BEHOLDER DIRECTOR – 5e stats

Large aberration (beholders), alignment

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 136 (16d10 + 48)
Speed 0 ft., 30 ft. (hover)

Proficiency Bonus +4
Proficiency Bonus +5 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	17 (+3)

Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +6, Cha +7
Skills Perception +6
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Beholder, Deep Speech, Undercommon
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Antimagic Cone. The director’s central eye creates an area of antimagic, as in the antimagic field spell, in a 150-foot cone. At the start of each of its turns, the director decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against the director’s own eye rays

Mounted Combatant. The director has a mind-link with a specialized riding. While mounted on such a creature, the director has advantage on melee attack rolls against any unmounted creature that is smaller than its mount. The director can force an attack targeted at its mount to target itself instead. If its mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, the director can make the saving throw for its mount, taking the damage or effect if it fails.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (4d6 + 4) piercing damage.
• Eye Rays. The director shoots three of the following magical eye rays at random (reroll duplicates), choosing one to three targets it can see within 120 feet of it:
  • Magic Missile Ray. The director casts the magic missile spell at 5th level. It creates five glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of the director’s choice that it can see within range. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and the director can direct them to hit one creature or several. The director can use this ray twice per round.
  • Burning Hands Ray. The director casts the burning hands spell at 8th level. As the director holds its hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth from its outstretched fingertips. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren’t being worn or carried.
  • Wall of Ice Ray. The director casts the wall of ice spell. The director creates a wall of ice on a solid surface within range. The wall can be up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 1 foot thick, or a hemispherical dome up to 20 feet in diameter. When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 10d6 cold damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. The wall is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. It has AC 12 and 30 hit points per 10-foot section, and it is vulnerable to fire damage. Destroying a section of the wall doesn’t leave behind a hole; the wall’s magic fills the breach. If the wall cuts through a creature’s space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall and must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 10d6 cold damage, or half as much damage on a successful save.
  • Slow Ray. The director casts the slow spell. The director alters time around up to six creatures of its choice in a 40-foot cube within range. Each target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by this spell for the duration. An affected target’s speed is halved, it takes a -2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws, and it can’t use reactions. On its turn, it can use either an action or a bonus action, not both. Regardless of the creature’s abilities or magic items, it can’t make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn. If the creature attempts to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, roll a d20. On an 11 or higher, the spell doesn’t take effect until the creature’s next turn, and the creature must use its action on that turn to complete the spell. If it can’t, the spell is wasted. A creature affected by this spell makes another Wisdom saving throw at the end of its turn. On a successful save, the effect ends for it.
  • Enervation Ray. The director casts the enervation spell. The director targets one creature it can see within range. A tendril of inky darkness reaches out from the director, touching the target and draining life from it. The target must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the target takes 2d8 necrotic damage, and the spell ends. On a failed save, the target takes 4d8 necrotic damage, and until the spell ends, the director can use its action on each of its turns to automatically deal 4d8 necrotic damage to the target. The spell ends if the director uses its action to do anything else, if the target is ever outside the spell’s range, or if the target has total cover from the director. Whenever the spell deals damage to a target, the director regains hit points equal to half the amount of necrotic damage the target takes.
  • Improved Phantasmal Force Ray. The director casts the phantasmal force spell, but with the following changes: The director can affect up to three creatures of its choice within range, and the spell lasts for 1 minute. The director crafts an illusion that takes root in the mind of each target. Each target must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes affected by the illusion for the duration. The illusion is of the director’s choice, and it can be anything the director can imagine, as long as it is no larger than a 10-foot cube. The illusion includes sound, temperature, and other stimuli, also evident only to the creature. The target can use its action to examine the illusion with an Intelligence (Investigation) check against the director’s spell save DC. If the target discerns the illusion for what it is, the spell ends for that target. While a target is affected by the spell, the target treats the illusion as if it were real. The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the illusion.

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DESCRIPTION

A beholder director is a large, spherical creature with a single central eye and six eyestalks on top of its body. Each eyestalk has a different magical power that the director can use to attack or defend itself. The director’s central eye is smaller than that of a normal beholder, and it can create an area of antimagic, which negates the effects of any magic within its cone-shaped range. The director also has three clawed tentacles on its underside, which it uses to bond with a specialized riding animal, such as a dire wolf or a giant spider. The director and its mount share a mind-link that allows them to communicate and coordinate their actions. A director’s skin is covered with armored scales that protect it from physical harm. A director’s coloration varies, but it is usually dark and dull, to blend in with its underground environment. A director’s mouth is filled with sharp teeth that can deliver a powerful bite.

Director mounts seem to have derived from an insect stock, as they are covered in chitin and have simple eye spots and multiple limbs. They are loyal and obedient to their directors, and they can move swiftly and stealthily in various terrains. They can also fight with their claws, fangs, or stingers, depending on the type of mount.

COMBAT

A director is a formidable opponent in combat, especially when mounted on its loyal beast. A director can use its eyestalks to unleash a barrage of spells at its enemies, such as magic missile, burning hands, wall of ice, slow, enervation, and improved phantasmal force. The director can also use its central eye to create an area of antimagic, which negates the effects of any magic within its cone-shaped range. The director can choose whether to activate or deactivate this cone at the start of each of its turns, and which direction to face it. The director can also use its bite to inflict piercing damage on a nearby foe.

A director is often a leader or a shock trooper in a beholder community, and it may be accompanied by other beholders or beholderkin, such as gazers, spectators, or death kisses. A director is loyal to its hive mother or overseer, and will follow their commands without question. A director is also intelligent and cunning, and will use its spells and tactics to gain an advantage over its enemies. A director is hateful and aggressive, and will not hesitate to kill anyone who opposes or insults it or its kind. A director is also avaricious and greedy, and will seek to acquire any treasure or magic items it finds.

HABITAT / SOCIETY

A director is most frequently found underground, in the dark and twisted lairs of beholder hives. A director may also be encountered in other planes of existence, such as the Astral Plane or the Far Realm, where beholders originate from. A director may also travel through space in a spelljammer vessel, as part of a beholder fleet.

A director is a social creature, unlike most other beholders, and it enjoys the company of its mount and its fellow beholderkin. A director is also a loyal servant of its hive, and it will obey the orders of its hive mother or overseer, who are the supreme rulers of the beholder society. A director may also have a subordinate role in the hive, such as a guard, a scout, a hunter, or a trainer. A director respects the authority and power of its superiors, and expects the same from its inferiors. A director may also form alliances or rivalries with other directors or beholders, depending on their personalities and goals.

A director communicates with its own kind through a combination of telepathy, body language, and eye movements. A director can also speak several languages, such as Beholder, Deep Speech, and Undercommon, and it may learn other languages from its enemies or allies. A director has a complex and alien psychology, and it may have strange or incomprehensible motives or beliefs. A director worships the Great Mother, the creator and progenitor of all beholders, and it may also revere other powerful or ancient beholders, such as the Eye of the Deep or the Elder Orb. A director may also follow a personal philosophy or code of conduct, such as the Way of the Eye or the Way of the Claw.

ECOLOGY

A director is an aberration, a creature that defies the natural laws of the world. A director is a product of the dreams and nightmares of the Great Mother, who shapes the beholder race according to her whims and visions. A director is a rare and specialized breed of beholder, created to serve as a cavalry fighter and a leader in the beholder wars. A director is born from a beholder spawn, a small and immature beholder that is ejected from the hive mother’s body. A director spawn is then bonded with a monstrous vermin, such as a dire wolf or a giant spider, which becomes its lifelong mount and companion. A director and its mount grow and mature together, forming a strong and symbiotic relationship. A director can live for several centuries, unless it is killed by its enemies or rivals.

A director is an omnivore, and it can eat almost anything that it can fit in its mouth. A director prefers to eat fresh meat, especially from intelligent creatures, such as humans, elves, or dwarves. A director may also eat plants, fungi, minerals, or magic items, depending on its taste and needs. A director and its mount share their food and resources, and they may also hunt or scavenge together. A director does not need to sleep, but it may enter a state of meditation or trance, where it dreams of its own glory or the Great Mother’s visions. A director does not reproduce sexually, but it may create new beholder spawns through a process of budding, where a part of its body detaches and grows into a new creature. A director may also create new beholderkin through genetic manipulation or magical experimentation, such as gazers, spectators, or death kisses.

A director is a predator and a competitor, and it has many enemies and rivals in the world. A director may fight against other races or factions, such as humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, dragons, mind flayers, or drow, for territory, resources, or domination. A director may also fight against other beholders or beholderkin, who may have different beliefs, goals, or appearances. A director may also have allies or friends, such as other directors, beholders, or beholderkin, who share its interests or values. A director may also cooperate or trade with other creatures, such as duergar, svirfneblin, or kuo-toa, who can provide it with goods or services. A director may also have a curiosity or a fascination with other creatures, such as spellcasters, adventurers, or artists, who can offer it knowledge or entertainment.