Monster Specification

Beholders / Floating Eyes

Beholders are also known as "Eye Tyrants" or "Spheres of the Eyes"

Beholder

Typical Monster Level ("ML"): Beholders: 8 to 12, Floating Eyes: 3 to 7

Typical Number Encountered: Beholders: 1, Floating Eyes: d12

Usual Alignment(s): N/C, N/N, E/N

Description:

Beholders: large floating sphere with a large single eye, mouth, and a number of subsidiary eyes on stalks from top of sphere (which in older specimens may have their own small mouths)

Floating Eyes: smaller floating spheres with a large single eye, mouth, but no subsidiary eyes / stalks (higher ML Floating Eyes may be growing stalks, but they are unlikely to be functional)

Habitat:

Beholders: Dungeons, Diving, Seabed, Astral, Ethereal, Chaos, Madness

Floating Eyes: Diving, Seabed

Language: Beholders: Old Speech (FR), Floating Eyes: Old Speech (K)

Chars: Co 3d6, Wp 3d8

Movement:

Float at up to 6 ft/sec = 36 ft/MR = 4 mph

Fighter Abilities:

ML/2, FRU AMR    D = 25 + (5ML) %    RD = 5 + (5ML) %    5 + (5ML) HP

Attack Modes:

Bite @ A = 8ML %, DAM = d6 + (ML-6)

HitLoc Table:

Beholders:

HitLoc Area

Front

Side

Rear

Eye Stalks (*ML)

01 to 25

01 to 25 (only half within reach)

01 to 25
Central Eye 41 to 50 n/a n/a

Mouth

61 to 75

n/a

n/a
Body 26 to 40, 51 to 60 & 76 to 100 26 to 100 26 to 100

Floating Eyes:

HitLoc Area

Front

Side

Rear
Central Eye 8 to 12 n/a n/a

Mouth

18 to 25

n/a

n/a
Body 1 to 7, 13 to 17 & 26 to 40 1 to 40 1 to 40

ADS:

Beholders:

HitLoc Area

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

Eye Stalks

 0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 1
Central Eye 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

Mouth

 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 2 2
Body 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Floating Eyes:

HitLoc Area

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Central Eye 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

Mouth

 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 1
Body 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Effects of Specific Damage:

Hit Loc Area %age HP Damage taken Effects
Eye Stalks 5% in Hit Loc 01 Eye on that Stalk is Blinded
  10% Co check vs Stalk Crippled
  20% Stalk Crippled, Co check vs Stalk Severed
  30% Stalk Severed
Central Eye 20% Blinded, Co check vs Death
  40% Death (stops Floating)
Mouth 25% Co check vs Mouth Crippled
  50% Mouth Crippled, Co check vs Bleed 5%/MR
  75% Bleed 5%/MR
Body 50% Co check vs Unconscious
  100% Unconscious, Co check vs Death
  150% Death (stops Floating)

No Bleeding effects from Crippling or Severance.

Thievish Abilities:

M on Th Activities:

Defensive ThL = ML/3, FRU

Other Abilities / Powers / Notes:

  1. Saving Level of Beholders = 3ML, Saving Level of Floating Eyes = 2ML
  2. Central Eye of the Beholder projects a continuous Anti-Magic Ray in a 30o cone for 10ML feet, with the Effect of a L7 Anti-Magic Field Spell of T = 5ML, Targetting all Spells and Effects whose effects apply or resolve within the cone or which are Cast or produced from within the cone.  The Anti-Magic Ray has no effect on the Beholder's own Elementalist Spell Effects from its other eyes.
  3. Each eye on a Beholder's Eye Stalk, and the Central Eye of each Floating Eye projects at will (but each uses an AMR - note that they have more AMR than usual for Monsters of their ML) a different Elementalist Spell Effect (usually an offensive Spell) in a 45o cone for 5ML feet (Beholders) or 5(ML+5) feet (Floating Eyes), with T = 3ML (Beholders) or T = 3 * (ML+5) (Floating Eyes).  These Effects can include Madness Spells, or Etherealness or Planewalk Spells which they use on themselves / other Floating Eyes.  These eyes each tend to be of a different Spell Class, and each is the associated colour of its Spell Class.
  4. Older, more experienced Beholders can ChaosWalk.  They use this ability to move between the Dungeons and the Sea (though some know of connecting passages) or to enter Chaos or Madness.
  5. Beholders never sleep, so are unlikely to be encountered in the Dreamworlds.
  6. Beholders are greedy and avaricious.
  7. Beholders reproduce undersea by splitting off their eyestalks into ML Floating Eyes, which then feast on the dying body.
  8. All have Water Breathing (salt or freshwater).

Back to Monsters index

Back to Encounters index