Mind Flayer

Psionic Commanders

Mind flayers possess psionic powers that enable them to control the minds of creatures such as troglodytes, grimlocks, quaggoths, and ogres. Illithids prefer to communicate via telepathy and use their telepathy when issuing commands to their thralls.

When an illithid meets strong resistance, it avoids initial combat as it orders its thralls to attack. Like physical extensions of the illithid's thoughts, these thralls interpose themselves between the mind flayer and its foes, sacrificing their lives so that their master can escape.

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 fiayer community. From its pool, an elder brain telepathically dictates its desires to each individual mind fiayer within 5 miles of it, for it is able to hold multiple mental conversations at once.

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 mauve 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.

Qualith

On the rare occasion that mind flayers need to write something down, they do so in Qualith. This system of tactile writing (similar to braille) 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. Though Qualith can be used to keep records, illithids most often use it to mark portals or other surfaces with warnings or instructions.

Illithid Traits

Your mind flayer character has many similarities with others of its own race, but some do have unique characteristics which make them an outcast.

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d6 per mind flayer level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 + your Constitution modifier per mind flayer level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor
• Weapons: None
• Tools: None

• Saving Throws: Strength, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Persuasion, and Stealth

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a scholar's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• (a) leather armor or (b) chain mail

Psionics

At first level, and every other level after first, you may upgrade three of your psionic capabilities in order to eventually obtain your most powerful form. Additionally, your tentacles are considered appendages with which you can grapple a creature.

In order to choose a Psionic ability that has another Psionic ability as its prerequisite, then you cannot take that skill unless you have already had the prerequisite at least since the previous time you picked your Psionics. Multi-tier powers can only be taken once per character level.

Barbarian Talents

While observing the human barbarians, you have learned about their raging abilities and adapted your mind in order to better suit their combat, allowing you to survive within their world.

Bard Talents

While observing the human bards, you learned that they focus on helping and supporting other party members instead of directly being involved in combat themselves.

Psionic Domain

At 3rd level, you learn the vicious mockery and spare the dying cantrips.

Blind Faith

At 6th level, you learn the command and charm person spells and may cast them once per day. You require a long rest before using these spells again.

Mind Healing

At 10th level, you can heal one mental ailment affecting a creature just by altering their thought patterns. This can heal blinded, charmed, deafened, paralyzed, or unconscious. After you use this feature once, you cannot again until you finish a long rest.

Loyal Servitude

At 14th level, when you learn the dominate person psionic talent, you may use it twice per day instead of once.

Psionic Sapping

At 18th level, you can feast off of a creature's brain without actually drilling into their cranium. By channeling the power of your new belief in god, you can drain the intelligence of a creature over an hour as long as they remain within a special ritual circle you have drawn. This ritual circle can be as big or as small as you want, but costs 2000 gold for a 5 foot diameter circle, and you multiply the cost by 2.5 the cost of the previous step for an additional 5 feet of diameter. This circle stays permanent until a creature can detect and destroy the circle. You can choose how many creatures you drain, and can keep an entire church of followers and just drain one at a time without them knowing, or all at once if you get tired.

Abberation Shaping

At 3rd level, you may shape yourself into an abberation of CR 1/2 or less. The rules are as Wild Shape except abberations instead of beasts.

Druidic Languages

At 6th level, your mastery of languages has finally decoded the secret langauge of Druidic. You can additionally leave special messages in a qualith/druidic combination which only other mind flayer druids can understand.

Greater Abberation Shaping

At 10th level, you may shape yourself into an abberation of CR 2 or less. All other rules follow Wild Shaping.

Unique Flora

At 14th level, you learn the illicraft cantrip. It is like the druidcraft cantrip except has powers more related to the underdark and the illithid race.

Grand Abberation Shaping

At 18th level, you may shape yourself into an abberation of CR 4 or less. All other rules follow Wild Shaping.

Fighting Style

At 3rd level, you can pick one of the following fighting styles.

• Defense: +1 AC While wearing armor
• Mariner: +1 AC, Swim Speed & Climb Speed of 30 feet. Must not be wearing heavy armor or wearing shield
• Tunnel Fighter: Go into defensive stance as a bonus action. Lets you make opportunity attacks without using a reaction. May use reaction to make melee weapon attack on creature that moves more than 5 feet within attack range

Martial Arts

At 3rd level you increase your tentacle damage die to 1d4. Also, if you take the attack or grapple action, you may make another tentacle attack as a bonus action.

Psionic Ki

At 6th level, you gain a few Ki points to spend equal to your Constitution modifier. You can spend these points to perform a set of actions which you may gain more at higher levels.

• Psionic Absorption: After succeeding in a grapple attack, gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 1/2 of the damage dealt by spending 1 ki point.
• Illusory Flash: As a reaction, you may impose disadvantage on an enemy's attack roll against you by spending 1 ki point.

Body and Mind

At 10th level, you may spend ki points to go beyond your normal casting per day of specific abilities. You may spend one Ki point to do one of the following per turn as a bonus action.

• Mind Charge: Recharges your Mind Blast, allowing you to utlize it again
• Second Charge: Grants another charge of a spell you have already used during the day such as plane shift or dominate monster. You gain another use of the spell which you must use by the end of your turn

Stave Off Hunger

At 14th level, you resist the urge to consume brains. Your limit for consuming intelligence creatures goes from every 1 week to every 1 month. You gain 1 additional level of exhaustion every 1 week instead of every day. Additionally, you may still utlize psionics by spending a ki point in order to use the ability.

Psionic Will

At 18th level, you can spend 1 ki point to automatically succeed any intelligence saving throw.

Humanoid Sense

At 3rd level, you can detect the presense of any humanoid within the range of your telepathic field as long as they aren't behind total cover. You may use this feature a number of days equal to your intelligence modifier. You regain all uses of this feature upon completing a long rest.

Psionic Smite

At 6th level, you can add an additional 2d6 psychic damage against a creature you choose. You may use this feature a number of times equal to 1/6th of your level per day. You regain all uses of this feature after a long rest.

Aura of Controlling

At 10th level, you emit a powerful influence to all hostile creatures within 10 feet. Hostile creatures who start their turn or walk within that range must make a DC 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your Proficiency modifer Wisdom save or lose vision of you. They instead attack any other creatures that are hostile toward you who are also affected by this spell, otherwise they go for a target that is not you. If a target succeeds the safe, they are immune to the effect for 24 hours.

Improved Smite

At 14th level, you gain an additional 1d6 psychic damage to your psionic smite. And 1 additional use beyond your daily limit.

Greater Aura

At 18th level, your aura of controlling is emitted to a range of 30 feet.

Humanoid Hunter

At level 3, You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against humanoids. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track humanoids, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice.

Natural Explorer

At level 6, you have the same effects of the Revised Ranger's Natural Explorer.

Sneak Attack

At 3rd level, once per turn, you can deal extra 1d4 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use your tentacles. Every 3 levels after 3rd you gain an additional 1d4 damage to this attack, up to 6d4 at 18th level.

You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Mental Acrobatics

At 6th level, you learn to mentally gauge the enemy's talents and battle preparedness. You may, as a bonus action, use the Dash, Disengauge, or Hide action. You may use this as many times a day equal to your dexterity modifier. Uses of this recharge on a long rest.

Mental Vault

At 10th level, you have studied vaults and locks long enough to place a psionic one on your own mind. If a creature attempts to read your mind in any way against your will, the creature must first make a DC 8 + proficiency + int mod wisdom saving throw. If they fail, their effect fails, and they take 1d6 psychic damage per level of spell that attempted to affect your mind. If the spell has no level, it is treated as a level 1 spell.

Tentacle Tools

At 14th level, your tentacles are especially adept at fine control. They may be used just like hands and you also do not need thieves tools in order to perform thieves tool checks for lock picking and other thievery stuff (I'm tired please reword this oh god).

Invisible Strike

At 18th level, if you score a critical hit on an enemy you turn invisible, and remain invisible until the end of your next turn. If you take any action, bonus action, or reaction then the invisibility is broken. This invisibility is not revealed if you attempt to eat the creature's brain. You remain invisible during the entire feeding process and 1 round after it finishes.

Font of Magic

At 3rd level, you gain 2 sorcerer cantrips and 1 first level spell. Additionally you gain 2 sorcery points which function as a sorercer's points.

Meta Magic

At 6th level, you gain the ability to alter your spells and mind blast in additional ways. You gain one meta magic ability from the sorcerer class. You also gain 1 additional sorcery point and 1 level 2 spell.

Mental Recovery

At 10th level, you can regain your sorcery points on a short or long rest.

Spell Infusion

At 14th level, when you cast your mind blast, you may instead spend 1 sorcery point to duplicate the effects of 1 3rd-level spell.

Grand Meta Font

At 18th level you gain 2 additional sorcery points and 1 additional meta magic feature.

Patron of the Flayers

At 3rd level you start a pact with the god of illithids, Ilsensine. You learn the eldritch blast cantrip. You may also gain 1 eldritch invocation of your choice by spending one use of your psionic upgrades. This can only be done once, but your choice can be changed any time you would upgrade your psionics.

Pact Familiar

At 6th level, you gain pact of the chain. Your choices expand beyond the original choices to add the following: Gazer, Neogi hatchling.

Psychic Invocation

At 10th level, you gain an additional eldritch invocation without needing to spend a psionic upgrade. You also gain this ability at 14th level.

Eldritch Horror

At 18th level, your eldritch invocations that affect Eldritch blast also affect your Mind blast in an equal way.

Psionic Spellcasting

You obtain either an arcane focus or a component pouch. Your tentacles may be used for somatic components and verbal components are not required, but you must be able to think the verbal components.