Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
The Mind Flayer's abilities would have to be gutted. And it's nutritional requirements changed. It would not be a Mind Flayer anymore.
Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
The Mind Flayer's abilities would have to be gutted. And it's nutritional requirements changed. It would not be a Mind Flayer anymore.
Possibly. Evil campaigns exist though, and playable is still playable. That's what was asked for.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Not to mention they do not have free will. Their hive mind would probably be have to be controlled by the DM which would severely limit what you'd want to do, more than likely.
Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
Not necessarily. There are some mindflayers who have some features of their original host such as nervous ticks and the like. And i cant remember the details but it is said one of these guys can become independent and would kill other mindflayers or something of the like
So the answer is no there is no official playable Mindflayer/Illithid race.
On D&D Beyond there are over 60 efforts at a homebrew Race. You and/or your DM can see if any of those work, at least a few had a lot of adoptions so may be either well balanced or basically just a way to play the Monster Manual Mindflayer as written, which would be overpowered for most games starting at first level.
I'm surprised no one's just suggesting reskinning Gith as Aberrant Sorcerers, sorta ironic.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You can make anything useable with the appropriate limitations. Just do not expect to do more than say Drow.
Here is what I would consider reasonable for an Illithid Playable Race:
Half-Illithid:
Abilities: +2 Int, +1 Wis
Size: Medium Humanoid
Speed: 30 ft.
You are a failed attempt to create an Illithid. You have no innate telepathy (although you may learn such such spells and similar abilities) or magic resistance. This prevents you from becoming part of any hive mind.
Age: As Human
Alignment: Any
Superior Darkvision
Keen Senses: free perception skill
Innate psionic spellcasting: You require no components
Languages: You can speak, read and write Deep Speech and your choice of Undercommon or Common
Racial Hatred: Your kind is both alien and hated by most species. You have disadvantage on any social checks made against any creature that knows of your kind.
Unusual Food: You do not consume normal food or water. You must use your extract brain unarmed attack at least once a week or suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
Illithid Spells:
You know the cantrip Mind Sliver. It is what is left of your race's Mind Blast ability.
When you reach 3rd level, you can psionically cast the Levitation spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast the spell again using this trait. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Detect Thoughts spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast the spell again using this trait. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Illithid Unarmed attacks:
Tentacles. You can attack with your tentacles. They do 1d4 + Int psychic damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC = 8+ Proficiency bonus) and must succeed on a Intelligence saving throw (same DC) or be stunned until this grapple ends.
Extract Brain: When you use your Tentacles to attack an Incapacitated target (humanoid, beast, abberation, fey, or mostrosity) and bring it to 0 hp or lower, you kill the target, extract and devour it's brain.
Actually, it is entirely possible for a Mind Flayer to have free will. There is one in Out of The Abyss, they are true neutral, and is a member of the society of brilliance. Then we also have another one in Baldur's Gate 3.
I actually created a homebrew Mindflayer race for an evil one-shot, where one player wanted to play as a Mindflayer. They ended up not being able to play that day, so I don't know how well it would have worked, but I made the fact that the Mindflayer is not connected to the traditional hive-mind as an explanation for why they don't have all the same abilities of a traditional mindflayer, and the abilities they do have are kind of lesser versions of Illithid features.
Actually, it is entirely possible for a Mind Flayer to have free will. There is one in Out of The Abyss, they are true neutral, and is a member of the society of brilliance. Then we also have another one in Baldur's Gate 3.
It's possible but highly improbable. Going back to 2e you had a "good" Mindflayer that some how retained their host organism's original personality in an pretty epic arc of Illithid based adventures tied to 2e's Illithiad. Such Mindflayers are accidents or aberrations and either live an exiled existence apart from their society or a paranoid one with it. Basically playing a "out of step" Mindflayer is recycling the Drizzt thing as far as existing portrayals of the Mindflayer.
That said, and I think this is the second time it's come up in my posting this week, the Ood in Dr. Who were clearly a visual reference to Illithids and were a much more communitarian universal harmony type civilization, sort of the antithesis of Mindflyer conquest orientation. I'd say the Ood would be a good model for as a "secret origin" related civilization or a renegade off shoot colony (sort of like those Drow we've never heard of coming into Forgotten Realms canon).
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You can homebrew anything with Tasha's, but an actual Illithid has the social handicap of being an alien that subsists on Sapient Brains and procreates by incubating in victims till they take over its body.
If your willing to give up those hostile qualities, and pretty much all the other abilities which qualify what an Illithid is, than it would be pretty easy to pass it off as a cosmetic identity. Alternately, if your team wants to have powerful monsters as PCs and deal with however you behave, you could just play the Monster stat block. Few games start or reach the level 10ish region where this monsters power lies though.
As a side note, some campaigns have "Hostile Creature Host" as a character secret, like the Slaad host in Rime of the Frostmaiden, but the resulting monster is used by the DM after the PC dies. Crazy exceptions happen all the time in D&D, from reincarnation into another species, to alignment and biology changing magic. Nothings really impossible, the real issue is that this is a cooperative game, and you need the invitation of your table to do outlandish shit.
Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
I am quite new in DnD, but as DM I had situation, where one player wanted to play as half-troll, so I gave him large size, doubled his daily rations consume, gave him disadvantage in thin areas, as dungeon coridors, where he can't use his greatclub, only his fists, and I added him trait, that people fear him, therefore other adventures must take lots of social interactions. But I left him all racial traits from monster manual. So I think, that if someone want's to play as mindflayer, he need to think out how he became adventurer, and due to surface I think, that trait common fear, which give him disadvantage on all friendly npc interaction checks and some downput by their unability to see in bright light, they are blind beyond 15ft on sunlight will do. And maybe changing recharge from mind blast to once per short rest. And their spells, that they naturally know, should require spell slots as normal.
Custom Lineage with Telepathic is probably your best bet as it lets you customize your appearance. Note however that half-feats at level 1 are cheesy to some DMs as they let you easily start with an 18 in your primary stat.
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Are there any mind flayer playable races in dndbeyond that belong to a source book or something official or close to official?
You can view all the official D&D Beyond race options here
There is no official playable mind flayer race
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A Mind Flayer is way way too powerful to introduce as a PC. Also, imagine the group walking into a town or city that the group has never been in before. The townsfolk would run screaming, and any city guard would be "kill on sight" a Mind Flayer.
Depending on setting and campaign, any (sub)race can be in that position (drow and goblins in particular) and any race can be fine. And anything officially playable would be just that - playable - so at least close to balanced. We have pseudo-angel and pseudo-devil races already as well, pseudo-mindflayers should at least in theory be possible.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
The Mind Flayer's abilities would have to be gutted. And it's nutritional requirements changed. It would not be a Mind Flayer anymore.
Possibly. Evil campaigns exist though, and playable is still playable. That's what was asked for.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Not to mention they do not have free will. Their hive mind would probably be have to be controlled by the DM which would severely limit what you'd want to do, more than likely.
Mind Flayers that break free of the control of the Elder Brain exist.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Something like this.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Not necessarily. There are some mindflayers who have some features of their original host such as nervous ticks and the like. And i cant remember the details but it is said one of these guys can become independent and would kill other mindflayers or something of the like
Reskinning is always an option. It will stick as close as possible to official
Yuan-ti Pureblood
So the answer is no there is no official playable Mindflayer/Illithid race.
On D&D Beyond there are over 60 efforts at a homebrew Race. You and/or your DM can see if any of those work, at least a few had a lot of adoptions so may be either well balanced or basically just a way to play the Monster Manual Mindflayer as written, which would be overpowered for most games starting at first level.
I'm surprised no one's just suggesting reskinning Gith as Aberrant Sorcerers, sorta ironic.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You can make anything useable with the appropriate limitations. Just do not expect to do more than say Drow.
Here is what I would consider reasonable for an Illithid Playable Race:
Half-Illithid:
Abilities: +2 Int, +1 Wis
Size: Medium Humanoid
Speed: 30 ft.
You are a failed attempt to create an Illithid. You have no innate telepathy (although you may learn such such spells and similar abilities) or magic resistance. This prevents you from becoming part of any hive mind.
Age: As Human
Alignment: Any
Superior Darkvision
Keen Senses: free perception skill
Innate psionic spellcasting: You require no components
Languages: You can speak, read and write Deep Speech and your choice of Undercommon or Common
Racial Hatred: Your kind is both alien and hated by most species. You have disadvantage on any social checks made against any creature that knows of your kind.
Unusual Food: You do not consume normal food or water. You must use your extract brain unarmed attack at least once a week or suffer 1 level of exhaustion.
Illithid Spells:
You know the cantrip Mind Sliver. It is what is left of your race's Mind Blast ability.
When you reach 3rd level, you can psionically cast the Levitation spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast the spell again using this trait. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the Detect Thoughts spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast the spell again using this trait. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Illithid Unarmed attacks:
Tentacles. You can attack with your tentacles. They do 1d4 + Int psychic damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC = 8+ Proficiency bonus) and must succeed on a Intelligence saving throw (same DC) or be stunned until this grapple ends.
Extract Brain: When you use your Tentacles to attack an Incapacitated target (humanoid, beast, abberation, fey, or mostrosity) and bring it to 0 hp or lower, you kill the target, extract and devour it's brain.
Actually, it is entirely possible for a Mind Flayer to have free will. There is one in Out of The Abyss, they are true neutral, and is a member of the society of brilliance. Then we also have another one in Baldur's Gate 3.
I actually created a homebrew Mindflayer race for an evil one-shot, where one player wanted to play as a Mindflayer. They ended up not being able to play that day, so I don't know how well it would have worked, but I made the fact that the Mindflayer is not connected to the traditional hive-mind as an explanation for why they don't have all the same abilities of a traditional mindflayer, and the abilities they do have are kind of lesser versions of Illithid features.
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It's possible but highly improbable. Going back to 2e you had a "good" Mindflayer that some how retained their host organism's original personality in an pretty epic arc of Illithid based adventures tied to 2e's Illithiad. Such Mindflayers are accidents or aberrations and either live an exiled existence apart from their society or a paranoid one with it. Basically playing a "out of step" Mindflayer is recycling the Drizzt thing as far as existing portrayals of the Mindflayer.
That said, and I think this is the second time it's come up in my posting this week, the Ood in Dr. Who were clearly a visual reference to Illithids and were a much more communitarian universal harmony type civilization, sort of the antithesis of Mindflyer conquest orientation. I'd say the Ood would be a good model for as a "secret origin" related civilization or a renegade off shoot colony (sort of like those Drow we've never heard of coming into Forgotten Realms canon).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
What I would do is a race and class homebrew for mindflyer.
You can homebrew anything with Tasha's, but an actual Illithid has the social handicap of being an alien that subsists on Sapient Brains and procreates by incubating in victims till they take over its body.
If your willing to give up those hostile qualities, and pretty much all the other abilities which qualify what an Illithid is, than it would be pretty easy to pass it off as a cosmetic identity. Alternately, if your team wants to have powerful monsters as PCs and deal with however you behave, you could just play the Monster stat block. Few games start or reach the level 10ish region where this monsters power lies though.
As a side note, some campaigns have "Hostile Creature Host" as a character secret, like the Slaad host in Rime of the Frostmaiden, but the resulting monster is used by the DM after the PC dies. Crazy exceptions happen all the time in D&D, from reincarnation into another species, to alignment and biology changing magic. Nothings really impossible, the real issue is that this is a cooperative game, and you need the invitation of your table to do outlandish shit.
I am quite new in DnD, but as DM I had situation, where one player wanted to play as half-troll, so I gave him large size, doubled his daily rations consume, gave him disadvantage in thin areas, as dungeon coridors, where he can't use his greatclub, only his fists, and I added him trait, that people fear him, therefore other adventures must take lots of social interactions. But I left him all racial traits from monster manual. So I think, that if someone want's to play as mindflayer, he need to think out how he became adventurer, and due to surface I think, that trait common fear, which give him disadvantage on all friendly npc interaction checks and some downput by their unability to see in bright light, they are blind beyond 15ft on sunlight will do. And maybe changing recharge from mind blast to once per short rest. And their spells, that they naturally know, should require spell slots as normal.
Custom Lineage with Telepathic is probably your best bet as it lets you customize your appearance. Note however that half-feats at level 1 are cheesy to some DMs as they let you easily start with an 18 in your primary stat.