Re: Mind Flayers and Diet

Justisaur wrote:

On Feb 14, 4:05 pm, Tetsubo <tets...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Mind Flayers are carnivores that primarily consume humanoid brains. The
dread "brain extraction" attack. Does anyone know if they can survive on
non-humanoid brains, such as animals?


IIRC they can, but the lower the intelligence of what they are
"eating" the less nourishment it provides, exponentially so. It also
"tastes" far worse.

Just a rough estimation, if a mind flayer needed say 3 units or
'meals' worth of food, and they get int squared in units of food,
they'd need to eat a 10 int human about 1ce a month (which is about
right IIRC), they'd have to eat three 1 int animals a day, or one 2
int animal, and 0 int would be no nourishment at all.

These aren't omnivores like humans that can mostly adapt to a
vegitarian diet. Animals might not be terribly healthy - It's the
equivalent of feeding a full carnivore like say a tiger a diet
consisting of vegetable proteins - rice and beans. It's might work
for awhile, but the tiger is either going to get sick and possibly
die, or just eat the tasty packages of meat delivering it's "food".


Essentially a "vegetarian" Mind
Flayer. I am just wondering what a good aligned Mind Flayer would do to
survive.


They don't have to eat terribly often. I imagine if they took the
"adventurer" mindset and ate only the evil, those condemned to die, or
whatnot, they might be able to keep a good alignment, or perhaps
neutral. But then they get to experience the devoured brain's
experiences and the evil they are ingesting might make it just that
much more difficult.

They might be able to live off rats, they are pretty easy to come by
and reasonably intelligent for animals. However sticking to a diet
that would be the equivalent of unflavored gruel would be fairly
difficult. Especially if they are ever around any humanoids with
large juicy brains wafting delicious thoughts tempting them for just a
little taste.

IIRC one of the books mentioned that expert mind flayers can snip out
the higher function parts of a brain leaving only the animal behind,
still leaving enough for the victim to live and follow simple
commands, while enjoying a meal of only the best parts. If the mind
flayer can find a willing subject and has some way to repair the
damage - such as say access to a regeneration spell, it might be
possible to get it's meals that way and still remain good (or at least
neutral). A DM ruling would be needed on if regeneration would
restore someone's mind after such an experience though.

Probably the best solution for a good mind flayer would be to not
survive. Under what situation a mind flayer could become good is
quite the question too. Just growing up they had to eat a large
number of their siblings, and such impulses would be weeded out right
there. Then they had to eat a living sentient brain from the inside
out to take on humanoid form. To me mind flayers make the evil
outsiders look tame by comparison, and if anything deserves the
"Always" descriptor, they do.

- Justisaur

Someone suggested the Sustenance power.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/sustenance.htm

--
Tetsubo
--------------------------------------
"The apparent lesson of the Inquisition is that insistence on uniformity of belief is fatal to intellectual, moral and spiritual health."
-The Uses Of The Past-, Herbert J. Muller

BLUP
.

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