Psionics aren’t just for players who possess psionic power dice or the ability to cast spells without components. Monsters get ’em too!
Psionic powers unlock the full potential of the mind, opening wide the gates of unlimited power. Or at least the ability to cast spells without needing to use any kind of spell components. Psionics and D&D go way back, to the earliest days. Even to this day, there are many monsters that focus on mind over matter. At least until you get close enough to start swinging swords. Here are some of D&D’s many psionic monsters!
Mind Flayer
What would we even be doing if we didn’t include everyone’s favorite brain-eating squid guys. Mind Flayers once had an ancient empire that spanned the multiverse. Then they got overthrown. But everywhere you look you can find evidence of their psionic meddling—as long as you look at Duergar and Githyanki.
These cephalophagic cephalods are all aout using the powers of the mind to stun enemies, take control of humanoids, and then devour the occasional juicy brain. Any time you run into them, they’re sure to be fun. As long as you can keep your wits about you.
Brain in a Jar
Less iconic than your local Mind Flayer is the Brain in a Jar. It’s a trope as old as science fiction. And one that plays extremely well in D&D. From the Ravenloft book, a Brain in a Jar is a potent psionic creature. It kind of has to be, they have little else going for them.
They’ve got the ability to fly around, very slowly, so they rely on either loyal servants or the ability to stun their enemies for survival. If you can get close you can beat them up, but, in order to do so you’ll have to brave their psionic pspells.
Cranium Rat
Another D&D favorite from the older editions, cranium rats are rats who have become psionically empowered. They usually get smarter the more of them there are. As they start to swarm, their consciousnesses become joined into a single collective entity.
A single cranium rat, though? Not much of a threat. Just be careful if you ever run into cranium rats who speak in terms like “we” and “us” instead of “I” or “me.”
Mind Drinker Vampire
Some vampires learn how to siphon the thoughts and memories of their victims instead of (or in addition to) their prey’s lifeblood. Originally these are Dimir vampires (as introduced in Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica). But you don’t have to be in a guild to put one of these in an adventure.
These become master spies and manipulators when given free reign. Seriously, their psionic abilities mixed with their vampiric powers make them formidable monsters.
Intellect Devourer
Finally, my personal favorite—the Intellect Devourer. You probably know these from Us in Baldur’s Gate 3, but a good Intellect Devourer will try to eat your brain (when you’re incapacitated) and then take over your body.
The classic brain slug ruse. And you could run all sorts of weird little parasite-type critters this way. If you’re looking for a psionic foe—these are much more dangerous than you might think!
Happy adventuring!
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