Ilsenhoon free to concentrate on other things.

But as he glanced up, he recognized his wife among the crowd.

Not his actual wife, of course. The wife of one of the people he ate, he’s not sure which one, likely one of the bandits that had been in the area. His eyes watched the human, its long, curly brown hair, wearing a peasant frock and hurrying about its business.

The feelings in Ilsenhoon’s mind were alien to him. He wasn’t sure what they were… he’d heard humans talking of love, of course, but such concepts were beyond him. It felt more like guilt than anything, he’d have to guess.

>>4136836
I think there is only the shaman left from OP's original list of classes.

>>4136856

Drood too. And one as-yet-undetermined one.

>>4136855
Love feeling like guilt - yeah, that's kinda accurate.

>>4136893
Get out of here, stalker.

I'm watching MST3K to pass the time between updates. Life is good.

He watched it work as his cart rolled on its way. Memories of the human flooded his mind. He saw it laughing and running through the woods, he saw it during a candlelit dinner, he saw it during an… intimate encounter. That part actually made Ilsenhoon shudder a little bit. Humans reproduced so… messily. It’s completely inefficient, he thought. Better to be Illithid, fertilizing your own larvae is much easier.

Another memory entered his mind, the human holding its child. Others congratulating the couple, many remarking on how it looks like its father. That point was moot to Ilsenhoon; all humans looked the same, so of course it would look like its father.

He climbed off his cart for a moment, making his way through the crowd towards the widow, conflicting emotions within him.

Memories continued to erupt in his head. He remembered the hunt for the husband now. He was indeed a bandit in the area… but seeing the situation from its side; it didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. It did it to care for its family. Ilsenhoon could understand that, certainly.

The hunt flooded his mind. He saw it from both points of view simultaneously. As the bandit, he ran through the woods, fleeing the hideout which now housed only corpses and a monster. He knew he shouldn’t have signed on with the crooks, but he had to. He stalked the bandit, fresh on the psychic vibe of fear it gave off. He’d just taken out the rest of his friends, just one loose end left. They ran. He tripped over a root, giving his predator a chance to catch up. He caught up to his prey, tentacles splayed and lamprey-mouth wide. He felt strong tentacles wrap around his skull, holding him painfully tight; he felt his tentacles constrict against the bandit’s throat. He felt a horrible pain in the top of his head, sharp, dull and everywhere; memories became jumbled, incoherent; he sucked the brains out quickly, eager to leave the bandit camp behind.

He pushed the corpse away and strode away.

The confusing memory faded, leaving Ilsenhoon face-to-face with the widow. He pulled out a bag filled with clinking gold coins and pressed it into her hand, before pushing his way back to his cart.

(Again, skipping around a bit, I'ma call this level: 7-8, no multiclassing here)

Also, holy fuck, I started this thread 12 hours ago.

>>4137182

And it keeps getting better, every single time I see it!

>>4137182

Happy birthday!

Now here's the question, do something awesomely epic for level 9-10, or save that for 11 and the real transition into the Paragon tier?

the latter

>>4137236

I'll put it off for 11 and 12. The ultimate cliffhanger, as that's where my build ends.

>>4137236
Level 11.

Ah but I'm still at an impasse. I've got to spend my level 10 feat. I ask you, Ranger, Invoker, Avenger or Swordmage?

I'm leaning towards Ranger at the moment.

Ranger. I got the mental image of Ilsenhoon operating (not exactly successfully) a miniature crossbow with his face-tentacles, while his hands were otherwise preoccupied.

>>4137236
9-11, make it SUPER EPIC.

Also, make anew thread, this one is going to die soon.

>>4137347

Will do. I'll start the new thread with the next chapter

>>4137363
looking forward to it.

>>4137316
I vote for Invoker.

next chapter >>4137465