Beholder

Beholders are a thing to behold(heh) they are large orbs that levitate above the ground with their main body holding nothing more then an enormous eye with a gaping toothy maw just below it. besides that it has 10 smaller eyes attached to stalks that stick out from the top and sides of its head. besides that it has no other notable features and can vary drastically

Culture

beholders are all called beholders but they vary drastically from one group of beholders to another for beholders are a highly xenophobic race and any creature that does not fit the beholders view of racial superiority, even if its another beholder, must be killed or dominated. so if any beholder is born with a different color in hide, different shaped teeth, different texture of skin, etc. then they suddenly become the enemy of any different beholder. for each beholder believes itself to be the perfection of their race and will accept no counter argument

beholders are believed to be hermaphrodites so while a beholders voice may be masculine of feminine the sound holds no meaning. how beholders breed is by secreting a ooze from themselves then rubbing together. inside of the ooze microscopic beholders will form and get larger over time eventually separating. however a beholder will never willingly engage in such an act for normal breeding methods amongst beholders always result in massive variation amongst the young and beholders do not wish to hate their own children.

instead how beholders willingly breed is in the unnatural magical way. they spend most of their time gathering as much magic as they can so that they can cast a duplication spell on themselves. this results in only one extra beholder but that beholder is always exactly the same as the one copied

each of the eyes a beholder has is able to activate a spell. this spell is based off the gaze of the beholder so it will activate even if the party is blind in addition if the beholder does not wish for it to activate it will not. the spells the ten eyes are able to cast are one of the following:

1. Charm person
2. Charm monster
3. Sleep (Only one target)
4. Telekinesis (up to 250 pounds)
5. Petrify
6. Disintegration ray
7. Fear
8. Slow (Only one target)
9. Cause serious wounds
10. Death ray (Only one target)
11. Repulsion
12. Cone of cold (3 casts per day)
13. Lightning bolt (4 casts per day)
14. Paralyzation (Only one target)
15. Drain magic and wands
16. Create food and water (creates the amount of food and water for a large meal for up to six people; this takes one full round)
17. Telepathy ( if a save vrs spell fails it can be used as a 'power: word' spell as long as that spell does not cause death)

the beholder will reject other beholders that do not have the same range of eye spells. on top of the ten eyes the beholder has access to it also has a main eye that can either use 'anti-magic ray' to create an anti-magic field or it counts as a regeneration magical item as long as its intact it should be noted however that which ability the center eye has is decided at birth and it can never have both.

on top of its natural magical abilities, beholders are also gifted magicians able to try and cast spells on their own in combat. beholders are varieties of evil and the more lawful varieties of beholder may be willing to hear what you have to say when you come across one. should such a conversation unfold they will likely demand that you submit to them, give them some form of information, or give them a powerful magical item as compensation for your lives. it should be noted however that even doppelgangers struggle to appeal to a beholders sense of beauty so looks are meaningless to a beholder it finds all of you equally hideous.