In my perpetual quest to make DM'ing harder on myself I'm about to go through about a dozen sources from previous editions of D&D (primarily 4E) to select monsters to convert to 5E for my Underdark mini-campaign.
I'm already in the process of kitbashing minis for the rukarazyll from 3E's Monster Manual II and the Writhing Crag from 4E's The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos.
I love your dedication to planning. I never plan specific stuff out more than 2 sessions or so in advance. I have the rough goings on of the world prepped, but thats about it.
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
edited August 2020
I took a long break from my Eberron superhero amalgam personal-project, but decided to jump back into it yesterday.
I had previously done these:
-- Bryce d'Deneith, blind merchant-lord for House Deneith and shadowy vigilante of Sharn, the Crimson Scourge.
---- The Crimson Haunt -- ‘Merchant’ Mark of Sentinel Human ‘Inquisitive’ Rogue 6/Ranger 2/Monk 1/’Knowledge’ Cleric 1
-- Petyr Allen Garrick, young crime-reporter for the Korranberg Chronicle and, ever since being stung by an elemental spider, a venomous vigilante of Sharn, Thunder-Fang!
---- Thunder-Fang -- ‘Urban Commoner’ Mark of Storm Half-Elf Rogue 1/Monk 1/'Bladesinger' Wizard 9
-- Baenn'arr, Goblin zoologist who during the Day of Mourning was infused with the dying fury of all animals in Cyre. Now when he becomes angry he unwillingly transforms into green beasts. Hunted by the King's Citadel of Breland, he's a folk hero to the common people as The Green Fury.
---- The Green Fury -- ‘Rural Commoner’ Goblin ‘Totem Warrior’ Barbarian 3/’Circle of Moon’ Druid 8
-- Oliver Anthony d'Cannith, the wealthy genius & playboy noble of House Cannith who was maliciously exiled to a remote island off the coast of Xen'drik. When he returned, years later, he vowed to fight crime through his magical armor & bow as The Iron Arrow.
---- The Iron Arrow -- ‘Noble’ Mark of Making Human ‘Armorer’ Artificer 10/Fighter 1
--Princess Stéfanei of House Rhodjier, the deathless captain of the Howling Slayers and battle-emissary for the ancient island kingdom of Aerenal.
----Battle Maiden -- ‘Noble’ Deathless Aerenal Elf Barbarian 1/Fighter 1/‘Oath of Heroism’ Paladin 10
And I finished this guy yesterday (and retooled The Iron Arrow):
--T'ashavitar, Hobgoblin prince within Kech Volaar of the Heirs of Dhakaan. Utilizing advanced armor, weapons, and learned magic from time spent studying arcane principals within the Five Nations, T'ashavitar uses stealth & precision to hunt for ancient Dhakaani artifacts & free slaves within Darguun. As the Shadowdrake, he hopes to unite the goblinfolk of Darguun into a new Dhakaani Empire.
---- Shadowdrake -- Hobgoblin ‘Swords’ Bard 10/’Hexblade’ Warlock 1
Today my plan is to retool the Deathless template, and write up my own stats for the Gith so that I can begin on:
Gam'onn Ora'onzz, a Gith survivor of the initial eradication of her homeworld at the hand of the Daelkyr. Adopted and trained to be a weapon by a Daelkyr titan, she escaped and hid within the Astral Plane until she was summoned to Eberron by a cabal of wizards. Disguising herself as a human in the city of Sharn, she uses her psychic abilities as a private investigator while honing her martial skills so she may one day enact revenge upon her "father."
In my perpetual quest to make DM'ing harder on myself I'm about to go through about a dozen sources from previous editions of D&D (primarily 4E) to select monsters to convert to 5E for my Underdark mini-campaign.
I'm already in the process of kitbashing minis for the rukarazyll from 3E's Monster Manual II and the Writhing Crag from 4E's The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos.
I love your dedication to planning. I never plan specific stuff out more than 2 sessions or so in advance. I have the rough goings on of the world prepped, but thats about it.
Part of it is that I want to still get use out of old books, part of it is because one of the people likely to play is very familiar with a lot of 5E's monsters, and part of it is because I want this iteration of the Underdark to be particularly unpredictable.
For example, I want to feature one of these (director beholderkin) as a cleric of Torog who had all its eyes ritually removed and preserved in vats throughout his small temple (the Chamber of Eyes) as a show of piety to the god of suffering (plus the Underdark trade community the temple is in wouldn't allow it entrance into the community otherwise). It can still see, though, as tendrils coming from it connect to the brain of the giant centipede it rides, making the centipede an extension of itself (it secretly wouldn't mind having at least one ersatz eye in an eye stalk in case its mount dies and leaves it completely blind, but it fears using such an item would displease its god). The beholderkin priest is further confined to the Chamber of Eyes by both a chain wrapped around its centipede mount and a glyph of warding at the exit set to kill it if it ever attempts to leave (a secret back-up glyph is set to kill the beholderkin if the first glyph is dispelled).
It claims that Torog told it in a dream to remove its eyes and place them throughout the temple so that he could see through them himself and keep watch upon his humble servant. Over time a few other devotees of Torog have followed the priest's example, voluntarily shackling themselves to the walls of the temple...
I also previously came up with another Torog devotee the party could encounter: a lone mind flayer who has willingly put himself at the mercy of duergar slavers. His mouth has been sown up so he can't eat brains (a ring of sustenance his only source of nourishment) and a special helmet has been attached to his head that disables his psionic abilities and telepathy. He has faith that Torog will use this ordeal to lead him where he needs to be to further the god's will.
The duergar slavers initially delighted at the chance to maim and subjugate a mind flayer, one of the most hated enemies of their people. They were disturbed, however, when the mind flayer one day approached with a pleading request written in Undercommon to be mutilated further and worked harder, which they denied. Soon after the duergar found the mind flayer had taken matters into his own hands and severed his own tentacles with a large pair of bolt cutters, one after the other, leaving only short stumps around his sewn-together mouth...
Not all Torog followers are this extreme, BTW. There are many schisms among Torog's faithful and uncertainty as to what they should do now that their god no longer dwells among them in the Underdark.
EDIT: I'm thinking about giving the mind flayer a flumph tag along that he tolerates for some unknown reason. The flumph is sincerely concerned for the mind flayer for whatever reason and is perpetually a deep blue, indicating sadness. I don't know if I can spin something that makes sense out of this, but it would be a really bizarre pair to encounter, particularly for players who are knowledgeable about monster lore.
I don’t know the beholderkin’s capabilities but are those eyes gonna shoot the party at all? Because that sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe as they leave?
I don’t know the beholderkin’s capabilities but are those eyes gonna shoot the party at all? Because that sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe as they leave?
Nah, the eyes are dead. Only divine intervention by Torog would make them function, and something crazy would have to happen for that.
The Chamber of Eyes is located near a designated neutral zone in the Underdark enforced by a small order of wizards, where I'm planning the campaign to begin. The players could meet this blind giant centipede riding beholderkin in session one.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Despite having looked at that art for decades, I'd never understood that it was a beholderkin riding a giant centipede . My brain just never read it like that, instead seeing just a centipede-y beholder.
Despite having looked at that art for decades, I'd never understood that it was a beholderkin riding a giant centipede . My brain just never read it like that, instead seeing just a centipede-y beholder.
You learn something new everyday!
If I'm understanding the AD&D statblock correctly the director beholderkin is a poor flier compared to other beholderkin, so I guess that's why they use these mounts.
I've decided to add the AD&D Monster Manual II to my list of books to search for monsters in.
There are two separate subterranean monsters shaped like large rolling objects whose modus operandi is to crush wanderers in tunnels. One, the ascomoid, is a fungus that also basically sprays the same kind of deadly spores that gas spores do. The other, the bowler, looks like an ordinary boulder but can move under its own power and change direction. I was going to write this one off until I got to this part: "After crushing prey, a bowler rolls back onto the victim and a mouth-like orifice opens to consume the flesh and bone, shell, etc."
EDIT: THERE'S A MONSTER IN HERE CALLED A STEGOCENTIPEDE. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
It is probable that stegocentipedes developed on some far removed parallel world or were the creation of some insane genetic manipulator. In either case, it is fortunate that these monsters are infrequently encountered.
The monster hunts continually, rushing prey and seizing it in its huge mandibles. Poison is injected with each bite, and saving throws are applicable. The rear portion of the stegocentipede ends in a thinner, scorpion-like tail. This appendage is heavily armored at its terminus, effectivelyforming a ball-like clubwhich can lash 6 feet in any direction to strike opponents. Worse still, this weapon also contains poison.
The stegocentipede raises its spine plates defensively and moves rapidly. The spiked plates at the front are such that any opponents attacking the creature's head are themselves subject to what is effectively a horn attack. Note that up to 3 attackers can be subject to this defense attack due to the stegocentipede's rapid defensive motions.
Stegocentipedes are about 2 feet high with back spines adding another 1 to 2 feet when erect. The chitinous plates are in double rows which flatten along the creature's back when it is not engaged in combat.
EDIT 2: If you want more bizarre varieties of fungi that infect and kill you with their spores then this is the book for you. Ascomoids spray jets of infectious spores, phycomids launch globs of acid that also contain infectious spores, and zygoms actually hijack the host's brain. The last one is most insidious because you get infected just by coming in contact with one of a zygom's several caps and the effects don't set in for days.
There are also ustilagors, which are walking fungi that look like brains and can influence a target creature's emotions. Apparently they were later stated to be the larval form of intellect devourers, but they haven't been mentioned since 3E as far as I can tell.
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WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
More random thought exercises - A Crystal Gem from Steven Universe as a playable race.
They are effectively Warforged that can resurrect after dying, if their crystal isn't damaged. Specific gem types have specializations... So, subraces. Let's not include fusions into the mix, that would be too complicated.
Age: technically immortal, or has longevity.
Size: runs the whole spectrum. Depends on specific gem.
Alignment: often Lawful.
Bonuses: +1 to Con.
Inorganic: Rests for 4 hours, no need for food or drink, immunity to poison.
"Soul" Gem: Gem basically acts as a phylactery.
Hardlight Body: on 0HP, body disintegrates, leaving the gem behind. Takes a long rest to make a recovery with no penalties, a short rest to get back with reduced max HP and half total HP, plus exhaustion, recoverable after a long rest. 1/day(?)
Subraces:
Diamond: +1 to Cha and Str, 1d4 on Persuasion/Intimidation against other Gems.
Pearl: +1 to Dex and +1 to (Int/Wis) 1d4 on a chosen knowledge check of choice (Arcana/History/Religion/Nature/Medicine)
Quartz: +1 to Con and +1 to (Str/Dex), choice of Powerful Build, Climbing Speed, or Swimming Speed.
The functional immortality seems OP. Unsure how to tone it down. Damaging the gem should be baked into the mechanics somehow.
More random thought exercises - A Crystal Gem from Steven Universe as a playable race.
They are effectively Warforged that can resurrect after dying, if their crystal isn't damaged. Specific gem types have specializations... So, subraces. Let's not include fusions into the mix, that would be too complicated.
Age: technically immortal, or has longevity.
Size: runs the whole spectrum. Depends on specific gem.
Alignment: often Lawful.
Bonuses: +1 to Con.
Inorganic: Rests for 4 hours, no need for food or drink, immunity to poison.
"Soul" Gem: Gem basically acts as a phylactery.
Hardlight Body: on 0HP, body disintegrates, leaving the gem behind. Takes a long rest to make a recovery with no penalties, a short rest to get back with reduced max HP and half total HP, plus exhaustion, recoverable after a long rest. 1/day(?)
Subraces:
Diamond: +1 to Cha and Str, 1d4 on Persuasion/Intimidation against other Gems.
Pearl: +1 to Dex and +1 to (Int/Wis) 1d4 on a chosen knowledge check of choice (Arcana/History/Religion/Nature/Medicine)
Quartz: +1 to Con and +1 to (Str/Dex), choice of Powerful Build, Climbing Speed, or Swimming Speed.
The functional immortality seems OP. Unsure how to tone it down. Damaging the gem should be baked into the mechanics somehow.
This reminds me of the Jumi from Legend of Mana. They looked like people but had hearts made of gemstones. They could only truly die if the gemstone was stolen. Cue world renowned gem thief stage right. A lot of the wizards in the game refer to them as dirt, and they're persecuted for some reason. It never really explains why people are racist towards only them when there's a pelican that delivers the mail and a talking cactus that saves your game. I did enjoy the idea of them, though.
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Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
(mind you, with everything you asked for, this race is wildly unbalanced)
Crystaloids
Crystaloid Features
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 1.
-- Age: Being a non-organic mineral entity, the maximum lifespan of the crystaloid remains a mystery. So far, crystaloids have shown no signs of deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects.
-- Alignment: Most crystaloids take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality. But some have absorbed the morality – or lack thereof – of the beings with which they served.
-- Type: Your creature type is construct, rather than humanoid.
-- Cavernous Rest: When you take a long rest, you must spend at least 6 hours of it in an inactive, motionless state. You appear unconscious, but can see or hear as normal.
-- Darkvision: Accustomed to the darkness of the underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
-- Hardened Protection: You have a natural armor class. Your natural, crystal protection provides ample defense. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 15. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
-- Mineral Resilience: You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. You are immune to disease. You don't need to sleep and don't suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
-- Soul Shard: Deep inside your mineral form resides your soul, crystalized into a shard. Should you be killed, your shard can rejuvenate a new body in a week. After seven days your consciousness returns fully intact. If your form is largely destroyed, but your soul shard remain intact, your shard can grow a new body in a week. After seven days, your consciousness returns but in a weaker state. For the next seven days, your hit point maximum is halved, your speed is halved, and you suffer disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls and saving throws as you become accustomed to your new body. Should you be killed, your soul shard can be targeted for destruction. It has an armor class of 13 and hit points equal to your Constitution score.
-- Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Ignan.
Diamond
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Strength and Charisma scores increase by 1.
-- Size: Most Diamond crystaloids stand between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh on average 200-280 lbs. Your size is Medium.
-- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
-- Merchant’s Intuition: Whenever you make an ability check related to the acquisition or location of rare minerals, you are considered proficient in the check. If you would already be proficient, you instead have expertise. In addition, whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check involving rare minerals you are considered to have expertise in the Persuasion skill.
-- Sparkling Personality: You are proficient in the Persuasion skill. In addition, whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check towards a crystaloid, you are considered to have expertise in the Persuasion skill.
Pearl
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity and either your Intelligence or Wisdom (your choice) scores increase by 1.
-- Size: Quartz crystaloids average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 120 pounds. Your size is small.
-- Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
-- Compacted Knowledge: Scholarly and erudite, you are proficient in one Intelligence skill of your choice and have expertise in it as well.
-- Miner’s Lore: Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to mineral resources, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
-- Tool Proficiency: You gain proficiency with jeweler’s tools.
Quartz
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma and either your Strength or Dexterity (your choice) scores increase by 1.
-- Size: Most Quartz crystaloids stand between 6 and 6 1/2 feet tall and weigh on average 280-360 lbs. Your size is Medium.
-- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
-- Crystaloid Combat Training: You have proficiency with with light armor as well as mauls and warpicks.
-- Versatile Form: The rigid social caste system of the crystaloids has pushed you towards a particular vocation. You gain one of the following features:
---- Aquatic Treasure: You have a swimming speed of 20 feet.
---- Crystal Climber: You have a climbing speed of 20 feet.
---- Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, and lift.
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WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
That's awesome. But I agree, on paper listing down all abilities of a Crystal Gem makes them real unbalanced. The Soul Shard and Mineral Resilience is practically a whole package already, leaving ribbon skills to the subraces. Is it possible to tone those down while keeping the core theme intact (artificial body created by the soul shard)?
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
For a more balanced, standard approach to it?
Maybe something like this?
(I also did a revision on some aspects that missed my initial pass-over of it from its first draft)
Crystaloids
Crystaloid Features
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution score increases by 2.
-- Age: Being a non-organic mineral entity, the maximum lifespan of the crystaloid remains a mystery. So far, crystaloids have shown no signs of deterioration due to age. You are immune to magical aging effects.
-- Alignment: Most crystaloids take comfort in order and discipline, tending toward law and neutrality. But some have absorbed the morality – or lack thereof – of the beings with which they served.
-- Size: Most crystaloids stand between 6 and 6 1/2 feet tall and weigh on average 280-360 lbs. Your size is Medium.
-- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
-- Type: Your creature type is elemental, rather than humanoid.
-- Cavernous Rest: When you take a long rest, you must spend at least 6 hours of it in an inactive, motionless state. You appear unconscious, but can see or hear as normal.
-- Darkvision: Accustomed to the darkness of the underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
-- Mineral Resilience: You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. You are immune to disease. You don't need to sleep and don't suffer the effects of exhaustion due to lack of rest, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
-- Soul Shard: Deep inside your mineral form resides your soul, crystalized into a shard. Should you be killed, your shard can rejuvenate a new body in a week. After seven days your consciousness returns fully intact. If your form is largely destroyed, but your soul shard remain intact, your shard can grow a new body in a week. After seven days, your consciousness returns but in a weaker state. For the next seven days, your hit point maximum is halved, your speed is halved, and you suffer disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls and saving throws as you become accustomed to your new body. Should you be killed, your soul shard can be targeted for destruction. It has an armor class of 13 and hit points equal to your Constitution score.
-- Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Terran.
Diamond
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by 1.
-- Merchant’s Intuition: Whenever you make an ability check related to the acquisition or location of rare minerals, you are considered proficient in the check. If you would already be proficient, you instead have expertise. In addition, whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check involving rare minerals you are considered to have expertise in the Persuasion skill.
-- Sparkling Personality: You possess particular sway over other crystaloids. Whenever you make a Charisma (Persuasion) check towards a crystaloid, you are considered to have expertise in the Persuasion skill.
Pearl
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
-- Miner’s Lore: Whenever you make an Intelligence (Nature) check related to mineral resources, you are considered proficient in the Nature skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
-- Tool Proficiency: You gain proficiency with jeweler’s tools.
Quartz
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 1.
-- Crystaloid Combat Training: You have proficiency with light hammers, mauls, warhammers, and war picks.
-- Powerful Build: You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, and lift.
Would a Crystaloid be able to affect Radiant attacks?
Maybe using a Reaction to divert them through their body to another target? Or just cause a cool rainbow
I think that would be a cool base line trait:
Natural Refraction
Your crystallic anatomy lends itself to bending light in interesting and pleasing ways to most other races. By focussing upon your inner arrangement you can create a wide variety of chromatic and prismatic effects.
Gain +2 on persuade/intimidate checks.
Is there a spell that acts like a video game flashbang in 5e? that is, sphere aoe blind or similar for a short duration?
I know there's the blidness/deafenss spell, but that's not quite the same thing really.
Pyrotechnics comes the closest I think, but it is a transmutation spell that you cast on an existing fire. CON save to each creature within 10 ft or become blinded for 1 turn or a sphere of smoke that obscures.
Quick question: Mind flayers have Plane Shift, but where do they go when they use it? If it's a mind flayer colony in the Astral Sea, what's stopping a mind flayer from reporting opposition to the colony's plans in the Material Plane and requesting a large strike team of mind flayers to show up and take care of the problem?
I assume because if a mindflayer goes telling other mindflayers they’re losing to a bunch of material plane mouth breathers they get thrown in a vat of acid.
They’re basically naturally occurring super villains.
I think the main goal of mindflayers is to be considered great enough to even be part of the top tier mindflayer culture.
A gang of five you come across in a cave are effectively teenagers hanging around the back of Ralph’s.
Quick question: Mind flayers have Plane Shift, but where do they go when they use it? If it's a mind flayer colony in the Astral Sea, what's stopping a mind flayer from reporting opposition to the colony's plans in the Material Plane and requesting a large strike team of mind flayers to show up and take care of the problem?
They got mostly driven to the prime cuz they can be tracked by Githyanki when they zip and zoop around the planes, they try to avoid doing things like this
Quick question: Mind flayers have Plane Shift, but where do they go when they use it? If it's a mind flayer colony in the Astral Sea, what's stopping a mind flayer from reporting opposition to the colony's plans in the Material Plane and requesting a large strike team of mind flayers to show up and take care of the problem?
Illithid are nearly extinct. The Gith rebellion was so successful that the reason you encounter them in the Prime Material Plane is that they've had to flee to it from the Astral Plane.
They're essentially an Empire in the very late stages of decline, reduced to individual small colonies struggling to survive.
Amazon Prime has released a behind the scenes production video for the Critical Role animated series, The Legend of Vox Machina. You mostly get to see design work for architecture, landscapes, and interiors, but it's still a pretty neat first look.
So where would they plane shift to, then? By default an individual can plane shift itself once a day, so it'd need to be an absolutely safe place to lay low not on the Prime Material.
Considering I'm using the 4E take on the Underdark where it essentially spans the underground of the Material Plane, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell (the deeper you go the more interconnected the planes become), I guess a mind flayer could establish a refuge in a section of the Underdark in one of those other planes that has a tunnel leading back to where they plane shifted from relatively nearby.
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
Personally if the stunt is less mathematically rewarding in terms of damage and bonuses and tactical advantage than something else more defined that I could have done, I'd personally be much less likely to improvise in the future because for me what matters are results more than how it "appears". I know personally I'm more mechanics driven, and it seems a lot of folks here are at least somewhat more narrative in play and in running games, so who knows, I might be the odd man out. But when I have a certain amount of possibility within a single turn to do a certain amount of useful output, I want to maximize that to greatest effect.
Conversely, if a bog-standard attack is both the least interesting and the least powerful option, that completely shits all over classes designed around that principle and potentially pushes away players who aren't great at improvising.
e: I say this not as a refutation of your point, merely presenting the paradox of the matter
I mean, you're not wrong, which is why I fully support bog-standard attacks not being boring (I:heartbeat:4E), but having a set out way of knowing that an action would be a minimum in-line with basic attacks would, I should think, be helpful. Yes I know this is pages old as a topic.
I see you, Denada. Just admit you want the monster quick statblock chart from the 4e dmg :P
e: but realtalk what you're asking for is basically the sidebars from 13th Age, where the designers basically discuss experiences they had running the game in development and how they handled that stuff
Are you saying the trap and monster statblock charts for 4E were a bad thing? Because I thought they were one of the best things in the entire edition and it's my favorite of the editions thus far.
... and, if it hasn't been referenced in the next couple pages I'm catching up on, page 42.
This was the other freaking awesome part of 4E that together make me love it most, to be honest. The latter DCs seemed based mainly around the assumption that everyone was going to be doing these actions alone, unaided, which was eh, but the original design was great. Yes, I loved all the mathy mechanical exposed gears in the 4E DMG, unapologetically. I'm not in any way familiar with how 5E does it, but I found earlier editions both more mathy and more mechanically opaque compared to 4E, which is surely why it's my favorite thus far.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
I mean, you don’t have to use the lore that’s built up over the years.
Let’s see...
Deep Ethereal. Hags and evil spirits hang out in here mostly, but I can see a savvy mindflayer making deals with a hag or two for shared knowledge, both eager to destroy the other. With its connection to dreams it’s just a step from mind powers anyway.
Pandemonium. As an endless maddening maze of demons; it doesn’t matter if it’s followed, because it won’t be for long. A mindflayer has a number of ways to counter the maze, least of all just compelling a demon to show it around. Maybe lurks in an absent lord’s castle.
Layer of Hell. More deals, though this time I doubt on equal terms. With mind control as an option I could see some triple crosses going on. This kind of inherently bring demons and/or angels into the fight though, I feel, and might sideline your mindflayer/s. More a guest/emissary here than the boss.
Personal Pocket. There’s enough wizard spells about making little getaways that I’m sure a mindflayer could work out an equivalent. Probably floating in the Astral or Limbo, or nowhere—inside it the mini-world plays by the mindflayer’s rules.
Elemental plane. Pick your fav, or make one up. With the right defences for itself a mindflayer could easily build or take over a tower in the plane of fire. Might not seem on theme, but a super villain an obsidian hideout overlooking lava rivers is aesthetically mindflayer. You could claim it likes the mental quiet of being away from other thinking things.
Mechanus. The plane of law, suitable only if its willing to play by the rules, which could easily be its whole shtick. Something something perfectly balance, just as it should be.
Bobadder Dodaddafel. The Shadowfell is an okay one, but as it merges and flows over regular space it seems a shame to use planeshift for it. Rather, if just have it know a path in and out of it.
Domain of a Dead God. Seems appropriate something with such a big ego would live in a dead divinity’s skull. Traditionally this means it’d be in the Astral or Limbo, but it could be anywhere really. Mixing in one of the other ideas would be more fun I reckon. God skull at some far corner of the plane of ash?
Limbo. Again, traditionally this is a Gith place and they hunt mindflayers, but let’s say there’s room, because it is infinite. You can shape the chaos into anything, so long as you have the will for it. I’m thinking symmetrical giant Dr. Manhattan palace rising from the rolling chaos.
So where would they plane shift to, then? By default an individual can plane shift itself once a day, so it'd need to be an absolutely safe place to lay low not on the Prime Material.
Considering I'm using the 4E take on the Underdark where it essentially spans the underground of the Material Plane, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell (the deeper you go the more interconnected the planes become), I guess a mind flayer could establish a refuge in a section of the Underdark in one of those other planes that has a tunnel leading back to where they plane shifted from relatively nearby.
What's the goal of the Plane Shift?
If only for 24 hours until they can plane shift again, unless they plane shift directly into a Gith settlement, it can probably hide out wherever it wants.
If for a longer term absence, there's always the Feywild. You wouldn't typically think of looking for them there. Mind-control a few fomorians, goblins, redcaps, maybe a settlement of eladrin. If your cosmology has the Feydark as containing numerous portals to other planes (5e), then it would be a perfect place to hide out and then disappear into another plane to evade pursuers.
The group I play with still tell horror stories about their Hoard of the Dragon Queen game, from before I joined, where the DM strung out the section where you guard a caravan for five whole sessions. Just five straight sessions of random encounters. Nightmare fuel!
Clearly just keeping it authentic to the traditional escort mission experience.
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
edited August 2020
Today I revamped the Gith racial features.
This is my version of the race (and its two sub-races):
Gith Features
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity & Intelligence scores increase by 1.
-- Age: Gith reach adulthood in their late teens and live for about a century. But as time doesn’t flow on the Astral Sea, many Gith live far longer before the material plane weakens them via aging.
-- Size: Gith are taller and leaner than humans, with most a slender 6 feet in height. Your size is Medium.
-- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
-- Endless Schooling: You learn one language of your choice, and you are proficient with one set of artisan's tools of your choice. In the timeless void of the Astral Sea, the Gith have bountiful time to master vocations.
-- Githzerai Psionics: Every Gith is able to harness the powerful, latent psionic energy that lay dormant within. You know two of the following cantrips: Friends, Minor Illusion, Mage Hand (the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with this trait), Mind Blast, and Soulknife. Intelligence or Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells (your choice). When you cast them with this trait, they don't require components.
-- Telepathy: As a bonus action (which requires your concentration), you can speak telepathically to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. Your telepathic utterances are in a language you know, and the creature understands you only if it knows that language. Your communication doesn’t give the creature the ability to respond to you telepathically.
-- Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Gith.
Githyanki
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 1.
-- Alignment: Githyanki tend toward lawful evil. They are aggressive and arrogant, and they remain the faithful servants of their lich-queen, Vlaakith. But while they raid and conquer, they suffer a strong sense of honor & order. Renegade githyanki tend toward chaos.
-- Ancient Foe: Whenever you make an ability check related to combating an aberration, you are considered proficient in the check. If you would already be proficient, you instead have expertise. In addition, whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check involving war against aberrations you are considered to have expertise in the History skill.
-- Martial Training: You are proficient with light and medium armor and with either the shortsword, rapier, longsword, or greatsword.
Githzerai
-- Ability Score Increase: Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
-- Alignment: Githzerai tend toward lawful neutral. Their rigorous training in psychic abilities requires an implacable mental discipline.
-- Mental Discipline: You have advantage on saving throws against the charmed and frightened conditions. Under the tutelage of monastic masters, githzerai learn to govern their own minds.
-- Monastery Tutelage: Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. In addition, as long as you are not wearing armor or using a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to armor class.
And the two cantrips mentioned:
Soulknife
Illusion Level: cantrip Casting time: 1 Action Range: Self Components: S Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You manifest a knife of solidified psionic power in your hand. It counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. It deals 1d6 psychic damage on a hit and has the finesse, light, and thrown properties (range 20/60). If you drop the weapon or throw it, it dissipates at the end of the turn. This knife lasts for as long as you maintain concentration or until the spell ends. The spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).
Mind Blast
Enchantment Level: cantrip Casting time: 1 Action Range: 60 ft. Components: V Duration: 1 round
You blast a disorienting surge of psychic energy into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. Unless the saving throw is successful, the target takes 1d6 psychic damage, and the first time it makes a saving throw before the end of your next turn, it must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the save. This spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach certain levels: 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).
I think I figured out where I want my mind flayers to plane shift to!
Apparently an old Planescape book made reference to a secret safe haven of the illithids called Yuhnmoag. It's buried (presumably in some kind of protective shell) in the muck of the Plane of Ooze (also known as the Swamp of Oblivion in 5E).
I think I figured out where I want my mind flayers to plane shift to!
Apparently an old Planescape book made reference to a secret safe haven of the illithids called Yuhnmoag. It's buried (presumably in some kind of protective shell) in the muck of the Plane of Ooze (also known as the Swamp of Oblivion in 5E).
I'm browsing through an Adventurer's League module that came out around Out of the Abyss called "Assault on Maerimydra". It honestly seems pretty kickass.
The basic plot is that while the events of Out of the Abyss are going on Graz'zt has been aided by his bat-winged fire giant granddaughter Hledh Hellspawn in a complex ritual to make sure he remains on the Material Plane even if the other demon lords are banished. It involves an undead temple construct that is partially in the Ethereal Plane powered by Abyssal energy fed into the temple's heart, as well as demons bound to the symbols of the other demon lords featured in Out of the Abyss.
Graz'zt offers the party the opportunity to sell their souls to him. If they refuse they must do battle with Graz'zt, Hledh Hellspawn, a female vrock advisor named Squallocks who wears a robe of stars, and a succubus named Joiifericus whose day job is to look after newborn cambion children of Graz'zt.
This battle sounds absolutely overwhelming, but destroying the demons bound to the various symbols weakens Graz'zt. Fortunately, a little girl named Elisande who has been following the party along the adventure with her pet goat starts skipping through the room towards the closest bound demon...
A smile across her blood splattered face, Elisande plunges her dagger into the chest of the unmoving demon and pulls out its heart. With a swirl of scintillating light, the demon disappears and the symbol goes dark. Graz'zt screams in pain. "What have you done!?!?!?"
Elisande giggles.
Turns out Elisande is the daughter of Cyric, the Forgotten Realms' god of lies and murder.
Rules are also provided for how a warlock patron (in this case Graz'zt) might punish a rebellious warlock:
Warlocks of Graz'zt. As a Legendary Action, Graz'zt can expend one of the warlock's spell slots and cause the warlock to attempt a Charisma saving throw equal to the warlock's spell DC. Those who fail take necrotic damage equal to 5 plus twice the amount they failed by. For example, if a warlock had a spell DC of 16 and rolled a 10, they would take 17 points of necrotic damage (5 + [16 - 10] × 2).
Back in third, the lore behind illithids were that they are actually timetravelers from the end of the universe, who came back to avoid it's demise. But they didn't do the spell right and are scattered across time and space. They know they win in the end, so they are just laying low.
So you could have mindflayer ships flying about and have them escape to there with Plane Shift. I'm assuming that refuge in the Plane of Ooze is just one of their ships that got stuck.
I made a little recap of our 3 hours first session of Descent into Avernus. We're streaming it every week and I wanted to have a nice little recap to help players remember the important bits as well as let viewers get caught up. Would appreciate any feedback if people have it.
Warning, Descent into Avernus spoilers. Also, yes, as people mentioned
they TOTALLY almost wiped in the first fight. I had one of the NPCs in the tavern who was an acolyte they had briefly interacted with cast a cure wounds on a downed player to help keep them from dying completely.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
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I love your dedication to planning. I never plan specific stuff out more than 2 sessions or so in advance. I have the rough goings on of the world prepped, but thats about it.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I had previously done these:
-- Bryce d'Deneith, blind merchant-lord for House Deneith and shadowy vigilante of Sharn, the Crimson Scourge.
---- The Crimson Haunt -- ‘Merchant’ Mark of Sentinel Human ‘Inquisitive’ Rogue 6/Ranger 2/Monk 1/’Knowledge’ Cleric 1
-- Petyr Allen Garrick, young crime-reporter for the Korranberg Chronicle and, ever since being stung by an elemental spider, a venomous vigilante of Sharn, Thunder-Fang!
---- Thunder-Fang -- ‘Urban Commoner’ Mark of Storm Half-Elf Rogue 1/Monk 1/'Bladesinger' Wizard 9
-- Baenn'arr, Goblin zoologist who during the Day of Mourning was infused with the dying fury of all animals in Cyre. Now when he becomes angry he unwillingly transforms into green beasts. Hunted by the King's Citadel of Breland, he's a folk hero to the common people as The Green Fury.
---- The Green Fury -- ‘Rural Commoner’ Goblin ‘Totem Warrior’ Barbarian 3/’Circle of Moon’ Druid 8
-- Oliver Anthony d'Cannith, the wealthy genius & playboy noble of House Cannith who was maliciously exiled to a remote island off the coast of Xen'drik. When he returned, years later, he vowed to fight crime through his magical armor & bow as The Iron Arrow.
---- The Iron Arrow -- ‘Noble’ Mark of Making Human ‘Armorer’ Artificer 10/Fighter 1
--Princess Stéfanei of House Rhodjier, the deathless captain of the Howling Slayers and battle-emissary for the ancient island kingdom of Aerenal.
----Battle Maiden -- ‘Noble’ Deathless Aerenal Elf Barbarian 1/Fighter 1/‘Oath of Heroism’ Paladin 10
And I finished this guy yesterday (and retooled The Iron Arrow):
--T'ashavitar, Hobgoblin prince within Kech Volaar of the Heirs of Dhakaan. Utilizing advanced armor, weapons, and learned magic from time spent studying arcane principals within the Five Nations, T'ashavitar uses stealth & precision to hunt for ancient Dhakaani artifacts & free slaves within Darguun. As the Shadowdrake, he hopes to unite the goblinfolk of Darguun into a new Dhakaani Empire.
---- Shadowdrake -- Hobgoblin ‘Swords’ Bard 10/’Hexblade’ Warlock 1
Today my plan is to retool the Deathless template, and write up my own stats for the Gith so that I can begin on:
Gam'onn Ora'onzz, a Gith survivor of the initial eradication of her homeworld at the hand of the Daelkyr. Adopted and trained to be a weapon by a Daelkyr titan, she escaped and hid within the Astral Plane until she was summoned to Eberron by a cabal of wizards. Disguising herself as a human in the city of Sharn, she uses her psychic abilities as a private investigator while honing her martial skills so she may one day enact revenge upon her "father."
Part of it is that I want to still get use out of old books, part of it is because one of the people likely to play is very familiar with a lot of 5E's monsters, and part of it is because I want this iteration of the Underdark to be particularly unpredictable.
For example, I want to feature one of these (director beholderkin) as a cleric of Torog who had all its eyes ritually removed and preserved in vats throughout his small temple (the Chamber of Eyes) as a show of piety to the god of suffering (plus the Underdark trade community the temple is in wouldn't allow it entrance into the community otherwise). It can still see, though, as tendrils coming from it connect to the brain of the giant centipede it rides, making the centipede an extension of itself (it secretly wouldn't mind having at least one ersatz eye in an eye stalk in case its mount dies and leaves it completely blind, but it fears using such an item would displease its god). The beholderkin priest is further confined to the Chamber of Eyes by both a chain wrapped around its centipede mount and a glyph of warding at the exit set to kill it if it ever attempts to leave (a secret back-up glyph is set to kill the beholderkin if the first glyph is dispelled).
It claims that Torog told it in a dream to remove its eyes and place them throughout the temple so that he could see through them himself and keep watch upon his humble servant. Over time a few other devotees of Torog have followed the priest's example, voluntarily shackling themselves to the walls of the temple...
I also previously came up with another Torog devotee the party could encounter: a lone mind flayer who has willingly put himself at the mercy of duergar slavers. His mouth has been sown up so he can't eat brains (a ring of sustenance his only source of nourishment) and a special helmet has been attached to his head that disables his psionic abilities and telepathy. He has faith that Torog will use this ordeal to lead him where he needs to be to further the god's will.
The duergar slavers initially delighted at the chance to maim and subjugate a mind flayer, one of the most hated enemies of their people. They were disturbed, however, when the mind flayer one day approached with a pleading request written in Undercommon to be mutilated further and worked harder, which they denied. Soon after the duergar found the mind flayer had taken matters into his own hands and severed his own tentacles with a large pair of bolt cutters, one after the other, leaving only short stumps around his sewn-together mouth...
Not all Torog followers are this extreme, BTW. There are many schisms among Torog's faithful and uncertainty as to what they should do now that their god no longer dwells among them in the Underdark.
EDIT: I'm thinking about giving the mind flayer a flumph tag along that he tolerates for some unknown reason. The flumph is sincerely concerned for the mind flayer for whatever reason and is perpetually a deep blue, indicating sadness. I don't know if I can spin something that makes sense out of this, but it would be a really bizarre pair to encounter, particularly for players who are knowledgeable about monster lore.
Nah, the eyes are dead. Only divine intervention by Torog would make them function, and something crazy would have to happen for that.
The Chamber of Eyes is located near a designated neutral zone in the Underdark enforced by a small order of wizards, where I'm planning the campaign to begin. The players could meet this blind giant centipede riding beholderkin in session one.
Despite having looked at that art for decades, I'd never understood that it was a beholderkin riding a giant centipede . My brain just never read it like that, instead seeing just a centipede-y beholder.
You learn something new everyday!
If I'm understanding the AD&D statblock correctly the director beholderkin is a poor flier compared to other beholderkin, so I guess that's why they use these mounts.
There are two separate subterranean monsters shaped like large rolling objects whose modus operandi is to crush wanderers in tunnels. One, the ascomoid, is a fungus that also basically sprays the same kind of deadly spores that gas spores do. The other, the bowler, looks like an ordinary boulder but can move under its own power and change direction. I was going to write this one off until I got to this part: "After crushing prey, a bowler rolls back onto the victim and a mouth-like orifice opens to consume the flesh and bone, shell, etc."
EDIT: THERE'S A MONSTER IN HERE CALLED A STEGOCENTIPEDE. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
EDIT 2: If you want more bizarre varieties of fungi that infect and kill you with their spores then this is the book for you. Ascomoids spray jets of infectious spores, phycomids launch globs of acid that also contain infectious spores, and zygoms actually hijack the host's brain. The last one is most insidious because you get infected just by coming in contact with one of a zygom's several caps and the effects don't set in for days.
There are also ustilagors, which are walking fungi that look like brains and can influence a target creature's emotions. Apparently they were later stated to be the larval form of intellect devourers, but they haven't been mentioned since 3E as far as I can tell.
They are effectively Warforged that can resurrect after dying, if their crystal isn't damaged. Specific gem types have specializations... So, subraces. Let's not include fusions into the mix, that would be too complicated.
Age: technically immortal, or has longevity.
Size: runs the whole spectrum. Depends on specific gem.
Alignment: often Lawful.
Bonuses: +1 to Con.
Inorganic: Rests for 4 hours, no need for food or drink, immunity to poison.
"Soul" Gem: Gem basically acts as a phylactery.
Hardlight Body: on 0HP, body disintegrates, leaving the gem behind. Takes a long rest to make a recovery with no penalties, a short rest to get back with reduced max HP and half total HP, plus exhaustion, recoverable after a long rest. 1/day(?)
Subraces:
Diamond: +1 to Cha and Str, 1d4 on Persuasion/Intimidation against other Gems.
Pearl: +1 to Dex and +1 to (Int/Wis) 1d4 on a chosen knowledge check of choice (Arcana/History/Religion/Nature/Medicine)
Quartz: +1 to Con and +1 to (Str/Dex), choice of Powerful Build, Climbing Speed, or Swimming Speed.
The functional immortality seems OP. Unsure how to tone it down. Damaging the gem should be baked into the mechanics somehow.
This reminds me of the Jumi from Legend of Mana. They looked like people but had hearts made of gemstones. They could only truly die if the gemstone was stolen. Cue world renowned gem thief stage right. A lot of the wizards in the game refer to them as dirt, and they're persecuted for some reason. It never really explains why people are racist towards only them when there's a pelican that delivers the mail and a talking cactus that saves your game. I did enjoy the idea of them, though.
(mind you, with everything you asked for, this race is wildly unbalanced)
Maybe something like this?
(I also did a revision on some aspects that missed my initial pass-over of it from its first draft)
Maybe using a Reaction to divert them through their body to another target? Or just cause a cool rainbow
I think that would be a cool base line trait:
Natural Refraction
Your crystallic anatomy lends itself to bending light in interesting and pleasing ways to most other races. By focussing upon your inner arrangement you can create a wide variety of chromatic and prismatic effects.
Gain +2 on persuade/intimidate checks.
I know there's the blidness/deafenss spell, but that's not quite the same thing really.
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Pyrotechnics comes the closest I think, but it is a transmutation spell that you cast on an existing fire. CON save to each creature within 10 ft or become blinded for 1 turn or a sphere of smoke that obscures.
No spell I don't think but the Robe of Scintillating Colors is basically a flashbang+. Easy enough to homebrew a spell or thrown item off of that.
They’re basically naturally occurring super villains.
I think the main goal of mindflayers is to be considered great enough to even be part of the top tier mindflayer culture.
A gang of five you come across in a cave are effectively teenagers hanging around the back of Ralph’s.
They got mostly driven to the prime cuz they can be tracked by Githyanki when they zip and zoop around the planes, they try to avoid doing things like this
Whenever Illithid try to do cross planar incursions, see:
Illithid are nearly extinct. The Gith rebellion was so successful that the reason you encounter them in the Prime Material Plane is that they've had to flee to it from the Astral Plane.
They're essentially an Empire in the very late stages of decline, reduced to individual small colonies struggling to survive.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Considering I'm using the 4E take on the Underdark where it essentially spans the underground of the Material Plane, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell (the deeper you go the more interconnected the planes become), I guess a mind flayer could establish a refuge in a section of the Underdark in one of those other planes that has a tunnel leading back to where they plane shifted from relatively nearby.
I mean, you're not wrong, which is why I fully support bog-standard attacks not being boring (I:heartbeat:4E), but having a set out way of knowing that an action would be a minimum in-line with basic attacks would, I should think, be helpful. Yes I know this is pages old as a topic.
Are you saying the trap and monster statblock charts for 4E were a bad thing? Because I thought they were one of the best things in the entire edition and it's my favorite of the editions thus far.
This was the other freaking awesome part of 4E that together make me love it most, to be honest. The latter DCs seemed based mainly around the assumption that everyone was going to be doing these actions alone, unaided, which was eh, but the original design was great. Yes, I loved all the mathy mechanical exposed gears in the 4E DMG, unapologetically. I'm not in any way familiar with how 5E does it, but I found earlier editions both more mathy and more mechanically opaque compared to 4E, which is surely why it's my favorite thus far.
Let’s see...
Deep Ethereal. Hags and evil spirits hang out in here mostly, but I can see a savvy mindflayer making deals with a hag or two for shared knowledge, both eager to destroy the other. With its connection to dreams it’s just a step from mind powers anyway.
Pandemonium. As an endless maddening maze of demons; it doesn’t matter if it’s followed, because it won’t be for long. A mindflayer has a number of ways to counter the maze, least of all just compelling a demon to show it around. Maybe lurks in an absent lord’s castle.
Layer of Hell. More deals, though this time I doubt on equal terms. With mind control as an option I could see some triple crosses going on. This kind of inherently bring demons and/or angels into the fight though, I feel, and might sideline your mindflayer/s. More a guest/emissary here than the boss.
Personal Pocket. There’s enough wizard spells about making little getaways that I’m sure a mindflayer could work out an equivalent. Probably floating in the Astral or Limbo, or nowhere—inside it the mini-world plays by the mindflayer’s rules.
Elemental plane. Pick your fav, or make one up. With the right defences for itself a mindflayer could easily build or take over a tower in the plane of fire. Might not seem on theme, but a super villain an obsidian hideout overlooking lava rivers is aesthetically mindflayer. You could claim it likes the mental quiet of being away from other thinking things.
Mechanus. The plane of law, suitable only if its willing to play by the rules, which could easily be its whole shtick. Something something perfectly balance, just as it should be.
Bobadder Dodaddafel. The Shadowfell is an okay one, but as it merges and flows over regular space it seems a shame to use planeshift for it. Rather, if just have it know a path in and out of it.
Domain of a Dead God. Seems appropriate something with such a big ego would live in a dead divinity’s skull. Traditionally this means it’d be in the Astral or Limbo, but it could be anywhere really. Mixing in one of the other ideas would be more fun I reckon. God skull at some far corner of the plane of ash?
Limbo. Again, traditionally this is a Gith place and they hunt mindflayers, but let’s say there’s room, because it is infinite. You can shape the chaos into anything, so long as you have the will for it. I’m thinking symmetrical giant Dr. Manhattan palace rising from the rolling chaos.
What's the goal of the Plane Shift?
If only for 24 hours until they can plane shift again, unless they plane shift directly into a Gith settlement, it can probably hide out wherever it wants.
If for a longer term absence, there's always the Feywild. You wouldn't typically think of looking for them there. Mind-control a few fomorians, goblins, redcaps, maybe a settlement of eladrin. If your cosmology has the Feydark as containing numerous portals to other planes (5e), then it would be a perfect place to hide out and then disappear into another plane to evade pursuers.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Clearly just keeping it authentic to the traditional escort mission experience.
Hypnotic pattern
This works great too since the material component is a vial with phosphorescent material or a glowing stick of incense.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
This is my version of the race (and its two sub-races):
And the two cantrips mentioned:
Apparently an old Planescape book made reference to a secret safe haven of the illithids called Yuhnmoag. It's buried (presumably in some kind of protective shell) in the muck of the Plane of Ooze (also known as the Swamp of Oblivion in 5E).
It's not the most glamorous place, I assume.
Well, it's more of a winter destination.
The basic plot is that while the events of Out of the Abyss are going on Graz'zt has been aided by his bat-winged fire giant granddaughter Hledh Hellspawn in a complex ritual to make sure he remains on the Material Plane even if the other demon lords are banished. It involves an undead temple construct that is partially in the Ethereal Plane powered by Abyssal energy fed into the temple's heart, as well as demons bound to the symbols of the other demon lords featured in Out of the Abyss.
Graz'zt offers the party the opportunity to sell their souls to him. If they refuse they must do battle with Graz'zt, Hledh Hellspawn, a female vrock advisor named Squallocks who wears a robe of stars, and a succubus named Joiifericus whose day job is to look after newborn cambion children of Graz'zt.
This battle sounds absolutely overwhelming, but destroying the demons bound to the various symbols weakens Graz'zt. Fortunately, a little girl named Elisande who has been following the party along the adventure with her pet goat starts skipping through the room towards the closest bound demon...
Turns out Elisande is the daughter of Cyric, the Forgotten Realms' god of lies and murder.
Rules are also provided for how a warlock patron (in this case Graz'zt) might punish a rebellious warlock:
So you could have mindflayer ships flying about and have them escape to there with Plane Shift. I'm assuming that refuge in the Plane of Ooze is just one of their ships that got stuck.