Mind Flayer, Ulitharid

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an alhoon must hit a Small, Medium, or Large creature with its tentacle attack. It can then attempt to grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and attaches the tentacle to the opponent’s head. If an alhoon begins its turn with at least one tentacle attached, it can attach its remaining tentacles with a single grapple check. The opponent can escape with a single successful grapple check or an Escape Artist check, but the alhoon gets a +2 circumstance bonus on the check for every tentacle that was attached at the beginning of the opponent’s turn.

Mind Blast (Sp): An alhoon can discharge a devastating psionic attack in the form of a cone 60 feet long. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell. Negative Energy Touch (Su): An alhoon has a melee touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 28) halves the damage. An alhoon can use this in place of its tentacle attacks (in which case the negative energy touch is a melee touch attack), or instead make a normal tentacle attack and add the negative energy damage (in which case it is a melee attack, not a melee touch attack). A creature struck by the negative energy touch when used as a melee touch attack is also subject to an alhoon’s paralyzing touch (see below). Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature hit by an alhoon’s touch attack must succeed on a DC 28 Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description, page 203 of the Player’s Handbook). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by an alhoon seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Psionics (Sp): At will—charm monster (DC 22), detect thoughts (DC 20), levitate, plane shift, suggestion (DC 21). Effective caster level 8th. The save DCs are Charisma-based. If you are using the Expanded Psionics Handbook, the alhoon has the same psionic ability as a normal psionic mind fl ayer (see page 204, Expanded Psionic Handbook).

Undead Traits: An alhoon is immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities, poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. It is not subject to extra damage from critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage to its physical ability scores, ability drain, energy drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage. It cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is willing. It has darkvision out to 60 feet.

Skills: Like other liches, alhoons have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known: (6/8/8/8/8/6/4 per day; caster level 12th): 0—arcane mark, daze (DC 18), detect magic, disrupt undead (+18 ranged touch), fl are (DC 18), ghost sound (DC 18), light, message, read magic; 1st—chill touch (+18 melee touch; DC 19), mage armor*, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement (+18 ranged touch), shocking grasp (+18 melee touch); 2nd—command undead (DC 20), minor image (DC 20), resist energy, see invisibility, touch of idiocy (+18 melee touch); 3rd—fl y, haste, lightning bolt (DC 21), nondetection; 4th—dimension door, Evard’s black tentacles, greater invisibility; 5th—cone of cold (DC 23), teleport; 6th—globe of invulnerability. *Already cast.

Possessions: gloves of Dexterity +4, ring of protection +4, ring of evasion, cloak of resistance +4, wand of scorching ray, green ioun stone, lavender ioun stone.

CREATING AN ALHOON

An alhoon conforms to all the normal rules for adding the lich template to a humanoid, except as noted below.

Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented aberration). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged. Armor Class: An alhoon’s natural armor bonus improves from +3 to +5.

MIND FL AY ER , ULI T HARID

Large Aberration Hit Dice: 12d8+36 (90 hp) Initiative: +6 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) Armor Class: 20 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +5 natural, +4 mage armor), touch 11, fl at-footed 18 Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+16 Attack: Long tentacle +11 melee (1d8+3) Full Attack: 2 long tentacles +11 melee (1d8+3) and 4 short tentacles +11 melee (1d8+3) Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with 2 long tentacles) Special Attacks: Extract, improved grab, mind blast, psionics Special Qualities: Spell resistance 27, telepathy 200 ft. Saves: Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +13 Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 21, Wis 17, Cha 21 Skills: Bluff +15, Concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively),

Diplomacy +14, Disguise +5 (+7 acting in character), Hide +8,

Intimidate +17, Knowledge (any) +15, Knowledge (any) +15,

Listen +8, Move Silently +12, Sense Motive +8, Spot +18 Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural

Attack, Iron Will, Spell Penetration Environment: Underground Organization: Solitary or court (1 ulitharid, 3–5 mind fl ayers, and 6–10 grimlocks) Challenge Rating: 12 Treasure: Double standard Alignment: Usually lawful evil Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: +9

Sinister and regal, this towering humanoid-shaped being stands almost 9 feet tall. Its fl esh is rubbery and mauve in color, glistening with slime. It wears ornate robes that sweep the ground. Its

head is octopoidal in form, with four short tentacles and two much longer ones where its mouth should be. Its eyes are blank orbs of silver-white.

An ulitharid is in all ways a bigger, stronger, nastier mind fl ayer. It towers over other illithids, and in addition to the normal four tentacles of its race, it has two much longer tentacles that are nearly the length of its body. It is also smarter, worse-tempered, and much more dangerous than its smaller kin. Fortunately, ulitharids are also quite rare. An ulitharid is the result of unknown forces playing on a mind fl ayer tadpole at a very early age. Even the mind fl ayers themselves cannot identify ulitharid tadpoles until after they are implanted into the skull of a victim. Their potential becomes apparent only after ceremorphosis has progressed far enough to show that the creature possesses six tentacles. Fewer than one in a hundred illithid tadpoles become ulitharids. Ulitharids are treated almost as minor deities within those communities lucky enough to claim one as a resident. They occupy a position just below the elder brains in the illithid social hierarchy. Their egos expand to match their stature; they look down upon normal mind fl ayers in much the same way that mind fl ayers look down on urophions.

COMBAT

An ulitharid is a tremendously dangerous foe in combat, because its potent mental attacks are backed up by 10-foot reach and a grapple ability refl ective of the creature’s large size. An ulitharid can protect itself with psionic mage armor (refl ected in the statistics above), and it normally maintains this power at all times. Extract (Ex): An ulitharid that begins its turn with at least four tentacles attached and that makes a successful grapple check automatically extracts the opponent’s brain, instantly killing that creature. This power is useless against constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead. It is not instantly fatal to foes with multiple heads. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an ulitharid must hit a Small, Medium, or Large creature with its tentacle attack.

It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and attaches the tentacle to the opponent’s head. An ulitharid can grab a Huge or larger creature only if it can somehow reach the foe’s head. If an ulitharid begins its turn with at least one tentacle attached, it can try to attach its remaining tentacles with a single grapple check. The opponent can escape with a single successful grapple check or an Escape Artist check, but the ulitharid gets a +2 circumstance bonus on the check for every tentacle that was attached at the beginning of the opponent’s turn. Mind Blast (Sp): An ulitharid can discharge a devastating psionic attack in the form of a cone 60 feet long. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based. This ability is the equivalent of a 4thlevel spell. Psionics (Sp): At will—charm monster (DC 19), detect thoughts (DC 17), dimension door, levitate, mage armor (self only), plane shift, suggestion (DC 18); 1/day— dominate monster (DC 24), mass suggestion (DC 21). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Ulitharid

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PSIONIC ULITHARID

If you are playing with the Expanded Psionics Handbook, adjust the ulitharid as follows:

Large Aberration (Psionic) Special Attacks: Extract, improved grab, mind blast, psionic powers Special Qualities: Power resistance 27, telepathy 200 ft. Skills: Autohypnosis +13, Bluff +15, Concentration +18 (+22 manifesting defensively), Diplomacy +14, Disguise +5 (+7 acting in character), Hide +8, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (psionics) +15, Listen +8, Move Silently +12, Sense Motive +8, Spot +18 Feats: Combat Manifestation, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack, Iron Will, Power Penetration A psionic ulitharid does not possess the psionic spell-like

abilities of the normal ulitharid. Instead, it has psionic powers. Psionic Powers: A psionic ulitharid manifests powers as a psion (telepath) of 13th level. The save DCs are Intelligencebased. Typical Psion Powers Known (power points 179): 1st—defensive precognition, detect psionics, mind thrust (DC 16), psionic charm (DC 16), vigor; 2nd—body equilibrium, ego whip (DC 17), id insinuation (DC 17), psionic levitate, psionic suggestion (DC 17), read thoughts (DC 17); 3rd—body adjustment, dispel psionics, mental barrier, telekinetic force; 4th—intellect fortress, mindwipe (DC 19), psionic dimension door, psionic dominate (DC 19); 5th—mind probe (DC 20), psionic plane shift; 6th—mass cloud mind (DC 21), personality parasite (DC 21), shatter mind blank (DC 21); 7th—decerebrate (DC 22). pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs

Illus. by J. Nelson