When things get close and personal, it’ll shut down particular targets with its anti-magic cone, while those outside of the cone can still get zapped.Plus, it can fly, so there’s no reason it’ll be anywhere near the ground. With a range of 120 ft., it can probably do this for a few rounds. The beholder will do its best to keep intruders at a distance, shutting down its center eye so it can zap anyone that comes at it.The rays are random, but since the beholder can fire 6 in a round, chances are it’s going to fire off some of its big guns fast. All of its eyes have a bunch of special rays that are, well… what kind of make the beholder the nightmarish legend that it is.The beholder’s central eye has an antimagic cone which shuts down magic users (and itself, unfortunately).You know… for when they just wanna screw with the adventurers instead of outright vaporizing them. If a beholder does have to dirty itself with combat, chances are it’s going to be in its lair and it’s going to be well prepared for whatever comes its way.Īs usual, Keith Ammann has written up a fantastic analysis of the beholder’s tactics which you can read on his blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing. But here’s the TL DR version: And even you get past eye-daddy’s thugs, it’ll make sure to keep itself safe from unwamted intrustions. Before you ever even meet the beholder, chances are you it’s sent its minions at you. And smart monsters don’t fight on other people’s terms. This, of course, makes my job creating variants super easy.īeholders are pretty smart. Of course, beholders probably hate other beholders more than anything else in the world, so when a new beholder appears it quickly turns into a beholder death match between mom-dad and daughter-son.īecause beholder dreams are so weird and funky, different variations and spin-offs of beholders can emerge including gazers, death kisses, eye tyrants, and death tyrants. But a clone and/or twisted version of the one that dream-birthed it. Basically, they have a bad dream and pop! There’s a baby beholder. In Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the “reproduction cycle” of the beholder is explained.

Now, in fifth edition, the folks at Wizards of the Coast have really taken these weirdo monsters to the next level.

Like giant, flying meat balls covered in eye stalks, these paranoid, xenophobic, megalomaniacal aberrations hide away in their lairs and plot against a world they hate. And they looked like this… Yo, what’s up? Think we can make ’em even worse? Let’s find out!īeholders have been in every edition of Dungeons & Dragons since 1975 when Terry Kluntz created the very first one for the Greyhawk supplement. These multi-eyed tyrants are true horrors, sure to send fear into the hearts of players everywhere. DM Dave 6 Comments on Beholder Variants for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Posted in Monstersīeholders are probably the D&Diest monster that ever D&Ded.

Zombie beholder 5e stats