Mind Flayer, 9th-Level Sorcerer

Mind flayers, also called illithids, are so insidious, diabolical, and powerful that all denizens of the dark fear them. They bend others to their will and shatter enemies’ minds.

A mind flayer’s mouth, a revolting thing shaped like a lamprey’s maw, constantly drips an oily slime when it is not siphoning out the brains of living prey.

In addition to being highly intelligent, wholly evil, and terribly sadistic, mind flayers are utterly self-serving. If an encounter turns against the creature, it flees at once, caring nothing for the fate of its companions or servitors.

While many mind flayers train as wizards and grow mighty in the arcane arts along that disciplined path, some of the most fearsome of the illithids are sorcerers, whose mastery of magic seems almost instinctual.

A mind flayer is about the same height and weight as a human.

Mind flayers speak Undercommon but prefer to communicate telepathically.

Mind flayers like to fight from a distance, using their psionic abilities, particularly mind blast. If pressed into melee combat, a mind flayer lashes its enemies with the tentacles ringing its mouth.

The mind flayer sorcerer uses its spells to protect itself from attack (greater invisibility, stoneskin, resist energy, mage armor) and improve its own effectiveness in combat (haste, see invisibility), and only secondarily to supplement its own innate attacks with magical ones (ray of exhaustion, suggestion, touch of idiocy).

Mind flayers like to fight from a distance, using their psionic abilities, particularly mind blast. If pressed into melee combat, a mind flayer lashes its enemies with the tentacles ringing its mouth.

A mind flayer is most effective as a ranged combatant, using its spell-like abilities to attack from a distance.

Mind Blast (Sp): This psionic attack is a cone 60 feet long. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. Mind flayers often hunt using this power and then drag off one or two of their stunned victims to feed upon. The save DC is Charisma-based. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.

Psionics (Sp): At will—charm monster (DC 21), detect thoughts (DC 19), levitate, plane shift, suggestion (DC 20). Effective caster level 8th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a mind flayer must hit a Small, Medium, or Large creature with its tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and attaches the tentacle to the opponent’s head. A mind flayer can grab a Huge or larger creature, but only if it can somehow reach the foe’s head.

Telepathy (Su): A mind flayer can communicate telepathically with any other creature within 100 ft. that has a language.

If a mind flayer begins its turn with at least one tentacle attached, it can try to attach its remaining tentacles with a single grapple check. The opponent can escape with a single successful grapple check or an Escape Artist check, but the mind flayer gets a +2 circumstance bonus for every tentacle that was attached at the beginning of the opponent’s turn.

Extract (Ex): A mind flayer that begins its turn with all four tentacles attached and that makes a successful grapple check automatically extracts the opponent’s brain, instantly killing that creature. This power is useless against constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead. It is not instantly fatal to foes with multiple heads, such as ettins and hydras.

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known: (6/8/8/8/5; save DC 17 + spell level, 10% arcane spell failure chance): 0—arcane mark, daze, detect magic, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, read magic; 1st—chill touch, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, shocking grasp; 2nd—minor image, resist energy, see invisibility, touch of idiocy; 3rd—fly, haste, ray of exhaustion; 4th—greater invisibility, stoneskin.

Tactics Round-by-Round

A mind flayer is most effective as a ranged combatant, using its spell-like abilities to attack from a distance.

• Prior to combat: Use detect thoughts to scout foes and determine threat potential. (Highly intelligent creatures are considered most dangerous; creatures of lower intelligence are potential pawns and food.)
• Round 1: Mind blast.
• Round 2: If most of the party is stunned, use charm monster on a remaining foe. If most of the party is not stunned, maintain distance and use mind blast again.
• Round 3: If fewer than two foes remain unstunned, order any charmed foes to protect you. Grapple a stunned foe with tentacles. If a majority of the party remains unstunned, flee using levitate or, if necessary, plane shift.
• Round 4: If still in a position of strength, start eating brains. Use charmed foes to guard you. If in a position of weakness, use plane shift, perhaps with grappled foe.

A mind flayer works well as a “boss monster”. If it has minions, it varies its tactics to suit the situation, as follows.

• Prior to combat: Dispatch minions with orders to assault foes from one side of the battlefield. Use levitate and cover to take a safe command position, preferably out of obvious sight.
• Round 1: Order minions into optimal positions using telepathy. If the opportunity presents itself, use mind blast on foes (without hitting minions if possible—but they’re all expendable). If the battlefield is too congested, use charm monster or suggestion to sow confusion in foes.
• Round 2: Identify enemy spellcasters and order minions telepathically to assault them at all costs. Focus spell-like abilities on lesser foes.
• Round 3: Order charmed foes toward you (telepathically). Grapple them. Have minions keep uncharmed, unstunned foes busy.
• Round 4: Eat brains