The Original Mind Flayer From The Strategic Review Spring 1975 Volume 1, Number 1.

The Original Mind Flayer From The Strategic Review Spring 1975 Volume 1, Number 1.

The Mind Flayer

No. Appearing: 1-4

Armor Class: 5

Move: 12”

Hit Dice: 8+3

% In Lair: 50%

Treasure: F

Magical Resistance: 90%

This is a super-intelligent, man-shaped creature with four tentacles by its mouth which it uses to strike prey. If a tentacle hits it will then penetrate to the brain, draw it forth, and the monster will devour it. It will take one to four turns for the tentacle to reach the brain, at which time the victim is dead. A Mind Flayer will I flee is an encounter is going against it. Their major weapon, however, is the Mind Blast, a wave PSI force with a 6” directional range and a radius of 5’. All within the radius must save as indicated or will suffer the result shown.

Mind Blast

Intelligence of Opponent      Saving Throw at Range         Effect of Mind Blast

                                                 1-2”  3-4”  5-6”

3-4                                            19     19    17                            Death

5-7                                            17     16    15                            Coma, 3 days

8-10                                          15     14    13                            Sleep, 1 hour

11-12                                        13     12    11                            Stun, 3 turns

13-14                                        11     10     9                             Confuse, 5 turns

15-16                                         9       8      7                             Enrage, 7 turns

 17                                             7       6      5                             Feebleminded

 18                                             5       4      3                             Insanity, permanent

Magic users add +1 to their saving throws, and clerics add +2. A Helm of Telepathy adds a +4 to saving throws, and when such saves are made the attacking Mind Flayer is stunned for 3 turns.

Additional Research: Gary Gygax is the original author of this critter. 

This monster also appears in the 1976 Supplement III Eldritch Wizardry page 39. In the Supplement the creatures alignment is listed as Lawful though an evil creature. It is also given an additional 5-8 psionic abilities, 1-4 defense modes, and a total psionic strength of 241-340. It is also noted they speak their own arcane language and several other strange tongues purportedly those of terrible races which inhabit regions far beneath the ground. The description also states this species is non-magical. The Flayer appears on the Underground Psionic Encounter Table only.

The art here is from the 1977 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. The Monster Manual   adds they detest light and are only found underground. The Monster Manual specifies they have psionic abilities of levitation, domination, ESP, body equilibrium, astral projection, probability travel and that they perform these at 7th level mastery. It also mentions a rumored city deep underground and we get the above description of what they look like. The Monster Manual did make some changes to their original stats as well. I am pretty sure the 1975-1976 version is deadly enough.