Illithids in 40k

[Broodingman87]

So, I was with my D&D group and explaining how the Dark Eldar were basically Drow in space and that the Webway was basically the Underdark. Then it became apparent that two things was missing from this analogy, Duragar (dark dwarves) and the Illithid (mind flayers).

There is a place in 40k to fit these in although a lot of what makes them terrifying can be found in Tzeentch and Genestealers (imagine if a Genestealer was possessed by a demon of Tzeentch... although not as physically powerful as a Genestealer).


You could easily tie them into the Enslavers, Illithids go through a larval state like a tadpole and require to be implanted into the brain of a humanoid sapient creature to reach adulthood. When a Illithid civilization is attack, the adults will abandon the unimplanted larvae. Without the adults feeding them, they will begin eating each other; until there is only one left in the pool, who will leave the pool searching for brains to eat. The Neothelid (40k would call it a Enslaver) is feral compare to a Illithid.

Maybe the reason you don't see Dark Eldar attacks other than the small raiding parties is that most of the Dark Eldar civilization is busy dealing with the existential threat in the Webway.

This is pushing it... Ork Weird boyz are actually Illithids.

I'm thinking a immensely psychic race, maybe followers of Tzeentch (but they call him something different). Not really physically imposing, but really smart... like they look at Eldar intellect the way Eldar look at Human intellect. Lurking in and having infiltrated society and calling the shots quietly from the back.

What do you guys think? Is this concept an addition to the story/game?

[Nefarius Drapesh]

Illithids have quite some similarities with medusids/medusae...

[Broodingman87]

I will say that the two parasites are shockingly similar, at least as much as the wiki article I found makes them to be. I like that it infers that the Imperium really knows nothing about them, leaving lots of room for growth. The biggest thing is the hint that the Dark Eldar keep Medusae as pets, that's insulting because with a Drow and Illithid, that relationship would be reversed. Also there is no mention of psyker activity.

[JamesP]

There is a 40K race that's broadly similar in terms of the concept/ traits you describe: the Slaugth, introduced in the Dark Heresy RPG (1st edition) and they've also cropped up in the Rogue Trader RPG.

They aren't psychic and instead rely on very powerful but alien technology, however their shadowy modus operandi, terrifying power/ nature, and so on, have made them great villains for our various 40k RPG campaigns and our GMs have certainly drawn on various Illithid ideas (from Spelljammer and elsewhere) for inspiration when using them in games.

Lexicanum has a pretty comprehensive description of who they are and what they do: [URL="http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Slaugth"]http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Slaugth[/URL]

What they don't do, is parasitise (sp?) humans, but I think their stats and overall goals could be easily used as the basis of a psychic equivalent, one that was more like the traditional D&D mind flayer but in a 40k setting.

[Kazzigum]

So, I was with my D&D group and explaining how the Dark Eldar were basically Drow in space and that the Webway was basically the Underdark. Then it became apparent that two things was missing from this analogy, Duragar (dark dwarves) and the Illithid (mind flayers).

There is a place in 40k to fit these in although a lot of what makes them terrifying can be found in Tzeentch and Genestealers (imagine if a Genestealer was possessed by a demon of Tzeentch... although not as physically powerful as a Genestealer).


You could easily tie them into the Enslavers, Illithids go through a larval state like a tadpole and require to be implanted into the brain of a humanoid sapient creature to reach adulthood. When a Illithid civilization is attack, the adults will abandon the unimplanted larvae. Without the adults feeding them, they will begin eating each other; until there is only one left in the pool, who will leave the pool searching for brains to eat. The Neothelid (40k would call it a Enslaver) is feral compare to a Illithid.

Maybe the reason you don't see Dark Eldar attacks other than the small raiding parties is that most of the Dark Eldar civilization is busy dealing with the existential threat in the Webway.

This is pushing it... Ork Weird boyz are actually Illithids.

I'm thinking a immensely psychic race, maybe followers of Tzeentch (but they call him something different). Not really physically imposing, but really smart... like they look at Eldar intellect the way Eldar look at Human intellect. Lurking in and having infiltrated society and calling the shots quietly from the back.

What do you guys think? Is this concept an addition to the story/game?

Though their is scant written about them, I believe the 40k race that best translates to illithids is the khrave.

[Broodingman87]

Thank you guys for the suggestions of minor xenos races, I enjoyed the read on the Slaugth and wish there was more to read on the Khave. All of them look really inviting to be developed, possibly into a playable army.

I was thinking about this and even if one were to take one of the minor races and use the Illithid society to develop them. It wouldn't really work as something actually conquering planets and fighting over the planets because as soon as the Space Marines show up the Illithid are just going to order their minions and constructs to hold the Space Marines as they leave, the Space Marine may not even see the Illithid. And them being Lovecraftian, most of the terror is in the intrigue, you don't know what their end goal is, you don't know how big their empire is, just the act of writing a codex takes away from that.