Primus
There is a terrifying mystery in the aberrant Illithid race. Where did they come from? What do they want? Can they be stopped? This lack of answers causes great fear, but you know that the truth is worse. Your patron is Primus, the first and greatest Elder Brain. Now, you are one of its agents, performingly seemingly inconsequential tasks that will bring Primus' eons-long plans to fruition.
Expanded Spell List
Primus lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Primus Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | command, speak with animals |
| 2nd | calm emotions, detect thoughts |
| 3rd | sending, slow |
| 4th | confusion, phantasmal killer |
| 5th | dominate person, modify memory |
Ego
At 1st level, you can become a telepathic hub for nearby creatures. As an action, choose a number of willing creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). These creatures must have an Intelligence score of 6 or higher. So long as you are within 300 feet of one another, you and these creatures are able to communicate telepathically for a number of hours up to your warlock level, or until you end this connection as a bonus action. Once this connection ends, you cannot use this ability again until you finish a long rest.
Psychic Scramble
Starting at 6th level, you can emit a blast of chaotic psychic energy into the mind of a creature to confuse it. Whenever a creature you can see within 30 feet of you makes an attack or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. On a failure, the creature has disadvantage on the attack or saving throw.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Mental Fortitude
Starting at 10th level, you have resistance to psychic damage. Additionally, once per long rest, you can use an action to end one effect that is charming or frightening you.
Psionic Hub
At 14th level, you can enhance your mental ability with the alien might of your patron as a bonus action. For 1 minute, you and creatures affected by your Ego ability gain resistance to psychic damage, make saving throws against being charmed or frightened with advantage, cannot be surprised, have advantage on initiative rolls, deal an additional 1d6 psychic damage with each attack, and each creature other than yourself can cast one of your 1st level Warlock spells once at its lowest level without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before doing so again.
Eldritch Invocations
Biomagical Death Weapon
Prerequisite: Primus patron, Pact of the Chain feature
When you have a primal intellect devourer as your familiar, it gains additional hit points equal to your warlock level. It also gains the following ability.
Devour Intellect (Recharge 5-6). The familiar targets one creature it can see within 10 feet of it that has a brain. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against your warlock spell save DC or suffer 8 (2d8) psychic damage. Also on a failure, roll 3d6: if the total equals or exceeds the target's Intelligence score, that creature is stunned until the end of the familiar's next turn.
Infinite Archive
Prerequisite: Primus patron, Pact of the Tome feature
At the end of each long rest, the nigh-infinite store of knowledge preserved within your patron fills you with potential. You randomnly gain one of the following features at the end of each long rest by rolling a d6, which lasts until you finish a new long rest.
Extra Language. You know one additional language of your choice.
Extra Spell. You know one additional spell of your choice from the warlock spell list for which you have spell slots.
Skill Proficiency. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency in one tool of your choice.
Weapon Proficiency. You gain proficiency in one simple or martial weapon of your choice.
Armour Proficiency. You gain proficiency in medium or heavy armour; your choice.
Tentacular Assault
Prerequisite: Primus patron, Pact of the Blade feature
You can morph your features to be like the illithid that serve your patron using your Pact of the Blade feature. When you do so, you gain the following attacks.
Tentacles. Make a melee spell attack. On a hit, you deal 2d10 + Charisma modifier psychic damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled. The escape DC is your warlock spell save DC.
Extract Brain. Make a melee spell attack against one creature you have grappled by your tentacles. On a hit, the target takes 4d10 piercing damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, you kill the target by extracting and devouring its brain, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier.
The First Elder Brain
Fragments of memory have traveled to warlocks of Primus over time, forming a patchwork understanding of the Illithid's past. There was a world: prosperous, full of majesty, and ruled by a mighty people. Then, cataclysm struck, and the people of this world utilized every resource they had to escape. Most perished, but some did escape, but not as they had desired. They floated between realms, lost in the void between stars, now just a single conglomeration of memory. Over time, their combined mental power drew others to them, and the conglomeration corrupted them, transforming these creatures to fit their new needs as an alien, composite entity.
Traits of the Mortal Flayer
Consider adding one or more of these traits when creating a warlock or after destroying or consuming someone's mind.
Roll Trait.
| 1 | You find it annoying how long it takes to verbally communicate. |
| 2 | Death is not something you are willing to accept for yourself. Whatever it takes to survive. |
| 3 | You view all of life as an intellectual problem. Emotions are unnecessary. |
| 4 | Some people think the stars are pretty. You worry what might descend from them. |
| 5 | Your sense of morality tends to revolve around you. |
| 6 | You sometimes just think of people as resources. |
| 7 | When you become emotional, nearby creatures sometimes find themselves inexplicably experiencing the same emotion, if at a lesser degree. |
| 8 | Octupi and squids are just so adorable. |
| 9 | You have trouble fighting mind flayers, and might even try and find ways to avoid doing it. |
| 10 | Odd eating habits, even cannibalism, don't faze you. |
| 11 | When you sleep, you have dreams of the destruction of the illithid's homeworld. |
| 12 | Your reflection sometimes looks like an illithid version of yourself. |
| 13 | Attempts to read your mind, so long as you notice, infuriate you. |
| 14 | You sometimes forget that, while you intended for them to hear that, you never verbalized. |
| 15 | Clothing or armour you wear for long periods of time becomes eerily regal, and almost always gains a high collar. |
| 16 | Your blood is an alien colour. |
| 17 | Your hair is more like tentacles. |
| 18 | When you sing, it's called terrible. You correct them: it's otherworldly. |
| 19 | When you cast a spell, unnerving thoughts flicker at the edge of nearby creatures' minds. |
| 20 | You get sudden cravings for brains. Sometimes, they do not go away until satisfied. |
Primal Intellect Devourer
The intellect devourers forged by Primus are special, for they not only possess the body stealing ability of their lesser kin, but even have some access to the psionic power of the Elder Brain. This communicates itself both in their inability to be swayed from their master's purpose by magic, but also innate psionic talents. However, as they are some of the first intellect devourers, their ability to steal bodies is not as long-lasting as their later kin.
Primal Intellect Devourer
Small aberration, lawful neutral
- Armor Class 13
- Hit Points 25 (8d4 + 2)
- Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 6 (-2) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 11 (+1) 8 (-1)
- Skills perception +3
- Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons
- Damage Immunities psychic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, frightened
- Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 13
- Languages understands those known by its master but cannot speak, telepathy 30 ft.
- Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Magic Resistance. The primal intellect devourer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The primal intellect devourer can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components (save DC 13):
2/day: sleep
1/day: hold person
Actions
Multiattack. The primal intellect devourer makes one Claw attack.
Claw. Melee Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 3) slashing damage.
Body Thief. As per the same ability for the intellect devourer, MM pg. 191, with the exception that the primal intellect devourer cannot occupy a body for longer than 1 minute, after which the body loses its ability to function even with the devourer controlling it.