Thralls

Thralls are slaves which have had their sentience completely suppressed. While under their master's influence, they take only the actions they are commanded to take, and have no free will. 
Illithids and neogi can create thralls. Illithids especially find them useful as hosts for creating new illithids; neogi often have normal slaves instead. "Thrall" is also how illithids refer to any humanoid race when they think they're not listening, as they don't usually distinguish race or gender. Legally, only slaves and in some places prisoners can become thralls. Thralls are generally legal where illithids are, but they kind of majorly sketch out everyone around. An exception is Goneril, where thralls are illegal but illithids are sort of tolerated. Of course, The Company had one, who was under Ashra's command. 
The process of creating a thrall takes about two weeks. The victim gets some increasingly difficult Will saves against the effect. If successful, the subject's Intelligence score is reduced to -- and their actions are fully controlled by their master. Their faces are obviously vacant; it is impossible to command a thrall to look sentient enough to fool anyone. They maintain their own alignment and Sanity Points, and make their own will saves. It is, however, possible for a thrall to have a different alignment while thralled than while sentient. They are vulnerable to fear effects but do not get morale bonuses other than thrall bonuses. They also retain their memories, though these are only accessible through spells such as Modify Memory. They are able to form memories of things that happen while thralled, but these may not be visible to Modify Memory. They do not show up on Detect Thoughts, but their master can read their mind through the psionic connection. They can take commands telepathically and/or in languages they spoke while sentient from anyone their master designates. However, their true master must be a psionic creature capable of keeping up the domination. Thralls can be traded and sold among psionic creatures; Ashra bought hers from Neax Hiss. 
If a thrall is separated entirely from their master, the thrall instantly wakes up. Some high-quality thralls are enchanted with a Greater Geas to recover their master as soon as they wake up. When they enter their master's telepathic range, they instantly snap back to their former state. 
Most illithids who properly control thralls can control a great many of them at one time, including many low-level drones and several which are high enough level to be capable in combat. Ashra's ability to control thralls is curtailed, functioning according to her Leadership score, because she had to teach herself the ability while out of contact with a Mother Brain. 
The limitations on number of thralls are usually based on cost and logistics (feeding them, keeping them within telepathic range, keeping the lower-level ones alive) more than ability. Thralls can be set to do a standard set of actions on their own, and only require their master to spend actions on controlling them if they are doing a particularly complicated or unusual task. They can speak any languages they spoke while sentient, saying the words their master commands. This allows them to have relay conversations between their masters and others, though they still sound braindead. 
Thralls can be made from any creature with two legs that can be captured, restrained, and dominated. Generally the legal restraints above apply as well. Some creatures are bred to be thralls. They are born with the capacity for sentience, but are psionically dominated from birth and thus should never be sentient. These creatures have an easier time acting when close to their master, and a harder time when far away. Bugbears are a common subject due to their high strength. Because the process suppresses Intelligence, wizards lose their spellcasting abilities and make singularly useless thralls, but any class that casts from other abilities, such as clerics, druids, sorcerers, and bards, retain their spells. Divine spellcasters can still use their divine abilities, and the anger of the god goes mostly towards the one who initially enslaved the cleric rather than their current master.
Under Analyze Dweomer, a thrall will detect as "thralled to unknown entity" and "consciousness suppressed"; a thrall's master will show up as "psionic connection to unidentified other". 
Keeping a thrall is an evil act.
Category:NPCs