My PCs have conquered the bad guys in “A Darkness Gathering” and now head off to the North in “Masters of Eternal Night“. They are excavating a crater and revealing the wreckage of a crashed mind flayer planetismal craft dating back to the days of the illthid empire. One of the rooms contains the planetismals elder brain which is now an undead elder brain who has turned three of its lieutenant into mind flayer vampires.
I wanted to make these guys as brutal as the original 2e version where they could make four tentacle attacks and each tentacle attack drains 1d4 energy levels. SInce there are THREE of these monsters plus the elder brain it would be a death sentance for most parties.
After the PCs negotiated to “borrow” and vampire illithid (the mind flayer formerly known as Aphinox) I provided the statblock to the player running the creature in combat – the party were very happy they avoided a fight with these guys.
I play the vampire illithids like feral vampires similiar to the “I Am Legend” versions. They unleashed Aphinox into 4 normal mind flayers who were fighting each other – it tore one apart in bloodlust and the others fled in terror. I then had the PC make a persusian check to calm it down or it would turn on the party. Their was a visceral reacion in the PLAYER whenever I described how it moved, loped, leaped and tore which was very satisifying for me as a DM 🙂
VAMPIRE ILLITHID
Medium undead (abberation), chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 7 (-3) | 15 (+2) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws DEX +9, WIS +7, CHA +9
Skills perception +7, stealth +9
Damage Resistances lightning, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 17
Languages Deep Speech, Telepathy 120 ft., Undercommon
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the illithid vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The illithid vampire has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Regeneration. The illithid vampire regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight or running water. If the vampire takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the vampire’s next turn.
Rejuvenation. Unless the illithid vampire has been killed with radiant damage or acid damage from holy water or running water, a destroyed illithid vampire turns to dust and reforms in 1d10 minutes, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The elder brain or vampire that created the illithid vampire can automatically destroy an illithid vampire as an action.
Spider Climb. The illithid vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Vampire Weaknesses. The illithid vampire has the following flaws:
- The illithid vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
- Harmed by Running Water. The illithid vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
- Holy Water. The illithid vampire takes 20 acid damage if exposed to holy water.
- Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
- Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The illithid vampire makes four tentacle attacks.
Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the illithid vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. If either damage types reduce the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain (or draining all it bloods if necrotic damage killed it). If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 18) and must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until this grapple ends.
Tentacled Bite. Melee Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the illithid vampire, incapacitated, or restrained.
Hit: 55 (10d10) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the illithid vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. If either damage types reduce the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain (or draining all it bloods if necrotic damage killed it).
Psychotic Blast. The illithid vampire manifests psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that fails the saving throw also losses a point of sanity.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The illithid vampire can take 1 legendary action, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The illithid vampire regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Lope. The illithid vampire moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Shokushu G.The illithid vampire makes one tentacle attack.
- Extract Brain. The illithid vampire makes one tentacled bite attack.
DESCRIPTION
Vampire illithids are the result of evil experiments that were meant to be terminated. They were first created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master IIlithid of Bluetspur in an attempt to create a creature that could successfully convert the High Master into a vampire (conventional methods were not viable). When the hatchlings proved insane and completely uncontrollable, they were destroyed and thrown into the common water dump, where all victims of mind flayers are thrown after they expire. The vampire illithids regenerated, however, and were washed out of the mind flayer complex. Now they run free across the surface of the realm.
In combat, a vampire illithid employs its mind blast once per round until it is engaged by an opponent in physical melee. Thereafter, it attempts to hit an adversary with each of its four tentacles each round, inflicting 1d6+4 points of crushing damage per hit, in addition to its life energy drain. Both insane and immortal, vampire illithids always fight to the “death” and then find the nearest shelter within 250 feet in which to regenerate.
Vampire illithids mature in a matter of weeks, rather than years, thanks to their undead status. They enjoy dining on both blood and brain matter, and they receive sustenance from both as well. They are not the least bit picky about their quarry, so long as it is alive.