Illithid

A strange race of carnivorous, highly intelligent beings from the Psionic Realms.
Emotionally, a mind flayer appears detached and calm, showing no signs of passion or loss of control. However, sometimes they show great bouts of anger.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Mind flayers are humanoid in appearance, but with an octopus-like head with four tentacles surrounding a lamprey-like mouth. They are warm-blooded amphibians whose blood has a silvery-white color. Mind flayers healthy from brain-rich diets excrete a kind of slimy mucous substance that coats their mauve skins.
Their hands have long reddish fingers and lacked the index finger and their feet are webbed. Mind flayer eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light and considered it painful

Dietary Needs and Habits

Illithids feed on the brains of sentient creatures (mainly humanoids). They are the only kind of nourishment that could sustain the mind flayer physiology, which requires hormones, enzymes and psychic energy that only brain tissue could provide. Feeding is a euphoric experience for a mind flayer, as it absorbed its victim's memories, personality, and fears. It is also viewed by them as the ultimate form of dominance over another creature.
A mind flayer needs to consume at least one intelligent brain per month in order to remain healthy. Malnourished mind flayers die after four months of brain deprivation. The psionic energy also leaves traces of the original prey's individuality on a mind flayer's culture and sense of aesthetics.

Biological Cycle

Illithids are all hermaphrodites, without male or female biological sex, and once or twice in their life they will lay a clutch of eggs from which tadpoles hatch. The tadpoles are kept in the Elder Brain tank, where they are fed brains by caretakers and engage in cannibalism for around 10 years. The elder brain also feeds exclusively on tadpoles. Tadpoles that survive to maturity are put through the ceremony of ceremorphosis, where they are implanted in a humanoid victim and devour its brain, taking its place and merging with the body and transforming it into a new illithid. Only some humanoid species are suitable hosts for illithid tadpoles, although occasionally successful ceremorphosis can occur with other creatures.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Neothelids

Genetic Descendants

• Urophion

Lifespan

600 years

Average Height

6 ft.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Mauve skin, solid white eyes

Related Ethnicities

• Illithid Empire residents

Illithid

Medium aberration, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (breastplate)

Hit Points 71 13d8+13

Speed 30ft

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STR

11 0

DEX

12 +1

CON

12 +1

INT

19 +4

WIS

17 +3

CHA

17 +3

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Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +6, Cha +6

Skills Arcana +7, Deception +6, Insight +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +6, Stealth +4

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages Telepathy 120 ft.

Challenge 7

Magic Resistance. The mind flayer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The mind flayer’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
At will: detect thoughts, levitate
1/day each: dominate monster, geas (cast time 1 action), plane shift (self only)

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Actions

Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage. 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. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one incapacitated humanoid grappled by the mind flayer. Hit: The target takes 55 (10d10) piercing damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain.
Mind Blast (Recharge 5-6). The mind flayer magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 22 (4d8 + 4) psychic damage and be stunned for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Variant: Charm: The illithid Targets one humanoid it can see within 30 ft. of it. If the target can see the illithid, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw against this magic or be Charmed by the illithid. The Charmed target regards the illithid as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn't under the illithid's control, it takes the vampire's requests or Actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the illithid's tentacle grapple.
Each time the illithid or the illithid's companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the illithid is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a Bonus Action to end the effect.
Variant: Enslave (3/day): The illithid targets one creature it can see within 30 ft. of it. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be magically charmed by the illithid until the illithid dies or until it is on a different plane of existence from the target. The Charmed target is under the illithid's control and can't take reactions, and the illithid and the target can communicate telepathically with each other over any distance.
Whenever the Charmed target takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. On a success, the effect ends. No more than once every 24 hours, the target can also repeat the saving throw when it is at least 1 mile away from the illithid.

This statline is for a typical adult illithid. For other varieties of illithid, check out the following:
Elder Brain