Illithid powers

Illithid powers are special abilities tied to the mind flayer tadpole infecting the player character, their Origin companions and certain non-Origin companions.

“

On one hand, they seem useful. But on the other hand - or perhaps tentacle, before long - we know where they're coming from, and what lies at the end of that path...

„

— Shadowheart

Overview

Upon first crossing the bridge leading to the Goblin Camp in Act One, a cutscene involving the  Mysterious Artefact triggers. During the next Long Rest, the player character and their companions are visited by the  Dream Guardian who encourages them to accept and wield the powers the tadpoles give. This dream starts the ⁠Embrace Your Potential quest, enabling the party to consume tadpoles in exchange for illithid powers.

Once started, consuming a  parasite or recruiting Minthara unlocks the Illithid Powers skill tree. Once unlocked, all Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in the inventories of the player character and their companions are removed and added to the skill tree interface, where they can be used to unlock new Illithid Powers.

Companions

Companions vary in their willingness and ability to use Illithid Powers:

• Immediately willing to use powers:
  •  Astarion
  •  Gale
  •  Minthara - has the following powers already unlocked on recruitment:
    •  Charm
    •  Concentrated Blast
    •  Favourable Beginnings
    •  Psionic Backlash
  •  Wyll
• Reluctant, and must be persuaded through dialogue:
  •  Karlach -  DC 15 Persuasion check,  DC 18 Persuasion check, or  DC 20 Persuasion check depending on circumstance
  •  Lae'zel - two checks are required:
    • The first is  DC 20 Persuasion check, or  DC 12 Persuasion check above 60 (Very High) approval
    • The second is  DC 12 Persuasion check,  DC 15 Persuasion check,  DC 18 Persuasion check, or  DC 20 Persuasion check
  •  Minsc
  •  Shadowheart -  DC 15 Persuasion check with  Disadvantage if not above 20 (Medium) approval, and  Advantage above 60 (Very High)
• Is not infected with a tadpole, and can thus can not use Illithid Powers:
  •  Halsin
  •  Jaheira
  • The twelve Hirelings

List of illithid powers

Click on an icon to go visit the corresponding page

Illithid Powers. Clicking an icon will link to the corresponding page.

Power	Type	Description	Requires
Illithid Persuasion	Passive Feature	You can use your connection to the parasite in your brain to force cultists of the Absolute to obey you.  Recharge: Long rest	Unlocked automatically
Psionic Overload	Class Action	Your attacks deal an additional 1d4⁠⁠Psychic damage, but you take 1d4⁠⁠Psychic damage every turn.  Recharge: Short rest	None
Favourable Beginnings	Passive Feature	The first  Attack roll or  Ability check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency Bonus.	None
Force Tunnel	Class Action	Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 4 m / 13 ft away from you.  Recharge: Short rest	None
Concentrated Blast	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.  Recharge: Per turn	None
Transfuse Health	Class Action	Sacrifice half your remaining  hit points to heal a target for the same amount.  Recharge: Per turn	None
Stage Fright	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.  Recharge: Short rest	Psionic Overload
Ability Drain	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.  Recharge: Per turn	Psionic Overload
Luck of the Far Realms	Reaction	When you make a successful  Attack roll against a foe, you can change that attack into a Critical Hit.  Recharge: Long rest	Favourable Beginnings
Charm	Reaction	Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to  Charm an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn. Note: Enemies have  Advantage on the  Saving throw against being charmed.	Favourable Beginnings
Displace	Passive Feature	Creatures suffering Falling damage because of your actions take an additional 1d8⁠⁠Psychic damage.	Force Tunnel
Repulsor	Class Action	Push anything and anyone back 6 m / 20 ft. Deals 2d6⁠⁠Force damage, targets take half damage if successful on save.  Recharge: Short rest	Force Tunnel
Psionic Backlash	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.	Concentrated Blast
Cull the Weak	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.	Concentrated Blast
Shield of Thralls	Class Action	Conjure a volatile shield around yourself or an ally, granting the target  10 temporary hit points.  Recharge: Short rest	Transfuse Health
Perilous Stakes	Class Action	Invest a creature with power that heals it when it attacks, but also makes it vulnerable to all damage.  Recharge: Long rest	Transfuse Health

Elite powers

See also: Partial-illithid

Upon first gaining access to illithid powers, the outer ring of abilities are locked. At the very end of Act Two, on the road to Baldur's Gate, the party is given the opportunity to unlock these powers by agreeing to absorb an  Astral-Touched Tadpole and become a partial-illithid. Doing this automatically unlocks Fly (Illithid Power) and the 5 powers of the innermost ring:

1.  Concentrated Blast
2.  Favourable Beginnings
3.  Force Tunnel
4.  Psionic Overload, and
5.  Transfuse Health.

Any regular Tadpoles the character might have already spent to unlock these abilities will be refunded. Absorbing the Astral-Touched Tadpole causes the character to undergo  Partial Ceremorphosis and irrevocably changes their appearance: their eyes darken and their entire body covers with dark veins.

Power	Type	Description	Requires
Fracture Psyche	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.  Recharge: Short rest	Unlock one of: Ability Drain Illithid Expertise
Illithid Expertise	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: Luck of the Far Realms Fracture Psyche
Psionic Dominance	Reaction	Use your  Reaction to cancel a spell targeted at you if its spell level is less than or equal to your proficiency bonus.  Recharge: Long rest	Unlock one of: Charm Black Hole
Black Hole	Class Action	Summon a black hole that pulls in nearby enemies and potentially  Slows them. Up to five more black holes can be summoned after first casting.  Recharge: Short rest	Unlock one of: Displace Psionic Dominance
Fly	Class Action	Fly to a target position. Consumes  Movement Speed speed but not an  Action or  Bonus Action.	Unlocked automatically
Mind Blast	Class Action	Spew forth a conical wave of psychic energy and possibly  Stun targets within. Deals 4d8+Spellcasting Ability Modifier⁠⁠Psychic damage.  Recharge: Long rest	None
Mind Sanctuary	Class Action	Sculpt a magical nexus that allows those within to take  Actions and  Bonus Actions interchangeably.  Recharge: Long rest	Unlock one of: Psionic Backlash Freecast
Freecast	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	Unlock one of: Shield of Thralls Mind Sanctuary
Absorb Intellect	Class Action	Gobble up a foe's intellect, lowering their  Intelligence by 1 per turn and healing your wounds for 5 turns (1d8⁠⁠hit points each turn).  Recharge: Short rest	Unlock one of: Perilous Stakes Displacer Beast Shape
Displacer Beast Shape	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  Intelligence,  Wisdom, and  Charisma scores. When your displacer beast form drops to 0 hit points, you revert to your original form.  Recharge: Long rest	Unlock one of: Stage Fright Absorb Intellect

Full ceremorphosis

See also: Full-illithid

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
Strengthened Force Tunnel	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  Prone
Fierce Perilous Stakes	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.
Nebulous Black Hole	Class Action	Create a point of intense gravity dealing 3d10+4⁠⁠Force damage and possibly  slowing enemies.
Synaptic Consumption	Class Action	Lower all of an enemy's ability scores by 5, then 1 per turn, and regain 2~20⁠⁠hit points per turn for five turns. The foe is left  Prone.
Augmented Shield of Thralls	Class Action	Target two creatures, granting them  25 temporary hit points. Once these hit points are diminished, the shield bursts and leaves nearby enemies  Stunned.
Potent Concentrated Blast	Class Action	Deals 9d6⁠⁠Psychic damage to an enemy. If they were Concentrating on a spell, heal an equal amount of hit points.
Extract Brain	Class Action	Lobotomise a nearby creature that is  Stunned,  Prone,  Sleeping, or Unconscious, dealing 5d10+50⁠⁠Piercing damage and regaining 6d6⁠⁠hit points.
Tentacle Whip	Class Action	Deal 3d10+5⁠⁠Psychic melee damage, and possibly  Stun the target.
Levitate (Illithid Power)	Class Action	Float to a destination using  Movement Speed speed.

Other powers

These illithid powers are not part of the illithid power tree and are instead unlocked through story events.

Power	Type	Description	Requires
Survival Instinct	Class Action	Infuse a creature with psionic force. If it reaches  0 hit points, it regains 3d4⁠⁠hit points instead of falling Unconscious.  Recharge: Short rest	Reward from: Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite
Awakened	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

“

And while we're at it, we can see how many more of these little worms we can harvest.

„

— Astarion, amateur vermeologist

Act One

True Souls

The following characters are infected with tadpoles, which can be looted from them when killed:

•  Dror Ragzlin
•  Edowin
•  Flind
•  Gut
•  Minthara
•  Nere

Loot & Quest Rewards

• 1x - in the Enclave Library of the Druid Grove on a table X: -445 Y: 17.
• 3x - in the Infirmary of Crèche Y'llek, next to the Zaith'isk.
• 1x - ⁠Raid the Emerald Grove
• 1x - ⁠Free True Soul Nere - by siding with Nere

Act Two

True Souls

The following characters are infected with tadpoles, which can be looted from them when killed:

•  Krizt
•  Linsella
•  Malik
•  Marcus
•  Merim
•  Z'rell
•  Isobel - if abducted

Loot & Quest rewards

• 2x - in the  Zhentarim Shipping Crate X: -71 Y: -187 at the docks of Moonrise Towers.
• 1x - in a Brine Pool X: 678 Y: 45, after passing a  DC 16 Perception check, in the Mind Flayer Colony under Moonrise Towers.
• 1x - ⁠Capture Isobel the Selûnite Cleric.
• 1x - ⁠Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic - by siding with  Balthazar

Act Three

True Souls

The following characters are infected with tadpoles, which can be looted from them when killed:

•  Avery Sonshal
•  Churg Elvek
•  Darbonna
•  Dravo Flymm
•  Edenosa
•  Mibbs
•  Mind flayer (windmill)
•  Sally Flymm

Loot (Rivington and Wyrm's Crossing)

• 1x - on a barrel X: -225 Y: 108 at the docks in Rivington.
• 1x - in a locked Gilded Chest X: -32 Y: 219 on the top floor of Wyrm's Rock Fortress
• 2x - in Storage X: -212 Y: 129 on the ship at the Western Beach in Rivington.

Loot (Lower City)

• 1x - on a table X: -9 Y: -92 at Sorcerous Sundries.
• 1x - next to the Gnarly Cauldron X: -2336 Y: -120 in The Blushing Mermaid - Basement.
• 1x - on a table X: -45 Y: 18 inside a flooded room in the Iron Throne.
• 1x - on a desk X: -208 Y: -86 on the second floor of The Lodge.
• 1x - 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.
• 1x - in High Security Vault n.6 X: -713 Y: 881 in The Counting House.
• 1x - on a table X: -1937 Y: 447 in the Steel Watch Foundry - Lab Level.
• 6x - in Cargo Shipment X: -202 Y: -125, disguised as Wooden Trunks, on a ship just east of the Steel Watch Foundry.

Quest rewards

• 1x - ⁠Feed the Mind Flayer

Partial-Illithid

A special variant,  Astral-Touched Tadpole, is given by  The Emperor during a story sequence at the start of act three that can transform characters into partial illithids. Becoming one refunds all tadpoles spent on unlocking any of the five "inner circle" Illithid Powers. Note that this does not apply to the ten "middle ring" powers:

•  Concentrated Blast
•  Favourable Beginnings
•  Force Tunnel
•  Psionic Overload
•  Transfuse Health

Spellcasting ability modifier

Main article: Spellcasting ability

Some illithid powers involve saving throws. For these powers, the difficulty class is determined by your spellcasting ability modifier, even for classes that do not typically have spells. All bonuses to spell save DC such as Arcane Acuity or Arcane Enchantment will also apply to illithid powers.

If multiclassing, the ability score used by this modifier is determined by the latest class added. In other words, taking level 1 in a new class will switch the spellcasting ability modifier used by illthid powers (and items or scrolls) to the modifier of the new class.

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.