Difference between revisions of "Mind flayer"

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{{Wikipedia|Illithid}}
 
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{{monster
 
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|difficulty=13
 
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|attacks=Weapon 1d4, (int drain+2d1)*3
 
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|level=9
 
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|experience=263
 
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|speed=12
 
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|AC=5
 
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|MR=90
 
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|align=−8
 
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|frequency=1
 
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|genocidable=Yes
 
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|weight=1450
 
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|nutr=400
 
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|size=Medium
 
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|resistances=none
 
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|resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
 
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|attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1}}
 
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|reference=[[monst.c#line449]]}}
 
 
{{monster
 
{{monster
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  |name=master mind flayer
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  |difficulty=13
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  |difficulty=19
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  |attacks=Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]]
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  |level=13
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  |level=9
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  |experience=416
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  |experience=263
 
  |speed=12
 
  |speed=12
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  |AC=0
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  |AC=5
 
  |MR=90
 
  |MR=90
 
  |align=−8
 
  |align=−8
 
  |frequency=1
 
  |frequency=1
 
  |genocidable=Yes
 
  |genocidable=Yes
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|attacks=Weapon 1d8, (int drain 2d1)*5
 
 
  |weight=1450
 
  |weight=1450
 
  |nutr=400
 
  |nutr=400
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  |resistances=none
 
  |resistances=none
 
  |resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
 
  |resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
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  |attributes={{attributes|A master mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1}}
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  |attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1}}
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  |reference=[[monst.c#line457]]
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  |reference=[[monst.c#line449]]
 
}}
 
}}
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The '''mind flayer''', {{monsym|mind flayer}}, and '''master mind flayer''', {{monsym|master mind flayer}}, are especially perilous [[monster]]s in ''[[NetHack]]''. They are depicted with a humanoid body, an octopus-like head, and four tentacles around a lamprey-like mouth. Mind flayers possess [[flight]] and [[telepathy]], as well as both [[see invisible]] and [[infravision]]. Mind flayers are capable of using the same weapons, armor and wands as the player, and are always generated hostile. They share a colored glyph with the [[dwarf king]], {{monsym|dwarf king}}.
 
  
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Mind flayers can use their tentacles to eat your brain, decreasing your [[intelligence]]; this may result in developing [[amnesia]] and, in the worst cases, [[Brainlessness|perishing as your last thoughts fade away]] from fatal intelligence drain. You can sense the presence of mind flayers remotely via "a faint wave of psychic energy"; if you have [[telepathy]], they can sense yours. Occasionally, they will concentrate and release a blast of psychic energy—if they are hostile or under the effects of [[conflict]], and can either see you or sense you via telepathy, it will "lock on" to your mind or telepathy for d15 damage (which is halved with [[half spell damage]]). If they are [[peaceful]] and not under the effects of [[conflict]], it will "feel quite soothing" and no harm will be done.
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A '''mind flayer''', {{monsym|mind flayer}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. Mind flayers are [[omnivorous]] [[Humanoid (monster class)|humanoids]] with octopus-like tentacled heads, and possess [[flight]], [[telepathy]], [[see invisible]], and [[infravision]]. They will also collect [[gold]], [[gem]]s and any other items they come across. They share a glyph with the [[dwarf king]].
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A mind flayer has a weapon attack and three tentacle attacks that can eat its victim's brains - they are also capable of emitting [[mind blast]]s that can lock on to [[you]] or other monsters on the same level as them: if a monster is either close enough to them or else possesses telepathy, they take d15 damage, which is affected by the [[half spell damage]] property. A tame or peaceful mind flayer will not deal damage to you this way unless they are under [[conflict]].
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A character that has their brain eaten by a mind flayer's tentacle attack loses [[intelligence]], has their [[wisdom]] abused and can also be subjected to [[amnesia]] - losing enough intelligence this way causes an irreversibly fatal [[instadeath]] by [[brainlessness]], and cannot be averted with [[life saving]] or being [[polymorph]]ed; if you are in [[explore mode]] or [[wizard mode]] and choose not to die at the prompt that comes up, your intelligence is boosted to 5.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|602|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} Non-[[mindless]] monsters that are hit by a brain-sucking tentacle attack take an additional d10 of damage per attack to simulate brain loss.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|499|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
  
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Eating a mind flayer [[corpse]] grants you either [[telepathy]] or 1 [[intelligence]] point, with a 50% chance of each.{{refsrc|eat.c|1077|version=NetHack 3.6.1}}
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Eating a mind flayer [[corpse]] or [[tin]] can either grant [[telepathy]] or raise intelligence by 1 point, with an equal probability of each.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|1084|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
  
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Mind flayer tentacle attacks no longer cause amnesia.}}
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Mind flayer tentacle attacks no longer cause amnesia, and their glyph color is changed to bright magenta.}}
  
 
==Generation==
 
==Generation==
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In addition to random generation, the master mind flayer is a candidate for the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]].
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Randomly-generated mind flayers are always generated hostile. A mind flayer can [[grow up]] into a [[master mind flayer]].
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In addition to random generation, mind flayers are notorious for potentially generating within the [[Gnomish Mines]] outside of [[Minetown]] and [[Mines' End]] at level creation. These "minesflayers" are the result of the Mines levels using [[mkclass]] to specify that a random humanoid monster should be generated at normal level creation - while this is almost always a [[Dwarf (monster)|dwarf]], [[hobbit]] or [[bugbear]], mkclass can completely ignore the difficulty of the monster it produces and create a mind flayer (or master mind flayer).
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|If a genocided monster with a pre-grown form (that is not explicitly a baby form) is chosen for the [[summon nasties]] [[monster spell]], and that pre-grown form is not also genocided, it will appear in place of the genocided monster. This means that mind flayers can be generated via the spell in place of genocided master mind flayers.}}
  
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Mind flayers are notorious for generating upon entering some floors of the [[Gnomish Mines]], where they are normally far too high difficulty to appear. This is because the Mines levels specify that one random {{mcsl|h}} monster should be generated at normal level creation; this is almost always a [[dwarf]], [[hobbit]], or [[bugbear]]. On occasion, however, the function that chooses which {{monclasssym|h}} monster should be generated totally ignores the difficulty of the monster it produces; flayers that generate like this are sometimes called '''minesflayers'''.
 
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
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Mind flayers and master mind flayers are considered a consistent, high-level threat throughout the entirety of the game. Brainlessness is an [[instadeath]] that ignores not only your current HP, but [[lifesaving]] as well—you will be brought back, only to immediately die again since your brain is still gone. If you die from intelligence drain while [[polymorph]]ed, you will permanently die instead of reverting to your normal form.
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Though they are the weaker of the two flayers, with 5 base [[AC]] and fewer tentacle attacks, mind flayers are still a major threat throughout most of the game due to their intelligence-draining attack, both for the loss of level maps and item identities and the outright instadeath they can cause. This makes mind flayers and their 'master' kin common targets for [[genocide]], as well as stellar pets for those who can procure a tame flayer.
  
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Polymorphing into a headless monster will protect you from the special attacks, mitigating the worst of their threat and leaving the matter of reducing the damage from each 'flay', along with the psychic blasts.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|1128|version=NetHack 3.6.1}} Being polymorphed into a normally [[mindless]] form won't protect you; a comment in the relevant code says this is because players aren't mindless.{{refsrc|mhitu.c|1149|comment=Players aren't mindless|version=NetHack 3.6.1}}
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===Detection===
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If you start sensing waves of psychic energy, that is your cue to [[farlook]] and check any {{magenta|h}} you encounter—a somewhat common [[YASD]] is to mistake the mind flayer for an easier-to-kill dwarf king, then march in and promptly have your character's brain eaten. If you have telepathy, blinding yourself temporarily (e.g., via [[blindfold]] or [[towel]]) can be used to quickly confirm if a flayer is present on a level; dwarves also do not generate randomly inside [[Gehennom]], making detection there more trivial.
  
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===Detection and combat===
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Mind flayers have an impressive [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] of 90, and will often resist many forms of magic available to a character; [[Scare|scaring]] them through other means is a similarly difficult task. Polymorphing, e.g. via [[polymorph trap]], can also produce hostile mind flayers much earlier than they can generate normally.
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If you are outside of [[Gehennom]] and start sensing waves of psychic energy, that is your cue to [[farlook]] and check whether any {{magenta|h}} you see is a dwarf—a common YASD is to mistake the mind flayer for an easy kill, then march in and have your brain promptly eaten, especially if you are burdened and/or have low intelligence. Keep in mind that you will not see the psychic wave message every turn.
 
  
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When fighting mind flayers, avoid melee if at all possible and remain at a distance. Their high [[monster magic resistance]] will often stop all but the most powerful spells (e.g. [[finger of death]]), and [[cancellation]] will not affect their brainsucking attacks even if it successfully hits; this leaves projectiles such as [[dagger]]s or [[arrows]] as your best bet to deal damage. Alternately, if your [[ranged attack]] options are limited and melee is your only out, consider [[stoning]] them or taking other measures to prevent or minimize stat loss ([[#Preventing intelligence drain|discussed further below]]); beware the master mind flayer's base AC of 0!
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===Combat===
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When fighting mind flayers, avoid melee-range combat if at all possible, especially if you are [[Encumbrance|encumbered]] and/or have low intelligence - projectiles such as [[dagger]]s or [[arrows]] are among your best resources to consistently deal damage, and in a pinch they may even be worth a charge from a [[wand of death]]. Alternately, if your [[ranged attack]] options are limited and melee is your only out, consider [[stoning]] them or taking other measures to prevent or minimize stat loss ([[#Preventing intelligence drain|discussed in more detail below]]).
  
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Mind flayers respect [[Elbereth]] if encountered outside of Gehennom, and can be deterred by standing on a [[scroll of scare monster]]; however, this does not prevent them locking on to your mind or telepathy. You can also [[scare]] them using methods such as an [[expensive camera]] or [[tooled horn]]— while not as secure as Elbereth and possibly subject to their high monster MR, these methods can also scare away other monsters that would not respect Elbereth. Beware that a fleeing mind flayer may still attack you, although it is much less likely to; additionally, a [[blind]]ed one will not respect Elbereth.
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Mind flayers respect [[Elbereth]], though this will not work in Gehennom, and can also be deterred by standing on a [[scroll of scare monster]]. While not as secure as Elbereth due to their 90 MR score, an [[expensive camera]] or [[tooled horn]] can still frighten off mind flayers. Beware that a fleeing mind flayer may still attack you, although it is much less likely to - additionally, a [[blind]]ed one will not respect Elbereth. Scaring a mind flayer also does not prevent them from mind blasting you. [[Cancellation]] will not affect the mind flayer's brain-sucking attacks even if successful.  
  
 
===Preventing intelligence drain===
 
===Preventing intelligence drain===
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Wearing any [[greased]] [[helm]] prevents the mind flayer's tentacles from reaching your brain, but the grease has a {{frac|2}} chance to wear off with each attack; a non-greased helm has a {{frac|7|8}} chance of preventing each of the mind flayer's tentacle attacks. Mind flayers get multiple attacks per turn, so you should not rely solely on a greased helm, especially if you are unable to kill them quickly.  
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Wearing any [[greased]] [[helm]] prevents the mind flayer's tentacles from reaching your brain, but the grease has a {{frac|2}} chance of wearing off with each attack; a non-greased helm has a {{frac|7|8}} chance of preventing each of the mind flayer's tentacle attacks. Mind flayers get multiple attacks per turn, so you should not rely solely on a greased helm, especially if you are unable to kill them quickly. Alternate possibilities include wearing a [[dunce cap]] or [[ring of sustain ability]]: both items will fix your intelligence stat (either at 6 or its current value) and prevent stat loss, and the dunce cap has a chance of blocking the tentacles as with other helms. A blessed [[unicorn horn]] or [[potion of restore ability]] can also reverse the stat loss fairly quickly.
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Polymorphing into a headless monster will protect you from the intelligence drain attacks, which can mitigate the worst of their threat{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|1145|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/eat.c|505|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} - polymorphing into a normally [[mindless]] form will not protect you, since as a comment in the relevant code says, players aren't mindless.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|581|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|1165|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=Players aren't mindless}}
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Remember that none of these methods will prevent amnesia from a successful brain-sucking, and you are likely to be very forgetful after a fight with a mind flayer —have a means of re-identifying items on hand if possible. As a precaution, you can #[[name]] and label one of a particular type of item(s) that you consider vital and/or does not [[auto-identify]] itself.
  
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You may alternately want to wear a [[dunce cap]] or [[ring of sustain ability]]; both items will fix your intelligence stat (either at 6 or its current value), preventing stat loss and thus brainlessness, on top of the dunce cap's chance to block the tentacles. However, none of these methods will prevent amnesia from a successful brainsucking, and you're likely to come out of the fight very forgetful—have a means of re-identifying items on hand if possible. You can use #[[name]] to label one of a particular type of item(s) that you consider vital and/or does not [[auto-identify]] as a precaution; having an ideally blessed [[unicorn horn]] can also reverse the stat loss fairly quickly.
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|In addition to mind flayer attacks no longer causing amnesia, unicorn horns will no longer restore lowered stats.}}
  
 
===Genocide===
 
===Genocide===
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The amnesia and instadeath from brain-eating are enough to make both forms of mind flayer a popular target for blessed [[genocide]], but '''do not do this if you are a dwarf!''' Using a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] will remove all {{mcsl|h}} from the current game—dwarves included—and serves as a particularly aggravating YASD for forgetful dwarven players; those unable to use blessed genocide for this reason should instead use two different uncursed scrolls of genocide. If doing this, or else genociding from a [[throne]], the master mind flayer should ideally be targeted first; regular mind flayers cannot be generated via summon nasties unless they randomly replace an [[extinct]]/genocided nasty.
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While the amnesia and instadeath from brain-eating are enough to make both forms of mind flayer a popular target for genocide, '''do not attempt blessed genocide of mind flayers if you are a [[Dwarf (starting race)|dwarf]]!''' Using a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] will remove all {{mcsl|h}} from the current game ''including'' dwarves, serving as a particularly aggravating form of YASD for dwarvish characters. Also, be sure to mind your spelling, ''especially'' if you are a [[Monk]]—misspelling it as "master mindfalyer" will only parse the word "Master", one of the Monk's [[rank]] titles, and wipe out you and all other monks.
  
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|If a genocided monster with a pre-grown form (that is not explicitly a baby form) is chosen, and this form is not also genocided, it will appear in place of the genocided monster. For example, mind flayers can appear in place of genocided master mind flayers. This also happens if the chosen nasty is inappropriate for the location, such as an arch-lich outside Gehennom.}}
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You should already try to identify the [[beatitude]] of possible scrolls of genocide before reading them if at all possible, and this is especially true if you plan to eliminate mind flayers with one—in addition to the above, that randomly read scroll you just found may be cursed, and the summoned horde of mind flayers will often result in a quick death; even if you can scare them away, their psychic blasts may still overwhelm you. One or two "normal" genocides, either from the uncursed scroll or a [[throne]], should be used instead; the master mind flayer should ideally be targeted first, as regular mind flayers cannot be generated via summon nasties unless they randomly replace an [[extinct]]/genocided nasty.
  
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''Do not use scrolls of genocide with unidentified beatitude.'' That one scroll you just found and read without checking may be cursed, and the summoned horde of mind flayers will often result in a quick death; even if you can scare them away, their psychic blasts may still overwhelm you. Also, be sure to mind your spelling, ''especially'' if you are a [[Monk]]—misspelling it as "master mindfalyer" will only parse the word "Master", one of the Monk's [[rank]] titles, and wipe out all monks.
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|If master mind flayers are genocided, mind flayers can appear in their place if the summon nasties monster spell is cast.}}
  
 
===As pets===
 
===As pets===
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While highly desirable as [[pet]]s, taming a mind flayer is extremely hard and dangerous due to their monster magic resistance; you may be much better off using a [[polymorph trap]] on your current pet. Tame mind flayers make quick work of [[shopkeeper]]s, and their telepathic outreach only locks onto hostile monsters, otherwise printing a harmless message (which can be hidden with [[MSGTYPE]]). However, remember that ''only'' peaceful mind flayers will produces soothing waves—if you see different messages related to psychic waves and are taking damage from them, a hostile mind flayer may be on the level.
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While highly desirable as [[pet]]s, taming a mind flayer is extremely hard and dangerous due to their monster magic resistance; you may be much better off using a polymorph trap on your current pet.
  
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Be ''especially'' careful if your tame mind flayer becomes confused—they will turn those psychic waves on you! The same danger is present if you have a means to instigate [[conflict]]; however, with their high monster magic resistance, once a mind flayer reaches level 15 it will become immune (and no longer a threat to you or your brain matter) during conflict.
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Tame mind flayers can make quick work of [[shopkeeper]]s and various tough monsters, and their telepathic outreach will only lock onto and damage hostile monsters - the harmless message it otherwise produces can be hidden with [[MSGTYPE]]. However, there are a few monsters that in turn pose a serious threat should a mind flayer attempt to eat their brain:
  
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[[Jellies]] are a serious threat to mind flayers, whose multiple tentacle attacks can and likely will trigger several passive attacks that can run up enough damage to easily kill them. Shapeshifters and [[green slime]]s are similarly dangerous: the former may go down quickly, but will polymorph the mind flayer when its corpse is eaten, while the latter is extremely likely to turn it into another slime. [[Ochre jellies]] are a common sight in the late game, especially as a summonable nasty—consider giving your mind flayer any [[yellow dragon scales]] (or [[yellow dragon scale mail|dragon scale mail]]) that you happen upon to provide them with valuable [[acid resistance]].
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* [[Cockatrice]]s, chickatrices and [[Medusa]] will turn a mind flayer to stone if a tentacle attack lands.
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* [[Jellies]] have passive attacks that can easily rack up enough damage to kill an unlucky mind flayer attacking one.
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* Shapeshifters and [[green slime]]s are similarly dangerous: the former may go down quickly, but will polymorph a mind flayer that eats its corpse, while the latter is extremely likely to turn it into another slime.
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* The [[Rider]]s will instantly kill a mind flayer if one manages to eat their's brain, though the Rider in question still takes the extra "brain loss" damage.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|621|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
  
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Mind flayers also have a tendency to attract [[covetous]] monsters with their psychic blasts. If you are approaching, for example, the [[Wizard of Yendor]]'s [[Wizard's Tower|Tower]], and you do not wish to leave them on another floor temporarily, be prepared to deal with your prematurely awakened foes and the host of problems that may follow.
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[[Ochre jellies]] are a common sight in the late game, especially as a summonable nasty—consider giving your mind flayer any [[yellow dragon scales]] (or [[yellow dragon scale mail|dragon scale mail]]) that you happen upon to provide them with valuable [[acid resistance]].
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Mind flayers also have a tendency to attract [[covetous]] monsters with their psychic blasts: if approaching the goal level of your [[Quest]], the [[Wizard of Yendor]]'s [[Wizard's Tower|Tower]] or one of the many demon lairs of [[Gehennom]], you may want to leave them on another floor temporarily. Alternately, if you intend to draw covetous foes to the stairs this way, be prepared accordingly; in particular, a mind flayer pet or polyform can be used by [[Rogue]]s on [[Rogue quest|their quest]] to awaken the [[Master Assassin]], who will then warp to you from his otherwise inaccessible dwelling.
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Also, remember that ''only'' tame and peaceful mind flayers will generate soothing psychic waves—if you see different messages related to psychic waves, are taking damage from them, and you are not generating conflict, then a hostile mind flayer may be on the level. Be ''especially'' careful if your tame mind flayer becomes confused—they will turn those psychic waves on you! This also makes conflict similarly perilous - always equip intelligent humanoid pets with a [[unicorn horn]] whenever possible. Additionally, a mind flayer's high monster magic resistance ensures that once they reaches level 15, they will become immune to conflict, and thus no threat to you or your brain matter while you are using conflict.
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{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|2f255560252b0c18ed468baf94b58654bd5413f7}}:
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The chance of resisting conflict now depends on the player's charisma, the monster's level, and the player's level. Conflict is resisted if <code>rnd(20) > min(19, (ACURR(A_CHA) - mtmp->m_lev + u.ulevel))</code> - thus, there is always at least a 5% chance of resisting it. Conflict also now requires that the monster see the player, not that the monster be in the player's line of sight. These changes are imported from [[SporkHack]].
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Additionally, as of {{commit|0891ef4e22ccb56bacd41ce302d4178c1c6525aa}}, monsters wearing [[alchemy smock]]s now gain acid resistance instead of just [[poison resistance]], allowing for more flexibility in kitting out a tame mind flayer. Mind flayers can also gain intrinsics from eating corpses as well, allowing them to gain cold resistance for dealing with blue jellies.
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As of {{commit|2cad4ecec23d992d65f1f1c4c460bccb70b15b77}}, each individual covetous monster will pick either the upstairs or downstairs to warp to.}}
  
 
===As a polymorph form===
 
===As a polymorph form===
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The master mind flayer is a very sought-after form for [[polyself]]: on top of flight, multiple attacks per turn, a base AC of 0 and no changes to armor or [[encumbrance]], its brain-eating attack is deadly to nearly anything. Non-mindless monsters take an additional d10 points of damage per brainsucking attack to simulate brain loss; additionally, you will gain d30 nutrition per suck message without risk of choking, and if your intelligence score is below the maximum (i.e. your own brain was sucked), it will be increased by d4. The intelligence increase is subject to the normal polymorphed attributes rules, and will be reset when you revert to your normal form; your max HP may also drop significantly in this form, especially if polymorphing at a high level.
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A mind flayer is a solid monster form for [[polyself]]: on top of flight, multiple attacks per turn, 5 base AC and the ability to wear all armor, their brain-eating attack is deadly to nearly anything with a mind.
  
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Naturally, players in mind flayer form face the same dangers as pet mind flayers, including potential death from triggering too many passive attacks. Furthermore, brainsucking a [[green slime]] causes delayed [[sliming]], and eating a [[cockatrice]]'s brain causes both immediate [[stoning]] <em>and</em> delayed stoning if the immediate stoning was life-saved. Sucking the brains of your [[race]] or other mind flayers will count as [[cannibalism]] as well; for Monks and vegan or vegetarians players, eating brains will also break those conducts. While you cannot choke directly from eating brains, you will quickly become fully satiated; you will not receive a warning when oversatiated, and thus run a significant risk of choking from eating ''anything'' afterward; this will cause game-ending [[instadeath]] as you will ''not'' revert to your original form.
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When eating a monster's brain, you gain d30 nutrition per successful tentacle attack and exercise wisdom, without risk of choking; if your intelligence is below its current maximum (e.g., after your own brain was sucked), it will be increased by d4.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|562|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} The intelligence increase is subject to the normal polymorphed attributes rules, and will be reset when you revert to your normal form.
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Naturally, players in mind flayer form face the same dangers as pet mind flayers, including potential death from triggering too many passive attacks. Furthermore, brainsucking a [[green slime]] causes delayed [[sliming]], and eating a [[cockatrice]]'s brain causes both immediate [[stoning]] '''and''' delayed stoning if the immediate stoning was stopped by an [[amulet of life saving]]. Sucking the brains of your [[race]] or other mind flayers will count as [[cannibalism]] as well, though this does not trigger a penalty for each ''individual'' brain-sucking attack{{refsrc|src/eat.c|649|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} - for Monks and vegan or vegetarians players, eating brains will also break those conducts. While you cannot choke directly from eating brains, you ''can'' become satiated&mdash;you will ''not'' receive a warning when oversatiated, and thus run a significant risk of choking from eating ''anything'' afterward, which is an instadeath even while polymorphed.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
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In [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and previous versions, the game would not recognize the alternate spelling "mindflayer" when selecting a monster for [[genocide]]. A [[Monk]] that attempted to genocide "master mindflayer" would instead genocide "master", thus wiping out all Monks and ending the game. This is because "master" is one of the [[rank]] titles for Monks, and ''NetHack'' ignores the extra word "mindflayer".<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.roguelike.nethack/browse_thread/thread/0d275920c73ced76/ rgrn thread]</ref> Both NetHack 3.6.0 and SLASH'EM recognize the "mindflayer" spelling, so it is okay to genocide "master mindflayer" in those games, but a typo like "master mindfalyer" can still wipe out all Monks and end the game.
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The mind flayer first appears in [[NetHack 3.1.0]]. From this version to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], including some variants based on them, the game does not recognize the alternate spelling "mindflayer" when selecting a monster for genocide.
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==Origin==
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{{Wikipedia|Illithid}}
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Mind flayers are derived from ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', where they appear in all editions, and are also known as illithids; the illithid is considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast, and as such is not released under its Open Game License. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' co-creator Gary Gygax stated that one of his inspirations was the cover painting of the Titus Crow book ''The Burrowers Beneath'' by Brian Lumley. The first mention of illithids is found in the first issue of TSR Games' official newsletter ''The Strategic Review''; they were included in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement for the original white box edition of the 1976 ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game, where they were depicted as Lawful Evil; they also appear in the first edition's Monster Manual; and the 3rd and 3.5 editions introduce playable illithids.
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The illithid is "a super-intelligent, man-shaped creature with four tentacles by its mouth which it uses to strike its prey"; a tentacle that hits penetrates to the brain and draws it forth, allowing the monster to devour it. Its major weapon is the 'mind blast', a short-range wave of "PSI force" which affects each opponent differently based on how intelligent it is, and can induce many ailments from confusion and insanity, up to coma and even death. In-universe, the origins of the illithids are subject to many conflicting stories.
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Illithid society is structured around a creature called an "[[elder brain|Elder Brain]]", which lives in a pool of cerebral fluid in the center of a city. Dead illithids have their brain extracted and taken to this pool to have its contents absorbed, which illithids believe a form of immortality; this Brain also functions as a vast library of knowledge that an illithid can call upon with a simple telepathic call. Psionic potential is thus an integral part of the illithid identity, and they typically communicate by projecting thoughts and feelings to each other.
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While illithids do have a patron deity known as [[Ilsensine]], few of them actively worship her - both because they believe themselves the most powerful creatures in the universe, and because Ilsensine is more of an "abstract" deity that represents universal knowledge and one’s mastery of their own mind, a state that all illithids seek. Outcast illithids that turn to wizardry are often known to become [[alhoon]]s.
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==Messages==
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{{message|<The mind flayer>'s tentacles suck you!|A mind flayer has hit you with its brain-sucking attack.}}
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{{message|Your brain is eaten!|You lost intelligence and/or memory of items and floors to the brain-sucking attack.}}
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{{message|Your <helm> blocks the attack to your head.|Your worn helmet successfully protected you from its tentacle attack.}}
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{{message|You don't seem harmed.|You were protected you from the tentacle attack due to being in the form of a headless monster.}}
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{{message|Your last thought fades away.|You died of brainlessness.}}
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{{message|<Foo>'s brain is eaten!|A monster was hit by a mind flayer attack, and takes an extra d10 damage.}}
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{{message|<Foo> doesn't notice.|As above, but the 'victim' was mindless and takes no extra damage.}}
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{{message|<Foo>'s last thought fades away...|A monster was killed by the brain-sucking attack.}}
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{{message|Ingesting that is fatal.|You ate the brain of a Rider while in mind flayer form, dying instantly and abusing wisdom if you are revived by an amulet of life saving.{{refsrc|src/eat.c|554|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}}}
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{{message|You have a sad thought for a moment, then it passes.|A tame mind flayer was turned to stone from an attempt to eat a monster's brain.}}
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==Variants and patches==
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In the [[Heck² patch]], one of the possible special levels in the "heck-a" list is filled with mind flayers.
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In the [[Lethe patch]], the Wizard's Manse map for the fifth floor of the [[Lethe Gorge]] has a [[throne room]] with three [[throne]]s, two of which are occupied by sleeping mind flayers - one mind flayer generates with a [[wand of lightning]] and the other generates with a [[wand of sleep]].
  
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==Variants==
 
 
===SLASH'EM===
 
===SLASH'EM===
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Mind flayers are slightly different in [[SLASH'EM]]. First, the master mind flayer has three brain-eating attacks, while the normal mind flayer has five&mdash;an unusual reverse of the situation in vanilla ''NetHack''. More importantly, though, the [[ring of free action]] provides luck-based protection against their brain-eating attacks, starting at a 50% of blocking each individual flay and increasing to a 90% chance at maxed-out luck.{{refsrc|mhitu.c|954|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} This, in combination with a greased helm, renders them much less of a threat.
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Mind flayers and their master kin are somewhat different in [[SLASH'EM]] - in an unusual reverse of their attack dice from vanilla ''NetHack'', the master mind flayer has three brain-eating attacks, while the normal mind flayer has five. All the more importantly, the [[ring of free action]] provides [[Luck]]-based protection against their brain-eating attacks, starting at a {{frac|2}} chance of blocking each individual flay and increasing to a {{frac|9|10}} chance at maxed-out Luck.{{refsrc|mhitu.c|954|version=SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2}} This, in combination with a greased helm, can render them somewhat less of a threat.
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While genociding mind flayers is still generally a worthwhile idea, there are more sources of amnesia present such as the [[potion of amnesia]] and the [[migo queen]]'s attacks, so this is not a preventative method against amnesia specifically.
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Both mind flayer polyforms are incapable of wearing helmets due to their tentacle placement, but can still wear all other armor. In addition, SLASH'EM makes it so that any additional bite or tentacle attacks that would automatically process and result in death (e.g. by attacking a cockatrice) are simply not used; this does not apply to the weapon attack, so as always be mindful of fighting bare-handed.
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In the [[Lawful Quest]], the locked chamber in the middle of the Cloud Bank has a chance of housing mind flayers known as the "Spice Girls": one named Ginger is guaranteed to appear, while two others named Victoria and Emma each have a {{frac|4|5}} chance of generating. They may be accompanied by two master mind flayers named Mel B. and Mel C., who each have a {{frac|3|5}} chance of being generated. Ginger is generated on top of a [[fountain]] and a [[chest]] that has a [[wand of cold]] with 16 charges; the chest also has a {{frac|7|10}} chance of containing an [[amulet of flying]], and a {{frac|4|5}} chance of containing a [[wand of digging]], making it a possible boon for sufficiently tough players. If either type of mind flayer is genocided, they will be replaced by random monsters with the same names.
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SLASH'EM recognizes the "mindflayer" spelling, so it is okay to genocide "master mindflayer", but a typo like "master mindfalyer" will still wipe out all Monks (including you if you are one).
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===dNetHack===
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In [[dNetHack]], mind flayers and their master kin are considered [[primordial]]s. dNetHack also adds [[parasitic mind flayer]]s and [[parasitic master mind flayer]]s as well as [[Alhoon (dNetHack)|alhoons]], mind flayers that have turned to lichdom.
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The [[Drow Noble Quest]] involves infiltrating a colony of mind flayers and retrieving the [[quest artifact]], the [[Web of the Chosen]]: there are 16 mind flayers  scattered about the goal level at level creation, generally situated around the [[elder brain]] guarding the [[Bell of Opening]]. The quest artifact's actual owner, [[A'gone]], is locked up in a cell on the edge of the level, with her mind completely gone due to the mind flayers.
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====Anachrononaut quest====
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The [[Anachrononaut quest]] features mind flayers as somewhat major antagonists: in the "age before ages", they discovered and woshipped an eldritch "nascent thought" known as Ilsensine, and in bringing knowledge of it back to the past set off a chain of events that caused the end of the world. While the mind flayer empires were overthrown and brought low, the [[god]]s of Law discovered Ilsensine and were consumed, followed by the other gods of the heavens (hence why Anachrononauts do not worship any and cannot make use of altars). In order to change the future and gain a full-scoring ascension, you must gain access to your Quest from your [[quest leader]] before she dies, retrieve [[the Annulus]] and obtain the [[Amulet of Yendor]], then reach the lawful high altar on the [[Astral Plane]] and invoke the Annulus to purge Ilsensine's influence once and for all before ascending as normal.
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Mind flayers are one of the many quest monsters: {{frac|7}} of the randomly generated monsters are mind flayer-related - of those, {{frac|8}} are mind flayers, {{frac|8}} are master mind flayers, and the remaining monsters are either [[umber hulk]]s or [[brain golem]]s. Mind flayers are among the various [[H.P. Lovecraft]]-inspired r'lyehians that can appear as well, with a {{frac|7}} chance of a r'lyehian generating: mind flayers make up {{frac|16}} of randomly-generated r'lyehians. Many mind flayers are also generated scattered around the lower filler level(s) of the Quest at level creation. Genocide does not apply to monsters generated in the Quest branch, meaning that Anachrononauts cannot preemptively remove mind flayers to make their quest easier.
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===xNetHack===
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In [[xNetHack]], mind flayers are moved to the [[aberration]] [[monster class]] represented by {{white|U} - this is done to avert a potential YASD for dwarvish characters using blessed scrolls of genocide, and also solves the problem of minesflayers.
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===notdNetHack===
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In [[notdNetHack]], in addition to dNetHack details, the [[Illithanachronounbinder]] is a role that is flavored as being a mind flayer of whatever starting race you select, possessing both the traits of that race and those of mind flayers - the role's rank title for [[experience level]]s 14-17 is "Mind Flayer".
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notdNetHack also adds [[villithid]]s, vampiric mind flayers that are primarily seen on the Illithanachronounbinder quest.
  
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Also, SLASH'EM introduces more sources of [[amnesia]] (such as [[Potion of amnesia|potions of amnesia]] and [[migo queen]] attacks), making a preventative genocide of mind flayers much less of a surefire protection against amnesia.
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===EvilHack===
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In [[EvilHack]], mind flayers use {{brightmagenta|h}} in order to differentiate them more easily for dwarven royals. EvilHack also adds [[Alhoon (EvilHack)|alhoons]] (which are implemented differently from dNetHack) as well as [[mind flayer larva]], which only generate within mind flayer nurseries. Mind flayer larva live in shallow [[pool]]s and can only reach adulthood by attaching themselves to a victim's face; if a player is attacked this way, they have only one turn to kill or remove the larva before it burrows itself into the player's brain, killing them instantly and turning them into a mind flayer that can be found in any resulting bones.
  
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Lastly, if you polymorph into an intelligent monster in SLASH'EM, generally you need not worry about petrifying monsters. This is true of mind flayers&mdash;instead of eating the cockatrice's brain and being stoned, you will instead simply not use your tentacle attack against it at all. Your weapon attack will still go forward, though, and it is still possible to get stoned by other methods (e.g. attacking it bare-handed).
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Mind flayers are also present as a race of monster within the dungeon, referred to as illithids, and can appear as any of the various [[racial monster]]s present within, e.g. shopkeepers and [[player monster]]s - they are also [[Illithid (starting race)|a playable race]]. All forms of illithid have [[psychic resistance]] that renders them immune to brain-eating attacks, including those from other mind flayers.
  
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==Origin==
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==Monster stats by variant==
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Mind flayers first appear in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' as Illithids; ''D&D''&apos;s creator, Gary Gygax, was reportedly inspired to create the monster after seeing cover art for a book by Brian Lumley.
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<simpletabs>
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SLASH'EM|{{monster
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|difficulty=13
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|attacks=Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]]
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|level=9
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|experience=263
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|speed=12
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|AC=5
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|MR=90
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|align=&minus;8
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|frequency=1
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|genocidable=Yes
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|weight=1450
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|nutr=400
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|size=Medium
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|resistances=none
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|resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
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|attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1|traitor=1}}
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|reference = [[SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line816]]
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}}
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|-|
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dNetHack|{{monster
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|name=mind flayer
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|symbol={{magenta|h}}
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|tile=
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|difficulty=11
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|level=9
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|experience=293
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|speed=12
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|AC=5
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|MR=90
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|align=0
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|frequency=1
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|genocidable=Yes
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|attacks=Weapon 1d4 physical, Tentacle 1d4 [[int drain]]
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|weight=1450
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|nutr=400
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|size=medium
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|resistances=[[poison]]
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|resistances conveyed=[[poison]]
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|attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|fly=1|humanoid=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|traitor=1|notame=1}}
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|reference=[https://github.com/Chris-plus-alphanumericgibberish/dNAO/blob/compat-3.21.1/src/monst.c#L881 dNetHack src/monst.c, line 881]
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}}
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|-|
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EvilHack|{{monster
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|name=mind flayer
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|difficulty=13
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|level=9
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|experience=236
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|speed=12
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|AC=5
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|MR=90
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|align=-8
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|frequency=1
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|genocidable=Yes
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|attacks=Weapon 1d4, Tentacles 2d1 [[intelligence]] drain, Tentacles 2d1 [[intelligence]] drain, Tentacles 2d1 [[intelligence]] drain
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|resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
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|resistances=psychic
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|attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|see_invis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1|mh_illithid=1}}
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|size=Medium
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|nutr=400
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|weight=1450
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|reference=[https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack/blob/master/src/monst.c#L625 EvilHack - monst.c, line 625]
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}}
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|-|
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xNetHack|{{monster
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|name=mind flayer
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|symbol={{magenta|U}}
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|difficulty=13
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|attacks=Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]], Tentacle 2d1 [[int drain]]
 +
|level=9
 +
|experience=263
 +
|speed=12
 +
|AC=5
 +
|MR=90
 +
|align=&minus;8
 +
|frequency=1
 +
|genocidable=Yes
 +
|weight=1450
 +
|nutr=400
 +
|size=Medium
 +
|resistances=none
 +
|resistances conveyed=[[Telepathy]] (50%), +1 [[Intelligence]] (50%)
 +
|attributes={{attributes|A mind flayer|humanoid=1|fly=1|seeinvis=1|omnivore=1|hostile=1|nasty=1|greedy=1|jewels=1|collect=1|infravisible=1|infravision=1}}
 +
|reference=[https://github.com/copperwater/xNetHack/blob/xnh7.0/include/monsters.h#L1961 xNetHack 7.0 include/monsters.h, line 1961]}}
 +
</simpletabs>
  
 
==Encyclopedia entry==
 
==Encyclopedia entry==
 
{{encyclopedia|
 
{{encyclopedia|
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This creature has a humanoid body, tentacles around its
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This creature has a humanoid body, tentacles around its covered mouth, and three long fingers on each hand.  Mind flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings, especially humans.  If they hit their victim with a tentacle, the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence, eventually killing its victim.
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covered mouth, and three long fingers on each hand.  Mind
 
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flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings,
 
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especially humans.  If they hit their victim with a tentacle,
 
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the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence,
 
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eventually killing its victim.
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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<references />
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<references/>
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{{nethack-367|offset=1}}
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{{nethack-366|offset=2}}
 
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{{slashem-7E7|offset=1}}
 
 
{{featured}}
 
{{featured}}
 
[[Category:Monsters]]
 
[[Category:Monsters]]

Latest revision as of 15:39, 10 March 2024

h mind flayer Mind flayer.png
Difficulty 13
Attacks

Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain

Base level 9
Base experience 263
Speed 12
Base AC 5
Base MR 90
Alignment −8 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size Medium
Resistances none
Resistances conveyed

Telepathy (50%), +1 Intelligence (50%)

A mind flayer:

Reference monst.c#line449

A mind flayer, h, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. Mind flayers are omnivorous humanoids with octopus-like tentacled heads, and possess flight, telepathy, see invisible, and infravision. They will also collect gold, gems and any other items they come across. They share a glyph with the dwarf king.

A mind flayer has a weapon attack and three tentacle attacks that can eat its victim's brains - they are also capable of emitting mind blasts that can lock on to you or other monsters on the same level as them: if a monster is either close enough to them or else possesses telepathy, they take d15 damage, which is affected by the half spell damage property. A tame or peaceful mind flayer will not deal damage to you this way unless they are under conflict.

A character that has their brain eaten by a mind flayer's tentacle attack loses intelligence, has their wisdom abused and can also be subjected to amnesia - losing enough intelligence this way causes an irreversibly fatal instadeath by brainlessness, and cannot be averted with life saving or being polymorphed; if you are in explore mode or wizard mode and choose not to die at the prompt that comes up, your intelligence is boosted to 5.[1] Non-mindless monsters that are hit by a brain-sucking tentacle attack take an additional d10 of damage per attack to simulate brain loss.[2]

Eating a mind flayer corpse or tin can either grant telepathy or raise intelligence by 1 point, with an equal probability of each.[3]

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Mind flayer tentacle attacks no longer cause amnesia, and their glyph color is changed to bright magenta.

Generation

Randomly-generated mind flayers are always generated hostile. A mind flayer can grow up into a master mind flayer.

In addition to random generation, mind flayers are notorious for potentially generating within the Gnomish Mines outside of Minetown and Mines' End at level creation. These "minesflayers" are the result of the Mines levels using mkclass to specify that a random humanoid monster should be generated at normal level creation - while this is almost always a dwarf, hobbit or bugbear, mkclass can completely ignore the difficulty of the monster it produces and create a mind flayer (or master mind flayer).

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

If a genocided monster with a pre-grown form (that is not explicitly a baby form) is chosen for the summon nasties monster spell, and that pre-grown form is not also genocided, it will appear in place of the genocided monster. This means that mind flayers can be generated via the spell in place of genocided master mind flayers.


Strategy

Though they are the weaker of the two flayers, with 5 base AC and fewer tentacle attacks, mind flayers are still a major threat throughout most of the game due to their intelligence-draining attack, both for the loss of level maps and item identities and the outright instadeath they can cause. This makes mind flayers and their 'master' kin common targets for genocide, as well as stellar pets for those who can procure a tame flayer.

Detection

If you start sensing waves of psychic energy, that is your cue to farlook and check any h you encounter—a somewhat common YASD is to mistake the mind flayer for an easier-to-kill dwarf king, then march in and promptly have your character's brain eaten. If you have telepathy, blinding yourself temporarily (e.g., via blindfold or towel) can be used to quickly confirm if a flayer is present on a level; dwarves also do not generate randomly inside Gehennom, making detection there more trivial.

Mind flayers have an impressive MR score of 90, and will often resist many forms of magic available to a character; scaring them through other means is a similarly difficult task. Polymorphing, e.g. via polymorph trap, can also produce hostile mind flayers much earlier than they can generate normally.

Combat

When fighting mind flayers, avoid melee-range combat if at all possible, especially if you are encumbered and/or have low intelligence - projectiles such as daggers or arrows are among your best resources to consistently deal damage, and in a pinch they may even be worth a charge from a wand of death. Alternately, if your ranged attack options are limited and melee is your only out, consider stoning them or taking other measures to prevent or minimize stat loss (discussed in more detail below).

Mind flayers respect Elbereth, though this will not work in Gehennom, and can also be deterred by standing on a scroll of scare monster. While not as secure as Elbereth due to their 90 MR score, an expensive camera or tooled horn can still frighten off mind flayers. Beware that a fleeing mind flayer may still attack you, although it is much less likely to - additionally, a blinded one will not respect Elbereth. Scaring a mind flayer also does not prevent them from mind blasting you. Cancellation will not affect the mind flayer's brain-sucking attacks even if successful.

Preventing intelligence drain

Wearing any greased helm prevents the mind flayer's tentacles from reaching your brain, but the grease has a 1⁄2 chance of wearing off with each attack; a non-greased helm has a 7⁄8 chance of preventing each of the mind flayer's tentacle attacks. Mind flayers get multiple attacks per turn, so you should not rely solely on a greased helm, especially if you are unable to kill them quickly. Alternate possibilities include wearing a dunce cap or ring of sustain ability: both items will fix your intelligence stat (either at 6 or its current value) and prevent stat loss, and the dunce cap has a chance of blocking the tentacles as with other helms. A blessed unicorn horn or potion of restore ability can also reverse the stat loss fairly quickly.

Polymorphing into a headless monster will protect you from the intelligence drain attacks, which can mitigate the worst of their threat[4][5] - polymorphing into a normally mindless form will not protect you, since as a comment in the relevant code says, players aren't mindless.[6][7]

Remember that none of these methods will prevent amnesia from a successful brain-sucking, and you are likely to be very forgetful after a fight with a mind flayer —have a means of re-identifying items on hand if possible. As a precaution, you can #name and label one of a particular type of item(s) that you consider vital and/or does not auto-identify itself.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

In addition to mind flayer attacks no longer causing amnesia, unicorn horns will no longer restore lowered stats.

Genocide

While the amnesia and instadeath from brain-eating are enough to make both forms of mind flayer a popular target for genocide, do not attempt blessed genocide of mind flayers if you are a dwarf! Using a blessed scroll of genocide will remove all h from the current game including dwarves, serving as a particularly aggravating form of YASD for dwarvish characters. Also, be sure to mind your spelling, especially if you are a Monk—misspelling it as "master mindfalyer" will only parse the word "Master", one of the Monk's rank titles, and wipe out you and all other monks.

You should already try to identify the beatitude of possible scrolls of genocide before reading them if at all possible, and this is especially true if you plan to eliminate mind flayers with one—in addition to the above, that randomly read scroll you just found may be cursed, and the summoned horde of mind flayers will often result in a quick death; even if you can scare them away, their psychic blasts may still overwhelm you. One or two "normal" genocides, either from the uncursed scroll or a throne, should be used instead; the master mind flayer should ideally be targeted first, as regular mind flayers cannot be generated via summon nasties unless they randomly replace an extinct/genocided nasty.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

If master mind flayers are genocided, mind flayers can appear in their place if the summon nasties monster spell is cast.

As pets

While highly desirable as pets, taming a mind flayer is extremely hard and dangerous due to their monster magic resistance; you may be much better off using a polymorph trap on your current pet.

Tame mind flayers can make quick work of shopkeepers and various tough monsters, and their telepathic outreach will only lock onto and damage hostile monsters - the harmless message it otherwise produces can be hidden with MSGTYPE. However, there are a few monsters that in turn pose a serious threat should a mind flayer attempt to eat their brain:

  • Cockatrices, chickatrices and Medusa will turn a mind flayer to stone if a tentacle attack lands.
  • Jellies have passive attacks that can easily rack up enough damage to kill an unlucky mind flayer attacking one.
  • Shapeshifters and green slimes are similarly dangerous: the former may go down quickly, but will polymorph a mind flayer that eats its corpse, while the latter is extremely likely to turn it into another slime.
  • The Riders will instantly kill a mind flayer if one manages to eat their's brain, though the Rider in question still takes the extra "brain loss" damage.[8]

Ochre jellies are a common sight in the late game, especially as a summonable nasty—consider giving your mind flayer any yellow dragon scales (or dragon scale mail) that you happen upon to provide them with valuable acid resistance.

Mind flayers also have a tendency to attract covetous monsters with their psychic blasts: if approaching the goal level of your Quest, the Wizard of Yendor's Tower or one of the many demon lairs of Gehennom, you may want to leave them on another floor temporarily. Alternately, if you intend to draw covetous foes to the stairs this way, be prepared accordingly; in particular, a mind flayer pet or polyform can be used by Rogues on their quest to awaken the Master Assassin, who will then warp to you from his otherwise inaccessible dwelling.

Also, remember that only tame and peaceful mind flayers will generate soothing psychic waves—if you see different messages related to psychic waves, are taking damage from them, and you are not generating conflict, then a hostile mind flayer may be on the level. Be especially careful if your tame mind flayer becomes confused—they will turn those psychic waves on you! This also makes conflict similarly perilous - always equip intelligent humanoid pets with a unicorn horn whenever possible. Additionally, a mind flayer's high monster magic resistance ensures that once they reaches level 15, they will become immune to conflict, and thus no threat to you or your brain matter while you are using conflict.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

As of commit 2f255560:

The chance of resisting conflict now depends on the player's charisma, the monster's level, and the player's level. Conflict is resisted if rnd(20) > min(19, (ACURR(A_CHA) - mtmp->m_lev + u.ulevel)) - thus, there is always at least a 5% chance of resisting it. Conflict also now requires that the monster see the player, not that the monster be in the player's line of sight. These changes are imported from SporkHack.

Additionally, as of commit 0891ef4e, monsters wearing alchemy smocks now gain acid resistance instead of just poison resistance, allowing for more flexibility in kitting out a tame mind flayer. Mind flayers can also gain intrinsics from eating corpses as well, allowing them to gain cold resistance for dealing with blue jellies.

As of commit 2cad4ece, each individual covetous monster will pick either the upstairs or downstairs to warp to.

As a polymorph form

A mind flayer is a solid monster form for polyself: on top of flight, multiple attacks per turn, 5 base AC and the ability to wear all armor, their brain-eating attack is deadly to nearly anything with a mind.

When eating a monster's brain, you gain d30 nutrition per successful tentacle attack and exercise wisdom, without risk of choking; if your intelligence is below its current maximum (e.g., after your own brain was sucked), it will be increased by d4.[9] The intelligence increase is subject to the normal polymorphed attributes rules, and will be reset when you revert to your normal form.

Naturally, players in mind flayer form face the same dangers as pet mind flayers, including potential death from triggering too many passive attacks. Furthermore, brainsucking a green slime causes delayed sliming, and eating a cockatrice's brain causes both immediate stoning and delayed stoning if the immediate stoning was stopped by an amulet of life saving. Sucking the brains of your race or other mind flayers will count as cannibalism as well, though this does not trigger a penalty for each individual brain-sucking attack[10] - for Monks and vegan or vegetarians players, eating brains will also break those conducts. While you cannot choke directly from eating brains, you can become satiated—you will not receive a warning when oversatiated, and thus run a significant risk of choking from eating anything afterward, which is an instadeath even while polymorphed.

History

The mind flayer first appears in NetHack 3.1.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on them, the game does not recognize the alternate spelling "mindflayer" when selecting a monster for genocide.

Origin

Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:

Mind flayers are derived from Dungeons & Dragons, where they appear in all editions, and are also known as illithids; the illithid is considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast, and as such is not released under its Open Game License. Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax stated that one of his inspirations was the cover painting of the Titus Crow book The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley. The first mention of illithids is found in the first issue of TSR Games' official newsletter The Strategic Review; they were included in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement for the original white box edition of the 1976 Dungeons & Dragons game, where they were depicted as Lawful Evil; they also appear in the first edition's Monster Manual; and the 3rd and 3.5 editions introduce playable illithids.

The illithid is "a super-intelligent, man-shaped creature with four tentacles by its mouth which it uses to strike its prey"; a tentacle that hits penetrates to the brain and draws it forth, allowing the monster to devour it. Its major weapon is the 'mind blast', a short-range wave of "PSI force" which affects each opponent differently based on how intelligent it is, and can induce many ailments from confusion and insanity, up to coma and even death. In-universe, the origins of the illithids are subject to many conflicting stories.

Illithid society is structured around a creature called an "Elder Brain", which lives in a pool of cerebral fluid in the center of a city. Dead illithids have their brain extracted and taken to this pool to have its contents absorbed, which illithids believe a form of immortality; this Brain also functions as a vast library of knowledge that an illithid can call upon with a simple telepathic call. Psionic potential is thus an integral part of the illithid identity, and they typically communicate by projecting thoughts and feelings to each other.

While illithids do have a patron deity known as Ilsensine, few of them actively worship her - both because they believe themselves the most powerful creatures in the universe, and because Ilsensine is more of an "abstract" deity that represents universal knowledge and one’s mastery of their own mind, a state that all illithids seek. Outcast illithids that turn to wizardry are often known to become alhoons.

Messages

<The mind flayer>'s tentacles suck you!
A mind flayer has hit you with its brain-sucking attack.
Your brain is eaten!
You lost intelligence and/or memory of items and floors to the brain-sucking attack.
Your <helm> blocks the attack to your head.
Your worn helmet successfully protected you from its tentacle attack.
You don't seem harmed.
You were protected you from the tentacle attack due to being in the form of a headless monster.
Your last thought fades away.
You died of brainlessness.
<Foo>'s brain is eaten!
A monster was hit by a mind flayer attack, and takes an extra d10 damage.
<Foo> doesn't notice.
As above, but the 'victim' was mindless and takes no extra damage.
<Foo>'s last thought fades away...
A monster was killed by the brain-sucking attack.
Ingesting that is fatal.
You ate the brain of a Rider while in mind flayer form, dying instantly and abusing wisdom if you are revived by an amulet of life saving.[11]
You have a sad thought for a moment, then it passes.
A tame mind flayer was turned to stone from an attempt to eat a monster's brain.

Variants and patches

In the Heck² patch, one of the possible special levels in the "heck-a" list is filled with mind flayers.

In the Lethe patch, the Wizard's Manse map for the fifth floor of the Lethe Gorge has a throne room with three thrones, two of which are occupied by sleeping mind flayers - one mind flayer generates with a wand of lightning and the other generates with a wand of sleep.

SLASH'EM

Mind flayers and their master kin are somewhat different in SLASH'EM - in an unusual reverse of their attack dice from vanilla NetHack, the master mind flayer has three brain-eating attacks, while the normal mind flayer has five. All the more importantly, the ring of free action provides Luck-based protection against their brain-eating attacks, starting at a 1⁄2 chance of blocking each individual flay and increasing to a 9⁄10 chance at maxed-out Luck.[12] This, in combination with a greased helm, can render them somewhat less of a threat.

While genociding mind flayers is still generally a worthwhile idea, there are more sources of amnesia present such as the potion of amnesia and the migo queen's attacks, so this is not a preventative method against amnesia specifically.

Both mind flayer polyforms are incapable of wearing helmets due to their tentacle placement, but can still wear all other armor. In addition, SLASH'EM makes it so that any additional bite or tentacle attacks that would automatically process and result in death (e.g. by attacking a cockatrice) are simply not used; this does not apply to the weapon attack, so as always be mindful of fighting bare-handed.

In the Lawful Quest, the locked chamber in the middle of the Cloud Bank has a chance of housing mind flayers known as the "Spice Girls": one named Ginger is guaranteed to appear, while two others named Victoria and Emma each have a 4⁄5 chance of generating. They may be accompanied by two master mind flayers named Mel B. and Mel C., who each have a 3⁄5 chance of being generated. Ginger is generated on top of a fountain and a chest that has a wand of cold with 16 charges; the chest also has a 7⁄10 chance of containing an amulet of flying, and a 4⁄5 chance of containing a wand of digging, making it a possible boon for sufficiently tough players. If either type of mind flayer is genocided, they will be replaced by random monsters with the same names.

SLASH'EM recognizes the "mindflayer" spelling, so it is okay to genocide "master mindflayer", but a typo like "master mindfalyer" will still wipe out all Monks (including you if you are one).

dNetHack

In dNetHack, mind flayers and their master kin are considered primordials. dNetHack also adds parasitic mind flayers and parasitic master mind flayers as well as alhoons, mind flayers that have turned to lichdom.

The Drow Noble Quest involves infiltrating a colony of mind flayers and retrieving the quest artifact, the Web of the Chosen: there are 16 mind flayers scattered about the goal level at level creation, generally situated around the elder brain guarding the Bell of Opening. The quest artifact's actual owner, A'gone, is locked up in a cell on the edge of the level, with her mind completely gone due to the mind flayers.

Anachrononaut quest

The Anachrononaut quest features mind flayers as somewhat major antagonists: in the "age before ages", they discovered and woshipped an eldritch "nascent thought" known as Ilsensine, and in bringing knowledge of it back to the past set off a chain of events that caused the end of the world. While the mind flayer empires were overthrown and brought low, the gods of Law discovered Ilsensine and were consumed, followed by the other gods of the heavens (hence why Anachrononauts do not worship any and cannot make use of altars). In order to change the future and gain a full-scoring ascension, you must gain access to your Quest from your quest leader before she dies, retrieve the Annulus and obtain the Amulet of Yendor, then reach the lawful high altar on the Astral Plane and invoke the Annulus to purge Ilsensine's influence once and for all before ascending as normal.

Mind flayers are one of the many quest monsters: 1⁄7 of the randomly generated monsters are mind flayer-related - of those, 1⁄8 are mind flayers, 1⁄8 are master mind flayers, and the remaining monsters are either umber hulks or brain golems. Mind flayers are among the various H.P. Lovecraft-inspired r'lyehians that can appear as well, with a 1⁄7 chance of a r'lyehian generating: mind flayers make up 1⁄16 of randomly-generated r'lyehians. Many mind flayers are also generated scattered around the lower filler level(s) of the Quest at level creation. Genocide does not apply to monsters generated in the Quest branch, meaning that Anachrononauts cannot preemptively remove mind flayers to make their quest easier.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, mind flayers are moved to the aberration monster class represented by {{white|U} - this is done to avert a potential YASD for dwarvish characters using blessed scrolls of genocide, and also solves the problem of minesflayers.

notdNetHack

In notdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, the Illithanachronounbinder is a role that is flavored as being a mind flayer of whatever starting race you select, possessing both the traits of that race and those of mind flayers - the role's rank title for experience levels 14-17 is "Mind Flayer".

notdNetHack also adds villithids, vampiric mind flayers that are primarily seen on the Illithanachronounbinder quest.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, mind flayers use h in order to differentiate them more easily for dwarven royals. EvilHack also adds alhoons (which are implemented differently from dNetHack) as well as mind flayer larva, which only generate within mind flayer nurseries. Mind flayer larva live in shallow pools and can only reach adulthood by attaching themselves to a victim's face; if a player is attacked this way, they have only one turn to kill or remove the larva before it burrows itself into the player's brain, killing them instantly and turning them into a mind flayer that can be found in any resulting bones.

Mind flayers are also present as a race of monster within the dungeon, referred to as illithids, and can appear as any of the various racial monsters present within, e.g. shopkeepers and player monsters - they are also a playable race. All forms of illithid have psychic resistance that renders them immune to brain-eating attacks, including those from other mind flayers.

Monster stats by variant

h mind flayer Mind flayer.png
Difficulty 13
Attacks

Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain

Base level 9
Base experience 263
Speed 12
Base AC 5
Base MR 90
Alignment −8 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size Medium
Resistances none
Resistances conveyed

Telepathy (50%), +1 Intelligence (50%)

A mind flayer:

Reference SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line816
h mind flayer Mind flayer.png
Difficulty 11
Attacks

Weapon 1d4 physical, Tentacle 1d4 int drain

Base level 9
Base experience 293
Speed 12
Base AC 5
Base MR 90
Alignment 0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size medium
Resistances poison
Resistances conveyed

poison

A mind flayer:

Reference dNetHack src/monst.c, line 881
h mind flayer Mind flayer.png
Difficulty 13
Attacks

Weapon 1d4, Tentacles 2d1 intelligence drain, Tentacles 2d1 intelligence drain, Tentacles 2d1 intelligence drain

Base level 9
Base experience 236
Speed 12
Base AC 5
Base MR 90
Alignment -8 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size Medium
Resistances psychic
Resistances conveyed

Telepathy (50%), +1 Intelligence (50%)

A mind flayer:

Reference EvilHack - monst.c, line 625
U mind flayer Mind flayer.png
Difficulty 13
Attacks

Weapon 1d4, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain, Tentacle 2d1 int drain

Base level 9
Base experience 263
Speed 12
Base AC 5
Base MR 90
Alignment −8 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means) 1 (Very rare)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 1450
Nutritional value 400
Size Medium
Resistances none
Resistances conveyed

Telepathy (50%), +1 Intelligence (50%)

A mind flayer:

Reference xNetHack 7.0 include/monsters.h, line 1961

Encyclopedia entry

This creature has a humanoid body, tentacles around its covered mouth, and three long fingers on each hand. Mind flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings, especially humans. If they hit their victim with a tentacle, the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence, eventually killing its victim.

References

  1. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 602
  2. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 499
  3. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1084
  4. ↑ src/mhitu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1145
  5. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 505
  6. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 581
  7. ↑ src/mhitu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1165: Players aren't mindless
  8. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 621
  9. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 562
  10. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 649
  11. ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 554
  12. ↑ mhitu.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 954
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