Have some Illithid Creed lore.
This is mostly from the Illithiad, Underdark, and Drizzt's Guide. Keep in mind, I am a lazy person, so I used image to text to convert this instead of typing it all out manually. While the descriptions are correct, sometimes there are weird formatting issues with how the books structure their text to fit images and the converters do not ignore that. I've fixed a lot of it, but some bits might have slipped through the cracks.
Creeds Overview
Illithids form structured, ordered societies in which every mind flayer has its place and purpose. Individuals group themselves into ideological factions known as Creeds. Major Creeds include:
Creatives, who research and create psychic disciplines, items, and technology.
Awaiters, who favor patient, cohesive planning.
Possessors, who seek wealth as the avenue to power.
Tamers, who favor the exercise of military might.
Thorough Biters: who believe insight comes from analyzing failure.
Nourishers: who treasure their thralls above all else.
Abysmal: who gain power by inducing fear in thrall races.
Influencers, who unearth secrets and sway opinions indirectly.
Darkeners: who labor to extinguish the sun.
Gatherers: who seek to reunite the disparate illithid communities.
Arisers: who seek to dominate the surface world.
Venerators: who function as priests of Ilsensine.
Members of each Creed seek to advance their particular philosophy, which often involves complex plots, psionically empowered devices, and new psionic devotions and sciences. Not every colony is going to have every creed, more often than not, they pick and choose based on the population's needs and preferences. At the end of the description section, I have also included Non-Creed organizations as well as in-creed groups.
Creed Descriptions
The Venerators
Venerators are illithids that directly revere and represent the interests of Ilsensine. In fact, these Creed members function as priests and acolytes of Ilsensine. Most mind flayers are content to develop personal psionic might and look forward to integration with the elder brain at their death. The Venerators, however, give their lives to Ilsensine and reap the benefits of service to the Tentacled Lord The Venerator Creed makes a point to spread its membership to as many different communities as possible for the "Glory of Ilsensine!" However, there are certainly some communities where illithids cannot channel a spell from the illithid deity. Those communities "blessed" by the Venerator Creed's presence possess temples dedicated to Ilsensine. Here the faithful can offer up their reverence to the self-proclaimed god of the illithids. - Illithiad This priestly creed tends to the Encephalithid in the Grotto of Sacred Thoughts and carries out religious ceremonies for the community. Its members vie with the Loretakers for the title of largest and most powerful creed in Oryndoll. - Underdark
Loretakers
The Loretaker Creed is unique to Oryndoll and in many ways embodies the community ís divinely directed mission. The Loretaker Creed is a powerful faction whose members hold that the acquisition of exclusive knowledge is the single most important element in achieving utter dominance over all of AbeirToril. The twin acts of acquiring knowledge and denying it to others increases the strength of the community while weakening its enemies and rivals. - Illithiad The Loretaker creed is unique to Oryndoll and possibly the most powerful in the city. Those who pursue this creed are masters of hoarding knowledge that they then deny to others. In their workshops (known as scriptoriums), Loretakers labor endlessly to catalog all new information brought in.- Underdark
The Creatives
The Creative Creed consists of illithids whose chief desire lies in the research and creation. of novel psychic disciplines, psionic items, and new technology. Illithids joining this group believe that only through continual creation can the race as a whole advance and eventually master the universe. Of course, the personal thrill of research and discovery is the main stimulus that drives the majority of this Creed's members. Under ideal circumstances, the Creative Creed maintains a primary research lab within its community where various members can congregate to pursue their private and joint research. This facility also houses the successes (and failures) of past projects in sealed vaults. - Illithiad Creatives labor in workshops to mine the new information that pours into the city and use any nuggets they uncover to create new psionic disciplines and equipment. Their workshops are usually coated with psionic crystals grown for experimental purposes. - Underdark
The Tamers
The Tamer Creed believes that military I might is the most important factor in the future mastery of the multiverse. Tamers seek to impose their will upon the world through martial force alone-forswearing diplomacy, tricks, or alliance. These illithids believe so strongly in the importance of military might that some members actually train in the warrior disciplines. Such warrior-trained illithids sacrifice some ability in the psionic arts; however, they believe that this sacrifice is more than paid back through the acquisition of tangible fighting ability. Tamers are often elected as vigileators, serving the entire community with their fanatic insistence on martial dominance. Under ideal circumstances, the Tamer Creed maintains a martial facility where members meet to discuss the philosophy of warfare, to devise novel tactics, arid to train fervently in the arts of war. Facilities that offer such training generally sport a small arena, where illithids can gain martial experience by fighting against slaves. One of the most important duties relegated to the Tamer Creed is that of providing a sound defense against githyanki hunting parties and rrakkma (githzerai hunting parties). These former thrall races continue to nurse an undying hatred toward mind flayers, and they go so far as to organize illithid hunting forays. It lies in the best interest of each mind flayer community to remain ever vigilant against the possibility of an attack from one or both of these vengeful groups. - Illithiad
Probably the smallest creed in Oryndoll, this creed oversees physical martial disciplines. A few Tamers are excellent fighters, but for the most part the members of this creed spend their time maintaining weapon stocks and drilling thralls in combat techniques. They work closely with the Nourishers. - Underdark
Influencers
The Influencer Creed concerns itself with the unearthing of secrets and the swaying of opinions through indirect methods. According to an Influencer, riches, psionic power, and military might avail nought in the absence of exact information regarding a specific goal. Such information gathering goes hand-in-hand with the creation of a web of influence which best channels the direction of an enemy's response to perceived threat. Many a thrall city has fallen due to insufficient preparation in the face of an illithid threat; the lack of preventative measures in these cases falls solely at the feet of Influencer agents. Influencers often lead vigileator intelligence gathering operations. Influencers normally maintain a small complex where Creed members train in the arts of infiltration and spying. - Illithiad Using psionic scrying pools, Influencers observe other societies around Faerûn and determine which to undermine and destroy through blackmail and subtle manipulation. They work closely with the Loretakers to isolate areas of knowledge in a few individuals, who can then be easily destroyed, thus wiping their expertise from the world. - Underdark
Awaiters
The Awaiter Creed consists of illithids that eschew rapid scheming in favor of cohesive planning. Only after an Awaiter patiently calculates every possible factor does it put a proposed plan in motion. In general, most Awaiters feel that their race is too rash. These illithids seek experiences in a multiverse of continual flux. To hurried Perception and understanding, the cosmos seems chaotic. Awaiters, however, believe that Law—the order that enforces all change—guides the chaos. Illithids claiming the symbol of this Creed are usually impartial to other philosophies beyond that of calculated action, and they often find themselves elected by the Elder Concord to fill aedileator positions because of this trait. Awaiters are usually the impetus behind the most diabolical of illithid schemes. - Illithiad
Possessors
The Possessor Creed holds that wealth is the single most important element in achieving utter dominance. Simply put, great wealth equals great power. With enough wealth, an illithid can unbar any door, un-earth any secret, and contract any service imaginable. Upon obtaining sufficient resources, Possessors construct mighty vaults in which to store their cash reserves. These vaults are marvels of security; only the foolhardy would attempt to slip past their many guardians, traps, and psionic deadfalls. Generally, the Elder Concord leases a portion of a vault (in lieu of requiring periodic dues from the Possessor Creed) for the storage of their own reserve. The debate rages in every community as to whose reserves are larger—the Elder Concord's or the Possessor Creed's? In addition to the vaults, Possessors often sponsor a group of ambitious illithid merchants that ventures forth into the underdark to engage other races in trade—even though these races are but thralls in waiting. In this way, illithid merchants import many items normally unattainable within an illithid community due to lack of specialization (or failure to retain thralls that possess the requisite specialization or skill). These merchants usually sell the imported products at the Bazaar—a profitable business venture also sponsored by the Possessor Creed. Of course, the Elder Concord allows the Possessors to sponsor the Bazaar for the trade it engenders. The ruling body turns a profit every time it sends out trade missions targeting specific rare materials essential to an entire illithid community. It goes without saying that Possessors make ideal quastors, and it is often the case that other Creeds contract individual Possessors to serve in that capacity for their particular faction. - Illithiad
Thorough Biters
The Creed of the Thorough I Biters gains its name from its peculiar credo: Life Is Biting Through. Thorough Biters believe that illithids can learn new concepts only through failure. For a Biter, the multiverse is lawful. However, this order remains inscrutable to most beings, and it pulls the multiverse in unfathomable ways. When an illithid acts, it does so in accordance with the lawful macrocosm. Yet an illithid can never really know the entire consequences of its actions. Acknowledging this failure through the observation of an action's effects affords the observant illithid with an opportunity to learn. The next time the illithid in question encounters a similar problem, it will choose the proper course of action. Members of the Creed of Thorough Biters, unlike most illithids, have a sense of humility—although they regard this sentiment simply as a vehicle for learning. Thorough Biters evidence the least amount of the racial "frustration" so common among illithids because of their unique perceptions about failure. The Elder Concord accords special attention to the opinions of this Creed, as their opinions are generally reasonable. - Illithiad
Nourishers
The Nourisher Creed believes that an illithid community's thrall population is its most precious resource. Nourishers treasure their thralls above all else and do not take for granted the many chores that thralls undertake for the improvement of the illithid race. Of course, all illithids recognize the importance of thralls; the Nourisher Creed merely seeks to promote the significance of the thrall in contrast to all the other special interests and Creeds on which other illithids attach their hopes. Nourishers often maintain the facility that houses the general thrall pool; this Creed's devotion to the thralls seems most suited to such duties. - Illithiad This creed tends to the thrall population. Nourishers experiment with breeding and collect new, useful thralls from hundreds of miles in all directions, including the surface. - Underdark
Abysmal
The Abysmal Creed feels that the terror and disgust all other races feel toward the illithids serves as an ideal too! for the promotion of illithid policy. This faction proposes that illithids consciously promote this perception at all times. If other races sufficiently fear the illithid threat, they are more likely to give way to illithid dominance—accepting the fact of their thralldom once and for all. The Abysmals draw strong dissent for their opinions among other illithids, although from time to time the viewpoint of this Creed wins through. Certain illithid enterprises are colored with the Abysmal's core philosophy: Perform an action in a way that generates as much horror as possible in all nonillithids affected by the enterprise. - Illithiad Members of this creed specialize in generating mind-shattering terror and revulsion in nonillithids. The Abysmals release their techniques only after they have mentally destroyed dozens of thralls in tests with horrors so perverse that only illithids have words for them.- Underdark
Darkeners
The Darkener Creed embodies the illithid race's hatred of sunlight (as illustrated under "Beliefs" above). Illithids know that their bodies are best suited to cool darkness and revealing shadow. Thrall races would crumble before the illithid presence if the advantage accorded to them by universal whim were extinguished. Darkeners are a prominent Creed in almost every illithid community. Members maintain a central facility where they—as well as some members of the Creative Creed—labor long and hard upon various schemes that might some day provide a viable method to achieve their dark ends. In addition, Darkeners often employ Influencers to search among thrall races for any means of extinguishing suns. Unfortunately for them, Darkeners are generally unsuccessful in their efforts to put out the light. Suns are vast, burning balls of volatile energy; simple psionic abilities (or magical spells) do not have the sheer power to affect such embedded structures of the cosmos. Still, Darkeners continue their age-long research into extinguishing natural sources of sunlight. - Illithiad
Gatherers
The Gatherer Creed constantly ruminates on why the illithid race splits its efforts so widely between so many communities. They ask, "Wouldn't our purposes be better served if we consolidated our strength, gathering together our far-flung communities, and amassed such power as would cause all other thrall races to acknowledge us as the one and true master race?" Gatherers feel that disparate communities splinter illithid power in almost every area—including psionic research, military might, and regional domination. Unlike many other Creeds, the Gatherer Creed is a single organization, even between communities. In this way, vocal proponents of community fusion can coordinate their efforts among various Elder Concords. To date, the Gatherers have made little progress. It should be noted, however, that in almost every case, the Gatherer Creed has organized the meeting of a Grand Elder Concord. - Illithiad - The Gatherers work within the larger illithid society to consolidate mind flayer knowledge and activity. The Oryndoll Gatherers have done their job almost too well—most illithid societies within several hundred miles of the city have been absorbed. - Underdark
Arisers
The Ariser Creed believes that mind flayers should push their domination upward to the surface world—despite the hindrance of sunlight. Arisers think that by limiting themselves to just half of the entire world (the subterranean half), illithids are effectively resigning themselves from ever holding complete world dominance. These mind flayers feel that waiting for the Darkeners to extinguish the sun will delay an illithid attack until it is too late. Worse, they may never evolve such a method—in which case the illithid race will never realize its destiny. Arisers spend a large portion of their time developing equipment that allows illithids to move in as unhindered a manner as possible while in full daylight. They also plan domed communities, illithid surface colonies protected from the raging light of the sun.- Illithiad In other mind flayer cities, Arisers seek to dominate the surface world. The Oryndoll branch of this creed seeks to destroy it by learning about then circumventing the defenses of upperworlders. - Underdark
Non-Creeds sects
The Elder Concord
Illithids are ruled by the dictates of the Elder Concord. The Elder Concord has the power to set community goals, arrange for the execution of these goals, arbitrate disputes between illithids, and take care of all other details important to the ruling of a community. The Elder Concord consists of senior illithid representatives from each of the recognized factions (translated better as Creeds) that exist within the community. In its role as shepherd of the community, an elder brain is privy to every decision made by the Elder Concord. In addition, it has the power to propose courses of action for debate, place tie-breaking votes, and, most importantly, veto courses of action with which it does not agree. Every illithid community has an Elder Concord. When the goals of more than one illithid community overlap, the two or more ruling concords in question form a temporary body referred to as a Grand Elder Concord. This body oversees the execution of the pertinent objective. The Grand Elder Concord remains viable as long as its primary goal remains unrealized. Once it achieves its objective, it dissolves. - Illithiad Representatives from each Creed make up an Elder Concord, which assumes important rulership duties. In its role as shepherd of the community, an elder brain is privy to every decision made by the Elder Concord, and has the power to propose courses of action, cast tiebreaking votes, and veto actions. Within its sphere of influence, each Elder Concord elects illithid officials, including aedileators, who are responsible for running day-to-day affairs; quastors, who administer finances and trade; and vigileators, who direct security efforts. When the goals of more than one illithid community overlap, the involved ruling concords form a temporary body referred to as a Grand Elder Concord. - Drizzt
Aedileators
Within its sphere of influence, the Elder Concord elects various illithid officials, called aedileators. Though not members of the Elder Concord, these officials report to that body and are responsible for running the day-to-day affairs of the community. Each particular aedileator has the power to draw excess thralls from the general thrall pool to accomplish its tasks. Individual aedileators are variously responsible for public order, repairing or building public works, and handling disputes between individual illithids—to name a just a few of their important roles. - Illithiad
Quastors
The Elder Concord also elects officials, called quastors, that are responsible for a community's finances. Quastors hold and account for the funds available to an Elder Concord. Normally such funds stem from the dues each Creed must pay in order to remain a recognized faction. However, activities directed solely by the Elder Concord sometimes prove profitable as well. Specific Creeds also elect internal quastors to see to their individual finances. One oft-recurring duty of a quastor involves the dispatchment of illithid merchants to various underdark communities (not necessarily confined only to other illithid communities). These merchants trade for specialized merchandise and rare materials. In fact, sages speculate that certain less-than-scrupulous thrall races engage in an illicit brain trade. Illithids with strong opinions on a particular subject, or those mind flayers with specific philosophies, usually join one of the various Creeds available within a community—although it is by no means necessary that every illithid belong to an objectified group. In many cases, an illithid may hold beliefs that coincide with more than one Creed; however, most Creeds require their members to retain affiliation with one ideology. An Elder Concord "recognizes" the various Creeds and suffers their existence—if they pay a periodic due to the ruling body. Each Creed pursues a particular agenda, or aligns itself with a distinctive philosophy, that it feels to be of special significance. Although in most cases the objectives of one Creed have absolutely nothing to do with the goals of another, there are cases where agendas compete. In fact, two or more Creeds may sometimes work at cross purposes - Illithiad
Vigileators
Vigileators are those officers chosen by the Concord to direct the security of an illithid community. Illithid security forces normally consist of three bodies, each of which is responsible for a particular security concern: internal order, military offense and defense, and intelligence. A single vigileator heads each security branch. Illithids elected to fill a particular official position must put aside any Creed affiliations for the good of the community as a whole. Any illithid demonstrating a Creed-based bias in the execution of its duties loses its position and standing within the community immediately. Of course, Creeds can legitimately attempt to influence an official's performance through its representative on the Elder Concord. Generally speaking, elected officials are chosen from Creeds whose ideologies most closely resemble the thrust of the particular duties in question. - Illithiad As in most mind flayer communities, the bulk of Oryndoll's troops are psionically dominated thralls led by vig- ileators. The mind flayer officers are divided into three divisions, each responsible for a particular security con- cern: military offense and defense, internal order, and intelligence. Each security branch is led by a senior vigileator known as the High Vigileator, who reports directly to the Elder Concord. - Drizzt
Ch'Chitl variant:
The vigileators, officers appointed by the Elder Concord, oversee internal order, military matters, and intelligence. Whereas in many illithid communities vigileator duties are apportioned into three security branches, Ch'Chitl's defenders were reorganized into a single hierarchy that answers directly to the Ulithautarch. The Kingdom Below is now served by thirty vigileators, each of which commands a pack of quaggoths known as an "ursak." Each ursak is made up of dozen or more quaggoths, including one leader, known as a "jald," and at least one shaman with psionic abilities, known as a "thonot." Ursaks are routinely dispatched to raid slave caravans passing overhead, and each vigileator trains its thralls to differentiate slaves from slave traders and to capture slaves without injury. The quaggoths know that they can eat their captives after their illithid masters eat the brains. Only slaves are targeted, and only in limited numbers, so as not to drive merchants to alternate routes.
Body Tamers
Illithids who embrace the Tamer Creed believe that military might is the most important factor in their race’s future mastery of the multiverse. These so-called body tamers seek to impose their will upon the Underdark primarily through martial force, forswearing diplomacy, tricks, and alliances. Body tamers believe so strongly in the importance of physical strength that they train themselves as warriors, not mentalists. Illithid body tamers sacrifice some ability in the psionic arts for the advancement of their physical abilities. However, they believe that the acquisition of tangible martial ability is more than worth this price. Adherents of the Tamer Creed maintain various martial facil- ities in the larger illithid cities of the Underdark. Within such sanctums, they discuss the philosophy of warfare, devise novel tactics in never-ending wargames, and train fervently in their art. Tamer facilities each contain a small arena where the body tamers practice their arts against expendable slaves. Often, groups of illithid body tamers organize defense teams to fight off githzerai or githyanki hunting parties that appear suddenly, intent on mind flayer murder. These former thrall races continue to nurse an undying grudge against illithids, and the body tamers intend to be ready to protect their own. - Underdark
Errant Thoughts
The Errant Thoughts, closely associated with the Tamer Creed, are responsible for both defense of the city and offense against its enemies as directed by the Elder Concord. Members of this branch patrol the city's environs within a radius of approximately twenty miles. Mixed companies of twenty to thirty lizardmen, tren, and troglodytes led by one to three vigileators are the norm in the surrounding Underdark wilds, but patrol numbers may be doubled or even trebled in times of danger. Oryndoll's patrols are typically supplanted with either a pair of tzakandi (50%) or a trio of intellect devourers (50%), all of which are trained to identify and disable spellcasters and psionicists. - Drizzt
Minders
The Minders, closely associated with the Loretaker faction, monitor the thoughts of Oryndoll's inhabitants, whether illithid or thrall. They are charged with squashing any hint of rebellion among the thrall population and enforcing the dictates of the Elder Concord and that body's appointed aedileators. Visitors to the City of Loretakers are sufficiently rare that one or more low-ranking vigileators of this branch are assigned to discreetly monitor every nonillithid admitted into the caverns of Oryndoll. - Drizzt
Lore Filchers
The Lore Filchers, closely associated with the Influencer Creed, gather military intelligence. For centuries this branch has been primarily concerned with the threat posed by the duergar of Underspires, but Oryndoll's agents have infiltrated most, if not all, sizable Underdark settlements within 500 miles of the city. The handful of mozgriken spawned in Oryndoll are employed by this group. - Drizzt
Ch'Chitl Specific
The death of Ch'Chitl's elder brain and the subsequent rise of the Ulithautarch has gravely weakened the city's traditional Creeds. Those that remain rapidly evolved. Nine acknowledged Creeds exist, including the Abysmals, the Arisers, the Autarchs, the Awaiters, the Creatives, the Influencers, the Raiders, the Nourishers, and the Thorough Biters. The Raiders, an amalgamation of the traditional Possessor and Tamer Creeds, reflect Ch'Chiltl's raiding- based economy. The Autarchs are new, combining elements of the Gatherer and Venerator Creeds found elsewhere. Autarch Creed members venerate the Ulithautarch as the next stage in illithid evolution, and work toward Thalynsar's vision of a permanent Grand Elder Concord ruling the world.
