Exactly what it sounds like–when its dream-birthing works to create a small army of beholders. Read more about the Xanathar on pages 17-18 of Volo’s. In short, “The Xanathar Guild is a thieves’ and slavers’ guild operating underneath the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms setting.” A beholder seems like a TERRIFYING guildmaster. They simply tolerate for their own purposes, like the Xanathar Guild, one of the most fascinating aspects to me. “An eye tyrant is solitary beholder that has suppressed its xenophobia and paranoia and chooses to live as the leader or ruler of a community or an organization.” They can rule over multiple races, setting aside its prejudices while not bothering with respect or understanding of others. These creatures help defend the lair and also serve as shock troops if the beholder vacates its lair to prey on the inhabitants of the surrounding area.” More on minions later. “A solitary beholder gathers (or inherits) inferior creatures that it uses as minion. First of all, they’re exactly what they sound like, living alone in a lair “of its own making or a place the creature took over after killing or driving off the beholder that gave it birth.” Though by all accounts it seems death is more likely, but it gives way to something more useful to us. The book goes through the several types of beholders, starting with solitary beholders, and that’s where we get our start with their minions. “On extremely rare occasions when a beholder dreams of another beholder, the act creates a warp in reality–from which a new, fully formed beholder springs forth unbidden.” Luckily for the peons of the world, they generally fight to the death upon this happening.

A beholder’s true rivals are other beholders, for only another beholder has the intellect, power, and magic to threaten another of its kind.” You may be wondering, how does one of this kind come into this world? If a beholder dreams of another beholder, voila, new beholder. An intelligent creature is seen as food or a potential minion. “Unintelligent foes are regarded as food or pets.

They believe itself superior to every other creature. “If a human acted this way, the constant vigilance and lack of truly peaceful rest would lead to a dangerous level of psychosis, but a beholder’s mind accepts this attitude as normal and necessary.”Įvery beholder thinks it is the epitome of perfection, so it has no love even for other beholders. “Even when it sleeps,” because when they sleep, they remain conscious, “its smaller eyes remain open, scanning its lair for threats.” IT’S CRAZY SECURED LAIR. How do you kill this thing?! “A beholder sees in all directions.” Okay, giant eye monster, got it. “The mind of a beholder is powerful and versatile enough that it can envision literally any possibility, and it prepared accordingly, making it virtually impossible for any invaders to catch it unawares.” The more I read, the more I was just boggled. So I picked up Volo’s and turned to the first entry, labeled: Beholders: Bad Dreams Come True. I asked Thor (resident DM) which book I could find it in and he said, “Two pages in the Monster Manual. I had thought I just might not remember, but after doing a little research, no. I don’t remember seeing anything quite like them in any game I’ve played, and I’d remember if I’d fought them in Dungeons and Dragons. But for me they always just lived in the land of imaginary monsters. I probably could have picked out which game it went to, even when my game knowledge was zero. Even before I knew anything about D&D, I think I knew what beholders were.

Dnd beholder kin