Mind Flayers or Illithids fromDungeons and Dragonsare some of the most unique enemies in the fantasy medium. They barely qualify as fantasy creatures and seem to tiptoe the line between fantasy and sci-fi. At their core, their Lovecraftian origins are based on their tentacles and the fact that they’re telepathic creatures with psionic abilities.
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Additionally, their appearance is about as enigmatic as their background. They’re also troublesome as adventure enemies. Most players who encounter them don’t bother learning or even remembering much about these grotesque and perverse squid creatures. That’s quite a shame because they have some of the most interesting and argued lore in the Forgotten Realms.
10They’re Not From The Forgotten Realms
Well, scratch the “Forgotten Realms” part, as the Mind Flayers or Illithid likely didn’t even originate in that realm or universe. They are classified asAberrationswhich are otherworldly enemy types (they usually contain tentacles or incomprehensible inhuman physical traits) and most of those come from theFar Realms.
Most creatures from the Far Realms are described as maddening when gazed upon by the simple and feeble minds of other beings. It’s basically the Dark Web of theD&Dmultiverse lore.The Illithid don’t just reside in the Forgotten Realms but other realms apart from the Far Realm as well. In the Forgotten Realms, they holed up in the Underdark due to their natural aversion to sunlight.
9They Smell Like Cooking Ingredients
The next time a DM describes a Mind Flayer, make sure they up their Matt Mercer effect by telling them beforehand that Mind Flayers have their own distinct scent. Apparently, the healthy ones who snacked too much onadventurers' brainsexcrete anexcess of mucuson their skinto maintain moisture.
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This mucus thus exudes a fragrance that either smells likegarlic, onions,orvanilla. The odor isn’t that strong, of course, but in the Underdark, that should be a good indication of a Mind Flayer presence. Some Mind Flayers don’t have this smell though, particularly the unhealthy ones.
8Most Of Them Are Physically Weak
One of the reasons why Mind Flayers keep floating around is because their legs and limbs are weaker than a typical humanoid in the Forgotten Realms. It could be an evolutionary handicap as they might have relied too much on levitation to the point that they weakened their limbs. Nevertheless, they’re pretty terrible as melee combatants.
Hence,most Mind Flayers rely on psionic or energy attacksthat target their victims' minds. Since their staple diet is brains, then it’s safe to assume that their psionic attacks are best treated as meal preparations – tenderizing the meat, so to speak.
With that said, some Mind Flayers are aware of their physical limitations and became rebellious and ambitious enough tolearn magic(separate from their psionics). They then followed the path of the evilest magic users inD&Dlore: the road to Necromancy.
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Thus, undead Mind Flayers orAlhoons, a.k.a. “illithiliches,” do exist in the Forgotten Realms. Much like other undead in the Forgotten Realms, they’reshunned by their own living kindand thus band together in closely-knit groups as few as they are, in order to deal with their enemies.
6They’re A Hive Mind
Most Mind Flayers, however, don’t become undead or too ambitious, as they all answer to the Elder Brain.This Elder Brain telepathically controls themand gives them orders and tasks. Thus, it can also be said that there are times whenMind Flayers don’t act of their own will.
Even if they do, they still work hard to avoid the ire of the Elder Brain. Any Mind Flayer who becomes too intelligent, ambitious, or rebellious can actually challenge their Elder Brain or get kicked out of the group so they can establish their own colony as their own Elder Brains. Alhoons are outliers among these.
5They’re Sworn Enemies Of The Githyanki
Despite their reputation as the feared overlords of the Underdark,some brave races inD&Dstill managed to muster up their forces and courage to stand against the Illithid. The most prominent enemies of the Mind Flayers would be the Githyanki, or Gith.
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Initially, they’re actually a race of humanoids whom the Illithids enslaved among many. With thehelp of dragons,the Gith managed to liberate themselvesand have sworn to dedicate their existence to waging war against the Mind Flayers whenever they can.
4Even Aboleths Fear Them
Another race of creatures that detest the Illithid is the Aboleths. These are whale-like Aberrations that are also one of the oldest creatures to exist in the Forgotten Realms. They hold themselves in high esteem and are said to have memories ofall racesin the Forgotten Realms – except for Illithids.
That’s probably one of the reasons whythey fear the Illithid, which is odd for them since even Aboleths aren’t afraid of gods (they witness the gods' ascension and birth, after all).They simply do not recall the creation of Mind Flayers, so to them, the whole race is alien and unknown, hence they have come to fear the Illithid.
3Their Goal Is To Restore Order To The Multiverse
So what do the Illithid or Mind Flayers want? Well, all their Elder Brains have one common goal. If they’re not planning to blot out the sun that annoys them, they’re plotting to “restore order” to the multiverse.They believe that they’re the most superior race of alland that all other inferior races are causing too much chaos and destruction.
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Hence, in their mind, it falls upon the Illithid to clean up whichever realm they land upon. That also explains whythey tend to assimilate humanoids and other races in their ranksand convert them to Illithid. That’s how they expand their colonies.
2They Practically Have Spaceships
Of course, the Illithid wouldn’t have considered themselves superior if they don’t have the technology to back that up. Reinforcing the idea that they’re alien is the fact that they have what’s essentiallyspaceships that allow them to travel dimensions and realms.
These can fly, kidnap and store victims to assimilate, and even fight. It’s called theNautiloid, though they don’t exactly have enough firepower to face dragons and win. Nautiloids also allow Mind Flayers to travel on the surface while shielding themselves from harmful sunlight.
1Mind Flayers Are Possibly From The Future
If it wasn’t obvious already based on the Aboleth’s fears and their spaceships as well as their superiority complex, the wildest theory about the Illithid is that they’re actually from the far future. Theassumption is that they’re an advanced civilization near the end of timeswho witnessed their kind fall into demise.
That somewhat explains why they went back to the past (roughly thousands of years beforeany adventurein the Forgotten Realms) to change their apocalyptic outcome in the future. That did mean they reduced themselves to a shadow of their former empire, but if that theory holds merit, then the future of the Forgotten Realms is looking rather fishy.
