Illithid
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy role-playing game, illithids (commonly known as mind flayers) are monstrous humanoid aberrations
with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons
campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark
. Illithids believe themselves to be the dominant species of the multiverse
and use other intelligent creatures as thrall
s, slaves, and chattel.
and as such is not released under its Open Game License.
, who has said that one of his inspirations for them was the cover painting of the book The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley
, a story grounded in the Cthulhu Mythos
created by H.P. Lovecraft.
, The Strategic Review #1, Spring 1975. Here, the mind flayer is described as "a super-intelligent, man-shaped creature with four tentacles by its mouth which it uses to strike its prey." When it hits prey with a tentacle, the tentacle penetrates to the brain and draws it forth, allowing the monster to devour it. A mind flayer's major weapon is given as the Mind Blast, a 5-foot radius wave of "PSI force" which affects each opponent differently based on how intelligent it is; possible effects include permanent insanity, rage, confusion, coma, and death. They were also included in the Eldritch Wizardry
supplement, for the original (white box) Dungeons and Dragons game (1976), wherein they are described as super-intelligent, man-shaped creatures of great (and lawful) evil, with tentacles that penetrate to the brain and draw it forth for food.
authored "The Ecology of the Mind Flayer," which featured in Dragon
#78 (October 1983).
The article "The Sunset World" by Stephen Inniss in Dragon #150 (October 1989) presented a world that had been completely ravaged by mind flayers. The "Dragon's Bestiary" column, in the same issue and by the same author, described the Illithidae, the strange inhabitants of this world.
The ulitharid, or "noble illithid" was introduced in the Dungeon
adventure Thunder Under Needlespire by James Jacobs in Dungeon #24 (July/August 1990), and later included in the Monstrous Compendium Annual One (1994).
The The Complete Psionics Handbook
(1991) presented ways on using mind flayers with psionic powers.
The Alhoon, also known as the illithilich or mind flayer lich
, was introduced in the Menzoberranzan boxed set, in the booklet "Book One: The City" (1992).
The book "The Illithiad" (1998), and the Monstrous Arcana module series that accompanies it, greatly develops the mind flayer further. "The Illithiad" introduced the illithid elder brain and the illithid-roper
crossbreed, the urophion. The module Dawn of the Overmind featured an origin story for the illithids.
(2005).
The Expanded Psionics Handbook (2004) re-introduced the psionic mind flayer. Monster Manual V (2007) introduced the concept of "thoon", a driving force (be it some alien god, outside philosophy, or other driving incentive) which has changed several mindflayers' world outlooks.
-like. They have four tentacles around a lamprey
-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain. Their eyes are pale white, and they can see perfectly well in both darkness and light. Their sense of hearing is slightly poorer than a human's; they have difficulty distinguishing between several sounds mixed together. Their skin is purplish blue to gray-green and covered in mucus, and is very sensitive to sunlight. Though sunlight does not actually harm them, they loathe it with incredible ferocity.
One of the most feared powers is the dreaded Mind Blast, where the illithid emits a cone-shaped psionic
shockwave with its mind in order to incapacitate any creature for a short amount of time. Illithids also have other psionic powers, generally telepathic in nature, although their exact effects have varied over editions. Other powers include a defensive psionic shield and powers of psionic domination for controlling the minds of others.
e twice in their life. The larvae resemble miniature illithid heads or four-tentacled tadpoles. Larvae are left to develop in the pool of the Elder Brain. The ones that survive after 10 years are inserted into the brain
of a sapient creature. Hosts are determined in a very specific manner. Hosts generally are humanoid
creatures that are between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 2 inches. The most desirable of races for hosts are Human
, Drow, Elves
, Githzerai
, Githyanki
, Grimlock
, Gnoll
, Goblinoid
, and Orc
. Upon being implanted, the larva then grows and consumes the host's brain, absorbing the host's physical form entirely and becoming sapient itself, a mature (but still young) Illithid. This process is called ceremorphosis. Illithids often experiment with non-humanoid hosts, but ceremorphosis involving other creatures usually fails, killing both host and larva.
When an illithid undergoes ceremorphosis, it can occasionally take on some elements of the absorbed host creature's former mind, such as mannerism
s. This typically manifests as a nervous habit and/or reaction, like nail-biting
or tapping one's foot. An adult illithid has even been known to hum a tune that its host knew in life. Usually, when a mind flayer inherits a trait like this, it keeps it a closely guarded secret, because, were its peers to learn of it, the illithid in question would surely be killed. This is due to an illithid legend
of a being called the Adversary. The legend holds that, eventually, an illithid larva that undergoes ceremorphosis will take on the host's personality and memory in its entirety. This "Adversary" would, mind
and soul, still be the host, but with all the inherent abilities of an illithid.
Occasionally, ceremorphosis can partially fail. Sometimes the larva does not contain enough chemicals to complete the mutation, sometimes there is psionic interference. Whatever the reason, it has happened that ceremorphosis has ended after the internal restructuring, resulting in a human body with an illithid's brain
, personality and digestive tract
. These unfortunates must still consume brains, typically by cutting open heads (as they lack the requisite tentacles). These beings are often used as spies, where they easily blend in with their respective host types.
The illithid society
also maintains a long-standing taboo
related to deviations to or failures of the ceremorphosis process and hunt and destroy such exceptions. Occasionally Mind flayer communities are attacked (often by vengeful githyanki and githzerai) and their inhabitants must flee. This leaves the larvae unattended. Bereft of exterior nourishment, they begin to consume one another. The survivor will eventually leave the pool in search of food
(i.e., brains). This unmorphed larvae is known as a Neothelid. If the neothelid consumes an intelligent creature it will awaken to sapience and psionic abilities and grow to immense size, while retaining its memories of savage survival. In Complete Psionic, it was revealed that illithids have a step between larva and neothelid called a Larval Flayer, which looks like an overgrown tadpole
. The existence of these beasts is a guarded secret among illithids, and it is considered impolite to speak of them.
revealed the nature of the Adversary. This being was an illithid created from the host body of a man named Strom Wakeman, a character referenced in some of Cordell's other 2nd Edition works, most notably as the "author" of The Illithiad supplement.
Wakeman, an enterprising trader and scholar of Underdark
exotica, allowed himself to be captured by the illithids on one of his expeditions. Through the use of a non-magical mixture of various herbs that Wakeman named laethen, he was able to preserve his consciousness through ceremorphosis, and learned to use his psionic powers to keep from having to consume brains. Thus he worked against the illithid plots from within. The legend of the Adversary was born from his frequent sabotage, though the actual acts were never connected to him. The players' characters in the adventure become his agents in stopping the illithids' plans, as his own movements rely upon secrecy from his "fellow" illithids.
For another person to imitate Wakeman's deed would require at least one dose of laethen (the making of which Wakeman kept secret) and to be put under ceremorphosis within a week of consumption. The drug only has a 40% chance of success, and the new illithid must also never consume a brain, for the act destroys the host's personality and replaces it with the illithid personality.
es. Alhoons are generally pariahs in illithid society because they go against most illithids' eventual goal; to merge with the Elder Brain, both physically and psionically. Alhoons, on the other hand, are more concerned with their own personal survival. When discovered near illithid communities Alhoons are mercilessly hunted down.
Superior in nearly all ways to a regular mind flayer, ulitharids possess two extra tentacles, which are twice as long as the others, and an extreme arrogance, even by the standards of their own kind. Only the elder brain holds more sway within an illithid community.
mind flayers are unclear. All that is known of these creatures is that they cannot create spawn, need both fresh blood and fresh brains to survive, are more feral than typical illithids, and are barely intelligent. One possible origin is given in the Ravenloft
adventure Thoughts of Darkness, in which a vampire
ss collaborates with the illithids in using the Apparatus to create the first vampiric illithid, a being never conceived of before. Whether they spread from the demiplane of dread or not is another matter, what can be said is that these creatures are hated and feared by typical illithids.
campaign setting
.
The Yaggol are a race from the Emerald Sea of Neron, a dark, steamy jungle in southern Taladas
. The history of their civilization stretches back to the end of the first age of Krynn
. Their empire was thriving at the same time the High Ogres of Ansalon founded their own empire. Enslaving the Cha'asii elves, the yaggol ruled over the continent with a nightmarish will but this all came to end when the cha'asii learned how to defeat the mind powers of the yaggol. A great war was fought, and the empire crumbled as both sides nearly wiped each other out. All that remained of this once aberrant race was seven obsidian temples in The Valley of Akh-Tazi.
After the shattering of the empire, an uneasy truce was struck, only broken by skirmishes and murder. The cha'asii went their separate ways; establishing villages like Ke-Cha-Yat where they could live in peace from the yaggol. This would all change with the coming of Gloomwing, a former orthlox Black Dragon
that joined with the Brethren, the cult followers of Maladar an-Desh, Lord of Wizards.
Brainstealer Dragon: A mix of illithid and dragon
, these powerful wyrms occasionally rule over illithid communities that lack an elder brain.
Illithidae: Illithidae are to mind flayers as less intelligent animals are to humans. Known types include the cessirid, embrac, kigrid, and saltor. Dragon
magazine once published a template for use in creating an illithidae creature, for use with the 1st Edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
game. They were updated in 3.5 in the Lords of Madness
supplement.
Illithocyte: Illithid tadpoles that survived the fall of a mind flayer empire, they evolved into a new life form and now crawl about in groups seeking psychic radiation on which to feed.
Kezreth: A living troop transport and battle platform created from the severed head of a shamed illithid. They serve in this capacity in the hope of redeeming themselves and being allowed to return to the elder brain.
Mind Worm: Created by illithids to serve as assassins and bounty hunters, these powerful psionic creatures resemble smaller purple worm
s. They can attack from far distances with their probe worms.
Mindwitness: Inserting an illithid tadpole into a beholder
results in these abominations, which are used as guards and sentries.
Mozgriken: An illithid tadpole inserted into a svirfneblin gnome
while subjected to a dangerous psionic ritual creates a mozgriken. These three-tentacled ceremorphs are despised by all, but their aptitude for stealth and psionic powers of stealth and shape control make them useful spies for the illithids.
Neothelid: If an illithid tadpole survives but fails to undergo ceremorphosis, it will eventually grow into an incredibly powerful worm-like creature with illithid tentacles at the forefront of its body and immense mental powers.
Nerve Swimmers: Derived from immature illithid tadpoles, these entities are living instruments of torture and interrogation.
Nyraala Golem: A flailing, slimy, tentacled construct capable of launching surprise attacks. They often serve as guards, and are prized because their creation does not involve petitioning the elder brain to surrender part of its mass.
Octopin: A six-tentacled, purple-skinned monstrosity with a single eye created by mind flayers.
Oortlings: These docile humanoids with enlarged brains were bred by illithids as food.
Tzakandi: Illithid tadpoles inserted into lizardfolk
create tzakandi, which the mind flayers use as slave labourers and personal guards.
Uchuulon: A chuul
implanted with an illithid tadpole becomes an uchuulon. Also known as slime chuuls, illithids use them as hunters and guardians.
Urophion: Inserting an illithid tadpole into a roper
results in these miserable creatures, which are used as guards and sentries.
Ustilagor: Mind flayers farm these larval intellect devourer
s for food and sentries.
Vampire Squid: Servitor creatures created by illithids to extend their reach below the surface of Underdark waters. They have a maw of sharp teeth which can be turned inside out and function as defensive spikes.
Voidmind Creatures: A voidmind creature is an ordinary creature (such as a normal human or human-like creature or animal) whose mind has been nearly devoured by a mind flayer, but enough has been left intact for basic motor function. Further psionic rituals give these near dead creatures a semblance of life. The resulting creatures act as minions and spies for the Illithids.
campaign setting
. Illithids use these symbionts for themselves and their slaves. These symbionts help their general offensive and defensive capabilities. Known illithid symbionts include the mnemonicus, wriggler, and carapace symbionts.
The 3.5 Edition D&D supplement Lords of Madness
provides that the Illithid were a star-faring people who existed at the end of time. Facing annihilation, the Illithid traveled to the past, arriving roughly 2000 years before the present in any given D&D campaign.
The 2nd Edition book The Illithiad suggests they may be from the Far Realm
, an incomprehensible plane completely alien to the known multiverse. There is no mention of time travel in this theory. Instead, they emerged somewhere and somewhen countless thousands of years ago, beyond the histories of many mortal races, and spread from one world to another, and another, and so on. It is explicitly stated in this book that the illithids appear in some of the most ancient histories of the most ancient races, even those that have no mention of other races.
The 4th Edition preview Wizards Presents Worlds and Monsters supports the claim that mind flayers originate from the Far Realm
.
In these two differing versions of the story, much of the variance hinges upon a fictional text called The Sargonne Prophecies. The Illithiad described the Prophecies as misnamed, and that much of it sounds more like ancient myth than prophecy. Lords of Madness takes the name more literally, and states that The Sargonne Prophecies are in fact prophecy — or, perhaps more accurately, a history of the future.
Yet another version came from The Astromundi Cluster, a Spelljammer
boxed set produced before The Illithiad. This version holds that the illithids are descended from the outcasts of an ancient human society that ruled the now-shattered world called Astromundi. The outcast humans eventually mutated, deep underground, into the mind flayers. (This boxed set also introduced the entity known as Lugribossk, who was depicted as a god of the Astromundi flayers then, but was later retconned into a proxy of the god Ilsensine.) In the retconned history of the illithids found in either The Illithiad or Lords of Madness, the emergence of illithids in Astromundi becomes a freak occurrence due to the intervention of Ilsensine through its proxy, since the illithids of Astromundi have their own histories as emerging solely upon that world.
However and whenever it occurred, when the illithids arrived in the Material Plane of the far past, they immediately began to build an empire by enslaving many sentient creatures. They were very successful, and soon their worlds-spanning empire became the largest one the multiverse had ever seen. They had the power — in terms of psychic potency and the manpower of countless slaves — to fashion artificial worlds. One such world was this empire's capital, called Penumbra, a diskworld
built around a star, which was a thousand years in the making. Such was their might that the Blood War
paused as the demons and devils considered a truce to deal with the illithid empire.
Eventually, the primary slave race of the illithids developed resistance to the mental powers of their masters, and revolted. Led by the warrior Gith
, the rebellion spread to all the illithids' worlds, and the empire collapsed. The illithid race itself seemed doomed.
Fortunately for the illithids, Gith was betrayed by one of her own generals, Zerthimon
, who believed she had grown tyrannical and over-aggressive. Civil war erupted, and the race factionalised into the githyanki
and the githzerai
(and in the Spelljammer campaign setting the Pirates of Gith). This disruption allowed the illithids to retreat to underground strongholds where they still dwell.
Dungeon
#100 claims the original home of the gith forerunners was a world known as Pharagos. Currently it is described as, "an unremarkable Material-Plane
world, a far cry from the hotbed of magical activity and divine intervention that is the Forgotten Realms
campaign or the World of Greyhawk." Beneath the Wasting Desert on that world, however, is the petrified corpse of the long-dead patron deity of the ancestors of the gith races. As is recounted in most 1st and 2nd edition sources, the ancestors of the gith forerunners were a human
civilization before being modified by countless generations of illithid breeding and profane science.
The background material of the Chainmail game places the gith forerunners in a subterranean empire called Zarum in Western Oerik, where they dominated many other races from their capital city of Anithor. These gith seem to have been divided into a rigid caste system, their lives ruled by ancient ritual. The ruins of Zarum overflow with sacred spaces and temples, though the names of the ancient gith gods are unknown today. The period of Zarum's height is not entirely clear, but grey elf
sages speculate it was approximately 2,000 years before the Demon Wars that ravaged Western Oerik, or 3,000 years before the present.
At some point, the illithids invaded Zarum from a neighboring plane of existence. Though the gith fought fiercely, they were no match for the psionic might of the mind flayers, and soon they were enslaved. The River of Angry Souls is a remnant of one of the terrible battles between the illithids and the soon-to-be enslaved gith. Many were brought to the Outer Planes and elsewhere to serve as illithid slaves. Other cities in Zarum were transformed into work pits where illithid overseers forced their slaves to toil for countless generations.
After Gith's rebellion, she led her people to the Astral Plane. While a few subject races and surviving illithids remained on Oerth, the gith forerunners have departed the world, seemingly for good. If they retain any interest in the ruins of Zarum, it is well concealed. A portion of the ruins of Anithor were eventually colonized by the drow of House Kilsek, who named their new settlement Kalan-G'eld.
Illithids regularly conduct raids on all sentient settlements to acquire new thralls, because their existing stock of sentient thralls do not breed fast enough to satisfy their food and labor needs. Typically, a group of mind flayers will teleport to the settlement and swiftly incapacitate them with their psychic powers. The captives will then be marched all the way to the illithids' underground settlement by specially trained and conditioned thralls. Great care is taken to cover their tracks.
in the city's center. When an illithid dies its brain is extracted and taken to the pool. Illithids believe that when they die their personality is incorporated into the Elder Brain, but this is not the case. When the brain of an illithid is added to the Elder Brain, the memories, thoughts and experiences are consumed and added to the sum of the whole, but all else is lost. This fact is a closely guarded secret of the Elder Brains, since all illithid aspire to a form of immortality through this merging process. An extremely ancient Elder Brain is called a God-Brain because its psionic powers are almost limitless.
Since the Elder Brain contains the essence of every illithid that died in its community, it functions in part as a vast library of knowledge that a mind flayer can call upon with a simple telepathic call. The Elder Brain in turn can communicate telepathically with anyone in its community, issuing orders and ensuring everyone conforms.
Illithids generally frown upon magic, preferring their natural psionic ability. Psionic potential is an integral part of the illithid identity, and the Elder Brain cannot absorb the magical powers of an illithid mage when it dies. They tolerate a limited study of wizardry, if only to better understand the powers employed by their enemies. However, an illithid who goes too far and neglects his psionic development in favor of wizardry risks becoming an outcast. Denied the possibility of ever merging with the Elder Brain, such outcasts often seek their own immortality through undeath, becoming alhoons.
Illithids typically communicate through psychic means. They project thoughts and feelings to each other in a way non-illithids can scarcely comprehend. When they do feel the need to write, they do so in "qualith." Instead of typical alphabet-based writing, illithids write in qualith by making marks consisting of four broken lines. They use each tentacle to feel the breaks in the lines, making it basically similar to braille
. However, qualith is extremely complex, as each line modifies the preceding lines through explaining abstract concepts associated with the above words in ways no human can understand; only by understanding all four lines simultaneously can the meaning be understood properly.
. In 2nd edition, they have a second deity named Maanzecorian
, who is later killed by Tenebrous (Orcus) in the Planescape
adventure module Dead Gods
. Although Ilsensine is the illithid patron deity, few mind flayers actively worship him, thinking themselves the most powerful creatures in the universe.
Their archenemies are the githyanki
and the githzerai
, descendants of the rebellious slaves who destroyed their empire millennia ago. Hunting and slaying illithids whenever they can is an integral part of their cultures.
Illithids fear the undead because these creatures, even the sentient ones, are immune to telepathic detection and manipulation, and have no brains to consume. Confronting such mindless creatures can even be traumatizing to some of them.
According to the Lords of Madness history, Illithids are one of the few races respected by the aboleths. This is because the aboleths remember the origin of almost every other race, through their hereditary memory. However, illithids, as far the aboleths can remember, just appeared without preamble, which scares them.
, the illithid come from Xoriat, the plane of Madness. They were created by the Daelkyr in their invasion plans. It is not known if they have elder brains, but their continued existence implies that they can breed on their own. The mind flayers of Eberron are resistant to damage from all weapons except those made out of byeshk, a new exotic material in the Eberron setting.
is the city of Dra-Mur-Shou, located within several miles of the Vault of the Drow. A number of illithids also make their home in the drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu, due to the presence of a well-known mind flayer research center.
and spheres beyond. The primary spelljamming ship used by illithids is the nautiloid, a 35-ton craft resembling a nautilus. Nautiloids are 125' to 180' long, including the tentacle-like piercing ram. The ship's coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed space and protects the illithids from the rays of solar bodies. Less common illithid vessels such as the 25-ton squid ship, the 70-ton octopus, and the 100-ton cuttle command also resemble the cephalopods after which they are named.
In Greyspace, the largest illithid settlements are the city of Sharpbeak on Celene and the settlement of Skullbringer in the Grinder. Worlds ruled by illithids in other spheres include Falx, Ssirik Akuar, Penumbra, and Glyth.
campaign setting called Bluetspur, where their God-Brain is the darklord
. How and why this particular Illithid elder-brain became a darklord has never been revealed in any official Ravenloft products.
campaign setting. While less prominent than the neogi, illithids are in complete control of Glyth, a Realmspace
planet, and have been for millennia.
Illithids' primary ship type is the nautiloid (shown at right), a 35-ton craft resembling a nautilus
. Nautiloids are 125', or 180' long including the tentacle-like piercing ram. The ships' coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed space and protects the illithids from solar radiation.
Less common illithid vessels such as the 25-ton squid
ship, the 70-ton octopus
, and the 100-ton cuttle command
also resemble the cephalopod
s after which they are named.
In the Spelljammer setting, the illithids are the creators of the oortlings, a humanoid race of high intelligence and enlarged size. Bred as food, the oortlings are completely docile and have little motivation and almost no instinct for self preservation.
The Stranger
writer Cienna Madrid described the Mind Flayer as one of D&D's "ghastly fiends".
, Final Fantasy
, NetHack
, Lost Kingdoms
, Kingdom of Loathing
and Lost Souls
, and the one-player gamebook
RPG series Fighting Fantasy
includes a creature similar to the illithid, the Brain Slayer. Some appearances of illithid-like creatures have received negative commentary for their apparent derivative status.
Ulchalothe in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
is the guardian of the Brazier of Eternal Flame. There are illithid settlements of varying size in the games Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
, Baldur's Gate II and Icewind Dale II
. The villain in the Neverwinter Nights
premium module 'Kingmaker' is also an Illithid.
Penny-Arcade
has referenced Illithids/Mind Flayers in their comics. Their 2009 Christmas special specifically features a four-part comic titled "How the Illithid Stole Lolthmas".
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy role-playing game, illithids (commonly known as mind flayers) are monstrous humanoid aberrations
Aberration (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, aberration is a type of creature, or "creature type". Aberrations generally all have bizarre anatomies, strange abilities, alien mindsets, or any combination thereof....
with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
. Illithids believe themselves to be the dominant species of the multiverse
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
and use other intelligent creatures as thrall
Thrall
Thrall was the term for a serf or unfree servant in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age.Thralls were the lowest in the social order and usually provided unskilled labor during the Viking era.-Etymology:...
s, slaves, and chattel.
Licensing
The illithid is considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
and as such is not released under its Open Game License.
Publication history
Mind flayers were created by Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, who has said that one of his inspirations for them was the cover painting of the book The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley is an English horror fiction writer.Born in County Durham, he joined the British Army's Royal Military Police and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1980 and becoming a professional writer.He added to H. P...
, a story grounded in the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
created by H.P. Lovecraft.
Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
Mind flayers first appeared in the official newsletter of TSR GamesTSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, The Strategic Review #1, Spring 1975. Here, the mind flayer is described as "a super-intelligent, man-shaped creature with four tentacles by its mouth which it uses to strike its prey." When it hits prey with a tentacle, the tentacle penetrates to the brain and draws it forth, allowing the monster to devour it. A mind flayer's major weapon is given as the Mind Blast, a 5-foot radius wave of "PSI force" which affects each opponent differently based on how intelligent it is; possible effects include permanent insanity, rage, confusion, coma, and death. They were also included in the Eldritch Wizardry
Eldritch Wizardry
Eldritch Wizardry is a supplementary rulebook by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume, written for the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, which included a number of significant additions to the core game.-Contents:...
supplement, for the original (white box) Dungeons and Dragons game (1976), wherein they are described as super-intelligent, man-shaped creatures of great (and lawful) evil, with tentacles that penetrate to the brain and draw it forth for food.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The mind flayer appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). Roger E. MooreRoger E. Moore
Roger E. Moore is a designer of role-playing games. He is best known for his long-running tenure as editor of Dragon magazine, and was the founding editor of Dungeon magazine.-Early life:...
authored "The Ecology of the Mind Flayer," which featured in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#78 (October 1983).
The article "The Sunset World" by Stephen Inniss in Dragon #150 (October 1989) presented a world that had been completely ravaged by mind flayers. The "Dragon's Bestiary" column, in the same issue and by the same author, described the Illithidae, the strange inhabitants of this world.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The mind flayer appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).The ulitharid, or "noble illithid" was introduced in the Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
adventure Thunder Under Needlespire by James Jacobs in Dungeon #24 (July/August 1990), and later included in the Monstrous Compendium Annual One (1994).
The The Complete Psionics Handbook
The Complete Psionics Handbook
The Complete Psionics Handbook is a supplemental rulebook for the 2nd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991 by TSR Inc. It contains a variety of information useful to playing psionic characters in the game....
(1991) presented ways on using mind flayers with psionic powers.
The Alhoon, also known as the illithilich or mind flayer lich
Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lich is an undead creature; a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
, was introduced in the Menzoberranzan boxed set, in the booklet "Book One: The City" (1992).
The book "The Illithiad" (1998), and the Monstrous Arcana module series that accompanies it, greatly develops the mind flayer further. "The Illithiad" introduced the illithid elder brain and the illithid-roper
Roper (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the roper is a magical beast, resembling a conical structure similar in appearance to rock, wrapped in rope-like tentacles which conceal a mouth...
crossbreed, the urophion. The module Dawn of the Overmind featured an origin story for the illithids.
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The mind flayer appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000). Savage Species (2003) presented the mind flayer as both a race and a playable class.Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The mind flayer appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003). The mind flayer receives its own chapter in the book Lords of Madness: The Book of AberrationsLords of Madness
Lords of Madness is an official supplement for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.-Contents:It includes new content for aberrations including new aberration monsters and monsters related to them, and information on how to hunt aberrations.-What Is an...
(2005).
The Expanded Psionics Handbook (2004) re-introduced the psionic mind flayer. Monster Manual V (2007) introduced the concept of "thoon", a driving force (be it some alien god, outside philosophy, or other driving incentive) which has changed several mindflayers' world outlooks.
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The mind flayer appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008).Typical physical characteristics
Illithids have a basically humanoid body, but their head is octopusOctopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
-like. They have four tentacles around a lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain. Their eyes are pale white, and they can see perfectly well in both darkness and light. Their sense of hearing is slightly poorer than a human's; they have difficulty distinguishing between several sounds mixed together. Their skin is purplish blue to gray-green and covered in mucus, and is very sensitive to sunlight. Though sunlight does not actually harm them, they loathe it with incredible ferocity.
One of the most feared powers is the dreaded Mind Blast, where the illithid emits a cone-shaped psionic
Psionics (role-playing games)
Psionics, in role-playing games, is a broad category of fantastic abilities originating from the mind, similar to the paranormal psionic abilities that some people claim in reality.- Common features :...
shockwave with its mind in order to incapacitate any creature for a short amount of time. Illithids also have other psionic powers, generally telepathic in nature, although their exact effects have varied over editions. Other powers include a defensive psionic shield and powers of psionic domination for controlling the minds of others.
Illithid biology
Illithids are hermaphroditic creatures who each spawn a mass of larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e twice in their life. The larvae resemble miniature illithid heads or four-tentacled tadpoles. Larvae are left to develop in the pool of the Elder Brain. The ones that survive after 10 years are inserted into the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
of a sapient creature. Hosts are determined in a very specific manner. Hosts generally are humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
creatures that are between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 2 inches. The most desirable of races for hosts are Human
Human (Dungeons & Dragons)
Humans are a race available for player characters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. Although short-lived by comparison, humans are the most populous of all Dungeons & Dragons races. They are renowned for their diversity and ambition, and although they lack specializations like...
, Drow, Elves
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
, Githzerai
Githzerai
The githzerai are a fictional race of creatures in the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.Githzerai are extraplanar humanoid creatures that reside on the Plane of Limbo.-Publication history:...
, Githyanki
Githyanki
The githyanki are a fictional humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the Dark Sun setting, they are simply called gith...
, Grimlock
Grimlock (Dungeons & Dragons)
Grimlock is a fictional monstrous humanoid that lives in the Underdark, a vast interconnected system of caves underneath various Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings. Based on subterranean humanoids called "morlocks" created by H.G...
, Gnoll
Gnoll
A gnoll or gnole is a fictional humanoid creature - a cross between a gnome and a troll. They first appeared in Lord Dunsany's story in The Book of Wonder: How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art upon the Gnoles and subsequently reappeared in Margaret St. Clair's, The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles...
, Goblinoid
Goblinoid
Goblinoids are a category of humanoid legendary creatures related to the goblin. The term originated in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, in which goblins and related creatures are a staple of random encounters. Goblinoids are typically barbaric foes of the various human and...
, and Orc
Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
. Upon being implanted, the larva then grows and consumes the host's brain, absorbing the host's physical form entirely and becoming sapient itself, a mature (but still young) Illithid. This process is called ceremorphosis. Illithids often experiment with non-humanoid hosts, but ceremorphosis involving other creatures usually fails, killing both host and larva.
When an illithid undergoes ceremorphosis, it can occasionally take on some elements of the absorbed host creature's former mind, such as mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
s. This typically manifests as a nervous habit and/or reaction, like nail-biting
Nail biting
Onychophagia, or nail biting, is a common oral compulsive habit in children and adults.-Classification:Nail biting is considered an impulse control disorder in the DSM-IV-R; the ICD-10 classifies it as "other specified behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and...
or tapping one's foot. An adult illithid has even been known to hum a tune that its host knew in life. Usually, when a mind flayer inherits a trait like this, it keeps it a closely guarded secret, because, were its peers to learn of it, the illithid in question would surely be killed. This is due to an illithid legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
of a being called the Adversary. The legend holds that, eventually, an illithid larva that undergoes ceremorphosis will take on the host's personality and memory in its entirety. This "Adversary" would, mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
and soul, still be the host, but with all the inherent abilities of an illithid.
Occasionally, ceremorphosis can partially fail. Sometimes the larva does not contain enough chemicals to complete the mutation, sometimes there is psionic interference. Whatever the reason, it has happened that ceremorphosis has ended after the internal restructuring, resulting in a human body with an illithid's brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
, personality and digestive tract
Gastrointestinal tract
The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....
. These unfortunates must still consume brains, typically by cutting open heads (as they lack the requisite tentacles). These beings are often used as spies, where they easily blend in with their respective host types.
The illithid society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
also maintains a long-standing taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
related to deviations to or failures of the ceremorphosis process and hunt and destroy such exceptions. Occasionally Mind flayer communities are attacked (often by vengeful githyanki and githzerai) and their inhabitants must flee. This leaves the larvae unattended. Bereft of exterior nourishment, they begin to consume one another. The survivor will eventually leave the pool in search of food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
(i.e., brains). This unmorphed larvae is known as a Neothelid. If the neothelid consumes an intelligent creature it will awaken to sapience and psionic abilities and grow to immense size, while retaining its memories of savage survival. In Complete Psionic, it was revealed that illithids have a step between larva and neothelid called a Larval Flayer, which looks like an overgrown tadpole
Tadpole
A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...
. The existence of these beasts is a guarded secret among illithids, and it is considered impolite to speak of them.
The Adversary
In the 2nd Edition AD&D adventure Dawn of the Overmind, author Bruce CordellBruce Cordell
Bruce Robert Cordell is an American author of roleplaying games and fantasy novels. He won the Origins Award for Return to the Tomb of Horrors and has won several ENnies as well...
revealed the nature of the Adversary. This being was an illithid created from the host body of a man named Strom Wakeman, a character referenced in some of Cordell's other 2nd Edition works, most notably as the "author" of The Illithiad supplement.
Wakeman, an enterprising trader and scholar of Underdark
Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
exotica, allowed himself to be captured by the illithids on one of his expeditions. Through the use of a non-magical mixture of various herbs that Wakeman named laethen, he was able to preserve his consciousness through ceremorphosis, and learned to use his psionic powers to keep from having to consume brains. Thus he worked against the illithid plots from within. The legend of the Adversary was born from his frequent sabotage, though the actual acts were never connected to him. The players' characters in the adventure become his agents in stopping the illithids' plans, as his own movements rely upon secrecy from his "fellow" illithids.
For another person to imitate Wakeman's deed would require at least one dose of laethen (the making of which Wakeman kept secret) and to be put under ceremorphosis within a week of consumption. The drug only has a 40% chance of success, and the new illithid must also never consume a brain, for the act destroys the host's personality and replaces it with the illithid personality.
Alhoon
Alhoons (also called illithiliches) are illithids that have grown powerful enough in magic to become lichLich (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the lich is an undead creature; a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
es. Alhoons are generally pariahs in illithid society because they go against most illithids' eventual goal; to merge with the Elder Brain, both physically and psionically. Alhoons, on the other hand, are more concerned with their own personal survival. When discovered near illithid communities Alhoons are mercilessly hunted down.
Ulitharid
Ulitharids are created from tadpoles much like standard illithids; fewer than 0.1% become ulitharids, and it is impossible to determine whether a tadpole will become an ulitharid until ceremorphosis is complete.Superior in nearly all ways to a regular mind flayer, ulitharids possess two extra tentacles, which are twice as long as the others, and an extreme arrogance, even by the standards of their own kind. Only the elder brain holds more sway within an illithid community.
Vampiric illithids
The origins of these unique undeadUndead (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
mind flayers are unclear. All that is known of these creatures is that they cannot create spawn, need both fresh blood and fresh brains to survive, are more feral than typical illithids, and are barely intelligent. One possible origin is given in the Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
adventure Thoughts of Darkness, in which a vampire
Vampire (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features...
ss collaborates with the illithids in using the Apparatus to create the first vampiric illithid, a being never conceived of before. Whether they spread from the demiplane of dread or not is another matter, what can be said is that these creatures are hated and feared by typical illithids.
Yaggol
The yaggol are a variant presented in the DragonlanceDragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
.
The Yaggol are a race from the Emerald Sea of Neron, a dark, steamy jungle in southern Taladas
Taladas
Taladas is a continent in the northern hemisphere of Krynn, the fictional world for the Dragonlance setting of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role playing game.-Introduction:...
. The history of their civilization stretches back to the end of the first age of Krynn
Krynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
. Their empire was thriving at the same time the High Ogres of Ansalon founded their own empire. Enslaving the Cha'asii elves, the yaggol ruled over the continent with a nightmarish will but this all came to end when the cha'asii learned how to defeat the mind powers of the yaggol. A great war was fought, and the empire crumbled as both sides nearly wiped each other out. All that remained of this once aberrant race was seven obsidian temples in The Valley of Akh-Tazi.
After the shattering of the empire, an uneasy truce was struck, only broken by skirmishes and murder. The cha'asii went their separate ways; establishing villages like Ke-Cha-Yat where they could live in peace from the yaggol. This would all change with the coming of Gloomwing, a former orthlox Black Dragon
Black Dragon
Black Dragon may refer to:*240 mm howitzer M1, a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. Popularly nicknamed "Black Dragon".*Black Dragon , a 1975 Hong Kong film...
that joined with the Brethren, the cult followers of Maladar an-Desh, Lord of Wizards.
Related creatures
Brain Golem: An eight-foot-tall humanoid-shaped construct made entirely of brain tissue, these creations exist only to serve an elder brain and its illithid community.Brainstealer Dragon: A mix of illithid and dragon
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
, these powerful wyrms occasionally rule over illithid communities that lack an elder brain.
Illithidae: Illithidae are to mind flayers as less intelligent animals are to humans. Known types include the cessirid, embrac, kigrid, and saltor. Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
magazine once published a template for use in creating an illithidae creature, for use with the 1st Edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
game. They were updated in 3.5 in the Lords of Madness
Lords of Madness
Lords of Madness is an official supplement for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.-Contents:It includes new content for aberrations including new aberration monsters and monsters related to them, and information on how to hunt aberrations.-What Is an...
supplement.
Illithocyte: Illithid tadpoles that survived the fall of a mind flayer empire, they evolved into a new life form and now crawl about in groups seeking psychic radiation on which to feed.
Kezreth: A living troop transport and battle platform created from the severed head of a shamed illithid. They serve in this capacity in the hope of redeeming themselves and being allowed to return to the elder brain.
Mind Worm: Created by illithids to serve as assassins and bounty hunters, these powerful psionic creatures resemble smaller purple worm
Purple worm
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the purple worm is a magical beast and a classic D&D monster.-Publication history:The purple worm was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
s. They can attack from far distances with their probe worms.
Mindwitness: Inserting an illithid tadpole into a beholder
Beholder
The beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and lots of smaller eyestalks on top with deadly magical powers....
results in these abominations, which are used as guards and sentries.
Mozgriken: An illithid tadpole inserted into a svirfneblin gnome
Svirfneblin
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, svirfneblin , or deep gnomes, are a sub-race of gnome.-Publication history:The svirfneblin first appears in first edition in the adventure modules D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa , and D3 Vault of the Drow , and then in the original Fiend Folio...
while subjected to a dangerous psionic ritual creates a mozgriken. These three-tentacled ceremorphs are despised by all, but their aptitude for stealth and psionic powers of stealth and shape control make them useful spies for the illithids.
Neothelid: If an illithid tadpole survives but fails to undergo ceremorphosis, it will eventually grow into an incredibly powerful worm-like creature with illithid tentacles at the forefront of its body and immense mental powers.
Nerve Swimmers: Derived from immature illithid tadpoles, these entities are living instruments of torture and interrogation.
Nyraala Golem: A flailing, slimy, tentacled construct capable of launching surprise attacks. They often serve as guards, and are prized because their creation does not involve petitioning the elder brain to surrender part of its mass.
Octopin: A six-tentacled, purple-skinned monstrosity with a single eye created by mind flayers.
Oortlings: These docile humanoids with enlarged brains were bred by illithids as food.
Tzakandi: Illithid tadpoles inserted into lizardfolk
Lizardfolk
Lizardfolk are a fictional humanoid species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:...
create tzakandi, which the mind flayers use as slave labourers and personal guards.
Uchuulon: A chuul
Chuul
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the chuul is a large, pale yellow, lobster-like aberration with a set of nasty pincers and paralytic tentacles.-Publication history:...
implanted with an illithid tadpole becomes an uchuulon. Also known as slime chuuls, illithids use them as hunters and guardians.
Urophion: Inserting an illithid tadpole into a roper
Roper (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the roper is a magical beast, resembling a conical structure similar in appearance to rock, wrapped in rope-like tentacles which conceal a mouth...
results in these miserable creatures, which are used as guards and sentries.
Ustilagor: Mind flayers farm these larval intellect devourer
Intellect devourer
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the intellect devourer is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter.-Publication history:...
s for food and sentries.
Vampire Squid: Servitor creatures created by illithids to extend their reach below the surface of Underdark waters. They have a maw of sharp teeth which can be turned inside out and function as defensive spikes.
Voidmind Creatures: A voidmind creature is an ordinary creature (such as a normal human or human-like creature or animal) whose mind has been nearly devoured by a mind flayer, but enough has been left intact for basic motor function. Further psionic rituals give these near dead creatures a semblance of life. The resulting creatures act as minions and spies for the Illithids.
Illithid symbionts
Illithids often create symbionts, a kind of living item originally made for the EberronEberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
. Illithids use these symbionts for themselves and their slaves. These symbionts help their general offensive and defensive capabilities. Known illithid symbionts include the mnemonicus, wriggler, and carapace symbionts.
History
The origins of the illithids are often shrouded in mystery, with conflicting stories offered in various D&D products, in past editions and in the current version of the game. These different versions can be taken as successive retcons or simply different stories hiding the true nature of the illithids, which may be something else entirely.The 3.5 Edition D&D supplement Lords of Madness
Lords of Madness
Lords of Madness is an official supplement for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.-Contents:It includes new content for aberrations including new aberration monsters and monsters related to them, and information on how to hunt aberrations.-What Is an...
provides that the Illithid were a star-faring people who existed at the end of time. Facing annihilation, the Illithid traveled to the past, arriving roughly 2000 years before the present in any given D&D campaign.
The 2nd Edition book The Illithiad suggests they may be from the Far Realm
Far Realm
The Far Realm is a plane found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The Far Realm is a mix of horror, madness, and Lovecraftian geometries....
, an incomprehensible plane completely alien to the known multiverse. There is no mention of time travel in this theory. Instead, they emerged somewhere and somewhen countless thousands of years ago, beyond the histories of many mortal races, and spread from one world to another, and another, and so on. It is explicitly stated in this book that the illithids appear in some of the most ancient histories of the most ancient races, even those that have no mention of other races.
The 4th Edition preview Wizards Presents Worlds and Monsters supports the claim that mind flayers originate from the Far Realm
Far Realm
The Far Realm is a plane found in various settings in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The Far Realm is a mix of horror, madness, and Lovecraftian geometries....
.
In these two differing versions of the story, much of the variance hinges upon a fictional text called The Sargonne Prophecies. The Illithiad described the Prophecies as misnamed, and that much of it sounds more like ancient myth than prophecy. Lords of Madness takes the name more literally, and states that The Sargonne Prophecies are in fact prophecy — or, perhaps more accurately, a history of the future.
Yet another version came from The Astromundi Cluster, a Spelljammer
Spelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
boxed set produced before The Illithiad. This version holds that the illithids are descended from the outcasts of an ancient human society that ruled the now-shattered world called Astromundi. The outcast humans eventually mutated, deep underground, into the mind flayers. (This boxed set also introduced the entity known as Lugribossk, who was depicted as a god of the Astromundi flayers then, but was later retconned into a proxy of the god Ilsensine.) In the retconned history of the illithids found in either The Illithiad or Lords of Madness, the emergence of illithids in Astromundi becomes a freak occurrence due to the intervention of Ilsensine through its proxy, since the illithids of Astromundi have their own histories as emerging solely upon that world.
However and whenever it occurred, when the illithids arrived in the Material Plane of the far past, they immediately began to build an empire by enslaving many sentient creatures. They were very successful, and soon their worlds-spanning empire became the largest one the multiverse had ever seen. They had the power — in terms of psychic potency and the manpower of countless slaves — to fashion artificial worlds. One such world was this empire's capital, called Penumbra, a diskworld
Alderson disk
An Alderson disk is an artificial astronomical megastructure, like Niven's Ringworld, or a Dyson sphere. The disk is a giant platter with a thickness of several thousand miles. The sun rests in the hole at the center of the disk. The outer radius of an Alderson disk would be roughly equivalent...
built around a star, which was a thousand years in the making. Such was their might that the Blood War
Blood War
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the Blood War is an eternal conflict between the fiends of the Lower planes. The Tanar'ri are the demonic forces of the Abyss, an evil plane of chaos. Representing the equally evil but lawful realm of Baator are the Baatezu, the dominant caste of...
paused as the demons and devils considered a truce to deal with the illithid empire.
Eventually, the primary slave race of the illithids developed resistance to the mental powers of their masters, and revolted. Led by the warrior Gith
Gith
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Gith is the fictional leader of the thrall rebellion that toppled the illithid empire thousands of years in the past, and founder of the githyanki and githzerai races.-History:...
, the rebellion spread to all the illithids' worlds, and the empire collapsed. The illithid race itself seemed doomed.
Fortunately for the illithids, Gith was betrayed by one of her own generals, Zerthimon
Zerthimon
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Zerthimon is the prophet-leader of a group of humanoids called the githzerai, cousins of the githyanki.-History:...
, who believed she had grown tyrannical and over-aggressive. Civil war erupted, and the race factionalised into the githyanki
Githyanki
The githyanki are a fictional humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the Dark Sun setting, they are simply called gith...
and the githzerai
Githzerai
The githzerai are a fictional race of creatures in the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.Githzerai are extraplanar humanoid creatures that reside on the Plane of Limbo.-Publication history:...
(and in the Spelljammer campaign setting the Pirates of Gith). This disruption allowed the illithids to retreat to underground strongholds where they still dwell.
Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
#100 claims the original home of the gith forerunners was a world known as Pharagos. Currently it is described as, "an unremarkable Material-Plane
Prime Material Plane
The Prime Material Plane is the central plane of existence in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
world, a far cry from the hotbed of magical activity and divine intervention that is the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign or the World of Greyhawk." Beneath the Wasting Desert on that world, however, is the petrified corpse of the long-dead patron deity of the ancestors of the gith races. As is recounted in most 1st and 2nd edition sources, the ancestors of the gith forerunners were a human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
civilization before being modified by countless generations of illithid breeding and profane science.
The background material of the Chainmail game places the gith forerunners in a subterranean empire called Zarum in Western Oerik, where they dominated many other races from their capital city of Anithor. These gith seem to have been divided into a rigid caste system, their lives ruled by ancient ritual. The ruins of Zarum overflow with sacred spaces and temples, though the names of the ancient gith gods are unknown today. The period of Zarum's height is not entirely clear, but grey elf
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
sages speculate it was approximately 2,000 years before the Demon Wars that ravaged Western Oerik, or 3,000 years before the present.
At some point, the illithids invaded Zarum from a neighboring plane of existence. Though the gith fought fiercely, they were no match for the psionic might of the mind flayers, and soon they were enslaved. The River of Angry Souls is a remnant of one of the terrible battles between the illithids and the soon-to-be enslaved gith. Many were brought to the Outer Planes and elsewhere to serve as illithid slaves. Other cities in Zarum were transformed into work pits where illithid overseers forced their slaves to toil for countless generations.
After Gith's rebellion, she led her people to the Astral Plane. While a few subject races and surviving illithids remained on Oerth, the gith forerunners have departed the world, seemingly for good. If they retain any interest in the ruins of Zarum, it is well concealed. A portion of the ruins of Anithor were eventually colonized by the drow of House Kilsek, who named their new settlement Kalan-G'eld.
Activities
Currently, the illithids are in a period of intense study and experimentation, gathering knowledge of all sorts that will enable them to eventually reconquer the universe and hold it for good. They frequently meddle in the politics of other races through subtle psychic manipulation of key figures, not to cause chaos but so as to better understand the dynamics of civilization. They regularly probe the minds of surface dwellers so as to gather intelligence and learn about new advances in magic and technology. They also do a good deal of research themselves, mainly focused on developing new psychic powers.Illithids regularly conduct raids on all sentient settlements to acquire new thralls, because their existing stock of sentient thralls do not breed fast enough to satisfy their food and labor needs. Typically, a group of mind flayers will teleport to the settlement and swiftly incapacitate them with their psychic powers. The captives will then be marched all the way to the illithids' underground settlement by specially trained and conditioned thralls. Great care is taken to cover their tracks.
Society
An illithid city is ruled by a creature called an Elder Brain which lives in a pool of cerebral fluidCerebrospinal fluid
Cerebrospinal fluid , Liquor cerebrospinalis, is a clear, colorless, bodily fluid, that occupies the subarachnoid space and the ventricular system around and inside the brain and spinal cord...
in the city's center. When an illithid dies its brain is extracted and taken to the pool. Illithids believe that when they die their personality is incorporated into the Elder Brain, but this is not the case. When the brain of an illithid is added to the Elder Brain, the memories, thoughts and experiences are consumed and added to the sum of the whole, but all else is lost. This fact is a closely guarded secret of the Elder Brains, since all illithid aspire to a form of immortality through this merging process. An extremely ancient Elder Brain is called a God-Brain because its psionic powers are almost limitless.
Since the Elder Brain contains the essence of every illithid that died in its community, it functions in part as a vast library of knowledge that a mind flayer can call upon with a simple telepathic call. The Elder Brain in turn can communicate telepathically with anyone in its community, issuing orders and ensuring everyone conforms.
Illithids generally frown upon magic, preferring their natural psionic ability. Psionic potential is an integral part of the illithid identity, and the Elder Brain cannot absorb the magical powers of an illithid mage when it dies. They tolerate a limited study of wizardry, if only to better understand the powers employed by their enemies. However, an illithid who goes too far and neglects his psionic development in favor of wizardry risks becoming an outcast. Denied the possibility of ever merging with the Elder Brain, such outcasts often seek their own immortality through undeath, becoming alhoons.
Illithids typically communicate through psychic means. They project thoughts and feelings to each other in a way non-illithids can scarcely comprehend. When they do feel the need to write, they do so in "qualith." Instead of typical alphabet-based writing, illithids write in qualith by making marks consisting of four broken lines. They use each tentacle to feel the breaks in the lines, making it basically similar to braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
. However, qualith is extremely complex, as each line modifies the preceding lines through explaining abstract concepts associated with the above words in ways no human can understand; only by understanding all four lines simultaneously can the meaning be understood properly.
Religion
Traditionally illithids revere a perverse deity named IlsensineIlsensine
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Ilsensine is the patron deity of illithids . While not the creator of illithids, Ilsensine sees mind flayers as the entities most worthy of dominating the universe...
. In 2nd edition, they have a second deity named Maanzecorian
Maanzecorian
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Maanzecorian is the illithid deity of knowledge and philosophy. His symbol is a silver crown set with a red gem....
, who is later killed by Tenebrous (Orcus) in the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
adventure module Dead Gods
Dead Gods
Dead Gods is an adventure module for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was published in 1997, and was written by Monte Cook, with cover art by rk post and interior art by rk post, Adam Rex, and Josh Timbrook.-Plot summary:Dead Gods is...
. Although Ilsensine is the illithid patron deity, few mind flayers actively worship him, thinking themselves the most powerful creatures in the universe.
Relations with other races
Illithids seek to rebuild their former empire wherein all other species were their slaves, so they view any sentient creature as worthy only of being their slaves or their food. They are pragmatic, however, and will trade with other races, such as dark elves and gray dwarves, who are too strong to be conquered. They also trade with the Neogi in order to obtain slaves.Their archenemies are the githyanki
Githyanki
The githyanki are a fictional humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the Dark Sun setting, they are simply called gith...
and the githzerai
Githzerai
The githzerai are a fictional race of creatures in the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.Githzerai are extraplanar humanoid creatures that reside on the Plane of Limbo.-Publication history:...
, descendants of the rebellious slaves who destroyed their empire millennia ago. Hunting and slaying illithids whenever they can is an integral part of their cultures.
Illithids fear the undead because these creatures, even the sentient ones, are immune to telepathic detection and manipulation, and have no brains to consume. Confronting such mindless creatures can even be traumatizing to some of them.
According to the Lords of Madness history, Illithids are one of the few races respected by the aboleths. This is because the aboleths remember the origin of almost every other race, through their hereditary memory. However, illithids, as far the aboleths can remember, just appeared without preamble, which scares them.
Illithids in Eberron
In EberronEberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
, the illithid come from Xoriat, the plane of Madness. They were created by the Daelkyr in their invasion plans. It is not known if they have elder brains, but their continued existence implies that they can breed on their own. The mind flayers of Eberron are resistant to damage from all weapons except those made out of byeshk, a new exotic material in the Eberron setting.
Illithids in Greyhawk
Illithids typically dwell in dim, underground settlements, usually in the Underdark. Perhaps the best-known illithid settlement on OerthOerth
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Oerth, pronounced as "Orth" or "oyth", is the name of the fictional planet on which one of the earliest campaign settings, the World of Greyhawk, is located...
is the city of Dra-Mur-Shou, located within several miles of the Vault of the Drow. A number of illithids also make their home in the drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu, due to the presence of a well-known mind flayer research center.
Greyspace
Illithids also have a strong presence in GreyspaceGreyspace
Greyspace is an accessory for the Spelljammer campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Nigel Findley, and was published in 1992. Cover art is by Tom Baxa, with interior illustrations by David O...
and spheres beyond. The primary spelljamming ship used by illithids is the nautiloid, a 35-ton craft resembling a nautilus. Nautiloids are 125' to 180' long, including the tentacle-like piercing ram. The ship's coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed space and protects the illithids from the rays of solar bodies. Less common illithid vessels such as the 25-ton squid ship, the 70-ton octopus, and the 100-ton cuttle command also resemble the cephalopods after which they are named.
In Greyspace, the largest illithid settlements are the city of Sharpbeak on Celene and the settlement of Skullbringer in the Grinder. Worlds ruled by illithids in other spheres include Falx, Ssirik Akuar, Penumbra, and Glyth.
Illithids in Ravenloft
Illithids are the rulers of a domain in the RavenloftRavenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
campaign setting called Bluetspur, where their God-Brain is the darklord
Darklord
Darklord is a term used in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game campaign setting Ravenloft, referring to the mystically imprisoned and cursed ruler of a domain in Ravenloft.-Background:...
. How and why this particular Illithid elder-brain became a darklord has never been revealed in any official Ravenloft products.
Illithids in Spelljammer
Mind Flayers are one of the primary factions in the SpelljammerSpelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
campaign setting. While less prominent than the neogi, illithids are in complete control of Glyth, a Realmspace
Realmspace
Realmspace is an accessory for the Spelljammer campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book was written by Dale "Slade" Henson, and was published in 1991...
planet, and have been for millennia.
Illithids' primary ship type is the nautiloid (shown at right), a 35-ton craft resembling a nautilus
Nautilus
Nautilus is the common name of marine creatures of cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in two genera, the type of which is the genus Nautilus...
. Nautiloids are 125', or 180' long including the tentacle-like piercing ram. The ships' coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed space and protects the illithids from solar radiation.
Less common illithid vessels such as the 25-ton squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
ship, the 70-ton octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, and the 100-ton cuttle command
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
also resemble the cephalopod
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...
s after which they are named.
In the Spelljammer setting, the illithids are the creators of the oortlings, a humanoid race of high intelligence and enlarged size. Bred as food, the oortlings are completely docile and have little motivation and almost no instinct for self preservation.
Critical reception
The mind flayer was ranked fourth among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. They referred to this unique creation of the D&D game as the "quintessential evil genius" and the "perfect evil overlord".The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
writer Cienna Madrid described the Mind Flayer as one of D&D's "ghastly fiends".
Illithids in other media
Mind flayers appear in other role-playing games, including Angband, Demon's SoulsDemon's Souls
is an action role-playing game video game developed primarily by From Software exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan on February 5, 2009 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment...
, Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
, NetHack
NetHack
NetHack is a single-player roguelike video game originally released in 1987. It is a descendant of an earlier game called Hack , which is a descendant of Rogue...
, Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms is a fantasy video game developed by From Software and published by Activision in North America and Europe. The original Japanese version of this game is simply known as . The game was released in Japan on April 25, 2002; in North America on May 27, 2002; and in Europe on August 9, 2002...
, Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack "Jick" Johnson and writer Josh "Mr. Skullhead" Nite. The game was released in 2003...
and Lost Souls
Lost Souls (online game)
Lost Souls is a MUD, a text-based online role-playing game set in a medieval fantasy world. It has an extensive history of technical innovation in its field and has received critical praise....
, and the one-player gamebook
Gamebook
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
RPG series Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player fantasy roleplay gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volumes in the series were published by Puffin in 1982, with the rights to the franchise eventually being purchased by Wizard Books in 2002...
includes a creature similar to the illithid, the Brain Slayer. Some appearances of illithid-like creatures have received negative commentary for their apparent derivative status.
Ulchalothe in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II is an action role-playing game released for the PlayStation 2 on December 2, 2003 and the Xbox on January 20, 2004...
is the guardian of the Brazier of Eternal Flame. There are illithid settlements of varying size in the games Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark is an expansion pack for the role-playing video game Neverwinter Nights produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames Entertainment...
, Baldur's Gate II and Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, released on August 27, 2002. Like its 2000 predecessor Icewind Dale, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting in the Icewind Dale region...
. The villain in the Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
premium module 'Kingmaker' is also an Illithid.
Penny-Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
has referenced Illithids/Mind Flayers in their comics. Their 2009 Christmas special specifically features a four-part comic titled "How the Illithid Stole Lolthmas".
Additional reading
- Cagle, Eric, et al. Fiend Folio (Wizards of the Coast, 2003).
- Pramas, ChrisChris Pramas-Career:His works for Dungeons & Dragons include: Slavers , Guide to Hell , Apocalypse Stone , Vortex of Madness , as well as some work on the third edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide .He has also done work for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.He quit Wizards of the Coast in 2000 to...
. "Exiles from the Vault." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#298. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002. - Pramas, Chris. "Underground Scenarios." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#294. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002. - Schwartz, Christopher M. "The New Illithid Arsenal." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#255 (TSR, 1999). - Williams, Penny. "Armed To the Tentacle." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#308 (Paizo PublishingPaizo PublishingPaizo Publishing is an American publishing company in Redmond, Washington that specializes in game aids and adventures for "the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game" and its flagship spin-off game and setting, Pathfinder...
, 2003). - Wyatt, James. "Knights of the Lich-Queen." DungeonDungeonA dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
#100. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2003.
External links
- Illithids at Planescape website