Talk:Illithid (5e Race)

This is a good start, I love that you've used the Bonds table and included a feat. But I'm not sure what "You have advantage on all saving throws against magical spells and effects that you are proficient in." means? Marasmusine (talk) 01:51, 31 May 2015 (MDT)

• Every class grants the proficiency bonus on two saving throws, and some feats do as well. (Notably, Resilient.) This racial trait grants the advantage bonus on those saves when the character is the target of spells, like the gnome racial trait just grants advantage generally for all mental saves vs. "spells and other magical effects." It's a scaled-back version of Magic Resistance, since I eventually decided that advantage on all saves from spells was a bit much. I also tried offering one extra saving throw proficiency, but dropped it after realizing that I had to get rid of something to give them Darkvision, since it doesn't make sense if they don't. --SpectralTime (talk) 05:07, 31 May 2015 (MDT)

I understand it now with the rewording. That's actually a neat way of making a lesser form of magic resistance! Marasmusine (talk) 07:05, 31 May 2015 (MDT)

• Thanks. I still wish I could make it a little stronger by adding that extra saving-throw proficiency, but I'm a bit worried that it's too strong already! What's your opinion? --SpectralTime (talk) 07:50, 31 May 2015 (MDT)

...I'll just ask, because I started worrying about it the other day. I know 5e doesn't technically have an OGL yet, but am I violating the usual bounds of product identity with this page, or with the gith page I created? --SpectralTime (talk) 12:03, 16 June 2015 (MDT)

As far as I know WoTC have never asked any fan site to pull down material that uses one of their registered trademarks. Marasmusine (talk) 01:21, 17 June 2015 (MDT)

I like your rendition of this race. There are a few points I'd like to touch on though:

Anatomy: this has no bearing on rules, but but the illithid life cycle is very interesting. they actually begin life as tiny tadpole-like creatures. The illithid actually only takes humanoid form when the tadpole is allowed to infect a human victim, burrowing into their head, and mutating them into what we normally recognize as an illithid. This is actually why 'half illithids' are possible: a host which is not human (a dwarf, for example) would not actually become a true illithid, but become something else. [this gives you a bit of design room, if you want to do sub-races.]

Lesser Magic Resistance: When making a save against magical spells and effects, you gain advantage on any saving throws you are proficient in. (grammar)

Mind Blast: Looks like you modeled this one after a Cantrip. To me, though, the mind blast was always about the stun. Because it's an AOE effect, I would suggest reducing the damage by one die. (1d8 maybe?) I would also suggest adding a 1 turn stun, which gets an improvement if you select a feat for it.

Devour Brain: The most horrifying thing about an illithid is the thought that they can kill you through brain-extraction. That said, I think you were right to remove it, for balence purposes. However, granting a feat:

Brain Extraction: Prerequisites: You must be an illithid. You may make a melee tentacle attack against an incapacitated, stunned, or unconscious creature adjacent to you. You are proficient in this attack, and it has advantage. This attack deals 1d10 slashing damage per 2 hit dice you possess. A creature reduced to 0 hit points this way is instantly slain. --Entropicscholar (talk) 19:44, 11 July 2015 (MDT)

• I am always hungry for feedback! Point by point:
  • I tried to cover that, but since I didn't know where else to put it, it's listed under "Names", to explain why there isn't a male/female division. Subraces might be interesting, but... well, I just don't know enough about them.
  • I'd appreciate any grammar fixes you might suggest for that one, on account of I've been struggling to phrase it since I thought it up.
  • I took the DMG to heart, and tried to model the race as a whole after dragonborn. The Mind Blast power is their equivalent to the dragonborn breath weapon. And I let the stun back in as a scaling feat, available at any level. It's not as important for a PC illithid, because a PC illithid doesn't need a stunned target to get at them juicy, juicy brains. Incidentally...
  • The monster illithid's tentacles deal psychic damage, as does, unless my memory is mistaken, their brain-eating attack. Flavor-wise, I rule that, since this PC illithid is in some way cut off from their networked communal intelligence and has lost some of their powers, they don't get telekinetic tentacles and thus can't easily penetrate something's living, conscious brain. Crunch-wise... I'm still not sure if that's too good (if nothing else, it takes hold person to a whole new level), but...
  • I guess I'll conclude by saying you should feel free to add racial feats and things if you like. It's a wiki, after all! And thanks again for your feedback. --SpectralTime (talk) 16:16, 12 July 2015 (MDT)

Small (very belated) addendum: By comparing the MM Mind Flayer's skill bonuses against its Ability Scores, you can figure out that it's using a Proficiency Bonus of 3. This can be used to reverse-engineer the formula for Extract Brain's hit bonus. It's "INT modifier + Prof. Bonus" (4+3 --> 7). In light of that, the homebrew race's Extract Brain hit bonus should probably be calculated with that formula, instead of being a flat +7 to hit. - 88.69.124.148 00:11, 9 March 2017 (UTC)

Musicus Rating

Musicus Meter Score: 6.5

This race has a score of 6.5 according to the Musicus Meter race guidelines. With this metric, first-party races' scores range from 4.5 to 8. This is a guideline, not a rule, and it's important to use your own judgment alongside this scoring.

This scoring may be the groundwork for a focused {{needsbalance}} usage. A contributor to this page may request a detailed breakdown of this page's balance. Without this information, {{needsbalance}} may then be removed. This meter cannot be the sole basis for a needsbalance template, but may be included as an accessory to a wider discussion of a race's balance.

This template should only be placed on a race's talk page. If this template is not placed on the talk page, please move it.

--ConcealedLight (talk) 14:43, 6 April 2018 (MDT)