Homebrew Renegade Illithid (Mind Flayer) Species Details

I wonder what a mind flayer’s brain tastes like.

— Volo

Volo, ye are the fool of fools. Illithid brains are poisonous, and drive humans insane with a flood of memories at every bite. Er, ask me not how I know this.

— Elminster

Sometimes a mind flayer that’s away from its colony breaks free from the elder brain. Perhaps it ran into a situation where its bonds of obedience were broken, or perhaps the colony was destroyed while it was away. In such a case, the mind flayer becomes free-willed for as long as it avoids contact with an elder brain.

Unlike colonial mind flayers, renegade illithids may develop a healthy respect for those not of their kind. They treat especially powerful creatures and individuals as equals, not adversaries, and may 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. Any alliance it makes, however, collapses if the mind flayer falls under the sway of an elder brain once more.

For details of mind flayer culture and nature, see Volo's Guide to Monsters (pages 71-81).

Illithid Psionics

Those familiar with the illithid statblock from the Monster Manual will notice that the innate spellcasting of the illithids has been significantly reduced for this race. Aside from balance issues, a more thematic explanation can be found in the concept that illithid innate spellcasting is primarily psionic in nature. Being separated from the elder brain, it is reasonable to suggest that a renegade illithid's mind is lessened (as they no longer have access to the collective memory or capabilities of the hive mind), and as such, its psionic capabilities are effectively inhibited. If this explanation is taken, it is reasonable to assume that an illithid using this race model who came under the control of an elder brain would regain the full illithid innate spellcasting feature, in place of the psionic magic trait, for the duration of its control by the elder brain.

Roleplaying a Renegade Illithid

Mind flayers are inhuman monsters that typically exist as part of a collective colony mind. Yet each has a brilliant mind, personality, and motivations of its own.

Mind Flayer Personality Traits

Mind Flayer Ideals

Mind Flayer Bonds

Mind Flayer Flaws

Illithid Attitudes about Magic

From their perspective as masters of psionic energy, mind flayers view magic as a wild, unpredictable, and primitive source of power. After all, anything that simple humanoids can learn to use must be ineffectual compared to what illithids are capable of. A renegade illithid, however, may reevaluate this attitude while separated from an elder brain and the collective psionic energy of the hive.

Arcane Magic

Mind flayers consider arcane magic to be an abomination, a twisted cousin of psionic power that will be erased from the multiverse when the illithids’ empire rises again. Some sages speculate that this attitude arose among the mind flayers because magic played an important role in the rebellion of the gith. In any case, a few renegade mind flayers do pursue arcane magic. Using some of the items or spells they discover, they can shield their minds as they aspire to break free of the elder brain’s control.

Eventually, a mind flayer thus separated from the hive turns to the path of lichdom. Just as the elder brain offers immortality to its faithful illithids, so does becoming a lich ensure life everlasting. The feeling of freedom that comes from this change is liberating, but the specter of death forever after colors the mind flayer’s actions. An undead mind flayer is hated and hunted by other illithids, but many are powerful enough to stand on their own against attackers. (See alhoon for more information on undead illithid.)

Divine Magic

Illithids acknowledge the existence of divine entities, but it is unusual for any but a deviant mind flayer to actively worship such a power. Since they are capable of planar travel, illithids don’t view the afterlife and the Outer Planes in the mythic way that most other races do. Illithids don’t believe they possess souls whose eternal fate is governed by the gods. Instead, when a mind flayer’s brain is returned to the elder brain to be consumed, the creature’s intelligence lives on. Only if an illithid’s brain isn’t retrieved after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion.

Two divine entities have long been associated with mind flayers by the scholars of other races. These aren’t deities, but rather manifestations of ideal psionic and philosophical mental states that mind flayers revere. Illithids occasionally meditate on these ideals while performing physical movements meant to help them achieve the proper attitude — actions that have often been misinterpreted by observers as worship.

Maanzecorian. The entity/concept called Maanzecorian embodies a complete comprehension of knowledge. It is a state wherein memories, thoughts, and aptitudes are dredged up from one’s mind not one at a time as needed, but are all laid bare and brought to the fore at once. The perfect memories exhibited by aboleths have long fascinated mind flayers that emulate Maanzecorian, leading to frequent conflict between the two races.

Ilsensine. Ilsensine is a broader philosophical ideal than Maanzecorian, leading many sages to assume it must be the more important or more powerful of the two “gods.” Ilsensine represents not just mastery of one’s own mind but a psionic union between oneself and the realm of universal knowledge. Different elder brains have different interpretations of what this state consists of and how to achieve it. Elder brains and illithids that devote themselves to Ilsensine sometimes pursue ways to dominate gods of knowledge or even aspire to supplant those gods on the way to attaining the state of full incorporation into the universal consciousness.

Renegade Illithid (Mind Flayer) Traits

Your renegade illithid character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2. Your Wisdom or your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age

Illithids fully complete ceremorphosis by the age of 9, and have become fully mature by age 15. Illithids live longer than humans, but rarely past 150 years.

Alignment

Illithids are typically lawful evil, although rogue illithids can tend more towards chaos or neutrality,

Size

An illithid resembles a human in basic body structure, but taller and much more slender. Its skin is some cool color, such as pale green, mauve, or sky blue, and when it is well-fed, its body is coated in a thin film of mucus. Its skin is smooth and completely hairless, with a tall, sloping cranium, two roughly humanoid eyes, and four long, coiling tendrils concealing an alien mouth evolved to open the skulls of other creatures and feed on their contents. You stand between 6 and 8 feet tall, and weigh between 120 and 180 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Darkvision

Time spent outside the proximity of the elder brain has dulled your usual illithid senses. You can still see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.

Psionic Magic

Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell and levitate spell through your psionic abilities. At 13th level, you can cast the plane shift spell, targeting yourself only. At 15th level, you can cast dominate monster. Once you have cast each spell using this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells. You do not require material components to cast spells with this trait. 

Psychic Resilience

You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma saving throws.

Telepathy

You can speak telepathically to any creature you can see, provided the creature is within a number of feet of you equal to 10 times your character level. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language.

When you’re using this trait to speak telepathically to a creature, you can use your action to give that creature the ability to speak telepathically with you for 1 hour or until you end this effect as an action. To use this ability, the creature must be able to see you and must be within this trait’s range. You can give this ability to only one creature at a time; giving it to a creature takes it away from another creature who has it.

Natural Weapons: Tentacles

The four tentacles around your jaws are a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. Use your Intelligence modifier for attack rolls with these natural weapons. If you hit a creature with your tentacles, the attack deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier, instead of the normal damage for an unarmed strike. When you hit a creature of size Medium or smaller with a tentacle attack, you can attempt to grapple that creature as a bonus action. You cannot target another creature with your tentacles while engaged in such a grapple. You deal 1d6 damage + your Intelligence modifier each round that the creature is grappled by your tentacles. At 9th level, the target must also succeed on an Intelligence saving throw equal to 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your Proficiency bonus or be stunned for 1 minute.

Mind Blast

You can use your action to emit a psionic mind blast in a 15-foot cone projected from you. When you use your mind blast, each creature in the area of the blast must make an Intelligence saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save and is stunned for 1 minute, or half as much damage and no stun on a successful save. A stunned creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 6th level (3d6), 11th level (4d6), and 16th level (5d6). The dimensions of the cone increase by 10' at each of these levels, as well: a 25-foot cone at 6th level, 35-foot cone at 11th level, and 45-foot cone at 16th level. After you use your mind blast, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Brain Devourer

When you reduce a living creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points, you can, as a reaction, devour itsbrain entirely, gaining temporary hit points equal to your character level + your proficiency bonus. In addition, you may recall a single memory or receive the answer to one question that the consumed brain knew the answer to. Alternatively, you may consume the brain of a creature that has died within the last minute and gain the same benefits. You regain the use of this trait once you complete a long rest.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Undercommon, and you can speak Deep Speech. You are also proficient in the mind flayer written language of Qualith, a system of tactile writing (similar to braille) read by an illithid's tentacles. (NOTE: This will appear as Quori on your character sheet, as Qualith does not exist in DNDBeyond as a language option.)

Hive Mind Susceptibility (Drawback)

Even though you have now escaped the influence of the hive mind, your brain is still susceptible to its influence. If you enter the area of an elder brain's telepathy, you may fall under its influence. Make a DC 15 CHA save once per hour to avoid doing so. If you fail, your alignment becomes lawful evil for the duration, you are considered charmed by the elder brain, and you must obey any command given to you by the elder brain. The DM may choose to take control of your character as an NPC (at their discretion). This change lasts until you are moved outside the area of the elder brain's telepathy, the elder brain is killed, or some other psychic-dampening effect can be brought to bear.

Aberrant Mind (Drawback)

Even those illithids who have undergone alignment shifts via magical means or mutations struggle to understand the feelings, perspectives and values of less-alien beings. You have disadvantage on all Charisma ability checks in which you lack proficiency.