During a darkness gathering adventure the mind flayer mastermind, Shuluth, eventually gets tired of the PCs and sends in a mind-flayer strike team to kill off the PCs. The strike force teleports in after the last agent is killed (Johann, Enoch and Lucien). The idea is this team teleports in before the party has recovered from the battle with the last boss. Sections marked in red are modifications I would make in retrospect. Remember this team was fighing level 15 PCs, potentially 8 of them though it ended up being “only” 5 in this session.
SETUP
Sensor. Shuluth’s sensor appears seconds before the mind-flayers teleport in. Characters who make a DC 25 Perception and/or Arcana check are not surprised.
Strike team
- 1x Psion
- 1x Witness per caster (see below).
- 2x Psychic Warriors per 4 PCs.
Each PC must make a DC 15 Sanity check when they first see these creatures, failure means they lose a point of sanity.
The team will perform a crossfire mind-blast and then extract brain on as many targets as possible. The mindwitness will lock down casters.
The psion will move 30 feet a turn to allow his “one thousand step” feature to work if needed.
Help for the PCs
A patrolling team of guards may stumble onto the fight and help the best they can. Reality is they can’t do much but act as a distraction giving the PCs advantage on attack rolls.
The cranium rat swam, Many-As-One, may send aide to the party allowing the PCs a second saving throw to break the stun status caused by mind-blast. Many-As-One is working with “the great enemy” Ebrietes.
TAMER CREED MIND FLAYER PSION
Medium aberration (mythic), lawful evil
Armor Class 18 (resin dampsuit, clairvoyance)
Hit Points 117 (13d8 + 13)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 11 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 19 (+3) | 17 (+3) | 17 (+3) |
Saving Throws INT +7, WIS +6, CHA +6
Skills Arcana+7, Deception+6, Insight+6, Perception+6,Persuasion+6, Stealth+4
Senses Darkvision120 ft., Passive Perception 16
Languages Deep Speech, Telepathy 120 ft., Undercommon
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Magic Resistance. The mind flayer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The mind flayer’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
At will: detect thoughts, levitate
1/day each: dominate monster, plane shift (self only)
Strength of Will (1/Turn).The tamer creed psion can use its Wisdom saving throw bonus in place of its Strength, Dexterity, Constitution or Charisma saving throw. It can make this decision before rolling the saving throw.
ACTIONS
Shocking Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack:+7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit:15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage and9 (2d8) lightning damage. This attack has advantage if the target is wearing metal armor. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 15) and must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until this grapple ends.
Extract Brain. Melee Weapon Attack:+7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one incapacitated humanoid grappled by the mind flayer.
Hit: The target takes 55 (10d10) piercing damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the mind flayer kills the target by extracting and devouring its brain.
Mind Blast (Recharge 5–6). The mind flayer magically emits psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 22 (4d8 + 4) psychic damage and be stunned for 1 minute or half damage on a success and not be stunned. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Mind Slice. Range Weapon Attack:+7 to hit, range 50 ft., one creature.
Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) psychic damage and the target must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be weakened for 1-minute dealing only half damage with melee weapon attacks that use Strength. If the target creature succeeds on its saving throw the psion may use Shocking Tentacles as a free action.
Telekinetic Grip. The mind flayer targets a single creature, the target must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be suspended 30 feet in the air for 10 minutes and is restrained. A successful save breaks the telekinetic grip. If the target creature succeeds on its saving throw the psion may use mind slice as a free action.
REACTIONS
Memory of One Thousand Steps. As a reaction when the mind flayer is hit by an attack, it can teleport to an unoccupied space that it occupied since the start of its last turn, and the attack misses.
LOOT
A dampsuit, glargoogles, and a waterproof belt pouch. The belt pouch contains a hearthstone, a small flask of water, 1d10 small gems (worth 10 gp each). In addition, there is a small scroll case with a psionic map written/drawn in qualith which can be used by psionic creatures to teleport directly to the mind flayer’s lair – The Cyst. Non-psionic users can use comprehend languages to read the map and locate it beneath the city by more mundane means.
TAMER CREED MINDWITNESS
This are modified mindwitness beholder-kin. They have the following additonal action and reaction.
ACTION
Antimagic Lockdown. The tamer creed mindwitness central eye creates an area of antimagic, as in the antimagic field spell that affects a single target up to 30 feet away. The tamer creed mindwitness picks a target and remains focused on that creature until the mindwitness dies or it moves its focus. This is the only action the tamer mindwitness can take during its turn to both activate and maintain this effect. This has no effect on psionic abilities.
REACTION
Antimagic Reaction. If a creature currently under the effect of antimagic lockdown moves out of range the tamer creed mindwitness can use its reaction to make a Move action.