By Alan McCoy from Dungeons & Dragons: Fundamentals

How to build challenging encounters against a Beholder

Note: This has been prepared utilizing only the 5E Core Rules. The Beholder can be found in the Monster Manual page 26-28.

First and foremost, let me begin by stating that if you run a beholder simply ‘by the book’ you have completely underplayed this creature. The beholder is a true mastermind, a fantasy super-villain. It’s individual combat abilities merely scratch the surface. Much of its power lies in the network of willing servants, minions and allies that it has built up. These beings have plans within plans and goals within goals. Please use this creature with the care and respect that it deserves!

A Beholder is an aggressive, hateful and greedy aberration that dismiss all other creatures as lesser beings, keeping them only if they are useful, toying with their emotions and desires, rewarding some, punishing others. If a beholder shows mercy it is only because it fits their plans.

The ultimate narcissist the Beholder believes that the world revolves around it, this conclusion includes other Beholders, as these creatures believe that all other creatures are inferior and may even be a product of its imagination. There is speculation that beholders are not born or the product of mating, but rather a new beholder is created with an existing beholder has a too vivid dream.

Some Beholders create massive empires that they rule with absolute despotism.

Some Beholders take residence in a city of men, becoming for all intents and purposes the ultimate power behind the throne. They are the ultimate criminal mastermind.

Some Beholders prefer a solitary life, existing on their own destroying all life for miles around for both whim and pleasure. For the sake of this essay I will be concentrating on the solitary Beholder.

Beholder lairs are usually carved out with their disintegration ray, they emphasize vertical tunnels and unconnected side passages. Often the Beholder will care a connecting passage to near completion then leave that passage sealed until they need it.

A Beholder’s lair is typically a large spacious cavern with high ceilings where it can attack without having to close to melee range. There are often several outcroppings where the Beholder can shelter and several tunnels that it can use to travel to another area of the central cavern without being seen.

Beholders are Lawful Evil in Alignment.

Step 1) Let’s Review what we know about the Beholder.

A Beholder has Lair actions! These powerful creatures have such knowledge of their lair and such power that they can make more things happen in a combat round than would otherwise be possible.

These actions go off in initiative count 20, the Beholder can:



· Slime an area 50-foot square, making it difficult terrain.

· Cause the walls to sprout grasping appendages, these appendages will grapple creatures of the Beholders choice.

· Open an Eye on the wall of a cavern that shoots a random eye ray at the target of the Beholders Choice.

The Beholder may not use the same effect two rounds in a row.

The Beholder has exceptional Intelligence, Constitution, and Charisma, it has high Dexterity and wisdom but only average strength.

The Beholder moves by flying at 20 feet/round. It can choose to hover at any time.

The Beholder has exceptionally strong saving throws.

The Beholder is exceptionally talented at Perception.

The Beholder’s Senses include Normal Vision and Darkvision 120 feet. Passive Perception 22

Beholders can converse in Deep Speech and Undercommon, they can learn other languages if they choose to do so.

While it almost never does so in combat, the Beholder has a powerful bite.

The Beholder’s primary weapons are its Central Eye and its eye stalks, each of which causes a different magical effect. The Beholder can utilize its central eye and discharge three of its eye stalks in any given round.

Step 2) Determine the probable Strategy.

While it would be impossible to determine exactly what an individual Beholders desires and motivations were at any given time, I’m going to utilize the simple scenario of protecting its lair from invaders. Unless the party arrives invited, the Beholder is not likely to engage in casual conversation, it wants the party dead as quickly as possible. It wants to minimize the damage to its lair.

Its overall strategy therefore is one of concentrating the enemies in zones of fire, such that it can eliminate them with as little effort as possible.

One nasty caveat of which the Beholder is all too aware, the Anti-Magic Cone ability provided by the central eye can cancel out even the magical effects of the Beholder’s other eye stalks.

Step 3) Determine Tactics

The Beholder will stay high and away from the ground. It will probably invert (go upside down) to ‘unmask’ its various eye stalks. It is going to get a good vantage so that it can see what its up against. While doing so it will aim its Anti-Magic Cone at the party. It does this to end any preparatory spells or magical effects that have been used to prepare the party for the encounter. The use of this ability is diffuse and does not provide a location to the party. The Beholder will activate it’s first lair action which is to ‘slime’ the floor and make the area entering difficult terrain.

The Beholder shoots three of its eye rays at random, the Beholder can identify which of the rays are available each round and can choose to target each of the eye rays where it would be most effective.

Having identified the intruders to the lair, the Beholder will position itself near one of its transit holes and fire three of its eye stalks at party members. The saving throw for each ray is dependent on the following ability score.

Strength: Telekinetic Ray

Dexterity: Slowing Ray, Petrification Ray, Disintegration Ray, Death Ray

Constitution: Paralyzing Ray, Enervation Ray

Wisdom: Charm Ray, Fear Ray, Sleep Ray

Since the Beholder has exceptional intelligence and a very high wisdom, it will pick sensible targets for its rays. for instance, it knows that using it knows better than to use its telekinetic ray against a heavily armored or great weapon toting foe is probably useless. As time goes on, the Beholder will remember if a target was unaffected by a type of ray and will probably not repeat that ray on them. If it realizes that the ray was particularly effective against a target it will probably repeat the ray.

Meanwhile, the Beholder will utilize its lair actions in rotation.

Also remember, the Beholder can choose to utilize its rays on the environment. Perhaps collapsing the entryway to prevent escape with its disintegration ray.

Perhaps one round in three, of if it sees the party begin to engage magical spells enhancements or devices, it will utilize the Anti-Magic ray to shut those down.

If the party somehow gets close to the Beholder, the cone becomes both less effective, because it cannot catch the entire party, and more effective because those outside the cone’s radius can now be targeted with eye stalks.

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Complete Guide to Beholders

by Goodman Games

“Behold: the ultimate resource for the ultimate monster. With enough material to sustain a campaign for years, the Complete Guide to Beholders offers a completely new perspective on this misunderstood monster. Far more than simply a book of new options, this work is a transformation of the beholder”