The “machine” is an intra-dimentional portal that allows the illithid to raid alternate material planes in order to capture slaves. The portal itself is a 6’ diameter round crystal lens with various powered mechanisms pointing at it. There is also an elaborate control panel to “aim” and activate the portal. It can be activated by randomly manipulating controls. If activated, the random destination is visible through the lens and can be seen before entering (the details of the destination, known only after entering it, are in parinthesis). A character can continue to manipulate the controls until they see a destination that appeals to them (unless they're being pursued).
Portal Destinations:
1. Forest (the area directly above-ground from this location)
2. Icy plane (frozen tundra inhabited by warring factions of intelligent polar bears)
3. Sand dunes (a vast desert inhabited by bandit tribes, mantis warriors, & bulettes)
4. Jungle (a dark jungle inhabited by dinosaurs, tribal guerillas, pygmies, & yuan-ti)
5. Brick building (modern day urban America, in the middle of a street)
6. Swamp (a dark swamp with giant mushrooms and strange creatures)
7. Dark hall (necropolis ruled by a lich king, a beholder, and a small remnant of the living)
8. Swirling mist (Limbo, between a githyanki monastery and slaadi spawning pools)
9. Ruins (post apocalyptic future, with human survivors, robots, and mutants)
10. Blue hall (self sustaining abandoned alien ship, ravaged by a virus and floating in space)
After entering a portal, characters will see that the potal is two-way, but that time on the other side is frozen. This means that if they are being pursued, they can spend as much time in the new location before returning and dealing with the pursuers (hopefully with some sort of weapon or help obtained from the other plane.
Also, note that some of the planes are not in the D&D setting, such as number 5. Feel free to add strange slaves or feeding victems, such as a teenage skater from California, etc. in order to give the readers a hint as to the nature of the machine.
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