Gauth

Beholders are the stuff of nightmares. These creatures, also called the “spheres of many eyes” or “eye tyrants,” are deadly adversaries.

The gauth, sometimes known as the lesser beholder, is a 4-foot wide orb dominated by a central eye. Six smaller eyes on stalks sprout from the top of its body. It is a rapacious and tyrannical creature that seeks to exact tribute from anything weaker than itself, and often attacks adventurers simply to acquire their wealth.

Beholders speak their own language and Common.

The primary weapon of the gauth is a series of deadly eye rays.

Gauths often attack without provocation. Though not powerful physically, they often plow right into groups of opponents to use as many of their eyes as they can. When closing with an enemy, a gauth tries to cause as much disruption and confusion as possible.

All-Around Vision (Ex): Gauths are exceptionally alert and circumspect. Their many eyes give them a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks, and they can’t be flanked.

Flight (Ex): A gauth’s body is naturally buoyant. This buoyancy allows it to fly at a speed of 20 feet. This buoyancy also grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range.

Eye Rays (Su): Each of a gauth’s small eyes can produce a magical ray once per round as a free action. During a single round, a creature can aim only two eye rays at targets in any one 90-degree arc (up, forward, backward, left, right, or down). The remaining eyes must aim at targets in other arcs, or not at all. A gauth can tilt and pan its body each round to change which rays it can bring to bear in any given arc.

Each of a gauth’s six eye rays resembles a spell cast by an 8th-level caster but follows the rules for a ray (see Aiming a Spell, page 175 of the Player’s Handbook). Each eye ray has a range of 100 feet and a save DC of 14. The save DCs are Charisma-based. The six eye rays include:

• Sleep: This works like the spell, except that it affects one creature with any number of Hit Dice (Will negates). Gauths like to use this ray against warriors and other physically powerful creatures.
• Inflict Moderate Wounds: This works like the spell, causing 2d8+8 points of damage (Will half).
• Dispel Magic: This works like the targeted dispel function of the spell. The gauth’s dispel check is 1d20+8.
• Scorching Ray: This works like the spell, dealing 4d6 points of fire damage (no save). A gauth creates only one fiery ray per use of this ability.
• Paralysis: The target must succeed on a Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d10 minutes.
• Exhaustion: This works like the spell ray of exhaustion (no save).

Stunning Gaze (Su): Stun for 1 round, 30 feet, Will DC 14 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based. Any creature meeting the gaze of the gauth’s central eye is subject to its stunning gaze attack. Since the gauth can use its eye-rays as a free action, the creature can use a standard action to focus its stunning gaze on an opponent and attack with all eye rays that bear on its foes at the same time.