[URBIS] Another take on mind flayers

[Jürgen Hubert]

Here is yet another excerpt from my setting:

Mind Flayer

These beings originated on the planet Calturus. It is wrong to see them as a normal, independent species like human - rather, they are a strage type of parasites. Their tadpole-like larvae are put on a living host body, where it will burrow into the skin and slowly transform its host into a mind flayer over the course of a month (a cure disease spell can reverse the process). The common, basically humanoid form of the mind flayer is the result of putting a larvae into a humanoid host (like humans, elves, hobgoblins...), but other combinations are possible - in fact, few living beings can not be infected. The only constants are the slimy skin, and the bulbous head with four tentacles hanging from it.
Only the most learned of sages might know what kind of beings were used as hosts by the mind flayers on their home world.

This was inspired by the section on mind flayers in FR's "Lords of Darkness", which described a similar "conversion process" for humans. I thought to myself: Why should this only work on humanoids?

How about mind flayer dogs? Mind flayer giants? Mind flayer dire bears? The possibilities are endless...

I guess I'll have to write a "Mind flayer template" one of these days...


So, what do you think?

 

[Welverin]

Icky

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Re: Re: [URBIS] Another take on mind flayers

Icky

Well, of course it is. After all, this is mind flayers we are talking about, the sterotypical brain-sucking B-movie aliens of D&D!

Frankly, making mind flayers and their ilk non-icky would be missing the point...

 

[LGodamus]

There was an article in Dragon years ago that described the mind flayer home world...and it had all kinds of critters that were flayer like. Also, The Illithiad has mindflayer/roper crosses and a giant worm mind flayer that is the result of a flayer tadpole not getting a host.

 

[the Jester]

The neothelid is also in the 3e PsiHB.

(It's the unimplanted tadpole that has grown and grown and grown...)

 

[Urbanmech]

*Yoink*

This is a great idea, consider it stolen. Please post your mindflayer template once you come up with it so that I may torture my PC's with it.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

*Yoink*

This is a great idea, consider it stolen. Please post your mindflayer template once you come up with it so that I may torture my PC's with it.

The part that gives me the most problems is coming up with a challenge rating modifier...

 

[Richards]

Incidentally, that Dragon article referred to in a post above is from issue #150.

Johnathan

 

[Carnifex]

In one of my articles for 'Shark World', I came up with the nautilith, another variation on the illithid; this time far more octopus like, and they don't have the whole implantationt hing. they're basically an aquatic race, and pretty nasty in h-t-h as well. They can be found here:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20909

Not directly related but I thought you might want to see 'em

 

[I'm A Banana]

Ah! My mind flayers have a pair of retractable fighting-tentacles that can shoot outta their cheeks up to 15 ft. away and deal some wicked damage (also improved grab, so that they can reel in the victim. Add in some HD and the Improved Extraction feat, and they can grab and tear out a victim's brain in a single round! ).

And then there's this unnerving ability of theirs to blend into the background as a free action.

yep, my flayers are pretty freaky critters.