I would love to see a Beholder Patron that is its own variety like you get eye beams or some such would be really cool. Alas, to answer your inquiry a Great Old One is a mystical being from ancient lore and the unknown. So a beholder I would think would be too common to fit but an elder god like Ao or a planar entity of some sort would be a better match for a GOO.
Out of all the available pacts for a warlock, GOO sounds like the best fit. A beholder is an aberration, meaning it has an alien otherworldly quality to it. The question is more whether a beholder has the ability to gift magic to a character that could (ultimately) exceed its own
I was doing some reading, and found other pacts, like Pact of the Fiend for example, can be with entities who aren't as grand as what we immediately think of when a great old one is in question. It got me thinking, if a hag can be considered a patron to a warlock with a fey pact, why not a beholder to a warlock of the great old one?
I agree, I think that a beholder would make a fantastic Great Old One patron! Beholders are so narcissistic and self centered that a beholder wouldn't even realize that it was a patron for a warlock at first and I'd have a blast as a DM role playing the beholder slowly recognizing the warlock's existence as the warlock's power grows. At first the beholder wouldn't know that the warlock exists and maybe at 5th level the beholder would start to have "dreams" about interacting with the warlock and sooner or later the beholder would realize that the warlock is real and isn't just a figment of it's imagination.
I think Xanathar (from Xanathars guide to everything) would make a good patron, you are given a simple choice....work for him or be disintegrated. Another option would be a general Eye Tyrant, if you go back to previous editions of D&D there were cults of beholder worshipers.
You might have to tweak the expanded spell list to:
Level 1: Sleep, Inflict Wounds
Level 2: Darkvision, Levitate
Level 3: Sending, Slow
Level 4: Dominate Beast, Edvard's Black Tentacles
Level 5: Dominate Person, Telekinesis
These should bring the spell list into line with those powers of a Beholders eye stalks. They may also enforce the teaching of spells that mimic their eye stalks other powers such as Charm person/Charm Monster for the Charming Ray, Flesh to Stone as the 6th level Mystic Arcanum for the Pretrification eye stalk etc.
Another type of abberation I think would make a good patron is a Mindflayer Elder Brain, the warlock has a Mindflayer tadpole inside them and the elder brain forces them to work as a scout and spy or the tadpole is activated and turns the warlock into a mindflayer, where ever the warlock goes, mind flayer slavers follow in there wake.
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I was doing some reading, and found other pacts, like Pact of the Fiend for example, can be with entities who aren't as grand as what we immediately think of when a great old one is in question. It got me thinking, if a hag can be considered a patron to a warlock with a fey pact, why not a beholder to a warlock of the great old one?
Celestial Pact outright mentions a Unicorn as a possible patron, which is only CR 5.
From your perspective would a Beholder fit as a patron for a Warlock, most likely a Great Old One?
I would love to see a Beholder Patron that is its own variety like you get eye beams or some such would be really cool. Alas, to answer your inquiry a Great Old One is a mystical being from ancient lore and the unknown. So a beholder I would think would be too common to fit but an elder god like Ao or a planar entity of some sort would be a better match for a GOO.
Out of all the available pacts for a warlock, GOO sounds like the best fit. A beholder is an aberration, meaning it has an alien otherworldly quality to it. The question is more whether a beholder has the ability to gift magic to a character that could (ultimately) exceed its own
I was doing some reading, and found other pacts, like Pact of the Fiend for example, can be with entities who aren't as grand as what we immediately think of when a great old one is in question. It got me thinking, if a hag can be considered a patron to a warlock with a fey pact, why not a beholder to a warlock of the great old one?
I agree, I think that a beholder would make a fantastic Great Old One patron! Beholders are so narcissistic and self centered that a beholder wouldn't even realize that it was a patron for a warlock at first and I'd have a blast as a DM role playing the beholder slowly recognizing the warlock's existence as the warlock's power grows. At first the beholder wouldn't know that the warlock exists and maybe at 5th level the beholder would start to have "dreams" about interacting with the warlock and sooner or later the beholder would realize that the warlock is real and isn't just a figment of it's imagination.
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I think Xanathar (from Xanathars guide to everything) would make a good patron, you are given a simple choice....work for him or be disintegrated. Another option would be a general Eye Tyrant, if you go back to previous editions of D&D there were cults of beholder worshipers.
You might have to tweak the expanded spell list to:
Level 1: Sleep, Inflict Wounds
Level 2: Darkvision, Levitate
Level 3: Sending, Slow
Level 4: Dominate Beast, Edvard's Black Tentacles
Level 5: Dominate Person, Telekinesis
These should bring the spell list into line with those powers of a Beholders eye stalks. They may also enforce the teaching of spells that mimic their eye stalks other powers such as Charm person/Charm Monster for the Charming Ray, Flesh to Stone as the 6th level Mystic Arcanum for the Pretrification eye stalk etc.
Another type of abberation I think would make a good patron is a Mindflayer Elder Brain, the warlock has a Mindflayer tadpole inside them and the elder brain forces them to work as a scout and spy or the tadpole is activated and turns the warlock into a mindflayer, where ever the warlock goes, mind flayer slavers follow in there wake.
You could make a Pact of the Undying Warlock with a death tyrant beholder patron.
Celestial Pact outright mentions a Unicorn as a possible patron, which is only CR 5.