Illithocyte

Illithocytes were illithid tadpoles that survived the fall of a mind flayer empire, and evolved into a new life form. They crawled about in groups seeking psychic radiation on which to feed.

Description
Illithocytes were deformed, slug-like illithid tadpoles grown to long and. They had mottled purple and brown coloring, and tentacles coated in mucous in front of the mouth. Since illithocytes always lived in family groups, they frequently looked like a single larger creature.

Behavior
Illithocytes operated wholly on instinct, with no sense of good or evil. They were, however, highly aggressive and attacked anything that came too close.

Abilities
Illithocytes lacked the potent psionic abilities that made mind flayers so feared: they had, at most, the ability to sense all living creatures within along with their blindsense, and a telepathic link with all other illithocytes within.

Combat
Illithocytes fought as a swarm, using their tentacles to tear at enemies.

Ecology
Illithocytes first appeared among the many illithid tadpoles survived the fall of the mind flayer empire; without access to hosts to ceremorphize, they were forced to adapt or die; some of those that survived became illithocytes and further became capable of reproducing (via budding) on their own.

Illithocytes lived in damp, underground areas, staying in large family groups of up to thirty individuals. They fed on psychic radiation, and were themselves the primary prey of neothelids.

History
Following the demise of the city of Ch'Chitl, illithocytes appeared in the surrounding areas of the Underdark as a consequence of the death of the city's elder brain.