I'm starting to amalgamate the various bits we have on beholders into a proper racial writeup up, to go with the later ones for other species.
I'm not about to transform them into a pink hippy commune or anything, but if anyone has some thoughts and preferences on what they'd like to see, I'm happy to hear them.
You know, I actually like most of the stuff we have already. The Keln'in write-up is one of my favorites. The only things I'd really change are some of the abilities the write-up mentioned. My Beholder monster class made them weaker and took away their crazy anti-magic cone, so some of that stuff needs tweaking.
I'm sure you'll come up with some other good stuff.
I'm sure you'll come up with some other good stuff.
One possibility we might consider is the idea that at some point, the Beholders of Ortho were drastically weakened by some in-story Cataclysm. Perhaps a massive Cabal-run breeding project that made most Beholders more fertile but also inferior copies of the Real Thing.
No, I like having them just be a different sub-species. Ortho is its own setting. We don't have to explain why it differs from D&D core. It just does. Besides, they've already got at least one major cataclysm in their backstory. They don't really need more.
For the record, much of this is taken from the PDF, so Kudos to whoever did that writeup (it certainly made my life easier).
I've mostly concentrated on Beholder psychology. Lots of societal info is already done in the Keln writup.
Races of Ortho: Beholders
Beholders are among the most magically powerful races to have accepted the Way of Harmony, and they’re also famously aggressive and tyrannical. Many outsiders therefore wonder how it is that Beholders don’t control the whole of Ortho. The answer is simple: Unfortunately for the Eye Tyrants (and fortunately for everyone else), there are few creatures as paranoid and uncooperative as a beholder – especially when it comes to other beholders.
Beholder Breeds of Ortho
Orthorian beholders follow the general appearance of their race, but have thick red chitin, each piece having numerous small spikes sticking out of it. Although they spawn by division, the mutation rate is high - partly to help fight the weaknesses inherent in parthenogenesis and partly because of their polluted origin as abominations servings the Lords of Madness. Because of this there are many subtle variants to the standard appearance.
There are twenty-seven major beholder clans on Ortho, each slightly different in terms of shape and colour, eyestalk length, and other minor physical traits. The clans are all related to each other, stemming from a ‘bloodline bottleneck’ caused by the decimation of their species during the Great Victory. Although non-beholders often find the difference hard to see, no beholder would ever miss them and they take the smallest distinction extremely seriously. Each of clan also contains within it smaller bloodlines, which are distinct sub-lines and off-shoots.
Recent spawnings of the beholder race (since they joined the Pax Harmonium) have seen some slight weakening of the Ortho strain’s traditional powers; many elder beholders ascribe this inferior ‘mutation’ to the weakening of traditional values and the effect of contact with other races. Others look hopefully to see new abilities emerge in the next generations of beholders, which can better champion the cause of Harmony.
Beholder Psychology
The greatest barrier to understanding between Beholders and the rest of the world is simply their alieness. Beholders reproduce asexually; creating clones largely identical to themselves. They have no mother or father in the humanoid sense and place no value on such connections. Spawning isn’t considered a great or benevolent thing either – culturally it’s a period of great weakness, which just produces new rivals for domination of a warren.
Spawning takes place relatively rarely: The beholder’s eye-stalks begin to swell, eventually falling off to become tiny immature beholders, nullifying their great powers for some time in the process. This naturally leaves the unwilling parent very vulnerable to attack – a problem of deadly seriousness before the Pax Harmonium, when usurpers often killed them in this weakened state.
Spawning is a ‘necessary evil’ in Beholder society, nothing more. In times past young were driven out of the warren as swiftly as possible and many beholders were cannibalistic, seeing immature Eye Tyrants as vermin to be culled. This policy has now been officially abandoned, but still occurs. Beholders are also practically immortal, and lack the usual humanoid urge to produce and protect children. The same attitude is prevalent between ‘siblings’ of a spawning, who usually see each other only as rivals for resources.
From such a background it’s not hard to see why beholders lack the emotional attachments of most humanoids. Only the strength of a given bloodline invokes something like familial affection: Each beholder considers the nuances of his powers and appearance to be superior to all others. With almost all beholder relationships also categorised by a ‘dominate or be dominated’ mindset it’s unsurprising that they are constantly on guard against attack and conspicuously aggressive. It’s a survival trait that’s grown into a world view.
Most beholders come across as violent and ruthless because this attitude is often the easiest recourse for them, and they lack a basic understanding of the ‘social contracts’ that keep other societies running more politely. In the modern age beholders are somewhat capable of understanding humanoid societal rules intellectually, but still lack empathy with their neighbours. Other races just seem foolish and cowardly to them.
The other defining factor in Beholder society is their powers. Every beholder can instantly destroy, imprison, or enslave another of its kind if it gets the drop on them with its eye rays. As a result most beholders are extremely paranoid about other members of their race. Beholder ‘society’ was once little more than a few simple rituals for when beholders met – a slow dance of formality designed to keep things civil when two (or more) normally solitary Eye Tyrants were forced to communicate. The common tongue phrase “seeing eye-to-eye” is actually a reference to the beholder practice of always keeping a visitor firmly in focus of their magic-negating central eye.
Most communication between Tyrants was brief and one on one, although heralds of other races were occasionally used (but considered untrustworthy and expendable). It was a rare beholder that could cooperate long term with another of his race – and a mutual interest was usually at the heart of it.
Their opinion of ‘lesser races’ originates from a similar circumstance: They can charm people at will and when that doesn’t work they can inspire magical fear, turn them to stone, or simply Disintegrate them. These factors make beholders naturally untrusting and contemptuous of their slaves, because even the most devoted servant can be threatened with oblivion or simply Charmed by a rival. Combined with its other ‘superior attributes’ beholders soon came to the conclusion that other creatures were inferior beings fit only to serve in menial tasks.
The coming of the Harmonium has changed this view… a little.
Beholder Society
Before contact with the Knights of Harmony, beholder ‘society’ was almost a contradiction in terms – each Eye Tyrant was essentially the Prince of a nation of one controlling a warren and whatever humanoid slaves he could find or steal. When more than one beholder lived in a warren, it was typically for a specific purpose and the ruler usually just Charmed and threatened everyone else into obedience.
When large scale meetings were required, beholders would meet in a delicate truce balanced on the tenuous fact that each delegate couldn’t keep his central eye on every other beholder in the room at the same time. In effect everybody watched everybody else to make sure nobody took advantage of a meeting (at least not magically). In time, a reluctant democratic tradition developed, strengthened by a belief in a ‘Great Mother’ deity that spoke of unification for the good of the race and an intolerant view of other creatures as nothing but food and slaves. To Orthorian Tyrants, the Great Mother (actually a mistranslation, as Beholder language has no words for ‘mother’ or ‘father’ – the best translation into Orthorian Common is actually Perfect Progenitor) wasn’t really a deity so much as an ideal – the perfect first beholder, whose powers have become watered down over time by endless spawning and mutations. This was a significant factor during the contact with the Alliance of Harmony, when clerics of Didiardin were eventually able to equate much of their own religion (newly changing itself) with the mysticism surrounding the Perfect Progenitor.
In modern times the Progenitor/Great Mother is seen as an icon of perfection to be aspired to and also a warning of the chaos that the race might fall back into should they ever cease to venerate Harmony. Maintaining the vigilance and discipline required in this task is a spiritual belief that combines doctrine from the churches of both Didairdin and Saeduenical.
Civilisation & the Harmonium
The struggle to ‘civilise’ the beholder hegemony was long and bloody. Naturally, the beholders refused to negotiate without a fight.
Although individually more powerful than whole regiments of troops, the Alliance of Harmony were able to exploit beholder disunity to great effect, concentrating on long-range attacks and small teams of heroes making lightning raids on warrens. For their part, the beholders decimated the rank and file and made great use of undermining and their twisting warrens. The war became a stalemate: the Alliance controlled much of aboveground Keln; the Beholders were impenetrable in their warrens. Eventually they talked.
‘Modern’ Beholders have a somewhat more sociable system, but the virtual immortality of Eye Tyrants means that there are still plenty of ‘old school’ beholders floating around as well. Fortunately the provincial Great Congress has control of Keln; those who refuse to accept the current system flee or are ‘dealt with’ by Congress Enforcers.
The OCA has tried (somewhat successfully) for centuries to make beholders live together peaceably. Eye Tyrants are now divided into formal Clans, all members of a single ‘bloodline’ with similar attributes. With a great deal of effort the Harmonium has persuaded the beholders that individual superiority and ‘family’ superiority are linked. It’s now not uncommon to find as many as half a dozen beholders dwelling in the same burrow. These warrens have a strong competitive work ethic, mainly to keep individual Tyrants focused on something other than paranoia. Although illegal Charming (and occasionally Disintegrating) does go on, it’s been significantly reduced.
The other major shift in society is linking beholder prosperity to the philosophy of Harmony: Eye Tyrants are among the most aggressive proponents of the cause. Many beholders serve in the Harmonium and OCA, as they’re the best ways to gain power and prestige on Ortho.
Exposure to other races doesn’t always mellow their attitudes, but a significant minority of beholders (considered ‘mad’ by their fellows) have managed to adopt a sociable demeanour and basic understand “the aberrant weakness that is the humanoid mind.” Most of these beholders are actually still comparatively merciless and cold, but have at least grasped the concepts that elude the rest of their race.
Various sub-breeds and offshoots to the main beholder race have been published over the years, and DMs may wish to introduce some or all of them to an Ortho campaign. Notes are provided below:
Deathkiss: Alien creatures, deathkiss beholderkin are unrecorded in Ortho. This doesn't mean you won't see one, just that you may not survive to tell the tale.
Director: Grell flesh-sculpted servitor beasts.
Eyeball: Naturally occurring beholder variant... create hives in caverns and trees.
Eyes of the Deep: Mythical creatures even to the beholders, the Eyes of the Deep dwell in the dark underground oceans where even beholders fear to float.
Civilized Gauth: Legally seen as equal to beholders, the civilized gauth are mostly seen as a seperate lower class of beholders and form secretive clans and communities within beholder lands.
Degenerate Gauth: Degenerate gauths roam the cavern networks of the Flamedance Mountains like ravening monstrosities. Beholder lore states that these mad gauth are outcasts, cursed during the Great Victory. They barely speak and seem to only exist to cause mayhem and amass hordes of ill-gotten wealth.
Gouger: Horrifying beasts created during the Great Victory, Gougers beholders are slapdash aberrant monstrosities who roam the deepest caves. The forces of the Beholder Nation have exterminated most Gougers and driven the remaining ones deep into the earth. However, adult beholders still tell tales to their offspring about hordes of horrifying Gougers deep beneath the world -- tales that may have more truth in them than is commonly assumed.
Hive Mother: Unheard of on Ortho. Possibly driven to extinction by beholders early in history.
Overseer: Created by grell fleshsculptors, Overseers are "owned" by beholders as guards and wardens (even in this day and age, the beholders hardly trust each other). Overseers are completely unable to affect their "owner" with their domination ability and follow orders without hesitation.
Spectator: Grell built servants who have since been discontinued. Spectators were created with too much intelligence and will. Many were destroyed, others were given freedom (but, of course no vote). Spectators can be found in other Orthan cities, but they have no role in the "beholder warren" social system.
The Grell
The grell have no representation in official beholder government. According to ancient compact, the grell serve the beholders faithfully and, for the most part, are treated as respected servants by their masters. No grell can ever harm a beholder through action or inaction, and none would even think to do so. It is with the help of the grell that the beholders have created many of the strange magic items that they are known for around Ortho. In addition, grell fleshweavers have designed a number of "Beholder-kin" worker beasts, similarly bound into the mystical shackles.
The grell are known on other worlds as "The Eaters" and the grell of Ortho are no different. Because of their domination, no grell would think to eat a beholder or beholderkin, but al other creatures are fair game. Recently the Great Congress voted to declare humanoids off of the menu of their grell servants (unless provoked). While most beholders follow the will of the Congress, and the grell follow the will of the beholders unquestioningly, some isolated warrens have been slow to implement this change -- mostly due to being complete bastards.
Beholder mystics have recently determined that the grell contract is nearing its end and must find a way to renew or renegotiate it before it ends. In the best case, the beholders would lose their labor force with the contract’s end. In the worst care, they would have a host of angry unbound grell to deal with. Regardless, the beholders are keeping quiet about the problem, as they would prefer to handle it themselves without the interference of other provinces or higher-ranking members of the Harmonium.
Impressive.
My only suggestion would be to make it more like the handbook of the other races but you have all the information there anyway. Combined with the racial traits here, you've got a great write-up.
Oh and probably something about what sort of Beholders go out and adventure and what their typical alignment is.
Very nice, can't wait to play a beholder trying to be a paladin or similar.
One thing though-
Do you mean the Lords of Chaos or some other group? Either way this part of their history should probably be expanded a bit.
"Lords of Madness" can be a general term for Aberrations (like in the book Lords of Madness) or refer to the twisted Far Realm entities that created most of them (although Beholders themselves were made by the Great Mother - at least in other settings).
Armoury may be referring to something else entirely though.
Nope, in the Keln writeup is says "Lords of Madness" - which I think means the general Aberration horde... only reason I mentioned it. It could easilly change to Lords of Chaos or Unnamable Horrors.
Armoury, I've been looking the write up over, and are you sure we need all this Beholder history? PC race write-ups need to be relatively short so that players can get the gist of what a race is about without having to wade through a detailed setting history (like the one in the Keln'in Writeup). This writeup rambles a lot more than is probably advisable. Also, I'm not sure we need to call them Eye Tyrants. Most people just call them Beholders these days and too many terms are confusing.
I'm keen to give potential players (and DMs for that matter) as much info as possible to make beholders an actual alien race and not another cookie-cutter monster (like Clueless, I'm a CJ Cherryh fan), and obviously history is an important part of that. However there is a lot of overlap between the racial writeup and the history of Keln, so there's a good case for folding some of one into the other and clearing up some space.
I'll take a look.
This is actually a problem with all my writeups... they have a standardised format, but its not the PHB one. Oh well, one more thing to tweak then!
Good point.
I'm not about to transform them into a pink hippy commune or anything, but if anyone has some thoughts and preferences on what they'd like to see, I'm happy to hear them.
I think we should establish that since Beholders are naturally immortal (or really really really long lived), that the majority of the race is is plotting and evil with a variety of alignments. However, those born after the OCA have started to display genuine kinship amongst the other races that are starting to alarm the older ones.
That or establish that Beholders have a Caste System and only the Main Caste are the Evil Evil types.