Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Starting Equipment

Yeah and they hate the sun. So maybe there is some coalition with the Sharrans. As for trade relations, I find those with the Drow profitable for both sides. The Drow give the Illithids slaves (brains), the Illithids give the Drow collected (magical) weapons that do not turn to dust for their surface raids. The Illithids do not need equipment, after all. Win-Win-Situation.

Well, my doubt was not based on lack of profit ...
I just cant really imagine how would that work.

You know, if you take Illithid mentality, it seems like litteraly any living creature (sometimes including other illithids) is for them either food, an incubator, or test subject ...
Now add psyonic powers so strong, so they can dominate mind of any sentient species by their meere presence ...
I just cant really imagine situation, when such creature would even bother to think about trade with anyone.

Then take who they have contact with:
- Deep Gnomes, that are usualy either enslaved or hiding to not be enslaved ...
- Duergars, who hate them with burning pasion, and are enslaving everything on sight ...
- Drows, who concider anyone to be lesser than themselves, and also are enslaving everything on sight ...
- And Myconids, who are most likely completely useless for them ...

Duno, maybe im missing something ...
But the way i see it, neither side have zero reason to try establish any friendly contact with ... well, basicaly any other group.

This is interesting theory ...

Question is: Where would they collect them from?
Surely Drow wouldnt surender their prisoners armed, just to buy their artefacts back.
And on the other hand, if Illithids would make their own raids for slaves/food ... they wouldnt need Drow supply.

Of course, they don't necessarily need trade, but as above-average intelligent beings, they let others do their dirty work. So why not have Drow as predestined slave hunters procure food for them and the equipment from their own skirmishes they don't need either, so they trade it. The equipment they collect from their own raids, wandering adventurers or their arch enemies the Githyanki. Of course, the Drow sell their slaves without equipment, they wouldn't be that stupid.

One might as well ask if the Illithids would ever consider any other trade good besides slaves for food. I can't think of what else they could ever need...

They do have their own line of clothing and footwear. Where do they get it from?

Yes, you are right, they can also trade materials for any manufacturing process.

Oh thats the easy part ...
Raw materials, magical objects, alchemical substances, specific test subjects ... same things any race would trade really.

Indeed ...
But this would work only if other side would desire to trade with them, and they would just allow it.

I mean, dont get me wrong ...
I dont doubt for a second that Illithids are smart enough to realize that this potential meal brought them proposition, that would lead to much more meal and other potential resources and stuff ... hells, even Lizardfolk can understand this concept.
What i cant understand is the meal point of wiev ... why would anyone even propose such thing?

What i can imagine, and it may potentialy be though as some very twisted kind of trade ... is paying them a tribute ... you know, something like: "We get you 100 slaves per year and you dont enslave us, ok?"
That would make sense to me.

Now, when i think about it, it seems that i located my problem with the idea.
Bcs, quite honestly ... Drows, Duergars, and Illithids ... have same mentality as common murderhobbo, in my mind. You can offer them gold for not killing you ... and thats a good deal. But they can just aswell kill you and take the gold, so why would they accept your offer?

Dont they tho?
I allways though that anyone who isnt needed (and quite often even those who are, since they please her more) is sacrificed to Lolth.

But i presume they could teoreticaly trade dead bodies ... if brains are interesting enough for Illithids even after person is bleeded to death in name of your evil deity.

Humanoid reproduction for permanent supply and in this context maybe the brains of the different species have different tastes for the Illithids and since they hate light they don't get surface dwellers so well, so they trade with the Drow.

They could also simply be bored and looking for a challenge, or need some kind of membrane to keep other enemies without brains away like Undead. I don't know everything either, where is your fantasy? Put some effort into it!




Now you are moving towards the goal, because by the way, this is one part of Omeluum's story.

Well the deurgar specifically probably aren't likely to trade with illithids since they were created by illithids and rebelled against them, so there's major bad blood there. Drow on the other hand? I think you need to remember that Drow are a large society with the needs of a large society. That they function at all in the rather grandios manner they do demonstrates an understanding of long term planning. I imagine that the drow would view trading with illithids as a long term thing. They expect to go to war eventually, and until then they're going to try and get as much out of the illithids as they can.

Furthermore it's worth remembering that the drow are not a monolith. Drow city states are each independant and based on how their society operates, most likely relations between the cities cycle between cold and hot war. So mindflayer hives or whatever they're called would most likely only trade with one or two drow cities, and those cities have to deal with the political realities of going to war with the mindflayers, which is that even if they win, they might end up vulnerable to their enemies in the aftermath. Sure the drow say that they're inherently superior and they believe that, but I'm guessing that the drow stupid enough to think their dogma renders them not needing basic strategic planning are the ones that die the earliest.

+1 Good idea.