Homebrew Ilithid Species Details
Illithids live in vast, subterranean cities known as communities that are full of thralls which often outnumber ten-to-one or more by their mental slaves. Their culture reveres the Elder Brains, ancient, ageless beings they believe represent the collective personalities and identities of their kind. Illithids offer themselves up to its mass when they near the end of their lifespans, hoping to be absorbed into the titanic intellect of the Elder Brain. It is a closely guarded secret that the Elder Brains only consume the knowledge of their wards, with everything else being simply discarded and lost with the death of the body.
Young illithids derive their personalities and emotional capacities from contact with strange crystals, containing the thought-impressions of previous illithids. This is the reason for the infamously cold and pitiless illithid temperament and personality: illithids normally do not feel any sort of positive emotion more powerful than a kind of sadistic, spiteful pleasure at the pain and submission of another creature. Thus, because the devices that teach young illithids cannot imprint on them the full spectrum of emotionality, they grow up to build another set of such flawed devices for the next generation. Illithids who have spent long periods of time among other races of beings, devoid of the company of other illithids, are often mind-wiped or otherwise mentally scanned when they return to the networked intelligence of their community, to purge the outside influences that may have colored their thoughts and made them more like the surface creatures.
Illithids' alien nature makes them particularly resistant to magical forces and effects, and they regard the use of magic as aberrant and disdainful. All of their kind found studying arcane powers are shunned by their peers, and many are exiled from the community. Illithids consume the brain matter of living (or at least recently-living) creatures to sustain themselves with enzymes, hormones, and psychic energy. The brain of a large, intelligent predator like a wolf or bear provides enough sustenance for a full day, but the brain of a sapient humanoid is far tastier and can bolster an illithid's metabolism for at least a week, depending on the quality of the brain in question. Some rogue illithids cultivate a special kind of moss that becomes sapient in large quantities, and which provides similar sustenance when eaten.
Some Ilithid part from their hive to discover more about the world, or to practice taboo's among their society. These Ilithid are incredibly rare.
Ilithid Traits
Alien, frightening beings of great mental prowess and forceful personalities.Ability Score Increase
Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Age
Ilithids complete ceremorphosis by the age of 9, and have become fully mature and complete in their education by age 15. Ilithids live longer than humans, but they do eventually die at around 120 years of age.
Alignment
Illithids normally have a natural tendency towards hierarchy, discipline, and cruelty, and have an alignment of lawful evil. Some individuals find themselves developing more-individualistic personalities than their fellows early after ceremorphosis and have an alignment of neutral evil. A minority lack the characteristic sadism of their brethren while retaining their preoccupation with the organization, and have an alignment of lawful neutral. Any illithid of any other alignment, usually the product of unusual circumstances such as mutation, magical alteration, extensive contact with unshackled non-illithid minds while cut off from the networked communal intelligence of their colonies, or intervention by otherworldly forces, is likely regarded by others of its kind as either a disgusting social deviant and pariah, or, at worst, as pollution to be purged. Many such illithid are either mentally wiped blank and re-educated or simply thrown out of their home communities if their natures are too open and offensive to their fellows' sensibilities.
Size
Most ilithids are at least as tall as humans, standing at least a few inches shy of six feet, but their bodies are very slender and emaciated, weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberrant Mind
Your creature type is both humanoid and aberration. Even those ilithids who have undergone alignment shifts via magical means or mutations struggle to understand the feelings of less-alien beings. You have disadvantage on all Charisma ability checks.
Superior Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 120 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 gray.
Devour Brain
When you reduce a living creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points, you can, as a reaction, devour their brain completely gaining temporary hit points equal to your level + your proficiency bonus. In addition, you may receive the answer to one question that the consumed brain knew the answer to. This creature must have a size of Medium or smaller. Alternatively, as an action, you may consume the brain of a creature that has died within the last minute and gain the same benefits. You can use this trait once per long rest.
Mind Blast
You can use your action to emit a psionic blast in a 15-foot cone. When you use your mind blast, each creature in the area of the blast musk make an Intelligence saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 3d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. You can use this feature a number of times per long rest equal to your intelligence modifier (minimum of once).
Telepathy
You can communicate mentally with another creature that knows at least one language within a 60-foot radius. The creature must understand at least one language you speak. Unless they have telepathy themselves, the targeted creature cannot respond without speaking aloud. You must be conscious to use this trait and cannot telepathically communicate with multiple creatures at once.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Undercommon, and Deep Speech.
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