Squigling Elder

Ocean

Ink Spray

Tentacle

Squigling elders are the further developed and the more experienced amongst the sguiglings, and usually assume leadership positions within their tribe. While squiglings consume brains for basic sustenance, the quality and quantity of the brains consumed also impacts their psionic abilities. Squiglings that eat larger brains or those of more intelligent creatures more often than other squiglings develop their psionic abilities to higher levels and at faster rates.

Squiglings are amphibious squid-like aberrations roughly three-and-a-half-feet tall that possess inherent psionic ability. They organize themselves into tribal groups ranging from several dozen to several hundreds of members and make their lairs in a variety of aquatic environments, from sunken shipwrecks to coastal caves. Squiglings feed exclusively on the brains of fish and mammals, and hunt large prey such as whales or sharks using their superior numbers and expert coordination facilitated by their telepathic ability. 

Some scholars believe that mind flayers and squiglings share a similar creation story and extraplanar origin, and suggest a physiological relation between the two species. Others believe that squiglings are native to the Elemental Plane of Water, where they have flourished as primordial beings since the beginning of the world itself. 

Squiglings have innate bioluminescent and camouflage abilities and are perfectly adapted to coastal and aquatic environments. Their superior intelligence, both individually and collectively, result in a wide range of societal outcomes. Some squigling tribes may be strictly hierarchical, while others operate as fiercely egalitarian collectives. Because squiglings consume brain matter exclusively, they often leave large portions of any carcasses behind, after they have harvested the few bodily components they might need for other purposes. A squigling hunting party is likely to leave a trail of whale corpses in its wake that then become their own localised ecosystems as other creatures converge to feed on the scraps.

Squigling Elder

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