Homebrew Mindflayer (Illthid) Species Details
Mind flayers, also called illithids, are the scourge of sentient creatures across countless worlds. Psionic tyrants, slavers, and interdimensional voyagers, they are insidious masterminds that harvest entire races for their own twisted ends. Four tentacles snake from their octopus-like heads, flexing in hungry anticipation when sentient creatures come near.
In eons past, illithids controlled empires that spanned many worlds. They subjugated and consequently warped whole races of humanoid slaves, including the githyanki and githzerai, the grimlocks, and the kuo-toa. Conjoined by a collective consciousness, the illithids hatch plots as far-reaching and evil as their fathomless minds can conceive.
Since the fall of their empires, illithid collectives on the Material Plane have resided in the Underdark.
Most illithids belong to a colony of sibling mind flayers devoted to an elder brain-a massive brain-like being that resides in a briny pool near the center of a mind flayer community. Solitary Mind Flayers are considered Rogues... Perhaps the Mindflayer suffered an injury that altered the chemistry of the brain, perhaps it experienced mutations during its development, or perhaps its the last surviving member of a lost Illithid Colony. Either way, Rogue Mindflayers are viewed as abominations by Illithid Colonies, even their own, and must fight to survive encounters against their own kind.
Mindflayer (Illthid) Traits
The loss of connection to your Hive Mind reduces some of your abilities, but you still retain the following abilities .Ability Score Increase
Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age
Illithids are born as larvae that infest and consume a host body. Once the host is consumed, an Illithid larva requires only days to convert their host into a new Mindflayer, and instantly reaches full maturity. Mindflayers do not age in the manner of other beings, and can survive for 120 years.
Alignment
Mindflayers live under a strict hierarchy within their hive mind. The lives of other beings are of no value to Illithids, and indeed, even the lives of their fellow Mindflayers are seen as disposable in service of the greater Hive Mind. They are almost universally Lawful Evil, and any deviation in alignment is exceedingly rare, but may be a result of whatever causes a Mindflayer to be considered rogue.
Size
Mindflayers mutate the bodies of humanoids they possess, stretching and twisting their anatomy to the Mindflayer's preference. Your size is medium, and your height is higher than average among humans, rarely below 6 feet in height. Your internal anatomy lacks many unnecessary organs and other features, with a weight closer to 100 lbs despite your above-average height.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Your rogue nature prevents you from full levitation. Instead you have a fly speed of 10 feet (hover).
Mind Blast
You can use your action to emit psychic energy to harm others in a 15 foot cone. 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 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your Mind Blast, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Extract Brain
When Grappling an Incapacitated humanoid, you can attempt a special attack using your tentacles, which function as a natural weapon with which you are proficient. This attack deals 1d6+Intelligence Psychic damage. If this attack reduces the target to 0 hit points, you kill the target and consume its brain, gaining one of the following effects of your choice:
- You regain one use of your Mind Blast feature.
- You Gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the psychic damage you dealt to kill the target.
- You gain one of the target's memories. You may ask the target one question, and you gain the truthful answer within your own memories.
You may gain these benefits a number of times equal to your Proficiency Modifer, and cannot gain these benefits again until you complete a long rest.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Deep Speech and Undercommon.
Darkvision
Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can 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 gray.
Read Minds
At 5th level, you can open your mind to the thoughts of others. As an action, for 1 minute you can use a bonus action to read the surface thoughts of any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You regain expended use when you finish a long rest.
Levitation
At level 7, you gain a flying speed of 10 feet.
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