The stories of Dungeons & Dragons include a wonderous variety of species and worlds, everything from small towns in the verdant countryside to sprawling cities that glitter with arcane magic. One way to travel through these worlds, including the otherworldly plains, is via a Nautiloid.
It looks like a seafaring ship at first, something like a long speedboat or a yacht, but the presence of tentacles and a massive conch shell reveals a vessel of the Nautiloid class. One such vessel was the center of attention in the opening cut scenes of Baldur's Gate 3, and although a technological marvel, not exactly a place that most adventurers would want to visit. However, not every Nautiloid was used by the Illithids, also known as Mind Flayers. Several races in the D&D universe make use of this fascinating technology.
7 The Spelljammer Class
D&D is often thought of as a game with a medieval fantasy aesthetic, but there's plenty of room in there for science fiction and space opera. A popular module that contains adventures with these themes is entitled Spelljammer: Adventures In Space, and the title is a reference to the preferred mode of transportation through the cosmos.
Spelljammer refers to a class of ships that are capable of interstellar and inter-planar travel, and the Nautiloid is one of these ships. The opening scene of Baldur's Gate 3 includes a Nautiloid traveling to several different locations, one of them even in the Nine Hells, but not every ship in this class has this ability.
6 Trade With The Mercane
In older versions of D&D literature and media, they were known as the Arcane, and they were an ancient race that were master traders and explorers as well as accomplished mages. Their name was adjusted over the years to reflect their cultural focus on trade. The Mercane were the first beings to develop and build the technology that made Nautiloids possible, and sold helms that could use to power and steer nautiloid ships.
Nobody knew how to build these special helms except the Mercane, and they build different helms for each species to make them as efficient as possible. This is one of the reasons that Spelljammer class ships, including Nautiloids, eventually became extremely rare.
5 They Appear In A Variety Of D&D Media
The Nautiloid is front and center in Baldur's Gate 3, but it's not the first time that the Nautiloid has appeared in a D&D-based video game or media. Despite its sinister appearance, it isn't a mode of transportation for villainous or callous characters. Plenty of benevolent adventurers have also ridden one of these mighty ships.
The Dungeon magazine's March/April 1991 edition featured a Nautiloid on the cover. The ships are a common sight throughout the Spelljammer adventures, including a comic series and a video game, Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace, and the gaming module.
4 An Illithid Nautiloid
Not all Nautiloids are piloted by Illithids, but it's an easy association to make considering the common features that both of them have. The Illithids developed their ships, and their interplanar powers, with direct help from the Mercane.
​​​​​​This was different from other races, which had their helms built entirely for them, and the technology used to do so was closely guarded. It's unknown what motivated the Mercane to give the Illithids special consideration, but considering the reputation Mind Flayers have for persuasion, they probably made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
3 A Mixed Crew
Not every prisoner on the Illithid Nautilod in Baldur's Gate 3 was intended to turn into one of the creatures eventually. The typical crew of this kind of ship employed both Illithids and humanoid slaves, with the latter doing more dangerous or heavy work.
Part of the story in BG3 is that those infected with the "eye worm" don't seem to be intended as either slaves or Illithids, so what was their purpose? The idea seems to be that the Illithoids had discovered a new technology, perhaps something connected to the interplanar traveling abilities of the Nautiloids, and were experimenting on humanoid subjects.
2 The Dreadnoughts
Dreadnoughts were a variant of Nautiloids exclusive to Mind Flayers. They were much larger than the versions that were intended primarily for travel. These were designed for combat, pursuit, and occasionally freight. These ships were used to track, capture, and infect the Illithids' prey as they traveled from world to world.
The Dreadnought had a special steering and control device, the pool helm, and it was one of the unique devices that the Mercane helped the Illithids develop. The Nautiloid in BG3 is of an impressive size, but doesn't seem to have the signature features, like a conch shell laying on its side instead of upright, or a separate helm used as a battle station.
1 The Flight Of The Id Ascendant
The ship featured at the beginning of BG3 wasn't the first to crash on some unlucky denizens of Faerun. A strange ship called the Id Ascendant crashed in bad weather, their propulsion failing while flying too low, and finding the ship adventure found in the module Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden.
The ship was a research vessel primarily, but collected specimens the same manner in which slaver ships do, and thus would often run afoul of flesh peddlers. It's a situation in which it might be preferable to let each side destroy the other, but this is yet another case where a hero is needed to intervene.
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