Intellect Devourer: The Cannibal Brain

Don’t cry. We have no intention of eating your brain. In fact, your brain is going on a wonderful journey!

Qorik El-Slurrk, Mind Flayer

You know it’s a great monster when you do a double-take when you first see it. I mean, come on! Who sees a walking brain and doesn’t pause to say “What the holy fuck?”

Lore: The Puppet Maker

Bred by mind flayers, created by putting a thrall’s brain through a ritual, the intellect devourers hunt in the Underdark. They consume the mind and memories of their victims, then turns the host’s body into a puppet. Typically, those puppets are used to lure others into a mind flayer’s domain to be enthralled.

Wow. That’s surprisingly bare-bones. Yet at the same time, it’s rife with possibility! Perhaps a party member succumbs to one and the party has to find a way to get rid of it (that’s a good way to write a party member out while the player is on vacation). Or maybe an established NPC is taken over and used to lure the party into a mind flayer lair. Sure, they’re basically stuck as a support creature for the mind flayers. But this is among the best supporting monsters in the book!

Design: Ew, Gross!

It’s amazing how you can make something so simple, yet so disgusting and creepy.

Sometimes, the most simple ideas can be the most creative. Someone really said, “What if we stuck animal legs onto a brain and made that a monster?” And to that person I say: well done. You get a gold star. Put it on your fridge.

Sure, you might not have any idea what this thing’s deal is with one glance. You might not be able to guess that it serves mind flayers or consumes people’s brains to make them puppets. If you didn’t read the lore or stats, you’d have no idea what this thing is about. Aside from it being a disgusting brain thing.

Wow, we haven’t had one like this in a while. A monster that has a creative design, but not a clear one that tells you what to expect? I’ve forgotten how to handle this situation!

Um… I guess we’ll just move on?

Stats: A Terrifying Combo

You might not think this monster would be dangerous. But you’d be wrong and stupid and you deserve what you’re going to get.

Sure, it may not be durable. Its AC and HP are both fairly low, bolstered mostly by its resistance to non-magical melee damage. And you can’t blind it, since it doesn’t have eyes. And its claws aren’t all that dangerous in terms of numbers.

It’s the rest that you need to be terrified of.

First of all, it has Detect Sentience. With this, any creature with an intellect score higher than 3 (a high bar, I know) can by sensed by the intellect devourer so long as they are within 300 feet of it. Interestingly, you can use the Mind Blank spell to conceal yourself from it. So if you need to sneak past a hoard of these little bastards, you’d better know that particular incantation.

Next up is the Devour Intellect ability. With this, the creature attacks one target within 10 feet that has a brain. Should they fail a DC 12 INT saving throw, they’ll suffer 11(2d10) psychic damage. Not only that, but the DM will roll 3d6; should that total exceed the target’s intelligence score, said score will be reduced to 0, stunning them until they can regain at least 1 INT.

So you can quite easily turn the party’s barbarian into a standing vegetable. Cool. And terrifying. Because that all leads into its most deadly ability: Body Thief. With this, it can steal the body of one target, provided it wins an intelligence contest.

Which should be easy, if it has reduced said intelligence to 0.

Should Body Thief work, the intellect devourer consumes the brain within and takes over the body, assuming their stats. Upon the body’s death, it is driven out. If it leaves, the body will die completely within one minute, unless the brain is restored. It can also be driven out (or prevented from entering at all) with Protection From Evil and Good, or if the original brain is restored with a Wish spell.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! This tiny bastard has a guaranteed kill murder combo! I hope no one in your party is too dumb, or they’re gonna need a new party member!

This one combination turns this from a straight-forward filler enemy to a terrifying trial. Anyone who fails that Intelligence save can suddenly find themselves in a lethal situation. If mishandled, this could quickly infuriate your party members. But if handled elegantly, it could make a terrifying encounter that will have your players trembling for many sessions to come.

Placement

To my surprise, this was a really interesting entry! The lore is barebones, but rife with potential. It’s design is simple and a bit esoteric, but extremely creative! The stats can make for either an incredibly terrifying encounter or a brutally unfair and infuriating one! I’m honestly lost on where to put this guy!

But I’ll figure it out. Given that that’s all that’s left to do.

With all that in mind, let’s put the Intellect Devourer on the Best of the Bestiary!

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Dragon Turtle
4. Green Dragons
5. Red Dragons
6. Blue Dragons
7. Black Dragons
8. White Dragons
9. Silver Dragons
10. Couatl
11. Behir
12. Aboleth
13. Sea Hag
14. Bronze Dragons
15. Brass Dragons
16. Copper Dragons
17. Gold Dragons
18. Chuul
19. Gibbering Mouther
20. Intellect Devourer <——————
21. Chimera
22. Death Knight
23. Fomorian
24. Bone Devil
25. Dracolich
26. Faerie Dragon
27. Hobgoblins
28. Night Hag
29. Green Hag
30. Ankheg
31. Hook Horror
32. Storm Giant
33. Hill Giant
34. Empyrean
35. Efreeti
36. Grimlock
37. Dao
38. Cloud Giant
39. Drow (all four of ’em)
40. Shadow Demon
41. Marilith
42. Drider
43. Aarackockra
44. Azer
45. Demilich
46. Spectator
47. Hydra
48. Marid
49. Harpy
50. Half-Dragon
51. Cambion
52. Fire Giant
53. Animated Armor
54. Banshee
55. Basilisk
56. Yochlol
57. Bulette
58. Cloaker
59. Darkmantle
60. Doppelganger
61. Ghoul and Ghast
62. Ettin
63. Pit Fiend
64. Erinyes
65. Chain Devil
66. Bearded Devil
67. Barbed Devil
68. Spined Devil
69. Ice Devil
70. Djinni
71. Nalfeshnee
72. Glabrezu
73. Chasme
74. Grell
75. Barlgura
76. Horned Devil
77. Balor
78. Shadow Dragon
79. Vrock
80. Dretch
81. Gnolls (all three)
82. Goristro
83. Hezrou
84. Manes
85. Frost Giant
86. Duergar
87. Quasit
88. Dryad
89. Flumph
90. Goblin
91. Githyanki
92. Planetar
93. Imp
94. Clay Golem
95. Flameskull
96. Displacer Beast
97. Carrion Crawler
98. Githzerai
99. Grick
100. Rug of Smothering
101. Bugbear Chief
102. Bugbear
103. Flesh Golem
104. Vine Blight
105. Twig Blight
106. Needle Blight
107. Bullywug
108. Hellhound
109. Ettercap
110. Gas Spore
111. Cockatrice
112. Lemure
113. Homonculus
114. Solar
115. Deva
116. Gorgon
117. Hippogriff
118. Griffon
119. Cyclops
120. Centaur
121. Ghost
122. Fire Elemental
123. Water Elemental
124. Air Elemental
125. Stone Giant
126. Deep Gnome
127. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
128. Iron Golem
129. Stone Golem
130. Earth Elemental
131. Galeb Duhr
132. Helmed Horror
133. Flying Sword
134. Crawling Claw
135. Violet Fungus
136. Shrieker
137. Gargoyle