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I'm playing going to be playing Elementum, a LARP (or in french, Grandeur Nature) on the south bank of Montreal.

Their rulebooks account for Illithids (mind flayers), which seem to be really fun to play, but which no-one has done before. The main requirement is having a mask. I'm planning to run an illusionist Illithid who would spend most of his time disguised as various other people, so I wouldn't wear it very often (unless I fall unconscious, I think).

I can't really find it anywhere. How could I go about procuring this --either by making or buying it-- relatively quickly?

While a straight-up High Octane Nightmare Fuel kind of thing with horrifying attention to detail would be awesome, it would probably be too expensive and long to get. For the moment, I just need something that clearly says «Look! I'm a Mind Flayer! Nom nom nom!» without further ado.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ How representational or abstract are you looking for? \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Jul 11, 2013 at 22:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ While a straight-up High Octane Nightmare Fuel kind of thing with horrifying attention to detail would be awesome, it would probably be too expensive and long to get. For the moment, I just need something that clearly says «Look! I'm a Mind Flayer! Nom nom nom!» without further ado, but I need this on friday evening (tomorrow). ATM I'm considering taking foam swimming noodles, cutting them into tentacles, gluing/tapping them togeather and applying spray paint until oblivion. Like I said, I probably won't be wearing it a lot (for now). \$\endgroup\$
    – technillogue
    Commented Jul 12, 2013 at 3:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ Whatever you wind up doing, it'd be great if you link the result in chat! I'd love to see it. \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Jul 12, 2013 at 8:35

3 Answers 3

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Quick and easy?

Modify this print-and-cut octopus mask.

It's fast, it's cheap, and it's effective. Just glue the tentacles on in a different pattern and color it mind-flayer-y. If you want a more 3-D effect you can add papier mâché to the mask, but you probably don't have time to let it dry properly.

If that doesn't work for you, I don't have any other specific suggestions but I've compiled a block of possibly-useful reference links:

As always, the HP Lovecraft Society has a plethora of poorly-catalogued links which might be useful. The Propnomicon blog has some great links to examples and tutorials, with a strong emphasis on cheap effects that look good. Stiltbeast's videos often assume more time than you have, but take a look and see if there's anything you can learn from. This forum focuses on Star Wars type props and costumes, but the structural ideas are still sound. See if you can unearth a useful tutorial there.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Awesome! Thanks a bunch. I suspect I'll end up using foam noodles anyway simple for durablitiy, but that'S a really good anyway, and I might use it for a later scenario. \$\endgroup\$
    – technillogue
    Commented Jul 12, 2013 at 14:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ THe mask has all the tentacles in the wrong direction for an illithid. \$\endgroup\$
    – aramis
    Commented Jul 12, 2013 at 23:46
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    \$\begingroup\$ @aramis Because the mask is assembled manually, the maker of the mask can choose how to apply them to the mask. That'd be why I said to modify the mask, specifically: "Just glue the tentacles on in a different pattern." \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Jul 12, 2013 at 23:52
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A rubber octopus, a cheap replaceable-filter filter mask, and some swim goggles, plus some spandex to tie it all together...

  1. Spandex hood in ski-mask style. Make one or buy one. Remember to serge the seams to prevent unravelling. Make or enlarge the mouth hole so that it snugly fits the filter mask.
  2. remove 4 of the tentacles from the octopus. Mount them to the filter mask. Paint appropriately. Removing the filter is probably not a bad idea.
  3. put the goggles on, then put on the painted filter-mask/tentacle assembly.
  4. Put the hood on over the mask, feeding the tentacles carefully through.

Serge: to use an overlock machine to bind the edge.

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If you don't mind too many tentacles...

The Cthulhu Ski Mask is a viable option.

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