It can eat more than that for enjoyment and for the psychic boost, and it will if brains are plentiful. Typically, mind flayers consume somewhere between the minimum of one brain per month and the ideal of one brain per week, averaging one brain every two weeks and supplementing their diet with other foods.
Can illithid eat animal brains?
They have four tentacles around a lamprey-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain.
Can an illithid be good?
Keep in mind, though, that a “good” Illithid would still need to eat brains. It might be fine with evil creatures of some intelligence, but it’s up to you if that’s possibly still too cruel of a fate… Just don’t mistake a Mind Flayer that claims to be good as being entirely genuine.
Why do Illithids eat brains?
Illithids subsist on the brains of humanoids. The brains provide enzymes, hormones, and psychic energy necessary for their survival. An illithid healthy from a brain-rich diet secretes a thin glaze of mucus that coats its mauve skin.
How often does a mind flayer eat a brain?
A mind flayer must eat one fresh brain per month to survive, or at least one every two weeks for optimal health. Ideally, a mind flayer will eat as many as one brain per week. While the mind flayers breed slaves, these mature too slowly and the dull and the psychic energy of a wretched slave makes for a boring meal.
Who are the illithids and what do they do?
Illithids are a race of extremely intelligent creatures designed to work as organic computers, a network of minds linked around the central hubs of the elder brains. When the illithid overthrew the shapers, the vast majority altered themselves, making themselves more powerful and deadly.
Why are the mind flayers called the illithids?
Mind flayers, also known as illithids ( pronounced: /ɪlˈlɪθɪdz/ il-LITH-idz listen, meaning “mind flayers” or “mind rulers” in Undercommon ), were evil and sadistic aberrations, feared by sentient creatures on many worlds across the multiverse due to their powerful innate psionic abilities.
What kind of nourishment does a mind flayer need?
This was the only kind of nourishment that could sustain the mind flayer physiology, which required hormones, enzymes, and psychic energy that only brain tissue could provide. Feeding was a euphoric experience for a mind flayer, as it absorbed its victim’s memories, personality, and fears.
