Brain Collector

The hideous brain collectors, also known as neh-thalggus, originate from worlds beyond the known galaxy, and they belong to the hostile coalition called the Dominion of the Black. These creatures’ common name stems from their obsession with absorbing the brains of any being they deem inferior—in effect, virtually every other being—not to gain sustenance, but to increase their intellect and power their spells.
Brain collectors resemble vaguely scorpion-like creatures with lamprey mouths, jagged pincers, and clattering legs studded with twitching eyes. Pulsating, brain-filled blisters line their backs, making these monstrous creatures easily distinguishable from other predators in The Vast. Those who survive encounters with brain collectors describe eerie, whispering thoughts intruding into their minds. These thoughts seem to simultaneously offer salvation and destruction, and some victims report that they couldn’t determine whether the thoughts belonged to the brain collector, the pulsating brain sacs, or their own traumatized imaginations.
Even after millennia of exposure to The Pact Worlds species, brain collectors’ motivations remain murky; it remains unclear whether they act to fulfill the schemes of sinister overlords among the Dominion of the Black or if their hostility stems from an utterly incomprehensible morality, if not outright cruelty. Whatever the case, brain collectors are relentless. Upon landing on a planet in living drop-ships, their vessels rot into useless biological matter as well as metal components the brain collectors use to convert caves and abandoned buildings into unsettling, fleshwalled compounds. From these bases, the brain collectors systematically hunt, kill, and claim the brains of intelligent beings. Once satiated—which can take anywhere from a few days to many years, depending on their needs—the brain collectors rapidly disassemble their fleshy homes, reconstruct their shuttles, and return to their orbiting starships. They then set off for another distant world to repeat the process—or return their cerebral payload to their unknown home worlds.
Largely solitary, brain collectors hunt alone even when sharing starships and lairs. The greatest emotional bond they form comes through brain-swapping, a grotesque process that allows them to share their victims’ memories. To a brain collector, other creatures simply serve as resources, with no more rights or dignity than their ships’ fuel. Even so, they regularly attract cults dedicated to the Dominion whose members harbor misguided hopes that obeisance might save the cultists’ lives. For the most part, neh-thalggus don’t care for these cults, and the members have no guarantees of safety.
Yet some brain collectors appear to take pleasure in being worshipped, even if it mostly just makes their jobs easier. A few unsubstantiated reports claim that neh-thalggus who consume the brains of zealous individuals can inadvertently absorb humanoid notions of faith, in turn developing uncharacteristic habits of grandiosity, generosity, or protectiveness. If these anomalies exist, it seems other brain collectors quickly eradicate the heretics.
Xenoanthropologists’ research suggests that brain collectors’ religion venerates the primordial forces of space and time, potentially serving as the belief that unifies the species and drives their behavior. Others, however, believe that brain collectors simply “practice” religion out of boredom during their long journeys among the stars, and that they take it no more or less seriously than rote mathematics. However, an emerging theory proves among the most concerning: that over the eons they spent accumulating knowledge, brain collectors have discovered some fearful, fundamental truths of the universe—and only faith preserves them from abject terror. Brain collectors are among the most commonly encountered members of the Dominion of the Black, though they rarely interact or cooperate with others from that enigmatic group. However, they practically never enter into direct competition with one another. A common punishment for a scheming or inefficient brain collector involves violently tearing out their brain collection, then abandoning them on a lifeless moon to suffer centuries of stupefaction and powerlessness. According to unconfirmed rumors, brain collectors that excel at their duties undergo transformations to become far more powerful and horrific creatures.
The average brain collector has a stature about 6 feet tall and 9 feet across; they can weigh over 3,500 pounds.