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Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Charles Rampant" data-source="post: 6963813" data-attributes="member: 32659"><p>Today we have the last of the Beholderkin, the tiny wee <strong>Gazer</strong>. I could only find the art from the book itself for this entry; I did find lots of dubious anime art though of a blue-skinned girl in a bikini with beholder eyes on Doctor Octopus style limbs, which is, you know, a thing. </p><p></p><p><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tu5QILSttA/WDL7_Kh99zI/AAAAAAAAPmI/82hiCSpC0RgTBjXZuzpOZmz8TGlMu6fYgCLcB/s320/Volos-Guide-To-Monsters-Beholder-Gazer.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The art for this is fine, but doesn’t really stand out in my opinion. The underlighting seems like an attempt to make the Gazer look menacing, combined with its evil expression, but then it also looks kind of chubby and silly, so the overall effect is muted. </p><p></p><p>The Gazer is basically the cat version of a Beholder. It is tiny, very stupid, eats mice, and can be annoying; it can also mimic sounds and voices. You can have one as a familiar, and I remember having one as a pet in the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights. Great game, that. Anyway, this is not a pet that I’d probably want a player to have access to in all campaigns, but if my group decides to go for Out of the Abyss after we finish Curse of Strahd, I’m likely to damn near insist that someone take one. Calling it ‘cute’ might not be quite correct, but having a tiny Beholder follow the party around appeals to me. Lots of amusing roleplaying potential there, especially with its mimicry ability, low intelligence, and urge to victimise/eat anything smaller than it. </p><p></p><p>I don’t think that there is a lot of big story potential for these guys, beyond the players finding one and adopting it. They can serve as annoying chaff in a Beholder’s Lair, and a pack of them could arrive to annoy anyone who wanders off from the party in an Underdark setting, but otherwise they seem small enough, weak enough, and dumb enough not to drive much in the way of storylines themselves. That isn’t a bad thing, though - not every monster can or should be a walking plot hook, even if it belongs to the exalted Beholderkin family. </p><p></p><p>Combat wise, they are CR 1/2, and come with AC 13, hit points 13, and some surprisingly potent eyebeam attacks. 3d6 damage from 60ft away might end your campaign if you use too many of these guys against a low level party and the dice go that way. It also has an Orc’s <em>Aggressive</em> trait, for rushing towards enemies, which is an odd fit for things with potent ranged abilities and terrible melee ones, but then they are Aberrations (and dumb as rocks) so we shouldn’t necessarily assume that they think straight. Could be a good way to save your party if the little buggers do start murdering them, though; have the Gazers rush in eagerly to start chomping, letting the players cut them down. I suspect that this trait was mainly given to them to demonstrate their nature as wild (albeit aberrant) beasts.</p><p></p><p>And thus ends the Beholderkin. Just as well, really; I'm just about talked out of malevolent eyeballs!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charles Rampant, post: 6963813, member: 32659"] Today we have the last of the Beholderkin, the tiny wee [b]Gazer[/b]. I could only find the art from the book itself for this entry; I did find lots of dubious anime art though of a blue-skinned girl in a bikini with beholder eyes on Doctor Octopus style limbs, which is, you know, a thing. [img]https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tu5QILSttA/WDL7_Kh99zI/AAAAAAAAPmI/82hiCSpC0RgTBjXZuzpOZmz8TGlMu6fYgCLcB/s320/Volos-Guide-To-Monsters-Beholder-Gazer.jpg[/img] The art for this is fine, but doesn’t really stand out in my opinion. The underlighting seems like an attempt to make the Gazer look menacing, combined with its evil expression, but then it also looks kind of chubby and silly, so the overall effect is muted. The Gazer is basically the cat version of a Beholder. It is tiny, very stupid, eats mice, and can be annoying; it can also mimic sounds and voices. You can have one as a familiar, and I remember having one as a pet in the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights. Great game, that. Anyway, this is not a pet that I’d probably want a player to have access to in all campaigns, but if my group decides to go for Out of the Abyss after we finish Curse of Strahd, I’m likely to damn near insist that someone take one. Calling it ‘cute’ might not be quite correct, but having a tiny Beholder follow the party around appeals to me. Lots of amusing roleplaying potential there, especially with its mimicry ability, low intelligence, and urge to victimise/eat anything smaller than it. I don’t think that there is a lot of big story potential for these guys, beyond the players finding one and adopting it. They can serve as annoying chaff in a Beholder’s Lair, and a pack of them could arrive to annoy anyone who wanders off from the party in an Underdark setting, but otherwise they seem small enough, weak enough, and dumb enough not to drive much in the way of storylines themselves. That isn’t a bad thing, though - not every monster can or should be a walking plot hook, even if it belongs to the exalted Beholderkin family. Combat wise, they are CR 1/2, and come with AC 13, hit points 13, and some surprisingly potent eyebeam attacks. 3d6 damage from 60ft away might end your campaign if you use too many of these guys against a low level party and the dice go that way. It also has an Orc’s [i]Aggressive[/i] trait, for rushing towards enemies, which is an odd fit for things with potent ranged abilities and terrible melee ones, but then they are Aberrations (and dumb as rocks) so we shouldn’t necessarily assume that they think straight. Could be a good way to save your party if the little buggers do start murdering them, though; have the Gazers rush in eagerly to start chomping, letting the players cut them down. I suspect that this trait was mainly given to them to demonstrate their nature as wild (albeit aberrant) beasts. And thus ends the Beholderkin. Just as well, really; I'm just about talked out of malevolent eyeballs! [/QUOTE]
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