Illithid Player Character Guide
An Imperfect Mind.
Burdened with imperfections after ceremorphosis, some illithids retain foggy memories or distorted emotions of the humanoid host that was used to create them. These imperfect illithids know they are different and know what they are suppose to be. Thus they escape the underdark to avoid being hunted and destroyed by the colony. Escaped illithids are defined by their individuality and will to live as themselves, whatever that may be.
An Illithid Body.
The process of ceremorphosis has altered the physical body of the host into the form of a mature illithid. Little to no discernible physical traits from the host has survived this process. Becoming an illithis also instills the hunger to devour brains and the instincts on how to harvest them. Despite an altered mind, the process of devouring a brain still fills the illithid's body with intoxicating euphoria. The higher the intelligence of the creature, the more euphoric it feels to feed.
Illithid Origins.
Your imperfection could have arised and altered you in multiple ways. The Illithid Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their imperfect mind.
d8
Origin
1
Ceremorphosis was interrupted before completion
2
The host had an strong resolve that refused ceremorphsis
3
You were taken far from the Elder Brain and mutated from its absence
4
An event awoken old memories from your host's past
5
You are the result of experimentation to reverse ceremorphsis
6
You devoured a brain from a powerful adventurer that altered your own mind
7
A strange experiment turned you into a illithid-like creature
8
The host used was not within normal physical parameters for ceremorphsis
Illithid Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.
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An Imperfect Mind.
Burdened with imperfections after ceremorphosis, some illithids retain foggy memories or distorted emotions of the humanoid host that was used to create them. These imperfect illithids know they are different and know what they are suppose to be. Thus they escape the underdark to avoid being hunted and destroyed by the colony. Escaped illithids are defined by their individuality and will to live as themselves, whatever that may be.
An Illithid Body.
The process of ceremorphosis has altered the physical body of the host into the form of a mature illithid. Little to no discernible physical traits from the host has survived this process. Becoming an illithis also instills the hunger to devour brains and the instincts on how to harvest them. Despite an altered mind, the process of devouring a brain still fills the illithid's body with intoxicating euphoria. The higher the intelligence of the creature, the more euphoric it feels to feed.
Illithid Origins.
Your imperfection could have arised and altered you in multiple ways. The Illithid Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their imperfect mind.
d8
Origin
1
Ceremorphosis was interrupted before completion
2
The host had an strong resolve that refused ceremorphsis
3
You were taken far from the Elder Brain and mutated from its absence
4
An event awoken old memories from your host's past
5
You are the result of experimentation to reverse ceremorphsis
6
You devoured a brain from a powerful adventurer that altered your own mind
7
A strange experiment turned you into a illithid-like creature
8
The host used was not within normal physical parameters for ceremorphsis
Illithid Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.
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Burdened with imperfections after ceremorphosis, some illithids retain foggy memories or distorted emotions of the humanoid host that was used to create them. These imperfect illithids know they are different and know what they are suppose to be. Thus they escape the underdark to avoid being hunted and destroyed by the colony. Escaped illithids are defined by their individuality and will to live as themselves, whatever that may be.
An Illithid Body.
The process of ceremorphosis has altered the physical body of the host into the form of a mature illithid. Little to no discernible physical traits from the host has survived this process. Becoming an illithis also instills the hunger to devour brains and the instincts on how to harvest them. Despite an altered mind, the process of devouring a brain still fills the illithid's body with intoxicating euphoria. The higher the intelligence of the creature, the more euphoric it feels to feed.
Illithid Origins.
Your imperfection could have arised and altered you in multiple ways. The Illithid Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their imperfect mind.
d8
Origin
1
Ceremorphosis was interrupted before completion
2
The host had an strong resolve that refused ceremorphsis
3
You were taken far from the Elder Brain and mutated from its absence
4
An event awoken old memories from your host's past
5
You are the result of experimentation to reverse ceremorphsis
6
You devoured a brain from a powerful adventurer that altered your own mind
7
A strange experiment turned you into a illithid-like creature
8
The host used was not within normal physical parameters for ceremorphsis
Illithid Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.
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The process of ceremorphosis has altered the physical body of the host into the form of a mature illithid. Little to no discernible physical traits from the host has survived this process. Becoming an illithis also instills the hunger to devour brains and the instincts on how to harvest them. Despite an altered mind, the process of devouring a brain still fills the illithid's body with intoxicating euphoria. The higher the intelligence of the creature, the more euphoric it feels to feed.
Illithid Origins.
Your imperfection could have arised and altered you in multiple ways. The Illithid Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their imperfect mind.
d8
Origin
1
Ceremorphosis was interrupted before completion
2
The host had an strong resolve that refused ceremorphsis
3
You were taken far from the Elder Brain and mutated from its absence
4
An event awoken old memories from your host's past
5
You are the result of experimentation to reverse ceremorphsis
6
You devoured a brain from a powerful adventurer that altered your own mind
7
A strange experiment turned you into a illithid-like creature
8
The host used was not within normal physical parameters for ceremorphsis
Illithid Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.
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Your imperfection could have arised and altered you in multiple ways. The Illithid Origins table provides suggestions for how your character gained their imperfect mind.
d8 |
Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ceremorphosis was interrupted before completion |
| 2 | The host had an strong resolve that refused ceremorphsis |
| 3 | You were taken far from the Elder Brain and mutated from its absence |
| 4 | An event awoken old memories from your host's past |
| 5 | You are the result of experimentation to reverse ceremorphsis |
| 6 | You devoured a brain from a powerful adventurer that altered your own mind |
| 7 | A strange experiment turned you into a illithid-like creature |
| 8 | The host used was not within normal physical parameters for ceremorphsis |
Illithid Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.
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Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by two and your wisdom score increases by one.
Age. After an illithid tadpole completes Ceremorphosis within their host, a mature illithid is created and can live up to 135 years.
Size. Illithids take on the height of the tadpole's host, but when picking a host illithid collonies tend to stick into the height range of 5 feet to 6 feet.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Aberration. Your creature type is aberration, rather than humanoid.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a range of 120 feet, instead of 60.
Tentacles. You have four tentacles protruding from your face. These tentacles can hold objects, activate magic items, use tools, and grapple. Grapples with these tentacles can be made with an athletics or acrobatics checks. If a target's hit points is reduced to zero while being grappled, you can devour its brain.
Illithid Psionics. Even without their connection to the Elder Brain, you still has psionic abilities. You can innately cast the cantrip Mind Sliver with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Detect Thoughts a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this trait.
Hunger of the Mind. Illithids must eat the brains of creatures to survive. Illithids can survive without eating a number of days equal to their intelligence modifier. At the end of each day beyond that limit, an illithid automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can only be removed by devouring a brain.
Psychic Resilience. You have resistance to psychic damage.
Languages. You can speak common, undercommon, and deep speech.