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The Beholders are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a floating orb of flesh with a large fanged mouth, a large central eye capable of nulling magic, and ten small eyestalks on top with deadly magical powers. Appearing in every edition of the game since 1975, beholders are original to Dungeons & Dragons, and have become popular villains.
Beholders are inherently magic users with strong powers and abilities. They are commonly found underground, in places such as The Underdark. Beholders are xenophobic, hateful creatures and will gladly take other races as slaves for their rotten desires. However, this xenophobia also extends to other kinds of Beholders even with the slightest difference, which will cause ferocious inter-species wars.
Some beholder strains have mutated far from the basic beholder stock. These are aberrant beholders, of which there are numerous different types.
Biography[]
Some sages in the Realms believed that the various subspecies of beholders were initially created in the likeness of deities from an unknown crystal sphere, with the intention of exploring different spheres and gathering extensive information. These beholders would travel across the Prime Material plane to uncover the secrets and current states of various worlds, then report their findings back to their hive mothers, who would compile and disseminate the knowledge. However, as the beholders began their explorations, local deities became alarmed by their mission and cursed the entire species. Consequently, the beholders lost sight of their original purpose and evolved into the supremacist and paranoid beings they are known as today.
It was thought that the knowledge station at the top of the Spindle on the planet H'Catha was established by the beholder deities to remind them of their original mission.
Appearances[]
Beholders were easily recognizable as they appeared as floating heads with a single large, cyclopean eye surrounded by ten smaller eye stalks. Their most prominent feature was their large, gaping mouth. Due to these characteristics, they were sometimes called "spheres of many eyes" or "eye tyrants," though the latter also referred to a particular type of beholder.
In the Realms, beholders were generally slightly larger than those found on other worlds, reaching up to six feet in diameter compared to the five-foot average elsewhere. Most beholders on Faerûn had skin that was cool-toned—purples and blues—on their upper bodies, transitioning to earthier colors lower down. Their skin had a pebbly texture, and many had nostrils and jointed, articulated eyestalks.
Beholders’ numerous eyes allowed them to see in all directions simultaneously, making ambushes nearly impossible and granting them exceptional perceptive abilities. Although they couldn't see color, they could perceive their surroundings in total darkness, where a human would be completely blind.
Despite not having wings, beholders could hover and fly effortlessly above the ground, with effects similar to the wizard spell levitation.
Powers & Abilities[]
Beholders were known for their xenophobia and aggression, attacking anyone they considered unlike themselves. They were inherently violent and greedy, craving both wealth and dominance. Their aggression was exacerbated by their belief in their own bodily perfection, viewing any variation from their form, no matter how slight, as a mark of inferiority.
A beholder's mind was split into two distinct entities, each with its own thoughts and actions, despite sharing the same body. These two halves of the mind distrusted each other and kept secrets, leading to a highly paranoid relationship. "Sane beholders" had two entities within them as well but did not hide information from one another, resulting in a less paranoid state. However, what one beholder considered sane could easily be viewed as insane by others. When addressing a beholder, it was important to use its full name to avoid the perception that only one half of its mind was being addressed.
In combat, beholders were not particularly strong physically but were inherently magical. Each of their eyes had magical properties, and they often sought to end battles quickly by unleashing their powers all at once. Their basic attacks involved projecting magical effects from their eyes, such as fear, charm, paralysis, petrification, disintegration, slowing, or death. They commonly used a combination of these powers, though typically only two at a time.
Many beholders also possessed a central eye that could emit an antimagic cone, nullifying all supernatural abilities within a 150-foot radius, including their own eye rays. Despite this, they could still attack with their powerful, toothy maw.
Beholder Types[]
Death Tyrant[]
Death tyrants are undead beholders akin to zombies or ghosts.
Hive Mother[]
Also known as ultimate tyrant, an enormously powerful female 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 and form a colony.
Death Kiss[]
This Beholder's eyestalks were replaced with blood-draining tentacles.
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.
Spectator[]
A spectator is a smaller and lawful neutral beholder with fou eye stalks often summoned to guard treasures.
Gallery[]
External links[]
 Villains
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Arklem and Valindra's Agents
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 Villains
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Recruitable Party Members Gods Demons Devils The Iron Throne The Shinning Crusade Bhaalists & Bhaalspawns Dark Alliance Cult of the Absolute The Sharrans Shadow Druids Vampires Others | ||