Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
If a PC had his brain "eaten" by an Intellect Devourer and then goes into an antimagic field...?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Aaron L" data-source="post: 7830738" data-attributes="member: 926"><p>Well, considering the fact that the Intellect Devourer literally <em>ate his brain</em> and took up residence inside his empty skull... I'd say the character would be in pretty bad shape. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Honestly, I would say that the actual magic happened when the monster ate his brain and teleported into his empty skull, and from then on the monster was physically integrated with the body's nervous system and so the Anti-magic Field really wouldn't do anything to interrupt it.</p><p></p><p>As for eventually putting the PC back into the player's control, I would <em>highly</em> recommend against just having him eventually return to normal after the Intellect Devourer is somehow removed, and instead suggest creating a story reason for a powerful Cleric to Resurrect him when the time comes to make the big reveal.</p><p></p><p><em>"Oh my Gods he's dead, and his corpse has been the puppet of a squamous, brain-sucking, eldritch grotesquery <strong>the whole time! Ahhhhhhhhhh! [gibber gibber scream]</strong>"</em></p><p></p><p>Go full-on <em><strong><em>Lovecraft</em></strong></em> with the description of the whole situation; that's what the Intellect Devourer is meant for! It would be the perfect time to introduce the optional Sanity ability score and have everyone make Sanity saving throws. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite29" alt=":devilish:" title="Devil :devilish:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":devilish:" /> </p><p></p><p>The reason for the Resurrection doesn't really matter; if you want him to come back just make up some excuse for a friendly Cleric to do it, maybe so they owe him and he can call upon them for future quests. It could give you a hook into the PCs to lead to another adventure. In my opinion you should play out the real horror of the situation for everyone and really make it a major campaign milestone, having the corpse fall to the ground with a thump such that the top of his head falls off and the empty skull is on full display... I really think just having the little brain-eater pop out of his head and then letting the character return to normal without consequence would be tragically missing out on a memorable, character defining scene, and it would absolutely cripple the impact and emotional power that such a horrifying monster as the Intellect Devourer should have.</p><p></p><p>I always like to play up the horror angle in games, instead of letting players just be blasé about every extraordinary, momentous, and horrific thing that their PCs witness and endure; even if it doesn't make the players squirm, it would still horrify the characters... and having one's (or witnessing one's companion's) brain being eaten and body used as a puppet by an alien/aberration parasite should be cosmically horrifying, especially since I would rule that the monster leaves the cerebellum intact to continue operating the body's autonomic nervous functions, breathing and such, that it wouldn't want to bother expending the effort to maintain. In my imagining that would leave enough of a brain left to maintain a psychic connection between the character's body and his soul the entire time, his soul remaining in a deathless limbo, unable to pass on through the Astral Plane to the appropriate Outer Plane of his afterlife, his soul tethered to his body by the Silver Cord, to remain stuck in the Near Astral Plane adjacent to his body on the Material Plane until the body dies... his soul Astrally witnessing every awful thing the Intellect Devourer does with his body, and psychically aware of every cosmically horrific thought the monster has, but unable to do anything or exert any control over his body to stop it. Thinking of the whole situation in those terms makes the Intellect Devourer into a much, much more horrifying monster rather than just a fancy mind controller, doesn't it? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> Such a situation would almost assuredly result in the character becoming a ghost when his body finally dies, from all the trauma and horror of the situation... I would imagine that Intellect Devourers and Mind Flayers are responsible for creating a <em>lot </em>of ghosts in this way... some special type of Sanity-sucking, madness-inducing Spectral entity. Something like a cross between a Spectre and the old Allip.</p><p></p><p>I would make the character's return to player control into a huge event in the character's life, and a huge event in the campaign, period. Something that will haunt him forever, rather than just let it play out as simply another case of charming or mind control. This squamous monster ate his brain and grotesquely squatted in his skull as it foully impersonated him for how long? You should really play up the horror of the situation... this is the stuff that defines characters and makes them interesting!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aaron L, post: 7830738, member: 926"] Well, considering the fact that the Intellect Devourer literally [I]ate his brain[/I] and took up residence inside his empty skull... I'd say the character would be in pretty bad shape. :) Honestly, I would say that the actual magic happened when the monster ate his brain and teleported into his empty skull, and from then on the monster was physically integrated with the body's nervous system and so the Anti-magic Field really wouldn't do anything to interrupt it. As for eventually putting the PC back into the player's control, I would [I]highly[/I] recommend against just having him eventually return to normal after the Intellect Devourer is somehow removed, and instead suggest creating a story reason for a powerful Cleric to Resurrect him when the time comes to make the big reveal. [I]"Oh my Gods he's dead, and his corpse has been the puppet of a squamous, brain-sucking, eldritch grotesquery [B]the whole time! Ahhhhhhhhhh! [gibber gibber scream][/B]"[/I] Go full-on [I][B][I]Lovecraft[/I][/B][/I] with the description of the whole situation; that's what the Intellect Devourer is meant for! It would be the perfect time to introduce the optional Sanity ability score and have everyone make Sanity saving throws. :devilish: The reason for the Resurrection doesn't really matter; if you want him to come back just make up some excuse for a friendly Cleric to do it, maybe so they owe him and he can call upon them for future quests. It could give you a hook into the PCs to lead to another adventure. In my opinion you should play out the real horror of the situation for everyone and really make it a major campaign milestone, having the corpse fall to the ground with a thump such that the top of his head falls off and the empty skull is on full display... I really think just having the little brain-eater pop out of his head and then letting the character return to normal without consequence would be tragically missing out on a memorable, character defining scene, and it would absolutely cripple the impact and emotional power that such a horrifying monster as the Intellect Devourer should have. I always like to play up the horror angle in games, instead of letting players just be blasé about every extraordinary, momentous, and horrific thing that their PCs witness and endure; even if it doesn't make the players squirm, it would still horrify the characters... and having one's (or witnessing one's companion's) brain being eaten and body used as a puppet by an alien/aberration parasite should be cosmically horrifying, especially since I would rule that the monster leaves the cerebellum intact to continue operating the body's autonomic nervous functions, breathing and such, that it wouldn't want to bother expending the effort to maintain. In my imagining that would leave enough of a brain left to maintain a psychic connection between the character's body and his soul the entire time, his soul remaining in a deathless limbo, unable to pass on through the Astral Plane to the appropriate Outer Plane of his afterlife, his soul tethered to his body by the Silver Cord, to remain stuck in the Near Astral Plane adjacent to his body on the Material Plane until the body dies... his soul Astrally witnessing every awful thing the Intellect Devourer does with his body, and psychically aware of every cosmically horrific thought the monster has, but unable to do anything or exert any control over his body to stop it. Thinking of the whole situation in those terms makes the Intellect Devourer into a much, much more horrifying monster rather than just a fancy mind controller, doesn't it? ;) Such a situation would almost assuredly result in the character becoming a ghost when his body finally dies, from all the trauma and horror of the situation... I would imagine that Intellect Devourers and Mind Flayers are responsible for creating a [I]lot [/I]of ghosts in this way... some special type of Sanity-sucking, madness-inducing Spectral entity. Something like a cross between a Spectre and the old Allip. I would make the character's return to player control into a huge event in the character's life, and a huge event in the campaign, period. Something that will haunt him forever, rather than just let it play out as simply another case of charming or mind control. This squamous monster ate his brain and grotesquely squatted in his skull as it foully impersonated him for how long? You should really play up the horror of the situation... this is the stuff that defines characters and makes them interesting! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
If a PC had his brain "eaten" by an Intellect Devourer and then goes into an antimagic field...?
Top