Adventuring Tactics Masterclass: Beholders.
- Thread starter nikolai
- Start date
nikolai
First Post
Beholder tactics
I think your suggestions are the right ones: attack, use antimagic as a defense while the party attack, hope you're still around for your next go. I guess this is where the 3.5e Monster Manual will come in so handy. The best arena for combat, as has been mentioned, is caves with stalagmites & stalactites for cover and pits over which anti-magic can neutralise fly spells. If I were a Beholder I'd try to run combat something like this.
Surprise round. A beholder is unlikely to be surprised, but if they get surprise they can get off an eyestalk attack.
Combat.
Option A: get at range and:
1) Move away from enemy (and/or upwards).
2) Unleash eyerays, try to get party within 2 arcs of fire if possible(6 rays).
3) Use Shot on the Run to move again, try to end action behind cover.
4) Open anti-magic eye, try to cover spellcasters & probable routes of attack.
Next Round: Repeat sequence, turn off anti-magic eye if needed to get off lethal attack. Otherwise leave it open and use other arcs.
Option B: get up close and:
1) Move into dead center of party - take AoO if needed.
2) Use eyerays in as many arcs of fire as possible (3+). Try to hit every party member with 1/2/3 rays.
3) Open antimagic eye on spellcaster/s.
4) Hope you took as many of them down as possible. Cross eyestalks and hope you're still there next round.
Something that hasn't been noted yet is that telekinesis can be used to manipulate boulders etc. so that the Beholder gets cover vs. arrows and spell line of sight.
nikolai.
Darklone said:
I think your suggestions are the right ones: attack, use antimagic as a defense while the party attack, hope you're still around for your next go. I guess this is where the 3.5e Monster Manual will come in so handy. The best arena for combat, as has been mentioned, is caves with stalagmites & stalactites for cover and pits over which anti-magic can neutralise fly spells. If I were a Beholder I'd try to run combat something like this.
Surprise round. A beholder is unlikely to be surprised, but if they get surprise they can get off an eyestalk attack.
Combat.
Option A: get at range and:
1) Move away from enemy (and/or upwards).
2) Unleash eyerays, try to get party within 2 arcs of fire if possible(6 rays).
3) Use Shot on the Run to move again, try to end action behind cover.
4) Open anti-magic eye, try to cover spellcasters & probable routes of attack.
Next Round: Repeat sequence, turn off anti-magic eye if needed to get off lethal attack. Otherwise leave it open and use other arcs.
Option B: get up close and:
1) Move into dead center of party - take AoO if needed.
2) Use eyerays in as many arcs of fire as possible (3+). Try to hit every party member with 1/2/3 rays.
3) Open antimagic eye on spellcaster/s.
4) Hope you took as many of them down as possible. Cross eyestalks and hope you're still there next round.
Something that hasn't been noted yet is that telekinesis can be used to manipulate boulders etc. so that the Beholder gets cover vs. arrows and spell line of sight.
nikolai.
Last edited:
Ridley's Cohort
First Post
LuYangShih said:
Oops! I stand corrected.
They can still be grappled.
Let's look at what the beholder can do to your average party.
The Beholder's best attack is it's eye rays (duh). These are mostly save or die/ run away/ fall asleep/ ect. SO GET THOSE SAVES UP! Endurance (on the mage and rouge), Cat's Grace (on the fighter, cleric, and wizard), and Owl's Wisdom (on the fighter and rouge) can go a long way. Even the lowly resistance is good, because if you a can't save, you are dead. Yes, all these go away when in an antimagic field, but the beholder can't zap you in his field either, so you're safe.
List of save boosting Wizard spells:
Resistance
Protection from Evil (or law)
Endurance
Cat's Grace
Owl's Wisdom (not core, but if you can use it, do!)
Magic Circle Against Evil (or law)
Protection From Spells
Cleric Spells:
Resistance
Protection From Evil
Endurence
Owl's wisdom
Prayer
Spell Resistance (ok, not save boosting, but a must)
Holy Aura (<i>Very</i> good)
Druids, Bards, ect. also have a lot of protection magic, but I'm too lazy to list it all.
Most of the really good spells against beholders (like blindness) have been mentioned, but the best (IMO) one hasn't. And the cool spell is...
ANTIMAGIC FIELD!!
Beholders can do nothing but nash their teeth if you have antimagic too. Of course, you may never get a second spell, but a couple of ranged attacks without fear of retaliation will kill that wimpy little beholder.
The Beholder's best attack is it's eye rays (duh). These are mostly save or die/ run away/ fall asleep/ ect. SO GET THOSE SAVES UP! Endurance (on the mage and rouge), Cat's Grace (on the fighter, cleric, and wizard), and Owl's Wisdom (on the fighter and rouge) can go a long way. Even the lowly resistance is good, because if you a can't save, you are dead. Yes, all these go away when in an antimagic field, but the beholder can't zap you in his field either, so you're safe.
List of save boosting Wizard spells:
Resistance
Protection from Evil (or law)
Endurance
Cat's Grace
Owl's Wisdom (not core, but if you can use it, do!)
Magic Circle Against Evil (or law)
Protection From Spells
Cleric Spells:
Resistance
Protection From Evil
Endurence
Owl's wisdom
Prayer
Spell Resistance (ok, not save boosting, but a must)
Holy Aura (<i>Very</i> good)
Druids, Bards, ect. also have a lot of protection magic, but I'm too lazy to list it all.
Most of the really good spells against beholders (like blindness) have been mentioned, but the best (IMO) one hasn't. And the cool spell is...
ANTIMAGIC FIELD!!
Beholders can do nothing but nash their teeth if you have antimagic too. Of course, you may never get a second spell, but a couple of ranged attacks without fear of retaliation will kill that wimpy little beholder.
Last edited:
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Tisvon said:
Nothing but gnash their teeth, hurl telekineticked boulders at you, and disintegrate the ceiling above your head, that is
.But it's a good point: they could do these things anyway, and your very own antimagic field is definitely going to put a damper on their tactics. Were I a beholder facing an antimagicked party, I'd float away as fast as my gassy little body could carry me.
Daniel
Since all the beholder's powers are rays, it needs to roll to hit with them. Increasing your touch AC will reduce the number of saves you need to roll. (This is another reason why monks kick ass; they usually have the highest touch AC in the party.)
Also very useful are spells that give concealment, like Blur, Displacement, and Invisibility. Even if your touch AC sucks, a percentage miss chance will stop some rays from hitting you.
Also very useful are spells that give concealment, like Blur, Displacement, and Invisibility. Even if your touch AC sucks, a percentage miss chance will stop some rays from hitting you.
Elder-Basilisk
First Post
Other things to consider: Fog cloud/obscuring mist/solid fog spells to negate the eye rays.
Since they're magic, the anti-magic cone will suppress the fog enabling the beholder to see you. However, it will also suppress the beholder's eye rays. So, the beholder can use antimagic and see you but not target you. Or he can try to target you without being able to see you. If you manage to sneak up on him in the fog, he's probably toast. Alternately, you could wait for the beholder to suppress the fog with his antimagic eye and have a bunch of readied actions to shoot him with missile weapons. If the party has good strength and magic arrows, the beholder may well go down before he gets to act.
Since they're magic, the anti-magic cone will suppress the fog enabling the beholder to see you. However, it will also suppress the beholder's eye rays. So, the beholder can use antimagic and see you but not target you. Or he can try to target you without being able to see you. If you manage to sneak up on him in the fog, he's probably toast. Alternately, you could wait for the beholder to suppress the fog with his antimagic eye and have a bunch of readied actions to shoot him with missile weapons. If the party has good strength and magic arrows, the beholder may well go down before he gets to act.
Darklone
Registered User
IME, Paladins have better saves than monks too... at least in the lower level region where I mostly play (till lvl12).
Beholders suck a little bit... as mentioned, their greatest weapon is their biggest disadvantage too (antimagic eye). I thought about giving the large eye a greater dispelling effect... honestly, not as effective as antimagic against spellcasters, but the buffed party will cry.
Beholders suck a little bit... as mentioned, their greatest weapon is their biggest disadvantage too (antimagic eye). I thought about giving the large eye a greater dispelling effect... honestly, not as effective as antimagic against spellcasters, but the buffed party will cry.
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