1eyedking Beholders in RPGs and other media

[someone else]

No not this Beholder.

This Beholder!

I first learn of this Dungeons & Dragons monster in the Companion set.

The Beholder illustration in the Companion set.
Also known as the Eye Tyrant, a mid to high level creature whose main eye has anti-magic ray and can shoot save-or-die spells like disintegrate, death ray & flesh-to-stone out of its many eyestalks.

I posted some vids of beholders in games and media:
Beholders are trademarked copyrighted so some of them are beholder-like monsters but not really beholders.
Beholder spoilers!


Eye Of The Beholder 1991. Final fight.

The lords of the city of Waterdeep hire a team of adventurers to investigate an evil coming from beneath the city. The adventurers enter the city's sewer, but the entrance gets blocked by a collapse caused by Xanathar, the eponymous beholder. The team descends further beneath the city, going through Dwarf and Drow clans, to Xanathar's lair, where the final confrontation takes place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_the_Beholder_(video_game)

Beholders are dangerous enemies and we can see in this video when it kills half the party at the start of battle.
Defeated by using a wand to push the beholder into a trap. Or you can kill it with sidestep dodges.


Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn 2000. Beholder Lair

A lair of beholders, something which should normally be difficult but fortunately the game gives you anti-gaze items that lets you breeze through them.
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Shield_of_Balduran
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Cloak_of_Mirroring

Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark has a beholder lair too but it is less awesome.


Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss 1992. Mountainmen mine

Hovering orbs of flesh, gazers seem to spend all their time in search of prey Their name comes from their multiple eyes, all but their central eye extending from tentacle-like arms. Having faced one in battle, I can report that a gazer's death results in an explosion of swarming insects. From Beyond the Serpent Pillars (Ultima VII Part Two)

Why should D&D have a monopoly on multieyed tenacles? The Ultima series' gazers, while not as formidable as beholders are still a worthy foe. Here a gazer is a boss in the upper levels of Ultima Underworld.


Dragon's Dogma 2012.

The Japanese like them too, one of the boss monsters is called "Evil Eye" formed from a fossilized dragon's eye, it has a cool teleporting trick.

There is also a giant Gazer variant in Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen.


Enter the Gungeon 2016. Beholster

What if you give a beholder guns, lasers and missiles?

Continued below

 

[someone else]

Split due to media limit.
Beholders also make appearance in RPG media.


Dungeons & Dragons (Ep. 02) Eye of the Beholder 1983

Epic battle with the beholder at the end 15:10.


Goblin Slayer Ep 8 2018

A giant eyeball with disintegrate and dispel magic.


Dungeons and Dragon 2000

Beholders make an appearance in the 2000 movie but doesn't do anything.


I like the Dragon's Dogma beholder, it can eat you and spit you out.
Post interesting beholders appearances that you know of.

Happy Halloween!

Original Beholder from Greyhawk 1975.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Why should D&D have a monopoly on multieyed tenacles?

Copyright laws.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Hovering orbs of flesh, gazers seem to spend all their time in search of prey Their name comes from their multiple eyes, all but their central eye extending from tentacle-like arms. Having faced one in battle, I can report that a gazer's death results in an explosion of swarming insects. From Beyond the Serpent Pillars (Ultima VII Part Two)

Why should D&D have a monopoly on multieyed tenacles? The Ultima series' gazers, while not as formidable as Beholders are still a worthy foe. Here a Gazer is a boss in the upper levels of Ultima Underworld.

Ah, the good old bee-holders.

 

[someone else]

Why should D&D have a monopoly on multieyed tenacles?

Copyright laws.
https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=18&PID=qjCmxaa_mSFCa2JlDw0uHUoH0hkbA

I posted some vids of beholders in games and media:
Beholders are trademarked so some of them are beholder-like monsters but not really beholders.

It was a rhetorical question. I already said that they are trademarked.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

They're copyrighted, not trademarked.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

You fight a Beholder as a Dungeon Boss in Divine Divinity.



Video sucks cause the guy is using the trap exploit but at least you can see the Beholder.

 

[laclongquan]

Beholders already has rays so guns and lasers are pointless. They also can cast spell like Fireballs so missiles are also pointless.

What's not pointless is ability to summon, living minions for example. If they call up a pack of 6 minions to be meatshield it would be too troublesome for words.

 

[Yosharian]

Let's not forget that Beholders can be just as three-dimensional (or otherwise) as any other monsters in D&D. For an example, look at the Spectator Beholder in Baldur's Gate 2 (spoilers for BG2):

CHARNAME: What's with those imps, anyway?
SPECTATOR: Oh, they've been here since the drow who summoned me was slaughtered... Sixty years with only two imps and a mad fish-king for company. Is this Hell?

This is a unique encounter that you can solve with violence if you choose, but there's another way, and only the wisest or smartest might discover it...

I mean there's also the option of just leaving the Spectator alone. What did this poor Beholder ever do to you, anyway?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Let's not forget that Beholders can be just as three-dimensional (or otherwise) as any other monsters in D&D. For an example, look at the Spectator Beholder in Baldur's Gate 2 (spoilers for BG2):

CHARNAME: What's with those imps, anyway?
SPECTATOR: Oh, they've been here since the drow who summoned me was slaughtered... Sixty years with only two imps and a mad fish-king for company. Is this Hell?

This is a unique encounter that you can solve with violence if you choose, but there's another way, and only the wisest or smartest might discover it...

I mean there's also the option of just leaving the Spectator alone. What did this poor Beholder ever do to do, anyway?

Technically not a Beholder, though.

 

[Butter]

Legends of Amberland also has pseudo-beholders.

 

[The Great ThunThun*]

Has Big trouble in little china been mentioned?

 

[Pots Talos]

At 2:55
https://youtu.be/WZet_jJ9sDE

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[G.O.D]

Beholders in Ultima Online.

Eador has them.

Age of Wonders

And Doom

 

[AdamReith]

Beholders are so unique, definitely up there with Golems when it comes to esotric mage fuckery.

 

[Xeon]

I think there is a beholder like enemy in Final Fantasy games but it has a different name or something.

 

[circuit breaker]

 

[Egosphere]

dungeon siege had something like that, 3:52

 

[vota DC]

There are beholder in homm too.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Two words - Castle Darkmoor

Spoiler

I know they're not technically beholders but whatever

 

[Dorateen]

Dexam disintegrating Fzoul was a great moment, and a challenging boss in Curse of the Azure Bonds, the first beholder encountered in a Gold Box game. Then there was the Mulmaster Beholder Corp.

A beholder also made an appearance in the Dungeons & Dragons animated series.

 

[Machocruz]

One of the more interesting fetishes I've come across

Anyway, Dragon's Crown

 

[flushfire]

Geneforge has them as gazers, they're my fave pets.

 

[overly excitable young man]

Futurama had one.

 

[Spukrian]

And Doom

Hey, that's an Astral Dreadnought: