D&D 5E How do you regain INT after an Intellect Devourer attack?

[Unwise]

Aaarrrgh! I didn't even think of that! Yes, if he keeps trying, he can simply use his divine intervention! It says that any cleric spell or domain spell would be appropriate. He's above 10th level, so he has the feature. It's perfect. As long as you could justify him being conscious at 0 Int, he would be begging his dirty for help and his deity would very likely just intervene with a greater restoration.

Personally, I would not let somebody with Int 0 call for divine aid. He cannot even remember his name, let alone his gods. He is a high level guy though, his deity might wonder why he has not prayed for a while. It would come down to whether the PC RPed well or not. Is he a high priest of a church? Is he devout and always prays at sun up and sun down? If so, then the deity has an X% chance of noticing that he has not done so and might turn some attention to the problem at hand. An un-asked-for Divine Intervention. Same rules, just a different manifestation.

If they guy is just a different type of wizard in plate who never RPs his piety, then I would not have his god notice or intervene.

 

[BMaC]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. The side quest is a great idea but not an option in the setting. I'll certainly allow the auto-pass divine intervention--"The party gathers around you in a quandary. One of them compassionately wipes the drool from your mouth. Unthinking, an utterance--a muttered whisper--escapes from your lips: the name of your god." Divine intervention. The tweet from Crawford is also the way to go it seems. Nasty little feckers for CR2 eh?

 

[The Human Target]

If nasty equals utterly ridiculously overpowered, I agree.

 

[juggerulez]

If nasty equals utterly ridiculously overpowered, I agree.

op? for a level 13 cleric and whom I expect him to be travelling together with?

at level 13, a CR 2 creature is not a threat. Perhaps that cleric was just unfortunate... he failed a DC12 INT ST and then the DM rolled 3d6 (10.5 avg) and beaten his INT score.

 

[Saeviomagy]

That's another part of why I think it should be easy and nearly universal to remove, the low cr. An alternative would be to allow recovery by spending hit dice after a short rest.

 

[The Human Target]

op? for a level 13 cleric and whom I expect him to be travelling together with?

at level 13, a CR 2 creature is not a threat. Perhaps that cleric was just unfortunate... he failed a DC12 INT ST and then the DM rolled 3d6 (10.5 avg) and beaten his INT score.

I think the fact that it's still a possibly devastating monster to a much higher level character shows how potent it is, especially vs a level 2 party.

But this is a subject that has been discussed to death in other threads, I shouldn't have even brought it up.

 

[The Human Target]

That's another part of why I think it should be easy and nearly universal to remove, the low cr. An alternative would be to allow recovery by spending hit dice after a short rest.

I think this is a great idea. I wish it was clearly spelled out in the rules.

 

[juggerulez]

I think the fact that it's still a possibly devastating monster to a much higher level character shows how potent it is, especially vs a level 2 party.

But this is a subject that has been discussed to death in other threads, I shouldn't have even brought it up.

you're not wrong when you say it's a formidable adversary. It's an effective "end level boss" for lowbie parties if you ask me
I'd put it in the random encounter list? hell no, unless it was an astral plane flavoured adventure (giths, illithids, and love)

The main issue at hand, going back on topic, is that the one who can restore stats is the very own person who needs it! Perhaps it's just "how I roll" but I'd never wander without a scroll of resurrection after the 7th level and now that I'm aware of these kind of situations, I'll never wander without a scroll of greater restoration either xD

 

[Uchawi]

Whatever you do, I hope it is obvious you will need to research similar monster abilities in the future and plan an out, cure or for the demise of a character. You could use a condition track if 5E has it (I don't own the DM guide), or a series of failed death saving throws before ability damage becomes permanent. You may also note the Devour Intellect attack causes Psychic damage. Based on how you interpret hit points, the damage that also has a chance to reduce the Intelligence may be temporary.

Some of the worse experiences I had as a player is when the DM springs special conditions like losing limbs, abilities, lost levels, etc. with no reasonable way for the party to address it. The campaign screeches to a halt for whoever is affected, unless the entire table understands you are going through a dungeon like tomb of horrors with little chance of success.

 

[juggerulez]

Whatever you do, I hope it is obvious you will need to research similar monster abilities in the future and plan an out, cure or for the demise of a character. You could use a condition track if 5E has it (I don't own the DM guide), or a series of failed death saving throws before ability damage becomes permanent. You may also note the Devour Intellect attack causes Psychic damage. Based on how you interpret hit points, the damage that also has a chance to reduce the Intelligence may be temporary.

Some of the worse experiences I had as a player is when the DM springs special conditions like losing limbs, abilities, lost levels, etc. with no reasonable way for the party to address it. The campaign screeches to a halt for whoever is affected, unless the entire table understands you are going through a dungeon like tomb of horrors with little chance of success.

Well I can agree with you up to a certain extent.
Our DM is a heartless bastard and we learned the hard way that we had to investigate and recon the premises prior to an engagement, even if you had no intel whatsoever when the quest giver asked you to go and raid the evil fortress
If your players find themselves against unfavourable odds, it's up to them to bail and adjust their strategies accordingly, why should the DM bend the rules because they didn't do their homeworks?

This doesn't apply to random encounters and if you come by the entrance of a dungeon "by chance". That's where I could agree with you