Beholder Mating Habits [Archive] - Wizards Community

Beholder Mating Habits [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Metagaming Mike
01-13-04, 03:06 AM Before you crack any jokes, no, I'm not a pervert. As amazing as it may seem, this actually came up as a relevant and actually quite important issue in the gaming group. God, we're such a bunch of nerds.

Well anyway, as awkward as it is to ask this, how do beholders make more? Do they have a distinct gender (I don't see no sexual organs) or are they asexual? If they are indeed male/female, exactly what occurs during breeding? And if they are asexual, through which orifice would the baby beholder emerge, or would it just grow on their bodies like some sort of cancerous tumor? Also, how long does it take between conception and birth?

I hope you guys can answer my questions, odd as they may be. Thanks a lot.
Ssussunriyh
01-13-04, 03:13 AM The exact reproductive process has never been divulged. Some sources suggest they reproduce by parthenogenic duplication of themselves, others suggest that they have a sort of hive structure, with a queen/mother progenitor.

It's one of those deliberate blank areas left to preserve the aura of mystery...
cwslyclgh
01-13-04, 03:35 AM the second edition suplement I. Tyrant might be of some use on figuring out how the beholders of your world propigate the species.
Mr.Waesel
01-13-04, 10:26 AM Look at vargouilles.
sandskimmer
01-13-04, 02:16 PM From the 2ed book "I, Tyrant":

Beholders possess both male and female reproductive organs. Most beholders are solitary and are capable of self-fertilization. Though there are unconfirmed reports of aberrrant beholder breeds mating with beholder-kin (which might explain some of the other aberration types).
Beholders give birth to living young - usually 3 to 6 at a time. Newborn emerge from their progenitor's mouth in a flurry of activity. The few who witness these births discribe them as "appalling."
The reproductive organs are internal and sit right behind the tongue.
tonkounakaki
01-13-04, 02:53 PM :twitch:
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Oberon_of_Avalon
01-13-04, 03:02 PM I'd like to take this opportunity to just say :twitch:

That said, sandskimmer's answer is not only 'cannon' but the explanation I've been using myself, before I found out about I, Tyrant. Well, so far as, they're hermaphroditic and reproduce by themselves, not that they...um...spew their young...out of their mouths... :twitch:
Bacon and Eggs
01-13-04, 03:14 PM It's an interesting story.

So with this extra knowledge, I should have the party go up against a beholder who is on the virge of giving birth.

So when the party examines the corpse(or not), the litter expells itself. Now what are the stats for fresh liveborn baby beholders?

Where are they going to get their beholder milk from? Those things are going to be fussy when they first come out.
RhoxandRoll
01-13-04, 03:15 PM Really thinking about it, I would assume it is asexual.

Or possibly, it is a more of a spore-like reproduction. At first, I thought of a sort of illithid-esque reproduction, but that would only seem to work with a human-shaped creature.
R.M.G.C.L.F.
01-13-04, 03:46 PM Originally posted by Mr.Waesel
Look at vargouilles.
So you're saying that beholders give people a poisonous kiss that makes their heads swell and mutate, then break of to become a beholder? No.

First, please stop posting making posts consisting entirely of "eww" and/or the twitch emoticon. If you can't say anything useful or mature, don't say anything at all.

B&E: The beholder babies wouldn't need milk because they aren't mammals. Only mammals produce milk. Yes I realize it was probably a joke.
As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days.
sandskimmer
01-13-04, 08:37 PM Additional info on baby beholders (also from "I, Tyrant")

Baby beholders are about 8 inches in diameter, achieving full growth within 2 years. They are born strong enough to take down small prey and leave the protection of the parent just shortly after 1 year. These newborns are refered to as "kakwatt" by other beholders; roughly stranslated as "punks".

At 3 years beholders feel the need to reproduce and are henceforth refered to as "holvatt" (contributor) by other beholders.

They stay active for about 90 years, after which they are called "iolvatt" (old meat) and they die after 100-120 years of life.

On a personal note: a gauth could probably be used as a beholder from 1-2 years of age, slightly adjusted of course.
Metagaming Mike
01-13-04, 09:10 PM Thanks a lot, you've been a big help.
Nameless One Jr.
01-13-04, 09:13 PM Originally posted by R.M.G.C.L.F.
As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days.

Not all infants are born with their eyes closed. Horses, deer, and other animals are born with eyes open, and are up and running with their mothers in a matter of minutes...though I don't have a problem with them not having their eyebeams working, or perhaps not at full power, for some time.

Oh, and perhaps you could try to be a bit more tolerant of those that like to add color commentary. It's not like the thread is ruined just because you have to scroll past a couple extra posts.
R.M.G.C.L.F.
01-13-04, 09:25 PM Originally posted by Nameless One Jr.
Not all infants are born with their eyes closed. Horses, deer, and other animals are born with eyes open, and are up and running with their mothers in a matter of minutes...though I don't have a problem with them not having their eyebeams working, or perhaps not at full power, for some time.

Oh, and perhaps you could try to be a bit more tolerant of those that like to add color commentary. It's not like the thread is ruined just because you have to scroll past a couple extra posts.
1. I did not know that. Thanks.
2. I tend to not think of "ewww"s as color commentary but as immature and spammy. The post starts off with "Before you crack any jokes, no, I'm not a pervert." and the hemaphroditic reproduction was established before the "ewwww". Furthermore "balls mating" comment was gratuitous, somewhat crude, and the poster obviously ignored the rest of the thread (by the fact that he assumed they intercoursed) and just replied for the sole purpose of expressing their repulsion to the subject matter and lack of ability to politely discuss such things.
cwslyclgh
01-13-04, 09:27 PM then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days. what are they kittens?

I know I would positvy freak out if my wife had an "infant" that didn't open her eyes for sebveral days after we left the hospital... in fact I don't think we would be leaving the hospital....
Nameless One Jr.
01-13-04, 09:34 PM Welcome to the internet, where you get people from all walks of life, the only requirement being use of a computer. Sometimes you just have to tolerate it...or broaden your sense of humor. Humor should never be taken for granted.

Back on topic, infants born with eyes open and able to move quickly is a typical survival trait. Horses, deer, and other herd animals usually display it, because their survival against predators demands being able to move quickly at a moments notice.

Granted, beholders aren't likely to be anything's prey, but since they are able to levitate upon birth, it would seem logical that they are able to see.
Oberon_of_Avalon
01-14-04, 02:39 PM I think that the only function that should function on a newborn beholder is the antimagic central eye and, of course, the natural bouyancy. Why?

1) The bouyancy is a function of the beholder's body, because of gasses within it that keep it afloat.

2) The antimagic eye would aid the little orb in surviving against its parent or siblings, giving it time to escape. Over the course of the next so many days, the other eye rays would develop.

That's only me, though. As sandskimmer quoted, newborn beholders are independent of their spawning parent and can take care of themselves, so it stands to reason that their formidable eye powers would become active shortly after birth (I'd say about half an hour to an hour, if you plan on them attacking PCs, or maybe even sooner)
Nameless One Jr.
01-14-04, 04:18 PM This idea of spawning beholders is actually becoming creepier than my all-time favorite: Neogi.

Nothing like fighting a huge neogi, driven into bestial mindlessness by the poisoning of its own people, and managing to kill it, only to have it burst open and bury you in a swarm of hungry young...
Bacon and Eggs
01-14-04, 04:32 PM Originally posted by R.M.G.C.L.F.
B&E: The beholder babies wouldn't need milk because they aren't mammals. Only mammals produce milk. Yes I realize it was probably a joke.
As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days.

Actually this was prompted by a post I made somewheres in the general section about having the ability to tell the difference between cows milk, goats milk, and beholders milk.

Besides, I house ruled that beholders do give off milk. And that the babies would be able to see after they digested the remainder of the placenta, due to it having helpful properties the beholder-kind. Yep, just did that now. I like working on the fly.
BearSir
01-14-04, 05:22 PM Originally posted by sandskimmer
From the 2ed book "I, Tyrant":

:behold:s possess both male and female reproductive organs. Most :behold:s are solitary and are capable of self-fertilization. . . . Newborn emerge from their progenitor's mouth in a flurry of activity. The few who witness these births discribe them as "appalling."
The reproductive organs are internal and sit right behind the tongue.

So to recap, not only do :behold:s have mouth-anuses, they reproduce from them as well? Under the tongue, eh?

What happened to the 2E MONSTROUS MANUAL "brood mother", the :behold:-kin...and that weird tentacle'd thing that randomly produces monsters it has consumed in the past... ?

*
I think I will go with budding, asexual reproduction like with planaria and hydrae (the animal, not the mythcial creature). Since asexual reproduction produces clones, aberrations would only come as a result of mutations. Otherwise all :behold: would be identicle--like dandylions in North America (very little generic drift).

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm all about :behold:, by far the most charming of the quintessential D&D monsters.

Grrr.:behold: Argh.:behold:

BEAR
Incenjucar
01-14-04, 06:09 PM Brood Mothers are -also- able to produce beholders, as well as beholder kin. Most beholders despise any beholder that is any different (they're racially insane. The entire species is schizophrenic, according to I, Tyrant), in any way whatsoever. Yes, beholders do mate on occassion, via a very disturbing form of kissing. (Never kiss a beholder. Ever. Unless you REALLY like'em.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Metagaming Mike 01-13-04, 03:06 AM	Before you crack any jokes, no, I'm not a pervert. As amazing as it may seem, this actually came up as a relevant and actually quite important issue in the gaming group. God, we're such a bunch of nerds. Well anyway, as awkward as it is to ask this, how do beholders make more? Do they have a distinct gender (I don't see no sexual organs) or are they asexual? If they are indeed male/female, exactly what occurs during breeding? And if they are asexual, through which orifice would the baby beholder emerge, or would it just grow on their bodies like some sort of cancerous tumor? Also, how long does it take between conception and birth? I hope you guys can answer my questions, odd as they may be. Thanks a lot.
Ssussunriyh 01-13-04, 03:13 AM	The exact reproductive process has never been divulged. Some sources suggest they reproduce by parthenogenic duplication of themselves, others suggest that they have a sort of hive structure, with a queen/mother progenitor. It's one of those deliberate blank areas left to preserve the aura of mystery...
cwslyclgh 01-13-04, 03:35 AM	the second edition suplement I. Tyrant might be of some use on figuring out how the beholders of your world propigate the species.
Mr.Waesel 01-13-04, 10:26 AM	Look at vargouilles.
sandskimmer 01-13-04, 02:16 PM	From the 2ed book "I, Tyrant": Beholders possess both male and female reproductive organs. Most beholders are solitary and are capable of self-fertilization. Though there are unconfirmed reports of aberrrant beholder breeds mating with beholder-kin (which might explain some of the other aberration types). Beholders give birth to living young - usually 3 to 6 at a time. Newborn emerge from their progenitor's mouth in a flurry of activity. The few who witness these births discribe them as "appalling." The reproductive organs are internal and sit right behind the tongue.
tonkounakaki 01-13-04, 02:53 PM	:twitch: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Oberon_of_Avalon 01-13-04, 03:02 PM	I'd like to take this opportunity to just say :twitch: That said, sandskimmer's answer is not only 'cannon' but the explanation I've been using myself, before I found out about I, Tyrant. Well, so far as, they're hermaphroditic and reproduce by themselves, not that they...um...spew their young...out of their mouths... :twitch:
Bacon and Eggs 01-13-04, 03:14 PM	It's an interesting story. So with this extra knowledge, I should have the party go up against a beholder who is on the virge of giving birth. So when the party examines the corpse(or not), the litter expells itself. Now what are the stats for fresh liveborn baby beholders? Where are they going to get their beholder milk from? Those things are going to be fussy when they first come out.
RhoxandRoll 01-13-04, 03:15 PM	Really thinking about it, I would assume it is asexual. Or possibly, it is a more of a spore-like reproduction. At first, I thought of a sort of illithid-esque reproduction, but that would only seem to work with a human-shaped creature.
R.M.G.C.L.F. 01-13-04, 03:46 PM	Originally posted by Mr.Waesel Look at vargouilles. So you're saying that beholders give people a poisonous kiss that makes their heads swell and mutate, then break of to become a beholder? No. First, please stop posting making posts consisting entirely of "eww" and/or the twitch emoticon. If you can't say anything useful or mature, don't say anything at all. B&E: The beholder babies wouldn't need milk because they aren't mammals. Only mammals produce milk. Yes I realize it was probably a joke. As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days.
sandskimmer 01-13-04, 08:37 PM	Additional info on baby beholders (also from "I, Tyrant") Baby beholders are about 8 inches in diameter, achieving full growth within 2 years. They are born strong enough to take down small prey and leave the protection of the parent just shortly after 1 year. These newborns are refered to as "kakwatt" by other beholders; roughly stranslated as "punks". At 3 years beholders feel the need to reproduce and are henceforth refered to as "holvatt" (contributor) by other beholders. They stay active for about 90 years, after which they are called "iolvatt" (old meat) and they die after 100-120 years of life. On a personal note: a gauth could probably be used as a beholder from 1-2 years of age, slightly adjusted of course.
Metagaming Mike 01-13-04, 09:10 PM	Thanks a lot, you've been a big help.
Nameless One Jr. 01-13-04, 09:13 PM	Originally posted by R.M.G.C.L.F. As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days. Not all infants are born with their eyes closed. Horses, deer, and other animals are born with eyes open, and are up and running with their mothers in a matter of minutes...though I don't have a problem with them not having their eyebeams working, or perhaps not at full power, for some time. Oh, and perhaps you could try to be a bit more tolerant of those that like to add color commentary. It's not like the thread is ruined just because you have to scroll past a couple extra posts.
R.M.G.C.L.F. 01-13-04, 09:25 PM	Originally posted by Nameless One Jr. Not all infants are born with their eyes closed. Horses, deer, and other animals are born with eyes open, and are up and running with their mothers in a matter of minutes...though I don't have a problem with them not having their eyebeams working, or perhaps not at full power, for some time. Oh, and perhaps you could try to be a bit more tolerant of those that like to add color commentary. It's not like the thread is ruined just because you have to scroll past a couple extra posts. 1. I did not know that. Thanks. 2. I tend to not think of "ewww"s as color commentary but as immature and spammy. The post starts off with "Before you crack any jokes, no, I'm not a pervert." and the hemaphroditic reproduction was established before the "ewwww". Furthermore "balls mating" comment was gratuitous, somewhat crude, and the poster obviously ignored the rest of the thread (by the fact that he assumed they intercoursed) and just replied for the sole purpose of expressing their repulsion to the subject matter and lack of ability to politely discuss such things.
cwslyclgh 01-13-04, 09:27 PM	then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days. what are they kittens? I know I would positvy freak out if my wife had an "infant" that didn't open her eyes for sebveral days after we left the hospital... in fact I don't think we would be leaving the hospital....
Nameless One Jr. 01-13-04, 09:34 PM	Welcome to the internet, where you get people from all walks of life, the only requirement being use of a computer. Sometimes you just have to tolerate it...or broaden your sense of humor. Humor should never be taken for granted. Back on topic, infants born with eyes open and able to move quickly is a typical survival trait. Horses, deer, and other herd animals usually display it, because their survival against predators demands being able to move quickly at a moments notice. Granted, beholders aren't likely to be anything's prey, but since they are able to levitate upon birth, it would seem logical that they are able to see.
Oberon_of_Avalon 01-14-04, 02:39 PM	I think that the only function that should function on a newborn beholder is the antimagic central eye and, of course, the natural bouyancy. Why? 1) The bouyancy is a function of the beholder's body, because of gasses within it that keep it afloat. 2) The antimagic eye would aid the little orb in surviving against its parent or siblings, giving it time to escape. Over the course of the next so many days, the other eye rays would develop. That's only me, though. As sandskimmer quoted, newborn beholders are independent of their spawning parent and can take care of themselves, so it stands to reason that their formidable eye powers would become active shortly after birth (I'd say about half an hour to an hour, if you plan on them attacking PCs, or maybe even sooner)
Nameless One Jr. 01-14-04, 04:18 PM	This idea of spawning beholders is actually becoming creepier than my all-time favorite: Neogi. Nothing like fighting a huge neogi, driven into bestial mindlessness by the poisoning of its own people, and managing to kill it, only to have it burst open and bury you in a swarm of hungry young...
Bacon and Eggs 01-14-04, 04:32 PM	Originally posted by R.M.G.C.L.F. B&E: The beholder babies wouldn't need milk because they aren't mammals. Only mammals produce milk. Yes I realize it was probably a joke. As for baby beholder stats, you should probably just take a beholder, reverse advance it a few size classes until it's tiny, then take away all the eye powers since infants usually don't open their eyes for several days. Actually this was prompted by a post I made somewheres in the general section about having the ability to tell the difference between cows milk, goats milk, and beholders milk. Besides, I house ruled that beholders do give off milk. And that the babies would be able to see after they digested the remainder of the placenta, due to it having helpful properties the beholder-kind. Yep, just did that now. I like working on the fly.
BearSir 01-14-04, 05:22 PM	Originally posted by sandskimmer From the 2ed book "I, Tyrant": :behold:s possess both male and female reproductive organs. Most :behold:s are solitary and are capable of self-fertilization. . . . Newborn emerge from their progenitor's mouth in a flurry of activity. The few who witness these births discribe them as "appalling." The reproductive organs are internal and sit right behind the tongue. So to recap, not only do :behold:s have mouth-anuses, they reproduce from them as well? Under the tongue, eh? What happened to the 2E MONSTROUS MANUAL "brood mother", the :behold:-kin...and that weird tentacle'd thing that randomly produces monsters it has consumed in the past... ? * I think I will go with budding, asexual reproduction like with planaria and hydrae (the animal, not the mythcial creature). Since asexual reproduction produces clones, aberrations would only come as a result of mutations. Otherwise all :behold: would be identicle--like dandylions in North America (very little generic drift). Thanks for starting this thread. I'm all about :behold:, by far the most charming of the quintessential D&D monsters. Grrr.:behold: Argh.:behold: BEAR
Incenjucar 01-14-04, 06:09 PM	Brood Mothers are -also- able to produce beholders, as well as beholder kin. Most beholders despise any beholder that is any different (they're racially insane. The entire species is schizophrenic, according to I, Tyrant), in any way whatsoever. Yes, beholders do mate on occassion, via a very disturbing form of kissing. (Never kiss a beholder. Ever. Unless you REALLY like'em.)