>>7031443>don't you need a big justification for having mind flayers in your game?only if i'm using the standard gameworld lore and my players are familiar with it
i cover my ass by saying that the world we're playing in isn't the one provided by wizards of the coast, just based on it. that means i can just take or leave stuff as i see fit/convenient. it doesn't matter since my players don't know any of the lore to call me out on completely misusing some monsters, but if i had players who were really familiar with that kind of thing then mixing it up the way i do would be a great way to ensure i'm not constricted in what i'm able to use while also making sure that the characters cant come to conclusions based on information that the players know
for example dragons have weird effects on the area surrounding their lair. if a player has played a game with a green dragon in it before and they come across incredibly thick vegetation and fouled water sources they'd immediately say "oh this is because there's a green dragon lair nearby" even though their character wouldn't necessarily have that knowledge. by changing stuff around a player wouldn't be able to draw that conclusion since it's very possible i just took that effect from green dragons and arbitrarily put it on some other monster entirely
the short answer to your question is however i wanted really. as long as it isn't blatantly out of place i can make up any lore behind them i need to fit the situation i want them in
>>7031453go start some fisticuffs anyway