More actions
Illithid powers are special abilities tied to the mind flayer tadpole that the player character, Origin, and some non-Origin companions are infected with.
Notably, Halsin, Jaheira, and Hirelings cannot get illithid powers.
Once the party attempts to cross the bridge leading to the Goblin Camp in Act One, a cutscene involving the Mysterious Artefact will trigger. During the next long rest, they will be visited by the Dream Guardian who encourages the player character to accept and wield the power the tadpole gives. This dream starts the Embrace Your Potential quest and enables the party to consume tadpoles in exchange for illithid powers.
Once the quest has started, consuming 
Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, such as from the corpses of other infected, will allow the party members to unlock new powers. Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart will initially refuse to use illithid powers, but can be convinced to use them through Persuasion checks. The opportunity to convince these party members to partake in illithid powers will be provided again in early Act Three, if they remain reluctant early on.
List of illithid powers
| Power | Type | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Passive Feature | You can use your connection to the parasite in your brain to force cultists of the Absolute to obey you. | Unlocked automatically |
|
Class Action | Your attacks deal an additional 1d4 Psychic damage, but you take 1d4Psychic damage every turn.
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None |
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Passive Feature | The first  Attack roll or  Ability check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
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None |
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Class Action | Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 4 m / 13 ft away from you. | None |
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Class Action | Deal 3d6Psychic damage. You must be  Concentrating on another spell to cast this. If the target was concentrating, you heal as much as the damage that was dealt to it. The spell you were concentrating on will end.
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None |
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Class Action | Sacrifice half your remaining  hit points to heal a target for the same amount.
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None |
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Class Action | Your targets have  Disadvantage on Attack rolls and take 2d6Psychic damage each time they miss. Targets overcome their Stage Fright early when they succeed on an Attack Roll.
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Psionic Overload |
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Passive Feature | Once per turn, when you make an Attack roll, the attack reduces that target's corresponding Ability by 1. The Ability that is reduced is the same as the one used to make the Attack Roll.
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Psionic Overload |
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Passive Feature | When you make a successful Attack roll against a foe, you can change that attack into a Critical Hit.  Recharge: Long rest.
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Favourable Beginnings |
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Reaction | Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to  an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn.
Note: Enemies have |
Favourable Beginnings |
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Passive Feature | Creatures suffering Falling damage because of your actions take an additional 1d8Psychic damage.
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Force Tunnel |
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Class Action | Push anything and anyone back 6 m / 20 ft. Deals 2d6 Force damage, targets take half damage if successful on save.
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Force Tunnel |
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Reaction | When an enemy within 9 m / 30 ft casts a spell, you can use your  Reaction to inflict 1d4Psychic damage to the caster per the spell‘s level.
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Concentrated Blast |
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Toggleable Passive Feature | When you bring a creature down to fewer hit points than your number of evolved illithid powers, it dies and all nearby creatures take 1~4Psychic damage.
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Concentrated Blast |
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Class Action | Conjure a volatile shield around yourself or an ally, granting the target 10 temporary hit points.
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Transfuse Health |
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Class Action | Invest a creature with power that heals it when it attacks, but also makes it vulnerable to all damage. | Transfuse Health |
Elite powers
When you first gain access to illithid powers, the outer ring of abilities will be locked. At the very end of Act Two, on the road to Baldur's Gate, you will be given the opportunity to unlock these powers by agreeing to absorb the Astral-Touched Tadpole and become a partial-illithid. Doing this will automatically unlock Fly (Illithid Power) and the 5 powers of the innermost ring, i.e. 
, 
, 
, 
, and 
. Any regular tadpoles the character might have already spent to unlock these abilities will be refunded. Absorbing the Astral-Touched Tadpole will also permanently mark your character's face with dark veins and darken their eyes.
| Power | Type | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Class Action | Invade a target's mind and disrupt its defences. The target's  Armour Class is reduced by 1. If the target dies while its psyche is fractured, you can cast Shatter Psyche on another target.
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Unlock one of: |
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Passive Feature | You have deepened your sense of self, gaining  Expertise in Persuasion, Deception and Intimidation checks.
Also grants Proficiency in those skills if not already possessed. |
Unlock one of: |
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Reaction | Use your Reaction to cancel a spell targeted at you if its spell level is less than or equal to your proficiency bonus.
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Unlock one of: |
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Class Action | Summon a black hole that pulls in nearby enemies and potentially  them. Up to five more black holes can be summoned after first casting. Recharge: Short rest.
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Unlock one of: |
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Class Action | Fly to a target position. Consumes  Movement speed but not an  Action or  Bonus action.
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Unlocked automatically |
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Class Action | Spew forth a conical wave of psychic energy and possibly  targets within. Deals 4d8+Spellcasting Ability ModifierPsychic damage.
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None |
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Class Action | Sculpt a magical nexus that allows those within to take Actions and Bonus actions interchangeably. Recharge: Long rest.
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Unlock one of: |
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Toggleable Passive Feature | You have discovered a marvellous adaptability within yourself. Spell slots, charges, and similar resource costs for your next action or spell are removed. Recharge: Long rest.
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Unlock one of: |
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Class Action | Gobble up a foe's intellect, lowering their  by 1 per turn and healing your wounds for 5 turns (1d8 hit points each turn).
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Unlock one of: |
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Class Action | Transform into a displacer beast that can Displace itself and enemies, and has 85 hit points. You take on the attributes of a displacer beast, but maintain your ,  , and  scores. When your displacer beast form drops to 0 hit points, you revert to your original form.
|
Unlock one of: |
Full ceremorphosis
During the final quest, Confront the Elder Brain, the player character will have the option to undergo full ceremorphosis and become a full-illithid. At this point, they will automatically unlock most illithid powers and gain access to more powerful versions of a select few.
These abilities are not available through the "Illithid Power" screen, but are instead granted automatically after transformation.
| Power | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Class Action | Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 12 m / 40 ft away from you. Deals 3d10+4Force and may cause 
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|
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Class Action | Grant an ally an additional 15Psychic damage, automatic Critical Hit when they roll a 15 or higher, and healing on hit. However, they will also be vulnerable to all damage.
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|
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Class Action | Create a point of intense gravity dealing 3d10+4Force damage and possibly enemies.
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Class Action | Lower all of an enemies ability scores by 5, then 1 per turn, and regain 2~20hit points per turn for five turns. The foe is left .
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Class Action | Target two creatures, granting them 25 temporary hit points. Once these hit points are diminished, the shield bursts and leaves nearby enemies .
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|
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Class Action | Deals 9d6Psychic damage to an enemy. If they were Concentrating on a spell, heal an equal amount of hit points.
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Class Action | Lobotomise a nearby creature that is , ,  or Unconscious, dealing 5d10+50 Piercing damage and regaining 6d6hit points.
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Class Action | Deal 3d10+5Psychic melee damage, and possibly the target.
|
|
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Class Action | Float to a destination using Movement speed.
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Other powers
These illithid powers are not part of the illithid power tree and are instead unlocked through story events.
| Power | Type | Description | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Class Action | If the character reaches 0 hit points, it regains 3d4hit points instead of falling Unconscious.
|
Reward from: Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite |
|
Passive feature | You can use all of your Illithid Powers as a Bonus action. Your resistance to the zaith'isk in the githyanki infirmary awakened this power.
|
Succeed on all three saving throws when interacting with the Zaith'isk in Crèche Y'llek. Or, if Lae'zel is in the Zaith'isk, succeed on the final ability check. |
Mind flayer parasite locations
Act One
True Souls
Dropped by defeating the following characters:
Loot
- One is found in the Enclave Library of the Druid Grove on a table X: -445 Y: 17.
- Three are found in the Infirmary of Crèche Y'llek, next to the Zaith'isk. Two are around one table X: 1285 Y: -818 and one is on another table X: 1285 Y: -802.
Quest rewards
Siding with Absolute cultists may net two Gifts from the Absolute, which are functionally the same as Tadpole Specimens. In Act 1, there are two which can be obtained in the following ways:
- Received from Minthara for completing quest Raid the Emerald Grove.
- Received from Nere for siding with him after the quest Free True Soul Nere.
Act Two
True Souls
Dropped by defeating the following characters:
Loot
- Two are found by taking the Zhentarim Shipping Crate X: -71 Y: -187 at the docks of Moonrise Towers.
- One can be found in Zealot Krizt, who will be guarding the broken bridge to Moonrise Towers when first approaching it. If she is not attacked, her corpse X: 625 Y: -87 can be later found in the Oubliette under Moonrise Towers.
- Found in a Brine Pool X: 678 Y: 45, after passing a DC 16 Perception check, in the Mind Flayer Colony under Moonrise Towers.
- If Isobel was abducted from Last Light Inn, she will have a parasite on her body when you fight her alongside Ketheric.
Quest rewards
Two Gifts from the Absolute will be rewarded for:
- Completing Capture Isobel the Selûnite Cleric.
- Completing Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic by allowing Balthazar to transport the Nightsong to Moonrise Towers.
Act Three
True Souls
Dropped by defeating the following characters:
- Avery Sonshal in Felogyr's Fireworks
- Sally and Dravo Flymm in Flymm's Cobblers
- Manip Edenosa around Bloomridge Park
- Churg Elvek around the Grey Harbour Docks
- Fist 'Deadeye' Mibbs guarding the entrance to the Upper City near the Baldur's Gate Waypoint
- Fist Healer Darbonna guarding the entrance to the Upper City near the Baldur's Gate Waypoint
Minthara
Becoming a Partial-illithid refunds all tadpoles spent on unlocking any of the 5 "inner circle" Illithid Powers, i.e. , , , , and . Since Minthara starts with some of these Illithid Powers already unlocked, transforming her into a Partial-illithid will net the party 2 tadpoles.
Loot
Rivington and Wyrm's Crossing:
- Found on a barrel X: -225 Y: 108 at the docks in Rivington.
- Two are found in Storage X: -212 Y: 129 on the ship at the Western Beach in Rivington.
- Found in a locked Gilded Chest X: -32 Y: 219 on the top floor of Wyrm's Rock Fortress, near a bed, where Gortash goes after his coronation. This can be found along with the Helldusk Boots.
The Lower City:
- Found on a table X: -9 Y: -92 at Sorcerous Sundries.
- Found next to the Gnarly Cauldron X: -2336 Y: -120 in The Blushing Mermaid - Basement.
- Found on a table X: -45 Y: 18 inside a flooded room in the Iron Throne.
- Found on a desk X: -208 Y: -86 on the second floor of The Lodge.
- Found on a table X: -1856 Y: -428 in the Sanguine Laboratory in the cellar of Crimson Draughts, accessed through a wooden hatchX: -91 Y: -90.
- Found in High Security Vault n.6 X: -713 Y: 881 in The Counting House.
- Six are found in Cargo Shipment X: -202 Y: -125, disguised as Wooden Trunks, on a ship just east of the Steel Watch Foundry.
- Found on a table X: -1937 Y: 447 in the Steel Watch Foundry - Lab Level.
Quest rewards
- A special variant, Astral-Touched Tadpole, is given by The Emperor during a story sequence.
- A special variant, Mind Flayer Brain, can be found on a mind flayer hiding in the Windmill Basement of the Abandoned Windmill X: 44 Y: -38 in Rivington.
Spellcasting ability modifier
Illithid powers follow the same rule as scrolls when it comes to which ability is used for the saving throws of spells that requests one (e.g. Stage Fright).
If the player has invested their levels in one class only, their spellcasting ability modifier will be the one from that class. Classes abilities are listed in the spells page.
It gets more complicated in the case of Multiclassing, as the spellcasting ability modifier will be the one from the last class that has been added to the character, with a quirk: fighters and rogues will provide their ability modifier only if they are level 3 and in their spell subclass (Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster).
Example: Wizard 5, Monk 1, Rogue 2 will use the stat for the saving throw difficulty of their illithid powers, as rogue is not taken into account here, and monk is the last class added before rogue.
Pre-release powers
 | This article is about gameplay elements – such as characters, quests or mechanics – that have been removed from the game and is no longer available. |
In Early Access, illithid powers were much simpler. Instead of consuming other tadpoles to gain points to spend on powers, your tadpole grew more powerful as you used Illithid Persuasion options in dialogue. Once you'd used Illithid Persuasion three times, a special cutscene was triggered during your next long rest and each character gained a single illithid power unique to their class. Some of these abilities were reworked into the current illithid powers. A full list of Early Access powers can be seen below:
| Early Access Illithid Powers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Class | Description | How to Obtain |
 |
Barbarian | While Raging, deal an additional 1d4 damage with weapon attacks, but receive 1d4Psychic damage each turn. Prevents Rage from ending early. |
Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
| |
Bard | Drown your enemies in an overwhelming fear of failure. They receive Disadvantage on Attack rolls and take 2d6Psychic damage each time they miss an Attack Roll. Ends when they hit with an Attack Roll. |
Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
| |
Cleric | Infuse a creature with psionic force. If it reaches 0 HP, it regains 3d4 HP instead of falling Unconscious. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Druid | Magically assume the shape of an Intellect Devourer that can deal Psychic damage. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Fighter | Pull a creature or object toward you. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
| |
Paladin | Invade a target's mind and disrupt its defenses (Reduces target's Armour Class by 1). |
Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
| |
Ranger | Charge forward and push all objects and creatures in your path away from you. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Rogue | Create a cloud of magical darkness and immediately attempt to hide. Creatures within the cloud are Heavily Obscured and Blinded. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of the darkness. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Sorcerer | Release the eldritch magic within you and terrify a creature with your twisted powers. Regain 2 Sorcery Points and potentially deal 1d4Psychic damage per turn for 3 turns. |
Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Warlock | You are part of a greater whole. Concentrate on your connection to teleport to another tadpole-infected creature. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
 |
Wizard | A protective shell envelops you. It reflects any projectiles targeted at you to their point of origin. Does not affect creatures that don't rely on sight or that can see through illusions. | Succeed on 3 Illithid Wisdom Skill Checks, then rest until you receive a dream cutscene. |
| |
All Classes | Channel the power of the Absolute, knocking back all creatures and objects and dealing 2d6Force damage. |
Help Omeluum investigate the parasite |
Achievements
Expand Your Mind
Consume a parasite and unlock a new power - is it meant to wriggle the whole way down?
Gallery
Example of a character readying an illithid power.
A handy reference.
