diff --git a/src/doom/p_enemy.c b/src/doom/p_enemy.c
index 49e30b49..1f48fe90 100644
--- a/src/doom/p_enemy.c
+++ b/src/doom/p_enemy.c
@@ -1909,6 +1909,10 @@ void A_BrainSpit (mobj_t*	mo)
 		
     // shoot a cube at current target
     targ = braintargets[braintargeton];
+    if (numbraintargets == 0)
+    {
+        I_Error("A_BrainSpit: numbraintargets was 0 (vanilla crashes here)");
+    }
     braintargeton = (braintargeton+1)%numbraintargets;
 
     // spawn brain missile