Dungeons & Dragons: How to

Design the PERFECT Mind

Flayer Encounter
One of D&D's most popular monsters is
more complicated to implement than it
may seem. What are the secrets of a good
mind flayer session?
Feb 19, 2021

One of the most popular monsters in Dungeons & Dragons is

the mind flayer, and for a good reason. Beyond its name
recognition from Stranger Things, the mind flayer has been a
mainstay of D&D for several editions. The engaging lore
behind the monster stokes the imagination with unique
abilities not seen elsewhere in the bestiary and a reputation
for deadliness. In fact, many Dungeon Masters may want to
integrate a mind flayer into their campaign, but if so, they
may want to do so with careful consideration. The mind
flayer is a whole lot harder to pull off than it seems.

Much of the mind flayer's lore makes it the perfect villain to a

campaign. Once masters of an illithid empire, mind flayers
share in a hive mind mentality and worship a central elder
brain as they seek conquest over the free will of the other
races. Their origins tied in with the evocative Underdark, and
with each one carrying a personal appetite to eat brains, all
of the lore surrounding them sets them up as the ideal evil
for everything from a side quest to being the Big Bad Evil
Guy of a whole campaign.

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In terms of their actual stat block in the Monster Manuel,
mind flayers inhabit the difficult-to-balance middle-ground.
At a Challenge Rating of seven, they could be a deadly
encounter for a four-person party of level fours or an easy
encounter for a four-person party of level eights. What's
even more complicated is that the CR system does not
accurately encapsulate the mind flayer's abilities because it
fights in such a unique way high dependent on its
environment.

The tentacle-faced mind flayers of D&D have everything

from long distance to mid-range to melee abilities. Innate
abilities and spellcasting like telepathy, detect thoughts and
levitate set them up to navigate almost any environment.
They can cast dominate monster to turn a party against
itself, and their mind blast ability can potentially stun an
entire party at range all at once. In melee, their tentacles
allow them to damage and grapple an opponent. Once
grappled, they can use extract brain to deal a massive
amount of damage and an instant kill. Similarly, planar shift
can be used offensively to remove a PC from combat
completely.

With relatively few hit points or a poor Armor Class, a mind

flayer encounter can be too easy if DMs aren't careful. The
trick comes in planning out the environment well and giving
the mind flayer the appropriate number of minions. As
masterminds, mind flayers lend themselves to psychically
controlling other creatures like ogres. Their telepathic and
evil ways would lend them toward an alliance with demonic
entities like a succubus. All of these factors can drive up the
CR of the encounter pretty easily, so constantly keep
balance in mind for how they're integrated.

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Most importantly, keep in mind the result of the mind flayer's
combat options and consider how fun they may be for your
players. The mind blast ability's stunning option is one of the
mind flayer's most powerful options, but on a meta-level, it
can also create a boring encounter where stunned players
aren't doing anything except saving throws on their turn.
Similar to using the planar shift offensively, try to reserve
such options for when the mind flayer truly needs them, and
only under a circumstance where combat won't drag out too
long after they're employed.

Setting up those melee attacks with the tentacles and brain

extraction really gives mind flayers their flavor, but they are
hard to pull off if the players are unhampered. The key to
giving the mind flayer allies is so that those allies can occupy
the rest of the party as the mind flayer tries to devour a lone
PC's brain. Such an instance can be a dramatic moment
filled with adrenaline for the players as they struggle to save
their ally, and it's a unique experience only a mind flayer can
create.

In the end, recognizing what is unique about the mind flayer

is the key. Appreciate the monster for its own merits rather
than throwing it in as a generic monster and a session built
around it can truly shine. If done right, combat with a mind
flayer can be downright mind-blowing.

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