Psionic Abilities. Xanathar's psionic disciplines are explicitly not spells, bypassing counterspell, dispel magic, and antimagic field effects.
Psi Points. Xanathar has 75 Psi Points (15 x PB). It regains all spent Psi Points when it finishes a long rest.
Amphibious Nature. Xanathar can breathe both air and water, and it is unaffected by difficult terrain caused by water, strong currents, or submerged environments.
Deep Sight. Xanathar has Darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. Within this range, it can see in darkness (both magical and nonmagical) as if it were bright light, and it perceives color in darkness.
Flexible Save (Strength of Mind). After a long rest, Xanathar can change one of its saving throw proficiencies (currently Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) to a different single saving throw of its choice.
Immutable Form. Xanathar is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Universal Telekinesis (Passive Awareness). Xanathar gains constant location awareness, is immune to the surprised condition, and can instantly translate all languages it hears or receives telepathically within its Truesight range (120 ft.).
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (4d6) piercing damage.
Psionic Dampening Cone (Antimagic Cone Variant). Xanathar’s central eye creates an area of pure psychic static, as in the antimagic field spell, in a 150-foot-cone. At the start of each of its turns, Xanathar decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against Xanathar’s own eye ray disciplines, suppressing them.
Eye Disciplines (Psionics). Xanathar shoots three of the following psionic discipline effects at random (reroll duplicates), choosing one to three targets it can see within 120 feet of it. Xanathar must spend 5 Psi Points per ray used.
| Discipline (Ray) | Effect and Save (DC 17) | Damage/Effect |
| Domination Ray | WIS save failure or be charmed for 1 hour. | Analogous to Charm Ray |
| Mental Grip Ray | CON save failure or be paralyzed for 1 minute. | Analogous to Paralyzing Ray |
| Terror Ray | WIS save failure or be frightened for 1 minute. | Analogous to Fear Ray |
| Celerity Draining Ray | DEX save failure or speed is halved and cannot take reactions for 1 minute. | Analogous to Slowing Ray |
| Psychic Enervation Ray | CON save failure or take 36 (8d8) psychic damage. | Analogous to Enervation Ray |
| Telekinetic Ray | STR save failure or be moved 30 ft. and restrained until Xanathar's next turn. | Analogous to Telekinetic Ray |
| Apathy Ray | WIS save failure or fall unconscious for 1 minute (not effective on Constructs/Undead). | Analogous to Sleep Ray |
| Psionic Compression Ray | DEX save failure (repeat save at end of next turn) or be petrified until freed. | Analogous to Petrification Ray |
| Molecular Disruption Ray | DEX save failure or take 45 (10d8) force damage. Object disintegration upon failure. | Analogous to Disintegration Ray |
| Psychic Severance Ray | DEX save failure or take 55 (10d10) psychic damage. Target dies if reduced to 0 HP. | Analogous to Death Ray |
Psychic Focus. Xanathar gains a concentration-free discipline benefit of the DM's choice until the end of its next turn.
Tidal Jet. Xanathar instantly expels a burst of water from its body, allowing it to move up to half its swim speed (30 ft.) without provoking opportunity attacks.
Focused Dread (2 Psi Points). Xanathar focuses its terrifying psychic energy on a single target it can see within 120 feet. That creature has disadvantage on its next saving throw against a Wisdom-based Eye Discipline used by Xanathar (Domination Ray, Terror Ray, or Apathy Ray) before the start of Xanathar's next turn.
Mystic Recovery (Defensive Engine). When Xanathar spends Psi Points, it can use this reaction to gain temporary hit points equal to double the number of Psi Points spent.
Xanathar can take 3 legendary actions, using the Eye Discipline option below. It can take only one legendary action at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Xanathar regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Eye Discipline. Xanathar uses one random Eye Discipline, spending the required 5 Psi Points.
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Psychic Shell (1 Legendary Action). Xanathar instantly creates a layer of psychic shielding around its brain. Until the start of its next turn, it has advantage on saving throws against effects that deal Psychic damage or attempt to move it against its will.
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Water Manipulation (2 Legendary Actions). Xanathar uses its colossal passive telekinesis to rapidly manipulate the water around a target. It targets one creature within 60 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 30 feet in any direction of Xanathar's choice and have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn. This action costs 2 of Xanathar's legendary actions.
Description
👑 Lore: Xanathar, The Abyssal Eye—The Sovereign's Gaze
I. The Pinnacle of Aberrant Creation
Xanathar is not merely a product of Scyllis's efficient beholder creation process; it is her undisputed masterpiece. While most Deep Mindwitnesses and other beholders retain a flicker of the traditional beholder's paranoia and xenophobia—viewing other beholders as fundamentally flawed—Xanathar was subjected to a singular, agonizing ritual that perfected its mind.
Scyllis, recognizing the legendary beholder's inherent strategic genius (Intelligence 18), anchored its consciousness directly to her own hyper-efficient, Lawful Evil intellect. This process eliminated the self-destructive arrogance typical of its kind, replacing it with absolute, cold devotion to the structure of the Abyssal Hive. Xanathar views the hive's expansion as the only perfect state of existence, making it the one beholder utterly incapable of betraying its creator.
II. Scyllis's Favorite: The Logic of Flawless Execution
Xanathar earned the designation of Scyllis's "favorite" not through affection, but through its flawless utility and unparalleled strategic execution.
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Ultimate Loyalist: Scyllis uses Xanathar as her ultimate lieutenant, the commander tasked with coordinating all deep-sea operations against the Leviathan's realm of Poseiran. Where Mindwitnesses are communication relays and Cranium Crabs are spies, Xanathar is the strategic hub.
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Unique Investment: Xanathar is the only beholder Scyllis granted the ability to fully manifest a Portable Domain, customizing its lair actions to reflect the ultimate psionic and aquatic terror. The Psionic Dampening Cone—an ability that cancels out all psychic and magical abilities—is a signature investment, turning Xanathar into a perfect anti-magic weapon against the powerful casters of Poseiran.
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The Psionic Reservoir: Xanathar's immense Psi Point pool (75) is a direct reflection of Scyllis's confidence in its operational efficiency. She granted it the maximum psionic potential to ensure it never falters in its legendary task of securing key choke points or eliminating high-value targets.
III. The Eye of Subjugation
Xanathar resides in a highly mobile, deep-sea pocket of non-Euclidean space—its Portable Domain—which constantly shifts across the abyssal floor, ensuring its unpredictable presence keeps Poseiran's defenders constantly on edge.
Xanathar’s existence is the living embodiment of Scyllis’s calculated will. It does not seek treasure for vanity, but as trophies of war to display the Abyssal Hive’s absolute power. Xanathar's single purpose is to use its psionic might to perfectly execute the cosmic subjugation of the deep, ensuring that every mind and every resource in the deep sea ultimately falls under the Lawful Evil control of Scyllis, the Master of the Abyssal Hive. Xanathar is, quite simply, the most effective and favored weapon in Scyllis's vast, terrifying arsenal.
Lair and Lair Actions
Xanathar's Portable Domain (Lair Actions)
When fighting inside its domain, Xanathar can invoke its mental energy to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Xanathar can take one lair action to cause one of the following effects. Xanathar can’t repeat an effect until they have all been used, and it can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
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Abyssal Pressure (Crushing Force). A 50-foot cube of water within 120 feet of Xanathar instantly feels the equivalent of miles of crushing pressure. Each creature in the cube must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have its speed halved and suffer disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws until initiative count 20 on the next round.
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Psychic Static Field. Walls within 120 feet of Xanathar pulse with dark, venous psychic energy. Each creature of Xanathar’s choice that starts its turn within 10 feet of such a wall must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or be restrained by a painful mental grip until initiative count 20 on the round after next. Escaping requires a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight) check.
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Echoing Eye. A psionic illusion of Xanathar’s central eye appears on a solid surface or a cloud of sediment within 60 feet of it. One random Eye Discipline shoots from that illusion at a target of Xanathar’s choice that it can see. The illusion then vanishes.
Regional Effects
A region containing Xanathar’s lair is warped by the creature’s unnatural psionic presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
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Unseen Observer. Creatures within 1 mile of Xanathar’s lair constantly feel the intrusive presence of being watched and studied. This applies even if they are in the deep dark, reflecting Xanathar's Universal Telekinesis.
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Memory Warps. When Xanathar sleeps, minor warps in reality occur within 1 mile of its lair and then vanish 24 hours later. Marks on solid surfaces or coral might change subtly, an eerie glowing trophy might appear where none existed before, or a harmless patch of stinging jellyfish might coat an object.
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Echoing Thoughts. Within 1 mile of the lair, creatures sometimes experience faint, confusing whispers of Deep Speech or Undercommon that reflect Xanathar's thoughts. This effect fades over the course of 1d10 days if Xanathar dies.
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