Tactical Tips Please

[Allanimal]

I have some questions about monster tactics that I would like to open to the playground. But first, since this relates to what will probably happen on Saturday, Fitz (and my other players), if you happen to read this, please stop now.

I am DMing a group of 5 players, and they are facing a battle with an iconic D&D monster. I want to make it memorable, but I can see it being either too easy or a TPK... So, the characters (all 11th level)
A) ranger 5 / scout 6. One of the major damage dealers, when she isn't thwarted by DR or energy resistance.
C) monk 4 /Druid 4/warshaper 3 - grapples a lot, does not cast much.
H) wizard 3 / master specialist 8 - transmuter. Tries not to break the game
I) swashbuckler 7/rogue 4 - manages to stay alive
J) ranger 10 / exotic weapons master 1 - TWF, whacks things with axes.

They tend to completely dominate if fights against a single enemy, multiple foes are a challenge. That brings up the #1 tactic of the warshaper - grapple the enemy so the swashbuckling rogue can get free sneak attacks. That pisses off the archer, but once that happens, The combat does not last long. I always have this problem with single opponents... When in bear form, his grapple check is well in the 30's... With multiple enemies it is not so bad, but once the single big bad gets in that grapple, it is usually over.


So, now that you know what the party is like, let me tell you the situation. They will soon (probably) be fighting a beholder. It will be in a large room, but with lots of large objects to block LOE of the anti magic cone and get in the way of everyone's movement.

First off, a question about the beholder's rules.
Up to 3 eye rays can be aimed in any one 90° arc. Does the arc stay relative to the beholder or relative to the map when the beholder turns. That is, can it blast 3x to the north, turn 90° and blast north again with 3 different rays?

So, about tactics. The beholder does not seem particularly tough... So even inside the anti magic cone, my players can probably do decent damage to it. So I think it should try to stay away, but that dramatically reduced the number of rays that it can blast with (assuming 5 above is a no). So, I will probably have it open with a charm monster, charm person and fear on the archer, the axe one and the swashy rogue while trying to keep the cone on the Mage. Getting grappled by the grappler could be a problem. Can the eye rays be used while in a grapple?

I don't see the beholder getting out of that...

Any ideas about how to deal with this? I can't decide if the beholder will TPK them in 2 rounds or if they will slice it up in 2... I want it to be a memorable fight, but not because everyone dies.

Thanks in advance for your ideas...

[Diarmuid]

Since there is technically no "facing" in 3.5, I dont think your idea of 3xNorth, turn, 3x North, etc will work.

For the tactics, it really depends on how iconic you want this to be. As you've mentioned, single foe combats are a lot easier than same CR multiple opponent fights (for the most part).

If you're worried about the beholder getting grappled, why have it ever be in grapple range? If the room is tall enough, its flight speed should keep it out of range of the bear-man.

As an EPL+2 the beholder isnt expected to be a real threat, especially if the party has their full complement of health, spells, etc at their disposal and arent worried about going nova to defeat the beholder.

[Anderlith]

Put the Beholder behind a wall, but with a small hole so he can still beam his Antimagic. Then add hill giants with big clubs, & a window or something to protect the small hole.

[Glimbur]

The Beholder has Charm Monster and Charm Person eye rays. There's no need for him to fight alone. Throw in some level 8-10 warriors (or, more cruelly, sneak attack fighters) with mediocre gear. They won't be a serious threat, but they will need to be dealt with or they can damage the party over time especially in grapple balls and such.

If you're more ambitious, give the minions real class levels like Hexblade or Warblade or such. But that's more to stat and more to keep track of in combat.

[NNescio]

Put the Beholder behind a wall, but with a small hole so he can still beam his Antimagic. Then add hill giants with big clubs, & a window or something to protect the small hole.

Just make sure the hole is big enough to not block LoE.

[Toliudar]

Big Stupid Fighter support like the aforementioned hill giants will indeed help to discourage the party from being able to just focus on the beholder.

As you've noted, one of the big problems with beholders is that three of its most powerful rays are Save or Dies, which are then either a non-factor or cause a player to be sidelined for an hour. I've been quite happy with swapping out some of the rays for alternate effects - potentially making it a more interesting encounter for veteran players. Something like:
Charm Person -> glitterdust
Disintegrate -> orb of force
Finger of Death -> symbol of stun/pain/etc
Inflict Moderate Wounds -> bestow curse

Having the beholder well above the group does indeed help, or perhaps retreating along a maze of corridors.

Consider giving the beholder an item that helps its mobility - a 3/day ring of dimension door that it wears on an eyestalk, a panic button, something like that. Gets it out of tactical harm's way, or at least forces the players to be creative about reaching it.

[Anderlith]

Just make sure the hole is big enough to not block LoE.

But then they could poke him in the eye, glass will stop the first attack (they will have to sunder it) then it has a chance to get away or to charm the attacker

Also HIDE THE HOLE, that way they don't understand why they are suddenly losing to hill giants, & they cannot effectively stop the situation

[Anderlith]

Just make sure the hole is big enough to not block LoE.

But then they could poke him in the eye, glass will stop the first attack (they will have to sunder it) then it has a chance to get away or to charm the attacker

Also HIDE THE HOLE, that way they don't understand why they are suddenly losing to hill giants, & they cannot effectively stop the situation

[Inferno]

Just make sure the hole is big enough to not block LoE.

Or put the hole in the ceiling.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Or put the hole in the ceiling.

Arrows have this annoying tendency to defy logic and can hit targets that are off the ground.

[Keld Denar]

Um, raise the roof! No, silly, not the hand jesture, beholders don't have any hands. I'm talking about the cieling of the room where they encounter him. Beholders are naturally boyant. They float in air, which means they have perfect fly. Why ever would one of them hang out in melee range with scary PCs? He wouldn't, ever. None of your PCs have EX flight, which means that they'll have to get a fly spell cast in order to get to the beholder to melee/grapple it. So, beholder dude just hangs out at the top and blasts fear and charm rays at the archer (most likely to hurt him), and when one of the PCs gets uppity and tries to fly at the beholder (remember, Fly doesn't give perfect maneuverability, so climbing is half speed), simply hit him with the anti-magic eye which will suppress the fly spell and ground the poor blighter for a round. That'll force them to have multiple fliers to try to have them flank the beholder so he can't AM both of them at the same time.

The archer, assuming he makes his saves, will have some time to shine while he plinks away at the flying beholder, and the others will keep trying to get up at him.