The Mind Flayer is an iconic part of Dungeons and Dragons. These fearsome denizens of the Underdark are deadly enemies of nearly all who encounter them. Those that they do not kill they enslave. They are the Illithids. They are monstrous enemies with psychic powers and tentacles that can pull a man’s brain out of his own head.
The Mind Flayer first appeared in the Strategic Review #1 in 1975. The creature is a super intelligent being with four tentacles hanging from it’s face. These tentacles are used for feeding. They can reach and take the brain out of a man’s head. But their more feared weapon is their Mind Blast. The Mind Flayer in Dungeons and Dragons is a psychic terror. The mind blast can stun, cause insanity or even cause death in those unfortunates that encounter them. They were later updated in Eldritch Wizardry . In just about all editions of Dungeons and Dragons since that time they have been included. They are almost always described as evil. Generally they are Lawful Evil.
Psionics were introduced in Original Dungeons and Dragons with the Eldritch Wizardry Supplement. Naturally with the introduction of psionics it became necessary to have some enemies that might use such a weapon. The Mind Flayer was one of these early psionic using creatures.
Mind Flayers in Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition
In first edition the system for Psionics was always controversial. Many dungeon masters chose not to use or include psionics in their campaigns. Many felt that the system was broken and could not be used effectively. And this tended to reduce the number of Mind Flayers seen in many 1st edition campaigns. But it is so hard to keep such a perfect looking villain out of a campaign entirely.
The 1st edition Monster Manual states that tentacles of the Mind Flayer will strike a victim with it’s four tentacles and these will reach the victim’s brain in 1-4 melee rounds. It will then pull the brain out of the victim and devour it immediately after this. The act of pulling the brain out instantly kills the victim. It then states that the more feared method of attack is the mind blast.
The creature also had several other abilities that were presumably bestowed upon them through their psionic prowess:
- Levitation
- Domination
- ESP
- Body equilibrium
- Astral projection
- Probability travel
The Mind Flayer speaks it’s own arcane language that few mortal men are likely to have ever learned or even heard of. But they also speak other languages that are just as rare.
The First Edition Monster Manual does not really use the term Underdark. This came later when the great series of modules were produced leading to the Demon Web Pits of Lolth in Q3. The module Descent Into the Depths of the Earth introduced most of us to this dark place under the earth where Drow and Mind Flayers and other evil creatures lurk. The Monster Manual merely states that Mind Flayers live in a subterranean world and that some of their languages may involve other species that live in that place. It also states that it is believed that the Mind Flayers have a city deep beneath the surface.
The description of the 1st edition Mind Flayer is that it has a sickly looking mauve colored skin with purplish-black tentacles. It has eyes which are dead white with no evident pupils in them. They have only three fingers on each hand which are reddish (but their hands are mauve colored).
Mind Flayers in Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition
Many of the problems that plagued psionics in 1st edition were corrected for 2nd edition. The Monstrous Manual for 2nd edition therefore had a much more detailed write up on the Mind Flayer and other psionic using creatures.
The description of the creature is much the same as the 1st edition Monster Manual. But it adds more than a few powers and abilities that the 1st edition variant did not have:
- Infravision (this seems kind of obvious since the creature lives in underground places yet the 1st edition Monster Manual does not mention this ability
- Communication with any creature telepathically (the second edition states that they have no spoken language which contradicts the 1st edition manual)
- It can use the following powers as a 7th level magic user: suggestion, charm person, charm monster, esp, levitate, astral projection, plane shift.
- All saving throws against any of these powers is at -4
The Mind Blast of a 2nd edition Mind Flayer is also different than that of a 1st edition one.:
- 1st edition Mind Flayer’s Mind Blast affects all within a 6″ directional cone at 1/2″ diamter at the point of emanation and 2″ diameter at extreme range
- 2nd edition Mind Flayer’s Mind Blast projects in a cone 60 feet long, 5 feet wide close to the Mind Flayer and it extends outward to 20 feet wide at the farthest point
The 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual goes into far more detail about the life and ecology of the creature. It lives in the Underdark. This is stated early in the write up for the creature. But it goes further. It states that they hate the sunlight. Instead of one city beneath the surface the 2nd edition manual states that they live in many cities beneath the surface of up to 2000 such creatures as well as slaves. The center of such cities is the elder brain. The elder brain is a the collection of fluids from the brains of dead Mind Flayers. This elder brain is a sentient creature all of it’s own.
The goal of the 2nd edition Mind Flayer is to conquer the Underdark. They have many enemies beneath the surface of the world. Some of their former slaves have rebelled and hate the Mind Flayer’s. Specifically both the Githyanki and the Githzerai hate the Mind Flayers. Both were former slaves of this race.
The 2nd edition Mind Flayers were apparently not all psionics. Those who were psionically endowed were considered the only true Illithids. And these were naturally the most powerful Mind Flayers. A Mind Flayer without psionic abilities could be distinguished by the long flowing robes with high stiff collars. Those without these high stiff collars were the ones with psionic powers.
The 2nd edition Mind Flayer has no family. Instead they are considered a warm blooded amphibian. They begin life as a tadpole swimming in the pool of elder brain fluid in their cities and being fed brains by the other Mind Flayers.
Mind Flayers in Dungeons and Dragons Are Evil
Regardless of edition of Dungeons and Dragons the Mind Flayer is just about always evil. Usually they are lawful evil. They tend to be arrogant. They see other races as food sources. They consider them nothing more than cattle. Those who show a little intelligence may be used as slaves or thralls.
Mind Flayers in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
Unlike earlier editions of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition did not include psionics in the core books. Later books added a “Mystic” class which essentially re-added psionics to the game. Instead the game suggests that certain creatures, such as Mind Flayers, have innate spell casting abilities. It then refers to these abilities as being psionic in nature.
The Monster Manual for 5th edition gives the Mind Flayer the following innate (psionic) spell casting abilities which can be used at will:
- detect thoughts
- levitate
Once per day it can use the following innate (psionic) powers:
- dominate monster
- plane shift (self only)
The Mind Flayer still has the ability to use it’s tentacles to extract the brain of it’s victim. And it still has the power to use a form of the Mind Blast. The Mind Blast is in a 60 foot long cone. Those victims in that area of effect must make a saving throw or take psychic damage and be stunned for one minute. This is quite a watered down version of the Mind Blast but I suppose if the players are given no opportunity to use psionics of their own then it is probably fair enough. Yet it clearly diminishes the threat of these iconic creatures.
Unlike the 2nd edition Mind Flayer the 5th edition version is speaking again. It knows several languages including one specific to the Underdark.
A variant Mind Flayer is also offered called the Arcanist Mind Flayer. This version is also a spell caster. These are considered rare and are shunned by other Mind Flayers who apparently view spell casting as something to be looked down upon.
Mind Flayers in Dungeons and Dragons are Iconic
The Illithid are one of the creatures that people think of when they think of Dungeons and Dragons. There are a few creatures in the game which are not based upon mythology but which were just so cool that everyone loved them. The Mind Flayer is one of these. I mentioned the Beholder in a previous article I also mentioned the Lich in another previous article about the Undead. Clearly all of these creatures are Iconic monsters from this wonderful game.
If you look around the web you can find incredible images of all of those creatures including the Mind Flayer. Mind Flayers are often depicted wearing skulls tied to their waists and having arcane symbols on their robes. Dungeons and Dragons has many such creatures which are specific to this game. And I will probably be writing articles in the future to discuss more of them.
