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Tyrants and slavers, these monstrous aberrations subsist on fresh brains, devouring them to fuel their psychic powers. Victims not immediately killed are enslaved for the rest of their brief lives. Often dwelling in hive-mind communities in the Ebon Realm, brain devourers are dangerous foes.

Outside the Lair

The characters feel unsettled, like someone—or something—is gently probing their minds.
The cold air of the Ebon Realm gets noticeably warmer and more humid.
Occasional smears of slimy mucus dot the walls and gather in shallow puddles on the floor.
The passageways near the devourer’s domain are devoid of any sentient life.

What’s Going On?

Thralls guard every entrance, the changing of shifts carefully executed to allow no lapse in vigilance.
The characters hear a deep and insidious voice in their head, with no clue as to its source.
The devourer is feeding on one of its thralls. So heavily is it under the devourer’s control it doesn’t seem to notice, or care, that its brain is being sucked from its skull.
A group of dwarven thralls labour to shore up a section of cracked, unstable ceiling.

Major Lair Features

The thralls in this lair are not particularly well-controlled and are on the brink of rebellion; they simply await a good opportunity.
The architecture is considerably alien: spiral staircases, curved tunnels and undulating floors abound, defying the rigid straight lines of other humanoid structures.
Powerful but weak-minded ogres make excellent thralls, and this brain devourer makes good use of these brutes; at least two guards each entrance.
Plunging to inestimable depths is a deep pit that even the devourer dares not approach.

Minor Lair Features

Strange markings dot the walls in places, although their meaning is indecipherable without magical assistance.
The air is very humid; the walls are slick with moisture.
Laid out on a table slick with slimy mucus is a humanoid brain, obviously the focus of an esoteric experiment.
Broken weapons and patches of dried blood tell of recent fighting in the lair. Based on the scale of the debris, it was a large confrontation.

Brain Devourer’s Appearance

Four writhing tentacles sprout from the bulbous head of this monstrous humanoid, reaching toward the nearest sentient life with an insidious hunger.
A thin layer of slimy mucus coats the skin of this octopus-headed humanoid, dripping off its tentacles as water drips off a stalactite.
The dead white eyes of this hideous creature, devoid of any pupils or discernible emotion, seem to burrow into other’s minds with their cold, unsettling stare.
Clutched in the three-fingered hands of this alien monstrosity is an iron sceptre tipped with a hollow metal skull, pointed at the party as if declaring a target.

Treasure

A crumpled and torn piece of parchment calls for the investigation of several missing persons from a nearby settlement and offers a substantial reward.
A seemingly favoured thrall wears an elaborate brooch, perhaps denoting its higher status, depicting four slavering tentacles radiating out from its central point.
A map of nearby caverns details several locations the characters have yet to discover.
Latent with psionic power, anyone donning this headband of silvery metal can feel the power of their mind grow stronger as if focused by a magnifying lens.

Trinkets & Trash

A frayed, bloodstained whip lies in two pieces, split in twain from constant use.
Glass jars filled with a clear, briny liquid lie all around the lair. Although harmless, the liquid tastes awful.
A broken silver compass, its housing shattered, bears the inscription, “So you can find your way home to me”.
A set of burst iron manacles implies that something very strong—or determined—sundered its bonds.

Credit

This is a short system-neutral extract from Monstrous Lair #100: Brain Devourer’s Domain by Christopher Broadhurst.

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