Behalfer

"My mates and I had overrun many a traveller's camp before. We were to run our usual operation on a group of merchants; sneak in, kill one, gag another and make off with the goods. They didn't suspect a thing... or so we thought. I was about to stick a knife in the first sleeping man's back when suddenly I noticed a small, beady little eye peaking out of his pant leg. Suddenly, I couldn't move, and the man stood up as if he hadn't even been asleep to begin with! That little eye and a flash of color is all I remember before I was knocked out!" - Excerpt from the Interrogation of Preston B. Hargrave by the Secomber Town Guard Upon the Arrest of He and the "High Moor Bandits"

Abomination is likely the first word that comes to mind when asked about Behalfers. Behalfers are spawned of a Beholder when it dreams of the possibility of becoming human. This rarely happens as Beholders shudder at the thought of taking on such an inferior physical state. Behalfers that have been fortunate enough to survive and escape a beholder's clutches slink around the world, hiding their deformities in hopes of avoiding conflict from the humanoid races and beholders alike.

Near-Perfect Imposters

A Behalfer takes on all the physical traits of a human with a few minor exceptions. They often inherit their hair color from the skin color of the Beholder that spawned them, as well as the eye color of that same Beholder. The other more notable difference is a singular eyestalk that grows from anywhere on the Behalfer's body. This can make hiding amongst normal humans vary in difficulty, as Behalfers with stalks on their head or hands often have a harder time covering them up. One thing is for certain: normal folk will undoubtedly recoil in horror at the sight of a Beholder's eyestalk sticking out of a human.

Escaped Freaks

For a Behalfer to make its way into society is an extremely rare occurance, but not impossible. Often when a Behalfer is spawned by a Beholder, it is promptly destroyed, as most Beholders see the existence of a Behalfer as an insult to their racial purity. Some Beholders do take on the more able-bodied Behalfers as a pet or low-tier minion, as they recognize the usefulness of a minion that can blend into a crowd. Behalfers lucky enough to be put into these positions are equipped with the knowledge of the Beholder's personality and lair necessary to escape, though this does not make it an easy feat. If a Behalfer should somehow escape a Beholder's lair, they face a new task of integrating into normal society. For this reason, many Behalfers turn to lives of crime to get a start. Some may join temples and seek the guidance of a higher power, or long enough robes to adequetly hide their eyestalks. It is completely possible for a Behalfer to work its way upwards to a respected position in society, but no matter what, its first and foremost concern will be to protect it's secret genesis. To some Behalfers, this simply means relocating frequently. To others, it means killing any and all witnesses.

Behalfer Names

Beholders do not put much thought into naming their Behalfer minions, often opting for one-syllable names. Sometimes these names are derived from the Beholder's own name. (i. e. Xanathar's Behalfer could be named "Xan" or "Thar") Other times the Beholder just takes a random sound, object, or creature and names their Behalfer after that. Beholders do not name Behalfers based on their gender. Behalfers will often adopt a last name, or change their names completely to fit into the society they've immigrated into.

Names: Akk, Book, Brapp, Coin, Crass, Faxx, Fish, Gurr, Kill, Krush, Maxx, Nipp, Pfft, Shelf, Stool, Thar, Xan, Yark, Yeck

Behalfer Traits

Your Beholder heritage lets your character adopt certain traits shared with all other Behalfers.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age. Behalfers rarely live past 60 years old, but they are usually dreamt into existence in a mature state. (i.e. a Behalfer appears to be 20 years old when in reality they might be only a few months old.)

Alignment. Being spawned from a Beholder, many Behalfers innately lean towards lawful evil. However, all have the same capacity towards any alignment, just as their human counterparts are.

Size. Behalfers are about the same size as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Your monsterous origins grant superior vision in dim and dark places. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Sleep With One Eye Open. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Additionally, when you begin a long rest, you can choose to keep your eyestalk active while you sleep. If you do, you have advantage on the Wisdom (Perception) checks involving noticing ambushes and surprise attacks.

Eye Ray. You inherit one of a Beholder's eyestalks, and can use one type of Eye Ray. Roll a d6 on the following table to determine which eye ray you can use. You can only use the Eye Ray once before having to complete a long rest. When you reach 10th level, you can roll on this table again to determine a second eye ray, and your usages increase to three.

Eye Rays

d6 Ray Type 1 Charm Ray 2 Paralyzing Ray 3 Fear Ray 4 Slowing Ray 5 Sleep Ray 6 Death Ray