A
          / \      _             Play Now                         Nemesis on 
          | |     | |  _______   _        _   _______    _______   _    _______
          | |\    | | |   ____| |  \    /  | |   ____|  /   ____| | |  /   ____|
 /-------/-------------------------------------------------------------------,
O= Home <=XX|  About  News  Pics  Adventurers  Wizards  Download  Connect     >
 \-------\-------------------------------------------------------------------'
          | |   \   | |  |____  | |      | | |  |____   ___ \  \  | |  ___ \  \
          | |     \_| |_______| |_|      |_| |_______| |_______/  |_| |_______/
          \ /
           V  

Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/beholder

Name:
	Beholder  (Magical Creature)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1
	Climate/Terrain: Any remote
	Frequency      : Rare
	Organization   : Solitary
	Activity Cycle : Any
	Diet           : Omnivore

Description:
	The beholder is the stuff of nightmares. This creature, also called
	the sphere of many eyes or the eye tyrant, appears as a large orb domi-
	nated by a central eye and a large toothy maw, has 10 smaller eyes on
	stalks sprouting from the top of the orb. Among adventurers, beholders
	are known as deadly adversaries.

	The globular body of the beholder is supported by levitation, allowing
	it to float slowly about as it wills. Beholders are usually solitary
	creatures, but there are reports of large communities of them survi-
	ving deep beneath the earth.

	All beholders speak their own language, in addition, they often speak
	the tongues of other lawful evil creatures.

Combat:
	The beholder has different armour classes for different parts of their
	body, while the central body is toughest and the eyes are weakest.

	Each of the beholder's eyes, including the central one has a different
	function. The standard smaller eyes of a beholder are as follows:

	  1.  Charm person (as spell)
	  2.  Charm monster (as spell)
	  3.  Sleep (as spell, but only one target)
	  4.  Telekinesis (250 pound weight)
	  5.  Flesh to stone (as spell, 30-yard range)
	  6.  Disintegrate (20-yard range)
	  7.  Fear (as wand)
	  8.  Slow (as spell, but only a single target)
	  9.  Cause serious wounds (50-yard range)
	  10. Death ray (as a death spell, with a single target, 40-yard range)

	The central eye produces an anti-magic ray with a 140-yard range, which
	covers a 90-degree arc before the creature. No magic inluding the ef-
	fects of other eyes) will function within that area. Spells cast in or
	passing through that zone cease to function.

	A beholder may activate the magical powers of its eyes' at will. Gene-
	rally, a beholder can use 1-4 smaller eyes if attackers are within a 90
	degree angle in front, 1-6 if attacked from within a 180 degree angle,
	1-8 if attacked from a 270 degree arc, and up to all 10 eyes if at-
	tacked from all sides. The central eye can be used only against attacks
	from the front. If attacked from above, the beholder can use up to all
	of the smaller eyes.

	The beholder can withstand the loss of its eyestalks. The body can
	withstand two thirds of its hit points in damage before the creature
	perishes. The remaining third of is located in the central eye, and
	destroying it will eliminate the anti-magic ray. Slaying the body will
	kill the beholder and render the smaller eyes powerless. Destroyed eye-
	stalks (but not the central eye) can regenerate at a rate of one lost
	member per week.

Habitat/Society:
	The beholders are a hateful, aggressive and avaricious race, attacking
	or dominating other races, including other beholders. This is because
	of a xenophobic intolerance among beholders that causes them to hate
	all creatures not like themselves. The basic, beholder body type (a
	sphere with a mouth and a central eye, eye-tipped tentacles) allows for
	a great variety of beholder subspecies. Some have obvious differences,
	there are those covered with overlapping chitin plates, and those with
	smooth hides, or snake-like eye tentacles, and some with crustacean-
	like joints. But something as small as a change in hide color or size
	of the central eye can make two groups of beholders sworn enemies.
	Every beholder declares its own unique body-form to be the 'true ideal'
	of beholderhood, the others being nothing but ugly copies, fit only to
	be eliminated.

	Beholders will normally attack immediately. If confronted with a parti-
	cular party there is a 50% chance they will listen to negotiations
	(bribery) before raining death upon their foes.