Baldur’s Gate 3’s most brutal transformation is making its way to tabletop D&D.
Baldur’s Gate 3 kicks off with a dire predicament: a mind flayer tadpole has been implanted behind your eye. If left unchecked, it will devour your customizable character’s brain, turning you into a grotesque, tentacled creature. Many potential allies share this grim fate, and the quest to remove the tadpoles drives the initial story forward. However, the tadpole also grants psychic abilities, tempting players to embrace the transformation. In some scenarios, the game may even force you to undergo the change or make it happen to someone else.
In a move that seems to ride the wave of Baldur’s Gate 3’s success, the creators of Dungeons & Dragons are testing a tabletop adaptation of this intriguing dilemma.
A recent Unearthed Arcana playtest introduces various “Underdark Options” for D&D players, featuring aberrant subclasses for Barbarians, Rogues, and Wizards. The standout addition is the Path of Ceremorphosis.
This path allows a player character to gradually evolve into a Mind Flayer. According to a blog post from the creators, this concept is influenced by the potential journey of Tav, the default player character in Baldur’s Gate 3, toward becoming a Mind Flayer. The post also highlights that this option draws inspiration from previous villainous choices in Unearthed Arcana that resonated with players.
Starting at level 4, players gain the Tadpole Host feat, establishing a “symbiotic relationship” with the parasite within. This grants basic psionic abilities, including the Mind Sliver spell. As players progress, they can unlock up to three additional mid-level feats with unique powers. Illithid Thrallmaker enhances intelligence or charisma and provides the Charm Person spell, reflecting the ability to manipulate others’ minds. Tadpole’s Safeguard offers defensive capabilities with the Shield spell, beneficial for both martial and magical characters. Lastly, Ulitharid’s Might boosts strength and allows players to attack with their face tentacles, making it a great fit for Monks or Pugilists since it counts as an unarmed strike.
At level 12, players can take on the Full Ceremorphosis feat to complete their transformation. The playtest material describes this as growing four tentacles around the mouth, elongating the head, and turning the skin purple and slick with mucus. Your character also shifts from their original creature type to an Aberration, though it seems you can retain some original species traits.
The full transformation allows players to focus on either physical or magical combat. They can learn classic mind flayer spells like Detect Thoughts, Levitate, and the newly introduced Mind Blast. Alternatively, players can specialize in Brain-Seeking Tentacles, which lets them damage and grapple a creature while dealing extra psychic damage. The designers present this choice in a flavorful manner: will your mind flayer excel in psionic spellcasting or “eating and metabolizing brains”? Players can eventually choose both options if they claim the feat a second time.
This character build could be powerful across various classes, especially for those already invested in psionics. A full Psion class is set to debut in D&D with the upcoming Dark Sun sourcebook early next year, raising curiosity about how formidable a mind flayer Psion could be in action. Previous materials like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything offer subclasses for the Psi Warrior Fighter, Soulknife Rogue, and Aberrant Sorcery Sorcerer, all of which utilize psionic energy dice, creating synergy with the Path of Ceremorphosis for players looking to double down on psionics.
Ultimately, this presents a compelling mechanical avenue for fans of BG3 to recreate their video game character at the tabletop. As with all Unearthed Arcana content, this is an experimental draft for public playtesting, with a feedback survey set to open on August 27. The document suggests that its three subclasses and transformative feat path “might be included in a future product,” indicating that the final versions could undergo significant changes. This also hints at the likelihood of an entire sourcebook dedicated to the Underdark in the near future.
Will you embrace the forbidden psionic power and let the tadpole consume your brain?
Full betrayal or full redemption?
