So we recently lost a character to an Intellect Devourer. The DM said because the character's Intelligence was at 0, he couldn't make Intelligence saving throws, and so his brain got auto-eaten.
That is incorrect according to RAW. RAW, the character would still roll, they would simply add an Int modifier of +0 to their roll. If they were proficient with Int saves, they would have also been able to add their Proficiency bonus to the roll as well.
It may have been one of your DM’s houserules. 🤷♂️
"If it wins the contest, the intellect devourer magically consumes the target’s brain"
A character with 0 intelligence could make a saving throw with -5 if you want to be really nice (int 1) but in my games it's pretty obvious - if your brain has been eaten by a monster then you die.
That is incorrect according to RAW. RAW, the character would still roll, they would simply add an Int modifier of +0 to their roll. If they were proficient with Int saves, they would have also been able to add their Proficiency bonus to the roll as well.
It may have been one of your DM’s houserules. 🤷♂️
Rolling at +0 would imply a stat of 10, not a stat of 0
I think I would rule it a -5 modifier on an Int save with Int 0. This fits the other rules: Modifier = (Score - 10) / 2 = -10/2 = -5
I don't know of any more specific rule which overrides this general rule to make it an automatic failure.
Especially given that the result is probably death (and a very difficult form of death to recover from, at that), I would definitely allow some sort of save. I'd consider a DM who didn't to be incredibly harsh.
It depends how pedantic you want to be. If you look at the Ability Scores and Modifiers Table - a score lower than 1 or higher than 30 doesn't actually have a modifier. Of course it's easy to calculate one - but still.
That is incorrect according to RAW. RAW, the character would still roll, they would simply add an Int modifier of +0 to their roll. If they were proficient with Int saves, they would have also been able to add their Proficiency bonus to the roll as well.
It may have been one of your DM’s houserules. 🤷♂️
Rolling at +0 would imply a stat of 10, not a stat of 0
Ah, I stand corrected. I was thinking modifier, not score.
So we recently lost a character to an Intellect Devourer. The DM said because the character's Intelligence was at 0, he couldn't make Intelligence saving throws, and so his brain got auto-eaten.
Does anyone know an official ruling on this?
There are multiple rolls that need to happen with an intellect devourer. If it uses it's devour ability in the first round, the character makes an INT saving throw. On a failure, 3d6 is rolled by the GM. If that number is equal to or above the PC's INT score, they are stunned and have their INT set to zero. In order to land the body thief ability on the next round, the devourer and target PC have an intelligence "contest" to determine success. Essentially, devourer rolls d20+1, and the target rolls d20-5. (Not a saving throw, just a straight INT ability check contest.)
So we recently lost a character to an Intellect Devourer. The DM said because the character's Intelligence was at 0, he couldn't make Intelligence saving throws, and so his brain got auto-eaten.
Does anyone know an official ruling on this?
That is incorrect according to RAW. RAW, the character would still roll, they would simply add an Int modifier of +0 to their roll. If they were proficient with Int saves, they would have also been able to add their Proficiency bonus to the roll as well.
It may have been one of your DM’s houserules. 🤷♂️
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Taken from the body thief section;
"If it wins the contest, the intellect devourer magically consumes the target’s brain"
A character with 0 intelligence could make a saving throw with -5 if you want to be really nice (int 1) but in my games it's pretty obvious - if your brain has been eaten by a monster then you die.
Rolling at +0 would imply a stat of 10, not a stat of 0
I think I would rule it a -5 modifier on an Int save with Int 0. This fits the other rules: Modifier = (Score - 10) / 2 = -10/2 = -5
I don't know of any more specific rule which overrides this general rule to make it an automatic failure.
Especially given that the result is probably death (and a very difficult form of death to recover from, at that), I would definitely allow some sort of save. I'd consider a DM who didn't to be incredibly harsh.
It depends how pedantic you want to be. If you look at the Ability Scores and Modifiers Table - a score lower than 1 or higher than 30 doesn't actually have a modifier. Of course it's easy to calculate one - but still.
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Ah, I stand corrected. I was thinking modifier, not score.
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There are multiple rolls that need to happen with an intellect devourer. If it uses it's devour ability in the first round, the character makes an INT saving throw. On a failure, 3d6 is rolled by the GM. If that number is equal to or above the PC's INT score, they are stunned and have their INT set to zero. In order to land the body thief ability on the next round, the devourer and target PC have an intelligence "contest" to determine success. Essentially, devourer rolls d20+1, and the target rolls d20-5. (Not a saving throw, just a straight INT ability check contest.)