Base Class: Warlock
Beholders are nightmares given flesh, spherical aberrations bristling with eyestalks that unleash rays of raw, unshaped magic. Their central eye suppresses the very weave of magic, while their smaller eyes fracture reality with beams of fear, disintegration, and madness. Born from dreams that warp the waking world, each beholder is a tyrant convinced of its own perfection and threatened by all it perceives.
Though selfish and paranoid, a beholder may bind a warlock to its service when it seeks an agent beyond the reach of its lair. Others are unwilling recipients, chosen after stumbling into the creature’s alien dreamscape and forever changed by its gaze. Such bargains are not offered with benevolence but with the intent to extend the beholder’s influence, creating living instruments to shape the world according to its vision.
Expanded Spell List
1st-level Beholder feature
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Sleep, Ray of Sickness |
| 2nd | Levitate, Silence |
| 3rd | Bestow Curse, Slow |
| 4th | Arcane Eye, Greater Invisibility |
| 5th | Telekinesis, Dominate Person |
| 8th | Antimagic Field |
Level 1: Otherworldly Gaze
1st-level Beholder feature
At 1st level, you can choose to channel the power of your patron's gaze. This is represented as a Ray die, which are d4s. You have a number of these dice equal to your Charisma modifier plus your proficiency bonus.
Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend and roll a Ray die. The roll determines the additional effect based on the Ray table. You regain all your expended Ray dice when you finish a Short or Long Rest
When you reach certain levels in this class, the Ray die increases to d6s at level 6th and d8s at level 14th.
| Result | Ray | Saving Throw | Effect on a Failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charm Ray | Wisdom | The target is Charmed by you until the start of your next turn. |
| 2 | Slowing Ray | Dexterity | The target's speed is reduced by half until the start of your next turn. |
| 3 | Enervation Ray | Constitution | The target takes an additional 2d8 necrotic damage, half on a successful save. |
| 4 | Telekinetic Ray | Strength | The target is moved up to 10 feet in any direction you choose. |
| 5 | Fear Ray | Wisdom | The target is Frightened of you until the start of your next turn. |
| 6 | Petrification Ray | Dexterity | The target is Restrained until the start of your next turn. |
| 7 | Paralyzing Ray | Constitution | The target is Paralyzed until the start of your next turn. |
| 8 | Disintegration Ray | Dexterity | The target takes an additional 5d8 force damage. |
Ever Watchful
1st-level Beholder feature
Your patron has granted you proficiency with the Perception, Insight, or Investigation skill (your choice).
Insight
You gain proficiency in the Insight skill.
Investigation
You gain proficiency in the Investigation skill.
Perception
You gain proficiency in the Perception skill.
Antimagic Glare
6th-level Beholder feature
You learn the spells Dispel Magic and Counterspell. These count as warlock spells and do not count against the number of warlock spells you know. You can cast each of these spells once without expending a spell slot, regaining the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.
Eye Twitch
10th-level Beholder feature
Whenever you use your Otherworldly Gaze feature on a critical hit, you can reroll the Ray die and choose either result.
Aberrant Dreams
10th-level Beholder feature
During sleep on a long rest, you manifest a dream fragment of yourself in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. This fragment is a translucent, faded image of yourself.
While active, you can see and hear through your fragment as normal, and can move it up to 20 feet in any direction, but cannot go further than 60 feet from you. The fragment can only interact with objects and do light activity. It uses your bonus for ability checks and saving throw rolls.
The fragment has AC 14, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. It lasts until your long rest ends or is interrupted, it is destroyed, or you become incapacitated.
Reality Ascension
14th-level Beholder feature
You manifest the reality-bending anomaly of your patron and undergo a transformation. As an action, you gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
- You gain a flying speed of 20 feet (hover).
- You become immune to being knocked prone.
- When the target of your Otherworldly Gaze feature fails its saving throw, it takes an additional 3d8 force damage.
- At the end of another creature's turn, you can use your reaction to use your Otherworldly Gaze feature and expend a Ray die targeting a creature you can see within 90 feet of you
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest unless you expend a Pact Magic spell slot (no action required) to restore your use of it.
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