Re: Mind Flayer Player Characters

>> I'm looking for some input here.  I'm considering allowing Illithid player
>> characters in my campaign.  Before doing so, I want to make sure I haven't
>> gone insane with these things.  Comments are more than welcome.
>>
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>> Illithid
>> 
>> +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, -1 Strength, -2 Charisma
>> 
>> Attribute         Minimum       Maximum
>> Strength             3             17
>> Dexterity            3             18
>> Constitution        11             18
>> Intelligence        12             20
>> Wisdom              15             19
>> Charisma             3             16
>> 
>My only change would be here.  Don't allow Int and Wis above 18, it gives
>way too many bonuses (spell immunities, in particular).  

Well, it's not all that bad. 19 Wisdom basically gives you resistance to
first-level mind-affecting spells, and 19 Int gives you "immunity" (however
you work it) to 1st level illusions. 20 Int gives you immunity to 2nd level
illusions, which is more of a problem (being that Invisibility is 2nd
level, and a fairly common spell effect). Still, something like a 19 Wisdom
probably has less effect on the game than an 18/94 Strength. Also, I guess
it depends upon the character-generation system you use, which controls how
often you'll need to worry about 19s and 20s.

If I were using this Mind Flayer class, I probably wouldn't give the 55% MR
+ 5%/level, unless it was specifically a variant species. If you're going
to let someone play a mind flayer, let them play a mind flayer. It's not
like they're not fairly common in SJ. Sure, they're hideously powerful in
some respects (90% MR + AC 5 + THAC0 11 + instant kill ability + mind blast
means that nobody in his right mind--except undead--wants _ever_ to get
within melee range of an illithid in combat; the only real way to kill them
is with slings and ballistae), but that power level is independent of
whether they're PCs or NPCs. Of course, if you're starting 1st level
characters, this argument may not apply.

Hemlock