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here is my home-brew race for the mind flayer designed to be played from level 1
Illithid
Illithids are intelligent and manipulative but their bodies can be quite delicate. They gain +2 Intelligence +2 Charisma and -2 Constitution.
Illithids are aberrations.
Illithids are Medium creatures and gain no bonuses or penalties due to size.
Illithids have a base land speed of 30 feet.
Illithids cannot speak verbally, instead they can communicate with telepathic messages (described below).
Illithids must still know languages in order to understand, read or write those languages. Illithids know common and undercommon. Illithids with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Infernal, Draconic, Goblin, Dwarven and terran.
Thought Projection (Su): Illithids have innate telepathic abilities, they can send a mental message to any number of creatures within 50 feet. The message is languageless and any intelligent creature can understand it, animals and unintelligent animals can understand it to the same extent they could understand spoken words or commands. This communication is exclusively one way. Communicating telepathicly is a free action.
Illithids have a fairly standard anatomy for aberrations and as such are subject to critical hits and similar precision based abilities
Minor Light Sensitivity: Illithids are built for the dark underground and their eyes have trouble adjusting to sunlight. An Illithid in an area of bright light has the same limitations as a human in dim light.
Illithids have low light vision
Illithids have Dark-vision out to 60 feet
Obvious: Illithids have a -4 penalty to disguise checks made to give them the appearance of a humanoid.
Mind Blast: (Su):Illithids May make a mental assault on the minds of other intelligent creatures, dazing them for a duration. This ability targets a single creature within 10 feet and Dazes them for 1D4 turns unless they make the appropriate will save (10 + ½ HD + CHA) This ability may be used once per day. A creature can only be affected by a mind blast once per day regardless of whether or not they make the will save.
Tentacles: Illithids have four tentacles surrounding their mouth that collectively function as an extra hand, they can use their tentacles to manipulate objects even when their hands are occupied. They cannot wield a weapon or shield, preform spell gestures, wear a ring, hand slot item or wrist slot item with their tentacles but in all other ways they are treated as an extra hand. Strength based tasks preformed by tentacles are made at a -3 penalty
Eat Brain (Ex): an Illithid who is Adjacent to or on the same square as a helpless or pinned enemy may attempt to extract their brain with a grapple check, this is a full round action that is treated as a coup de grace, if the target fails his save, the brain is removed, successfully consuming a brain in this fashion provides 5 temporary Hp +1 additional temporary Hp for each Hit Dice the creature possessed, temporary Hp gained this way cannot exceed 5 + the Illithids Hit Dice at any given time.
Racial Feats:
Powerful Tentacles
Prerequisites: 14 Str, +4 BAB, Illithid
You gain a single Natural attack using your tentacles (1D4), your tentacles no longer take a STR penalty and gain a +2 bonus to grapple checks. Your tenticals also Offer a +4 bonus on Grapple checks agains a creature of your size or smaller.
Spread Mind Blast
Prerequisites: 13 Charisma, Illithid
Your mind blast ability can be applied as a cone extending the full range of your mind blast and affecting all creatures within it.
Extend Mind Blast
Prerequisites: 13 Charisma, Illithid
The Range Limit of your Mind Blast becomes 30 Feet
Prolong Mind Blast
prerequisites: Level 7, 15 Charisma, Illithid
The duration of your mind blasts daze is increased to 2D4
Frequent Mind Blast
Prerequisites: Level 7, 15 Charisma, Illithid
you may now use your Mind Blast 3 times per day.
Perfect Mind Blast
Prerequisites: Spread Mind Blast, Extend Mind Blast, Prolong Mind Blast, Frequent Mind Blast, Level 15, 17 Charisma, Illithid
The range of your Mind Blast is extended to 60 feet, The duration is extended to 3D4 turns, and it now stuns rather than Dazing and your Mind Blast is now usable at will
Abhorrent Spell Resistance
Prerequisites: Level 7, 16 Charisma, Illithid
An Illithid gains a spell resistance equal to 10 plus their Hit Dice
Lesser Abherrent Psionics
Prerequisites Level 5, 13 Charisma, Illithid
the Illithid Gains Levitate and Detect thoughts as spell like abilities usable 3 times a day. The save DC of Illithid spell like abilities is charisma based, the caster level equivalent to the the Illithids class level -4
Abherrent Psionics
Prerequisites: Lesser Abhorrent Psionics, Level 9, 15 Charisma, Illithid
The Illithid gains Charm Monster and Suggestion as spell like abilities usable 3 times a day. The Illithid may use Levitate and Detect thoughts as spell like abilities at will. The DC of Illithid spell like abilities is Charisma Based and the caster level equivalent to the Illithids Class level -2
Greater Abherrent Psionics
Prerequisites: Lesser Abherrent Psionics, Abherrent Psionics, Level 15, 17 Charisma, Illithid
The Illithid gains the ability to cast plane shift as a spell like ability 3 times per day, they may now use charm monster and suggestions as spell like abilities at will. The DC of Illithid spell like abilities is Charisma Based and the caster level equivalent to the Illithids Class level.
sorry for the spacing and huge amount of text thoughts?
dotting
Neat! I miss mindflayers...
I think this is pretty neat, should tack on Racial Point costs though?
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I like, though stating them as aberrations may be a bit of an issue from the git go. Maybe something like humanoid(aberration), something I can definitely see as I recall illithids being parasitic reproduces, gaining some traits from their 'parent' race. So illithids from human, elf, dwarf, ect. stock would still be aberrant in nature but still possess many traits in common with with their parents.
I've long been a fan of the illithids, with their Qualith script, "performance eating" as entertainment and so on. Rather than a lot of feats for their psionics though, it might simply be easier to go with bonuses for being a psion-telepath (see Dreamscarred Press' Psionics Unleashed or Ultimate Psionics).
Horrifying...looks good mechanically.
Maybe for an Evil/Underdark campaign.I see a PC MF having a very hard time on the surface in early levels.
Any creature with a brain has good reason to Hate/Fear the Illithid.
If I,as a human,saw one...I'd kill it on site if able. *shudders*
I would use the Advanced Race Guide to create normal illithids with about 10 RP, but also include a "noble illithid" variant with about 40 RP. Compare the drow and drow noble to see what I mean.
Common Illithid
Aberration 3RP (grants darkvision 60ft)
Specialized Ability Scores 1RP (+2 Int, +2 Cha, -2 Con)
Resistant 2RP (+2 to saves vs mind affects and poison)
Light Sensitivity -1RP
Prehensile Tail 2RP (This represents their face tentacles)
Spell-Like Ability at will 2RP Sleep (This represents their Mind Blast)
Cave Dweller 1RP (+1 Knowledge Dungeoneering and Survival checks made underground)
Total RP: 10
Illithid Noble
Aberration 3RP (grants darkvision 60ft)
Advanced Ability Scores 4RP (+2 Int, +2 Cha, +2Wis, +4 Dex, -2 Con)
Advanced Charisma 4RP (Additional +4 to Cha)
Spell Resistance Greater 3RP (Spell Resistance 11+ Character Level)
Natural Armor 2RP (+1 to Natural Armor)
Improved Natural Armor 1RP (+1 to Natural Armor)
Resistant 2RP (+2 to saves vs mind affects and poison)
Light Sensitivity -1RP
Prehensile Tail 2RP (This represents their face tentacles)
Spell-Like Ability at will 10RP Dominate Person
Spell-like Ability at will 6RP Deep Slumber (This represents their Mind Blast)
Improved Grapple 4 RP (to represent their tentacle grappling)
Cave Dweller 1RP (+1 Knowledge Dungeoneering and Survival checks made underground)
Total 41 RP
this is heavily modified from my original draft which was shall we say a bit broken (the wording allowed it to wield four wands with its face <_<;;) and im fairly happy with how it sits balance wise, i eyeballed the traits rather than using the race builder but as far as i can tell it is (without racial feats) in the 16-19 RP range. as for the feats as opposed to a bonus there are two reasons for this, 1 i feel that mind flayers are innately psionic to the point that they should have some access to those abilities regardless of class and 2 psionics bonuses require the assumption of third party use to even be useful.
I like, though stating them as aberrations may be a bit of an issue from the git go. Maybe something like humanoid(aberration), something I can definitely see as I recall illithids being parasitic reproduces, gaining some traits from their 'parent' race. So illithids from human, elf, dwarf, ect. stock would still be aberrant in nature but still possess many traits in common with with their parents.
As far as i know abbarations dont really have any innate benefit that a native outsider lacks so i dont see the problem with it.
My main concern is the lack of voice and how to deal with command words in paticuler.
"Due to being unable (or unwilling) to vocalise humanoid tongues, all mind flayers learn to cast spells without any verbal components and thus all spells are considered to be under the effect of Silent Spell, with no increase in spell level or casting time. However, mind flayers make up for this deficiency by using their tentacles to fill in for the verbal components. This means that all mind flayers have somatic components and cannot be augmented with the Still Spell feat."
Also:
"Illithid items are usually thought-activated, but due to their innate paranoia, the thought in question is generally some specific emotion, whether that is the sensation of tentacles on Qualith sigils or the first taste of a fresh brain. This requires a DC 20 UMD check to bypass if the would-be item-user is incapable of evoking (or unaware of) the required thought. Conversely, an item that requires a specific vocalised command word is unusable by illithid throats, except with a DC 20 UMD check to bypass this requirement."
"Due to being unable (or unwilling) to vocalise humanoid tongues, all mind flayers learn to cast spells without any verbal components and thus all spells are considered to be under the effect of Silent Spell, with no increase in spell level or casting time. However, mind flayers make up for this deficiency by using their tentacles to fill in for the verbal components. This means that all mind flayers have somatic components and cannot be augmented with the Still Spell feat."
Also:
"Illithid items are usually thought-activated, but due to their innate paranoia, the thought in question is generally some specific emotion, whether that is the sensation of tentacles on Qualith sigils or the first taste of a fresh brain. This requires a DC 20 UMD check to bypass if the would-be item-user is incapable of evoking (or unaware of) the required thought. Conversely, an item that requires a specific vocalised command word is unusable by illithid throats, except with a DC 20 UMD check to bypass this requirement."
that sounds good to me, i had a few fixes but they all ended up much more heavy on the rules which made the race as a whole more cluttered.
Horrifying...looks good mechanically.
Maybe for an Evil/Underdark campaign.I see a PC MF having a very hard time on the surface in early levels.
Any creature with a brain has good reason to Hate/Fear the Illithid.
If I,as a human,saw one...I'd kill it on site if able. *shudders*
well my logic for that is as follows, illithids live very deep in the underdark and do not venture to the surface under normal circumstances. they are content to scheme and hunt down there, preying on drow and durauger and the whatnot. any who would come up to the surface would almost certainly be an exile and though your average commoner would certainly see them as an abbiration, they would not neccicarialy know what they are lookin at.
I greatly appreciate these, thanks guys! I modified both versions in together, and used the left-over traits as alternate racial traits.
For the noble one, they should be called Ulitharids, because those are the six tentacled ultra-rare version of your standard Illithid. They tend to be more powerful too. I'm going to use one as the BBEG in my campaign.
Pretty good. Please fix Eat Brain though. I am at the moment unsure if it is a grapple, coup de grace, or an effect that allows a saving throw, as you have managed to call it all three.