Thought eater

Thought eaters were rarely encountered creatures that existed on the Border Ethereal, the border between the Ethereal Plane and Prime Material plane.

Description
These creatures were described as resembling emaciated, sickly gray skeletal platypuses with over-sized heads. Despite being skeletal, their paws had webbing and they used them to swim throughout the Border Ethereal. However, to creatures on the Prime Material they were completely invisible. Whenever the corpse of one was encountered on the Prime Material, it was assumed to be a platypus that had died of starvation.

Behavior
Thought eaters were unintelligent creatures. Though magical research scholars were able to ascertain that thought eaters had no malevolent intent behind their actions, rather they were motivated solely by a compulsion to eat.

Abilities
Through the discipline of psionic sense, thought eaters were capable of sensing psionic activity, magic, or great intelligence within both the Ethereal and Prime Material planes. Though they were particularly drawn to psionic activity. They also possessed the defensive psionic powers of intellect fortress and thought shield. Because they lacked any form of intelligence, they were immune to being attacked or controlled telepathically.

When within of a psionic creature on either plane, they were capable of eating absorbing their psionic powers. When within any creature were capable of eating away at their intellect, psionic powers, and memorized spells and converting them into a form of psionic power. Drained intellect was permanently loss unless a victim was treated with some powerful restorative spell.

Mind blank, as well as similar spells and magical items that protected the mind against psionic or psionic-related powers, were some of the only known ways to protect against these creatures.

Because of their ethereal nature, thought eaters effortlessly move through walls, ceilings, and other barricades on the Prime Material. They also could only be hurt by creatures on the Ethereal Plane.

Combat
Thought eaters had no conventional mentions of fighting other creatures, nor any offensive psionic abilities. On their home plane of the Ethereal, they were considerably weak and could be easily dispatched.

Ecology
These creatures lived largely solitary lives.

Diet
Thought eaters solely fed upon the thoughts and psionic powers of other creatures on the Ethereal and Prime Material planes. However, they preferred to feed on creatures from the Prime Material as those on the Ethereal could actually confront and easily destroy them. Thought eaters largely went unnoticed when they fed. They would feed upon their victims until they were sated or their victims died or were out of their range of feeding.

Thought eaters always fed upon psionic energy first, followed by magical energy, memorized spells, and finally intelligence.

Biology
Thought eaters were dependent upon the psionic power they produced from eating to maintain their forms. Without any psionic power in their system a thought eater would phase of the Border Ethereal and into the Prime Material plane. As they were incapable of existing outside of this plane, their bodies would quickly perish. Being killed on the Ethereal plane would also cause them to phase into the Prime Material.

History
In 1369 DR, a psionicist was found dead near Castle Daggerdale due to a pack of thought eaters.

Rumors & Legends
Some claimed that any psionicist that died would become a thought eater.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Sword of the Dales