an electromagnetic entity emitted by a distant star, trapped in the flesh it irradiated.
3
kin to the hecatoncheires, air support to their vanguard, titanic solider of a primordial conflict.
4
a malfunctioning biological Von Neumann probe.
5
the severed head of a dreaded sorcerer-king that’s gotten strange since its separation from its body.
6
an obsessive, murderous art critic whose twisted soul warped their body into a more fitting form.
D6
This beholder has
1
a slack, low-hanging jaw, a tongue that protrudes out of its mouth, and long, translucent teeth like a viperfish.
2
parasitic worms infesting its eyeballs, and an alternate, parasite-driven personality it lapses into sometimes.
3
golden bangles worn around its eye-stalks, and bejewelled piercings studding its brow.
4
countless tiny eyes bumping up underneath its flesh, pressing skin translucent-thin.
5
handsome, chiselled features and a thick mane of hair.
6
an exposed, rippling brain.
D6
This beholder’s eye-rays
1
bear a myriad of elemental effects: burning, freezing,
shattering stone, warping wood, and so on. The colour of an eye's iris
suggests the effect of its ray.
2
copy the spells of wizards it's eaten. Each of its eye-stalks bears the distorted features of an eaten wizard.
3
obscure its sight - it's always firing blind, so it fires them rapidly and indiscriminately.
4
will explode if they're made to cross streams.
5
will be diffused into merely colourful light shows if the eyes that fire them are made to tear up.
6
operate by refracting ambient light - in the dark
they're powerless (though the beholder would still have a bite that
could bisect an armoured man).
D6
This beholder’s lair
1
is filled with mirrors and amateurish sculptures of itself.
2
is a network of dust-choked qanats, cisterns, and wells that's difficult to navigate if you can't fly.
3
is a great pyramid used as a tomb by an ancient dynasty
- now their mummies are posed in tableaus of supplication towards the
beholder.
4
lies in a blister of volcanic glass - a naturally-formed greenhouse holding a paradisiacal garden atop a snow-crowned mountain.
5
sits on top of a razor-sided pillar of karst.
6
is a lighthouse on an islet surrounded by rough waters and sharp reefs.
D6
This beholder acts
1
like a scenery-chewing ham, always on the verge of some megalomaniacal monologue.
2
as though it is the most beautiful creature in all creation, and reacts with rage to contradictions to its self-image.
3
like a stereotypical spymaster, lurking about and
whispering vague insinuations, pretending as though it knows all your
dirty secrets.
4
as a voyeur and unethical psychologist, desiring to dissect and subject people to extremes to see how they react.
5
as a micromanaging minister, wanting to govern and render legible every aspect of its supposed domain.
6
like a mob boss who's gone mostly legit, genial on the
surface but with the potential for brutal violence simmering beneath the
surface.
D6
Something you could loot from this beholder
1
are wands using its secondary eyes as lenses.
2
is its floatation-bladder, easily refined into flying potions.
3
is the cornea of its primary eye, which can be cured and turned into a spell-absorbing shield.
4
is its vitreous fluid, a key ingredient in potions and bombs that manipulate light and darkness.
5
is its nutrient-rich blood, which if injected into your
cheeks would allow you to survive decapitation long enough to be
transplanted onto another body.
6
is the frenulum of its tongue, which could be worked
into the bowstring of a silent bow, or some other magical object that
manipulates sound or language.
You get the personality of Beholders just right. The various weaknesses of their eye rays are cool touches. That is exactly the kind of thing that would be great to have in a game
You get the personality of Beholders just right. The various weaknesses of their eye rays are cool touches. That is exactly the kind of thing that would be great to have in a game
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