Mearls, please give the mind flayer a makeover!

[Fishbone]

Here is what I've wondered for a while. In the example for designing the guy goes on about how Cleric is non-associated for Gnolls and how strong that is blah blah blah. But it has racial dice and a LA like the Flayer. So could a flayer take levels in martial classes as non-associated or is that a no-no? RAW I don't think that is legal but it certainly would make martial concepts like Blackguard and Marshal leaders with monk and barbarian shocktroops viable and could make the Mind Flayer a total pain in the ass even up to and a little past the 13th level.

 

[Dark Psion]

Somewhere in my pile of notes is a notepad with ideas on different breeds of Mind Flayers based on the different Psionic Classes.

The basic Mindflayer is the telepathic one, but now imagine a mind flayer with a more squid-like head with the arrowhead frill, he is the Seer of the Mindscape. They are the "priests" of the Mindflayer comunity.

Now conisder the Mindflayer you do not see, because he is camoflagued by his chameleon ability, he is the Egoist and can extend his tentacles to where you are standing.

Next comes a mindflayer covered with a mucous layer of ectoplasm, he is the Shaper and you will never get close to him before his Constructs attack.

Now before you is a mindflayer wearing goggles and wrapped in leather and bandages, he is the Nomad and occationally his teleports go to sunny places, so he has to be prepared.

Lastly, there is a smaller mindflayer with short tentacles crackling with energy, he is the Kineticist and is about to unleash hell under earth on you.

Remember that Mindflayer reproduce by way of Ceremorphosis, conversion of another humanoid, so that humanoid could influence the final form. You could have a muscular, Psychic Warrior flayer from a Hobgoblin or a small Lurk from a Halfling.

That might be interesting, what if the Mindflayer was a template added to the creature that was ceremorphed?

 

[DarkKestral]

I like that idea Dark Psion. It feels right that flayers should perhaps have some innate variability in physical makeup, especially as they reproduce by a method that is usually considered to be 'adding a template' rather than ignoring base creature stats.

 

[pawsplay]

So, did you have players failing Will saves and getting taken out completely? Was the rest of the battle great fun for those players? Your opinions are a little more insightful if they're placed within the context of the stated issues with their design.

They have hit points, but not too much AC. Their stun attack is powerful, but it creates interesting positioning problems on the battlefield. So they present a real threat of taking someone (or everyone) out, but with solid tactics, they can be taken down. In a lot of ways, they're like miniature dragons.

 

[Nightfall]

Mike,

Next time make an En World makeover! Or better yet, talk to the people at WotC about letting them make me a personal copy of a SLCS hardback!

 

[mearls]

This is actually really funny. I had started work on the mind flayer before GenCon, but then completely forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!

(BTW, my work for the web site is freelance, extracurricular stuff. So, my regular workload take precendence. When I have free time, I work on the monster makeover stuff plus some other makeovers I have in mind for the web site.)

 

[airwalkrr]

I would like to see an alternate mind blast. "All or nothing & leave the combat" really kills the fun. Maybe if it was Confusion...

That's actually...brilliant. Nice idea! Yoink.

 

[frankthedm]

That's actually...brilliant. Nice idea! Yoink.

Thanks. This does weaken the mind blast so "attack caster" should be swapped with another effect or way to maintain the CR balance of the critter. That idea came from the fact the old 1e mind blast table had a lot of different possibilities [including mental disorders and death for weak minds. ]

Another idea i had was rather than the flayer killing someone outright when 4 tendrils were attached, was to make thier tentacles deal a 1d6 of acid [ that tissue and bone disolving enzyme the fluff often mentions ] each time the tentacle does damage and if all 4 are attached at the start of the round additional acid damage is suffered. either 4d10 or 50 [to trigger a potentially lethat massive damage save.] This way their tentacles are still deadly, but operate as other kill-you-instantly effects, not fail grapple and die.

 

[Matafuego]

Sorry to mini-hijack but was the Beholder makeover ever shown anywhere?

BTW
I LOVE the XPH Mind Flayer. Absolutely, and even in campaigns I don't allow psionic PC's I use that version (sometimes with the magic is psionics rule, sometimes not... it depends on the level of the campaign and the threat they could pose to the PC's).

 

[Felon]

I certainly don't find any of this surprising.
If one is actively seeking the negative side of things then it would certainly be easy for, say, the barbarian's player to sit down and gripe about being stunned.

Your tone is a little overweening, but putting that aside I will clarify that the issue isn't with bad things happening to a player here and there and them being negative about it (or being a good sport), it's more of a combination of bad things happening in a huge cone that can effectively sideline the majority of the players, as well as the flayer's own allies, combined with the lack of any other equally good tricks in the illithid's bag.

Personally, I'd the very least advocate a design change that allows a save every round, which would still make for a nasty attack but would present the players with an opportunity to return from spectator to participant.