Hi guys,

Looking for input on an idea I had for my Halloween special.

So I was thinking that the elder brains of two illithid factions went to war with each other, so you have lots of people going missing and all kinds of weird experiments happening as the two mind flayer communities need to replenish their "soldiers" and stuff.

Would that ever happen though, as in - would the elder brains of two mind flayer communities ever decide to go to war with each other?

Also if that did happen, do you think people going missing, strange experiments and unknown monsters terrorising local populations would be the results?

Also, do you think that would make a good Halloween oneshot?

You should do it. Its not a if or can it happen thing. Its your game, so make it happen. I think its a great idea and has sooo much potential.

Of course, you can do whatever you want, but what lore is provided about illithids indicates that could happen, one elder brain may well see another as a threat or a rival for power.

I would treat it similarly to two beholders coming into conflict, both of them convinced that they are the one truly perfect one of sorts.  Both feel they need to enlighten the dumber elder brain and bring them into their truly enlightened collective.  Maybe find some fairly minor detail that they will differ in and make that the entire reason for their conflict.  Depending on how you want it to feel decide whether it is something silly (ie dr seuss butter battle book, star bellied sneeches) or something more important like which intelligent humanoids are fit for becoming their slaves.  Or mix and match have serious reasons that when boiled down sound ridiculous.

I could see both sides constantly stealing things like thralls, slaves, and the tadpoles in a constant guerilla warfare scenario, or a disturbing Hatfields and McCoys where they just keep killing off eachothers servants because of one perceived slight or failing from them.

Maybe one side is beginning to play with genetics of the mindflayers themselves and the other is afraid of them creating an impurity in the race as a whole.  A scourge that will destroy their species if not rooted out immediately.  In that case we could be looking at genocidal tactics, like collapsing an entire cave network just to hopefully kill the opponent.  Dropping an ocean into the cave systems also seems like an appropriately 'nuclear' response.  Who cares about collateral damage we are saving the mindflayer species right here.

Quote from HeroZero >>

I would treat it similarly to two beholders coming into conflict, both of them convinced that they are the one truly perfect one of sorts.  Both feel they need to enlighten the dumber elder brain and bring them into their truly enlightened collective.  Maybe find some fairly minor detail that they will differ in and make that the entire reason for their conflict.  Depending on how you want it to feel decide whether it is something silly (ie dr seuss butter battle book, star bellied sneeches) or something more important like which intelligent humanoids are fit for becoming their slaves.  Or mix and match have serious reasons that when boiled down sound ridiculous.

I could see both sides constantly stealing things like thralls, slaves, and the tadpoles in a constant guerilla warfare scenario, or a disturbing Hatfields and McCoys where they just keep killing off eachothers servants because of one perceived slight or failing from them.

Maybe one side is beginning to play with genetics of the mindflayers themselves and the other is afraid of them creating an impurity in the race as a whole.  A scourge that will destroy their species if not rooted out immediately.  In that case we could be looking at genocidal tactics, like collapsing an entire cave network just to hopefully kill the opponent.  Dropping an ocean into the cave systems also seems like an appropriately 'nuclear' response.  Who cares about collateral damage we are saving the mindflayer species right here.

 I do agree with this, but I will say the simplest way of explaining the conflict's cause, would be that upon one discovering the other's existence, they see each other as threats or rivals for power(since both see themselves as more important than the other)

And as for what would occur, there would probably be a much larger variety of illithid-type enemies than normal, ending with the players killing the elder brains(separately most likely) and illithids fighting each other, with the players being a neutral party trying to end the conflict due to the effect it has on the area as a whole

Potentially the elder brains would run out of their shock troops (slaves) and start using the mind flayers themselves and nearly wipe each other out due to attrition.  They would probably be fairly evenly matched so it might end up that the elder brains are relatively unprotected as all the mindflayers have gotten themselves killed in combat, or are currently busy in the field.

I guess what I would be most curious about is what kind of tone do you want the adventure to have?  Serious dark and brooding, or a romp through the underdark dealing with really dumb smart people.

You could also add that there are two opposing cults on the surface, give the party mind terrors, make people not know where they are at some points and just make the town afraid.  This leads to a spiral of uncertainty, some eldritch horrors since the elder brains are trying to fight each other, and it culminates into them falling into an elder brains lair, and then they have to escape a colony of eldritch nightmares after fighting a boss and having almost no resources left. True horror since the party at this point is kind of powerless. Making the elder brain the mid point and climax, but also where the game turns into true horror.