Dungeons and Dragons updated many of its most iconic creatures in the new Monster Manual. That includes the Beholder, whose randomized eye rays and antimagic abilities could spell disaster for a party – or major frustration for a Dungeon Master.
While the upgraded stat block still has these core features and plenty of random elements, it’s also a lot more consistent. The new DnD Beholder can reliably dole out damage round to round, and its key powers feel far less unfair on both sides of the Dungeon Master screen.
This famous monster is more strategic than ever, and it can cause plenty of problems for an unprepared party, whatever DnD classes and DnD races you’ve chosen. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick list of tips for battling the legendary laser-eyed beast below.
Spread out and take cover
This is good advice for combat, whatever DnD monsters you may be fighting. However, it’s especially crucial when facing a Beholder for two reasons: its eye rays and its antimagic cone.
Eye Rays are a Beholder’s calling card – they are, after all, a large floating ball of eyes. Beholders can fire off three random Eye Rays as an action or one random one as a legendary action, and they can cause a range of problems, from telekinesis to petrification to all-out disintegration.
These Eye Rays have a generous range of 120 feet, so it’ll be hard to outrun them. However, the Beholder needs to see you to make you a target, so cover is your best friend. Failing that, anything that gives you the Invisible condition is a serious boon.
Now onto the Antimagic Cone, a truly conflicting Beholder ability. This cone creates an Antimagic Field where spells and magical effects cannot be used, and creatures in the zone cannot be targeted with such mystical abilities. That’s great for nullifying spellcasters, but it also works on the Beholder’s own Eye Rays.
The 2014 version of the Beholder would decide which direction this 150-foot cone was facing at the start of its turns, meaning it was always active in some form. In the new Monster Manual, the Antimagic Cone is now a bonus action that, once activated, lasts until the start of the Beholder’s next turn.
This means that, rather than awkwardly dancing around its own Antimagic Cone, the Beholder can now use it more strategically. The Beholder always starts its turn with no Antimagic Cone, so it’s free to fire its lasers at any target, move around, and then bring up the magical barrier in the most optimal spot.
That optimal spot is always the one that traps the most spellcasters. If they’re in a confined space with no escape, even better. It should be clear why we’d recommend that your party spread out.
Use the Antimagic Cone to your advantage
That being said, it occasionally pays to be inside the Beholder’s Antimagic Cone. It protects you from becoming the target of any spell, magical ability, or Eye Ray said Beholder (or its cronies) may throw at you.
Given that the Beholder can use Eye Rays as a legendary action, this is even more useful. Keep an eye on how many legendary actions a Beholder can use in a round, and track them. If you’re likely to be blasted by one, it might be sensible to duck just inside of the Cone – after you’ve used any planned magic actions on your turn.
Stay out of melee range where possible
The Beholder has one last trick up its sleeve, the ability to bite enemies with its gaping maw. This can be done as an action on the Beholder’s turn, or it can spend a legendary action to perform two bites.
A Beholder’s bite deals an average of 13 piercing damage. Given that almost every Eye Ray can deal this amount of damage or more (a major change from the 2014 version), it’s rarely sensible to spend a Beholder’s action performing one bite over three Eye Rays.
However, that legendary action is a surprisingly effective way to chip away at a character’s health between turns, particularly if they regularly shrug off saving throws but are less talented in the AC department.
Whatever your build, it’s a good idea to avoid ending your turn in melee range of the Beholder. The beefiest DnD Barbarian can survive more than a few chomps, but anyone else will start to seriously hurt after too long.
Be very afraid of the Beholder’s friends
Beholders are recommended for parties that have reached at least level 13. At this stage of play, characters are pretty likely to succeed on saving throws against the Beholder’s Eye Rays (DC 16).
A bad roll can be devastating, but many classes have ways to avoid this scenario. Certain DnD Wizards have Portent, DnD Bards can dish out Bardic Inspiration, and DnD Fighters will rely on Indomitable – need we list more?
Plus, a party with good maneuverability can work around the Antimagic Cone and melee bites. A Beholder in isolation (particularly if the environment doesn’t offer extra advantages), isn’t too threatening. A Beholder with friends, however, is a very different story.
One of the major changes in the new Monster Manual is the way many monsters inflict conditions. Plenty of enemies now have the ability to automatically inflict a condition when they land a successful attack, no extra saving throws required.
Let’s say that our Beholder has recruited a few Bugbears and a Mind Flayer (both recommended buddies according to the Monster Manual’s ‘monsters by environment’ appendix). A Bugbear can auto-grapple a creature it manages to hit, meaning it can easily hold a DnD Sorcerer down, keeping them trapped in an Antimagic Cone.
Meanwhile, a Mind Flayer has two ways to stun a target – either via a failed saving throw against its Mind Blast or via a successful attack roll from its tentacles. Like the Bugbear, those tentacles automatically inflict the stunned (and grappled) condition as long as they beat the target’s armor class.
An enemy that can’t move or act is a sitting duck for plenty of Beholder attacks. Alternatively, the Beholder can leave said character stunned and focus all its Eye Rays on the remaining party members.
While it can be tempting to beeline for the boss in a big fight, it can pay to take out the grunts. The fewer conditions you’re subjected to when fighting the Beholder, the better.
For more on the latest books, here’s all you need to know about this year’s DnD release schedule. We can also explain each of the DnD 2024 backgrounds from the 2024 Player’s Handbook.
Source: Wargamer
