Illithid powers

Illithid powers are special abilities tied to the mind flayer tadpole that the player character, Origin, and some non-Origin companions are infected with.
== Overview ==
Upon first crossing the bridge leading to the Goblin Camp in Act One, a cutscene involving the triggers. During the next Long Rest, the player character and their companions are visited by the Dream Guardian who encourages them to accept and wield the power the tadpole gives. This dream starts the quest, enabling the party to consume tadpoles in exchange for illithid powers.
Once this quest is started, consuming a unlocks the Illithid Powers skill tree. Once unlocked, all Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in the inventories of the player character and their companions are removed and added to the skill tree interface, where they can be used to unlock new Illithid Powers. If none are consumed, then the skill tree will also be unlocked if Minthara is recruited, because she has been forced to consume a Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen before and already has some Illithid Powers.
* and are willing to use illithid powers, no roll required.
* , , , and will initially refuse to use illithid powers, but can be convinced to through Persuasion checks. If they remain reluctant early on, the opportunity to convince them will be provided again early in Act Three.
: Similarly, will initially be reluctant to use illithid powers, but can be convinced to use them.
* already has consumed at least one Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen before the party met her, and because of this she already has some illithid powers upon being recruited:
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: 
: and 
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*, , and the twelve Hirelings are not infected with tadpoles and therefore cannot get illithid powers.
==List of illithid powers==
Click on an icon to go visit the corresponding page
File:Illithid Powers Brain C S Unlock.webp|550px|alt=A Picture of a brain, covered with Illithid Powers icons - Clickable ImageMap links|Illithid Powers. Clicking an icon will link to the corresponding page.
circle 550 695 40 Illithid Persuasion
circle 536 506 53 Psionic Overload
circle 665 614 52 Favourable Beginnings
circle 642 807 52 Force Tunnel
circle 448 819 53 Concentrated Blast
circle 412 599 54 Transfuse Health
circle 446 315 56 Stage Fright
circle 633 315 58 Ability Drain
circle 804 459 60 Luck of the Far Realms
circle 839 705 60 Charm
circle 766 941 61 Displace
circle 649 1100 62 Repulsor
circle 407 1101 60 Cull the Weak
circle 313 957 56 Psionic Backlash
circle 245 659 56 Shield of Thralls
circle 286 429 57 Perilous Stakes
circle 688 110 61 Fracture Psyche
circle 920 318 60 Illithid Expertise
circle 1006 678 62 Psionic Dominance
circle 966 1020 65 Black Hole
circle 728 1275 64 Fly (Illithid Power)
circle 347 1278 59 Mind Blast
circle 113 1027 59 Mind Sanctuary
circle 77 700 58 Freecast
circle 140 313 61 Absorb Intellect
circle 363 108 61 Displacer Beast Shape
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Power	Type 	Description 	Requires
 	Passive Feature 	You can use your connection to the parasite in your brain to force cultists of the Absolute to obey you. 	Unlocked automatically
 	Class Action 	Your attacks deal an additional damage, but you take damage every turn. 	None
 	Passive Feature 	The first or you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency Bonus. 	None
 	Class Action 	Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 4 m / 13 ft away from you. 	None
 	Class Action 	Deal damage. You must be Concentrating on another spell to cast this. If the target was concentrating, you heal as much as the damage that was dealt to it. The spell you were concentrating on will end.	None
 	Class Action 	Sacrifice half your remaining to heal a target for the same amount. 	None
 	Class Action 	Your targets have on s and take damage each time they miss. Targets overcome their Stage Fright early when they succeed on an Attack Roll. 	Psionic Overload
 	Passive Feature 	Once per turn, when you make an , the attack reduces that target's corresponding Ability by 1. The Ability that is reduced is the same as the one used to make the Attack Roll. 	Psionic Overload
 	Passive Feature 	When you make a successful against a foe, you can change that attack into a Critical Hit. . 	Favourable Beginnings
 	Reaction 	Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn.
Note: Enemies have on the against being charmed. 	Favourable Beginnings
 	Passive Feature 	Creatures suffering Falling damage because of your actions take an additional damage. 	Force Tunnel
 	Class Action 	Push anything and anyone back 6 m / 20 ft. Deals damage, targets take half damage if successful on save. 	Force Tunnel
 	Reaction 	When an enemy within 9 m / 30 ft casts a spell, you can use your to inflict damage to the caster per the spell‘s level. 	Concentrated Blast
 	Toggleable Passive Feature	When you bring a creature down to fewer than your number of evolved illithid powers, it dies and all nearby creatures take damage. 	Concentrated Blast
 	Class Action 	Conjure a volatile shield around yourself or an ally, granting the target . 	Transfuse Health
 	Class Action 	Invest a creature with power that heals it when it attacks, but also makes it vulnerable to all damage. 	Transfuse Health
===Elite powers===
Upon first gaining access to illithid powers, the outer ring of abilities are locked. At the very end of Act Two, on the road to Baldur's Gate, the party is given the opportunity to unlock these powers by agreeing to absorb an and become a partial-illithid. Doing this automatically unlocks Fly (Illithid Power) and the 5 powers of the innermost ring:
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# , and 
# . 
Any regular Tadpoles the character might have already spent to unlock these abilities will be refunded. Absorbing the Astral-Touched Tadpole causes the character to undergo and irrevocably changes their appearance: their eyes darken and their entire body covers with dark veins.
Power	Type 	Description 	Requires
 	Class Action 	Invade a target's mind and disrupt its defences. The target's is reduced by 1. If the target dies while its psyche is fractured, you can cast Shatter Psyche on another target. 	Unlock one of:
*Ability Drain
*Illithid Expertise
 	Passive Feature 	You have deepened your sense of self, gaining in Persuasion, Deception and Intimidation checks.
Also grants Proficiency in those skills if not already possessed. 	Unlock one of: 
*Luck of the Far Realms
*Fracture Psyche
 	Reaction 	Use your to cancel a spell targeted at you if its spell level is less than or equal to your proficiency bonus. 	Unlock one of:
*Charm
*Black Hole
 	Class Action 	Summon a black hole that pulls in nearby enemies and potentially them. Up to five more black holes can be summoned after first casting. . 	Unlock one of:
*Displace
*Psionic Dominance
 	Class Action 	Fly to a target position. Consumes speed but not an or . 	Unlocked automatically
 	Class Action 	Spew forth a conical wave of psychic energy and possibly targets within. Deals damage. 	None
 	Class Action 	Sculpt a magical nexus that allows those within to take s and s interchangeably. . 	Unlock one of:
*Psionic Backlash
*Freecast
 	Toggleable Passive Feature	You have discovered a marvellous adaptability within yourself. Spell slots, charges, and similar resource costs for your next action or spell are removed. . 	Unlock one of:
*Shield of Thralls
*Mind Sanctuary
 	Class Action 	Gobble up a foe's intellect, lowering their by 1 per turn and healing your wounds for 5 turns ( each turn). 	Unlock one of:
*Perilous Stakes
*Displacer Beast Shape
 	Class Action 	Transform into a displacer beast that can Displace itself and enemies, and has . You take on the attributes of a displacer beast, but maintain your , , and scores. When your displacer beast form drops to 0 hit points, you revert to your original form.	Unlock one of:
*Stage Fright
*Absorb Intellect
=== Full ceremorphosis===
During the final quest, Confront the Elder Brain, the player character will have the option to undergo full ceremorphosis and become a full-illithid. At this point, they will automatically unlock most illithid powers and gain access to more powerful versions of a select few.
These abilities are not available through the "Illithid Power" screen, but are instead granted automatically after transformation.
Power	Type 	Description
 	Class Action	Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 12 m / 40 ft away from you. Deals and may cause
 	Class Action	Grant an ally an additional damage, automatic Critical Hit when they roll a 15 or higher, and healing on hit. However, they will also be vulnerable to all damage.
 	Class Action	Create a point of intense gravity dealing damage and possibly enemies.
 	Class Action	Lower all of an enemies ability scores by 5, then 1 per turn, and regain per turn for five turns. The foe is left .
 	Class Action	Target two creatures, granting them . Once these hit points are diminished, the shield bursts and leaves nearby enemies .
 	Class Action	Deals damage to an enemy. If they were Concentrating on a spell, heal an equal amount of hit points.
 	Class Action	Lobotomise a nearby creature that is , , or Unconscious, dealing damage and regaining .
 	Class Action	Deal melee damage, and possibly the target.
 	Class Action	Float to a destination using speed.
===Other powers===
These illithid powers are not part of the illithid power tree and are instead unlocked through story events.
Power	Type 	Description 	Requires
 	Class Action 	If the character reaches , it regains instead of falling Unconscious. 	Reward from: Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite
 	Passive feature	You can use all of your Illithid Powers as a . Your resistance to the zaith'isk in the githyanki infirmary awakened this power.	Succeed on all three saving throws when interacting with the Zaith'isk in Crèche Y'llek. Or, if Lae'zel is in the Zaith'isk, succeed on the final ability check.
==Mind flayer parasite locations==
===Act One===
====True Souls====
Dropped by defeating the following characters:
*
*
*
*
*
*
====Loot====
*One is found in the Enclave Library of the Druid Grove on a table .
*Three are found in the Infirmary of Crèche Y'llek, next to the Zaith'isk. Two are around one table and one is on another table .
====Quest rewards====
Siding with Absolute cultists may net two Gifts from the Absolute, which are functionally the same as Tadpole Specimens. In Act 1, there are two which can be obtained in the following ways:
*Received from Minthara for completing quest Raid the Emerald Grove.
*Received from Nere for siding with him after the quest Free True Soul Nere.
===Act Two===
====True Souls====
Dropped by defeating the following characters:
*
*
*
*
*
*
====Loot====
*Two are found by taking the Zhentarim Shipping Crate at the docks of Moonrise Towers.
*One can be found in Zealot Krizt, who will be guarding the broken bridge to Moonrise Towers when first approaching it. If she is not attacked, her corpse can be later found in the Oubliette under Moonrise Towers.
*One can be found in a Brine Pool , after passing a , in the Mind Flayer Colony under Moonrise Towers.
*If Isobel was abducted from Last Light Inn, she has a parasite on her body when you fight her alongside Ketheric.
====Quest rewards====
Two Gifts from the Absolute will be rewarded for:
*Completing Capture Isobel the Selûnite Cleric.
*Completing Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic by allowing Balthazar to transport the Nightsong to Moonrise Towers.
===Act Three===
====True Souls====
Dropped by defeating the following characters: 
* in Felogyr's Fireworks
* around the Grey Harbour Docks
* guarding the entrance to the Upper City near the Baldur's Gate Waypoint
* in Flymm's Cobblers
* around Bloomridge Park
* guarding the entrance to the Upper City near the Baldur's Gate Waypoint
* in Flymm's Cobblers
==== Partial-Illithid====
*Becoming a Partial-illithid refunds all tadpoles spent on unlocking any of the 5 "inner circle" Illithid Powers:
: 
: 
: 
: , and 
: . 
Since Minthara starts with some of these Illithid Powers already unlocked, transforming her into a Partial-illithid will net the party 2 tadpoles.
====Loot ====
Rivington and Wyrm's Crossing:
*One can be found on a barrel at the docks in Rivington.
*One can be found in a locked Gilded Chest on the top floor of Wyrm's Rock Fortress, near a bed, where Gortash goes after his coronation. This can be found along with the Helldusk Boots.
*Two are found in Storage on the ship at the Western Beach in Rivington.
The Lower City:
*One can be found on a table at Sorcerous Sundries.
*One can be found next to the Gnarly Cauldron in The Blushing Mermaid - Basement.
*One can be found on a table inside a flooded room in the Iron Throne.
*One can be found on a desk on the second floor of The Lodge.
* One can be found on a table in the Sanguine Laboratory in the cellar of Crimson Draughts, accessed through a wooden hatch.
*One can be found in High Security Vault n.6 in The Counting House.
*One can be found on a table in the Steel Watch Foundry - Lab Level.
*Six are found in Cargo Shipment , disguised as Wooden Trunks, on a ship just east of the Steel Watch Foundry.
====Quest rewards ====
* A special variant, , is given by during a story sequence.
*A special variant, Mind Flayer Brain, can be found on a Mind Flayer hiding in the Windmill Basement of the Abandoned Windmill in Rivington.
==Spellcasting ability modifier==
Some illithid powers involve saving throws. For these powers, the difficulty class is determined by your spellcasting ability modifier, even for classes that do not typically have spells. All bonuses to spell save DC such as Arcane Acuity or Arcane Enchantment will also apply to illithid powers.
If multiclassing, the ability score used by this modifier is determined by the latest class added. In other words, taking level 1 in a new class will switch the spellcasting ability modifier used by illthid powers (and items or scrolls) to the modifier of the new class.
==Pre-release powers==
In Early Access, illithid powers were much simpler. Instead of consuming other tadpoles to gain points to spend on powers, the player character's tadpole grew more powerful as it was used Illithid Persuasion options in dialogue. Once Illithid Persuasion was used three times, a special cutscene was triggered during their next long rest and each character gained a single illithid power unique to their class. Some of these abilities were reworked into the current illithid powers. The full list of Early Access powers were as follows:
Early Access Illithid Powers	Early Access Illithid Powers	Early Access Illithid Powers 	Early Access Illithid Powers
Power 	Class 	Description 	How to Obtain
 	Barbarian 	While Raging, deal an additional damage with weapon attacks, but receive damage each turn. Prevents Rage from ending early. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Bard 	Drown your enemies in an overwhelming fear of failure. They receive on s and take damage each time they miss an Attack Roll. Ends when they hit with an Attack Roll. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Cleric 	Infuse a creature with psionic force. If it reaches 0 HP, it regains HP instead of falling Unconscious. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Druid 	Magically assume the shape of an Intellect Devourer that can deal damage. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Fighter 	Pull a creature or object toward you. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Paladin 	Invade a target's mind and disrupt its defenses (Reduces target's by 1). 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Ranger 	Charge forward and push all objects and creatures in your path away from you. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Rogue 	Create a cloud of magical darkness and immediately attempt to hide. Creatures within the cloud are Heavily Obscured and Blinded. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of the darkness.	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Sorcerer 	Release the eldritch magic within you and terrify a creature with your twisted powers. Regain 2 Sorcery Points and potentially deal damage per turn for 3 turns. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Warlock 	You are part of a greater whole. Concentrate on your connection to teleport to another tadpole-infected creature. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	Wizard 	A protective shell envelops you. It reflects any projectiles targeted at you to their point of origin. Does not affect creatures that don't rely on sight or that can see through illusions. 	Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene.
 	All Classes 	Channel the power of the Absolute, knocking back all creatures and objects and dealing damage. 	Help Omeluum investigate the parasite
==Achievements==
==Gallery==
tadpole_power_example.png|Example of a character readying an illithid power.
Illithid Powers Graphic.webp|A handy reference.
Category:Illithid Powers