Page 17 - Volo's Guide to Monsters

holder (or any parts it can recover from a battle) would BEHOLDER LESSER MINIONS
certainly be a prized trophy, as would be the skull of a
1
dlOO Lesser Minions :
defeated dragon, the clothing of a famous adventurer
01-04 lOdlO + 50 bandits and 3d6 bandit captains
the beholder killed, or art objects that are pleasing to its
05-08 l0d6 bugbears and ld3 bugbear chiefs
alien senses. A beholder usually has the location of all
its trophies memorized and immediately senses if some- 09-12 lOdlO cultists and 4d6 cult fanatics
thing is missing or out of place. 13-14 10d6 duergar
Clutter is treasure that has intrinsic value, but isn't 15-22 l Odl O + 50 goblins and 3d4 goblin bosses
immediately useful to the beholder or its minions. This 23-25 lOdlO + 50 grimlocks
category includes currency, gems, jewelry, and magic 26-35 1 Odl O hobgoblins and 2d4 hobgoblin captains
items that nobody in the lair can use or use well. These 36-43 lOdlO + 50 kobolds, 2d4 kobold inventors,** and
items are stored somewhere in the lair until they're dis- 2d 6 kobold scale sorcerers**
posed of-sometimes by distributing them among the
44-48 lOdlO + SO lizardfolk
minions as gifts, other times by disintegration.
49-56 l Od l O ores and 1 d 6 ore war chiefs
A beholder's personality greatly influences how it
57-59 6d 6 quaggoths
categorizes its treasures. A braggart beholder might
60-65 l Odl O + 50 troglodytes
use a slain enemy's magic battleaxe as a trophy, but a
66-00 Roll twice, 1gnoring results above 65
manipulative beholder might give that axe as a gift to a
lieutenant in order to encourage competition between its * For death tyrant lairs, use this table, but replace approxi-
upper ranks. An inventive beholder might use an ever- mately half of its humanoid minions with zombies.
smoking bottle to obscure dozens of pit traps in a room, ** See chapter 3 of this book for statistics.
but a more militaristic one might not have a use for it
and treat it as clutter. Circumstances might change the BEHOLDER GREATER MINIONS
role of a piece of treasure-a staff of the python used to
dlOO Greater Minions*
prop up a stone block trap might be given as a gift if the
beholder acquires a minion who can attune the item. 01-03 2d4 barlguras
04-10 ld12 ettins
MINIONS AND PETS 11-20 ld2 fire giants, ld3 frost giants, 2d4 hill giants, or
Td6 stone giants (as appropriate to the terrain)
Beholders often make use of minions. Establishing con-
trol over these creatures usually involves the use of its 21-25 3d6 hook horrors
eye rays, but eventually the minions come to understand 26-32 3d6 manticores
that the beholder can kill them whenever it wants and it 33-40 3d6 minotaurs
is in their best interest to stop resisting and just obey the 41-55 6d6 ogres
beholder's orders. 56-70 2d4 trolls
Minions build walls in the beholder's lair, distribute 71-75 3d6 wights
food to other residents, and carve out new living spaces 76-00 Roll twice, ignoring results above 75
for themselves and other minions- tasks that the be-
* For death tyrant lairs, use this table, but replace approxi-
holder considers beneath its personal attention. Some
mately half of its living minions with ogre zombies.
even worship the beholder as an angry, capricious deity.
Three tables-Beholder Lesser Minions, Beholder
Greater Minions, and Beholder Pets- make it easy to BEHOLDER PETS
stock a beholder's lair with such creatures. dlOO Pets
01-10 ld3 basilisks
LESSER MINIONS
11-13 1 d 3 beholder zombies
If a beholder's retinue were likened to an army, the 14-22 ld4 chimeras
grunts would be represented by its lesser minions, in-
23-26 ld4 flesh golems
telligent creatures that can talk and usually live in large
groups. They handle menial tasks for the beholder such 27-29 3d6 gazers*
as hunting, scouting, and guarding the lair. 30-37 3d6 hell hounds
38-41 2d6 nothics
GREATER MINIONS 42-53 2d4 otyughs
A beholder's greater minions are formidable opponents. 54-66 2d4 ropers
In the lair, they might be stationed where they can catch 67-75 l d6 wyverns
intruders in an ambush, or they could be a last line of
76-00 Roll twice, ignoring results above 75
defense against foes that threaten the inner sanctum.
* See chapter 3 of this book for statistics.
PETS
A beholder often has one or more pets in its lair, mainly THE XANATHAR GUILD
because (for whatever reason) it enjoys the company of The Xanathar Guild is a thieves' and slavers' guild oper-
such creatures. Pets are usually of low intelligence and ating underneath the city ofWaterdeep in the Forgotten
are kept around because of their combat abilities, enter- Realms setting. The guildmaster is a beholder- the lat-
tainment value, or trophy status. est in a series of such creatures. Like its predecessors,

MONSTER LOllE