How to fight the Intellect Devourer: an aberrant monster of D&D fifth edition
In this article, I want to tell you about one of the most insidious and scary monsters that you might encounter in your game: the Intellect Devourer. It is an aberrant creature, created to serve the interests of the Mind Flayers, the evil psionic beings who want to dominate the multiverse.
The Intellect Devourer looks like a brain with four clawed legs. Its main purpose is to feed on the intelligence of sentient creatures and to control their bodies as puppets. To do this, it has a series of abilities that allow it to locate, attack and dominate its victims.
In this article, I will explain what are the abilities of the Intellect Devourer, how it behaves in combat and how you can best face it. In addition, I will give you some examples of situations where the Intellect Devourer can fight in groups with its peers to achieve a common goal.
I hope this article will be useful for your role-playing game D&D fifth edition and that you will enjoy reading it. Have a good read!
The abilities of the Intellect Devourer
The Intellect Devourer is an aberrant creature, that has the following statistics:
- Size: Small; Type: aberration; Alignment: evil
- Hit points: 21 (6d6)
- Armor class: 12
- Speed: 40 feet
- STR: 6 (-2); DEX: 14 (+2); CON: 13 (+1); INT: 12 (+1); WIS: 11 (+0); CHA: 10 (+0)
- Saving throws: Int +3, Wis +2
- Skills: Arcana +3, Stealth +4
- Senses: darkvision 60 feet
- Languages: understands the languages of its master but can’t speak
- Challenge: 2 (450 XP)
Besides these statistics, the Intellect Devourer also has the following special abilities:
- Detect Sentience. The Intellect Devourer can perceive the presence and location of any creature within 300 feet of it that has an intelligence of 3 or higher, regardless of the barriers interposed, unless the creature is protected by a mind blank spell.
- Devour Intellect. The Intellect Devourer chooses a creature that it can see within 10 feet of it that has a brain. The victim must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against the spell save DC of the Intellect Devourer (12) or take 11 (2d10) psychic damage. In addition, the saving throw can be repeated at the end of each turn of the victim until it succeeds. If the saving throw fails, the victim’s intelligence drops to 0. The victim dies if this reduces its intelligence score to 0.
- Body Thief. The Intellect Devourer begins the process by entering the skull of the victim and consuming its brain. This kills the creature and leaves its body inert, but still alive, under the control of the Intellect Devourer. The Intellect Devourer retains its mental statistics in the new body, but adopts the physical statistics of the victim. It can use the special abilities of the victim, such as feats and bonus actions, but not its spells or class knowledge.
These abilities make the Intellect Devourer a very dangerous and cunning opponent, that can strike the most intelligent and vulnerable creatures and use them as hosts or as food.
The strategy of the Intellect Devourer in combat
The strategy of the Intellect Devourer depends on the mission that has been assigned to it by its master Mind Flayer. In general, however, it follows these principles:
- It tries to avoid direct combat with creatures that have a good physical or mental defense. It uses its Stealth ability (+4) to hide and surprise its prey.
- It exploits its Detect Sentience ability to identify the most intelligent and vulnerable creatures in the area. It prefers to attack isolated or separated creatures from the group.
- It uses its Multiattack action to combine its claw attack (+4 to hit, 7 slashing damage) with its Devour Intellect ability. It tries to reduce the victim’s intelligence to 0 in order to possess it with its Body Thief ability.
- If it succeeds in possessing the body of the victim, it uses its abilities to deceive others and lure them into a trap. It can also use the body as bait to attract other sentient creatures.
- If the possessed body is discovered or damaged, it tries to escape and find another host. If it fails, it fights until death.
To best face the Intellect Devourer, it is good to follow some tips:
- Protect your intelligence with spells like mind blank or protection from evil and good, which prevent the Intellect Devourer from using its Devour Intellect or Body Thief ability on you.
- Use spells or weapons that deal fire, acid or force damage, which are the types of damage that the Intellect Devourer is vulnerable to.
- Use spells or abilities that detect hidden or invisible creatures, like see invisibility or true seeing, to avoid being surprised by the Intellect Devourer.
- Use spells or abilities that allow you to communicate telepathically with your allies, like message or telepathy, to find out if someone has been possessed by the Intellect Devourer and to coordinate better.
- Use spells or abilities that allow you to heal or restore the intelligence of your victims, like greater restoration or heal, to save your allies from the devastating effect of Devour Intellect.
The situations where the Intellect Devourer can fight in groups
In some cases, the Intellect Devourer can fight in groups with its peers to achieve a common goal. Some possible situations where the Intellect Devourer can fight in groups are:
- If its master Mind Flayer orders it to infiltrate an enemy organization, the Intellect Devourer can use its Body Thief ability to possess a low-ranking member and then recruit other intellect devourers to do the same with other members. In this way, they can create a network of spies and saboteurs within the organization.
- If its master Mind Flayer orders it to capture or eliminate a specific target, the Intellect Devourer can use its Detect Sentience ability to locate the target and then coordinate with other intellect devourers to ambush it. In this case, they can use their Stealth ability to hide and surprise the target, and then use their Multiattack action to combine their claw attacks and their Devour Intellect ability. In this way, they can quickly reduce the target’s intelligence to 0 and then use it as a host or eliminate it.
- If its master Mind Flayer orders it to defend an area or an important resource, the Intellect Devourer can use its Detect Sentience ability to detect any intruders and then alert other intellect devourers of their presence. In this case, they can use their speed and their small size to move agilely in the terrain and attack intruders from different directions. In this way, they can create confusion and panic among intruders and then exploit their mental weaknesses.
These are some of the situations where the Intellect Devourer can fight in groups with its peers. Of course, these are only possibilities and the Dungeon Master can invent other variants or scenarios depending on his imagination and his campaign.
The most frightening adventures with the Intellect Devourer
These are some of the most frightening adventures that include the Intellect Devourer as a possible adversary. Are you ready to challenge your mind?
- The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth: This is a classic adventure for the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, set in the world of Greyhawk. The players must explore the caverns of Tsojcanth, where a powerful magical artifact is hidden. Among the dangers that await them are the Intellect Devourers that live in an area called the Labyrinth of Minds. Will you be able to escape from these abominations without losing your reason?
- The Gates of Firestorm Peak: This is an adventure for the second edition of Dungeons & Dragons, set in the world of Birthright. The players must investigate a mysterious mountain that emits strange magical phenomena. There they will discover the existence of a portal to another plane, where a colony of illithids and their servants Intellect Devourers are located. Will you be able to resist their mental influence and prevent their evil plans?
- Out of the Abyss: This is an adventure for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, set in the underworld called the Abyss. The players must escape from the captivity of the illithids and survive the threats of the Abyss, including the Intellect Devourers that can attack them at any time. Will you have the courage to face these monsters and find your way to the surface?
These are just some of the adventures that test the players with the Intellect Devourer. There are many others, both official and unofficial, that you can try if you like thrill and mystery. The Intellect Devourer is a creature that you will not easily forget, and that can leave indelible marks on the characters and players. I wish you good luck and have fun with your adventures. And remember: the mind is a terrible thing to loose…