Mindflayer Memorandum

# Life Cycle of Typical Mindflayer

1st Stage- A mature elder brain lays Mindflayer tadpole eggs

2nd Stage- After around 30 days the tadpoles hatch and are tended to in the Elder Brain’s pool by Mindflayers and thralls, fed brains at regular intervals. The vast majority of these tadpoles are deemed unfit and consumed by the Elder Brain.

3rd Stage- Once they reach three inches in size, usually taking three months, a tadpole is implanted in the head of a humanoid creature.

4th Stage- Over the course of 7 days said creature undergoes ceremorphosis and is turned into a new Mindflayer.

5th Stage- The adult Mindflayer is enthralled to the Elder Brain, and spends its life protecting it, eating brains, and tending to the next generation of tadpoles. When it dies its body is deposited into the pool to be consumed by the Elder Brain.

# Life Cycle of an Elder Brain

1st Stage- A mature elder brain lays Mindflayer tadpole eggs

2nd Stage- After around 30 days the tadpoles hatch and are tended to in the Elder Brain’s pool by Mindflayers and thralls, fed brains at regular intervals. The vast majority of these tadpoles are deemed unfit and consumed by the Elder Brain.

3rd Stage- Once they reach three inches in size, usually taking three months, a tadpole is implanted in the head of a humanoid creature. A very small percentage of these tadpoles differ from their siblings both in appearance and intelligence, identifying them as future Elder Brains.

4th Stage- Over the course of 7 days said creature undergoes ceremorphosis and is turned into a new Ulitharid.

5th Stage- The Ulitharid either serves as a power extension of the Elder Brain, or departs to start its own colony, typically taking several Mind Flayers with it.

6th Stage- If the Ulitharid gains independence from its parent, it will find a suitable pool and let its body dissolve, becoming a new juvenile Elder Brain. It is extremely vulnerable in this state.

7th Stage- After 10 months the Elder Brain will mature and begin a new hive.

# Mindflayer Servants

Mindflayer servants are typically psychically influenced and enthralled to the hive to do its bidding. Many have tadpoles already implanted in their heads, or their brains entirely replaced with Intellect Devourers. These thralls are often worked to death by the Mindflayers who either don’t understand how to care for other beings, or simply can’t be bothered to. Mindflayers are careful not to have too many creatures enthralled to the colony at once, as control weakens as it is dispersed amongst more creatures and if the control over each individual is too weak a revolt is inevitable.

# Mindflayer Hives

Mindflayer hives are twisted towering structures made from a material resembling porcelain but with the strength of steel. The interior is a maze of moving narrow passages littered with traps and dead ends. They house several chambers each suited to a specific purpose of the hive, such as the flesh warping lab or the thralls’ dormitories. Some passages lead straight up, making navigation of the hives difficult for intruders. Invading a hive stealthily is usually impossible as most contain aberrations capable of sensing nearby sentient creatures without even seeing them. The traps in these lairs are usually triggered through pressure plates and the detection of foreign minds.

In the ruins, Bernhol saw a mantrap, a pressure plate that when activated would seal the intruder between two walls. (Party has advantage on checks to detect Mindflayer traps). The party also saw the basin where the hive’s Elder Brain rested, it was in a central chamber near the top of the spire. It is possible other hives share a similar layout.

# Fleshwarping

Mindflayers have developed a horrid science capable of twisting creature’s bodies to suit specific needs of the hive. Such as surveillance, sustenance, or meat shields. This is most often done psionically, by applying telekinesis and subconscious suggestion. Some of their more powerful creatures are created by implanting abnormal tadpoles that would have otherwise been consumed by the Elder Brain.