Mind Flayer Colony

Individual Mind Flayers were rarely found alone; rather, they were usually accompanied by two or more slaves mentally bound to them. Typical enslaved races found among mind flayers included Grimlock, Ogre, quaggoth, and troglodytes. These enslaved species had in common the fact that they were not typically considered edible by the Illithids.
Mind Flayer communities (also called "colonies") typically ranged in size from two hundred to two thousand, and that was counting only the Illithids. Each Mind Flayer in the community likely had at least two slaves to do its bidding. In these communities, the number of slaves often far outstripped the number of mind flayers.
Mind Flayer colonies operated as a single hive mind, with control centralized by an Elder Brain, a singular entity that exerted its telepathic control simultaneously over all mind flayers within a radius of 5 miles (8 kilometers). The Elder Brain was the heart of the community. Held in a pool of briny fluids, the elder brain consisted of all the brains of the dead mind flayers in the colony. It served as the center of the communication network, relaying information received from one mind flayer to the entire colony, storing all the collective knowledge of the colony, and issuing commands to individual mind flayers. The degree of control and organization exerted by the elder brain over a Mind Flayer community was so absolute that it was more convenient to think of a Mind Flayer colony as a single individual: the Elder Brain.
Within the colonies, mind flayers organized themselves in ideological factions known as Creeds, which aligned with each particular illithid's abilities and philosophy. Representatives of the various Creeds organized themselves in Elder Concords, which, under the auspices of the elder brain, coordinated the colony's various activities. In cases when multiple colonies pursued common objectives, a "Grand Elder Concord" was formed.
When problems arose or the mind flayers wished to discover some secret, they formed "inquisitions", a team of mind flayers, not unlike an adventuring party. Each Mind Flayer used its own talents and abilities to achieve the inquisition's goal. If a situation was too large for just an inquisition to handle, the mind flayer community put together a "cult". A cult was much larger than an inquisition and was spearheaded by two mind flayers who constantly vied for greater power within it. This type of mission, which put mind flayers temporarily out of reach from the Elder Brain, was regarded as dangerous but highly profitable if successful.
If a Mind Flayer remained out of reach from its Elder Brain, it was possible for it to reacquire its free will. These so-called renegade Illithids could go on to establish their own colonies or, free from the elder brain's arrogant supremacy, even seek cooperation with other species. This new personality and any alliances that were made instantly vanished as soon as the renegade illithid fell back under control of an elder brain.

Type

City

Owning Organization

Illithids