Perhaps someone can clear this up for me.
Can a mind flayer use its plane shift ability against the unwilling? There is no save DC listed for it in the MM, so that leads me to two possibilities:
1. There is no save. If this is true, the mind flayer's CR definitely needs to be increased.
2. Mind flayers can only plane shift the willing. This strikes me as more accurate. In 1E, mind flayers had Probability Travel at the 7th level of psionic ability, a power which they could use on themselves AND up to two other creatures.
I'm pretty sure #2 is correct, but I can't find any clarification for this in the core rules.
What the save DC is would depend on which version of the Mind Flayer you're using.
If you're using the Psionic Mind Flayer from the Expanded Psionics Handbook, then the Mind Flayer can transport willing creatures only (one willing creature touched, or up to eight and itself by joining hands).
However, the MM version goes by the spell in the PH (p 262) which has a Will save. As a Spell-like ability, the save DC is Charisma based, making it a DC 20 for the average Mind Flayer (DC 10, +7 Spell level, +3 for Charisma 17).
I checked the errata for the MM, and the PH. The spell hasn't been changed, so it still allows for a single unwilling creature touched to be transported if it fails its will save. And the errata for the MM doesn't say anything about the Mind Flayer to only be able to transport itself and 50 lbs of gear, so it seems safe to assume it has the full functionality of the spell.
What the save DC is would depend on which version of the Mind Flayer you're using.
If you're using the Psionic Mind Flayer from the Expanded Psionics Handbook, then the Mind Flayer can transport willing creatures only (one willing creature touched, or up to eight and itself by joining hands).
However, the MM version goes by the spell in the PH (p 262) which has a Will save. As a Spell-like ability, the save DC is Charisma based, making it a DC 20 for the average Mind Flayer (DC 10, +7 Spell level, +3 for Charisma 17).
I checked the errata for the MM, and the PH. The spell hasn't been changed, so it still allows for a single unwilling creature touched to be transported if it fails its will save. And the errata for the MM doesn't say anything about the Mind Flayer to only be able to transport itself and 50 lbs of gear, so it seems safe to assume it has the full functionality of the spell.
I'm not asking about the spell--I've read the spell description.
What I'm asking about concerns the lack of a save DC listed in the creature's description (for both the regular mind flayer & the mind flayer sorcerer). If you read page 6 of the MM, it says that the save DCs for special abilities are noted in the descriptive text only "when a special ability allows a saving throw."
If this were a simple misprint, one would think that at least one of the two mind flayers would have a save DC listed, or that it would appear in the MM errata, but it doesn't.
It's probably been overlooked, or else they intended for the mind flayer to only use his plane shift ability on himself and not opponents. If he did use it on an opponent, then as the spell says, unwilling targets get a save.
My bad. Since spell-like abilities work just like the spell (aside from lacking spell components), I was going on the assumption that one should provide a saving throw.
