Aboleths & Illithid Geopolitics, Explained 

What I love is the lore between these two. It's begging for a war. Aboleths predate the gods of the material plane. Illithids come from a different timeline. Imagine living since the dawn of creation only to find something *new* show up? That's the illithids to an aboleth. Two psychic hegemons utterly alien to one another competing for thralls!

Now I want to run two separate campaigns: one party will be tasked in helping stabilize the government of an area, unknowingly fulfilling an elder brain’s phase two. The other party could be paladins and clerics carrying out the preaching and holy war for their leader who is an aboleth’s thrall. Both parties gain a reputation and strengthen and fortify their nations, until their pitted in a war against each other. Whichever party survives gets to discover the horrors controlling the enemy party. Who knows if they will ever discover the terrible creature pulling their own strings… bwahaha!

I like how some monsters are defined by their life cycle regardless of what their alignment might happen to be. Illithid need to victimize humanoids to both eat and reproduce. Aboleths don't need to have a culture because of their immortality and perfect ancestral memory, so they're practically all one individual. Beholders are solitary and especially hostile toward other beholders because they are literally born from each other's nightmares.

The regional effect you described for an elder brain is something that I had the party feeling in a cave underneath Sharn. That should be interesting.

So cool. I imagine two warring towns slaughtering each other for no known reason. While a group of adventurers are assigned to "check things out". They end up picking a side or trying to mediate things only to slowly find out there's something beneath the surface of this war. Or they figure it out too late and become thralls enlisting on either side.

Or, the potential enthrall-ee could make their will save. Seriously, the Aboleth's entire scheme could come tumbling down because one of it's thralls was a little clumsy, and burnt themselves while cooking breakfast. In fact, that could be how the party gets involved. A former thrall manages to snap out of it (rolling a 20 on their save) and runs off to find some adventurers

It is 100% my firm belief that Aboleths evolve into Mind Flayers over a long enough time period. Look at an aboleth and then look at a illithid tadpole. Same exact entity just differently sized. Aboleths remember all things every previous Aboleth knew. The one thing that causes concern to Aboleths is that yesterday there were no Illithid in their collective memory. And then today Illithid fully exist with their own history. There is no memory of the evolution and spawn of Illithid. Aboleths remember the time before the gods, before the dragons, the giants, the Primordials. Everything. The Aboleths, according to themselves, were the first entities. Aboleths had an multiplanar empire that was overthrown and they lurk and plan for eternity until they return to their former glory. Illithid ALSO had an ancient multiplanar empire. Which is _not_ in the memory of Aboleths. All of these facts mean one of two things and possibly both. 1) Some Illithid time travel back in time at the collapse of their empire and appear, entering the current collective memory of the Aboleths and these Illithid create the empire that eventually collapses - closing the time loop. 2) Aboleths eventually realize that they need to alter their forms to return to the glory of the multiplanar empire. Some decide the best way to to continue their controlling if minds is to put their spawn in place of those minds. And to preserve their collective memory and order some become an Elder Brain. Creating the Illithid as we know them. Having _their_ empire rise and collapse. 2a) the empire that Illithid seek to reform is actually the same empire that the Aboleths originally had and they have forgotten their Aboleth roots and *only* remember the desire to reclaim the planes under their empire. -Your Friendly Neighborhood Druid

One day, I plan to run Ravenloft in the middle of the desert where an Abolith living in subterranean caverns is forcing the town above to act like Barovia to lure in new thralls.

Aboleth are one of my favorite DnD monsters. Excellent video as usual!

I was not expecting this! Really nice summary and giving nice ideas for eventual campaigns

I love this. I have been devising an Illithid villain for one of my games, and shall definitely be cribbing some of your ideas.

I love the lovecraftian Far Realms creatures.. :D

oh god thank you for doing this! My party is in the undermountain under waterdeep about to face off against an aboleth and the mindflayer colony on level 17 also has something they want. this will help me out tremendously!

I absolutely fist pumped in real life seeing this. My party started a campaign in a valley between 2 mountain ranges and I want the BBEG to be Mind Flayers trying to make a Elder Brain Dragon. And the group patron be an Abolith. So this was absolutely perfect

Love this series! Honestly, you are like a colour salesman for us painters. You create magical settings for us to individualise and enable us to create our own intricate scenarios. So many thanks

I want to further comment - that these Geopolitics / strategy tactic videos you have created are gold. Really brining together elements about social, government, and interplay of creatures into the fantasy society as a whole is something missing in most content. I am really enjoying your videos. I would certainly suggest creating some basic PDF guides that go with videos as a value add for your Patreons, of which I would certainly become a subscriber and I believe there is a general need and interest in such material. Thank you again.

That was really well put together, and classy. Thank you for the content ❤

Already liked the video before I watched it, since it is one I had asked for. Love your content!

Love your stuff, wish the videos were a bit longer, but that's just because the content is great!

If a campaign goes a certain way this is a good tool for installing your party as rulers of a particular region or city in tier 3 and 4 level ranges. If they have to clear out a mind flayer colony or remove a couple aboleths from the sewers and the aberrations take a few of their thralls with them that creates a power vacuum. You might have a situation where the highest ranking religious authority is the party cleric, the highest military authority is the fighter, the local wizard academy needs a new headmaster, and there's no one left to stop the rogue from stepping in and taking over the smuggling operation run by the previous thieves guild. Hell, if the mayor, king, or governor was a thrall and the public saw them "betray" the town to the aberrations there might be general demand for, or at the least no one saying no to, the fighter or party face walking into the now empty throne room and declaring themselves the new king. This sounds like a fun wrap up to most published adventures. Pick a city the party heads to after they're done with Avernus, Candlekeep, Saltmarsh, Barovia, Ten Towns and the frozen north, Chult, or anything else. They get there and if more than one of them picked a subclass that grants water breathing and a swim speed they notice signs of at least 3 aboleths ruling behind the scenes. If half the party picked subclasses that grant resistance to psychic damage then there's a mindflayer colony beneath the town. Figure it out, cast mind shield and nondetection, track the thralls to their tentacle daddy, "accidentally" behead the previous ruler with that awesome sword they got in the published adventure, slay all the aberrations, go back to the surface and declare yourselves the new government. This sounds like a fun "retirement party" adventure you could insert in just about any setting other than Spelljammer, Planescape, MtG, or Radiant Citadel. Planet and plane hopping campaigns lend themselves less to "Okay you all decide to stay here forever now" endings. Theros and Saltmarsh set island hopping campaigns are an easier fit. Find a massive island nation that runs a globe spanning naval force or trade empire clear out the 5 or 6 aboleths that were dominating the merchant guild, the admiralty board, and the ship wrights union, and suddenly your party are the new lords of the however many seas. Drag or magic the ship your party has been sailing around the world in up to the highest cliff or mountain overlooking the sea, build your keep/mansion out of the ship and around it, and step into whatever job used to be filled by the prior enthralled rulers of your new nautical empire.

Imagine all that effort just to be undone by random strangers just passing through. Your thralls exposed for the puppets they are and then they come for you like a relentless beast.

I've needed this video so badly! Thank you very much.

Love it and have an idea on how to turn this into an entire campaign

Fantastic video as always!

I first found your channel through the DnDiablo video (great stuff!). Your content, especially the geopolitics "series", as well as the stronghold/court/royalty videos have been tremendously inspiring to me, even though I don't play 5E. Thanks a lot for your contribution to the hobby :)

A thoughtful and helpful explanation of how to adopt these two amazing monsters into an adventure. Thank you.

Ethical Dilemma: Party fights their way into the Elder Brain boss room to finish off the Illithid colony only to discover that the Elder Brain is the only thing keeping the Tarrasque from waking up and going on a world wide rampage destroying civilization as we know it. Unfortunately, the Elder Brain cannot be left alone either since the Illithid colony is breaking through the Tarrasque’s carapace to transplant the Elder Brain into the Tarrasque as its brain making a Tarrasque controlled by an Elder Brain.

Both these ideas have a very "Shadow over Innsmouth" vibe.

Mmmm yes more material to add for my home brew campaign. I'm thinking of a 3 way competition between aboleth, illiths, and maybe false Hydra for the soul of a town.

I enjoy all of Dungeon Masterpiece videos

Instant subscribe. Thank you, algorithm.

Very inspiring!

My homebrew has two nations Directly influenced by these. One, an aboleth, worshipped as a living God by a culture of titans, seaelves, etc. . . And the other, a land empire ruled by a man, who is 100% the thrall of a rogue Mind Flayer. My current campaign, is nigh complete. I really want to have a "post credit button" ala mcu films where one of the characters is led to, and introduced to the "true throne" of the empire as a reward. - - - ok. Maybe not an award for the character.. but the player. Lol.

Glad I clicked on this. This way of thinking and speaking of fictitious lands and worlds as if they were completely real is really fun to listen to.

interesting, thank you!

This is fantastic content. Edit :Ok. Thats not enough. I would watch this sort of analysis for every feature of dnd you can think of. Monsters of course, but also dungeons, magic items of great power, places of supernatural power, specific cities, Faiths and diety worship, and events like monster invasion or spellplague. This is one of my favorite parts of world building and listening to analysis makes my day.

This was fascinating. Thank you. 😁

love the geopolitics videos great work

Campaign Idea: The town's vice-ruler comes to the PC's and recruits them to fight an Aboleth. The players are only available because they are the least threatening people in the region. Choose from amongst the following classes: Old Lady, Disabled Farmhand, Unskilled Flautist, five year-old girl, and Particularly Stupid Dog.

The video bellow this one was a video on Middle East geopolitics! I chose this one to avoid a headache today

Loved the video! But at first I thought it was going to be about the story of Aboliths and Ilithids. I don't remember where, but I recall reading that Aboliths feared nothing BUT the Ilithids, because the Ilithids came from the future and the Aboliths didn't knew anything about them, unlike all other things in the material plane.

excellent video

Very timely now, with Baldur's Gate 3 fully released now, featuring some of these enemies :)

Thanks, you just inspired me to an entire new quest line.

I created a hybrid called "The Abolithid" as the BBEG for my module "The Secret of Black Lake". Quite a nasty Lovecraftian villain.

This makes me wonder about the Neogi and also The Mad Mage of Undermountain. Heck the effects of grand wizards/sorcerers type influences seems designed of double protection riddled with red tape. He would know of these creatures so wouldnt there be a litter of spells and glyphs warding against those creatures... the back and forth seems nightmare fueled.

I would love to explore how the Gith would react when discovering a conflict between Illithids and Aboleths. Would they side with the Aboleths or see them as something abhorrently similar to their former masters?

I can tell you write your own closed captions and it is very much appreciated. Thank you.

*Meanwhile, the 80 year old lady waiting on her estate planning advice:* _"Jesse, what the hell are you talking about??"_

Interesting video.

The monsters I liked he most in the setting is Beholders and Illithids. Aboleths will now have to fill that third slot. I wish I could find a 3.5 group that would run this type of campaign.

I seem to remember that the Illithids and Aboleth had been at war forever, and that the Gith (-yanki and -zerai) were two strains of humans from an illithid and aboleth dominated future that had fled into the past (and the Astral plane) to escape/foil their plans. No idea where I read this.

I always wondered if a cleric who has been charmed/dominated can rest to regain spells. would a deity allow a dominated cleric to regain spells?.

Commenting to spread your charming abilities to more potential thralls.

Hey Sandpoint map, i played that pathfinder campaign! :P

Will you be doing space maps soon? I would love to see you tackle the Battletech map.

This came at such a good time. I've been mulling running Night Below which is an older storyline which heavily involves these two baddies

I think this would also lead cities and well established churches to have magic items to protect people on the top of the "food chain." The crown of a king or queen might be a magic item that protects against charm effects, for example.

I ran an aboleth dungeon once, it TPKed the party and made them turn on each other. This was after they had defeated an adult red dragon earlier in the campaign. Don't mess with aboleths.

I want to make an Innsmouth-style scenario using an Aboleth. They would be perfect for this.

The quads groups here is insane. CR1: vex, Keyleth, pike, and Percy CR2: jester, Beau, yasha, and Molly/Kingsley/Caduces. CR3: Imogen, Laudna, Fearne (the Witchy Bitches) and Ashton.

Have you considered the geopolitics of Beholders and Beholder cults? Excepting the case of Waterdeep (one there runs a crime syndicate if I recall but is also insane) That could be an interesting video!

I don't see where it's stated that an aboleth can use its Enthrall ability with a thrall as the conduit. From what I can tell any targets of Enslave have to be within 30 feet of the aboleth.

Could you expand with example of time period and phases from start to complete takeover of a town, city, or region. Maybe pair with group challenges for party to sniff out what is going on? results dependent on what phase of domination, then let the PC's develop a plan to rescue the city or get invited to dinner?

I became tired of a player continually comparing Mindflayers with Dr Zoidberg of Futurama, ruining any suspense. Illithids need to be scary. So I altered the attacks slightly and replaced the description with the Elder Things from Call of Cthulhu. The Elder Brain doesn't need to change much, simply couched in terms of "a pallid, rugose, pseudopodic blasphemy".

Being curious, where is the bit where an aboleth can enthrall a target through another thrall?

Very good as alway have a nice day 😊😊 .

this just gave me an idea for two formerly allied communities going to war as a proxy for a fight between an aboleth and an elder brain. awesome.

I was thinking of running my next campaign featuring Ilithids. Now I'll put Aboleths in the mix and make them fight with the PCs in the middle!

this dude is just nailing that suit

The issues that Aboleths and Illithid have, is that the gods are real, they have truly vast power, they like to meddle, and the Aboleth and Illithid are stepping into their domain. Even if the gods don't directly interfere, other gods (even ones that normally oppose one another) may interfere, after all, a god giving a priest/druid/paladin/psionic/or Gold Dragon (heck even a blue dragon that thinks itself a lord of an area) a vision of a the threat, things can kick into gear fast. Side note, I like to think that the Ethergaunts are the race that created the Illithids.

It took me a moment to grasp how cool a guy in a suit is talking about D&D. You radiate class.

I love when adventurers enter a port town to find everyone seems kinda sweaty and slimy.

How is this channel just legal eagle for dungeon masters instead of lawyers.

An Aboleth/Illithid civil war....hmmmmm

The scary thing is just how well this would explain the lunacy of contemporary politics.

Please paint the picture of a regional effect overlap of a aboleth vs illithid vs dragon or other thing. How is it different with a dragon effecting a force of nature vs the impact on thralls and stuff.

Aboleth, Illithid, Neogi team up? Plus minions?

Brb, going to review the folk horror part of Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.

How would a mindflayer city of about 8000 illithids and assorted thralls and constructs fare against a relatively high-magic city of 250000? The starting conditions are; the city found out they'd been infiltrated and removed the threat with some difficulty, leading to widespread destruction and temporary destabilization. Now they want revenges since they see the illithid as an existential threat (rightly so). The city has access to a few archmages and can produce magic items. If you think the illithid are at too much of a disadvantage, you can rule they have a portal to the 4th moon of the planet which has an even larger colony and some spelljamming resources. If you think the city is at too much of a disadvantage, assume they are on distant but decent terms with the githzerai.

i have a warlock in my game who is an aboleth soul in a human body and great old one warlock and their whole thing trying is they are their own patron trying to use their old power while inside this human woman body

A good illithid and/or aboleth would be great. Imagine if a particularly introspective illithid went "we are all we have. Every sapient creature is the entirety of all existence experiencing itself. The clockwork of the world cares not for us. All I have and ever will have will be the companionship of other sapients..." And then they break away from the elder brain. Heck, a good aligned illithid would be great. Imagine if they only ate sapients at the end of their lives. That would mean maximum memories and satiation. They would also tattle on their species and affect nation states and other groups. Heck, a good aligned aboleth would probably destroy the planet they're in. Imagine the sheer destabilizijg force of discoverinf aboleths exist and the outright wars that might ensue as factions fight to get aboleths on their side or exterminate them.

BG3 is a great example of this

Man, you might’ve made these scarier than any other depiction or explanation just by implication alone, eeeesh.

So Aboleths are Kevin Bacon.

This was the nerd mastication i wanted THANKING YOU

Eldamon looks like fever dream Pokemon 😂

scary stuff man

4:35 Good to know, then I can play it with PF1 instead.

I would love to see your reaction on another race well known for manipulating politics (although not aberations like the Illithid or Aboleths). What are your impressions on the D&D 3.5 Illumian race as a plot hooks or campaign themes? How would you flesh out their culture and society?

5:23 ah yes, sandpoint

Little thrown off by using St. Thomas More as the image of a mentally controlled noble lol.

The four degrees of Kevin Bacon is surpassed by the three degrees of Aboleth power grab.

Where does it say that an aboleth can charm a creature its thrall can see? I've read the MM entry and googled but haven't found anything to support this. MM says range for enslavement is 30 ft.

Good luck charming the high priest with a +12 to their wisdom save.

They've joined forces abollithids.

Mind control eliciting human sacrifice by creatures that view them as chattle; tell me if you've heard this one before.

I wonder what happens if you put aboleth mucus on an ilithid now...

6:05 uhhh... what do you mean? It can do telepathy for sure, but theyre farther than 30ft from it, so they cant use Enslave.

It might be nerves, but could you say your name slower in videos at the beginning? I always miss it