Illithid

Typical physical characteristics

Illithids have a basic humanoid body, but their head is octopus-like. They have four tentacles around a beaked or lamprey-like mouth, and require the brains of sentient creatures as part of their diet. An illithid who snares a living creature in all four of its tentacles can extract and devour its living brain. Their eyes are pale white, and though their vision is limited to roughly 60 feet, they can see perfectly well in both darkness and light. Their sense of hearing is slightly poorer than a human's; they are unable to distinguish between several sounds mixed together. Their skin is purple and covered in mucus, and is very sensitive to sunlight; illithids who make extended forays to the surface must wear protective clothing to maintain their skin moisture.

The mind flayer's skin glistens with slime. Its skin color is a nauseous mauve, its tentacles being a purplish black. A mind flayer's eyes are dead white, no pupil being evident. The three long fingers of each hand are reddish, but the hands are mauve.