DunJeons&Dragons Monst:rous,~rcana

by Bruce R. Cordell

Hunqry T cndrifs Stir in the Dc\rk . . .

"Something's Gack. there!" he screamed.

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Tl,e Illitl,iad is a visually stunning tome that details important information on mind flayers, their mental powers , and their dire plans to control the multiverse .

This "complete book of illithids" covers: tfie i11camatio11.of 1111; fear staring 6acl(, J ~- • The anatomy and physiology of the mind flayer. "'

6 f • )l"J • The terrible truth about the mind flayer life cycle.

_... ro ea f,gure stoou 111st out_ .

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• · u ~:-;-. • Illithid-kin, undead mind flayers, and new 'flayer-km monsters. o tze,,g t, ut coum.ee ,,...-rr.-__ ._1_,. __ d

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. • r, • 7._--- =-;:-- ~ A ba ance oo at 1 11 1 ps10mc powers . ;ust enoug I to ma",J out a , . . . . · .•• . . , . r, r,- afi r,: r,·: • Ilhth,d ongms ; history, theology, psychology, and society. 1;'-'s ,a!~' zea. r,rom w_,~c~ , A detailed description of a typical mind flayer community. uepe1zueu a Wnt llll!f, cou11,g1, . ., . . . . . ,

1, ,J. ·,: c•'· · • ·, •_"~_-_ 1_-__ • Unique mmd flayer ps1omc ab1h1Ies and item s. ctuster o sttc'\. tentacies."...-. r •• ,

/_-,_ .,;,.,,;,, ,, IIJi'ff":"'i\; y. ·_: ....... -~ '.'/' .9ls I opener{m!J !!!!l_.U!~ft"- i Tl,e Il/itl,iad is the third volume in the popular MONSTROUS

'.,give wamir,g.of_t_[lf! t~~ I ARCANA" game accessory series and is indispensable to DMs . ,enem!J, f Je[t 11 ~cratcfz_f!.cross who want to add these terrifying creatures to their campaigns .

Tl,e Illit/1iad supports the mind flayer adventure trilogy: tfies urfi1ce of_.",l!J mina._ . . . . ,,,.__ 1 d 1 /. / . ·--·, /'., 13.Darkness -G_athering , Mast ers o Etema/ Nigi,t, an Dawn o

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Dlliigebns&Dragon ~ Mons-trousHArca.na ·

A Sour cebook for th e ADVANCED D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® Gam e

The lllithiad is dedicated to all who, taking up the staff,

tread the Path of the lotus, seeking the jewel at its center.

~ource&:

Credjt& Designer: Bruce R. Cordell

Editor: Keith Francis Strohm

Proofreaders: Michele Carter Miranda Ho m er

Brand Manager: Thomas R. Reid

Valuable Assistance: Skip Williams Steve Winter

Art Director: Dawn Murin

Cover Illustrations: Fred Fields

Graphic Designers: Dawn Murin Matt Adelspe rger

Portions of this work were adapted from the following sources: The MONSTROUS MANUAL™ tome by Tim Beach, et. al; Monster Mythology, by Carl Sargent; Uncaged, by R.V. Vallese; SPELLJAMMER® Campaign Setting by Jeff Grubb; Astromundi Cluster: Adventures in Shattered Space by Sam Witt; PLANESCAPE® Campaign Setting by David "Zeb" Cook; A Guide to the Astral Plane by Monte Cook; DUNGEON® #24, "Thunder Under Needlespire," by James Jacobs; Thoughts of Darkness, by David Wise; PLAYERS OPTION:™ Skills and Powers by Douglas Niles and Dale Donovan; Eye to Eye by Thomas Reid; The Sea Devils by Skip Williams (an invaluable inspiration).

©1998 TSR, Inc. All righls reserved. Made in the U.S.A. TSR, Inc. is a subsidiaf}' ol Wizards ol lhe Coasl, Inc. /Jol,w;f,O OuNG!OlfS & Otw;oNs, AD&D, DUPlGEON MAsTl.R, and lhe TSR logo are registered trademar1<s ol TSR, Inc. MOIISTROUS M.INuAl and MOIISTROUS AAC»<A are trademarkS owned by TSR. Inc. All TSR characters, character names. and lhe dislinctive likenesses thereol are trademarkS owned by TSR. This Is a work ol liciion. Any semblance to any real person, living or dead. is purely coincidental. Distributed to the bool< trade in the United Stales by Random House. Inc and in Canada by Random House ol Canada Lid. Distributed to the hobby, toy, and cormc trade in the United Slates and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed worlct.vide by Wizards ol lhe Coast, Inc. and regional distubutors. This material is protected under the copyright laws ol lhe United Slates at America Any reproduction or unauthorized use ol the aJtwork or material contained herein is prohibited withaut the express written permission ol TSR. Inc.

U.S .. CANADA. ASIA, PACIFIC. & LATIN AMERICA Wizards al the Coast. Inc. P.O. Box 707 Renton, WA 98057-0707 + 1-206-624-0933

9569

Visit our website at www.tsr.com

EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS Wizards of the Coast. Belgium

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Belgium +32-14-44-30-44

Interior Illustrations: Glen Michae l Angus James Crabtree David Martin Mark Nelson William O'Connor AmieSwekel

Cartography: Sam Wood

Typography: Ang elika Lokotz

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Introduction -Illithids: The Legend, 4 -Th e Bowels of the World, 4 -Encounter in

Darkne ss, 5 -Consequences, 6

Chap t er 1

Illithids: What They Are

-Mind Flayers at a Glance, 7

Anatomy, Abilities, and Limitations, 7

Chapter 2

Life Cycle and Variations

-Egg s, 10 -Tadpoles, 10 -Ceremorphosis, 11 -Adults, 12 -Illithi d Variations, 14

Arcane Illithids, 14 Ulitharids, 15 Elder Brains, 16 Alhoons (Illithilichs), 17

Illithid Vampires, 18 Urophions, 18 Neothelids, 18

Chapter 3

Psionic s: Option s, Abilities, and Drawbacks -Philosophy of Psionics, 20

Optional Psionics Rule#l, 21 Optional Psionics Rule#2, 21 Psionic Attack and Combat , 21 Quick Psionic Rules For Illithids, 22 Illithid Psionic Attacks, 23 Illithid Psionic Defenses, 24 Illithid Psionic Disciplines, 25

-Unique Illithid Psionic Disciplines, 28 Unique Psionic Power Menu, 28 Unique Psionic Power Descriptions, 28

-Psionic Drawbacks, 33 Psionic Cascade, 33 Psionic Disease: The Ashen, 34 Psychic Flareback, 34 Partial Personalities, 35

C h apter 4

History and Theology -Origins, 36 -Ancien t History, 38 -Fall of Empire, 39 -Recent History, 39

-Ill ithid Theology, 40 Ilsensine, 40 Maanzecorian, 41

1Mt◄ IIK1~ A-"'° 4,,,,,u,10\,IS· 11'11.lo'L ~11()111 ,S A

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Chapter 5

Psychology and Society -In side the Illithid Mind, 42

Beliefs, 42 Emotions, 45 ConceptofTirne,45

-Society, 46 Lot of the Thrall, 46 Inter-illithid Relationships, 46 The Elder Concord, 47 Creeds,48

-Illithid Social Cus toms, 53 Coming of Age, 53 Joining the Elder Brain, 53 Entertainment, 54 Nonpsionic Communication, 56 Illithid Names, 56 Outcasts, 56 Illithids and Undead , 57 Illithids and Githyanki, 58 Illithids and Githzerai, 60

Chapter 6

An Illithid Community -Ab stemious, 61 -A Typical Mind Flayer Dwelling ,

72

_,...l.....S:::C::...:....,.A.jz;~:!M -Engendering New Communities, 74

C h apter 7

Illithid Technology -Psionic Item Distribution, 77

Psionic Item Descriptions, 77 Unique Psionic Items, 83

Chapter 8

Mind Flayer Quick Stat Reference - Standard illithids, 86 -Arcane illithids, 86 -Ulit harid s, 86 -Alhoons, 87 -Illithid vampires, 87 -Brain golem, 88 -Cranium rats, 88 -Grirnlocks, 88 -Lu gribossk (Ilsensine's Proxy), 89

Chapter 9

Monsters -Elder Brain, 92 -Urophion, 94 -Neothelid, 95 -Gohlbrorn, 96

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JlHtrud&: The Legend Colloquially known as "mind flayers," illithids

universally elicit images of horror and fear in the minds of

surface dwellers and underworlders alike. lllithids shock

and repulse other races due mostly to their practice of

cephalophagy, otherwise called brain-eating. This

abominable habit has such power to appall that the saying,

"The 'flayer hasn't eaten yet!" was coined centuries ago to

convey hope in the face of near-impossible situations.

As the principle owne r and operator of "Wakeman's Subterranean Exotics," my bottom line depends upon se­cure trade routes into and out of the underdark, a realm of caverns and tunnels that honeycomb the earth. Using the most stringen t cau tionary measures, my agents and I try to avoid the vicious brain-eating illithids feared by every other race inhabiting the underdark-including

the dark elves (whether they admit to it or not). Of course, siftin g the underdark for valuable items suitab le for resale on the surface require s cons tant exploration and the requisite expansion of trade routes. In the end, it was inevitable that I found the creatures I most feared.

The Bowel& of the World

Always quick to exploi t new opportunities, I orga­nized an underdark trade expedition as soon as news reached me concerning a colony of elusive rockseer elves. I was familiar with the rockseers only through sto­ries, but these tales convinced me that a trade agreement could prove profitable. As usual, my associates Rasteno and Cazpar accompanied me, along with a dozen sea­soned mercenaries. My associates tended the goods we wished to trade (kaffee and graino hol ), while the merce­naries provided insurance aga inst aggressive encounters in the bowels of the world .

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We descended into the interior of a long-dead vol­canic vent and journeyed into the damp darkness. Caz­par's mountaineering skills were vital in the multi-stage belay downward. While not the easiest access to the depths, our vertical route assured us relative anonymity; an annoying band of drow bandits had recently begun harrying our regular paths, and we wished to avoid them. After a descent of some 3,000 feet, the vent finall y pierced a series of horizontal tunnels. The fringes of the underdark lay before us.

Encounter jn Odrkne~~ Three days of rapid travel through previously

mapped tunnels brought us to the edge of familiar terri­tory. We slowed our progress, as it's not wise to run un­prepared through the uncompromising ecosystem of the underdark. The dearth of resources below the earth has elevated competition among predators and intelligent species to a lethal degree unknown in the world above; not wishing to become part of the w1derdark's food chain, I deployed two of the mercenaries to scout our forward trail. Soon we were off, hunting for rockseer elves and profit.

How does the old saying go : "What does it profit a man ... "? I can't recall, but I have a feeling that the lesson contained therein addresses the subsequen t fortunes of my expedition. My decision to press ahead in spite of the scouts' report of unfamiliar spoor was incautious at best-though sheer folly is a more apt description.

The whistle of crossbow bolts passing close, as well as screams laden wit h blood lust, announced the sudden, savage attack. Two well-aimed bolts destroyed the lantern s; we were plunged into darkness, still ignorant of our foes' identity and number. Ringing steel and the sudden warning cries and shouts of the mercenaries left no doubt in my mind that the enemy pressed its advan­tage. The exclamatio ns of the mercenaries grew desper­ate before I produced my lampstone.

Golden light washed across the cramped cavern, revealing half a score of blank-eyed, gray-skinned humanoids in mortal comba t with the outer ring of mercenaries. The warriors had fared poorly during the lightless seconds-fully half my men lay dead or mortally wounded upon the unyielding cavern floor. As a result of the magical illumination, however, I was able to put a name to our enemy. We fought cannibalistic grimlocks, men whose ancestors forsook the light to live brutish, blind lives beneath the earth.

It was touch and go for a while, but with the return of vision, the remaining mercenaries - as well as Rasteno and Cazpar-began to repel the grimlock onslaught.

5

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