Page 77 - Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations

scenes. They alter the mind of a king or queen directly when societies work openly for this goal. Most mind flayers acknowl-

that sovereign is strong, or they work through the minds edge that it would be a tremendous accomplishment, but they
of advisers and sages when a monarch is weak-willed. The simply believe that it cannot be done.
reverse experiment is also a worthy exercise: influencing a As a counterpoint, some illithids believe it would be more

strong-willed monarch through his councilors, and adding realistic to find ways for their race to exist comfortably and
decisiveness and purpose to weak rulers. function effectively in daylight. This type of practical thinking

The extent of this manipulation is impossible for surface enjoys greater acceptance among mind flayers, even though
dwellers to judge. Few ever become aware of it, and they are most cannot imagine living in the light without protective
seldom in a position to do anything about it. In cases where a gear. Being immersed in sunlight is nearly as horrifying to an
illithid as is the thought of drowning in blood to a human.
seemingly healthy monarch or noble abruptly begins acting
CHAPTER 4 THE MIND FLAYERS in a way irreconcilable from his or her established beliefs, the Lagurno is a typical mind flayer community. The description
possible cause might lie beyond senility, madness, or demonic
LAGURNO, ILLITHID SEPT
possession. A wise court wizard would do well to guard his
sovereign against mental manipulation.

Contrary to what some believe, illithid motivation for med-

dling in surface politics does not involve creating chaos or below covers details of this specific sept (hidden city) as well
as general characteristics of other illithid communities.
instability for its own sake; that is mainly a side benefit, from Lagurno consists of two distinct sections: Upper Lagurno,

their perspective. In truth, the elder brains seek to understand the duergar village that most visitors encounter first, and

the dynamics of the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and Hidden Lagurno, which lies almost 200 feet below, linked
civilizations. The history of their own, original rise from by spiraling secret ramps. The duergar village is home to the

obscurity to universal domination is lost to them—they don’t mind flayers’ thralls. It also serves as a red herring to throw
know how they did it the first time. Now that they have been off anyone searching for evidence of the illithids’ presence.

given a second opportunity, they intend to maximize their
chances of doing it right and making it last forever. To that end, APPROACHING THE CITY
they want to explore every pitfall, every catastrophic decision, Mind flayer communities place a high premium on stout

and every nuance of rule, warfare, diplomacy, and governance defenses. Illithids have few friends and many enemies who

through surface proxies. would go to great lengths to destroy a mind flayer town or kill
an elder brain. Lagurno is no exception to this rule, and the
EXTINGUISHING THE SUN illithids of the community vigilantly maintain their defenses
The idea that the mind flayers are destined to one day rule against attack.

the universe is alarming enough. Even more horrifying is
the thought that they might first reshape the universe to Thrall Patrols (EL 10)

make it more amenable to their purposes and to hasten their Illithids regularly patrol the tunnels and passages leading to

ascendance. Lagurno. Mind flayers frequently lead these patrols, but if they
Their peers might consider them insane, but a few elder determine that they need to conceal their presence for a time,
brains actively work toward the goal of putting out the sun. they dispatch patrols consisting of nothing but dominated
They draw their inspiration from the massive psychic detona- thralls, counting on the power of their mental abilities to hold
tion that hurled the remnants of their civilization backward the thralls to their exacting orders.
through eons of time. If concentrated, focused psionics could A typical patrol consists of the following creatures:
accomplish that, they reason, why couldn’t it accomplish Mind Flayer: hp 44; Monster Manual page 186.
something else just as cataclysmic? Minotaur: hp 39; Monster Manual page 188.
Rational minds counter that while the jump back in time Duergar Sergeant (Fighter 4): hp 34; Monster Manual
was necessary, it was also drastic beyond measure, could easily page 92.
have failed with catastrophic results, and left such destruction Duergar Warrior (Warrior 1) (5): hp 9 each; Monster
in its wake that centuries would be needed before the surviv- Manual page 92.
ing mind flayers were able to establish their dominance again.

In other words, the risks outweigh the potential gain, since Urophions (EL 12 to 14)
the sun and other stars will burn out on their own without The passages in the immediate vicinity of Lagurno are guarded

aid from the mind flayers. All that’s needed to bring about by urophions, horrible illithid ropers. Urophions lay their
universal darkness is patience. ambushes in areas where passages become narrow, twisting,

Because this plot finds little acceptance among the wider and rough, with mazelike side passages winding into darkness.
illithid community, elder brains that pursue it do so quietly. The correct path might be easy enough to follow by the signs of
In some cases, they keep their agenda hidden even from the passage on the stone floor, but the constricted tunnels heavily

mind flayers that serve them. Only a few of the most fanatical favor the urophions.

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