Beholder
A beholder, sometimes called a sphere of many eyes or an eye tyrant, was a large aberration normally found in the Underdark. These large, orb-shaped beings had ten eyestalks and one central eye, each containing powerful magic. Powerful and intelligent, beholders were among the greatest threats to the world.
Xenophobic and vicious creatures, beholders were quick to attack enemies, including anyone they deemed not "like themselves." Beholders, as a rule, were violent and greedy, hungering for both wealth and power over others. This was made all the more complicated since more than one variety of beholder existed, each believing itself to be the pinnacle of bodily perfection and they viewed other beholders who differed from this image in even the most minute details as loathsome enemies and inferiors.
Subraces
In spite of their hatred of diversity (or perhaps because of it), beholders came in a variety of forms, some of which are listed below:- Bloodkiss beholder - An undead beholder that sucked its prey dry of blood with its eye tentacles.
- Death tyrant - Death tyrants were undead beholders akin to zombies.
- Elder orb - These beholders were born with amazing longevity, to near-immortality.
- Eye of flame - An unusually docile form of beholder whose members, while still malevolent, were willing to serve beneath more powerful beholders.
- Eye of frost - A cruel beholder who lived in solitude.
- Eye of Shadow - Eyes of shadow are beholders that have been warped by too much time spent in the Shadow World.
- Ghost Beholder - A beholder that has died and has risen as a ghost.
- Hive mother - Also known as ultimate tyrant, an enormously powerful variant of beholder with the capacity to stun nearby enemies as well as a greater range of eye ray abilities. Hive mothers had the ability to magically dominate other beholders.
- Zombie Beholder - A powerful zombie created from the reanimated corpses of a dead beholder.
Beholderkin
A vast number of beholderkin existed. Not true beholders, these creatures did not share the race's xenophobia, although most were still quite evil and cruel in nature.- Death kiss - This creature's eyestalks were replaced with blood-draining tentacles.
- Director - Beholder hive shock troopers.
- Eye of the deep - An aquatic subspecies of beholder. Its most notable physical change was its two large clawed arms.
- Gauth - A subspecies of beholder from the same plane as spectators which fed on magic and magic objects.
- Gazer - Also known as eyeball, a tiny beholderkin with four eye stalks.
- Gouger - Ruthless carnivores that hunted beholders.
- Observer - An observer was one of the most socially adept of the beholder family.
- Overseer - An overseer resembled a large, fleshy tree with mouths on its trunk and eyes on its branches.
- Spectator - A spectator was an extraplanar beholderkin with four eye stalks.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
Beholders were immediately identifiable, being essentially a floating head with one single, cyclops-like eye surrounded by ten smaller eye stalks. Other than this, the main feature of a beholder's anatomy was its massive, gaping maw. Because of these features, beholders were occasionally known as "spheres of many eyes" or "eye tyrants," although the latter also referred to a specific type of beholder.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Because their entire body was covered in eyes, beholders had the capacity to see in all directions at once, making it nearly impossible to ambush them while also giving them an unusually high degree of perceptive ability. Although beholders lacked the capacity to see color, they had the ability to perceive even in the most darkened environment, under conditions in which a human or similar creature would be rendered blind.
Beholders were also capable of flight, in spite of their lack of wings or similar physical features, simply hovering above ground effortlessly. The effects of this flight resembled those of the wizard spell levitation.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Beholders were often found occupying deep, underground caverns. Frequently, these lairs were carved out by the beholders themselves, using their eye rays to mold the environment for their purposes. Often, these lairs were built vertically rather than horizontally like most buildings, with beholder architecture frequently exhibiting a large number of vertical shafts which beholders and other flying creatures could use with ease, while walking creatures found their navigation hindered.
Genetic Descendants
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