Is this homebrew Mind Flayer race balanced?











up vote
18
down vote

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I have found a homebrew Mind Flayer race* and am wondering if it is reasonably well balanced against other races.



I have removed the fluff like age etc and just left the important parts.



My personal conclusion is that it possibly on the strong side, but still remaining within the bounds of power.




Ability Score Increase.



Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score
increases by 1.



Size.



Most illithids are taller than humans, but their bodies are slender,
weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size
is Medium.



Speed.



Your base walking speed is 30 feet.



Darkvision.



You have darkvision up to a range of 60 ft.



Magic Resistance.



You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
effects.



Mind Blast.



You may use your action to attack anything in front of you with a mind
blast. When you use your mind blast, each creature in a 15 ft. cone
must make an Intelligence saving throw equal to 8 + your Intelligence
modifier + your proficiency bonus.



A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful save. This damage increases to 3d6 at 6th
level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your
mind blast, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long
rest.



Devour Brain.



If you consume the brain of a recently deceased creature, you briefly
interface with its mind. By doing so, you learn at least one piece of
useful information the creature knew.



Telepathy.



You can speak telepathically to any creature within 120 feet of you. A
creature understands you only if the two of you share a language.



Languages.



You can speak, read, and write, Common and Undercommon, and can read
and write Qualith.




*I can't remember where I found this, so apologies to the creator to whom I can't credit.










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  • 2




    Could this be the source?
    – Rubiksmoose
    yesterday















up vote
18
down vote

favorite
1












I have found a homebrew Mind Flayer race* and am wondering if it is reasonably well balanced against other races.



I have removed the fluff like age etc and just left the important parts.



My personal conclusion is that it possibly on the strong side, but still remaining within the bounds of power.




Ability Score Increase.



Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score
increases by 1.



Size.



Most illithids are taller than humans, but their bodies are slender,
weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size
is Medium.



Speed.



Your base walking speed is 30 feet.



Darkvision.



You have darkvision up to a range of 60 ft.



Magic Resistance.



You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
effects.



Mind Blast.



You may use your action to attack anything in front of you with a mind
blast. When you use your mind blast, each creature in a 15 ft. cone
must make an Intelligence saving throw equal to 8 + your Intelligence
modifier + your proficiency bonus.



A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful save. This damage increases to 3d6 at 6th
level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your
mind blast, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long
rest.



Devour Brain.



If you consume the brain of a recently deceased creature, you briefly
interface with its mind. By doing so, you learn at least one piece of
useful information the creature knew.



Telepathy.



You can speak telepathically to any creature within 120 feet of you. A
creature understands you only if the two of you share a language.



Languages.



You can speak, read, and write, Common and Undercommon, and can read
and write Qualith.




*I can't remember where I found this, so apologies to the creator to whom I can't credit.










share|improve this question




















  • 2




    Could this be the source?
    – Rubiksmoose
    yesterday













up vote
18
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
18
down vote

favorite
1






1





I have found a homebrew Mind Flayer race* and am wondering if it is reasonably well balanced against other races.



I have removed the fluff like age etc and just left the important parts.



My personal conclusion is that it possibly on the strong side, but still remaining within the bounds of power.




Ability Score Increase.



Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score
increases by 1.



Size.



Most illithids are taller than humans, but their bodies are slender,
weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size
is Medium.



Speed.



Your base walking speed is 30 feet.



Darkvision.



You have darkvision up to a range of 60 ft.



Magic Resistance.



You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
effects.



Mind Blast.



You may use your action to attack anything in front of you with a mind
blast. When you use your mind blast, each creature in a 15 ft. cone
must make an Intelligence saving throw equal to 8 + your Intelligence
modifier + your proficiency bonus.



A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful save. This damage increases to 3d6 at 6th
level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your
mind blast, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long
rest.



Devour Brain.



If you consume the brain of a recently deceased creature, you briefly
interface with its mind. By doing so, you learn at least one piece of
useful information the creature knew.



Telepathy.



You can speak telepathically to any creature within 120 feet of you. A
creature understands you only if the two of you share a language.



Languages.



You can speak, read, and write, Common and Undercommon, and can read
and write Qualith.




*I can't remember where I found this, so apologies to the creator to whom I can't credit.










share|improve this question















I have found a homebrew Mind Flayer race* and am wondering if it is reasonably well balanced against other races.



I have removed the fluff like age etc and just left the important parts.



My personal conclusion is that it possibly on the strong side, but still remaining within the bounds of power.




Ability Score Increase.



Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Charisma score
increases by 1.



Size.



Most illithids are taller than humans, but their bodies are slender,
weighing much less than an average being of their stature. Your size
is Medium.



Speed.



Your base walking speed is 30 feet.



Darkvision.



You have darkvision up to a range of 60 ft.



Magic Resistance.



You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
effects.



Mind Blast.



You may use your action to attack anything in front of you with a mind
blast. When you use your mind blast, each creature in a 15 ft. cone
must make an Intelligence saving throw equal to 8 + your Intelligence
modifier + your proficiency bonus.



A creature takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful save. This damage increases to 3d6 at 6th
level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your
mind blast, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long
rest.



Devour Brain.



If you consume the brain of a recently deceased creature, you briefly
interface with its mind. By doing so, you learn at least one piece of
useful information the creature knew.



Telepathy.



You can speak telepathically to any creature within 120 feet of you. A
creature understands you only if the two of you share a language.



Languages.



You can speak, read, and write, Common and Undercommon, and can read
and write Qualith.




*I can't remember where I found this, so apologies to the creator to whom I can't credit.







dnd-5e homebrew racial-traits






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edited yesterday









Slagmoth

16.6k14691




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asked yesterday









SeriousBri

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  • 2




    Could this be the source?
    – Rubiksmoose
    yesterday














  • 2




    Could this be the source?
    – Rubiksmoose
    yesterday








2




2




Could this be the source?
– Rubiksmoose
yesterday




Could this be the source?
– Rubiksmoose
yesterday










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
27
down vote













So, taking these one at a time...



ASI, Speed, Size, and Darkvision



Normal, moving on



Magic Resistance



Equivalent to the Magic Resistance trait of the Yuan-ti from Volo's Guide. Even on the Yuan-ti, this trait is considered overpowered.



Mind Blast



At its base, this is a reworded carbon copy of the dragonborn's Breath Weapon. However, it targets an Int Save and deals Psychic damage. Int Saves are relatively rare, and a lot more creatures have a low Int score than have a low Dex/Con score. Additionally, elemental resistance/immunity is more common than psychic.



Devour Brain



Hard to quantify. Depends on the sort of campaign you are running. But it's probably fine



Telepathy



Longer range than what a Kalashtar has, but is limited by a shared language and doesn't allow return communication. This is probably fine



Languages



Again, normal. Though as a minor nitpick, I'd note that Mind Flayers generally do not speak Common.



Summary



Magic Resistance is significantly stronger than any other race's ability to resist harm. For that alone, I would hesitate to allow this at my table. Pair this together with the built-in AoE that is a bit better than the dragonborn's, and I'd rate this race as notably more potent than average. Probably not gamebreakingly powerful unless you were in a game with a TON of magic-using foes...but certainly more powerful than standard races.






share|improve this answer



















  • 5




    I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
    – Pyrotechnical
    yesterday






  • 4




    Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
    – Theik
    yesterday






  • 8




    I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
    – Dinomaster
    yesterday










  • Thanks for the input, updates applied.
    – guildsbounty
    yesterday






  • 9




    Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
    – GreySage
    yesterday











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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes








up vote
27
down vote













So, taking these one at a time...



ASI, Speed, Size, and Darkvision



Normal, moving on



Magic Resistance



Equivalent to the Magic Resistance trait of the Yuan-ti from Volo's Guide. Even on the Yuan-ti, this trait is considered overpowered.



Mind Blast



At its base, this is a reworded carbon copy of the dragonborn's Breath Weapon. However, it targets an Int Save and deals Psychic damage. Int Saves are relatively rare, and a lot more creatures have a low Int score than have a low Dex/Con score. Additionally, elemental resistance/immunity is more common than psychic.



Devour Brain



Hard to quantify. Depends on the sort of campaign you are running. But it's probably fine



Telepathy



Longer range than what a Kalashtar has, but is limited by a shared language and doesn't allow return communication. This is probably fine



Languages



Again, normal. Though as a minor nitpick, I'd note that Mind Flayers generally do not speak Common.



Summary



Magic Resistance is significantly stronger than any other race's ability to resist harm. For that alone, I would hesitate to allow this at my table. Pair this together with the built-in AoE that is a bit better than the dragonborn's, and I'd rate this race as notably more potent than average. Probably not gamebreakingly powerful unless you were in a game with a TON of magic-using foes...but certainly more powerful than standard races.






share|improve this answer



















  • 5




    I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
    – Pyrotechnical
    yesterday






  • 4




    Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
    – Theik
    yesterday






  • 8




    I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
    – Dinomaster
    yesterday










  • Thanks for the input, updates applied.
    – guildsbounty
    yesterday






  • 9




    Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
    – GreySage
    yesterday















up vote
27
down vote













So, taking these one at a time...



ASI, Speed, Size, and Darkvision



Normal, moving on



Magic Resistance



Equivalent to the Magic Resistance trait of the Yuan-ti from Volo's Guide. Even on the Yuan-ti, this trait is considered overpowered.



Mind Blast



At its base, this is a reworded carbon copy of the dragonborn's Breath Weapon. However, it targets an Int Save and deals Psychic damage. Int Saves are relatively rare, and a lot more creatures have a low Int score than have a low Dex/Con score. Additionally, elemental resistance/immunity is more common than psychic.



Devour Brain



Hard to quantify. Depends on the sort of campaign you are running. But it's probably fine



Telepathy



Longer range than what a Kalashtar has, but is limited by a shared language and doesn't allow return communication. This is probably fine



Languages



Again, normal. Though as a minor nitpick, I'd note that Mind Flayers generally do not speak Common.



Summary



Magic Resistance is significantly stronger than any other race's ability to resist harm. For that alone, I would hesitate to allow this at my table. Pair this together with the built-in AoE that is a bit better than the dragonborn's, and I'd rate this race as notably more potent than average. Probably not gamebreakingly powerful unless you were in a game with a TON of magic-using foes...but certainly more powerful than standard races.






share|improve this answer



















  • 5




    I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
    – Pyrotechnical
    yesterday






  • 4




    Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
    – Theik
    yesterday






  • 8




    I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
    – Dinomaster
    yesterday










  • Thanks for the input, updates applied.
    – guildsbounty
    yesterday






  • 9




    Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
    – GreySage
    yesterday













up vote
27
down vote










up vote
27
down vote









So, taking these one at a time...



ASI, Speed, Size, and Darkvision



Normal, moving on



Magic Resistance



Equivalent to the Magic Resistance trait of the Yuan-ti from Volo's Guide. Even on the Yuan-ti, this trait is considered overpowered.



Mind Blast



At its base, this is a reworded carbon copy of the dragonborn's Breath Weapon. However, it targets an Int Save and deals Psychic damage. Int Saves are relatively rare, and a lot more creatures have a low Int score than have a low Dex/Con score. Additionally, elemental resistance/immunity is more common than psychic.



Devour Brain



Hard to quantify. Depends on the sort of campaign you are running. But it's probably fine



Telepathy



Longer range than what a Kalashtar has, but is limited by a shared language and doesn't allow return communication. This is probably fine



Languages



Again, normal. Though as a minor nitpick, I'd note that Mind Flayers generally do not speak Common.



Summary



Magic Resistance is significantly stronger than any other race's ability to resist harm. For that alone, I would hesitate to allow this at my table. Pair this together with the built-in AoE that is a bit better than the dragonborn's, and I'd rate this race as notably more potent than average. Probably not gamebreakingly powerful unless you were in a game with a TON of magic-using foes...but certainly more powerful than standard races.






share|improve this answer














So, taking these one at a time...



ASI, Speed, Size, and Darkvision



Normal, moving on



Magic Resistance



Equivalent to the Magic Resistance trait of the Yuan-ti from Volo's Guide. Even on the Yuan-ti, this trait is considered overpowered.



Mind Blast



At its base, this is a reworded carbon copy of the dragonborn's Breath Weapon. However, it targets an Int Save and deals Psychic damage. Int Saves are relatively rare, and a lot more creatures have a low Int score than have a low Dex/Con score. Additionally, elemental resistance/immunity is more common than psychic.



Devour Brain



Hard to quantify. Depends on the sort of campaign you are running. But it's probably fine



Telepathy



Longer range than what a Kalashtar has, but is limited by a shared language and doesn't allow return communication. This is probably fine



Languages



Again, normal. Though as a minor nitpick, I'd note that Mind Flayers generally do not speak Common.



Summary



Magic Resistance is significantly stronger than any other race's ability to resist harm. For that alone, I would hesitate to allow this at my table. Pair this together with the built-in AoE that is a bit better than the dragonborn's, and I'd rate this race as notably more potent than average. Probably not gamebreakingly powerful unless you were in a game with a TON of magic-using foes...but certainly more powerful than standard races.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday









David Coffron

31.5k2108218




31.5k2108218










answered yesterday









guildsbounty

32.4k5135162




32.4k5135162








  • 5




    I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
    – Pyrotechnical
    yesterday






  • 4




    Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
    – Theik
    yesterday






  • 8




    I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
    – Dinomaster
    yesterday










  • Thanks for the input, updates applied.
    – guildsbounty
    yesterday






  • 9




    Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
    – GreySage
    yesterday














  • 5




    I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
    – Pyrotechnical
    yesterday






  • 4




    Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
    – Theik
    yesterday






  • 8




    I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
    – Dinomaster
    yesterday










  • Thanks for the input, updates applied.
    – guildsbounty
    yesterday






  • 9




    Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
    – GreySage
    yesterday








5




5




I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
– Pyrotechnical
yesterday




I'm not sure you can say that Mind Blast is a carbon copy of dragonborn's breath weapon. The save is Int, which is an uncommon save; furthermore, increasing the DC is based upon Int, which means that this save could get much higher than average for certain characters.
– Pyrotechnical
yesterday




4




4




Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
– Theik
yesterday




Magic Resistance is the same as the Yuan-Ti from Volo's, which is considered too strong by most people.
– Theik
yesterday




8




8




I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
– Dinomaster
yesterday




I would argue that Mind Blast is actually slightly more powerfull then The breath weapon of dragonborn's as it requires a Int save which is lower then des/con in a lot of monsters especially minions/enemies that want to come close enough to be caught in a cone.
– Dinomaster
yesterday












Thanks for the input, updates applied.
– guildsbounty
yesterday




Thanks for the input, updates applied.
– guildsbounty
yesterday




9




9




Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
– GreySage
yesterday




Note that while Elemental resistance is more common than Psychic resistance, Psychic immunity is very common. Constructs, most undead, and many extra-planar beings ignore Psychic attacks entirely.
– GreySage
yesterday


















 

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