How Much for a Beholder Eyestalk?

guedo79

Explorer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #1

So I was reading a thread about a 'cool visual' and I got an idea.

I'm DMing a group that needs to raise a large amount of gold. I figured what's a better way to raise cash then to harvest Beholder Eyestalks.

So the big question is how much would a single eyestalk be worth?

 

Last edited: Jan 8, 2003

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Carnifex

First Post

• Jan 8, 2003

• #2

That all depends on what the eyestalk can be used for.

If eyestalks have no actual practical properties then they'll be worth sod all except as curios. If thye have magical properties, ie are excellent for use in making seeing magic items, then depending on how powerful they are they'll cost different amounts of money.

 

Wippit Guud

First Post

• Jan 8, 2003

• #3

I think an eyestalk would drastically reduce costs of making a wand of whatever the eyestalk casted...

 

guedo79

Explorer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #4

They would end up selling them in Tradegate(Gate town to Bytopia in the Outlands). So there should be lots of people shopping and looking to buy wierd things.

Uses that I've come up with:

Like Wippit said, to help make wands.
As some kind of spell componant
As a holy Symbol to a Beholder worshiper
Research for anyone studying Beholders
A trophy for anyone who isn't brave enough to get one him/herself

I'm sure I'll come up with others by the time I run the game.

 

Carnifex

First Post

• Jan 8, 2003

• #5

guedo79 said:

They would end up selling them in Tradegate(Gate town to Bytopia in the Outlands). So there should be lots of people shopping and looking to buy wierd things.

Uses that I've come up with:

Like Wippit said, to help make wands.
As some kind of spell componant
As a holy Symbol to a Beholder worshiper
Research for anyone studying Beholders
A trophy for anyone who isn't brave enough to get one him/herself

I'm sure I'll come up with others by the time I run the game.

Click to expand...

Ah, so you're running a Planescape game then I would advise that worshippers of beholders are a) unlikely to be too much in force in Tradegare and b) certainly wouldn't want to buy eyestalks as holy symbols, they'd want to kill the PC's for killing the beholders in the first place!

Where are all the beholders that they intend to try and kill? (I say try becasuse frankly beholders, with all their insta-death rays, are one of the beasties I'd be least likely to go hunting just for money ).

 

guedo79

Explorer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #6

Carnifex said:

Ah, so you're running a Planescape game then

Click to expand...

Yup. I've had one running for about 4 years now. The group is backed by Estaban in Sigil. They are raising funds to pay Jemorile the Exile to steal something from Shemeshka the Marauder.(All from the Faces of Sigil NPC book) They are basically caught in the middle of a large power struggle.

I would advise that worshippers of beholders are a) unlikely to be too much in force in Tradegare and b) certainly wouldn't want to buy eyestalks as holy symbols, they'd want to kill the PC's for killing the beholders in the first place!

Click to expand...

Good point. Maybe there is a small group of worshipers that follow a anti-beholder god.

Where are all the beholders that they intend to try and kill?

Click to expand...

In a isolated section of Forgotten Relms, in the "Beholder Graveyard". They should be able to find a hand full of stalks from the dead ones and have to fight a few guardians. (Can't make it too easy)

 

Last edited: Jan 8, 2003

BOZ

Creature Cataloguer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #7

i need to find my "critter bits and magic recipies" and bump it up...

 

Nifft

Penguin Herder

• Jan 8, 2003

• #8

I'd allow a Beholder Eye, if properly preserved, to augment a Wand of a specific type (lower price and reduce XP cost by 50%, and raise effective caster level by +2), depending on the specific eye obtained:

Central Eye: Dispel Magic
Charm Person or Charm Monster: as the spells, or Charm Person or Animal
Sleep: Sleep, Power Word: Sleep, Calm Animals, Calm Emotions
Flesh to Stone: Hold Person, Stoneskin
Telekinesis and Disintegrate: any Transmutation effect
Fear: any Fear effect
Slow: as the spell
Inflict Moderate Wounds: as the spell, but in a ray, and not at +2 caster level
Finger of Death: any Necromancy effect

The prices for each eye would be:
Central Eye: 10,000
Charm Eye: 5,000
Sleep Eye: 500
Flesh to Stone Eye: 5,000
Telekinesis or Disintegrate Eye: 10,000
Fear Eye: 2,500
Slow Eye: 2,500
Inflict Eye: 5,000
Finger of Death Eye: 10,000

-- Nifft

 

guedo79

Explorer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #9

Anyone else figure out a actual number?

Here's one of my firend's ideas:
a normal beholder's CR 13
so they should have 13,000 gold worth of treasure on them
since a beholder has double the treasure worth its 26,000 gold
each beholder has 10 eyes
the body and large eye are worth more then the stalks
so giving the body half the dead beholder's worth (13,000 gold)
the 10 stalks would be worth 13,000 or 1,300 gold per stalk.

Any other ideas?

 

Last edited: Jan 8, 2003

guedo79

Explorer

• Jan 8, 2003

• #10

Nifft said:

I'd allow a Beholder Eye, if properly preserved, to augment a Wand of a specific type (lower price and reduce XP cost by 50%, and raise effective caster level by +2), depending on the specific eye obtained:

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of selling them by what spell they cast. But after the beholder is dead how do you tell the different stalks apart?