Antimagic Field. The beholder creates an area of antimagic, as in the antimagic field spell, wherever it looks in a 80-foot cone. At the start of each of its turns, the Observer decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against the observer's own eye rays.
A Mind for Science. The beholder can maintain two concentration effects at once. If a third beam that requires concentration is rolled, the concentration effect that has been active the longest is dropped. The beholder must make concentration checks whenever it takes damage, dropping all concentration effects on a failure.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the beholder fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The beholder makes two attacks with it's Pain Rays and activates its Eye Beams feature.
Eye Beams. The beholder shoots two magical eye beams from the table at random (reroll duplicates), choosing a different target it can see within 120 feet of it for each attack. Standard eye beam effects resolve themselves upon the beholder's death, while special eye beams effects remain permanent unless reversed through the use of a greater restoration or wish spell ***Lower level parties all effects end on beholder's death***
Pain Rays. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 60/120 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) necrotic damage. The target automatically fails a Death Saving Throw if the ray reduces it to 0 hit points.
Rearrange Psyches. A sweeping wave of power ripples out in an 80 ft. cone from the beholder's central eye. Every creature within the area must make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or have their mind transposed into the body of another creature who failed the same saving throw.
Creatures who are transposed retain their own mental stats and proficiencies. Spellcasters who learn their spells, like wizards, must make a successful concentration check equal to 10 plus the spell level in order to successfully cast a spell with somatic components. Spellcasters whose magic comes from their blood, like sorcerers, cannot access those spells while transposed.
Transposed creatures may be returned to their own bodies through use of the greater restoration spell, but it must be cast on two or more transposed creatures simultaniously to ensure each psyche has an available body to act as its destination. A single use of the wish spell can return all transposed creatures to their original bodies at once.
***For lower level parties transposed creatures return to their bodies at the end of the beholder's next turn.***
Force Throw. When hit by a melee weapon attack, the Observer can use its reaction to telekinetically throw the creature who made the attack 30 ft in any direction, dealing 7 (2d6) Bludgeoning damage and knocking the creature prone.
The beholder can take 3 legendary actions, using the Eye Ray option below. It can take only one legendary action at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The beholder regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Eye Ray. The beholder uses one random eye ray or makes 2 attacks with its pain rays.
Description
When the beholder makes an attack with its Eye Beams roll a d10 and consult the following chart. Results marked (C) require concentration.
- (C) The target creature feels an invisible force lock around their throat and lift them off the ground. The creature takes 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and is grappled and choking. The creature may use their reaction to break the grapple (DC 16), and may repeat the attempt at the end of each of their turns. If the creature is still grappled at the beginning of its turn it takes an additional 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage. A creature that is choking drops to 0 hit points and falls unconscious after a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier.
- The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep and remain unconscious for 1 minute. The target awakens if it takes damage or another creature takes an action to wake it. This ray has no effect on constructs and undead.
- (C) The target character witnesses the passage of time ebbing and flowing in uneven bursts, speeding up and slowing down. The target player must reroll initiative at the end of each of their turns.
- The target creature only knows how to communicate in Deep Speech. The target player must speak their sentences backwards, beginning with the last word and finishing with the first. If an affected creature attempts to cast a spell they must first succeed on DC 13 intelligence check. An affected creature may make a DC 16 intelligence saving throw at the start of each of its turns, ending this effect on a success.
- (C) The target creature becomes aware of the flex and release of every muscle they use in sequence. Any roll the target player would have made with a d20 must instead be made with 5d4.
- (C) The target creature perceives their surroundings as if they were viewing them upside down. The target player's rolls now treat lower numbers as desirable and high numbers as undesirable. For the purposes of attacks made against the beholder, a roll of 3 or lower is treated as successful, a natural 1 is treated as a critical success, and a natural 20 is treated as a critical failure. Modifiers that are usually added to the player's rolls are subtracted instead.
- (C) The target creature has their relationship with gravity reversed and begins plummeting upwards. The creature can make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw to grab onto a fixed object it can reach, avoiding the fall on a success. Fall damage is calculated normally.
- The targeted creature must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.
- If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 45 force damage. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, its body becomes a pile of fine gray dust.
- The beam strikes a part of the surrounding environment, animating it and imbuing it with hostility towards the beholder's enemies. This creature uses the Animated Boulder statblock below.
Lair and Lair Actions
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the beholder takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the beholder can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Release Faerzress. The beholder opens up cylinders of faezress filling its lair with the magical radiation. While in the affected area, a creature that attempts to cast a spell must first roll a d10. On a result of 1 the spell fails and the spell slot is expended. On a result of 2-3 the spell fails but the spell slot is not expended. On a result of 4-7 the spell is cast and the caster must roll on the wild surge table. On a result of 8-9 nothing happens and the spell functions as normal. On a result of 10 the spell is cast as if it were done using a slot 1d4 (max of 8th level) higher.
- Psychic Intrusion. All creatures of the beholder's choice within its lair must roll a d6 and make a saving throw (DC 16) with the corresponding attribute (1-STR, 2-DEX, 3-CON, 4-INT, 5-WIS, 6-CHA). On a failure, a creature is stunned until the end of their next turn and must roll on the short term madness table in the DMG. On a success, a creature is unaffected.
- Energy Drain. The beholder chooses a creature it can see within its lair. The creature must make a DC 16 constitution saving throw taking 14 (4d6) necrotic damage, or half as much on a success. The beholder regains hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt in this way.
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