D&D 5E Can Beholders fly in an Anti-Magic field?

[Saeviomagy]

I have to say "beholders fly via magic and therefore annoy the heck out of each other when they live together" is actually a much more interesting reason for them to not hang around in groups than the traditional "They are all crazy and xenophobic".

As for the CR - I don't think it underestimates them. Heck, if you use the rules in the MM, where they only get random eye rays to use it massively overestimates them (unless the DM has an amazing day on the dice).

 

[Unwise]

Certainly IMC Beholders could still fly in an anti-magic field. Otherwise such a field would kill all undead, the tarrasque would collapse and shatter its own bones because of its impractical weight, a dragon could not fly either due to terrible aerodynamics, elementals would simply cease to exist, faeries would likely die. I think there are a lot of creatures whose very nature relies on magic for them to exist.

I think there is a difference between magic being cast and being active and being innate. Given the context of the worlds, I think that magic is like physics and chemistry at its base level. It is just one of the laws of nature. Its like if you had an anti-chemistry field, it would stop a reagent from exploding, suppress a toxic gas reaction, prevent potions from activating etc but would not instantly kill a person by disintegrating all of their molecular bonds and turning them back to base elements. It would not stop the neuron movement and memory storing that relies on chemistry in the brain.

Of course, such fields may well exist. An anti-physics field may well create something akin to the weirdest parts of the far realms, where matter, motion and therefore time have no meaning and the laws of causality fall apart. The construction of an anti-magic field that made everything in it obey earths laws of nature would be pretty awesome, I just don't think it should exist outside of a plot device.

 

[Hand of Evil]

from the SRD (old): Flight (Ex): A beholder's body is naturally buoyant. This buoyancy allows it to fly at a speed of 20 feet. This buoyancy also grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

This seems like a good way to take out a beholder to me, as long as they can't fly out of it. Beholders seem to me to be a bit underconned at CR13, considering they have such a versatile array of spells at their disposal, can cast at least 4-6 per round, and have a solid DC of 16 to them. All this combined has me thinking of ways to overcome them without a) killing the party or b) having to fudge to include one in my campaign to avoid A.

But naturally, if they can't fly in it, and you can get one around it, they are would probably be pretty helpless, rolling around on the ground trying to bite you

They are also helpless in heavy obscurement like Darkness or a Fog Cloud, since all of their powers except anti-magic rely on being able to see their target--and if they use anti-magic to suppress the Darkness, now they can't use their powers because of antimagic.

Beholders are a gimmick monster as written in 5E. They're tough until you figure out how to deal with them, and then they're easy.

They combo well with minions though. Twenty hobgoblins plus a beholder is a pretty neat task force, like infantry + tanks. Beholder's anti-magic prevents you from taking them down with AoEs or Eldritch Blast, so you have to fight the hobgoblins the hard way--and they will make it very painful for you.

 

[Rod Staffwand]

If you ask a beholder it would say that it doesn't levitate, but moves the universe around it.

 

[Psikerlord#]

My ruling would be it's magical, and anti-magic field puts them on the ground and in big trouble. Tough luck for the beholder I guess.

 

[Zardnaar]

Beholder flight has been non magical for around 20 years+ now.


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[PnPgamer]

yeah it doesn't make much sense if the beholder falls down and rolls around comically trying to bite when they open their main eye...

 

[spectacle]

Beholders are unnatural creatures originating from the Far Realm. Psionics also come from the Far Realm, so a possible explanation is that beholders levitate with psionic power. That lets them levitate in an anti-magic field without having to be undignified air balloons.

 

[Dormouse]

Certainly IMC Beholders could still fly in an anti-magic field. Otherwise such a field would kill all undead, the tarrasque would collapse and shatter its own bones because of its impractical weight, a dragon could not fly either due to terrible aerodynamics, elementals would simply cease to exist, faeries would likely die. I think there are a lot of creatures whose very nature relies on magic for them to exist.

I think there is a difference between magic being cast and being active and being innate.

This. Magic is a simple and efficient word to describe everything in a fantasy world that does not make sense. But it is an equivocation fallacy to equate things like pixies with spells like fireball. "Magic" in the context of an anti-magic field is just talking about the craft of spellcasting. It is not talking about the everything weird that separates a fantasy world from our own.