Soooo, I'm looking through Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and I'm going through Bluetspur.
Like this is the first time I ever actually read through it, normally I'm more interested in the monsters, Ancestries, Classes/Subclasses, Spells and equipment when it comes to DnD books.
But I've read through The God-Brain's section of Bluetspur and it mentions The God-Brain's research had an unexpected result, a truth so mind-bendingly alien to it that it went crazy from it.
Which got me thinking because it sounded really familiar: the idea of an Ilithid Elder brain going bonkers after being exposed to something.
Because it brought to mind The Thoon. Which was introduced in 3.5E's Monster Manual 4 or 5.
Basically the background of Thoon Mindflayers is that at one point, an Elder Brain when on an expedition to the Cavern of Thought in the Deep Caverns.
For those of you who don't know, the Deep Caverns are a place in the Astral Plane where all the Gods of the Aberrant Species dwell, The Beholder's Great Mother calls the Deep Caverns home.
And so does The Mindflayer's own God, Ilsenine. Which was a massive surprise for me to learn that the Species of Psionic squid-faced Aberrants with a detest for Magic actually worship a God.
That was until I learned that it was Arcane Magic they hated.
Basically you don't go to the Deep Caverns if you value your sanity.
So. Anyways, back on track: The Elder Brain goes on the expedition and something happens to it during that time, what exactly happened is unknown.
But when the Expedition returned, The Elder Brain was basically just ranting about The Thoon.
What The Thoon is, isn't made cleary: it could be a God, it could be a philosphy or anything. But as a result, The other Elder Brains booted this corrupted Brain from the collective.
But this Thoon Brain started gathering followers and started going on the hunt for this mysterious substance called Quintessence.
And it's through this Quintessence that they basically go from just pure bio-mechanical tech to a mixture of bio-mechanical and regular weird ass tech.
The Thoon are pretty cool; as a result of their use of Quintessence, they've got a bit more variety to them than regular Illithid collectives and The Quintessence is pretty much meant to be used as an flexible plot hook.
The Thoon could be mining it from a nearby mine, or abducting people and turning them into sleeper agents in order to extract the stuff from the local population of a town or what have you.
But it got me thinking: what if this revelation The God-Brain came across that led to it going crazy and start eating it's own kind in order to ascend.
Was The Thoon and instead of becoming dedicated to it like The Thoon brain did, The God-Brain instead tried to ascend to Godhood for some reason?
I mean, it's just as likely that The God-Brain discovered something as equally as mind-breaking to it as The Thoon was to The Thoon Brain.
The Mind Flayers, to my knowledge at least, don't exactly come from The Far Realm. They, in 3.5E at least, come from the fucking future and travelled back in time to try and get their empire started.
It's also why Aboleths don't like them (at least in 3.5E): Aboleths have a genetic memory dating back to the dawn of time. They've seen the creations of everything else in the Multiverse.
Then one day these squid-faced fuckers with psychic abilities and a penchant for sticking their babies in the heads of other living creatures just randomly pops up seemingly out of nowhere.
I'd be a bit confused as to where the fuck these things came from too if I were an Aboleth.
"Ooh, what the fuck? I don't remember these things being made. Oh cool they're psychic to0-WTF WHY ARE THEY STICKING THEIR BABIES INTO PEOPLE'S HEADS, THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
When adventurers find a piece of technology that isn’t from their world or time period, the players might understand what the object is, but the characters rarely will. To simulate a character’s ignorance about the technology, have the character make a series of Intelligence checks to figure it out.
To determine how the technology works, a character must succeed on a number of Intelligence checks based on the complexity of the item: two successes for a simple item (such as a cigarette lighter, calculator, or revolver) and four successes for a complex item (such as a computer, chainsaw, or hovercraft). Then consult the Figuring Out Alien Technology table. Consider making the item break if a character fails four or more times before taking a long rest.
A character who has seen an item used or has operated a similar item has advantage on Intelligence checks made to figure out its use.
Figuring Out Alien Technology
Int. Check Total | Result
9 or lower | 1 failure; 1 charge or use is wasted, if applicable; character has disadvantage on next check
10–14 | 1 Failure
15–19 | 1 Success
20 or higher | 1 success; character has advantage on next check
Plot Points
Plot points allow players to change the course of the campaign, introduce plot complications, alter the world, and even assume the role of the DM. If your first reaction to reading this optional rule is to worry that your players might abuse it, it’s probably not for you.
Using Plot Points
Each player starts with 1 plot point. During a session, a player can spend that point for one effect. The effect depends on your group’s approach to this optional rule. Three options are presented below.
A player can spend no more than 1 plot point per session. You can increase this limit if you like, especially if you want the players to drive more of the story. Once every player at the table has spent a plot point, they each gain 1 plot point.
Option 1: What a Twist!
A player who spends a plot point gets to add some element to the setting or situation that the group (including you) must accept as true. For example, a player can spend a plot point and state that his or her character has found a secret door, an NPC appears, or a monster turns out to be a long-lost ally polymorphed into a horrid beast.
A player who wants to spend a plot point in this way should take a minute to discuss his or her idea with everyone else at the table and get feedback before settling on a plot development.
Option 2: The Plot Thickens
Whenever a player spends a plot point, the player to his or her right must add a complication to the scene. For example, if the player who spends the plot point decides that her character has found a secret door, the player to the right might state that opening the door triggers a magical trap that teleports the party to another part of the dungeon.
Option 3: The Gods Must Be Crazy
With this approach, there is no permanent DM. Everyone makes a character, and one person starts as the DM and runs the game as normal. That person’s character becomes an NPC who can tag along with the group or remain on the sidelines, as the group wishes.
At any time, a player can spend a plot point to become the DM. That player’s character becomes an NPC, and play continues. It’s probably not a good idea to swap roles in the middle of combat, but it can happen if your group allows time for the new DM to settle into his or her role and pick up where the previous DM left off.
Using plot points in this way can make for an exciting campaign as each new DM steers the game in unexpected directions. This approach is also a great way for would-be DMs to try running a game in small, controlled doses.
In a campaign that uses plot points this way, everyone should come to the table with a bit of material prepared or specific encounters in mind. A player who isn’t prepared or who doesn’t feel like DMing can choose to not spend a plot point that session.
For this approach to work, it’s a good idea to establish some shared assumptions about the campaign so that DMs aren’t duplicating efforts or trampling on each other’s plans.
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Firearms
In a campaign where a spaceship has crashed or elements of modern-day Earth are present, Futuristic or Modern Firearms might appear. The Firearms Table provides examples of Firearms , the modern and futuristic items are priceless.
Proficiency
It’s up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldn’t have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Player’s Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.
Properties
Firearms use special ammunition, and some of them have the burst fire or reload property.
Ammunition. The Ammunition of a Firearm is destroyed upon use. Modern Firearms use bullets. Futuristic Firearms are powered by a special type of Ammunition called Energy Cells. An Energy Cell contains enough power for all the shots its firearm can make.
Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weapon’s normal damage. This action uses 10 pieces of ammunition.
Reload. A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the character’s choice).
Needler Pistol
This strange pistol resembles a flask with a honeycomb of tubes sticking out its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored at the base of the flask. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 10 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a burst of glowing, needlelike darts from the pistol in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d4 Piercing Damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell can’t be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Paralysis Pistol
This curious-looking pistol is shaped like a large, glass bulb with a handle on the bottom and brass prongs protruding from its front. The weapon is powered by an energy cell stored in its grip. Placing a full energy cell in the pistol gives the pistol 6 charges.
As an Action while holding this pistol, you can expend 1 of its charges to fire a ray of crackling energy at a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the paralyzed condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of the target’s turns, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the pistol has charges remaining, its energy cell can’t be removed. Once the pistol has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Ray Glove (Oard)
This is a small gun incorporated into a glove. It can fire 3 laser blasts per round, each being the equivalent of a Magic Missile Spell(range - 150', damage - 1d6+1 etc.). Unlike Magic Missiles, the laser blasts don't hit automatically.
The Oard must roll to hit as is using a normal missile weapon (range 50/100/150) but all targets are treated as armor class 11 ( Subtract{-} any Dexterity Bonuses Add{+} magical armor). The pistol can be used in melee (treat as short-range missile fire)
Blaster Tube (Oard)
A tubular device which can fire 2 blasts of Force Damage per round.
Each blast covers an area 10 feet wide & 120 feet long.
Any creature within the area will receive a forceful blow equivalent to a 20 foot fall onto a hard surface (2-12 points of Force or Bludgeoning Damage).
The Force Damage is halved by a successful saving throw vs. Dragon Breath.
Needler Pistol | — | 8d4 piercing | — |
Ammunition (range 15ft. cone; energy cell), reload (10 charges), special
Paralysis Pistol | — | — | — |
Ammunition (range 60; energy cell), reload (6 charges), special
Ray Glove (Oard) | 600 gp | 1d6+1 radiant | 1 lb. |
Ammunition (range 50-100/150, energy cell), reload (50 shots), light, fires 3 attacks per Attack Action
Blaster Tube (Oard) | 500 gp | 2d6 force | 8 lb. |
Ammunition (range 60/120, energy cell), reload (10 shots), 2-handed. Fires a 10-foot-wide, 120-foot-long line; creatures in the area make a Dexterity save for half damage.
Ammunition
Energy Cell | — | — | 5 oz. | —
Fireball Gem (1-3) | 400 gp | 6d8 fire | — |
Consumable, range 240 ft., explodes in 40-ft diameter sphere
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Explosives
A campaign might include explosives from the Modern World, as presented in the Explosives Table.
Bomb
As an action, a character can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 Fire Damage.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder is chiefly used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a Pistol or Rifle, or it is formed into a bomb. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in water-resistant powder horns.
Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (3d6 for a powder horn, 7d6 for a keg). A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to 1 ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.
Dynamite
As an action, a creature can light a stick of dynamite and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
A character can bind sticks of dynamite together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).
Dynamite can be rigged with a longer fuse to explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6 rounds. Roll Initiative for the dynamite. After the set number of rounds goes by, the dynamite explodes on that Initiative.
Grenades
As an Action, a character can throw a grenade at a point up to 60 feet away. With a grenade launcher, the character can propel the grenade up to 120 feet away.
Each creature within 20 feet of an exploding fragmentation grenade must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 Piercing Damage on a failed save, or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
1 round after a smoke grenade lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius.
A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds;
A strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.
Concussion Grenade. This grenade explodes in a concussive blast that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 Force Damage on a failed save or ½ as much damage on a successful 1.
Sleep Grenade. This grenade releases a cloud of soporific mist that fills a 20-foot-radius sphere, then dissipates. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have the unconscious condition for 1 hour. The condition ends on a creature early if the creature takes damage or if another creature uses an Action to shake it awake.
Fireball Gem (Oard). A tiny, self-propelled bomb which is the equivalent of a Fireball (range - 240' , area of effect - 40' diameter sphere ) , inflicting 6d8 points of damage.
EXPLOSIVES TABLE
Modern Item | Cost | Weight
Dynamite (Stick) | — | 1 lb.
Grenade, Fragmentation | — | 1 lb.
Grenade, Smoke | — | 2 lb.
Grenade Launcher | — | 7 lb.
Futuristic Item | Cost | Weight
Grenade, Concussion | — | 1 lb.
Grenade, Sleep | — | 1 lb.
Fireball Gem (Oard) | — | 1 lb.
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Powered Armor
This suit of technologically advanced plate armor includes an under-suit that can fully seal, a helmet with a full face mask and crystal lenses in the eyeholes, and a set of gauntlets. The armor is powered by an Energy Cell stored in a compartment on the thigh plate.
Placing a full Energy Cell in the armor gives the armor 24 charges. A suit of Powered Armor functions as a suit of normal plate armor, even when it has 0 charges remaining.
Activating the Armor. As an Action, you can expend any number of the armor’s charges to activate it; the armor remains active for 1 hour per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the armor early, but doing so doesn’t recover any expended charges.
While the armor is active, you gain the following benefits:
Augmented Physicality. You have Advantage on Strength checks, and your carrying capacity is doubled.
Environmental Adaptation. The armor seals airtight and provides its own atmosphere. You can breathe normally in any environment and withstand extreme temperatures, and you’re unaffected by harmful gases, as well as contact and inhaled poisons.
Force Field. When you would take damage, you can use your reaction to expend 1 of the armor’s charges to deploy a defensive force field. Roll 3d10 and reduce the damage taken by the total rolled.
Propulsion. As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 of the armor’s charges to gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed for 1 minute. If you’re airborne when this duration ends, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the armor has charges remaining, its energy cell can’t be removed. Once the armor has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Antigravity Belt
Metal tubes ring the lower edge of this wide belt. It is powered by an energy cell stored in a metal case near the buckle. Placing a full energy cell in the belt gives the belt 10 charges.
Activating the Belt. As a Bonus Action, you can expend any number of the belt’s charges to activate it; the belt remains active for 1 minute per charge expended. You can use a Bonus Action to deactivate the belt early, but doing so doesn’t recover any expended charges.
When you activate the belt, and as a Bonus Action while it remains active, you can rise or descend vertically up to 20 feet. You remain floating in place while the property is active, and you can move yourself horizontally by being pushed or towed or by scooting yourself along a surface, such as a wall or ceiling, at ½ your walking speed. If you are still levitating when the belt deactivates, you fall.
Replacing the Energy Cell. While the belt has charges remaining, its energy cell can’t be removed. Once the belt has 0 charges, you can replace the energy cell with a new cell by using an Action or a Bonus Action.
Oard Technology
Some of the many Oard weapons & devices are described below. Although these pieces of equipment are technological, their properties can be described in terms of similar magical effects. The powers and effects of Oard technology should be treated in the same way as the corresponding spells, except as specified in individual cases.
Oard devices are controlled and powered by means of wires which plug into the Oards' bodies, and are tuned to their individual users. No magic, nor any other means will give characters full use of these devices, although a Wish Spell might (DM's discretion) allow 1-4 uses. Since they are not magical, Oard devices won't be shown up by Detect Magic Spells. Unlike the casting of a spell, an Oard's use of a technological power isn't ruined by being disturbed.
Image Amulet
This device creates a permanent, holographic image around the Oard which allows the Oard to make itself look like any humanoid up to 10 feet tall. The screen also changes appearance of the Oard's clothes (ex. to look like furs) & equipment. There is no saving throw for those seeing this technological illusion, but a Truesight Spell, for example, would enable the caster to see through it. The screen stops working at once if the Oard is killed, revealing the creature in its true form.
Protection Belt
This device surrounds the Oard with a permanent, protective force field. The field is similar to the barrier created by a shield spell except that the Oard gains an armor class of 20 against all attacks.
In addition, the barrier gives protection equivalent to permanent protection spells from
- normal missile
- resist cold
- resist fire
Finally, the field has a limited anti-gravity power which allows the Oard to levitate at will for a total of up to 6 turns per day.
Speech Bracelet
This is a 2-way communication device with a range of 50 miles.
Time Travel Mirror
This enables the Oards to travel from their Oard Empire in the far future back through time into the history of Aelos. The cost in energy is enormous, however, and so only a few Oard agents can be sent.
Furthermore, the devices allow only 1-way travel, which means that the Oards cannot return to their own time through the devices.
These devices have their own holographic screens which may be used to disguise them as something else. A time travel device's screen ceases to function if all the Oards who passed through it are dead.
Value & Appearance of Oard Devices
Oards do not have treasures as such, but their devices and equipment are exquisitely made from plastics, metals, and crystals.
In the adventurers' own world, these objects would be regarded as very fine, unusual jewelry or adornment, and so have corresponding values:
- An Image Amulet looks like a gem-encrusted, gold filigree amulet on a silver chain
( value - 800 GP )
- A Ray Glove looks like a gauntlet of incredibly fine chainmail, decorated with gold filigree and a large, elongated gem on the index finger
( value - 600 GP )
- A Blaster Tube is an ornately inlaid, transparent cylinder (about 3 inches wide and 18 inches long) open only at 1 end. If it could be used, for example, as a case for storing scrolls
( value - 500 GP )
- A Fireball Gem has the appearance of a short, hollow gold wand with large gem mounted at the end
( value - 400 GP )
- A Protection Belt looks like a beautifully decorated girdle
( value - 600 GP )
- A Speech Bracelet looks like a delicately wrought bracelet
( value - 400 GP )
- A Time Travel Mirror looks like a perfect, full-length mirror set in a gold frame
( value - 6000 GP )
- A set of Oard Clothes appear to be made of exceedingly fine but hard-wearing silk, embroidered with minutely detailed patterns in precious metals
( value - 200 GP per suit )
Illithids are crafty, no doubt about that! I don't suppose many give them credit for their inventions , especially in light of the way Illithids use these items. The Mindflayer philosophy is reminiscent of the human adage;
" Build a better mousetrap and you'll catch more mice. "
Now if you substitute the word "mouse" for the word "supper" , you'll catch the implication just fine.
~ A statement taken from Gazpar, current owner of Wakeman's Subterranean Exotics
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Given the Illithids' intelligence (some go so far as to label them geniuses) , it probably doesn't come as a surprise that they have produced a wide variety of technological marvels over the years. What is most interesting , however , is the Illithid penchant for building psionically empowered devices.
While certainly not the only interest of illithid engineers, psionically empowered devices are the Illithids' answer to the magically enchanted tools often utilized by thrall races/species. What Illithids lack in spell components, they more that make up for in their ability to produce vast quantities of psi-active mucous from glands within their own skin!
Many hours of Illithid research revealed a method by which the Mindflayers could incorporate excess psi-active mucous into newly forged inanimate objects, devices, and even weapons. This method included means of imprinting such devices with "psionic circuitry" of sorts , wherein a psychic impulse could be stored and later activated by specific stimuli of a sentient user. Once activated, a device fullfills its psychic potential according to the instructions stored in its inert psionic pathways - usually powering itself from the brainwave activity of the user itself.
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IMPRINT PSIONIC CIRCUITRY ( Psychokinetic Science* )
MAC: 5
PSP Cost: Varies
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: Individual or Object
This science allows the Illithid to imprint items or individuals with Psionic Circuitry. Psionic Circuitry exists as filaments of ethereal substance interwoven with solid material or flesh; it is formed from equal parts psionic-power and psi-active mucous. Usually, Psionic Circuitry is not visible unless it is within the vicinity of a creature with an Intelligence of 5 or higher, it is within the vicinity of a psionic mind, or it becomes active through the will of an Illithid. Active circuit pathways flare with ghostly incandescence.
When an Illithid constructs Psionic Circuitry, it fashions the circuits to hold a specific psionic impulse or effect. This impulse or effect can be as simple as granting a wearer 10 extra PSPs per 12-hour period, or as complex as opening a portal between dimensions on the face of a stone wall inscribed with circuitry.
Laying down Psionic Circuitry requires many months of laborious research, followed by the application of said research. At minimum, an Illithid must spend 3 months to embed even the simplest Psionic Circuitry, while an expenditure of years is not uncommon in the creation of truly complex circuit diagrams.
Generally, it takes 1 month of work plus and additional month per Psionic Strength Point required by the circuit's effect to imprint the psionic pathway. Thus, a Psionic Circuit that uses 'Cause Decay' (PSP cost 4) , takes an Illithid 4 months to build.
The Illithid laying the circuit must make a Power Check (MTHAC0 roll) at the beginning of the imprinting process. Failure indicates that the Illithid could not create the necessary amalgamation of ethereal filaments and material essence; the potential Psionic Circuitry collapses.
A successful MTHAC0 roll indicates that the Illithid has created the basics of the Psionic Circuit ; it can now link a particular Psionic Ability to the circuit. Linking a Psionic Ability to a circuit takes a number of months equal to the power's PSP cost. During this time, the Illithid must make a successful MTHAC0 roll against the power's MAC each month of work, and it must work at least 4 hours every day on the circuit. Failure at any stage destroys the Psionic Circuit beyond repair.
In order to link a Psionic Power requires a pool of PSPs (in case of powers activated across multiple rounds) , an Illithid must 1st construct a Psychic Reservoir and link this item to the Psionic Circuit.
Note that Illithids cannot link telepathic devotions and sciences to material objects ; these powers require an organic mind to function.
*Dungeon Masters using The Complete Psionics Handbook should change this power to Metapsionic Science
*Common Illithids have a 30% chance to roll once on the table, notable Illithids automatically roll twice on the table, and Ulitharids roll thrice on the table
Unique Psionic Item Menu **
D4 | Psionic Item
01 | Elder Brain Transceiver
02 | Ghost Anchor
03 | Hazard
04 | Series Spelljamming Helms/Natiloid
** These items are unlikely to appear randomly, but are listed on the table for completeness sake.
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Brainmate
When Illithids travel far from their community, they are out of touch with the elder brain. To creatures used to the constant susurration of the elder brain's thought, knowledge, and perception, the loss of contact with the elder brain can be quite unsettling. Companies that travel for long periods of time outside the reach of an elder brain can rely on a transceiver (see below). Illithids belonging to less-ambitious forays are often forced to stiffen their tentacles and bear the brunt of contact loss—unless they are one of the fortunate few to own a brainmate.
The brainmate appears as a 5-inch-diameter globe of translucent material, in which can be seen a miniature disembodied brain suspended in a languid, heavy fluid. Illithids often wear this globe on a chain around their neck while in use, or else they safely store it away within a well-cushioned chest.
The brainmate is a result of one of the very few Illithid forays into Biomancy; Illithids normally prefer to base their technology on distilled mucous essence and inanimate materials, but they made an exception in this case. A brainmate is simply a small bud from an elder brain, surrounded by excess illithid mucous.
The brainmate retains some sentience (an Intelligence of around 9)—though it was not created to analyze and evaluate problems. Rather, the brainmate carries large portions of important specialized memory for use by an illithid separated from the elder brain itself.
Thus, a brainmate cannot make correlations. It simply contains a portion of an elder brain's skills and knowledge, which are then at the beck and call of the brainmate's owner. Usually, a brainmate's areas of expertise fall into two or three subjects. A brainmate can also make a record of its environment through the perceptions of its owner. Thus, when an illithid returns its brainmate to the elder brain, the brainmate uploads this recorded information for the further edification of the central elder brain.
If a Brainmate were to fall into the hands of a nonillithid, it is entirely possible that it would telepathically answer questions put to it—just as it did for its illithid creators. After all, a disembodied brain often leads a solitary existence. In game terms, the information contained within a brainmate is equal to that of a sage; each individual brainmate rolls 3 times on
Table 61: Fields of Study in the DUNGEON MASTER'S Guide. Questions put to the brainmate in these three areas are generally answerable, unless too specific. Also, a brainmate never forgets anything it senses through its owners, so it can make a great memory prod if necessary. However, a captured brainmate is still unable to conjecture independently, or correlate information in order to solve a puzzle or deduce an answer.
Cephalometer
The Cephalometer is a metallic, psionically empowered device that directly measures the head sizes of thralls via two inwardly curved projections connected at one end; an illithid can open and close this end to varying widths in order to encompass a head and find its size. In addition, this device measures the innate psionic potential of the head in question, as well as the chemical balance of a host of neurotransmitters and cranial hormones important to illithid nutrition. The readings appear on a small blank panel on one arm of the cephalometer, using the distinctive striated lines of Qualith while the head remains in the calipers. Once the calipers are removed from the head, the striations subside back into the panel, leaving it blank once more.
Dampsuits
Designed by the Ariser Creed for Illithid activity in dry, sunlit areas, the Dampsuit is a marvel of Mindflayer Ingenuity.
Composed of slick black leather, the suit fits perfectly over the Illithid form. It even includes a skullcap that pulls down over an Illithid's head, yet leaves room for its tentacles to protrude normally or furl comfortably within a tentacle pouch.
While seamless on its exterior, the Dampsuit contains several interior layers that work in conjunction with natural illithid skin mucus, storing and preserving life-giving moisture. As long as the suit's integrity is maintained, frozen tundras and sweltering deserts are equally traversable by the protected illithid.
Furthermore, an illithid does not need to drink while suited. Illithids wearing Dampsuits and Glaregoggles operate almost normally on the surface of a world, although the Dampsuit does require at least one pint of water per week to recharge its reservoir.
Additionally, an illithid (or other humanoid creature) receives a –1 penalty to AC while wearing a Dampsuit.
However, too many slashes and cuts in the armor eventually destroy its integrity, rendering the suit useless. Generally, Dampsuits must make item saving throws (as leather) against specific attack types each time their wearers suffer damage from an attack. For example, a Dampsuit saves vs. Crushing Blow when hit by weapons, Electricity when struck by a lightning bolt, and so on.
Once a Dampsuit fails its item saving throw five times, it becomes useless.
Exoskeleton
Based on the technology used in the creation of a Dampsuit, the exoskeleton is almost identical to that protective device. Unlike the Dampsuit, however, the exoskeleton does not offer any protection against drying.
Rather, reinforced metallic plates and braces interwoven between the suit's layers provide enhanced protection to the exoskeleton's wearer, giving the user a more structured, carapaced appearance as well as an Armor Class of 1.
In addition to providing enhanced protection, embedded psionic circuitry within the exoskeleton enhances the wearer's Strength and Dexterity when fueled by PSPs. The Strength and Dexterity enhancement equals one-half the number of PSPs channeled into the suit on a round-by-round basis, although neither the wearer's Strength nor Dexterity can increase above 20 at any time, regardless of the number of PSPs invested in the suit.
For example, Susk the tamer, while wearing an exoskeleton, has a Strength of 12 and a Dexterity of 10. At the beginning of a melee round, Susk channels 14 PSPs into the exoskeleton for Strength and 14 PSPs for Dexterity, adding 7 points to each attribute. This raises his Strength to 19 and his Dexterity to 17 for one round of combat.
If Susk wishes to continue operating with heightened statistics, he must continue channeling PSPs into the exoskeleton every round.
The exoskeleton can absorb up to 200 PSPs during a twenty-four-hour period. Once this threshold is exceeded, its psionic circuitry shuts down for twenty-four hours in order to recover. No ability enhancements are possible until this refractory period has elapsed.
Glaregoggles
Glaregoggles appear as a pair of tight-fitting black lenses complete with side shields; Illithids use leather straps to secure these items snugly around their heads. The lenses filter visible light (light emitted by candles, torches, lanterns, or the sun), translating frequency and wavelength down-ward such that only infrared light escapes from the lenses' opposite side. Glaregoggles allow any creature normally possessing infravision to see normally in direct sunlight. However, infra-visual ranges are not in any way extended by Glaregoggles.
Additionally, Glaregoggles don't allow infrared vision in regions where there is an absence of visible light; a creature with infravision would need to remove the goggles in such circumstances in order to see normally with its infravision.
Psionic Seals
Illithids with access to the Imprint Psionic Circuitry mental discipline (see Chapter 3 for more details) can inscribe psionic seals upon inanimate objects, portable objects, or upon living creatures (similar to tattoos). Although psi-sensitive individuals may see these psionic seals, they may not immediately understand their significance.
In essence, a psionic seal is a small bit of psionic circuitry incorporated into an object (or being) that was not originally designed to possess it. Thus, psionic seals are external to the object—although the object acts as an anchor to the seal.
Possible Effects of Personal Psionic Seal
D10 | Effect
01 | Heals 2d10 hit points 1×/24 hours
02 | Immune to 1 physical attack every 24 hours
03 | Allow wearer to transfer up to ½ of its PSPs to another illithid with similar seal
04 | Reflect 1 spell (that's already breached magic resistance) back on caster 1×/week
05 | Wearer gains immunity to normal fires
06 | Hastens wearer to 2× normal actions for 3 rounds 1×/24-hour period
07 | Allows wearer to pierce one illusion every 24 hours
08 | Seal acts as a skeleton key to normal locks 1×/24 hours
09 | Wearer can resist 1 poisoning attempt per week
10 | Wearer can sense the presence of undead in a 360-foot radius 1×/24 hours
A variety of effects can be imprinted into a psionic seal, depending upon its complexity. A list of standard placements and effects for psionic seals appears on page 85. However, the list is by no means exhaustive.
Psionic seals can appear upon doors, passages, or other places, acting as guards against random intrusion. If a creature passing through a sealed area does not speak the proper deactivation code, the psionic seal subjects the interloper to 10d6 hit points of psionically generated pain (¼ damage on a successful saving throw vs. death magic). Generally speaking, immobile seals of this sort function five times per day. After a twenty-four-hour refractory period elapses, the psionic seal is once again fully recharged and able to repel intruders.
Psionic seals can be placed on mobile objects—such as the page of a book or the outside of a trunk or satchel. Generally speaking, such seals psionically lock the item from naturally opening. Only the proper command word (or thought) temporarily disengages the seal so that a book or container can be successfully opened. Note that such seals can also appear on doors, acting much like the wizard lock spell.
Finally, an Illithid can imprint a psionic seal upon the flesh of a living being as a tattoo. Sometimes, mind flayers brand such seals into thralls, allowing the Illithids to know the location, health, and mental state of any imprinted slaves. Thralls branded in this way are also easily identifiable to other Illithids as being of special importance, as the use of a psionic seal on a thrall is a great investiture of time.
Alternately, Illithids might imprint a psionic seal upon another of their kind. In these cases, the psionic circuitry inherent to the seal generally possesses some stored beneficial power upon which the branded illithid can call once per day. These powers often resemble normal psionic abilities germane to Illithids. However, when activated from a psionic seal, such powers do not drain any PSPs from the Illithid using the seal. The table below gives a few additional examples of the benefits provided by a psionic seal branded to another creature. Note that an individual can wear only 2-3 tattoos at a single time before the subdermal extent of the psionic circuitry inherent in each seal threatens to cross and short circuit.
Psychic Reservoir
This item appears as a small, malleable gobbet of Illithid mucous bound in a clear membrane that hangs from a neck chain. Illithids can store up to a maximum of 50 PSPs within each reservoir, which they can then use at their discretion. Any time the reservoir’s PSP total drops below 50 PSPs, the item can be recharged. Recharging a psychic reservoir requires one hour’s worth of concentration and the application of personal psionic points—one third of which are actually stored within the pouch. For example, an illithid might channel 60 PSPs to the reservoir over an hour’s period, but only 20 of those PSPs remain in the item at the end of that hour.
Psychic Sword
Developed by the combat-obsessed Tamer Creed, the Illithid psychic sword is based to some extent on the silver sword of their Githyanki enemies. While a silver sword has magical components, an illithid psychic sword gains its power from embedded psionic circuitry that visibly glows throughout the blade when held by a sentient being; the blade remains dark and inert while unused.
Illithids generally construct psychic longswords—though they do fashion other types of psychic weapons. Like their magically enchanted counterparts, psionic weapons possess attack and damage bonuses; these bonuses function for all intents and purposes like magical bonuses. However, a weapon's psychic bonus depends upon the wielder’s Intelligence score, varying in accordance with the strength of the wielder's mind as shown on the Illithid Psychic Sword table below. Wielders of higher Intelligence can also catalyze cumulative effects embedded in the psionic circuitry of the blade. It is likely that different blades have different impulses coded into their psionic circuitry; however, the table below gives an example of a generic psychic sword.
*Wielder is undetectable by spells or items using magical divination and is equally protected against psionic detection (such as that used by an elder brain). Effect only catalyzed while blade is drawn.
**As the psionic devotion of the same name. Effect only catalyzed while blade is drawn.
***Against magically protected foes, each swing of the psychic sword has a 50% chance to ignore magical
“pluses” of protection offered by such items as magical armor, bracers, or rings of protection.
Resonance Stones
Appearing as egg-sized chunks of polished crystal or gemstone, resonance stones are each psionically imprinted with an emotion. In most cases, the emotion imprinted is radiated to any sentient mind that enters within 20 feet of the stone. Often, an illithid will place a resonance stone as a bit of psychological decoration within a room; such a stone can radiate a broad range of feelings, including satisfaction, elation, anticipation, or satiation. Those within the emotive perimeter of the stone can only feel an emotion that they have previously felt themselves. Often, such emotions are associated with a particular Illithid’s dwelling in much the same way as a familiar, distinctive smell might be associated with the home of a surface dweller.
Defensive resonance stones are touch-activated items that radiate intense emotions like fear, disgust, exhaustion, or apathy to a 20-foot radius. Those affected by this emotional overload must make a saving throw vs. spell or be incapacitated within the area. Illithids often use touch-activated resonance stones defensively, setting them to radiate intense, negative emotions like fear, exhaustion, or apathy. Anyone within 20 feet of an activated stone must pass a saving throw vs. spell or be overwhelmed by the emotion, rendering them unable to take actions while in the area of effect; they are simply overwhelmed by the strength of the emotion exuded by the stone.
Striator
This device is a small implement that at first glance appears like a pen or quill. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the item possesses four small metallic extensions at one end. The Striator remains inert until grasped. In the hands of a sentient being, thoughts are translated directly to the pen tips, which in turn psionically raise a four-level striation upon stiff parchment or paper as the Striator is moved across the page from left to right. Even if the being using the Striator cannot read illithid touch script, the Striator still unerringly translates the thoughts of the wielder into four-level logic readable by most Illithids.
Tentacle Extensions
While unattached, tentacle extensions (grouped in arrangements of four or six) appear as damp cables 3 feet in length; these extensions often have razor-sharp blades attached to one end. When an Illithid physically places the blunt end of an extension to its tentacle tip and spends 5 PSPs, it psionically causes the device to energize and graft to the end of the Illithid’s tentacle. Once grafted, the tentacle extension acts in many ways like the wearer’s natural tentacles, albeit with an additional 3 feet of length. A small duct within the extension also conveys an Illithid’s natural flesh-dissolving enzyme to the bladed extension tip.
A tentacle extension grants its wielder a +2 attack bonus (for tentacle strikes only). In addition, an illithid utilizing such a device inflicts a total of 1d4+4 points of damage with each successful hit, and it can still withdraw a victim’s brain if four tentacles gain a foothold on the foe’s cranium. Tentacle extensions remain active as long as their wearers spend 5 PSPs every turn. However, Illithids cannot wear tentacle extensions for more than two hours at a time before debilitating fatigue sets in. Once a Mindflayer removes an extension, it cannot activate that particular device for another 12 hours.
Voice Box
This psionically empowered device translates its wearer’s telepathic speech into audible words of a preselected language. Each voice box appears as a small, flattened block of dull metal, usually hung upon a chain or pendant. The small box normally contains one line of Qualith identifying a single language (it could be Drowish, Common, Elvish, etc.); Illithids key the preselected language into the voice box during the fashioning of this item.
To operate, the wearer activates the device mentally, causing it to audibly vocalize thoughts in the preselected language at an average volume. Users can adjust the volume or temporarily deactivate the device with separate mental commands.
Unique Psionic Items
The following is a listing of rare psionic items used in some Illithid communities.
Elder Brain Transceiver
When a large group of Illithids know that they must operate autonomously (without contact with the elder brain of their community) for long periods of time, they often construct a Transceiver that boosts their telepathic range in order to maintain contact with the elder brain.
Elder Brain Transceivers are large and nonmobile, so they are built only when the base of operations is stable. The device features a large, 8-foot-tall, egg-shaped main component with a hollow interior accessible via a side or bottom portal. Eight tentacle-like cables extend from the main body to individual, surrounding small wading pools. While the structure appears to be crusted, organic, and almost alive, the transceiver is not a living creature.
To operate the device, a single Mindflayer occupies the hollow egg, while 8 other Illithids enter each wadding pool and concentrate their telepathic ability up through the appendages and into the egg. The Illithid inside the egg then channels the combined & amplified energies of the other Mindflayers and sets up rapport with its own elder brain.
Ghost Anchor (Unique Item)
Using portions of the technology necessary to fashion a psychic blade, a long-dead illithid constructed a psychic spear possessed of special powers that have yet to be duplicated successfully. In time, the psychic spear gained the appellation “Ghost Anchor” due to its particular capacities.
Ghost Anchor is a throwing spear and appears as a long shaft of transparent iron (called Nephelium by the Duergar) that slowly tapers to a razor-sharp spearhead. The blunt end of the spear trails a 75-foot length of strong, silvery cord, which is amazingly strong despite its thin diameter.
Against normal creatures, Ghost Anchor acts like an average spear—though it does make item saving throws on the steel column with a +4 bonus. It is against ethereal creatures that Ghost Anchor is most efficacious. The wielder of Ghost Anchor is able to see all ethereal creatures within 60 feet while grasping the haft of the glasslike weapon. The wielder can attack visualized ethereal creatures with Ghost Anchor by casting the spear. Such attacks are made against the ethereal creature with a +3 bonus, and all appropriate missile attack bonuses due to the high Dexterity of the caster are also incorporated into the attack roll.
A successful attack inflicts 1d10+3 hit points of damage upon the ethereal creature. More importantly, though, Ghost Anchor pierces and hooks the target much like a harpoon. The creature so entangled has one chance to break away (with a successful bend bars/lift gates roll); otherwise, Ghost Anchor remains attached. While the psionic spear remains in place, it neutralizes all spell-like powers, spells, or psionic abilities of the pierced target.
The wielder now has 2 options:
- Tie off the silvery cord to an inanimate present location
- Grasp the cord fully and pull the ethereal object—thereby anchoring the ethereal creature to the Prime Material Plane.
Once this occurs, Ghost Anchor loses its attachment upon the formerly ethereal creature. However, the hapless creature suffers severe disorientation, and it cannot use any mental or magical powers for a full 10 rounds. In addition, a disoriented creature cannot travel back to the Ethereal Plane during this time. Once an ethereal creature (such as a ghost) is brought into the solid world, it is often much easier to deal with using mundane methods.
Hazard (Unique Item)
Hazard is the name given to a one-of-a-kind psychic sword that possesses a few special characteristics. The weapon is a longsword and has all the abilities native to a standard psychic sword—including full empowerment to wielders with Very High or better Intelligence—as well as the following abilities that function no matter the wielder’s Intelligence score.
Luck: Once every twenty-four-hour period of time, the user can call upon the psychic power of Hazard to manipulate chance and fate. The wielder can reroll a failed saving throw, attack roll, or ability check (including such skills as open doors, bend bars/lift gates, hide in shadows, etc.) and substitute the better of the two rolls. However, the wielder cannot sidestep the universal balance sheets so easily. Before the creature can again make use of this power (24 hours later), it must reroll an important saving throw, attack roll, or ability check (chosen by the DM) and use the poorest of the two rolls. Note that the luck conferred by Hazard need not be related to the use of the psychic sword itself.
Unerring Strike: Once during a creature’s possession of Hazard, it can choose to succeed at a saving throw, attack roll, or ability check automatically without recourse to a roll. Once this power is used, Hazard remains in the wielder’s possession for a maximum of 3 additional rounds, after which it vanishes to seek a new owner in the multiverse. Usually, Hazard psychoports itself to prime worlds where creatures may easily find it. Sometimes, though, it psychoports within crypts or dragon hoards, where it languishes for ages before finally being recovered through “luck.” No power has yet proven sufficient to prevent Hazard from divorcing itself from a wielder once that wielder has called upon the Unerring Strike power.
Series Spelljamming Helms
Some communities of Illithids are not bound to subterranean depths; rather, these creatures inhabit the dark spaces between worlds. Such mind flayers generally view world-bound Illithid communities as rustic, but necessary to further illithid plans. Some world-bound Illithids, on the other hand, view their world-hopping relations as rash creatures, ungoverned by practical considerations.
Whatever the truth, the ability to travel between worlds is imparted by a Series Spelljamming Helm (the term Spelljamming is an archaic reference to magical versions of the illithid series helm). These devices appear as a series of linked seats with recesses for head, arms, legs, and feet. Series helms are solidly attached to a large vessel capable of carrying an illithid crew and cargo. When Illithids occupy every seat in a series helm, the creatures' combined psychic power is drawn out by the device, amplified, and precisely directed so as to provide enough motive power for the vessel to rise up in the air and exit the atmospheric envelope of a planet!
Nautiloids
Illithid Spelljamming Vessels, also called Nautiloids, carry a cargo of up to 35 tons. Such ships normally boast crews of at least 35 Illithids, 2–5 of which must occupy the series helm to provide motive force for the craft. A Nautiloid is approximately 180 feet long and has the appearance of a massive snail’s shell, from which protrudes a tapering bundle of tentacle-like spars that serves as a ram.
The coiled shell of the nautiloid (see diagram below) provides the comfort of enclosed spaces while at the same time providing protection against direct sunlight. However, the ship is not completely sealed against its outer environment. A film of pressurized, heated, and breathable atmosphere coats the ship. This atmospheric film allows illithid thralls (and illithids protected against possible sunglare) to move freely from interior to exterior as their duties dictate.
While docking facilities for Nautiloids are typically exclusive to space-based Illithids, some terrestrial communities may maintain hidden docks at mountain peaks. Communities engaged in trade with these space-faring Illithids are often characterized by unique, exotic items, as well as remnants from the piracy associated with the Nautiloid’s ram.
Little is known about the Far Realm. In Dungeons & Dragons, it is a place that exists beyond known reality. It is also the home and birthplace of all manner of eldritch horrors, including patrons that may preside over Great Old One Warlocks. Bits and pieces of information regarding the Far Realm can be found in D&D's various editions. Here's a close look at what may be the game's most nightmarish setting.
The Far Realm: A Place Beyond the Known Multiverse
While information on the Far Realm in 5th edition remains sparse, D&D’s 3rd edition Manual of the Planes delved into the impossible geometry behind this extradimensional space. In short, both gravity and time are absent in the Far Realm, and instead of the normal rules of physics, the Far Realm is composed of an infinite array of translucent layers that seemingly meld into each other. Inhabitants of the Far Realm can pass from one layer to another simply by willing it, and landmarks—encompassing everything from alien seascapes to forests of giant floating tentacles—might stretch across multiple layers.
Forget what you know about the various planes of existence in D&D. The Far Realm is beyond the planes themselves, and according to the Dungeon Master’s Guide, might well be a separate universe existing outside of the D&D Multiverse. Just as we can’t exactly fathom what exists beyond our own universe, the majority of denizens from D&D’s various worlds have no idea what lies in the Far Realm. Learned mages and daring Githyanki sailors of the Astral Sea might have an inkling of this unfathomable cosmic space. But even then, those who strive too hard to understand it risk shattering the limits of their mind.
Monsters of the Far Realm
Chances are, travelers to the Far Realm will be flummoxed by the place’s strange geometry, only comprehending bits and pieces of lifeforms and landmasses depending on which layer they stand on.
The Far Realm first originated in the 1996 module The Gates of Firestorm Peak, for D&D’s 2nd edition. There, adventurers learned of a portal that ancient elves had once opened to the Far Realm, freeing a host of deadly alien creatures. That portal has long since been closed, but the monsters born from the murky goop outside of the multiverse have over time found their way into D&D’s various worlds.
When considering creatures either native to the Far Realm or touched by its energy, think of aberrations—including D&D mainstays like the Beholder, Illithid, and Aboleth, as well as lesser-known entities like the Neogi and the Nothic. 3rd Edition D&D also featured the Kaorti, an alien race who had once been wizards of the Forgotten Realms but were transformed into unnatural, desiccated humanoids by one of the Elder Evils, the greatest of Far Realm creatures.
The Elder Evils of the Far Realm
The Elder Evils are hinted at in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes as “beings set apart from what mortals consider reality,” as well as the masters behind the sinister heralds of doom known as Star Spawns. Usually incapable of leaving the Far Realm, the Elder Evils’ influence leaks out into the worlds of the Material Plane, often influencing the actions of power-hungry cultists.
Examples of these horrific, primordial forces include
- THARIZDUN — the Chained Destroyer god who created the Abyss
— KYUSS - the Worm That Walks, a giant supposedly composed of a mass of slithering maggots.
Fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos will find the Elder Evils familiar, since Lovecraft wrote of unfathomable titans that existed beyond the fringes of reality, dwarfing all human conceptions of good and evil. Any Dungeon Master looking to portray these immense beings might do well to investigate Lovecraft’s writing or read the sections on cosmic horror and fear and stress in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
Visiting the Far Realm
The Far Realm is unkind to creatures from the D&D multiverse. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything includes a rollable table of environmental effects for the Far Realm. A character could suddenly find the ground has turned into writhing flesh or that they are compelled to complete a ritual that will conjure a Death Slaad.
"Each round the adventurers are in the Far Realm, they must each make a successful DC 15 Wisdom saving throw at the beginning of each turn or suffer the effects of confusion that round. The chart has been modified from the one in the Player’s Handbook to more accurately reflect the effects of the Far Realm."
"Rrakkma" , an introductory adventure to Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, includes a punishing mechanic that shows how quickly the Far Realm can warp a character's mind:
CONFUSION BEHAVIOR
D10 | BEHAVIOR
1 | The creature uses all its movement to move in a random direction. To determine the direction, roll a d8 and assign a direction to each die face. The creature doesn't take an action this turn.
2–7 | The creature doesn't move or take actions this turn.
8–10 | The creature uses its action to make a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach. If there is no creature within its reach, the creature does nothing this turn.
Adventures in the Far Realm
While the Far Realm might seem difficult to grasp, its nebulous nature also makes it a compelling sandbox for DMs who want to make their players’ heads spin.
1. The Far Realm’s most direct link to the characters is the Great Old One Warlock patron. The reasons behind why this ancient entity might share its power could be the stuff of an entire campaign, particularly one starring warlocks who all serve the Great Old One. Perhaps this elusive patron is a benevolent deity of the Far Realm, and is in fact seeking to get the characters to travel to its domain to defeat the encroaching forces of the kaort!
Consider the following three hooks for adventures involving the Far Realm:
2. Previous editions of D&D hinted that psionic power originated in the Far Realm. This is an excellent kernel to explore in an adventure starring character subclasses like the Psi Warrior Fighter, the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, and the Soulknife Rogue. Paint the characters as outcasts who are feared for their Psionic Abilities, similar to mutant heroes like the X-Men. Then, dangle the possibility of them learning the origins of their power in the Far Realm. Perhaps a group of Githyanki—who also specialize in psionics—are willing to transport the characters to the Far Realm, but only if they first assist them in an assault on a Mind Flayer outpost in the Astral Sea!
3. If you want to incorporate a smidgeon of the Far Realm into your game without making it the focus of an entire campaign, try crafting a single dungeon based on this Esoteric Dimension. The characters might stumble into the dungeon via a portal, or perhaps while fiddling with a Cubic Gate left behind in an Aboleth’s treasure horde. Their quest to escape can easily take up several sessions at the gaming table. Reskin one of the levels of Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage for a quick start, replacing the monsters with aberrations and setting the dungeon in a multi-layered tentacle forest of the Far Realm instead of the hallways of Undermountain. Your players will be none the wiser, since they’ll be too busy trying to figure out exactly where they ended up!
Cosmic Depths Await You
There’s no time like the present to start planning a dive into D&D’s most bizarre setting.
Just remember to be humbled by the sheer insignificance of your place in the multiverse, for any who dare to investigate the Far Realm will quickly come face-to-face with cosmic truths not meant for humanoid minds!
I'm working on a redesign of the D&D Mindflayer, but want to stick close to how they function in the lore, I decided to base my design off of temnospondyls because they are described as amphibians. But I'm struggling on what to do with the mouth. In the lore they have a lamprey-like jawless mouth, and secrete an acidic enzyme to instantly melt through the skull rather than crunching through with brute force, they also eat other types of meat besides brains, are there any changes you would make to stick relatively close to the canon version while also making it seem like something that a salamander-like animal could reasonably evolve into?
In that recent Mindflayer ask I also forgot to ask you how you would make their mouth structure more realistic.
Lampreys mainly suck blood, and gradually wear the flesh down over time, they don't really rip off a chunk of flesh in a short amount of time like a cookie cutter shark.
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Temnospondyls are a pretty diverse group, so there's definitely a lot to work with there!
even jawed animals sometimes evolve to have a less flexible jaw, so you can still go with a rounded open mouth similar to a lamprey, or something like the mouth of a bottom feeding fish. the catfish and pleco are good examples of this, with their mouths on the bottom of their faces, built very well for slurping their food. Mindflayers are psychic, so the slow acid-based feeding method can still work as they keep their prey still through psychic influence and/or paralyzing venom.
Or, you can go for speed and do something like a cookie cutter shark mouth. looks about as creepy as a lamprey mouth, in my opinion. Maybe they like to saw the skull open in a nice circle and then slurp the brains. terrifying.
gonna put these creepy mouths under a cut so people can avoid them lol
(image description: first image is a photo of a lamprey mouth, which is very open and round with rings of tooth-like structures all around the actual mouth opening. second image is a photo of a cookie cutter shark, which has a low, rounded mouth with flat triangular teeth in its lower jaw and smaller teeth on its upper jaw. end description)
I just learned that mind flayers aren't even the smartest squids in the monster manual. A kraken has a higher INT score than an elder brain. Imagine literally being a giant brain that consumes and consists of the brains of a race of geniuses and somehow being dumber than a stock sea monster. This is how the gith bullied the empire to collapse.
Considering that Illithid have repeated the same Gith mistake at least three other times since the empire fell, I can't even be surprised. Honestly, I'm shocked an empire even managed to happen to begin with.
I still think it's so funny that illithid are always depicted as having human thralls, but then you look into their colonies and the vast majority of the population looks like this:
And they're all happy to be there because they like it when mind flayers tell them what to do; they're not even enthralled. It's enrichment for them.
In Baldur's Gate 3, the Mindflayers are a hive-mind with no individuality or social connection. This would imply that the social impetus of modesty would not be present, and thus they should have no reason to cover themselves
Yet for some reason, they wear clothing. And it's not because they didn't want to show nudity, because there are also some mindflayers which are naked
Specifically, the mindflayers that have just transformed. Who were fully clothed before the transformation
They're clothed when they should be naked and naked when they should be clothed
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