The Illithiad
| Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad | |
|---|---|
 Cover of The Illithiad (1998), art by Fred Fields. | |
| General information | |
| Type: | Monster sourcebook |
| Code/Abbr.: | TSR 9569 |
| Edition: | Second edition |
| Creators | |
| Author: | Bruce R. Cordell |
| Editor(s): | Keith Francis Strohm |
| Cover artist: | Fred Fields |
| Interior artist(s): | Glen Michael Angus, James Crabtree, David Martin, Mark Nelson, William O'Connor, Amie Swekel Cartography: Sam Wood |
| Publishing info | |
| Series: | Monstrous Arcana |
| Publisher: | Wizards of the Coast |
| Publish date: | April 1998 |
| Misc | |
| Pages: | 98 |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0-7869-1206-5 |
| Class: | Officially published source |
Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad (also seen as simply The Illithiad) is a 98-page sourcebook for second edition released in April 1998 covering mind flayers (illithids), and relates to the World of Greyhawk.
It is presented as an in-setting work of literature with an introduction by Asmus Anagoge, who compiled the work of S. Wakeman, a noted merchant-sage who worked at length on studying illithids, after the latter's disappearance.[1]
Cover text
[edit | edit source]The Illithiad is a visually stunning tome that details important information on mind flayers, their mental powers, and their dire plans to control the multiverse.
This "complete book of illithids" covers:
- The anatomy and physiology of the mind flayer.
- The terrible truth about the mind flayer life cycle.
- Illithid-kin, undead mind flayers, and new' flayer-kin monsters.
- A balanced look at illithid psionic powers.
- a detailed description of a typical mind flayer community
- Unique mind flayer psionic abilities and items.
The Illitiad is the third volume in the popular Monstrous Arcana game accessory series and is indispensable to DMs who want to add these terrifying creatures to their campaigns. The Illithiad supports the mind flayer adventure trilogy: A Darkness Gathering, Masters of Eternal Night, and Dawn of the Overmind.
Description
[edit | edit source]The Illithiad is part of the Monstrous Arcana series and provides extensive details about mind flayers.
Contents
[edit | edit source]- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Illithids: What They Are
- Chapter 2: Life Cyle and Variations
- Chapter 3: PsionicsL Options, Abilties and Drawbacks
- Chapter 4: History and Theology
- Chapter 5: Psychology and Society
- Chapter 6: An Illithid Community
- Chapter 7: Illithid Technology
- Chapter 8: Mind Flayer Quick Stat References
- Chapter 9: Monsters
"The Illithiad includes an extensive set of mind flayer variants. The ulitharid (noble mind flayer) first appeared in Dungeon #24 (July/August 1990); the alhoon (mind flayer lich) premiered in Menzoberranzan (1992); and the illithid vampires had previously been seen in RQ2: Thoughts of Darkness (1992) and other Ravenloft supplements. Related creatures such as the brain golems, the cranium rats, the gohlborn, and the grimlocks had appeared in a variety of other magazines and supplements. The Illithiad reprinted all of these creatures and also statted up a few new illithid-related monsters, including the arcane illithid\]s, the elder brains, the neothelids, and the urophion."[2]
Development and release
[edit | edit source]Development
[edit | edit source]The book was written by Bruce R. Cordell. Art was provided by Fred Fields, Glen Michael Angus, James Crabtree, David Martin, Mark Nelson, William O'Connor and Arnie Swekel.
Release
[edit | edit source]Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad was released by Wizards of the Coast in April 1998 for $$19.95USD or $26.95 CAN.
On July 08, 2014, it was re-released in digital format on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $5.99.
Reception and influence
[edit | edit source]Critical reception
[edit | edit source]In 2023, Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad reached the rank of Platinum seller on DriveThruRPG.
Influence on other works
[edit | edit source]"Wizards hyped The mind flayer books with a simultaneous magazine article: "Mindstalkers" in Dragon #245 (March 1998), also by Cordell, describes the "secrets of the dwarven illithid-hunters". The Illithiad was then followed by three adventures: "A Darkness Gathering" (1998), "Masters of Eternal Night" (1998), and "Dawn of the Overmind" (1998). In more recent years, The Illithiad has continued to be an important source for books like the Psionics Handbook (2001), "The Speaker in Dreams" (2001), and Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations (2005). Even years after its release, it's an important part of D&D history."
—Shannon Applecline, OneBookShelf (July 2014)[2]
See also
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad on DriveThruRPG
- Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad on Dungeon Masters' Guild
References
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]Citations
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad (1998), p.3.
- ↑ a b Applinecline, Shannon (8 July 2014). Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad. DMsguild.com. OneBookshelf. Retrieved on 23 September 2024.
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]- Cordell, Bruce R.. Monstrous Arcana: The Illithiad. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998. Item code TSR9569. ISBN 0-7869-1206-5
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
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