Illithid (5e Race)

## **Illithid**

*"You are merely a pawn, food waiting to be consumed by our colony! Stand down, and we will make your death painless."*

-*Aurelioz, illithid priest*

### Lords of an Old Empire

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. The amount of hatred brought towards these heinous creatures is almost always well-deserved, as almost all of them desire only to consume the brains of sentient creatures.

### Hive Mind Colonies

Solitary mind flayers are likely rogues and outcasts. 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. From its pool, an elder brain telepathically dictates its desires to each individual mind flayer within 5 miles of it, for it is able to hold multiple mental conversations at once. Illithids that are in the colony and never doubt the will of the elder brain typically do not see themselves as being greater than any other member of their colony, working together as mindlessly as ants.

### Hunger of the Mind

 Illithids subsist on the brains of humanoids. The brains provide enzymes, hormones, and psychic energy necessary for their survival. An illithid healthy from a brain-rich diet secretes a thin glaze of mucus that coats its smooth skin. An illithid experiences euphoria as it devours the brain of a humanoid, along with its memories, personality, and innermost fears. Mind flayers will sometimes harvest a brain rather than devour it, using it as part of some alien experiment or transforming it into an intellect devourer.

### Illithid Names

Among mind flayers, thoughts aren't communicated in language per se, but are instead transmitted telepathically as concepts and associations, which other humanoids interpret in their own language. Telepathic communication with a mind flayer is frequently accompanied by a mental static that "sounds" to the receiver like an underlying sussuration peppered with guttural clicks. The intensity of this static increases when a mind flayer refers to itself, because with the saying of its name, the illithid is communicating far more information about itself than other humanoids can comprehend. The syllables that make up mind flayer names as expressed in other languages are thus weak approximations of the sound that others hear in their minds when illithids refer to themselves. An illithid might adopt a name that is easier for minions and allies to speak or that makes it seem more fearsome to enemies, but each begins its life with a thought name.

**Illithid Names:** Aurangaul, Cephalossk, Drukt, Drusiss, Lugribossk, Quoor, Ralayan, Sardsult, S'venchan

### Illithid Traits

Your illithid character has the following racial traits.

***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

***Oversurging Mind.*** Your choice of Wisdom or Charisma increases by 1.

***Age.*** Illithids fully complete ceremorphosis by the age of 9, and have become fully mature and complete in their education by age 15. Illithids live longer than humans, but they do eventually die after twenty or so more years than a human lifespan.

***Alignment.*** Illithids normally have a natural tendency towards hierarchy, discipline, and cruelty, making them evil, however some individuals find themselves developing more-individualistic personalities than their fellows early after ceremorphosis, and even fewer lack the characteristic sadism of their brethren while retaining their preoccupation with organization, making almost all illithids lawful, but not always evil.

***Size.*** Most illithids are at least as tall as tall humans, standing at least a few inches shy of six feet, but their bodies very slender and emaciated, weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

**Aberrant Body.** Your creature type is aberration.

***Darkvision.*** Your kin have lived for ages in the Underdark, allowing your sight to adapt. 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.

***Innate Psionics.*** You know the *friends* cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast *detect thoughts* once, and it recharges after a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast *levitate* once, and it recharges after a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells. When cast in this way, none of these spells require any components.

***Telepathy.*** You can start a telepathic conversation with a creature that shares at least one language with you within 30 feet of yourself. You must keep concentration on this, like a spell, or the telepathy ends.

***Mind Blast.*** You can use your action to unleash a powerful psionic force from your mind. When you use your mind blast, each hostile creature in a 15 ft. cone emanating from yourself. must make an Intelligence saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage and is stunned until the end of their next turn on a failed save, or half as much damage without a stun on a successful save. The DC for this saving throw equals **8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus.** The damage of your mind blast 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.*** As an action while within 5 feet a corpse of a humanoid that died within the last minute, you can devour the creature's brain. You gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier plus the creature's Intelligence score, and these temporary hit points last for an hour.

***Languages.*** You can speak, read, and write Common, and Deep Speech, and you can "read" Qualith. Qualith is a system of tactile writing (similar to braille) which is read by an illithid's tentacles. Qualith is written in four-line stanzas and is so alien in construction that non-illithids must resort to magic to discern its meaning.

**Detect Balance Score: 29**