Posted by David Ross on Tue Oct 7 20:10:28 2003: IP Address: 66.140.128.158
In Reply to: Re: he, anybody there? posted by Paul on Fri Aug 22 21:41:29 2003:
: My question to anybody reading this is, what do you think the fish-men would do with Finslayer and how would you suggest I get him back into the hands of the PCs.
I wrote this in email earlier, and I'm not sure whether this event is probable enough to get a mention on my site. But it's certainly worth a shot on the forum...
I assume the illithids are Macchiavellian, and not stupid / loyal enough to help the aboleth whatever they do.
Finslayer is dangerous to aboleth as well as kuo-toa, so if the aboleth got wind of Finslayer they would bring it down to Shaboath and destroy it. The kuo-toa can't destroy it with the means at hand; so unless they've been prevented, they've probably told the aboleth already.
But NB holds that it is actually the *mind flayers* that control the Glass Pool, and that there are no aboleth in sight. (My site puts an aboleth-run port a few miles away on the other side of the Pool, but that is firstly non-canon and secondly too far to make a difference.) The illithids are in alliance with aboleth but that does not mean the illithids all want the aboleth to win.
So... do the illithids know Finslayer is among the kuo-toa or not? My guess is they would find out very quickly, given ESP and the control the illithids exert. They are likely to want any edge they can get, for the future day when the aboleth Dominate machine gets in gear.
It is likely that the illithids will quietly allow somebody to waylay the sword en route to Shaboath. "Somebody" probably means "derro thieves" because the illithids can then claim that dissidents did it. At this point, the PCs stand to wreck the Glass Pool - which is the illithids' best hope in this region, so far. Therefore, first, the PCs are not going to get any help if they go after the Finslayer now; and second, the illithids aren't going to want to reduce kuo-toa fighting strength (yet). This venture may work, giving this or that tribe of derro the prize; but more likely it will only succeed in delaying the sword's progress.
But if the PCs are successful in the Glass Pool, the illithids no longer have the kuo-toa card to play against the aboleth. But now the illithids have a new potential ally, who are stronger and smarter than the kuo-toa... the PCs. So at *that* point, necessity kicks in: the illithids will find a way of letting the PCs know where they can find the sword, and when would be a good time for a raid. In addition Ipshizeen in the Great Cavern area will now be in contact with sympathetic illithid leaders; whereas before the Finslayer was in play, Ipshizeen had no sympathisers among the illithids.
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