Intellect devourer

Last updated
Intellect devourer
First appearance Eldritch Wizardry (1976)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the intellect devourer is a type of fictional monster.

Contents

Publication history

The intellect devourer first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons game supplement Eldritch Wizardry (1976). [1]

The intellect devourer appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977). [2] The ustilagor first appeared in Dragon #69 (January 1983), and then reprinted in the original Monster Manual II (1983).

The intellect devourer and the intellect devourer larva (ustilagor) appeared in second edition in The Complete Psionics Handbook (1991), [3] and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). [4]

The intellect devourer appeared in third edition in the Psionics Handbook , and its 3.5 revision the Expanded Psionics Handbook (2004). [5] The battle intellect devourer appeared in Dragon #303 (January 2003). The ustilagor appeared in Dragon #337 (November 2005).

The intellect devourer and ustilagor appeared in the fourth edition in Monster Manual 3 (2010). [6]

Intellect devourers also appear in the fifth edition Monster Manual as well.[ citation needed ]

Description

Intellect devourers are described as chaotic and evil monsters, malevolent towards sentient life. [7] They are said to dwell deep beneath the ground, and subsist on the psychic energy of their prey. They are generally described as servants of the mind flayers. [7] Their alignment is lawful evil in 5th Edition.[ citation needed ]

Other media

Intellect devourers appear in the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves . [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Reception

SyFy Wire in 2018 called it one of "The 9 Scariest, Most Unforgettable Monsters From Dungeons & Dragons", saying that "The idea of having your brain consumed and just becoming an evil puppet is truly terrible." [18]

Rob Bricken for Gizmodo commented that "If you read the description, they're quite deadly, but what I love is that they're just giant brains on legs, which is to say they look like what they eat. Imagine if humans looked like full roast chickens on legs. It's fun!" [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drow</span> Dungeons & Dragons fictional creature

The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil spider goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illithid</span> Fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark. Illithids believe themselves to be the dominant species of the multiverse and use other intelligent creatures as thralls, slaves, and chattel. Illithids are well known for making thralls out of other intelligent creatures, as well as feasting on their brains.

A gelatinous cube is a fictional monster from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is described as a ten-foot cube of transparent gelatinous ooze, which is able to absorb and digest organic matter.

A displacer beast is a fictional evil feline creature created for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game in 1975; it has subsequently been included in every edition of the game to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owlbear</span> Fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons

An owlbear is a fictional creature originally created for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. An owlbear is depicted as a cross between a bear and an owl, which "hugs" like a bear and attacks with its beak. Inspired by a plastic toy made in Hong Kong, Gary Gygax created the owlbear and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement; the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game. Owlbears, or similar beasts, also appear in several other fantasy role-playing games, video games and other media.

Troll (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional monster in Dungeons & Dragons

Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.

Dwarf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional playable humanoid race

A dwarf, in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game, is a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for player characters. The idea for the D&D dwarf comes from the dwarves of European mythologies and J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), and has been used in D&D and its predecessor Chainmail since the early 1970s. Variations from the standard dwarf archetype of a short and stout demihuman are commonly called subraces, of which there are more than a dozen across many different rule sets and campaign settings.

Kobold (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional species in Dungeons & Dragons

Kobolds are a fictional race of humanoid creatures, featured in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game and other fantasy media. They are generally depicted as small reptilian humanoids with long tails, distantly related to dragons.

Goblin (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins are non-human monsters that low-level player characters often face in combat.

Centaur (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the centaur is a large monstrous humanoid. Based upon the centaurs of Greek myth, a centaur in the game resembles a human with the lower body of a horse.

Giant (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Large humanoid creature in "Dungeons & Dragons"

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giants are a collection of very large humanoid creatures based on giants of legend, or in third edition, a "creature type".

Lich (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Undead creature in "Dungeons & Dragons"

The lich is an undead creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Liches are spellcasters who seek to defy death by magical means.

Vampire (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features. A new vampire is created when another vampire drains the life out of a living creature. Its depiction is related to those in the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood Dracula and monster movies. In writing vampires into the game, as with other creatures arising in folklore, the authors had to consider what elements arising in more recent popular culture should be incorporated into their description and characteristics.

Tritons are a fictional species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

<i>Eldritch Wizardry</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement for Dungeons & Dragons

Eldritch Wizardry is a supplementary rulebook by Gary Gygax and Brian Blume, written for the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, which included a number of significant additions to the core game. Its product designation is TSR 2005.

The Wand of Orcus is a fictional magical weapon described in various Dungeons & Dragons media. Because of the popularity of Orcus as a villain within the Dungeons & Dragons universe, many different authors have written materials describing artifacts created by or associated with the character. The Wand of Orcus is consistently the most important and most described of these artifacts. Screen Rant has noted that "[t]he weapon that Orcus wields in battle is almost as famous as the demon lord himself". Furthermore, the device has at times been employed in books, games, and other media within the franchise as a thing distinct from Orcus himself, such that adventurers may encounter the wand as a freestanding element of the game or story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen R. Marsh</span> American tabletop role-playing game designer

Stephen R. "Steve" Marsh is an American game designer and lawyer best known for his contributions to early editions of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG). Some of the creatures he created for the original edition of D&D in 1975 have been included in every subsequent edition of the game.

Monsters in <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> Group of fictitious creatures

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the term monster refers to a variety of creatures, some adapted from folklore and legends and others invented specifically for the game. Included are traditional monsters such as dragons, supernatural creatures such as ghosts, and mundane or fantastic animals. A defining feature of the game, monsters are typically obstacles which players must overcome to progress through the game. Beginning with the first edition in 1974, a catalog of game monsters (bestiary) was included along other game manuals, first called Monsters & Treasure and now called the Monster Manual. As an essential part of Dungeons & Dragons, many of its monsters have become iconic and recognizable even outside D&D, becoming influential in video games, fiction, and popular culture.

Gnome (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Race in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are smaller and more tolerant of other races, nature, and magic. Depending on the setting and subrace, they are often skilled with illusion magic or engineering. Gnomes are small humanoids, standing 3–3.5 feet (91–107 cm) tall.

References

  1. Gygax, Gary; Blume, Brian (1976), Eldritch Wizardry (1 ed.), Lake Geneva, WI: TSR
  2. Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  3. Winter, Steve. The Complete Psionics Handbook (TSR, 1991)
  4. Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  5. Cordell, Bruce R. Expanded Psionics Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
  6. Mearls, Mike, Greg Bilsland, and Robert J. Schwalb. Monster Manual 3 . Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2010
  7. 1 2 Ammann, Keith (2019). The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters. Gallery / Saga Press. p. 344. ISBN   978-1982122669.
  8. "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Debuts Pathfinder-Esque Intellect Devourors". 27 February 2023.
  9. "Here Are All the Menacing Monsters in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES".
  10. "How Many of These Creatures Have You Put in Your D&D Campaign?". 27 February 2023.
  11. "DND: Honor Among Thieves Debuts Pathfinder-esque Intellect Devourors". MSN .
  12. "Honor Among Thieves is everything a D&D fan could want". Polygon . 11 March 2023.
  13. "Will Your Favorite D&D Creatures Show up in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves?". 27 February 2023.
  14. "The New Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Poster Features Art from the Wrong Roleplaying Game". 22 July 2022.
  15. "'Honor Among Thieves' Featurette Unveils New 'Dungeons & Dragons' Creatures". Collider . 27 February 2023.
  16. "Dungeons & Dragons Trailer Highlights Every Bizarre Creature in Movie". Screen Rant . 27 February 2023.
  17. "Preview: 'D&D Icons of the Realms: Honor Among Thieves - Monsters Boxed Set'".
  18. Granshaw, Lisa (October 24, 2018). "The 9 scariest, most unforgettable monsters from Dungeons & Dragons". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  19. "23 Strange Creatures From Advanced D&D's First Edition Monster Manual". Gizmodo . 2023-03-31. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16.