> Ryan S. Dancey > > > The player must know what a mind flayer is in order > > to use it. > > I actually don't really agree with this. > > Given the SRD description of the mind-flayer, I could happily > invent hundreds of configurations for the beast, all of which are > derivativative of the SRD content, and all of which would work > just fine as adversaries for a group of adventurers.
Yes, of course you could. But my point is that they would no longer be what players commonly call Mind Flayers. They'd be something that had exactly the same stats and that's about it. From a PC's perspective they would seem to be a different critter, and IMO different critters ought to have different names. > It would not matter if my "mind-flayer" looked like an Illithid, > or a Phaerimm. It does matter when mixing WotC-released materials with 3rd party stuff. I will often pick up a few 3rd party modules and integrate them into a campaign. I find it hard to believe that an encounter with a creature as sophisticated as a mind flayer could be adequately explained without infringing on WotC's rights, unless such an encounter was essentially with a different creature that just happened to have the same stats. And if I have to rework the encounter from scratch so I can use a real Illithid, why did I buy it in the first place? > Likewise, if I purchased a product that included an encounter > with a mind-flayer, it would not be necessary for the publisher > to provide me with an illustration or physical description of the > creature. Generally I would agree with this. It certainly works for simple creatures like owlbears and bullettes. But I've never seen an encounter with a Mind Flayer that didn't need some pretty serious fleshing out in order to make the game flow smoothly. Discussion of tactics, motivation, and background make these particular creatures one of the most feared by adventurers. I just don't see how the material released OGC can possibly do it justice. The OGC is certainly fertile ground for a different creature that is statistically identical to an Illithid, but that isn't the same thing. > Either I own the Monster Manual (or have knowledge of > what an Illithid is) or I don't. In the former case, I probably > use the creature from the MM. In the latter, I have to use some > imagination to mentally visualize the creature for the > characters; but I don't lose the ability to use the stat block in > the encounter. And of course there is nothing wrong with using one's imagination to come up with something new. But it isn't a Mind Flayer once you do that. The implied compatibility of d20 no longer applies, because you've essentially created a new beastie. Sure the stats are the same, but PCs don't have heads-up displays in their helmets so they can see that. > > I realize that the Mind Flayer's stats are all there, but a > > mind flayer is a > > very complex creature. Presenting them in this way > > encourages its use as a > > 'cardboard' encounter with very limited depth and creativity. > > Conversely, one might suggest that it adds value to the depth of > the experience of players who participate in a game run by > someone with access to the Monster Manual as opposed to just the SRD. Absolutely, and I find this to be entirely appropriate for Mind Flayers. Which is why I raised the question in the first place. If you need the MM to make them consistent with the rest of the D&D game world, and you are going to force each and every DM to modify whatever a 3rd party comes up with for a description (and setting, behavior, society, etc..) then why bother letting 3rd parties call it a Mind Flayer at all? You might as well call it "eats-brains-with-tentacles-thingy" and not bother with the moniker. Anything a 3rd party puts out about them will be about something other than an Illithid, or else they will leave so much up to the DM to fill in that they might as well not have bothered releasing it in the first place. -Brad _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
