Creature Catalog now in Dragon Magazine

Astereater (Aberration, CR 6-8)
Slightly larger than a beholder, the astereater lacks eyes stalks and the antimagic
cone of typical beholders. Instead, it has thick, rocklike skin (granting high natural armor and damage reduction). It is more melee-oriented, using its improved grab and swallow whole abilities.

Eye of the Deep (Aberration, CR 8-10)
The eye of the deep is an aquatic beholderkin. It is a 5-foot wide orb dominated by
a central eye and a large toothy maw. Two large crab-like pincers and two eyes on
stalks sprout from the orb. It has a stunning cone from its central eye, and has
variable eye rays. Additionally, it can grab and tear with its pincers.

Observer (Aberration, CR 14-16)
Observers are 6-7 feet in diameter. Their chitinous shell is mottled purple and pink. Observers have 3 mouths spaced evenly around their lower hemisphere, and three main eyes spread evenly around their equator. Six minor eyes on stalks ring their dorsal surfaces. Its mouths are on tentacle stalks, and can strike with reach and drain blood. It has telekinetic powers in addition to its eye rays, and benefits from true seeing continuously. Additionally, they have psionic powers.

Orbus (Aberration, CR ?)
The orbus is a chalky white, 4-foot wide orb dominated by a milky white central eye. Its eyestalks look atrophied and useless. Its central eye produces the standard antimagic cone of beholders, but it lacks eye rays. Additionally, it can aborb magically energy, sharing this energy with other beholderkin to achieve various effects (such as improved spellcasting for the elder orb or beholder mages).

Searechter (Marine Spectator)(Aberration, CR 6)
Searechters have three eyestalks on each side of the body, and have two fins on their backs. They are either dark blue or black in color. They have eye rays that are optimal in their aquatic environment, and their central eyes have a spell turning effect.

Shade said:

Last I looked, they aren't under either "gorbel", or "beholder-kin, gorbel".

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how odd! And yet, I’m sure she wrote it up and I thought she had posted it…

it is in the Tome of Horrors though. Perhaps it was one of those handful of conversions that were done right before the ToH was finalized, and therefore not posted in the CC.

I was surprised, too. I checked the NG Forums to see if she'd posted it there, but no luck. Do you have the TOH handY?

Orbus CR 2-4?

Thoughts on spellcasting level of an elder orb?

Shade said:

Do you have the TOH handY?

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well, you can describe it as a rubbery little monster that looks like a beholder with clawed feet, no central eye, and fewer eyestalks. The eyestalks aren’t magical, and the creature explodes violently when you hit it with a sword. IIRC the CR was low, maybe 1 or 2.

Shade said:

Orbus CR 2-4?

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we can guess for now – why not go 3, which is in the middle of your range there.

Shade said:

Thoughts on spellcasting level of an elder orb?

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do we need to know that now? wasn’t that an early 3.5 revision that we did way back?

BOZ said:

well, you can describe it as a rubbery little monster that looks like a beholder with clawed feet, no central eye, and fewer eyestalks. The eyestalks aren’t magical, and the creature explodes violently when you hit it with a sword. IIRC the CR was low, maybe 1 or 2.

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That'll work. Thanks!

BOZ said:

we can guess for now – why not go 3, which is in the middle of your range there.

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Sounds good.

BOZ said:

do we need to know that now? wasn’t that an early 3.5 revision that we did way back?

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I'll just put "can cast arcane spells as a wizard".

Here's the revised query. How does it look?

_______________________________________

I'd like to submit an article for the Creature Catalog called "Tyrants of the Hive". It will detail the various beholderkin found in a beholder hive. Additionally, I will provide a sidebar detailing how the existing beholders and kin fit into the hive structure. The length will be close to the 8,000 word limit for Creature Catalog articles. I've included a large list of alternates in case a large number of these creatures appear in Lords of Madness. The following monsters will be included:

Crawler (Vermin, CR 2, 8 when merged with director)
A crawler resembles a cross between a centipede and a spider. It has ten legs, two
pairs of frontal antennae, and two fighting spider fangs that can be used for separate stabbing attacks. They have cutting mandibles beneath their front fangs. It has a poison bite and can roll into a defensive ball. It can also merge with the director into a single aberration.

Director (Aberration, CR 6, 8 when merged with crawler)
Its central eye is smaller and set in bare musculature for ease in pivoting, and it
possesses only six small eyes an retractable eye stalks. It has a fanged mouth three
clawed sensory tendrils on its ventral surface. These tendrils are used to cling to
a crawler mount and link with its limited mind. Its eye rays are offensive in nature.

Elder Orb (Aberration, CR 19)
Elder orbs are almost indistinguishable from normal beholders, save that some of their eyestalks will be severed, or withered away into uselessness. It has the standard beholder eye rays, although generally a few have been lost as its eyestalks have been lost. However, it makes up for the loss of eye rays with the ability to cast arcane spells as a wizard. They often create death tyrants (from Monsters of Faerun) to serve them.

Examiner (Aberration, CR 5)
An examiner is a 4-foot sphere with no central eye and four small eyes, each at the end of an antenna, mounted atop the sphere. They have one small, lamprey-like mouth on their ventral surface. Four multi-jointed limbs ending in gripper pads surround the mouth. These limbs can pick up and manipulate tools, the chief strength of the examiner. Its eye rays deal with identifying and manipulating items and magic.

Hive Mother (Aberration, CR 18)
A hive mother is twice the size of a typical beholder. Unlike the normal beholder, a hive mother has no eyestalks. Its magical eyes are protected by hooded-lids in the flesh of its body. It has the standard beholder eye rays, as well as improved grab and swallow whole. Additionally, it can spawn and control other beholders and their kin.

Lensman (Aberration, CR 2)
A lensman has a five-limbed starfish-shaped body with a large central eye set in the middle of the chest. A large, toothy maw is located just below the eye. Four of its five limbs end in prehensile, three-fingered claws. The fifth limb, located at the top of the body and above the eye, is a prehensile whip-like appendage. Its body is covered in short, coarse, bristly hair, tan in color. It possesses a single eye ray, determined randomly from a list of six options.

Overseer (Aberration, CR 10)
Overseers resemble fleshy trees. They have 13 limbs, each of which ends in a bud that conceals an eye; one of these limbs forms the top spine. Three yammering mouths surround this spine, There are also eight thorny, vine-like limbs that are used to grasp tools and to act as a physical defense. Overseers sit on root-like bases that can inch along when movement is required. They cannot levitate. They have thirteen eye rays, both offensive and defensive in nature.

Watcher (Aberration, CR 3)
Watchers are six-foot-wide orbs with three central eyes evenly spaced around the circumference of the sphere. These eyes are huge and have no eyelids. A large compound eye sits atop the crown. A ring of six, small eyespots ring the compound eye. A large tentacle with a barbed prehensile tip extends from the ventral surface, right behind the small mouth with its rasp-like tongue. It has a stunning tentacle slap and a variety of abilities with its main eyes, mostly divination and illusion abilities.

Alternates:

Astereater (Aberration, CR 6-8)
Slightly larger than a beholder, the astereater lacks eyes stalks and the antimagic
cone of typical beholders. Instead, it has thick, rocklike skin (granting high natural armor and damage reduction). It is more melee-oriented, using its improved grab and swallow whole abilities.

Eye of the Deep (Aberration, CR 8-10)
The eye of the deep is an aquatic beholderkin. It is a 5-foot wide orb dominated by
a central eye and a large toothy maw. Two large crab-like pincers and two eyes on
stalks sprout from the orb. It has a stunning cone from its central eye, and has
variable eye rays. Additionally, it can grab and tear with its pincers.

Gas Spore (Hazard, CR 4)
The gas spore is a circular sphere with a false central eye, and rhizome growths on top of it that resemble a beholder’s eyestalks. When struck, it explodes, dealing damage to all creatures in a 30-foot radius and carries a deadly disease. Beholders sometimes use these as wards, moving them about from a safe distance with their telekinesis rays.

Gorbel (Aberration, CR 1-2)
This rubbery little monster looks like a beholder with clawed feet, no central eye, and fewer eyestalks. The eyestalks aren’t magical, and the creature explodes violently when hit with a sword.

Observer (Aberration, CR 14-16)
Observers are 6-7 feet in diameter. Their chitinous shell is mottled purple and pink. Observers have 3 mouths spaced evenly around their lower hemisphere, and three main eyes spread evenly around their equator. Six minor eyes on stalks ring their dorsal surfaces. Its mouths are on tentacle stalks, and can strike with reach and drain blood. It has telekinetic powers in addition to its eye rays, and benefits from true seeing continuously. Additionally, they have psionic powers.

Orbus (Aberration, CR 3)
The orbus is a chalky white, 4-foot wide orb dominated by a milky white central eye. Its eyestalks look atrophied and useless. Its central eye produces the standard antimagic cone of beholders, but it lacks eye rays. Additionally, it can aborb magically energy, sharing this energy with other beholderkin to achieve various effects (such as improved spellcasting for the elder orb or beholder mages).

Searechter (Marine Spectator)(Aberration, CR 6)
Searechters have three eyestalks on each side of the body, and have two fins on their backs. They are either dark blue or black in color. They have eye rays that are optimal in their aquatic environment, and their central eyes have a spell turning effect.

as for the Slaad Lords and their HD in the CC....yeah, when I did them that was like way, way back. They were significantly lower in the Tome of Horrors. And they got slightly adjusted in Tome 1 revised (at least one of them did I think...cant remember at the moment....but anyway...they are much more "manageable" now).

cool, scott.

shade - it looks ready to go!

Scott - Thanks for the info! I'm very much looking forward to the Tome Revised.

BOZ - I'll send it off when I get a chance.

I was looking through I, Tyrant last night, and found a few more. How do these look?

Beholder Priestess (Aberration, CR 19)
This is a variant hive mother, granted special powers by the Great Mother during times of danger to the hive. A beholder priestess casts divine spells and rebukes/commands undead as a 9th-level cleric. Additionally, a beholder priestess gains a +2 bonus to saves against spells and spell-like abilities.

Evil Eye (Template, CR +0)
Evil eyes look like typical beholders, but have variant abilities for their eyestalks and central eyes. This template gives a menu-style approach to these variant powers.

Kasharin (Template, CR +0)
A kasharin is an undead beholder similar to a death tyrant (from Monsters of Faerun), except that it spreads a magical disease similar to mummy rot.

Patroller (Aberration, CR 4)
A patroller looks like a hairy, headless troll with an oversized torso. These mindless creatures are used as mounts, usually by beholder mages. They can wield weapons, and possess the claw attacks, regeneration and rend ability of trolls.