coiled shell provides the comfort of enclosed space and protects the illithids from solar radiation. Less common illithid vessels such as the 25-ton squidship, the 70-ton octopus, and the 100-ton cuttle command also resemble the cephalopods after which they are named. In the Spelljammer setting, the illithids are the creators of the oortlings, a humanoid race of high intelligence and enlarged size. Bred as food, the oortlings are completely docile and have little motivation and almost no instinct for self-preservation. Critical reception The mind flayer was ranked fourth among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. They referred to this unique creation of the D&D game as the "quintessential evil genius" and the "perfect evil overlord". The Stranger writer Cienna Madrid described the Mind Flayer as one of D&D's "ghastly fiends". Rob Bricken from io9 named the mind flayer as the 9th most memorable D&D monster. SyFy Wire in 2018 called it one of "The 9 Scariest, Most Unforgettable Monsters From Dungeons & Dragons", saying that "Mind flayers are another classic monster like the beholder." Screen Rant compiled a list of the game's "10 Most Powerful (And 10 Weakest) Monsters, Ranked" in 2018, calling the elder brain one of the strongest, saying that the 5th "edition of Dungeons & Dragons has toned down the elder brain a lot", it "still represents a grave threat to most adventuring parties, thanks to its range of powerful enchantment spells and psionic attacks, but it isn't quite the epic level threat that it once was." Reviewer Scott Baird also found that the illithids in general "are considered to be one of the most disliked creatures in all of Dungeons & Dragons." Philip J. Clements considered mind flayers of the "game's signature monsters". Games journalist David M. Ewalt called them "one of D&D's most popular monsters". Reviewer Julien Blondel for Backstab described them as vile brain-eating creatures full of psionic energy. He found them delightful creatures for a sadistic Dungeon Master to use, and a useful bridge between classic game worlds and the planes, as illithids abound in both. In other media Mind flayers appear in other role-playing games, including Angband, Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, Final Fantasy, NetHack, Lost Kingdoms, Kingdom of Loathing and Lost Souls, and the one-player gamebook RPG series Fighting Fantasy includes a creature similar to the illithid, the Brain Slayer. Ulchalothe in Baldur's Gate: Dark