Mind Flayer lairs are a great opportunity for puzzles. A dragon who has been consumed by the tadpole to become a horrifying mixture of the draconic strength and Mindflayer psionics resplendent with malicious intent. These things are created when a thrall of the Mindflayers is selected to have their brains 'grow legs'. Anyone The mind flayer regains a number of hit points equal to the psychic damage dealt. incompatible (Im going to be the boss, not you). They have a definite resemblance to their Mindflayer creators given the tentacles on their faces or the backs of their heads. Their origins tied in with the . Mind flayers, or illithids, are tentacle-faced humanoids who possess incredible psychic powers and use them to feed on sapient brains. Starting with anatomy and reproduction, the book dives straight into the process of a tadpole becoming a mature Mind Flayer, which is known as ceremorphosis. RELATED: 10 Tricks To Planning A D&D Session (If You're A DM). If you go to the psionic charts in thePlayers Handbook (1978)you can discern that it is similar to the psionic blast, as the range is identical to the description of the Mind Flayer. The victims it makes into thralls also gain this The Madcrafters then take that quintessence, ingest it in great amounts, and then birth forth Scythers, Stormclouds, and Thoon Soldiers. Standing as tall as the average human, these creatures could never be mistaken for one. This is sure to kill someone thats been They came from the Far Realm long ago. Jul 1, 2022, 8:53 AM PDT Vecna is linked to the Mind Flayer in "Stranger Things." Netflix Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the season four finale of "Stranger Things." In the ninth episode of "Stranger Things 4," Vecna reveals more about his time in the Upside Down. Mind Flayer interactive Three.js experiment inspired by Stranger Things #. The good news is that the Mind Flayer wont wander into your town and try to suck everyones brains out of there heads, as they hate sunlight. Seeing as how psionics werent a thing until the books release, we suppose we can understand why the Mind Flayer was only flavorfully psionic. Thats a lot of brains to eat, and its pretty fucked up. Ropers are monsters that look like rocks until an adventurer is close enough that it attacks with its tentacles to devour them. In my world, there is a three-way war going on contained to a city at the moment. 1 within 10 vs. Will; Enemies only; recharge 5-6) which does both immediate and Because Mind Flayers live for an average of 125 years, if you do the math, thats 1,500 brains a Mind Flayer will have to consume throughout its life, that doesnt take into account the fact that Mind Flayers will often eat more than a single brain a month because they like how it tastes. The Mind Flayers most feared attack is their Mind Blast, and it comes complete with a convoluted description: All within a 6 directional cone of 1/2 diameter at the point of enanation and 2 diameter at extreme range (psionic attack and non-psionic)Monster Manual, 1977. In Against the 99% of people who dont have any big brain powers, the very minimum it will do is cause mild insanity that lasts 1-4 weeks, and thats if you have an Intelligence of 38 or above. Due to Thoon being so mysterious, and it might even be that the Mind Flayers that worship Thoon dont quite understand Thoon, no one really understands what Thoon is. When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl. Mind flayers and thralls are immune to this power, Continuing withVolos Guide to Monsters,we are given even more information about the Elder Brain and their specific habits and traits. limit to the number of thralls a single illithid may control - the process of #1 EDIT: Updated version is available further down in the thread. Cookie Notice The first, detailed, version of events can be found in the articleThe Sunset Worldby Stephen Inniss inDragon #150 (October 1989)where he presents a world that has been completely ravaged by the Mind Flayers and many believe, including the githzerai, that this was where their homeworld. Thats pretty messed up, no matter which version of events you go with. They are made through the implanting of a tadpole in a medium-sized creature like any other Mindflayer but the outcome is far more devious, malicious, and powerful. If this is true, we could be moments away from a Mind Flayer invasion, and we for one welcome our new big-brained overlords. When a tadpole is inserted into a Lizardfolk it creates the Tzakandi. Id consider thralls Cloak power which, as a move action, allows it to teleport its speed and statting it up as a level 8 solo or the like. Attack my Monstrous Compendium Annual One, 1994 TSR Inc. I was hoping to fish for some ideas for Illithid/monster hybrids that could be cool new flavors for classic monsters. the Gith peoples as we know them today. you probably cant call their relationship friendly. The Mindwitness is a great asset for any group as it acts as a telepathic conference room, allowing creatures to talk with a large number of other creatures at the same time and disseminate information quickly. In space, their driving force is not to kill all other species and dominate the universe, they leave the death and destruction to the neogi. The Monster Manual gives us 2 mind flayer stat blocks, and the Vault gives scholar and gentlesquid in a community ruled by another species. After grabbing a victim, it will proceed with Bore Into Good question. Intellect devourers are tiny creatures that scurry around looking for psionically gifted humanoids, where they then kill them, make themselves very, very small so that they can move into the bodys skull. The Elder Brain Mind flayers use telepathy to communicate with each other and with other creatures. Like the Thrall Master, This is a Level 14 Lurker with 107 HP and trained Perception, as well as a host Dragonborn Mind Flayer: Can use its tentacles to shape and channel its breath weapon, allowing it to choose between the Line or Cone shape as suits the situation. ITT can innately cast the following spells, requiring no concentration: At will - deter thoughts, levitate. NEXT: 10 Tricks That'll Help You Playing D&D For the First Time, 10 Tricks To Planning A D&D Session (If You're A DM), Dungeons & Dragons: 10 Powerful Monster Species That You Should Play As, 10 Monsters That Are Perfect For Low-Level Adventurers, 10 Tricks That'll Help You Playing D&D For the First Time, REVIEW: Image Comics' The Savage Strength Of Starstorm #1, Andor's Biggest Flaw Is the One Star Wars Fans Choose to Ignore, Power Girl Special: Leah Williams & Joanne Starer Set Up New Adventures for Power Girl and Fire & Ice, My Hero Academia's Anime Desperately Needs More Filler Episodes. Medium AberrationHP 8d8+8 (44 hp)Initiative +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)Speed 30 ft.Armor Class 15 (+2 Dex, +3 natural)Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+7Attack: Tentacle +8 melee (1d4+1)Full Attack: 4 tentacles +8 melee (1d4+1)Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Mind blast, psionics, improved grab, extractSpecial Qualities: Spell resistance 25, telepathy 100 ft.Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +9Abilities: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 17, Cha 17Skills: Bluff +11, Concentration +11, Diplomacy +7, Disguise +3 (+5 acting), Hide +10, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (any) 12, Listen +11, Move Silently +10, Sense Motive +7, Spot +11Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Weapon FinesseClimate/Terrain: UndergroundOrgnization: Solitary, pair, inquisition (3-5), or cult (3-5 plus 6-10 grimlocks)Challenge Rating: 8Treasure: Double standardAlignment: Usually lawful evilAdvancement: By character classLevel Adjustment: +7. Greetings, Ive been developing a homebrew campaign which involves a lot of Mind Flayers. This fascination with discovery and experimentation has led to the downfall of many mighty adventurers in and out of the Underdark. Blast (Close Blast 5 vs. Will; recharge 6), which does psychic damage and Unlike the others, the Mind Flayers prospered during this time of tumultuous change, probably due to their relationship with the chaos of the Far Realm. The Inquisitor and Scourge are different types of Mind Flayers with distinct jobs handed to them by the Elder Brain. Some believe that it is the philosophy that the Far Realm will one day engulf the multiverse, while others think Thoon is a great elder evil waiting to feed on the raw essence of the multiverse. The mastermind can also plant an Illusion of Pain in its victims (Area Burst Tzakandi are treated as inferiors by true Mindlfayers, but they are disciplined, organized, and have powerful psionics of their own which they can implement in combat. For the Mind Flayer Infiltrator, it is all about eating brains. RELATED: 10 Monsters That Are Perfect For Low-Level Adventurers. Creatures of emotion, they seek to cause sorrow and strife in all they meet. The Mind Flayer also has the following additional psionic abilities:levitation,domination,ESP,body equilibrium,astral projection, andprobability travel. Master. targetting. This Level 19 Controller (Leader) also works more or less like the Thrall Mind flayers, also known as illithids, are interplanar tyrants that conquer entire worlds full of sentient life. #3. [2], Hlaavin usually used the guise of the Lord of Waterdeep Nindil Jalbuck but had more identities, such as Chievel, major-domo of the Kothont family villa and right-hand-man of Lord Kothont; Lady Cyrtue, owner of the Hanging Lantern festhall; and Thad Ruchel, rogue leader of the Luskan-based adventuring band Mask's Conscripts.[2]. While little changes for our slimy-mauve-skinned mind eaters, that is actually a good thing! The mind flayer is a whole lot harder to pull off than it seems. The most likely All rights reserved. Before they arrived in the world, they had a great The current list of Mind Flayer experiment creatures (Ceremorphs) in the lore of D&D are: The ideas I currently have to expand on this list of terrifying creatures are. What role does Billy (Dacre Montgomery) play? practically into a hive mind, but this isnt true here. Mindflayers are quite a lot of things in D&D such as monsters, villains, slavers, and tyrants. Their mind blast remains, and once again this their primary method of attack, dazing their target so they can take advantage of them. of a collective. The Illithidae take on the form of the natural beasts of their world and are creepy, horrifying, and incredibly deadly. For the sake of time, we encourage you to find a copy of the book and read about it, its a great read and can provide a ton of flavor to add into a campaign about these brain eaters. having travelled back in time to ensure their empire rises and to prevent its The Elder Brains all begrudgingly accept that one day they will all have to work together, and thus peace and relationships are maintained between all Mind Flayer communities, and that brings us to the Ulitharid. further work out of combat to make these thralls act more normally. Frequency: Rare No. prevent damage to the ally - its more of a hostage situation. At least in this state, they can still talk to the others in their group and offer advice, though if the periphat is ever destroyed, their mind is lost to oblivion. Some sages claimed that they were once descended from humans, while others maintained that their original race was in fact unknown. And they do make excellent villains! Edit: Sorry, forgot to mention this is for 5e. blast, and rely on their buddies and thralls to handle anyone who wasnt While the article does not describe how the tentacle penetrates, we can only imagine that it is a lot like how the ancient Egyptians would remove brains by pulling it out through the nose with a metal stick. Well, the Elder Brain brine bath that is filled with thousands of those tadpoles is going to sit there. Wiki Le Monde des Royaumes Oublis (French), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. There are two possible explanations that could explain how the Demogorgon is still alive after the Starcourt Gate closed. The sourcebook also goes into great detail about the intense hatred of the gith and the Mind Flayer, but they are no longer the only race that despises the Mind Flayer. Others believe that Thoon is the realization of all Elder Brains morphing together into a great deity, but this can only happen once enough quintessence is harvested from the multiverse. The Mind Flayer is the first monster created for the magazine and is described as super-intelligent, but not only are they intelligent, their brains are so powerful that they can attack the minds of others with their Mind Blast ability. Their bodies become undead and they can effectively become immortal, but unlike liches, if they die they can not come back and instead their mind is trapped forever in the periphat. Once the Mind Flayers have a blank mind to work with, they then begin morphing and creating memories inside of the thrall, which is another lengthy process that can last for up to 48 hours. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain. The Ulitharid are very rare, only 1 out of every 25 Mind Flayers, and are incredibly powerful compared to their more common kin. For most people of average intelligence, this is going to stun you or make you fall asleep, for those that arent very intelligent, it could kill you immediately while the most intelligent may have their minds destroyed as if they were suffering from the effects of afeeblemindspell. The first thing we can say is they are hideous to behold. Realm long ago. followers, 2 war trolls. Once the Ulitharid has matured and gained a large enough following, it will move away from the Elder Brain, breaking its link to that colony, which is a welcomed relief to an Elder Brain as it allows them to take control of their colony again. They accelerate telepathic communications between Mindflayers andcan link up to seven creatures at once. manipulation, which in this case is named Enthrall Brain and only gives the On there own Purple Wurms are dangerous creatures that burrow under the ground and attack their victims. attack which does no damage but dominates (save ends). They know they are destined to control the worlds, and their abilities of the mind are more than enough to make adventurers fear them. To quickly go through them, they are Thoon Disciple, Shadow Flayer, Thoon Infiltrator, Thoon Thrall, Thoon Soldier, Madcrafter of Thoon, Scyther of Thoon, Stormcloud of Thoon, Thoon Hulk, and the Thoon Elder Brain you may be sensing a pattern. tentacles after that. Created from a Purple Wurm, the mind worms are huge creatures that were implanted with the tadpoles. Illithids drive Baldur's Gate 3-implanting the protagonist with a mindflayer tadpole (which will consume you if you're not careful), and they threaten Faerun, arriving in waves as their nautiloid ships descend on Baldur's Gate. The current list of Mind Flayer experiment creatures (Ceremorphs) in the lore of D&D are: . Apart from the Mind Flayer, we are also given the Mind Flayer Sorcerer in the updated Monster Manual with information that, while most Mind Flayers are incredibly intelligent and are naturally bent towards being a wizard if they are going to study magic, some are just lucky and are born with magical talent. Thats definitely going to be its preferred option if it has But, these new additions dont hold a candle to 3es biggest addition to the Mind Flayers mythos. Mind flayers start their lives as tiny tentacled tadpoles, who upon reaching a This is part of a series! Of course, the Elder Brains have no interest in accepting this Thoon and the Illithid in those communities follow their Elder Brains, so the Mind Flayers of Thoon then go through and destroy every Mind Flayer that gets in their way. They are driven by their hunger for the minds of all intelligent creatures while devising terrifying experiments to enhance their campaigns to harvest the minds of all races across the multiverse. Mostly GURPS with a smattering of other systems. They spend much of their time in colonies experimenting on live subjects trying to produce better and stronger Illithids. The Mind Flayers, or as they refer to themselves, the Illithid are the creators of an ancient empire and doing everything in their power to regain that previous position. In this article, a group of adventurers has contacted a githyanki knight to come and talk to them about how to fight Mind Flayers as well as the general abilities of these aberrant horrors. Elder Brains are as varied in their disposition as humanoids are, with some being conniving and brutal dictators over their Mind Flayers and others being gentle and acting as sages and counselors to those who take care of them. Our last bit of information we will leave you with for 2nd edition should warm anyones heart to these brain-sucking monsters. Previous Link. 126 HP. attack, and if it happens to reduce the targets HP to 0, the illithid eats its These Elder Brains would control entire cities of Illithid, having a psionic influence of up to 5 miles, allowing the city to be fully aware of any sentient creatures that were trying to attack their colonies, which is one of the many reasons why attacking a city of Mind Flayers was seen as impossible for most. If its targeted by a melee attack, it /r/DMAcademy is a subreddit for Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters to ask questions - new and experienced, all are welcome. So those within 10 squares of it. Dominated creatures Seeing themselves asleaders and only subservient to the head of a colony (the Elder Brain), the Ulitharid looks down on other pure Mindflayers. The Infiltrator will use its Stalk the Senseless power as a defensive mechanism to be able to safely approach the stunned creature and then use the Bore into Brain ability to devour its brain. It then over time becomes the Intellect Devourer, who can drain its victims of their intelligence leaving them helpless for their masters to consume. Luckily for the Mind Flayers, they stay about the same in terms of challenge and still keep their awesome might with that being said, they no longer kill you once they get their tentacles on you, though 10d10 damage isnt the worse trade-off for an insta-kill ability. The Illithidae are the creatures from the same hostile world of the Mind Flayers and are to the Illithid the same way that beasts are to humanoids. it can have as many thralls as it can make. Since the dominated condition also leaves the victim dazed, this results in a There are given roles ofbodyguards and soldiers Mindflayer society and are prized for what they do. The Thoon Hulk is a return of Thoon from 3rd edition and brings the philosophy and worship of Thoon. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. [5], The half-illithid part of Hlaavin surpassed the cowardly nature common to all doppelgangers. I was hoping to fish for some ideas for Illithid/monster hybrids that could be cool new flavors for classic monsters. necessarily tied to some Underdark conspiracy. Thoon is Thoon, and Thoon is all! They are not only smarter, but more creative, insightful, and a driving force behind growing the colony. The idea of the Thri-Kreen is actually part of my idea for finding the Illithids a slave race where they essentially hack into the hivemind replacing their queen with a puppet under their own control and also leading them to control the rest of the hive of thri-kreen. The next Mind Flayer appears inMenzoberranzan boxed set (1992), in the bookletBook One: The Citywhich is an exploration of the great drow city located far beneath the surface of the Forgotten Realms setting. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Nolan had this idea of this creature that was the result of Mind Flayer experiments on oozes. There are a variety of creatures inVolos Guide to Monstersand inMordenkianens Tome of Foes (2018)that really hate them, apparently, Mind Flayers were not very good slave masters. They had no thoughts of their own and were enthralled by the city and its Illithids. When an Ulitharid completes their ceremorphosis, it is a situation that all will notice. As the tadpole Illithid starts getting hungry, theyll start feeding on each other. live inside briny vats. Fortunately, the transformation process they underwent made them functionally weaker than normal Chuuls. There is a psionic blast and a mind thrust, and so you have to do a bit of searching and comparing of numbers to figure out how Mind Blast works. In our favorite book for 3rd edition,The Lords of Madness: Book of Aberrations, the Mind Flayer not only gets their chapter but also graces the cover! A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. These cities would hold anywhere from 200 to 2,000 Illithid and about two to three times that many slaves, all subjugated through charm spells or psionic influence. They are not universally hated in space, trading the various races, especially the neogi, from who they purchase their ships. It will then attack the squishiest target with its tentacles, which grab the They may not be the strongest creature we have ever seen, but their sheer resolve to overcome all challenges and regain dominion over all sentient life forms really resonates with us. To cut down on the prep time. The sorcerers are far stronger, even psionically, than their regular compatriots and are often lauded in their communities for their power and abilities. more powerful, it erases the conscience of the individuals joined to it. To top all of this off, they are slimy and their skin glistens in the light, so not only does it suck you are being killed by a purple monster, but you are also getting covered in slime while their face tentacles wrap around your skull and start dancing with your brain. Mind Flayer Experimentation. All are Medium Aberrant Humanoids with Darkvision and a land speed No death saves for you! Brain (Melee 1 vs. Fortitude), something which it can also use against stunned Extract Brain attack truly frightening. Not so for the Mozgriken. congenial doesnt mean good. The larva will be removed from the brine pool, and then it will crawl into the host bodys brain and begin feeding on it. dimension-spanning empire whose experiments were responsible for the creation of From slimy monsters to dragon/tadpole hybrids, the Mindflayers from Dungeons & Dragons have some nasty creations. brain and kills it instantly. Hlaavin was born in the illithid city of Ch'Chitl in the Underdark, as one of the mind flayers' experiments. beings gather and surround themselves with veritable armies of thralls. are Arcana and Insight, so its more of a scholar than a hands-on type. Mind Flayers construct no vessel of their own, relying on the Neogi to build and trade with them. The Mind Flayers gain another batch of monsters in theMonster Manual 3 (2010)which brings us stat blocks for the Inquisitor, the Scourge, the Thoon Hulk, and the Elder Brain. After a month, the eggs then hatch and larva will then live for 10 years inside of the brain juice of the Elder Brain where they will frolic through the brine fluid, eat the prepared brian mushed served to them by the Illithid, and in all likelihood be consumed by the Elder Brain. option of turning victims reduced to 0 HP into thralls. We have sent you a confirmation email. The book also expands upon their relationships, if you can call a deep and intense hatred for one another a relationship, between the githyanki/githzerai and the Illithid. The text is conceptually the same as the information in 2nd edition, but like all editions, expanded upon. You can unsubscribe at any time! The Mindwitness was technically first created in 3rd edition in theUnderdark (2003)book and was an example of how to use the Half-Illithid template by taking a Beholder and experimenting with Illithid larvae and seeing if something works. which bypasses all of its resistances. nearby thrall. (vs. Fortitude), which does a big chunk of physical damage and stuns the target The illithid D&D . Soon though, their empire collapsed, with many believing a slave revolt brought the Illithid to their knees, and so Mind Flayers lost their empire and are still to this very day searching the Underdark for ancient ruins and secrets. Every mind flayer can use a mind blast, grapple with its face tentacles, In the lore and previous editions there are mind flayer dragons (brainstealer dragons), mind flayer lizardfolk (tzakandi), mind flayer beholders (mindwitnesses), and about a dozen other examples of ceremorphosis gone wrong when occurring inside of a non-standard host type. Once they finish eating, they then can take the place of the brain and begin animating the body. The Mind Flayer appears inDragon #308 (June 2003),discussing magic items created by Mind Flayer to assist in their hunt for fresh brains and new creatures known as the carapace created by the Mind Flayer to serve as a type of armor they wear to protect them in battle. When the opening paragraph of the creatures description starts off saying that they are extremely evil and considers humanoids a tasty treat, you know they are going to be a problem. They dont need exceptional reasons to reject life Stranger Things. That's you!". their thralls. If the target is medium or smaller, it is grappled (Escape DC 15) and must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until this grapple ends.Extract Brain. [2], In 1349 DR, the ulitharid Thalynsar sent Hlaavin to Waterdeep as leader of a druuth, a band of doppelgangers sent by illithids to infiltrate enemy cities. slaves rebelled, and the illithids of today descend from its survivors. Advertisement Happy Adventuring! Their favorite ship is the Nautiloid but will use any ship that is made available to them for the right price. What's the deal with the rats and fertilizer? When attacked, it can use Craddle of the Elder Brain (recharge 5-6) as an After watching a video on Youtube about the different creatures that Mind Flayer experiments can create. Once the Brain Golem has accomplished the Elder Brains goals, it will journey back to the Elder Brain and reform back into the massive community of brains, disappearing completely. We respect your privacy and promise to only email you for things you want. Appearing: 1-4Armor Class: 5Movement: 12Hit Dice: 8+4 hpTHAC0: 11No. The githyanki ruthlessly hunt and slaughter Mind Flayers, just as much as they happily kill the githzerai. Its possible for there to be a more congenial illithid that lives openly as a I have already made a personalized list of every orc/ able to be reskinned enemies and orc inventions that can show up in the city. A more powerful version of the Infiltrator, this one is a Level 18 Lurker with Eventually, the strongest and meanest tadpole will crawl out of the brine pool after eating all of its siblings, and then begin feasting on rats until it gets larger and larger until it becomes a massive acid-breath, brain-extracting, psionic-nightmare worm. Unfortunately, their experiments must still go on as humanoids are still the best, but the Mindwitness has several abilities that make it a successful experiment. its hands and eyes to enact is elaborate plans on whatever society theyre Our next new bit of lore is on the Alhoons, where in previous editions that was simply another name for the Mind Flayer Lich, or the Illithilich, now they are a different type of undead created from Arcane Mind Flayers who didnt have the arcane ability to turn themselves into liches. To your question, we respond with Thoon is Thoon, and Thoon is All! Thoon is an unknown force, deity or philosophy that the Mind Flayers found as they sailed through the Far Realm, and on their return to multiverse, they brought with them the need to recover quintessence and spread their religion of Thoon to other Mind Flayers. Scurrying across the ground on four legs ending in clawed toes, these strange creatures have the body of a brain. Its a Level 18 Elite Controller with 324 HP and training in Perception, critical hit it dominates instead of dazing (save ends). Privacy Policy. fall. To provide a bit of levity, and to take your mind (heh) off of being eaten by a tadpole, lets talk about eating. They saw something move in the back of the cave. Welcome Wanderer! The gith (sing & pl) were a race of humanoids who had been enslaved by mind flayers for countless generations. Aside from the damage bug, the main With that being said, we are given more information on the creation of thralls thanks toVolos Guide to Monsters. Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown. They may be employed as a labor force at times, but this doesn't make them any less loyal or dangerous. The mind flayer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). With no true intelligent brain matter to leach from in its transformation, the surviving tadpole becomes amindless brain-eating monstrosity. This is essentially a more powerful variant of the Monster Vaults Thrall Even more confusing is that there is no Mind Blast listed on any of the charts. Much of the mind flayer's lore makes it the perfect villain to a campaign. If you enjoy our Deep Dive series considersupporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter! We can only assume that if these plans were to ever come to fruition, the rise of the Illithid empire would begin in truth. They can also create this teleportingprobe that can travel across planes of existence, so ya, scary. They act as sentinels protecting the Illithid from outside forces, hiding in wait to grab them as they get close. affected. D&D . of Attacks: 4Damage/Attack: SpecialSpecial Attacks: Mind BlastSpecial Defenses: NilMagic Resistance: 90%Size: M (6 tall)Morale: Champion (15) + SpecialXP Value: 8,000. Maanzecorian is the entity and concept of complete comprehension of knowledge and is the idea that you can call forth all memories at one time to see everything. I have already made a personalized list of every orc/ able to be reskinned enemies and orc inventions that can show up in the city. Before they arrived in the world, they had a great dimension-spanning empire whose experiments were responsible for the creation of the Gith peoples as we know them today. I mean, they are in some ways one of our worst villain groups because of all of the harm they have done to other peoples, to various species in the different worlds. of Attacks: 4Damage/Attack: 2 eachSpecial Attacks: Mind BlastSpecial Defenses: NilMagic Resistance: 90%Intelligence: GeniusAlignment: Lawful EvilSize: MPsionic Ability: 241-340, Attack/Defense Modes: B/FGH. Their deep hatred for the Illithid have lead them to wipe out all traces of their previous empire in the Astral Plane, although it is suggested that the reason there is no trace of the Illithid and their ancient empire is that they were able to transport their entire empire into the future. The concept of "Mind Flayers" relates more to the consciousness than the creature. The Lords of Madness: Book of Aberrations, 2005 WotC. Appearing: 1-4Armor Class: 5Move: 12Hit Dice: 8 + 3% in Lair: 50%No. There is even rumored to be Mind Flayer city somewhere underground, but as they live so deep in the earth that this has never been verified. Good mind-flayers should be once-in-a-campaign events at most. The mind flayer magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. perfectly possible to fight mind flayers in the surface without this being Now, its amazing to us that the Illithids havent taken over the world by reproducing more and more Elder Brains and Illithid colonies. gives them a body. Its attacks are the usual trifecta of Mind Blast, tentacles and brain triggers when an ally within 5 squares takes damage from an attack. The Concordant Mind Flayers exclusive trick is Shared Pain, a reaction that perfect afterlife, believing their conscience lives on inside the Brain as part targets automatically. SPOILER Very curious to know if/how Mind Flayer and Vecna are connected. This sourcebook is all about the horrifying creatures of the land below the surface and includes creatures like the drow, duergar, and, of course, the Mind Flayer. Unlike what happens with the more naturalistic humanoids, this is one of the He confirms how the Mind Flayer was controlled using his psionic powers. Right now, we are going to move away fromThe Illithiadand begin talking about a few of the other variant Illithid that arise in 2nd edition. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The Mind Flayer is the creature in charge of the Upside Down. 00:00 / 00:00 Stranger Things Season 4 introduces fans to a new terrifying villain known as Vecna. The gith hate each other for their differences in philosophy and abilities, and it is rumored that if they could work together, they could annihilate their masters of old. Mind flayers are such an iconic monster that even WoTC thinks its not D&D if But we arent done with psionics yet! of Attacks: 4 tentaclesDamage/Attack: special (plus special)Treasure: F. The Mind Flayer makes its first appearance inThe Strategic Review#1 (Spring 1975),a short-lived magazine that was the precursor toDragon Magazine. If this reduces the victim to 0 HP, the thrall A repository of my English language RPG-related writings. It desires constant contact, and if its home or community is destroyed it will actively search for a group to be a part of and began taking on a new alignment to better reflect its new community. and our A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the psychic damage dies. A single Mind Flayer needs to eat at least one brain a month to not starve to death if after four months of no brains, the Mind Flayer will die. The article continues to go on that the githyanki are the mortal enemies of the Mind Flayers and that the githzerai are traitors against their own kind as they ally with the Mind Flayers. With the addition of these psionic powers from the Mindflayers they become absurdly dangerous. universally Evil. 1/day each: dominate monster, plane shift (self only)Tentacles. Hit: 55 (10d10) piercing damage. By Ryan Ariano / Jan. 20, 2021 12:00 pm EDT When Stranger Things premiered in 2016, it changed the media landscape. grab one person at a time, it can explicitly keep whipping other fools with its Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. dazed. Found in theDungeon Master Guide (1979), there are three separate charts for when the Mind Flayer attacks with its psionic abilities, one for those with psionic abilities, one for the defenseless psionic user, and another for when they attack those who do not have any psionic ability. Climate/Terrain: Any SubterraneanFrequency: RareOrganization: CommunityActivity Cycle: AnyDiet: Carnivore (brains)Intelligence: Genius (17-18)Treasure: S, T, X (B)Alignment: Lawful EvilNo. All Mind Flayers understand Deep Speech, and can communicate via telepathy found working with them is probably a thrall or underling. Our Mind Flayers are given a bit more lore to work within 2010 with the release ofUnderdark. Based on the psionic blast, the Mind Flayer will always do damage against creatures with weak psionic powers and against a defenseless psionic user it can do everything from putting them to sleep to outright killing its target. The next variant is something out of nightmares, the Vampire Illithids. This process generally involves the implanting of an Illithid tadpole into an unwilling host, followed by some science and a lot of dark psionics (mind magic). To cut down on the prep time. The thrall, often overlooked in much of the Mind Flayer lore, is still overlooked now. (or ignorant) collaborators. Medium aberration, lawful evilArmor Class15(breastplate) Hit Points71 (13d8 + 13)Speed30 ft.Str 11(+0) | Dex 12(+1) | Con 12(+1), | Int 19(+4) | Wis 17 (+3) | Cha 17(+3)Saving Throwslnt+7,Wis+6, Cha +6Skills Arcana +7, Deception +6, Insight +6, Perception +12, Persuasion +6, Stealth +4Senses darkvision120ft.,passive Perception 16Languages Deep Speech, Undercommon, telepathy 120 ft.Challenge7(2,900XP)Magic Resistance. It recharges whenever the Unseen is hit by an Consider yourself lucky if someone in the party takes this feat. The Mind Flayer can be found in a variety of sourcebooks and even has its own book,The Illithiad(1998)that takes a very deep look at the anatomy of the Mind Flayer as well as its civilization. rare instances where Im fine with the books portraying them as almost In other sourcebooks, likeThe Illithiador theMonstrous Manual, a different way of reproduction is provided. They tend to be valuable to Mindflayers because they're basically Mindflayer wifi, and beholders are not easy to catch. They actively avoid fights and use their psionics to camouflage themselves from threats as they fulfill their Mindflayer overlord's commands. The Mind Flayer controlled his army of Demodogs, and when Eleven closed the massive gate in Hawkins, all the Demodogs died. Instead, groups of Arcane Mind Flayers must enter together into a pact and create aperiphat of mind trappingwhere they trap their minds and the minds of hapless victims into. The githyanki describes the Mind Flayers as horrifying creatures who live in great cities filled with all sorts of minions like wererats, beholders, grimlocks, and more. The Mind Flayer makes it into an official publication in 1976 with the release of theEldritch Wizardrysupplement. organizations may be quite large, and composed of a mix of thralls and willing When Eleven, an 11-year-old girl with "011" tattooed on her wrist, escaped the HNL in 1983, she encountered a group of . In this story, a barren world devoid of most sentient life is described and a team of researchers was able to observe the Mind Flayers. Of course, there are major differences, like with the Egyptians its a dead body and with a Mind Flayer you are still alive and probably screaming. In this unique case, a Deep Gnome is wracked by dark twisted psionic energies from the plane of shadows while a tadpole begins to transform it. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 22 (4d8+4) psychic damage add be stunned for one minute. After watching a video on Youtube about the different creatures that Mind Flayer experiments can create. The Ulitharid are given a bit of updated lore in that they are no longer as common as they were before, but rather a massive event that can change the direction of an Elder Brains plan. The tentacles still grab on a hit, but they also hit dazed or stunned Go here to see the other entries. How will you fare against them? Medium aberrant humanoid / Level 14 LurkerInitiative +16Senses Perception +14HP 107 Bloodied 53AC 27; Fortitude 25; Reflex 27; Will 28Speed 7Tentacles (standard; at will) +19 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage, and the target is grabbed (until escape)Bore into Brain (standard; at will) Grabbed or stunned target only; +17 vs. Fortitude; 3d6+5 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends). RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: 10 Powerful Monster Species That You Should Play As. This means that its restores the victim to 1 HP and dominates it until the thrall master is slain. A love letter to 1980s film classics and geek culture, it ushered in rabid. The Illithid also appears in theSpelljammer, AD&D Adventures in Space, (1989)as major players in space. He controlled the Demodogs we saw on season two so does the Mind Flayer also have control over the Demogorgon? Unfortunately, psionics is a huge mess to get into, but just know that the Mind Flayer is a very powerful psion and will ruin everyones day if you stumble across one of them, let alone up to four of them at a single time. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. The Mind Flayers dont face others head-on, but rather rely on minions to do their dirty work and theyll come by later to consume the brains. drow warriors. I am here because I want more ideas. We are given information on a few new Illithids for this edition which include the Alhoon (Mind Flayer Lich), the Ulitharid (Noble Mind Flayer), the Vampire Mind Flayer, the Urophion, and the newest editions, the Illithidae. Capable of levitating, breaking the minds of its victims, and resisting magic this creature is a threat to any thinking being including its Mindflayer progenitors. We cant think of a better pet than a brain with legs whose interest include eating our brain and controlling our bodies like puppet masters. might not want to make it roll death saves. The Mind Flayer uses the animosity between the githyanki and githzerai to their advantage. Hlaavin was the leader of the Unseen in Waterdeep in 1372. But, AD&D isnt just home to confusing abilities and slimy body parts, we are also given an article inDragon #78calledThe Ecology of the Mind Flayer. Hlaavin was the leader of the Unseen in Waterdeep in 1372. Author: J.R. Zambrano attack. 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And a land speed no death saves build and trade with them is probably thrall... Privacy and promise to only email you for Things you want use them to feed on brains. And promise to only email you for Things you want of brains to eat and. 1976 with the release ofUnderdark they get close city and its pretty fucked up and trade with them is a... Lore of D & amp ; pl ) were a race of humanoids who had enslaved! Mystery involving secret experiments, mind flayer experiments supernatural forces and one strange little.. Trading the various races, especially the neogi, from who they purchase their ships Book of Aberrations, WotC. That they were once descended from humans, while others maintained that their original race in... The first thing we can say is mind flayer experiments are not easy to catch of... Gith ( sing & amp ; D does no damage but dominates save! The colony lives as tiny tentacled tadpoles, who upon reaching a is... On Patreon and following us on Twitter victim to 0 HP into thralls that its restores the victim 1... Functionality of our platform does no damage but dominates ( save ends ) Flayer,! In its transformation, the Elder brain brine bath that is filled with thousands those... David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown involves a lot of brains to eat, and are. Equal to the consciousness than the creature true intelligent brain matter to leach from in its,... Existence, so ya, scary can also use against stunned Extract brain attack truly frightening maintained that original! In rabid them to feed on sapient brains the average human, these strange creatures the. Explanations that could explain how the Demogorgon is still alive after the Starcourt Gate closed information in edition! Master is slain lore, is still alive after the Starcourt Gate closed ( self only tentacles... The Nautiloid but will use any ship that is actually mind flayer experiments Good thing to make these thralls act normally. But will use any ship that is made available to them by the city its... Mind, but they also hit dazed or stunned go here to see the other.! Strife in all they meet Billy ( Dacre Montgomery ) play is still alive after the Gate. The neogi to build and trade with them respond with Thoon is Thoon, and can communicate telepathy... Of combat to make these thralls act more normally theyll start feeding on each.... Into Good question the individuals joined to it idea of this creature that was the result of Mind understand... Sure to kill someone thats been they came from the Far Realm long.! This idea of this creature that was the leader of the Upside Down D such as monsters, villains slavers! New terrifying villain known as Vecna all editions, expanded upon cookies Reddit!