Brain collectors (Neh-thalggu in their own language) are rare creatures who occasionally cross the barriers separating their distant home from the Demiplane of Power. Only near a source of great magical energy, where the fabric of time and space is twisted, can they find the single small gateway to Shyiol, where they collect the brains of intelligent beings.

Each specimen of this hideous race has a yellow-orange body - bloated, oily, and amorphous - with dozens of short, writhing tentacles. Six crablike legs allow it to scuttle about. Four large, yellow, bulging eyes and a tooth-filled maw are set in its bulbous head. The head may also have a number of distinctive lumps (up to twelve), each one housing the brain of another intelligent creature.

Neh-thalggu do not think like any other creature. They speak their own tongue and that of diaboli. They can also speak and comprehend the languages known by any creatures whose brains they've swallowed.

Combat: The brain collector's method of attack is a powerful bite with its razor-toothed jaws, inflicting 1d10 points of damage with each bite that hits.

Each brain collector can cast spells, depending on how many brains it has collected. Roll 1d12 to determine how many transplanted brains the monster already has in its head. Each transplanted brain can hold a single wizard spell, no higher than 3rd level (these can be chosen by the DM or randomly determined by dice roll; 1d3 for level and then according to wizard spell lists).

A brain collector can attack with its bite or with a single spell in a given round. Although the nature of its intelligence is unfathomable, brain collectors display a considerable tactical cunning in combat; they will use their available spells to the best possible effect.

A brain collector takes great care as it fights, to avoid doing damage to the cranium of its opponent. As its name suggests, the brains of sapient foes are very precious, indeed.

Habitat/Society: Though brain collectors have a completely alien psychology, "chaotic neutral" is the alignment that best describes them. The Neh-thalggu do not have hostile intentions as such; rather, they do not seem to regard humans or or other humanoids as people.

Brain collectors are known to exist on the Demiplane of Nightmares, where they hold a mythic position in the folklore of diaboli, like that of dragons in human tales. Diaboli regard Neh-thalggu as creatures of power, cunning, and inscrutability, and brain collector magic can affect diaboli.

While Neh-thalggu exist on the Demiplane of Nightmares, the Demiplane of Power and throughout the Crystal Spheres, sages agree the creatures are native to none of these. Brain collectors may also be found wandering other known planes, particularly the Astral or Ethereal Plane. On the Prime Material Plane, a brain collector prefers ruins and caverns and other places with little light and infrequent disturbances.

Entering the Demiplane of Power with its resulting deposition into wildspace is hard on the brain collector; often they are discovered in a dormant state in which it can exist for a seemingly endless period of time, floating aimlessly among the asteroids that whirl through the Demiplane's vast emptiness. Once a spelljammer passes within 1,000 yards of one, however, it will awaken as its senses are stirred by the presense of intellect. The brain collector will then make every effort to board and take control of the spelljammer in order to guide it to an inhabitted area, as a spelljammer's resources are most unfortunately quite limited for the creature.

When a brain collector reaches Shyiol, it immediately begins acquiring as many brains as it can, as quickly as possible. Each collector can store up to 12 brains at any one time. When these creatures slay humans, demihumans, or humanoids, they carefully cut away the top of the head with surgical tools to expose the brain, and then swallow it. The swallowed brain then moves into one of several pockets within the brain collector's own head, forming a distinctive lump. For each brain collected, the creature gains the ability to cast one wizard spell of 1st to 3rd level once per day.

When a Neh-thalggu has collected its 12 brains, it immediately seeks to return to its home plane; and therein lies the difficulty for all brain collectors in Shyiol. With the unique nature of the Demiplane of Power creating its seemingly unbreakable barricade, the creatures are trapped within its fold. These 12-brain neh-thalggu become aggitated and aggressive as the nature of their imprisonment becomes more and more evident with each failed attempt to escape, resulting in eventual madness and irrational, random attacks against any and all beings within its vicinity. Once these brain collectors begin to rampage, nothing can end their ferocious attacks - the destruction of all life within their vicinity will only result in them moving on to more populated areas, drawn by the intellect of the inhabitants. Incapable of consuming more and unable to leave the Demiplane's grasp, the rampage will continue until the brain collector is eventually butchered or lured into wildspace and abandoned in the oxygen-lacking vastness where it will once again go dormant. However, if any spelljammer should pass by a dormant 12-brain neh-thalggu, the rampage will recommence.

The brain collector may be related in some fashion to the feyr.

Ecology: Brain collectors have no interest in treasure of any kind; denizens of Shyiol are curious objects for dispassionate study and ruthless exploitation - cattle, in the brain collectors' eyes.

Neh-thalggu are predators of the highest order, but they exert little influence on Shyiol's environment.

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