10. Beholder

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by Gashren

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D&D Bestiary

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"The beholder is the stuff of nightmares. This creature, also called the sphere of many eyes or the eye tyrant, appears as the large orb dominated by a central eye and a large toothy maw, has 10 smaller eyes on stalks sprouting from the top of the orb. Among adventurers, beholders are known as deadly creatures.

Equally deadly are a number of variant creatures known collectively as beholder-kin, including radical or related creatures, and an undead variety. These creatures are related in manners familial and arcane to the "traditional" beholders, and share a number of features, including the deadly magical nature of their eyes. The most extreme of these creatures are called beholder abominations.

The globular body of the beholder and its kin is supported by levitation, allowing it to float slowly as it wills.

Beholders and beholder-kin are usually a solitary creatures, but there are reports of a large communities of them surviving deep beneath the earth and in the void between the stars, under the dominin of hive mothers.

All beholders speak their own language, which is also understood by all beholder-kin. In addition, they often speak the tongues of other lawful evil creatures.

The central eye produces an anti magic ray with a 140 yard range, which covers a 90 degree arc before the creature. No magic (including the effects of the other eyes) will function within that area. Spells cast in or passing through that zone cease to function."

AD&D 2nd ed. Monstrous Manual

D&D © Wizards of the Coast

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