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The Varan (vah-RAHN) are elite and willing servants of the Illithids to serve as spies and envoys to other species. They thrive on their wealth and status above the more "common" illithid slaves.
Also called the Heralds. Their job is to spread out and find worlds with life so that the illithids may arrive and conquer.
They live in a cluster of stars called the Varan Group. Also currently occupying Calimar and her moons.
The Varan are the slaves of the illithids but are a step above the common illithids slaves and aren't used as cattle. Instead they willingly serve the illithids and are rewarded with their lives, lives that are very like those of most other species. They travel and trade on their own and their masters' behalves. They may learn skills and professions just as others do, however, religion is outlawed. Most enjoy a middle or upper middle class standard of living and those who serve especially well can live like royalty. It should thus be no surprise that most Varan are completely loyal to their potentially harsh masters. In fact, most Varan will only ever see an illithid a few times during their life and many will never actually meet one (just observe one from afar) at all.
Varan envoys, mechanics and operatives are very common. The illithids don't value soldiers as much since they have common, grunt slaves to do their fighting but they recognize the need for the Varan settlements to be able to defend themselves and for soldiers to maintain the peace and crew trading ships. Soldiers thus will have specialties such as marines and myrmidons.
Operatives, especially smugglers and spies, are commonly trained and used by the illithids.
The illithids do not allow servants of "higher powers" of any sort among the Varan so there are no priests of any type. The illithids don't trust those who derive their power from other sources, sources foreign and often innimical to the illithids.
There is a small part of Varan society that has rebelled from the illithids and formed their own settlements, rather than fleeing to the settlements of other races to hide from their old masters. These "Free Varan" as they identify themselves have a few priests and other religious sorts. Otherwise they are very similar to their illithid serving kin. In fact, the free Varan have been successfully and heavily penetrated by illithid spies and manipulators but the illithids allow them to remain free for now, granting them an alternate avenue to accomplish their goals.
The free Varan do not see a lot of use in religion but those of them who do tend to be very zealous. Simply engaging in an activity opposed by the illithids is a form of rebellion to them but they also realize that any religion that manages some great task, such as destroying an illithid outpost, will gain prominence and converts very quickly and could be come a leading, dominant force in their society. Most every type of religion that doesn't favor or allow slavery is welcome and found among the Varan, including non-human gods, as the Varan desperately seek to find their own way in the world.
Having formed an alliance with the illithids many cycles ago, the Varan have enjoyed their position as negotiators and scouts for the mind flayers. Unfortunately, this role has caused other species to view the Varan as traitors and slavers. The Varan pay this little heed, as they know they can demand respect for themselves by calling on the might of their masters.
Aside from the Bjarni Trade Barons, the Varan produce no goods and indulge in little trade. Their wealth comes from their employment with the illithids, who have set up their servants as petty nobles. The Varan provide manpower for the illithids, who in turn provide creature comforts.
The average Varan is predisposed toward activities of the less-than-legal sort. Over the centuries, they have come to view such activities as perfectly acceptable, though they realize that few other races share this outlook. Varan don’t like to hear the nasty rumors about their illithid allies, but they don’t go out of their way to defend them either. To the typical Varan in the spaceport, the illithids are a source of income and no more.
ancient gods of both good and evil from the sphere's past (now worshipped by Varan cultists)
the illithids would undoubtedly like to get hold of the Xixchil to alter their Varan spies to look like other races, or even individuals.
The illithids aren't fooled by the Neogi, but the two races have long dealt with each other on peaceful terms so they aren't troubled by the neogi, so long as the settlements of their Varan slaves aren't raided.
The Hurwaet have no love for the Varan, illithids, or neogi and aren't fooled by any of them.
Free Varans
Varans that have rebelled from the illithids. Are they slowly dying because they require something from the illithids to keep them alive?
Thousands of years ago, somewhere deep within the Astral Sea, a mind flayer had a vision.
They saw the illithid empire in flames, torn to ruin by those they kept as slaves. This mind flayer
disconnected itself from the elder brain and voyaged out into the cosmos, followed by dozens of its
contemporaries. After a century of searching, this group eventually settled on a desolate portion of
the Prime Material Plane.
Over the centuries that these mind flayers lived on the Material Plane, they adapted to their
new environment. Their bodies came to resemble humanoids, albeit taller and more slender. They
remained hairless, with grey-purple skin, large round heads, and black eyes. Their tongue, while
appearing typical when inside their mouths, retained the qualities typical of the tentacles of the
aberrations from which they evolved. Outsiders came to call them Illians, a portmanteau of illithid
and human (or alien, in some cases).
Illians tend to live in isolated societies. Many have a strong focus on honing their magical
abilities. This can take the form of the innate psionics with which illian are born or power forged
arcane connections to the Weave. Illians typically possess a strong loathing for mind flayers, as
conflict has often emerged between the two groups following the latter’s eventual migration to the
Material Plane.
Visual Cue
The Tranquil are mages who went through the Rite of Tranquility and belong to the Formari of the Circle. The Rite cuts off the connection to the Fade, and the Tranquil can no longer dream nor draw on the Fade to perform magic. As a side effect, their emotional center is utterly removed, which makes them undesirable to be possessed by demons in the first place. Until 9:40 Dragon, the Tranquil were widely believed to be immune to demonic possession
The Tranquil resemble sleepwalkers, never entirely awake nor asleep. In the mind of the Tranquil, there is no passion. They keep to themselves, and, if asked directly, will readily agree that having the opportunity to live out a peaceful and useful existence is far preferable when compared to what their alternatives would have been. They are also aware of the difference between their former selves and their Tranquil states, and able to understand that things that have happened to them since becoming Tranquil would have upset or traumatized their former selves.
A gas mask and robes?
Forehead mark?
Something slithering under their skin?
Innate Psionics. Due to your relation to illithids, you can harness a limited amount of psionic
energy. You have resistance to psychic damage, and you know the mind sliver
cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the spell detect thoughts with this trait. Once you
cast detect thoughts with this trait, you can’t cast this spell with it again until you finish a long rest.
You can also cast this spell using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level. Intelligence is
your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Limited Telepathy. As an action, you can send a message telepathically to one creature of your
choice within 30 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to
understand these messages, but it must be able to understand at least one language to comprehend
them.
Extract Memories. Your tongue is quite different from those of other humanoids; in fact it is not
dissimilar to a mind flayer’s tentacle. This tongue counts as a simple melee weapon with which you
are proficient. You add either your Dexterity modifier or your Constitution modifier (your choice) in
place of your Strength modifier to attack rolls when attacking with it. It deals 1d4 psychic damage on
a hit. Any creature that has been struck by this tentacle has disadvantage on saving throws against
your detect thoughts spell for one minute.