When I first saw the new Monster Manual cover for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons I was thrilled. The Beholder has always been my
absolute favorite monster since I started playing in 1983. It was originally
introduced on the cover of the 1975 Greyhawk supplement. Known then as the "Sphere
of Many Eyes" or "Eye Tyrant," what could be cooler than a
levitating globe with magical eye stalks!
What is so interesting about the Beholder is it’s an original
creation just for Dungeons & Dragons. This epic baddie is not borrowed from mythology or
something else the early designers saw or heard. According to Gary Gygax himself Theron O. Kuntz created the prototypical Beholder, and Gary
himself detailed it for publication.
Over the years I have used Beholders as villains in
many high level games. They still remain as one of the elder races of
my world and
something even the most stalwart group does not want to encounter. So
cheers to
WOTC for putting them on the cover of the new Monster Manual. The menagerie of deadly monsters for the world’s greatest roleplaying game is available September 30th, 2014.
Please enjoy
the TYRANT magazine cover below. I felt this was a perfect time to poke fun at my
favorite xenophobic monster!