You have gathered up the Githzerai’s possessions into a rucksack he carried, having identified all but the potion as psionically active. You have a minor gash across both your palms from his short sword, but the pleasure of your recent meal more than makes up for the laceration. Your orcish thrall, Asa, is moderately wounded, and is currently gorging herself on the raw flesh of the Githzerai.

can I rape it?

>>7989619
Look around for clues as to where the other mind flayer's body lies.

get ye flask

Time to recover our slain kins brain and get it in the jar methinks.

Test the potion on our thrall. It may very well be a healing potion, and while the slashes along our hands will be bothersome, an injured thrall is only fit for food, not for protecting ourself.

>>7989667

Second. We can id the potion and deal with the rest of it later.

>>7989667
>>7989668

make the orc dance

>>7989658

By eating the Githzerai's brain, you experienced his last few hours of life vicariously as the creamy, thick memories slid down your throat. As a result, you had a vision of him hiding the body in the storage room on the other side of the drow gateway.

>>7989668

Choking down bits of Githzerai faster than she can chew them, Asa looks up at you with fear and absolute adoration. "A present? For me, master?"

She takes the potion from you and quaffs it back in one gulp. Her flesh stitches itself back together, and she is healed completely.

>>7989742
Leave posthaste,having Asa lead the way. Send out telepathic pulses to detect any major lifeforms nearby that might lie in wait.

into the storage room to get the brain and possible other loot.

Also, whats our thrall limit and can we make new ones?

I was just thinking about this thread... And I was going to study for a physics exam tonight, too. Oh well.

>>7989742
By "drow gateway," is this merely a mundane portal marking their territory, or something more?

>>7989742
Send Asa in first, we can always get a few more thralls.

>>7989760

You begin reading the thoughts of any minds within a 60 foot cone in front of you. Other than Asa's thoughts of fear-stricken devotion, you do not detect any other intelligences nearby.

"Dutiful Asa," you intone in her mind, "It is master's wish that you go to the other wooden door."

"As you will it, master." She collects her thunder lizard femur and walks over to the other door, and you follow a few paces behind.

(You may concentrate on the Read Thoughts power to maintain it for up to 6 minutes. Do you carry the rucksack with you, leave it in the room, or command Asa to carry it?)

>>7989873
Carry it ourselves, sling over back.

Should we preemptively disguise ourself as a drow missionary of some kind, or proudly remain a representive of the Elder Brain? The treefood were expecting a diplomat afterall.

No need to disguise Asa... orc slaves are commonplace.

>>7989873
Leave it in the room, we can come back for it later. If Asa dies, we've lost our loot. If WE carry it (unthinkable) then it shall just weigh us down. Besides, if it's gone we know to keep a look out.

>>7989873
>>7989895
This. Asa needs her hands free to fight. We don't need anything free to mind blast.

Also, keep the Read Thoughts power online. Just in case.

>>7989902

We represent the Elder Brain, made proof by our Brainmate. We need not fear the dark skinned freefood. They know that our death would be felt by the Elder Brain, and then they would have to deal with a pissed off Sept of flayers.

No, we shall try and be as regal as possible, but not holier then thou. We are entering their domain after all, and we should tread lightly.

>>7989873

We carry it ourselves.
Additionally, we should go over that gith's memories in the back of our mind, especially his memories of combat and discipline.
You never know, even foods can occasionally learn something useful.

You hoist the rucksack over your shoulder with one hand, leaving the other free if need be. The burlap scrapes your fresh wound, but it is not an altogether unpleasant pain. It is incumbent upon you to savor all new experiences.

Asa stares dully at the wooden door. You imagine she would continue to do so unto starvation if you so desired. She appears somewhat weary from the battle--harnessing her bestial rage has left her a bit fatigued.

>>7989963
Espaially anything rrelated to dungoneering.

If we get just 4 points into dungeoneering, we will qualify for the Slayer prestige class. Its like a psionic Hunter. Which would be good because we have two levels of hunter.
The Slayer class also gives good menifester progression.

>>7989963

Reflecting upon the Gith's memories grants you a measure of mental strength; you have absorbed a portion his training at resisting mental compulsions and psychic attacks.

(You gain a +1 bonus to will saves for 24 hours)

>>7990016
Command her to brake it down like it a cop movie.

>>7990045
sounds delicious.

>>7990016
Command her to open the door.
Thralls are easily replaced if something goes bad.

>>7990068
Open the door

>>7990068

Asa opens the door and looks inside. You read her thoughts as she scans the room:

box box stain box canvas bulge <thank you master for healing me> box peephole <master's approval is all that i seek> lamp box master

She turns to look at you with a simpleton's grin.

Unrelated question, do mind flayer psionic powers work within an anti-magic field/are they affected by a disjunction

>>7990158
Fire an arrow through the peephole, someone might be watching.Tell Asa to check the canvas.

>>7990158

good job Asa.
We enter to examine the canvas as this is probably the mind flayer we were sent to find.
We keep Asa nearby and scanning for danger.

>>7990158
>box peephole? canvas bulge?

Sounds like probable hiding places for foes

>>7990204
Yes, they do work. Because they are not magical. An anti-magic field only affects magic, not psionics.

>>7990207
Excuse me, a bolt. We are using a crossbow after all!

>brainmate
D'awwwww.

>>7990222

You lift the canvas to find the corpse of the diplomat to the drow queendom, an old, experienced, and cunning illithid known to you by reputation. He was among the few in your Sept permitted to directly petition the Elder Brain, and among the very few whose orders the Ulitharid obeyed.

>>7990204

I'm using the "Psionics is different" interpretation, so you have the advantage of bypassing spell resistance and anti-magic fields, and the disadvantage of having no tools at your disposal for directly opposing magic.

>>7990254
Killing a drow guard, should one be positioned there, might not be the best diplomatic manuver.

Send her to stand directly in front of the peephole, weapon drawn. Then enter the room and get a more lucid perspective of the environment. The bulgy canvas may very well be our wayward graymatter.

time to loot the brain, and see what else is in here, have the thrall look through the peephole

>>7990302

Wouldn't want to keep the Elder Brain waiting.
We take his brain without delay!
Along with whatever else is of value in the room, after examining it in depth as well, of course.

Resist urge to lick brain just a little

>>7990302
So a mind flayer has no recourse if he comes across a wizard with 12th level spell slots and able to cast a quickened power word: kill

>>7990302
Do we hear any thoughts when we look at the peephole?

Read people's memories about sexy times.

Masturbate.

>>7990331

You set down the rucksack, kneel down, and dissolve your kinsman's skull with the corrosive secretions of your tentacles. Carefully, you unscrew the brain canister while commanding Asa to look through the peephole. She dutifully obeys, but clumsily bumps into your arm walking by you, spilling about three-quarters of the fluid in the brain canister.

Asa looks down at what she has done, sees your glowering face, and falls to her knees in tears. "I am sorry, master, that I touched you, and caused such an accident! Please, spare me, though I am unworthy!" She tears at her hair, pulling it out in handfuls, wailing for forgiveness.

>>7990398

You hear no thoughts on the other side of the wall.

>>7990384

True.

>>7990468
PUNISHMENT IS NECCESARY IF WE WANT HER TO LISTEN TO US

>>7990468

Assuming the brain won't keep without that fluid, we need to devour it. Can't let it go to waste.

>>7990468

We really need to work on making this orc woman smarter.

For now we should probably order her to smash her ankle with the club and make her walk back on it then ask the Brainmate what to do about the loss of fluid.

Devour brain, break one of the thrall's knees.

>>7990517
Do not injure the slave - reducing a slave's fighting capacity will be a bad thing until we are home. what we should do is inform her she will be punished severely for causing a problem for the Elder Brain.

Consult Brainmate about situation. It may be necessary to replenish the liquid somehow....make mental note to take up alchemy.

Punish later. First, we may have to settle for prioritizing the frontal lobes and memory glands if there isn't enough fluid for the whole thing. If some of this precious, experienced graymatter cannot be saved... well, we certainly wouldn't want it to go to wastOM NOM NOM NOM

no lasting damage, at least none that would impair her ability to fight for us, but smack her round a bit with the tentacles, then see if we can still salvage the brain, if not, eats

>>7990468

Is it possible to make do with what little fluid we have? And will his brain last for very long in its current state?

Maybe we can harvest fluid from the orc-thrall to replace the lost fluid? It's only fair.

>>7990573
>>7990580
>>7990581

Agreed. We should let her know that she will be punished, but hold off until we complete the mission. Even then, I would be weary of any punishment that could cause her serious physical harm, given that her strength is all she can offer us. Some form of mental punishment would be preferable.

>>7990468
Is the water replaceable?

>>7990638
I don't know if Elder would appreciate our bringing back its favored diplomat smelling all orky.

>>7990517

"For your failure, Asa, you must be punished," you hiss into the orc's mind. "Use the club master has generously provided you with. Shatter your ankle, and think on your error."

Asa wipes away her tears and solemnly walks into the adjoining foyer. She sits down and lays her leg out straight, then slams the thunder lizard femur down on her ankle with the complete extent of her strength. She lets out a strained groan of pain, choking back her scream to avoid disturbing the master further. She stands up with a whimper and hobbles back to your side, her foot turned inward.

Satisfied with your punishment, you ask the Brainmate's advice in handling the brain. "Your kin's brain can be preserved in less than the full amount of ichor, but the result will be somewhat inferior. Presenting the brain to the Elder in this state will require a very thorough and heartfelt apology, and you will need to return to Lagurno as rapidly as possible to avoid further decay."

>>7990680
"Can we devour the brain? Or possibly replace the liquid? Or perhaps suspend the brain psionically so it does not wither?

>>7990680
>As rapidly as possible.
>Just broke thrall's ankle.

I thought the consensus was that we wouldn't do that. :|

>>7990680
Ask her if she knows her own way back if so, leave her. The Elder Brain will not be pleased about the inferior quality. Might as well give it the best inferior we can manage.

>>7990740
I thought so too.

>>7990680
oh well. let us return ASAP.

Fucking hell OP, please try to mediate the idiots with the smart people. Breaking the orc's ankle just made her useless to us.

Leave her to fend for herself. We have to return immediately. Do so as fast as we can without risking the brain.

>>7990680

Quickly put the brain in the container and hurry back.

Tell Asa we will have her ankle fixed once we're back home. In the mean time tell her to remember that we could have simply disposed of her, and to be grateful for the chance to prove her worth to us by enduring.

>>7990734

"No psionic means of preserving flesh is known within this fragment of the Elder Brain. Only the divine will of Ilsensine could accomplish such a task. To devour the property of the Elder Brain yourself would be a sin so unforgivable as to lie beyond all reckoning."

>>7990740

Sorry, I tend to go with the first interesting response--if I waited for consensus before writing, my posts would be even further apart.

>>7990788

>>7990468
Pop open Asa's skull and replace the fluid with her fluid. Thrall's are a dime a dozen.

>>7990817
Make our way back to the Elder Brain post-haste.

If Asa slows us down leave her behind. Thralls are expendable, but this brain is not.

>>7990680
Well then, I suggest we Stick the brain in, Find an improptu replacement for the fluid if we can, then GTFO.

brain in jar, haul ass back home, the thrall and catch up, tell her that if she makes it back alive and well she'll be rewarded and have had made us proud.

>>7990896

agreed.

Kill Asa, use her cerebral fluid.
Better to lose a thrall and have the diplomat's brain in pristine condition than to be slowed down by a busted thrall who will probably be eaten anyway before she has a chance to heal.

>>7990801

You lift your kinsman's brain out of its skull and sever the brain stem from the spine with a swift chop from your handaxe. You place the brain in the brain canister; ichor covers the lower third of it, and you watch briefly as the rubbery, lifeless brain regains some of its vigor.

"We are returning home, Asa. Try to keep up; I will not wait for you."
----------
After lowering yourself and Asa back down the pit, you return to the cathedral. The illithid guards stand near the tapestry behind the alter that covers the hatch leading to your home.

"Your mission was a success, then?" thinks one of the guards into your mind, raising a tentacle to indicate curiosity.

Thrall might lead others back to the Sept. Dangerous things, like Gith. I say extract her brain for sustenance so we can make it back quicker.

"Only partially" ask the elder brain for guidance

>>7990935
Kind of. Encountered a Githzeri (w/e) that made things rough. I must return the brain immediately.

>>7990896
this is retarded.
we are roleplaying a mind flayer.
asa is expendable, let's use her brain juice.
if you try to save everyone you're just going to piss off the Elder Brain for your incompetence

>>7990935
Return Brain ASAP.

Asa's been with us from the beginning. Goddamnit, take a stand /tg/

>>7990964

Use her brain juice. We must carry out the Elder brains orders!!!

>>7990964

We don't know if her cerebrospinal fluid is compatible.

It'd suck if we ruined the brain by contaminating the ichor with orkish fluids.

>>7990999
>Paladin
>untrustworthy to a Illithid

She's a thrall, lower even than a slave. She exists to serve our whims and she's been fucking up recently. We should discard her and get a better one as soon as we can.

>>7990999

Screw you, Pally. We are evil aligned. We do whatever we want.

Nice, new thread!

>>7990935
'To a degree'

While responding, a thought about Asa:
Can we get give her 'lessons' on thinking?

Basically, give her a problem to solve while actively observing her thoughts, and directly guide them along quick, efficient analysis and problem solving.

Basically, start working out her brain for creativity without interfering with her mental programming. Cool thing is brains work this way.

Which is also why you should, from now on, whenever performing a task that does not require all of your mental facilities/in a combat zone, start devoting parts of your body brain to cosidering hypotheticals, basically ANYTHING you can do to keep your neurons firing as much as possible. You are a new Illithid, if you want to catch up to your older, smarter, more experienced brethren, you need to work for it.

This is why you are pioneering new methods of molding thralls, after all.

>>7991020
ask the Brainmate first, he probably would know

>>7990935
"Yes, now allow me to pass."

>>7990964
Indeed.
Listen squidbrains: She just committed something akin to HERESY. If you were a Commissar you would have Blamed her on the spot. You are instead a super-advanced creature that comes from beyond men's imaginations, something DRASTIC and IMMEDIATE has to be done.

>>7991031
A further consideration for the attempts to 'teach' greater mental acuity/problem solving: Make this one of the things you constantly work on to improve your own mental function. From now on,devote at least some attention to constantly presenting scenarios and problems for Asa, and work on improving her methods of approaching such.

>>7990999
This Char is LE, Pally.

>>7991066
Practically speaking, irrelevant now. We already traveled back, so even if we killed her now, we would gain no further use from her cranial fluids, since the decay process has already been underway for some time.

"Only partially," you respond. "My business is urgent, and I have no time for pleasantries. The hatch, please?"

The guard lets his tentacles lay flat on his chest in an expression of formality and distance. "Of course." They pull the duergar tapestry aside and turn the circular handle to the hatch--too slowly for your liking. They push the hatch door to the side and bow brusquely.

Once inside the Sept, you feel the Elder Brain's familiar, constant presence return. It comforts you, even as your knowledge of its impending displeasure terrifies you.

>>7991031
>>7991072
Also this

>>7991072
Eh, we've kinda moved on from "Training Thralls for Fun and Profit." Now we're considering cracking open her braincase to repair a cockup.

>>7991110

BRACE FOR DEMERIT AND/OR POSSIBLE DEMISE

>>7991110
Formulate apologies. Do what it says.

>>7991110
Start the mental exercises POSTHASTE

You have a bit of a fuckup to deal with, it's true, but the more evidence you can present that you are learning superior thrall training methods could mitigate the situation.

SO GET TO SMARTING UP ASA

Blame the Gith.

>>7991123
>>7991114

The intelligence that comes with being an illithid does not make us a good creature, but we certainly have the sense to follow a path of enlightened self interest; kindness not for kindness' sake, but as a calculated measure to cultivate our needs. Even then, perhaps kindness is still too strong a word.

>>7991110

.you.have.returned.it.appears.successfully.but.what.is.this.i.detect.hesitation.fear.in.you.what.tro
ubles.you.ah.yes.you.fear.my.displeasure.it.is.well.you.should.

.very.well.approach.my.chamber.you.are.granted.the.honor.of.releasing.the.diplomat's.brain.into.my.t
ank.leave.your.thrall.with.the.ulitharid.he.will.see.to.its.wounds.

(attached is a map of Lagurno)

>>7991123
Wouldn't the brain already be as fucked as it's gonna get at this point? Since we are already back in the city?

Also, wouldn't working on how to make thralls more competent help prevent future problems just like the one we had?

>>7991109
Practically speaking, we cocked up big time by letting her live. Not only do we have a rotten brain, but we let a slave go free, who is currently hobbling back to our homes with who knows what following it!

Goddamn this is a train-wreck of epic proportions.

>>7991163
Now what?

We also should have learned divine spells, it is the one true weakness of the mindflayer.

There is a power that we should consider investing in - a simple, yet terrifyingly effective power called "Attraction". It has had many uses in the past. We should undertake study into alchemy so this travesty does not occur again, or at least we can prevent such an error on the part of our slave from causing turmoil once more. Finally, it may be worth our while to discuss with the Ulitharid options to make a thrall more useful - more intelligent with an even stronger bond to our race.

>>7991163

Appologize to the elder brain. Do as it says.

Before we leave Asa to the ulitharid, tell her she did well to walk back on a broken ankle but that next time she causes such problems we will not be as lenient.

>>7991201
Asa is with us. She did not slow us down.

Follow orders, to the letter.

Find thrall, devour brain for not making it back sooner. Use lessons learned through her failures to train better thrall.

Study dungoneering with our impending free time.
Four more points and we qualify for the Slayer Presigue class. Its like a psionic ranger. Which is good because we are a ranger.
The slayer class also has great manifester power progression.

>thrall compromises mission
>opportunity to sacrifice thrall to amend mistakes
>pass up this opportunity, instead selfishly keeping thrall alive for ourselves
>try to salvage mission by hurrying, but not until we command thrall to cripple herself

I'm sorry OP I understand the time constraints but if you follow every bad decision anon immediately throws up we're gonna be on cruise control for doom. Remember, mind flayers are cerebral creatures. The first posts to come up will be from anon's heart. The latter posts come from anon's rationale.

>>7991302
Also stop by the temple and give praise to Ilsensine.

>>7991309
Wise anon is wise.

>>7991309

I've said it once, and I will say it again, why are you assuming that the thralls cerebrospinal fluid would have worked?

>>7991232

"You will stay with the Ulitharid, Asa, and remember that master was kind to you this day," you scold her. "Not only did I not devour you on the spot, but I only required one broken ankle in payment. You will not receive such kindness in the future."

"tHe %THraLL wiLl ReMain^three DaYS in #HEaLing." says the Ulitharid. "%YoU MAy RetRIeve it*No*SOOner*, and *No*LATer*."

As you hurry to the Elder Brain's chamber, your terror mixes with pleasure at returning to Lagurno's silent, dark, damp halls. You unfasten your dampsuit and allow Lagurno's moist air in to caress your skin once more.

The Elder Brain's chamber is a large, circular room without any doorway--you and all other illithid of this Sept do not travel down the Brain's hallway unless invited. This is your first visit to the Brain's chamber since you were drawn out of it for ceremorphosis.

(continued)

>>7991369
Nobody. But quite frankly the thrall should have been killed on the spot anyway. It's just protocol.

The attempt at fixing the situation is simply trying to cover our own ass. "I know the situation is less than ideal, but time was short and I was forced into using materials that I had on hand."

>>7991369
Because we are preserving the brain of a fellow mind flayer.
Mind flayers are spawned from the bodies of humanoid creatures, you yourself were grown from a drow.
Orcs are humanoid, and mind flayers can be spawned from them, therefore their cerebrospinal fluid would not have been harmful to a mindflayer brain.

And it wouldn't have hurt to consult your Brainmate first, just in case.

>>7991420
>>7991444

Yeah, I did say consult the Brainmate, and if the brainmate had said "you can substitute fluid from another being" yeah, sure crack her skull like she's a soda can.

Ass covering only works if it doesn't make the problem worse. If it does, it's called "Digging yourself deeper".

Whatever. I've no interest in derailing this. Probably shouldn't even be posting this really... Ah well.

>>7991386

The Brain speaks into your mind as you enter the chamber.

.approach.my.child.and.behold.your.master.

You walk forward, and from the bottom of a blue, glowing pool of viscous liquid, an enormous, tentacled brain ten feet in diameter rises soundlessly to the surface. You feel a surge of pride, awe, and sickening, quailing fear for the coming moments.

.present.the.brain.

You open the brain canister, displaying the diplomat's brain. It pulses weakly, firm with death's hardening decay. Fearing to look on the Elder Brain directly, you approach with eyes cast down, holding the canister out in front of you at arm's length.

!i!am!not!pleased!at!your!work!this!brain!is!poorly!preserved!what?excuse?do?you?make?pathetic?creat
ure?recall.that.you.owe.your.every.breath.to.my.benevolence.and.that!breath!may!stop!with!equal!ease
!

You know... we never did fully investigate that peephole back in the storage room. I wonder if anyone telekenetically sabotaged us.

Faced with a Githzerai opponent, we succeeded where another older, more capable Illithid perished. Yet we slew the Gith, and claimed some memories of their workings.

Welp, looks like we are dead.

Next quest guys?

>>7991531

Fucked.

Grovel as best possible. Blame on thrall, but know in the end, a thrall is only good as master.

"Githzerai assassin! Killed embassador! Sabotaged our efforts to rescue!"

/prepare for brain rape

>>7991600
let's go out with a bang.
>eat brain in front of elder brain.
>reroll as a lawful stupid paladin since that's the only thing anon can rp
>hug tom, repeatedly

>>7991531

Tell the truth. After we killed the Gith and found the location of the diplomat from it's mind, our thrall knocked over the canister. We asked for instructions and were told to proceed with what fluid remained. We punished the thrall, and will accept punishment for our failure in our turn.

Lying to the telepathic uber-brain is probably a bad idea. Not just because it won't work, but because it'll probably be taken as a profound insult.

>>7991531
We have accomplished what others could not, in the face of the Ancient Enemy - the race of Gith which we slew - and cannot be blamed for the mistakes of our nearly mindless thrall. If the thrall had been more useful, more effective, this mistake would not have occured. The Elder Brain knows these things as it knows our every thought and deed, and can see for itself the circumstances of our return.

>>7991653
It's not entirely our fault. Asa will probably bear the brunt of the punishment, and we pretty much agree that she's expendable. We should tell the truth.

>>7991611
Bad idea.

Give an accurate account of what happened, but don't try to offload blame. Not taking responsibility makes things that much worse. Say the thrall bumped the jar, admit fault, and beg forgiveness.

>>7991531
Apologize like the fist of the north star. Explain that your thrall, wounded from the fight with the Gith, fell and tipped the brain jar, spilling much of the fluid.

>>7991631
>reroll as a lawful stupid paladin since that's the only thing anon can rp

What the fuck is this shit? It wasn't the players who said, MAKE SURE OUR COMBAT TRAINED THRALL SOMEHOW DOESN'T LOOK WHERE SHE'S STEPPING.

The shitstorm was foisted on us by the OP not by an inability of the players to RP.

>>7991653

Agreed tell the truth, this is the best course of action.

Preface the bad news with remorseful language,

"I submit totally to your judgment, I would not presume to know your mind, lend me a reprieve so I could serve you better, etc."

>>7991691
I still think it was sabotage by a third party...

>>7991653
yes, let's tell the elder brain that our compassion for our thrall was more important than our objective, that'll go over real well.
let's give a little white lie, if we really must HAVE to protect the thrall: say that our wounded palms caused the jar to slip and spill fluid, and claim ignorance over how to replace said fluid. We hurried back as soon as possible to salvage the mission.

just say that we fucked up. should have not let the thrall interfere in our efforts to recover the brain. punish us accordingly

>>7991680
No, we do not beg. The Elder Brain will either forgive or it will not. Honesty about what occurred, yes. But NEVER admit fault.

>>7991726
Do not lie to the Elder Brain. Not only would it know you're lying, but it would see it as an insult. Tell it the exact truth, and maybe it'll punish you a bit less severely.

Don't lie to the Elder Brain, it's going to know.

Tell the truth about everything, apologizing profusely.

Yanno, if the elder brain wanted us dead it would have killed us after taking the diplo's brain from us.

We're going to get chewed the fuck out, but otherwise I think we'll survive.

>>7991726

The elder brain with sense our deceit, we are responsible, but we can still be of use.

>>7991680

Tell the truth certainly, but it was the stupid orc that actually did. The Elder Brain knows this. The thrall should be dealt with now that we're safe in our lair. Others can determine if thrall's fate. Orcs don't make good food from what I remember.

>>7991771
We have nothing to apologize for. We are responsible, yes, but we will not apologize for the stupidity of a thrall.

>>7991691
if the accident seems contrived you are absolutely right.
but that's what makes the game interesting, it makes you have to THINK about how to solve these kinds of problems.

It's much more fun to solve these kind of dilemmas through roleplaying than to just grind through groups of enemies with intermittent sections where you have to solve some stupid riddle or cockamamie block puzzle some wizard made up.

>>7991653

You project to the Elder Brain an accurate account of your journey, without embellishment or elision.

.you.are.to.be.rewarded.for.your.skill.in.besting.a.foe.of.our.kind.it.is.understood.that.the.thrall
.brought.your.disgrace.and.your.swift.punishment.was.well.thought.but!that!does!not!excuse!a!rancid!
meal!

You feel small, carefully measured, but shriekingly painful portion of the Elder Brain's anger fill every synapse of your brain. You convulse and fall to your knees, seizing and howling in pain. In your jerking movements, you nearly drop the brain canister, but through the torture your sense of self-preservation maintains sufficient composure to hold onto the brain.

(you are reduced to 1 hit point)

.rise.now.and.deposit.the.brain.in.my.pool.

You stand and, shaking, reach over the lip of the pool and let the diplomat's brain slide out of the canister and into the Elder Brain's pool. Its tentacles latch onto the brain and pull it down beneath the surface. The brain returns to the bottom of the pool, and you feel its presence once again.

.you.are.bestowed.for.your.service.three.boons.

From the far side of the pool, three golems composed of gray matter retrieve spherical bronze brain canisters. They slide toward you with a squishing, slimy sound, and present you the canisters. They are labeled in Qualish.*

(a language read with the fingers, like braille, which transmits information in much the same way Mind Flayers communicate telepathically)

>>7991814
we should have considered that the extraction should be performed carefully. why we let a thrall stay next to us while we did it is beyond me. its our fuck up.

>>7991773
There are worse things than death sir.

>>7991832
Read the Canisters, to determine what type of boons these are.

>>7991814
We made the thrall stupid, instead of a meat-puppet. That's a cockup.

>>7991870

Second.

Also be very very careful until we heal ourselves.

Good meals kinda boon me thinks. Also, these are most likely chalk full of information. Delicious knowledge for us to process.

>>7991832
"Thank you, Master. We shall not fail you a second time."

Take the boons and leave; we need some rest and some food, badly. Incidentally, what does the Qualish say?

>>7991832
read the hell out of those containers once they are fully presented to you

jesus christ, three boons, hell yes.

>>7991832
Praise the power of the Elder Brain and thank it for the boons. Do not thank it for mercy, it might second-guess itself if it thinks it's being merciful.

Find out what the boons are.

Be sure to convey our deep respect for our master, and his gracious boons, and for his firm but fair "hand" in discipline.

Also read the boons

>>7991870

"The last mage lord of Ychtheros"

"正宗先生, master of the blade"

"Krish of the Wilds"

From now on, we bring two brain canisters.

should we leave the chamber before we do anything with the boons, or would the elder brain be please with us for eating them in front o fhim?

>>7991832
Are we allowed to read the canisters without anything bad happening, or will reading them cause some sort of contract to be forged that we may not agree to?

>>7991961
do we get all three boons or just one?
if we have to choose just the one, go for the mage, since magic is currently our weakness

>>7991920
>>7991988

Remaining in the Elder Brain's presence for longer than it takes to perform your service is a sacrilege.

>>7992016
Then clearly we need to GTFO and quickly.

Ask the Elder Brain if it wishes to share in the sensory pleasure of our consumption of the boons.

Performance Eating for the Elder Brain's pleasure might assuage what anger it has remaining for us.

>>7992009

You receive all three boons.

>>7992016
then make haste and retrieve your delicious boonage.

>>7992009
flayers dont like magic, if we can do something else besides it we should do that. dont want the elder brain pissed at us

Thank the elder brain, collect the jars and skedaddle. Try not to trip critical fail and die on the way out.

>>7992030

You don't think the Elder Brain would enjoy that. You don't know what the Elder Brain does enjoy, but you don't think you could please it that way.

>>7991961

"正宗先生" translates to "authentic gentleman" in Chinese, according to my computer.

FYI.

>>7992016
take the brain canisters that our ours, MAKE FLIGHT

wonder eat the most sumptuous brain, save others for later when you get hungry again.

>>7992066
Or, in Japanese, "positive sect teacher".

Yeah, not sure how useful this'll be.

>>7992063
i agree with this

>>7992016

Then we GTFO...

>>7992091
"Mr. (Indicating teacher) Masamune"

>>7992063

This,

Despite the arrogance of mind-flayers, I would prefer brevity to long winded prostration

>>7992076

You leave the Elder Brain's presence and make your way, weakly, back to the Central Plaza. Your head throbs, and the large, burbling fountain in the center of the plaza is soothing. Your small room is here, on the top level of carved apartments reserved for those illithid who have not yet proved themselves to society.

There are five exits from the Central Plaza: the bazaar lies to the east, the birthing pods to the west, Lagurno's workshops and laboratories to the southwest, and the Performance Eating Area to the southeast.

head home young mind flayer

>>7992200

forgive my ignorance...

"Performance Eating"?

>>7992200
CHECK HUNGER LEVELS

DEVOUR DELICIOUS COMFORT BRAINS AT HOME UNTIL HUNGER LEVELS SUBSIDE

what to do for three days?

>>7992200
Meditate by the fountain for a bit, try to figure out if it is a good idea to eat all three brains, or trade one or two of them away for goods and or services.

>>7992200

Head home, crack a canister and enjoy.

Oh yes, don't we owe that merchant a vote in some Performance Eating contest? We should make sure we follow through with that.

>>7992251
I have a suspicion eating brains at home isn't the proper thing to do, at least when there is a designated eating area.

I believe we have yet to pay off our debt for our thrull's armaments gentlethids.

>>7992263
oh crap, remember to do that after like, 30 minutes of respite.

gotta carry through on our obligations or we'll be punished by the elder brain... some more.

>>7992263
we should not eat the mage canister. that is probably the most valuable.

>>7992241
You know that scene from Hamlet, with Yorick's skull?
It's like that all the time, but with less lines and a lot more graphic.

We should head home after a moment of reflection at the pool.

When home eat the mage goodness, and see the effects.

Find out more about the information on the canisters, a library maybe

And yes follow through on that performance eating thing

>>7992241

Because of the expense of acquiring a wide variety of brains, most illithids eat a thrall's brain every two weeks or so, supplemented by other forms of nourishment. These brains are bland and uninteresting, but they provide all the needed nutrients. When more exotic brains become available, they are fed to Performance Eaters, who telepathically transmit the experience to the audience.

>>7992258

Since you just ate, you won't be hungry again for at least a week. There's nothing stopping you from gorging yourself, however.

>>7992368
>telepathically transmit experience to whole audience

ooo.

I think we should use the mage brain there. can we do that transmit-brain-image thing?

Also, vote for that goddamn guy before it's too late.

DONT EAT ANY OF THEM
they are worth cash money
we need all the barganing chips we can get.
go see the performance eater and enjoy the show.

Go fulfill debt, then enter performance eating contest with one of our new, very delectable, brains.

>>7992398
Illithids don't have currency if I remember what OP said last thread correctly. Besides, even if they did, fuck your shit let's eat 'em up.

>>7992401
we may not have the talents to do so.

can we even participate in this contest?

Hide the canisters, go vote

We can't enter the contest considering we need to vote for that one guy. By the way OP, what debts do we have to pay off overall again?

>>7992426
if we CAN, we should. but first we should vote.

I say we eat the mage brain- it sounds the most delicious, and it would earn us the most points in the brain eating competition.

>>7992432
That's all, and we need to vote to get this guy to be a judge, not to win.

>>7992368

Will eating a brain bring us back from 1hp?

If not, how to we heal?

>>7992426

All illithids have the ability, but few have any talent at it. Your ranks in Profession (Cook) grant you a +2 synergy bonus to the Perform (Performance Eating) skill, so you'd have a +6 bonus to performance eating.

>>7992447
Oh right. In that case sounds good to me. Go for mage brain in the contest.

>>7992466
then maybe we should offer the mage brain to the guy we are voting for. we dont want to beat him. that would be bad.

I knew we went Profession Cook for a reason.

>performance eating

>>7992492
No no no
The deal was to vote for him to be one of the judges.

also this thread has inspired me to make an illithid themed dorf fortress. gonna make an elder brain pit, and cages for the elves. mmm. delicious hippie elf brains.

>>7992509
then, vote for him, enter and win, MAXIMUM PROMOTIONS

>>7992450

Your Body Adjustment power allows you to heal 1d12 hp of damage for 5 power points.

>>7992432

You owe the merchant selling bonecraft weaponry your vote in the elections for Performance Eating judges. He threw in armor and a shield as a "gift", which means that he expects you to go above and beyond a bit, as well.

Guys, GUYS. These boon-brains will give us powers.

"Krish of the Wilds" sounds rangery. Let's eat that.

>>7992541
Dunno, I'm thinking we should save these for Performance Eating. Are there rounds or do you only get one shot at it, OP?

>>7992533

We've got three days to kill before our thrall is back from the shop. Let's just focus on healing ourselves for now. We can decide what to do with the brains when we're not in danger of being killed by a stiff breeze.

Let's check out to see if there's some sort of tournament going on at the performance eating area.

We got 3 brains.

We got 3 days.

A brain a day keeps the shoggoths at bay.

We got some spare power points. Toss a few heals on ourself and then time to go off and vote.

practice with one brain.
give one to the guy we are voting for
use the third at the performance.

>>7992567

You command your brain to repair the damage caused by the Elder Brain's punishment, and instruct your hands to knit themselves back together with the neural matter that pervades your entire body. You exert the majority of your remaining psionic power, and are fully healed.

bump

>>7992623
awwwright.

hmmm... how do we go above and beyond for a judge?

a particularly good brain eating performance?

fake two votes?

>>7992623

And with that, I'm hanging up my tentacles for the night. Check back Thursday evening for more brain-eating, thrall-keeping, mind-raping fun on...

"I Was a Teenage Mind Flayer"
--------------------
I'd like to take a second to respond to the cries of RAILRODAN from a few posters. I'm actually rolling a pretty outlandish amount of dice here and letting them fall where they may. I may interpret them in ways that I think will be entertaining, but that's as far as it goes. I didn't plan for the brain ichor to get spilled, but when the die came up a 1, I think it resulted in a more interesting story. Now, that's probably the last time I'll directly reference the dice, because I think the thread reads better if I don't show my work, and it would only annoy the posters who don't understand all the details of D&D.

Thanks for posting, you devious, sadistic fucks. I hope you've enjoyed the game so far, because I'm loving every gooey second of it.

Hey OP:

Take us to the Performance Eating area and
1) Give us a description of the layout
2) Find out the when and how for voting for a judge of the performance eating contest
3) Find out how performance eating is performed, is our mind flayer a total noob, or can he perform without totally embarrassing himself
4) Find out the when/how to enter a performance eating contest

>>7992740
NEXT SESSION IS DEVOTED ENTIRELY TO THE BRAIN EATING CONTEST

it's just like my DnD campaign where there was a three session detour to get to the all-you-can-eat-crawdad contest.

>>7992612
>give one to the guy we are voting for

Dude, he sold our thrall some gear. We don't needs to go sharing our goddamn boonbrains with him.

We should hold onto the mage brain. Its not that flayers are incapable of magic, but that they don't see any use for it. As noted before, psionics are intrinsically different from magic and offer little protection from each other. Eating it wilst meditating on tomes of magic (probably not easy to find considering flayers lack of need for them, but not expensive for the same reason) could be the beginnings of survival-increasing diversification.

Also, the common fate of all flayers is to become a snack for the Master Brain. There are those, however, who escape this fate by becoming liches. To do so would require ...arcane knowledge.

>>7992835
Getting caught studying magic tends to get you branded a heretic, doesn't it?