Pirate beholder?

[gurgleflep]

I've recently come across a picture of a "pirate beholder" on Deviant Art and it caught my interest quite a bit. Thanks to it, I'm wanting to have a crew captained by the beholder with various races to fill out the rest of the crew.

The party is usually just three players, but on rare occasion the forth member does appear and they'll all be level 10 or 11 when I plan on having them go against them.

[Waker]

Soooo, are you asking us to make up the pirates crew or make the captain himself or...
I don't actually see a question or request in your post.

[gurgleflep]

Soooo, are you asking us to make up the pirates crew or make the captain himself or...
I don't actually see a question or request in your post.

Basically I'm asking if it would be safe to make a crew captained by a beholder. Sorry for not being as clear as I should have :smallredface:

[Waker]

Basically I'm asking if it would be safe to make a crew captained by a beholder. Sorry for not being as clear as I should have :smallredface:

Safe for whom? You could go for a theme and make the crew be mostly composed of aberrations. Chuul buccaneers? Illithid Corsair? You could make liberal use of aberrant feats, the Fleshwarper PrC and the Impure Prince Prc.

[Ravens_cry]

Basically I'm asking if it would be safe to make a crew captained by a beholder. Sorry for not being as clear as I should have :smallredface:
It sounds a little silly to be honest. Beholders are by default fluff rabidly xenophobic if I remember rightly. Heck, they are even homophobic in the literal sense, not even getting along with their own species.

[gurgleflep]

Safe for whom? You could go for a theme and make the crew be mostly composed of aberrations. Chuul buccaneers? Illithid Corsair? You could make liberal use of aberrant feats, the Fleshwarper PrC and the Impure Prince Prc.

For the party, but I like the aberration crew idea.


It sounds a little silly to be honest. Beholders are by default fluff rabidly xenophobic if I remember rightly. Heck, they are even homophobic in the literal sense, not even getting along with their own species.

Silly's the main point of this campaign :smallbiggrin:
Heck, I've got an obese Illithid in it! To lazy to even use his own psionic abilities.

[The Glyphstone]

If you want silly-yet-still-Beholdery, have either a Fleshwarper cohort or the beholder itself with Fleshwarper levels (though it really should have Dread Pirate), and the entire crew has been put through extensive surgery so that they all look as 'close' as possible to the beholder captain in appearance.

[TuggyNE]

It sounds a little silly to be honest. Beholders are by default fluff rabidly xenophobic if I remember rightly. Heck, they are even homophobic in the literal sense, not even getting along with their own species.

Don't they make liberal use of slaves, though, under the right circumstances? So you could have a ship crewed by a beholder (and its slaves that it doesn't particularly mention, because who cares about them?).

[gurgleflep]

If you want silly-yet-still-Beholdery, have either a Fleshwarper cohort or the beholder itself with Fleshwarper levels (though it really should have Dread Pirate), and the entire crew has been put through extensive surgery so that they all look as 'close' as possible to the beholder captain in appearance.

I like the dread pirate idea, but I've not heard of a fleshwarper.
Also, would it be okay to add the half-beholder template from Bastards and Bloodlines to the crew? It'd give them a beholder look, plus a few bonuses.

[Waker]

Of course it wouldn't be safe for the party, safe is boring.
Fleshwarper is a PrC from Lords of Madness. Its shtick is altering themselves and others by attaching aberrant grafts to them.

[gurgleflep]

Don't they make liberal use of slaves, though, under the right circumstances? So you could have a ship crewed by a beholder (and its slaves that it doesn't particularly mention, because who cares about them?).

I like the last part of that :smallsmile:


Of course it wouldn't be safe for the party, safe is boring.
Fleshwarper is a PrC from Lords of Madness. Its shtick is altering themselves and others by attaching aberrant grafts to them.

Safe is boring, but having to reroll characters (with how little time we've got to play) is a pain in the bootie.
Thank you, I'll look at it now :smallbiggrin:

[Neo Tin Robo]

Awesome artwork, and I think the idea would be a blast in a lighthearted game. Nothing sinks a ship faster than disintegrating the hull one 10' cube at a time.

[THEChanger]

If your question is whether a Beholder captaining a ship is an appropriate challenge for a group of three, possibly four level 10-11s...well, it's a complicated question. A lot of it depends on the class choices of your players, exactly what the Beholder's crew is made of, etc. But, for reference, a single Beholder with no modifications is labeled at a Challenge Rating of 13. This means that, according to the infamous DMG, it falls into the lower end of the "Very Challenging" encounter band for a four person, level 10-11 party.

That said, the CR system in D&D is often regarded as slightly...innacurate. So, I'll point out a few of the Beholder's more potent abilities, and some things that may tip the balance in your party's favor.

-Charm Person/Charm Monster Eye Rays: A hit from one of these means your party's meatshield potentially becomes the Beholder's meatshield. Not a fun time.

-Disintegrate/Finger of Death/Flesh to Stone: Each of these is a Save or Die. That's one less party member the Beholder has to worry about. Potentially more dangerous than the Charm Rays.

-Antimagic Cone: Things in front of the Beholder in a 150 ft. cone don't work, if it so chooses. Bad for Wizardly types, and for those who rely on magical gear (ie, everybody else).

Things for the party to consider

-Antimagic Cone: The Beholder's Eye Rays also don't work inside this. While a gamble, it is potentially a safe zone. Fighters will be thankful for not getting Charmed or zap, and are most likely the ones who will hang out here.

-Action economy: The party is getting three or four times as many actions every round as the Beholder (assuming the Beholder is alone, final-boss style). This definately works to their advantage.

-Positioning: A Beholder can only bring three of its twelve eye rays to bear in any given 90-degree arc. This means you can choose between concentrating the party in one 90-degree arc(thereby making the Beholder choose one not to target), or put them all in seperate ones, making it more difficult for the Beholder to bring all its most powerful rays to play. Choose wisely.

All in all, the Beholder's a hard fight, even on its own. At this level, I personally would consider it a proper boss fight. I'm sure there are others more experienced than I who can give a more informed statement.

[dascarletm]

I believe after a good night of sleeping on it I will be able to post some build ideas, but you at least need these archetypes:

Captain (Your beholder)

The swordsman (some sort of duelist style abberation. (multi tentacled horrors wielding rapiers/cutlasses comes to mind)

The Ships Seer (any spellcasting sort. Maybe psionic for this crew. Brain in jar?)

Ye bonne lass. (ummmmm........)

Gun/bomb... guy (Some sort of ranged or splash weapon using knave.)

Have the ship actually be a hollowed out Aboleth.

[Waker]

I'd think it would be funnier if the ship was actually a gutted Neogi Starship. Aboleth works too though.

[Neo Tin Robo]

Actually if it's true to the artwork, the central eye would be cut out, so no antimagic cone. And one of the eye stalks is replaced with a hook, so scratch one eye ray. :smallamused:

Maybe they struck a deal with an aboleth, who gets to keep the crews of the ships they raid as slaves.

[THEChanger]

Actually if it's true to the artwork, the central eye would be cut out, so no antimagic cone. And one of the eye stalks is replaced with a hook, so scratch one eye ray. :smallamused:

Maybe they struck a deal with an aboleth, who gets to keep the crews of the ships they raid as slaves.

Hmm. Well, if the central eye is out, then the captain can go into Beholder Mage, widely considered to be one of the cheesiest PrCs currently in print! :smallbiggrin:

Also, one more thing to mention. Beholders are xenophobia taken to its logical extreme. They hate everything that is not them. Mind flayers, aboleths, other beholders, everything. Each individual beholder considers themselves to be the pinnacle of physical, mental, and spiritual perfection. In fact, other beholders are such a corruption of this perfect form that they should be exterminated on sight. Other races, while perhaps not necessarily meant for immediate annihilation, are categorized as food, threat, and slave. Deals are not exactly the strong suit of the Eye Tyrants.

[Skysaber]

Two feats you might make use of, out of the Monster Handbook in the Legends & Lairs series.

Lightning Blink, a beholder with this feat can close his antimagic eye, fire off his other eye rays in that area, and reopen his antimagic eye all on his turn.

Another feat lets him fire off an additional eyestalk ray per facing, so four instead of the usual three.

Also got to second (third? whatever) the slaves idea. What use is there in having two Charm rays if you don't use em to keep some meatshields around?

Also, you fly. Do not ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, hang out at sword height for the enemy's meatshields during combat. At least with arrows they have a hard time buffing the damage.

[Neo Tin Robo]

Hmm. Well, if the central eye is out, then the captain can go into Beholder Mage, widely considered to be one of the cheesiest PrCs currently in print! :smallbiggrin:

Also, one more thing to mention. Beholders are xenophobia taken to its logical extreme. They hate everything that is not them. Mind flayers, aboleths, other beholders, everything. Each individual beholder considers themselves to be the pinnacle of physical, mental, and spiritual perfection. In fact, other beholders are such a corruption of this perfect form that they should be exterminated on sight. Other races, while perhaps not necessarily meant for immediate annihilation, are categorized as food, threat, and slave. Deals are not exactly the strong suit of the Eye Tyrants.

Nah, Beholder Mage wouldn't even be fair. Needs moar Dread Pirate.

Your other points would normally be quite valid, but come on. This is a beholder on a pirate ship! Davy Jones needs his kraken.

[Alleran]

It's late and I might just be tired, but is there a link to this picture somewhere?

[Badgerish]

http://www.deviantart.com/download/101895652/Pirate_Beholder_by_randolfo.jpg
very first image result on the almighty Google.
(very first webpage result is this thread)

If not going Beholder Mage, I'd make the eyepatch just appearance/style and have the central eye work fine. Maybe it's made of gauze?

[Rhynn]

It sounds a little silly to be honest.

Correction, it sounds gonzo, and that has always fit D&D! Also, beholder spaceships are canon (Spelljammer), so there you go: beholder space pirates.

Beholders get charm monster (at will, with a duration of days), so they can have pretty eccentric crews under their control. Remember to give it an eyepatch operated with some kind of mouth-crank.

I don't know at all what you mean by "safe for the party." Fighting a beholder is always fighting a freaking beholder. If a party of 10th level can't figure out how to do it and win, they should probably start over at level 1 and play back to level 10 - maybe they'll have learned how by then.

FYI the Beholder Mage prestige class is in Monsters of Faerûn, possibly updated in the 3.5 conversion web enhancement for the Player's Guide to Faerûn, or maybe there's a 3.5 version in Lords of Madness?

[gurgleflep]

I quite like the ideas all of you have spawned up :smallbiggrin:
Something tells me this is gonna be an extremely fun encounter! Thank ya'll :smallsmile:

[gurgleflep]

*snip*
I don't know at all what you mean by "safe for the party." Fighting a beholder is always fighting a freaking beholder. If a party of 10th level can't figure out how to do it and win, they should probably start over at level 1 and play back to level 10 - maybe they'll have learned how by then.

FYI the Beholder Mage prestige class is in Monsters of Faerûn, possibly updated in the 3.5 conversion web enhancement for the Player's Guide to Faerûn, or maybe there's a 3.5 version in Lords of Madness?

By safe for the party I mean I don't want them all to die. We get very little time together due to everybody's odd work schedules and having to re-roll characters takes up a fair portion of our time.

I believe there's one in Lords of Madness, I'm not entirely sure though.

[Waker]

By safe for the party I mean I don't want them all to die. We get very little time together due to everybody's odd work schedules and having to re-roll characters takes up a fair portion of our time.

I believe there's one in Lords of Madness, I'm not entirely sure though.

If you are so concerned with the party dying I would suggest that you either give them a fair amount of warning before they encounter this dude (so they can make plans/prepare) or perhaps you could use a lesser beholder rather than the standard one listed in MM.
It wouldn't be quite the same, but you could also give this guy some weird quirk. He was born without the raw abundance of magical energy that other Beholders have, so he took to mastering his body and plied his trade in the ocean. With his eyestalks unable to channel arcane energy, he instead attaches rapiers(cutlass, longsword...) to them and wields another in his mouth (weapon quality in LoM, can't remember the name). He is...a Beholder Warblade, scourge of the open seas.

[gurgleflep]

If you are so concerned with the party dying I would suggest that you either give them a fair amount of warning before they encounter this dude (so they can make plans/prepare) or perhaps you could use a lesser beholder rather than the standard one listed in MM.
It wouldn't be quite the same, but you could also give this guy some weird quirk. He was born without the raw abundance of magical energy that other Beholders have, so he took to mastering his body and plied his trade in the ocean. With his eyestalks unable to channel arcane energy, he instead attaches rapiers(cutlass, longsword...) to them and wields another in his mouth (weapon quality in LoM, can't remember the name). He is...a Beholder Warblade, scourge of the open seas.

Another beholder? The only other one I can think of is the eyeball (it's so tiny they wouldn't expect it and it would add to the silly-factor :smallbiggrin:).
Okay, the warblade sounds so epic that there aren't any words in my vocabulary to say how awesome it is.

[Waker]

Another beholder? The only other one I can think of is the eyeball (it's so tiny they wouldn't expect it and it would add to the silly-factor :smallbiggrin:).
Okay, the warblade sounds so epic that there aren't any words in my vocabulary to say how awesome it is.

There are variants in different MM and LoM. I think one of the weaker ones is called a Gauth.

[Eldan]

Alternate idea: the Beholder is a one-man crew.

Hear me out. He has telekinesis. Play this up. Make him control half the ship by it, and have the rest automated. Unseen servants handling the sails and ropes. Animated cannons with the force enchantment so they don't need to be reloaded. Telekinetic rudder. The beholder himself is a quite decent artillery platform too.

[gurgleflep]

There are variants in different MM and LoM. I think one of the weaker ones is called a Gauth.

I've seen the Gauth and quite liked it.


Alternate idea: the Beholder is a one-man crew.

Hear me out. He has telekinesis. Play this up. Make him control half the ship by it, and have the rest automated. Unseen servants handling the sails and ropes. Animated cannons with the force enchantment so they don't need to be reloaded. Telekinetic rudder. The beholder himself is a quite decent artillery platform too.

That's a pretty good idea. It would also keep the party from being completely decimated by the rest of the crew. Thank you :smalltongue:

[KillingAScarab]

I've recently come across a picture of a "pirate beholder" on Deviant Art and it caught my interest quite a bit.I suspect that this was inspired by the old Creature Competition (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050510a) which was hosted on the Wizards of the Cost website. Two of the contestants were a swashbuckler beholder "pirate" versus a warforged ninja.

Anyway, someone actually decided to write-up their own stats for Xxerlflyyn (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19543250/The_Monster_Request_Thread?post_num=249#332110226) .

[SaintRidley]

If you are so concerned with the party dying I would suggest that you either give them a fair amount of warning before they encounter this dude (so they can make plans/prepare) or perhaps you could use a lesser beholder rather than the standard one listed in MM.
It wouldn't be quite the same, but you could also give this guy some weird quirk. He was born without the raw abundance of magical energy that other Beholders have, so he took to mastering his body and plied his trade in the ocean. With his eyestalks unable to channel arcane energy, he instead attaches rapiers(cutlass, longsword...) to them and wields another in his mouth (weapon quality in LoM, can't remember the name). He is...a Beholder Warblade, scourge of the open seas.

Adding to this, if you're concerned with party survival, don't make it a Beholder Mage (which is in Lords of MAdness).

[gurgleflep]

Adding to this, if you're concerned with party survival, don't make it a Beholder Mage (which is in Lords of MAdness).

I've never been really good with magic of any form - I can't even run a paladin! - so I likely won't use the mage. The dread pirate is still a good idea though.

[gurgleflep]

I suspect that this was inspired by the old Creature Competition (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050510a) which was hosted on the Wizards of the Cost website. Two of the contestants were a swashbuckler beholder "pirate" versus a warforged ninja.

That link gave me a ton more ideas :smalleek: I'm not sure whether I should thank you or cry.

[KillingAScarab]

That link gave me a ton more ideas :smalleek: I'm not sure whether I should thank you or cry.In that case, I think it is worth noting that the succubus paladin which won that competition actually had a full backstory in D&D Fight Club (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20050824a).

[gurgleflep]

In that case, I think it is worth noting that the succubus paladin which won that competition actually had a full backstory in D&D Fight Club (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20050824a).

I've already read through it :smallbiggrin: I've come across it on several occasions when looking for various demons and devils.

[Waker]

Alternate idea: the Beholder is a one-man crew.

Hear me out. He has telekinesis. Play this up. Make him control half the ship by it, and have the rest automated. Unseen servants handling the sails and ropes. Animated cannons with the force enchantment so they don't need to be reloaded. Telekinetic rudder. The beholder himself is a quite decent artillery platform too.

Bonus points if he addresses himself while crewing the ship. A little bit of a nod to Jack Sparrow, but also reminding that all Beholders are a little crazy. Says so in their description in LoM.

[gurgleflep]

Bonus points if he addresses himself while crewing the ship. A little bit of a nod to Jack Sparrow, but also reminding that all Beholders are a little crazy. Says so in their description in LoM.

I already speak in third person quite a bit, so doing this will be easy enough!
"Captain Jack Holder, hoist the colors high!"
"Aye aye, captain!"
"Ship off the starboard bow! Mr. Holder, fire when ready!"

[Waker]

Well, sounds like you are all set. Now comes the most important part though...you need to come up with a name for the ship. It needs to be a name that commands respect and instills fear.
And I suppose you could start coming up with a reason why this Beholder took to piracy. That and determining how/why the party is coming in conflict with him. Does he possess a treasure map that they seek? Has the party been hired to make him walk...err, float off the plank? Does the ship itself has some history and power that they must make use of?

[SaintRidley]

Given the list of Beholder names in Lords of Madness, picking out a name for the ship should be interesting:


Beholder names are long, complicated, and slobbery to pronounce; a beholder typically names itself within the first year of its life. Sample beholder names include: Blorghathus, Gazriktak, Irixis, Ixahinon, Khuxristul, Kreskalat, Murlbalbluthk, Qeqtoxii, Sepetoxri, Sikrewxes, Vhalantru, Xanathar, Zommist, and Zulnethrak. Rarely, a sane beholder that establishes itself as the leader of a guild of lesser beings adops a more easily pronounceable name formed in the language of its minions. Sample names of this type include Cinderglare, Eyebiter, Gobblegut, Manglecramps, Orbius, and Slatherjaw.

The second type of name might be more appropriate for the ship if your Beholder is sane enough to understand that a name in Common is more likely to inspire fear. An ocular or gastronomic theme seems to dominate those types of names, so I'd think in those terms. Of the sample names, Manglecramps would be amusing for the ship.

[Waker]

The second type of name might be more appropriate for the ship if your Beholder is sane enough to understand that a name in Common is more likely to inspire fear. An ocular or gastronomic theme seems to dominate those types of names, so I'd think in those terms. Of the sample names, Manglecramps would be amusing for the ship.

Because I love silly alliteration, I vote that the ships name be the "Sassy Syclops", having the figurehead be a Beholder with a wig. I don't know about you, but that mental image fills me with what can only be described as fear.

[Eldan]

Suggestion: start with legends about a ghost ship. Then have the players encounter a ship with apparently no crew, just sails that unfurl themselves, cannon that fire with no one near them, ropes that tighten with no crew... and nothing shows up on see invisibility.

Once they are freaked out, have the beholder burst out of the hold.

[Fable Wright]

Personally, I would name the ship Borborygmos: The sound of intestinal grumbling. Has a nice ring to it.

[Otomodachi]

Why stop at just a Beholder captain? The whole crew could be Beholder's, and their goal is to raid other pirate's ships and take all their eyepatches.

[TuggyNE]

Why stop at just a Beholder captain? The whole crew could be Beholder's, and their goal is to raid other pirate's ships and take all their eyepatches.

Because beholders almost never work together? They hate each other more than they do other races even.

[gurgleflep]

Okay, ahead of time sorry that these aren't in order. I'm not quoting all of you `cause that would make for one big message.


HA! Sassy Syclops :smallbiggrin: That and the figure head with a wig are hilarious.

I also like the "ghost ship" idea, with the automated stuff and the beholder's telekinesis, that makes for an awesome plan.

Thank you for the name list :smallsmile: That will come in handy.

I know they don't really work with others of their own kind, but what if a whole bunch of beholder eyeballs were to follow it around?

[Mcdt2]

No clue how it could be done, but do this-

1. Find a way for someone to assimilate items into their flesh (gotta be doable somehow.)

2. Place all the good treasure inside the beholder, and a bunch of lame/cursed treasure outside on the ship

3. When the party beats him, and finds out how pathetic all the loot is, look them dead in the eye and say

"True booty lies in the eye of the Beholder"

4. Duck, there are PHB's incoming


Also, I second the "Sassy Syclops" and wig idea.

[SaintRidley]

Because beholders almost never work together? They hate each other more than they do other races even.

Make the captain a Hive Mother.

Okay, that might be too harsh on the players.

[gurgleflep]

No clue how it could be done, but do this-

1. Find a way for someone to assimilate items into their flesh (gotta be doable somehow.)

2. Place all the good treasure inside the beholder, and a bunch of lame/cursed treasure outside on the ship

3. When the party beats him, and finds out how pathetic all the loot is, look them dead in the eye and say

"True booty lies in the eye of the Beholder"

4. Duck, there are PHB's incoming


Also, I second the "Sassy Syclops" and wig idea.

I like the "Eye of the Beholder" bit, and the treasure idea. Any ideas as to what treasures should be on the ship?


Make the captain a Hive Mother.

Okay, that might be too harsh on the players.

I've not heard of a Hive Mother, where can I find this?

[SaintRidley]

They're in Lords of Madness. They start out CR 16, and have Dominate Monster usable on Beholders and Beholderkin in order to organize them and force them to work together.

[gurgleflep]

They're in Lords of Madness. They start out CR 16, and have Dominate Monster usable on Beholders and Beholderkin in order to organize them and force them to work together.

Okay, that's pretty darn cool. :smallbiggrin: