The Whispering Shadow

There is no universal size or appearance for a resonance stone. They can be made from any mineral. Crystal, marble, quartz, and precious gems are the most common materials. In volume, they vary from the size of a pea (which would be worn on a ring or necklace beneath the clothes) to the size of a melon (powerful enough to fl ood a small auditorium with emotion). The largest known resonance stone is the great globe suspended from the ceiling of the plaza in the illithid city of Lagurno (see below), but it is exceptional in every way. The average stone is around the size of a large egg. Resonance stones are always active. Any sentient being that approaches within the stone’s radius of effect experiences the emotion that it broadcasts. At fi rst, this sensation is faint. As one draws nearer, the emotion rises quickly in intensity to the imprinted level. If the stone is touched, the intensity jumps up sharply. Illithids use resonance stones casually as decorations. In an illithid’s home, one could expect to fi nd resonance stones emitting a sense of deep self-satisfaction, pride, feelings of personal superiority, or confi dence. In public places, resonance stones might be positioned to heighten feelings of responsibility, duty, loyalty, or racial superiority. At a performance eating event (see Performance Eating Area, below), the performance could be heightened through the use of stones that broadcast a sense of anticipation, gradually changing to delight followed by satisfaction. To illithids, these emotions convey the same nostalgic connotations that smells carry for a human. The familiar feeling of home has a literal meaning to a mind fl ayer. Many can navigate through their homes or even through public spaces by sensing emotions only. Besides offering a pleasant diversion, resonance stones serve a vital function as well. A newly ceremorphosed mind fl ayer has no experience with emotions. When it suddenly becomes sentient, its mind is bombarded with thoughts and feelings from all directions. A nearby resonance stone calms the tumult and fl oods the creature with feelings of reassurance and contentment. As it adjusts to its new body, develops psionic powers, and acclimates to the unvarying presence of the elder brain, a resonance stone, rather than a parent, is its constant companion. In other words, mind fl ayers learn emotions from resonance stones, not from one another. They do not fall in love or even form friendships beyond useful acquaintances. Resonance stones fi ll their emotional needs. Resonance stones can be turned to darker, more destructive purposes, too. Stones that radiate feelings of hopelessness and helplessness are frequently used to keep newly captured prisoners docile before they can be enthralled. Similarly, stones that radiate feelings of satisfaction and resignation can be scattered across the fl oor of a pit where captives are held, to keep them quiet and prevent fi ghting. A stone emitting horror, despair, or surrender can be useful during interrogation. Creatures subjected to a resonance stone effect can attempt Will saves (save DC varies by stone type) to resist the effect. A creature that succeeds on this save is immune to that stone’s effect for 24 hours. A creature that fails the save but leaves the area and reenters can attempt a new saving throw, but it takes a –2 penalty on the second and all subsequent saving throws made against the same resonance stone in the same 24-hour period. Mind fl ayers receive a +4 racial bonus on saves against resonance stone effects. Sample stones are presented below.

Resonance Stone of Despair: All creatures that come within 30 feet of this resonance stone must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or be affected as if by crushing despair for as long as they remain in the affected area. Moderate enchantment; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, crushing despair or telepathy special ability; Price 56,000 gp.

Resonance Stone of Fear: All creatures that come within 30 feet of this resonance stone must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or be affected as if by fear.

Moderate necromancy; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, fear or telepathy special ability; Price 56,000 gp.

Resonance Stone of Delirium: All creatures that come within 30 feet of this resonance stone must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or be nauseated and blinded for 1 minute.

Moderate enchantment; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, major image or telepathy special ability; Price 45,000 gp.

T HE W HISPERING SHADOW

Of all questions surrounding illithids, “Where did they come from? ” is the most mysterious. For an answer to this riddle, scholars are limited to scraps of clues from a handful of ancient texts. The clearest reference is found in The Planetreader’s Primer, a book of primeval knowledge published (reputedly) in the great city at the center of all, Sigil. It speaks in certain terms of an illithid empire that spanned worlds in a time predating memory. So mighty was this empire that its expansion threatened to consume even the eternal Blood War before it was turned back. The Astromundi Chronicles, a text of ancient yet unknown origin, speaks of the illithids as “a race of monstrous spawn, hidden beneath the world by their progenitors.” No clue is given as to the identity of these progenitors. The text suggests that the illithids hated their creators with such passion that they lashed out against them and destroyed them utterly, leaving no trace of their existence for the modern scholar to examine. The most archaic of all sources is a set of stone tablets known as the Sargonne Prophecies, named for the city of disturbing ruins called Sargonne. The crumbling tablets contain passages so cryptic that they have been interpreted as prophecies rather than as history. Each bears a central likeness of what is unmistakably a mind fl ayer. The inscribed runes present a troubling aspect to the observer. They tell of an illithid world “bathed in eternal night” that is destroyed by some fi ery cataclysm, from which the illithids fl ee in fl ying ships.