in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Their superior strength stat meant that they'd be able to overpower most adventurers". Creswell included them on list of the seven best monsters introduced in the 5th Edition campaign guide Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Related creatures Brain Golem: An eight-foot-tall humanoid-shaped construct made entirely of brain tissue, these creations exist only to serve an elder brain and its illithid community. Brainstealer Dragon: A mix of illithid and dragon, these powerful wyrms occasionally rule over illithid communities that lack an elder brain. Illithidae: Illithidae are to mind flayers as less intelligent animals are to humans. Known types include the cessirid, embrac, kigrid, and saltor. Dragon magazine once published a template for use in creating an illithidae creature, for use with the 1st Edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. They were updated in 3.5 in the Lords of Madness supplement. Illithocyte: Illithid tadpoles that survived the fall of a mind flayer empire, they evolved into a new life form and now crawl about in groups seeking psychic radiation on which to feed. Kezreth: A living troop transport and battle platform created from the severed head of a shamed illithid. They serve in this capacity in the hope of redeeming themselves and being allowed to return to the elder brain. Mind Worm: Created by illithids to serve as assassins and bounty hunters, these powerful psionic creatures resemble smaller purple worms. They can attack from far distances with their probe worms. Mindwitness: Inserting an illithid tadpole into a beholder results in these abominations, which are used as guards and sentries. Mozgriken: An illithid tadpole inserted into a svirfneblin gnome while subjected to a dangerous psionic ritual creates a mozgriken. These three-tentacled ceremorphs are despised by all, but their aptitude for stealth and psionic powers of stealth and shape control make them useful spies for the illithids. Neothelid: If an illithid tadpole survives but fails to undergo ceremorphosis, it will eventually grow into an incredibly powerful worm-like creature with illithid tentacles at the forefront of its body and immense mental powers. Nerve Swimmers: Derived from immature illithid tadpoles, these entities are living instruments of torture and interrogation. Nyraala Golem: A flailing, slimy, tentacled construct capable of launching surprise attacks. They often serve as guards, and are prized because their creation does not involve petitioning the elder brain to surrender part of its mass. Octopin: A six-tentacled, purple-skinned