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. 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 spells as a Xth-level 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:
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 ?)
Anyone got the info on these little critters handy to provide a quick description?
I think we should omit the orbus, as it really only exists to power Spelljamming vessels. The Eye of the Deep and Searechter don't really fit into the hive setting, so I'd suggest we save them for an aquatic article (perhaps a tie-in with Maelstrom?) later on. The Astereater also doesn't seem to fit into the hive setting.
The casharin/kasharin is essentially just a diseased beholder, if I remember it from Monstrous Arcana correctly. Perhaps we could add it as a sidebar or template?
and another idea, should we pitch a desert monsters article to accompany Sandstorm?
of course, that one does live on the Planes…
