BEHOLDER HIVE MOTHER – 5e stats

Huge aberration (beholders), lawful evil

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 212 (20d12 + 80)
Speed 0 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)

Proficiency Bonus +6
Proficiency Bonus +8 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	16 (+3)	18 (+4)	21 (+5)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Int +11, Wis +8, Cha +8
Skills Arcana +10, History +10, Insight +7, Perception +12
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities prone
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Beholder, Undercommon, Deep Speech
Challenge 17 (18,000 XP)

Antimagic Cone. The beholder’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 beholder decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against the beholder’s own eye rays.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (8d6 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the beholder. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the beholder, and takes 25 (6d6 + 4) acid damage at the start of each of the beholder’s turns. The beholder can have only one creature swallowed at a time. If the beholder dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone.
• Eye Ray. The beholder 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:
  • Charm Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the beholder for 1 hour, or until the beholder harms the creature.
  • Paralysis Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Fear Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Slowing Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target’s speed is halved for 1 minute. In addition, the creature can’t take reactions, and it can take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Enervation Ray: The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 36 (8d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
  • Telekinetic Ray: If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or the beholder moves it up to 30 feet in any direction. It is restrained by the ray’s telekinetic grip until the start of the beholder’s next turn or until the beholder is incapacitated. If the target is an object weighing 300 pounds or less that isn’t being worn or carried, the beholder moves it up to 30 feet in any direction. The beholder can also exert fine control on objects with this ray, such as manipulating a simple tool or opening a door or a container.
  • Sleep Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep and remain unconscious for 1 minute. The target awakens if it takes damage or another creature takes an action to wake it.
  • Petrification Ray: The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.
  • Disintegration Ray: If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 45 (10d8) force damage. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, its body becomes a pile of fine gray dust. If the target is a Large or smaller nonmagical object or creation of magical force, it is disintegrated without a saving throw. If the target is a Huge or larger object or creation of magical force, this ray disintegrates a 10-foot cube of it.
  • Death Ray: The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 55 (10d10) necrotic damage. The target dies if the ray reduces it to 0 hit points.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The beholder can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The beholder regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Eye Ray. The beholder uses one random eye ray.
• Dominate Beholder. The beholder targets one beholder or beholder-kin within 120 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the beholder for 24 hours, or until the beholder is killed or incapacitated. The charmed target regards the beholder as its master and obeys its commands. The beholder can have up to three beholders or beholder-kin charmed at a time.
• Teleport. The beholder magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.

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DESCRIPTION

A beholder hive mother, also known as the ultimate tyrant or just ultimate, is a very rare and powerful type of beholder that can magically dominate other beholders, including death tyrants and gazers. A hive mother is significantly larger than a normal beholder, measuring about 12 feet in length and weighing about 15,000 pounds. Its body is spherical and covered with thick, leathery skin. It has a large mouth full of sharp teeth that can gulp down a man-sized target. It has a single central eye that emits a cone of antimagic that works against its own eye rays. Unlike other beholders, a hive mother has no eyestalks, but its ten smaller eyes are embedded in its upper body and protected by hooded covers in the flesh. Depending on the individual, a hive mother may have different types of eye rays, such as charm, paralysis, fear, slowing, enervation, telekinesis, sleep, petrification, disintegration, and death. A hive mother is a genius among beholders, with a keen intellect and a fanatical personality. It is asexual and genderless, like other beholders, and reproduces by dreaming of new beholders. A hive mother is the ultimate expression of beholder supremacy, believing that it is the most perfect creature in existence and that all other beings are inferior and should serve it or be destroyed.

COMBAT

A beholder hive mother is a formidable opponent in combat, using its antimagic cone to suppress the magic of its enemies and its eye rays to inflict various effects on them. A hive mother can shoot three eye rays at random each round, choosing one to three targets it can see within 120 feet of it. The possible eye rays are: charm, paralysis, fear, slowing, enervation, telekinesis, sleep, petrification, disintegration, and death. Each ray requires a different saving throw to resist, and the difficulty class is based on the hive mother’s proficiency bonus and charisma modifier. A hive mother can also bite with its huge mouth, dealing piercing damage and possibly swallowing a medium or smaller creature whole. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the hive mother, and takes acid damage at the start of each of the hive mother’s turns. The hive mother can have only one creature swallowed at a time. If the hive mother dies, a swallowed creature can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone.

A beholder hive mother can also use its legendary actions at the end of another creature’s turn, choosing from the following options: eye ray, dominate beholder, and teleport. The eye ray option allows the hive mother to use one random eye ray. The dominate beholder option allows the hive mother to target one beholder or beholder-kin within 120 feet of it and attempt to charm it for 24 hours, or until the hive mother is killed or incapacitated. The charmed target regards the hive mother as its master and obeys its commands. The hive mother can have up to three beholders or beholder-kin charmed at a time, and can also communicate telepathically with them. The teleport option allows the hive mother to magically teleport, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.

HABITAT / SOCIETY

A beholder hive mother usually lives in a secluded and well-defended lair, often in cold and hilly terrain. It surrounds itself with loyal and obedient minions, mostly other beholders and beholder-kin that it has dominated with its magic. A hive mother may also have other creatures under its control, such as aberrations, humanoids, or undead. A hive mother is the absolute ruler of its domain, and expects its minions to worship it and carry out its orders without question. A hive mother may have various goals, such as expanding its territory, acquiring more resources, destroying its enemies, or creating new beholders. A hive mother may also have a fascination with ancient lore, arcane secrets, or exotic artifacts, and may seek to collect them or learn from them. A hive mother is extremely paranoid and xenophobic, and views any other creature that is not under its control as a potential threat. A hive mother may also have conflicts with other beholders, especially other hive mothers, over matters of ideology, territory, or supremacy.

ECOLOGY

A beholder hive mother is an aberration, a creature that defies the natural laws of the world. It is not part of any natural ecosystem, and often disrupts or destroys the balance of life wherever it goes. A hive mother is an omnivore, and can eat almost anything, but prefers to feed on living creatures, especially those that resist its domination. A hive mother reproduces by dreaming of new beholders, which then manifest in reality near its lair. A hive mother may dream of various types of beholders, such as normal beholders, death tyrants, gazers, or even other hive mothers. A hive mother may also dream of beholder variants, such as eye of flame, eye of the deep, or orbus. A hive mother may have a specific reason for dreaming of a certain type of beholder, such as needing a certain skill, fulfilling a certain plan, or expressing a certain mood. A hive mother may also dream of beholders randomly, or as a result of external influences, such as magic, stress, or nightmares. A hive mother may or may not accept the new beholders as its offspring, depending on its personality and preferences. A hive mother may also try to dominate the new beholders, or kill them if they pose a threat to its authority.

Hive mothers may be the ancestral stock of the better known beholder, the next step of its evolution, a magical mutation, or a separate species. The reality remains unknown, as beholders themselves have different and often contradictory theories about their origins and nature. Some beholders believe that hive mothers are the original and purest form of beholder, and that all other beholders are degenerate offshoots. Others believe that hive mothers are aberrant and corrupted beholders, and that they should be destroyed or avoided. Still others believe that hive mothers are a separate and distinct race of beholder, and that they have their own place in the cosmic order. Regardless of their beliefs, most beholders fear and respect hive mothers, and either serve them or oppose them.