Page 12 - Volo's Guide to Monsters

USE TRAPS AND MINIONS A beholder always has ·several backup
A beholder in its lair has access to so many resources plans ready. When deafin& with one, I
that it can often vanquish invaders without directly con- have three plans of 111,f own; run, hide,
fronting them. Devious and hidden traps are liable to and distract. Rival ad~nturers are always
a 8,ood distraction, Rivpl beholders are
be lurking around every corner, and might be blatantly the best one.
obvious in some places, yet no less lethal. In similar -Volo
fashion, a beholder might station some of its minions
in a prime spot for an ambush, or it might send forth a
bunch of its servants to overrun a group of enemies that
have been weakened by traps and other hazards. Every B'£sT OF-ALL
, IF VE CAN LEA
beholder has minions, and can always acquire more, so BEHOLDER HO RN WHAT SCH£Mes A
the master of the lair doesn't hesitate to send its under- SCHEME l LOS DEAREST, THREATE .. , T"
....
"OSE
lings into the fray. l'wlAJ<E s. TS LIJREO Arre,.,. TIOIII WILL AT LEAST
IT MOl'wlENTARILV PREDICTA&
S1JsP1c1ous OF THE v LE. A1110, I FEAR,
OUTSIDE COMBAT £. rE COIJLO
CAREER THAN AO CHOOSE AN EASIE~
As described in the Monster Manual, a beholder's use VEIIITIJRING.
of its eye rays in combat is random, governed by die
rolls instead of by choice. This rule is an abstraction,
designed to keep the beholder's opponents unsure of
what rays will be coming next (and, not incidentally, to
FEAR RAY
prevent the monster from using its most lethal eye rays A beholder uses its fear ray to psychologically torture
at every opportunity). The rule also makes the creature and interrogate a prisoner until the creature loses the
easier to run.
will to resist.
In the safety of its lair, outside the view of any
would-be enemies, a beholder can use any of its eye rays SLOWING RAY
whenever it wants to. Many of them serve as tools. A beholder might use its slowing ray on an uncoopera-
tive creature as a demonstration of sorts, threatening to
ANTIMAGIC CONE
follow it up with more severe consequences if the crea-
The magic-nullifying effect of a beholder's central eye
ture doesn't submit to the beholder's will.
has a number of possible uses outside combat, but if it's
not needed, the beholder can turn it off by simply clos- DEATH RAY AND ENERVATION RAY
ing the eye. A beholder can fine-tune its death ray or enervation ray
so that it can "zap" the smallest of targets and deal only
NEGATIVE ENERGY CONE
a small amount of damage (though usually still enough
Normally usable only by a death tyrant, negative energy to obliterate what it touches). For example, to guard
prevents survivors of a battle from healing and animates against magical spying, a beholder might use either ray
any dead or dying creatures as zombies under the be-
to eliminate all common vermin (bats, rats, spiders, and
holder's control. Because there is no limit to the number
so on) from its lair.
of zombies a death tyrant can animate and control,
it can pack its lair so full of undead that there is little TELEKINETIC RAY
space for anyone to walk, creating a shambling barrier In addition to functioning as the beholder's arms and
of cadaverous resistance against any invasion. hands for everyday tasks, the telekinetic ray is essential
for building traps and other lair defenses, such as posi-
CHARM RAY
tioning the weights for a falling block trap. This ray al-
It is common for a beholder to charm a hostile monster,
lows a beholder to station its minions in parts of the lair
lure the creature to the beholder's lair, and confine it
that can otherwise be accessed only by climbing or fly-
there so it can't escape under its own power. In this way,
ing, preventing the occupants from escaping. A beholder
even monsters that can't be bribed or coerced can be
could also use its telekinetic ray to forcibly transport a
useful to a beholder, making its lair a confusing zoo of
creature immune to charm effects (such as a construct
hostile beasts.
or some kinds of undead).
Although each use of the charm effect lasts only an
hour, repeated uses over time against the same target SLEEP RAY
tend to wear down a creature's will, creating a doc-
When it parlays with other creatures, a beholder might
ile servant. use its sleep ray as a display of power, quickly disabling
the leader and thereby persuading the rest of the group
PARALYZING RAY
to mount no resistance. This tactic is useful primarily
Outside combat, the paralyzing ray is most often used when the beholder intends to use the group for its own
to restrain a fleeing minion that it doesn't want to de- purposes, and keeping the leader alive is advantageous
stroy outright.
to those plans. This ray is also used to pacify potentially
useful captives, perhaps in preparation for conditioning
them with the charm or fear rays.