Originally Posted by LittleMonday
A lot of people have brought up the lore of illithids, but I don�t think that�s actually as big of an issue as it sounds when you consider a couple of things. There�s apparently something called an �Adversary� which is an illithid that retains much of its former self in their new body.

I get the impression that the Adversary is essentially a mythological figure - the bringer of the illithid version of the Apocalypse, more-or-less.

It could have been interesting for the Emperor to be the Adversary, especially if its plan involved the creation of a new type of illithid - one born of a symbiotic rather than parasitic relationship to its host. This could effectively fulfill the prophecy of destroying the Illithid Empire by supplanting it with "newlithids".

That would leave the player with an interesting choice:

1. Accept permanent symbiosis and become a new kind of creature (something akin to Marvel Comics' Venom). This isn't as simple as "get cool powers" - both species would likely reject the hybrid, and becoming a newlithid would likely mean a struggle for survival as the Adversary's new age dawns (and many attempt to stop it). Still, the power would tempt some, and others might find meaning in helping to "rehabilitate" one of the great scourges of the universe (the illithids).

*or*

2. Reject the tadpole and ruthlessly kill it to prevent an unwanted transformation. Cold, perhaps, but even the Adversary's new form of ceremorphosis would be a gross violation of autonomy when inflicted upon the unwilling. Not all would part with their human form or welcome the idea of sharing their body with another consciousness.

And if the Adversary planned to infect an unwitting population (Baldur's Gate), then players might choose to become newlithids but still oppose the Adversary's schemes.

The scenario could have been an "in-universe" means of changing the nature of illithids in future games and supplements, avoiding an overt retcon of existing lore.