Mind Flayer Tadpole (Creature)

Mind Flayer Tadpole
Tiny Aberration
Level 7 Aberration
Stats
Hit points	5 (Balanced) 6 (Tactician)
Weight	0 kg (0 lb)
Initiative	0
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (0) 10 (0) 10 (0) 10 (0) 10 (0) 10 (0)
Proficiency bonus	+3
Saving throws	Str 0 Dex 0 Con 0 Int 0 Wis 0 Cha 0
Resistances
Immune	Acid
Features
Opportunity Attack	Attack an enemy as they move out of reach

Mind Flayer Tadpoles are an aberration creature found in Baldur's Gate 3. When encountered as a corpse, the creature's name is displayed as "Dead Mind Flayer Tadpole" instead.

Appearance

Faceless, limbless, slimy creatures that live and grow in pools of caustic brine, these tadpoles infect other living beings to facilitate their transformation into mind flayers, a process known as ceremorphosis. They initiate this process by slithering behind their host's eye, burrowing into their brain.

When encountered outside of cutscenes, these creatures appear to be much larger than the mind flayer tadpoles that are truly burrowed behind each True Soul's eyes, despite being the same entities in-game.

Interactions

Act One

A mind flayer tadpole will escape the first True Soul corpse that is examined. The player will have the choice of harvesting the tadpole from the corpse, or refusing, giving the hostless tadpole the chance to escape. If combat is turned on as it leaves, it can also be killed.

This can happen while looting the True Soul Edowin in the Forest, West of the Emerald Grove, or when looting Nere in the Grymforge.

Act Two

While at Moonrise Towers, the player can come across several tadpoles. Both living and dead tadpoles are released from the Zhentarim Shipping Crate on the docks, if it is destroyed. Unless destroyed in turn-based mode, the living tadpole will scurry away rapidly and disappear in a puff of smoke.

Just around the rim of the towers, Steelclaw will be playing with a dead tadpole that he still regards as living prey.