We were just the most favorable slaves tasked with cracking the whip.". Some Mind Flayers (such as the Mind Flayer Psion variant in Volos Guide to Monsters) dedicate themselves entirely to refining their innate psionic abilities. It is highly intelligent, and feared for its powerful psionic . Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. You need to hit a target, DC17, CR15 or lower target, beast, dragon, or monstrosity. This deck holds any cargo the ship may need, as well as several stasis pods, and a few sets of siege weaponry should the Nautiloid require defense. 5th Edition only grazes the surface of Illithid creatures and lore, and this Supplement aims to expand upon what 5th Edition gives us, while also granting new rules for player and GM use. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Not content to stop there, the Gith began sending out hunting parties to locate and wipe out any remaining Mind Flayers that they could find. One method was to quite literally destroy the host's head, and cast resurrection or true resurrection on the host. Mind Blast. Subservient to the Illithids, Tzakandi are often used as shock troops should an Illithid Colony require it, due to their survival tactics and combat prowess. Due to the nature of combining both an Aboleth and an Illithid, Abolithid are rarely created. The Abolithid targets one creature it can see within 30 ft. of it. Slam. A Mind Flayer, or known as an Illithid in Undercommon, are most commonly found in the Underdark, each possessing powerful psionic abilities. Assuming the Mind Flayer lives a full life cycle, they can live up to 135 years. They are then implanted into a humanoid creature, who then becomes an Illithid, living to a natural lifespan of 135 years. Each creature in that area must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Because of their method of operating, they can pretty easily be inserted to just about any campaign without it feeling overly forced. It then essentially replaces the brain, and forces the body into a physical transformation to an Illithid. Lastly, the Elder Brain might instead dictate that total destruction is the answer. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage. Before he can scream, a searing pain erupts in his head, and a mass of tentacles emerges from the figure, wrapping around his head and cracking it open as he takes his last breath. You either change your race to the Illithid race listed within this supplement, or the PC adopts the Mind Flayer statblock, retaining all of their equipment. Furthermore, the brains of slaves dont possess the same amount of psychic energy that the brains of surface-dwelling intelligent creatures have. Fire Mangonels. The Brainstealer Dragon can grapple up to four creatures. Move. 3/day each: dominate monster, plane shift (self only). Because the elder brain attacks any mind flayers who oppose its growing army, S'lthell fears the colony will collapse with no new mind flayers being born. As a collective hivemind based on service to the Elder Brain, its no surprise that Mind Flayers are of lawful alignment. It reverts to its true form if it dies. A Nautiloid occassionally contains one Elder Brain which it uses to assist with coordination and communication amongst the Illithids on-board. This is a slightly modified version of the Illithid ability, in damage it is around the same value as cantrips but it is has a nice built in control effect tied to your spell save DC. If you're Githzerai or have the Telepathy feat, are spell components required for the spell-slot-powered castings? They must stay within their pools (where Illithid eggs are hatched) or else they would quickly dry up and wither away. These patterns are virtually indecipherable by non-Illithid creatures. Multiattack. While they are weakened without a connection to the elder brain, they are still formidable. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. I can't express how much I love the curse idea! Hit: The target takes 55 (10d10) piercing damage. Today we take a closer look at one of the most iconic creatures in all of Dungeons & Dragons: the Mind Flayer. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-3','ezslot_20',152,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-3','ezslot_21',152,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-3-0_1');.leader-3-multi-152{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}To gain further knowledge of the settlements weaknesses, the Mind Flayers learn all they need to know by eating the brains of stragglers who live there. Mind Flayers are physically capable of eating animal brains, but doing so would give them little to no nourishment. 222), although it works well with my wizard who quite likes to exert their will upon people, communicate using the Message cantrip and counts detect thoughts as a basic way to say hello. If the Rogue Illithid is removed from this range, they regain control of themselves with no memory of the Elder Brain's influence. On a further note, you might take a look at the Aberrant Mind sorcerer for further inspiration, one of its origins is what happened to you: "You were implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, but the ceremorphosis never completed. Despite their numbers, psionic abilities, and ferocity, Mind Flayers stay vigilant in defending their territory and, most importantly, their Elder Brain. The Abolithid makes a Wisdom (Perception) check. You can only end your attunement permanently by a casting of greater restoration or similar spell targeting the Illithid Tadpole or by physical removal via a 2 hour long surgery ending with a Medicine Check (DC20) from the surgeon to avoid complications. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_11',125,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_12',125,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-medrectangle-3-0_1');.medrectangle-3-multi-125{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}While Mind Flayers were once the most powerful beings of the Inner Planes, they have been all but completely wiped out. After all, its primarily the psionic energy that is possessed by intelligent creatures that Mind Flayers rely on for nourishment. Similarly, not being allowed to join the Elder Brain is considered to be a worse punishment than even death. Illithid Tadpole. Lost pieces of personality can be regained with the use of restoration and heal spells. Hit: 55 (10d10) piercing damage. Mind Flayers who go beyond that range only do so under strict orders from the Elder Brain. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. However, when one is created, it tends to either take over the colony, destroy it, or is put to sleep by the Colony in order to prevent it from causing any destruction or overthrow the elder brain. These creatures skin is most commonly varying shades of mauve, though some have a slight greenish hue. At will: _nondetection _(self only)__ It might be possible for someone who touches a Qualith inscription to get a brief transmission of the authors thoughts. The Essential Books EVERY Game Master Should Read, Immersive Theatre Techniques for Game Masters, Turn & Destroy Undead in D&D 5e Explained, The Ultimate Guide to Warlock Patrons in D&D 5e. For years of my people's past, we enslaved, believing ourselves to be the masters. Over the years, these creatures have overrun the colony. Probing Telepathy. For centuries, the Gith were enslaved by the Illithids until they eventually rose up against the cruel, tentacled tyrants. The target recognises you as the sender and can reply in a like manner. Superior Darkvision. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage. Their minds are all linked together as a network which allows for quick organization and seamless functioning as each Illithid knows its exact role and purpose. The Mozgriken's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 9). Everything within Mind Flayer culture revolves around serving the Elder Brain. They accomplish this by slithering one of their tentacles down their throat and manipulating it as a type of tongue. The initial stages last for approximately a few hours as the tadpole begins eating away at the host's brain. Mind Flayers largely stay within their tight-knit colonies and connected to the Elder Brain. Sense Magic. Why are players required to record the moves in World Championship Classical games? With Mind Blast, the Mind Flayer will have no difficulty at all extracting the brain of at least one character. This kills the creature, and causes the Illithid to roll an Intelligence Saving Throw at a standard DC 10. Any true dragon can become a Brainstealer Dragon, so long as they have gone through Ceremorphosis. These poor victims turn into mind flayers themselves, slaves to the elder brain. But if that elder brain is slain and the mind flayer is not, they gain independence. Shillelagh Cantrip Guide for 5e | How To Whip Your Enemies Into Shape, The Legend of the Peasant Railgun in D&D 5e, Attack of Opportunity in D&D 5e Explained, Best Druid Spells By Level: A Top 10 List, 12 Monsters That Will Instantly Kill Your Characters. Grappler. Fire Ballistas. They capture a dragon and perform Ceremorphosis on it. After each spell is cast in this manner it can't be used again until you complete a short or a long rest. The DM will decide when to change the various states, and I will RP my many attempts at interacting and trying to experiment with the tadpole (and I also have some Illithid experiment notes which I regularly read and try to find less evil ways of replicating their experiments). Not only does the Illithid have great control of these tentacles, but they can extend outward up to 4 feet in length. An Illithid's main move is to attempt to ' dominate monster ' on who they assume is the most vital party member. The tadpoles that were chosen to become mozgriken were often weak and small and would otherwise be fed back to the elder brain. Keep in mind, though, that a good Illithid would still need to eat brains. Consume Mind. The mind flayer magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. An Urophion is the result of implanting a tadpole into a Roper. As part of this move, it can use its naval ram. However, it might be less adversarial and could even be a useful ally for the side of good. The Mind Flayer is the standard Illithid found in Dungeons and Dragons, listed within the Monster Manual. Illithid tadpoles placed in the spawning pool where the elder brain dwells have similarly been afflicted and become vampiric mind flayers. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. A New Race, and New Monsters, as well as a what the process of Celemorphosis does to an Individual when implanted with an Illithid Tadpole! Everything that is known about Mind Flayers diet details their consumption of humanoid brains. External Links Brainstealer dragon article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Extract Brain. If they cant safely infiltrate the city, the Mind Flayers might instead focus on amplifying their Elder Brains powers to begin influencing the innocent people of the settlement that way.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-2','ezslot_18',146,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-2-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'tabletopjoab_com-leader-2','ezslot_19',146,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-tabletopjoab_com-leader-2-0_1');.leader-2-multi-146{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. If a creature communicates telepathically with the Abolithid, the Abolithid learns the creature's greatest desires if the Abolithid can see the creature. However, there is one admittedly rare situation where the Lawful Evil alignment may not quite apply. You can share words, images, sounds, emotions and other sensory messages. Tentacles. The doppelganger has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised. You always have these spells prepared and they do not count against the number of spells you can prepare. If the Nautiloids lose crew members, they could easily use Ceremorphosis to bring the numbers back up. Mind Flayers goals are entirely dependent on that of the Elder Brain that controls them. Youll have a hard time not letting out the classic mad scientist laugh when you plan the encounter with this books help. Part-time Druid, Full-time Hobo. If a Rogue Illithid wanders within 5 miles of an Elder Brain, it must roll a DC 20 Intelligence Save, or temporarily rejoin the hivemind. For instance, a Beholder that has been implanted with an Illithid tadpole becomes a creature known as a Mindwitness. At level 5, you can cast Levitate on yourself at will, but not on others. A Mozgriken has a crooked posture and only three facial tentacles, and are imbued with energy straight from the Plane of Shadow. All uses recharge after taking a short or long rest. While the target is in range, the doppelganger can continue reading its thoughts, as long as the doppelganger's concentration isn't broken (as if concentrating on a spell). An Illithid usually nourishes themselves by feeding off of the brains of other humanoid creatures. Those that arent consumed by the Elder Brain are put into the bodies of the colonys captive humanoids via the nostril or ear canal. If you want to get extra tactical when using a Mind Flayer, Id suggest grabbing a copy of The Monsters Know What Theyre Doing. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater. When you die and if your body and head is still intact, the tadpole takes over the rest of your brain, and you become an Illithid. Tabletop Joab 2023 | All Rights Reserved. If your DM is lenient, maybe add a: Their behavior is similar to normal Ropers, with the difference of their allegience to Illithids, their intelligence, and their psionic abilities. The Doppelganger Illithid has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. One creature grappled by the chuul must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. Increase your Constitution Score by 1. These tadpools are heavily hostile towards eachother, and are grown to a very specific size and length. Should a Nautiloid appear in the feywild, it is likely that the Illithids on-board would collect elves and either ignore or kill Eladrin due to their ability to use the misty step spell - which could cause problems for security. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. Some other creatures can undergo Ceremorphosis, such as Beholders, which become Mind Witnesses found in Volo's Guide to Monsters. Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). For surviving their encounter with such a terrifying being, the characters absolutely deserve some kind of reward beyond the warm-fuzzies they get for making the land at least a little safer. @SeriousBri did you meant to say "or" as in "detect thoughts or levitate" as in they choose one OR the other and they stick to their choice, or can the PC cast either of the spells? While in the initial stages, the victim gains disadvantage on Intelligence Saving Throws, and may have to roll a Wisdom Save in order to recall certain memories. 8). My (currently level 9) Divination Wizard has been implanted with an Illithid Tadpole. Funneling all of this information into the Elder Brain as a type of massive repository of information, the colony focuses in perfect unison on their goals. A Ceremorph is known as a half-illithid, a creature that only inherits certain traits of an Illithid - but are by no means inheritly weaker than Illithids, purely due to the fact that a Ceremorph could be based off a powerful creature. 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. If you grapple a creature in this way, you deal psychic damage equal to your Intelligence Modifier to the creature per turn. "You are merely a pawn, food waiting to be consumed by our colony! Because only a very small amount of the nourishment that a Mind Flayer receives from eating a brain is from the physical substance of that brain, they are very unlikely to feed on animals. Move. The doppelganger magically reads the surface thoughts of one creature within 60 ft. of it. Ambusher. Illithid do not subsist on a normal diet, instead they gain nourishment through consuming the brain of a living humanoid. A Mind Witness is the union between a tadpole and a Beholder. Nothing is more important to a Mind Flayer colony than the Elder Brain. Jettison. Mind Flayers have great mental stats, but they are lacking in physical abilities. The Mozgriken has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in rocky terrain and in dim light. These colonies exist in vast underground spaces, most notably the Underdark. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Qualith is a type of written language that Mind Flayers use. If they succeed, they gain one inconsequential memory the creature had. Mind Flayer colonies will commonly be just out of sight of other creatures. They are typically about the same height as most humans and have very thin builds. You can cast () without expending a spell slot. If it feeds heavily on Dwarves, it might display symbols that resemble Dwarven runes on its breastplate or on jars that hold brains that are yet to be used. You regain all your expended Psionic Energy dice when you finish a long rest. This item is symbiotic living object. At this stage, the humanoid is considered incapacitated and cannot take any actions. Reel. Read Thoughts. Just dont mistake a Mind Flayer that claims to be good as being entirely genuine. Please feel free to let me know if it got into the way of clarity in any way. The only entrance to this deck is through a hole in the ceiling, which tends to be guarded by a few Intellect Devourers to keep slaves from escaping should they manage to climb out. The tadpole attaches itself to the brain stem, melding its mind with the creature's body. Unfortunately, Mind Flayers dont particularly care about treasure in that way. Mind Flayers are capable of speech, but they primarily communicate telepathically. After 1 minute, the diseased creature's skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can't regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. Due to the subjugation of the Illithids, the Mozgriken has disadvantage on frightened saving throws. To that end I am going to ask my DM if I can bring it more into the game by having it count as a magic item, and I am going to base my first proposal around the vestiges of divergence from EGtM, specifically I used Verminshroud because it wasn't a weapon and seemed reasonable in power. The mind flayer arcanist has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Dormant. Rogue Illithids are always in constant fear of their own kind, as well as their former masters; the Elder Brain. (Illithid) 5e 4e 3e 2e 1e 5th Edition Statistics Size Medium Type Aberration Alignment Lawful evil Challenge rating General Information Patron deity Ilsensine Maanzecorian Vision Darkvision Activity cycle Any Diet Brains Average lifespan 125 years Homeland (s) Far Realm The Underdark Language (s) Undercommon Deep Speech Qualith Subraces Ulitharid Not only does the Mind Flayer gain an ally, but the partys best counter to the Mind Flayers tactics isnt on their side anymore! On its turn, the Nautiloid can take 3 actions, choosing from the options below. Hit Points 100; -5 speed per 25 damage taken. Because they dwell in subterranean lairs close to their food sources, its not uncommon for Mind Flayers to begin to meddle with local affairs. The target must roll a DC 15 Wisdom Saving throw or the Mozgriken can perceive everything the target can percieve. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The DM has already showed it possible, by letting me use it to power some kind of strange flying Illithid fish. ", @ThomasMarkov that is up to the DM, but it roughly fits so is probably what I would suggest of them. Ulitharid A very rare but powerful type of Mind Flayer that is capable of starting its own colony and becoming an Elder Brain itself. In colonies with access to a large food supply, they may be able to eat brains as often as once per week. The dreadnaught can fire its mangonels (DMG, ch. You gain the ability to perform a 10 minute ritual on an unconscious, but not deceased humanoid.
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