Mind Flayer
There are not many Illithids within the Mundane world. There is only one colony currently within the Mundane world that is within Bainbridge Island. The Shadow Kind have come to refer to those who live within this colony as Illithids. Those individuals that are not members of this colony are referred to as Mind Flayers and are usually spoken of as if not a part of the same species. The Mind Flayers are seen as the lesser threat as they have no means of reproduction as long as they have not established a colony.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A mind flayer stands between 5'4" and 6'2", having humanoid shape and narrow build. Its head resembles an octopus, with four (rarely six) writhing tentacles where its mouth is. Its skin color ranges from mauve to a greenish lavender, soft and damp like an amphibious creature, and constantly covered by a layer of glistening slime.
A mind flayer's hands have three narrow reddened fingers and a thumb, while its feet have two webbed toes. Its fingers and toes are capped with sharp nails, although despite appearances these are made from soft cartilage and do not serve well as weapons. Its eyes are pure white or yellow.
The mind flayer's most deadly physical feature is its tentacled mouth. A mind flayer's four prehensile tentacles can be extended from 2 feet to 4 feet in length, and the mind flayer can manipulate them with great precision. Its small, circular mouth is lined with rows of teeth. It constantly drips an oily slime. Despite lacking a jaw, the mind flayer is capable of speech.
Genetics and Reproduction
The mind flayer cannot reproduce. All their young are generated from the Elder Brains which are spawned from only the rare six tentacle mind flayers, Ulitharid. Thus, it requires a colony to reproduce and those individuals that are categorized as mind flayers are not part of a colony.
Growth Rate & Stages
The mind flayer is in its adult stage and lives around 125 years. There have been a few known to live to be as old as 135. Due to no longer being part of a colony, they will not have their brain consumed by an Elder Brain when they die.
Ecology and Habitats
The mind flayer prefers darkness and cooler environments. However, they are highly intelligent and thus have the capacity to adapt to almost any kind of environment.
Dietary Needs and Habits
The sustenance of mind flayers are the brains of other creatures, mainly those of humanoids. Only brain tissue provides the required combination of the three essential components needed to sustain the mind flayer physiology: hormones, enzymes, and psychic energy. mind flayers also eat other foods, most of which contain the critical enzymes and hormones they need, with internal organs being good sources and high on the mind flayer menu.
While certain essential biochemicals and hormones could only be found in brain matter, mind flayers eat brains more for the psychic quotient of sentient gray matter than the physical nutrients. The mind flayer nervous system is unique in that every nerve has a direct connection to the brain, meaning that a mind flayer's digestive system is an extension of its brain, and therefore, along with the rest of the body, cognitive and self-aware in a sense. It is this unique digestive system that allows them to extract more than nourishment from their food.
Stray memories are acquired from a mind flayer's prey. As a result of their parasitic nature, traces of the victim's individuality are also retained by a mind flayer. While this does nothing to hamper their intelligence, it does influence their sense of culture and aesthetic preferences, ranging from their desired modes of architecture to their senses of style and decoration.
Psionic energy is extracted from the brain by a mind flayer in the victim's last moments of activity. The psychic essence freed from brains is nourishing in a way far more efficient and potent than flesh could be alone, metaphysically reenergizing their metabolism so well that only one intelligent brain is needed per month for them to remain healthy. Without this minimum requirement met, a mind flayer will slowly suffer physical debilitation and grow so weak that they will die in four months. In this Mundane world, it can be difficult for the mind flayer to get the brains they require without attracting the attention of the Mundane populace.
It is possible, for a mind flayer to sustain itself by only consuming the brains of sufficiently intelligent lifeforms, if necessary. Animals that demonstrate extraordinary intelligence, such as exceptional cats, dogs, or bears, for example, sometimes have the psychic quotient required to properly nourish a mind flayer. However, these sources are unreliable. But the mind flayer will do what it must in order to survive.
Mind flayers savor the minds they consume, and the brains of thinking beings are preferable to those of lesser lifeforms. Experiences and emotions are the part that makes the meal truly fulfilling, and the intelligence and imagination of the victim are a key factor in how highly rated a brain is. Various other elements influences the flavor of a brain: a sense of great self-importance gives brains a pleasing tanginess, those afflicted with demonic madness are more succulent than sane ones, and active, magic-filled, and experienced minds were among the tastiest of all. For these reasons, Mind flayers have preferences for specific types of brains. However, they rarely get to pick and choose which brains they are consuming.
Surviving on brains carried great risk in the Mundane world. People do not respond well to this dietary need and the mind flayer lacks the protection that a colony provides. Thus, they live off the margins of societies. They take the homeless, the out cast and the transients. These brains are far from being the most desirable, but it is important to remain living. A mind flayer will do their best to set up a sustainable food source. This often requires the use of thralls and social manipulation. But that's what the mind flayer is good at.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Most mind flayers are in Washington as most have arrived within The Current Tide. However, they generally don't like sharing space with each other and will quickly establish territory with clear boundaries that other mind flayers easily identify with psychic detection. Additionally, they all avoid Bainbridge Island as going their puts them at risk of falling under the sway of the Elder Brain.
Average Intelligence
They tend to be highly intelligent creatures.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Mind flayer eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light, and they consider it painful. In fact, their eyes are more sensitive to infravision than to visible light, so that the entirety of their visual acuity was through darkvision, and they can see two additional colors in the spectrum beyond the color red. In total darkness or under starlight, a mind flayer can see clearly as far out as 480 feet (150 meters), but under direct sunlight that infravisual range decreases to just 15 feet (4.6 meters). Mind flayer vision is also more sensitive to the recognition of geometric patterns than that of other humanoids.
While it did not actually harm them, mind flayer absolutely despise sunlight, avoiding it at all costs. They required only the heat created by the geothermic processes of planets to survive. Most mind flayer can not imagine living in the sun without some form of protection. From the desiccating effect it has on their skins to the clouding of their vision, and the mere thought of being immersed in sunlight is as horrifying to them as drowning in blood would be to a human.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The mind flayers do not gather themselves together. Instead, they look to other Shadow Kind and Mundanes for allies. Each mind flayer seeks to build themselves a power base and secure a means of safely and reliably feeding. It sets about creating a sort of colony of its own; the better to remain undetected. It gathers minions, establishes a lair, and makes defense of its territory a top priority. Mind flayers develop a healthy respect for those not of their kind. They treat especially powerful creatures and individuals as equals, not adversaries, and seek to cooperate with them. A renegade mind flayer might become a trusted advisor or a powerful ally, so long as it is kept well fed.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The physiology of mind flayers doesn’t leave them well equipped for typical humanoid speech, and most use telepathy exclusively. At times, however, they find it necessary to speak, such as when casting a spell, voicing the command word of a magic item, or communicating with multiple creatures at once. A mind flayer accomplishes such vocal feats by forcing one of its tentacles down its own throat and curling the tip to act as a tongue. The process is uncomfortable to the mind flayer, can be disquieting for other creatures to witness, and results in a sound that is often harrowing to the ear. Despite the difficulty, some mind flayers make a study of spoken communication and manage consistently intelligible (if not melodious) speech.
Common Dress Code
Mind flayers are vain creatures and tend to seek out the expensive and fashionable attire of the region they find themselves. Attire is just one of the many ways that the mind flayer displays its level of power and influence.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Having achieved freedom from their Elder Brain, many mind flayers value freedom highly and often incorporate it into their core value set. Most of what they do centers around maintaining their freedom.
History
Mind flayers all come from the Shadow Realm. A strange quirk of having been pulled through the Shadow Rift is that they have lost their ability to plane shift. All of them. Thus far, none of them have been able to explain the reason for the loss of this ability, especially since their other abilities remain intact.
Since they cannot reproduce, they cannot be born within the Mundane Realm. Each is from various colonies in the Shadow Realm. None have been pulled from the Shadow Realm while within the influence of their Elder Brain. In each case, they were pulled into a rift while they were given a mission outside the colony. Thus, each of these mind flayers are now independent of their Elder Brain. The mind flayers are free willed beings.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
125 years
Average Height
Between 5'4" and 6'2"
Average Weight
100-150#
Related Organizations
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