Homebrew Cenemorph (Ceremorph, Half-Illithid) Species Details

Engineered by the Illithid of Oryndoll as a hidden force to operate within humanoid cities to further their diabolical plans, Cenemorphs do not complete a full transformation to Illithids.  Instead, they are intended as pawns in the strategic assaults on cities, spies and infiltrators.  The parasitic symbiote maintains a connection with the Elder Brain that held them in it's spawning pool.  It lays dormant within the host acting only intermittently until the host reaches maturity at approximately 25 yrs of age for humans.  If something interferes with the Elder Brains communication by travelling over 1000 miles from it or if the Elder Brain were disabled in some manner, they become independent and directionless.  All the parasite is motivated by at that point is the consumption of brains and acquisition of knowledge.  Given the opportunity to pass on it's knowledge to an Illithid collective it may very well be inclined to do so.  Poised between the worlds of the living and abominable madness, freed Cenemorphs may retain their grip on humanity yet are endlessly tested by the parasites urges. Their ties to the Illithid grant a taste of psionic prowess in the form of increased speed, mind-vision, and a tentacle bite. With unique insights into the nature of the Far realms, many freed  Cenemorphs, become Aberrant Mind sorcerers or give in to become warlocks of the Old Ones.  Some pursue revenge against the Illithids who turned them into Cenemorphs, but at their peril.  Just because they were freed from the yoke of the Elder Brain does not mean they are not vulnerable to subjugation should they return.  Additionally, the parasitic symbiote will seek to reconnect in hopes of being merged with the Elder Brain and attaining it's own form of immortality.  When encountering hives outside of that of Oryndoll they are likely to be considered dangerous aberrations that must be destroyed at all costs.

Cenemorphs know a need to consume psionic power slaked only by living minds. The craving become overpowering the longer it is allowed to grow as the parasite requires the sustenance and will feed on it's host mind if not given its due.  The parasite must ingest a brain at least every three months.  For every month it goes without feeding it seeks to dominate the mind of it's host as they sleep with terrible visions, haunted dreams and threats.  Still, those who overindulge their consumption risk losing control and forever viewing others as prey which is exactly what the parasite desires. Those who resist might find exceptional ways of controlling their urges through meditation, raw willpower alone, or being in highly charged emotional events in public. In any case, temptation haunts Cenemorphs and circumstances conspire to give them endless reasons to indulge.

While many Cenemorphs hunger for brains, some learn means to gain sustenance from consumption of psionic energies via emotions or thoughts.  With certain spells, it is possible to extract memories and experiences from living minds to sate the endless hunger for a time.  The more charged the memory, the longer the satiation.

When the Cenemorphs lower mandibles are closed they are practically indiscernible from normal humanoids, though the longer they go without feeding the more sallow their skin.  Only someone who was aware of the existence of their kind would have a possibility of looking for the tell tale folds along the skin and it would typically only be noticeable on one that were much older.

Cenemorph (Ceremorph, Half-Illithid) Traits

Your Cenemorph lineage character has the following racial traits.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.  A tactile telekinetic field helps you to move faster.

Ability Score Increase

When you determine your ability scores, increase one of those scores by 1. These increases can’t raise a score above 20. You follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. If you are replacing your race with a lineage, replace any Ability Score Increases you previously had with this.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character.  Deep Speech is typical.

Creature Type

Every creature in D&D, including every player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race option presented here tells you what your character’s creature type is.

Your creature type is both Humanoid and Aberration.

If an effect works on at least one of a creature’s types, that effect can work on that creature. For example, if you are both a Humanoid and an Undead, cure wounds works on you, since the spell works on a Humanoid.

Size

Your size is Medium or Small (choose when you gain this lineage).

Mindvision

You can search for living minds within 30 feet of you. This ability can penetrate barriers, but 2 feet of rock, 2 inches of any metal other than lead, or a thin sheet of lead blocks you. You can't detect a creature with an Intelligence of 3 or lower, undead or one that doesn't speak any language.

Spider Climb

You have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. In addition, at 3rd level, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.  Your ability is a form of tactile telekinesis allowing you to grip surfaces with the power of your psionic field.

Tentacle Attack

Your tentacle bite is a natural weapon, which counts as a simple melee weapon that does 1d4+Proficiency+Int psychic damage.

The victim is considered grappled. They must perform a contested INT check to free themselves from the grapple due to the psionic assault of the parasite. Resistance to Psionic damage automatically breaks the grapple. 

When you use your tentacle attack on a creature with Intelligence of 3 or greater that isn’t a Construct or an Undead, you can empower yourself in one of the following ways of your choice:
- gain a bonus to the next ability check or attack roll you make equal to your proficiency bonus
- gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the damage inflicted by the bite.

The character is covered with a thin layer of ectoplasm after feeding which evaporates after 10 minutes.
The empowerment can occur only once per victim and is not cumulative. Attacking a new victim will simply replace previous gains. You can empower yourself with your bite  a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Failure of the character to feed results in one level of exhaustion that cannot be cured except by a Heal spell or Wish spell.  For each additional week that passes another level of exhaustion is added until the character ultimately expires as the parasite consumed the host brain in a desperate bid for survival.

Mental Powers

Select one of the following feats:  Keen Mind, Linguist, Observant, Telekinesis, or Telepathy.