Mindflayers

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* Giff
The **illithid**, also known as a **Squids** or **mindflayers**, are a hostile, spacefaring humanoid species. Illithids are infamous for their grotesque eating habits, which involve grabbing prey with their tentacles, then tearing the prey's brains out to eat. Cruel and sadistic, they often trade slaves.

Mindflayers have not been seen by anyone in Kraatspace since it has reopened to the rest of the material planes.

Rav'nys, Marco Astorio, and Luckbeak Humboldt have seen Illithid Ships but no other witnesses have been able to retain the memories of the event, and all mentions of the event seem to be translated in real-time to change the subject from Mindflayers to that of something else that the listener might accept.

### Description

The illithid, or mind flayer, is an evil and feared creature of the Underdark; its powers are formidable and it feeds on the brains of any creature it encounters. Using arcane powers, it enslaves or destroys its foes, which include such powerful creatures as drow and kuo-toa.

Mind flayers stand about 6 feet tall and have hideous mauve skin that glistens with slime. The head resembles an octopus, with white eyes (no pupils are evident) and four tentacles around its mouth, a round, many-toothed orifice like that of a lamprey. The creature has three reddish fingers and a thumb on each hand.

Illithids have infravision. They can communicate with any creatures via innate telepathy; they have no spoken language, although they often accompany their thoughts with hissing, and the eager lashing of their tentacles. Mind flayers dress in flowing robes, often with high, stiff collars, adorned with symbols of death and despair.

### Habitat/Society

Mind flayers hate sunlight and avoid it when possible. They live in underground cities of 200 to 2,000 illithids, plus at least two slaves per illithid. All the slaves are under the effects of a *charm person* or *charm monster*, and obey their illithid masters without question.

The center of a community is its elder brain, a pool of briny fluid that contains the brains of the city’s dead mind flayers. Due to the mental powers of illithids, the elder brain is still sentient, and the telepathic union of its brains rules the community. The elder brain has a telepathic range of 2 to 5 miles, depending on its age and size. It does not attack, but telepathically warns the mind flayers of the presence of thinking creatures, so a mind flayer within its telepathic radius can be surprised only by non-intelligent creatures. The range of the elder brain determines the territory claimed and defended by the community, though raiding parties are sent far beyond this limit.

Mind flayers have no family structure. Their social activities include eating, communicating with the elder brain, and debating on the best tactics to conquer the Underdark. For amusement, they inflict pain on their captives and force slaves to fight in gladiatorial games.

Mind flayers are arrogant, viewing all other species only as cattle to be fed upon. They prefer to eat the brains of thinking creatures.

### Ecology

Mind flayers live about 125 years. They are warm-blooded amphibians, and spend the first 10 years of life as tadpoles, swimming in the elder-brain pool until they either die (which most do) or grow into adult illithids. On an irregular basis, adult illithids feed brains to the tadpoles, which do not molest the elder brain. Illithids are hermaphroditic; each can produce one tadpole twice in its life.

Illithids use psionics for attack, mind control, and travel.

## Illithid Ships

* Dreadnought
* Nautiloid