Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aluroon 12-13-04, 03:46 PM	Well, the bottem line is that my party, the ten of use who are at or around level 5, killed a beholder. This is how it went down. We are on the edge of a deep pit (2 miles down), with about 50 feet of open air between us and the other side. A beholder pops up, so we freak, and begin to prepare missile weapons + flaming jars of oil to hit it with. First round we shoot 4 arrows (1 hit) and ready to flasks of oil. It gets a chance to fire, and throws one of us into the pit (however the dm gave him a chance to grab hold of something, roll a d20, only a 20 will save you...well he rolled a 20 and grabed hold of an old rope), hits someone else with a inflict ray and a fear ray...he's running the other way, were now down our two fighters, one hanging on by a thread, the other one running in terror. Next round we hit it with two arrows, throw a jar of oil at it, it hits, explodes, but the beholder avoids catching on fire. Our half dragon hits it with its breath weapon (half-red), now it is definitly burning. Its angry, and hits two with flesh to stone rays...goodbye rogue and cleric. It hits the half-dragon with a disntegrate ray, but he saves and survives, barly... Other two rays (one for me, one for another) both miss by less then an inch. I the party wizard retailiate with a lighting bolt (center eye now closed because its on fire). Fighter spend last round climbing the rope up (rolled another 20, in front of everyone), this round, he see's his brother missing, two of us as statues, one of us on the ground with half his body missing, and decides he's had enough. He takes a leap at the beholder. Everyones jaw hits the ground...but he rolls another 20 and the beholder is gone (we save him with featherfall+fly). End result...one wounded half-dragon, one scared fighter, two statues (who were restored to life by a powerful friend who owed us a favor), and one dead beholder. The dm almost had a heart attack, having expected us to either die or run... I'm sure someone will say that the party wouldnt know not to use magic, however my character, due to his history (FR readers think Return of the Archwizards releif army). Aluroon
Melpomene 12-13-04, 03:51 PM	Why didn't you run? Don't you know what those things can do to you?
was_fired 12-13-04, 03:53 PM	It looks like your DM actually cheated a bit. The beholder can't use its eye rays in its own antimagic field. So if it could hit your wizard with eye rays the wizard should have been able to hit him with spells. If this was the case the whole time then never mind. Other than that good job.
Aluroon 12-13-04, 04:09 PM	Well, the dm ruled that closing and opening one's eyes is a free action, so he just blinked when he fired his own rays. As to why we did not retreat, well we were charged with guarding the area by someone who would be unwise to defy. Heres a quick question. The lesser beholder things, the Goths (spelling is way off) CR is what? 5? Aluroon
milow 12-13-04, 04:35 PM	While closing and opening an eye may be a free action, using his eyes is a standard action. While the game uses initiative to work out who's turn it is as a mechanic to simplify things, everybody is in fact taking their turns during the same 6 seconds This is why the beholders antimagic cone is active or inactive for the whole round and can only be moved once per round. While the beholder is using an eye on a wizard, the wizard should definately be able to cast a spell.
Mr. NewFox 12-13-04, 04:49 PM	True, using the eye is a free action. But it sounds like the DM was being nice with the eye catching fire and all, and with keeoign the beholder within striking distance of the dangling fighter. I would say this all washes out, then. BTW, gutsy move on the aprt of your fighter, but it worked out. Casting featherfall as he feel was pretty smart too.
Aluroon 12-13-04, 05:02 PM	True, using the eye is a free action. But it sounds like the DM was being nice with the eye catching fire and all, and with keeoign the beholder within striking distance of the dangling fighter. I would say this all washes out, then. BTW, gutsy move on the aprt of your fighter, but it worked out. Casting featherfall as he feel was pretty smart too. Well, with the eye catching on fire, the dm ruled it was common sense. If your hit with a jug of oil, then set on fire, and you were facing them with your center eye when it happened, then your center eye will be on fire... As for the fighter, while it was gutsy, it was also unneeded, as I had next initiative and would have fried it with another lighting bolt. In regards to featherfall, well the party has experance with it, and either myself, or the other wizard in the party (wiz3/cleric3 aiming for true necro) always keep atleast one prepared (its saved party memeber in varius ways since level 1 (and you never know when your wizard will take a dip). Anyone care to answer my Goth question? Aluroon
Bringslite 12-13-04, 05:17 PM	It is spelled Gauth and it is CR 6. :) P.S. Good show!
was_fired 12-14-04, 01:21 AM	Heh now that was an annoying house rule on the DM's part since it does fly right in the face of the 3.5 (if your playing 3.5) beholder description: "Once each round, during its turn, the beholder decides whether the antimagic cone is active or not"
PhaedrusXY 12-14-04, 01:39 AM	Heh now that was an annoying house rule on the DM's part since it does fly right in the face of the 3.5 (if your playing 3.5) beholder description: "Once each round, during its turn, the beholder decides whether the antimagic cone is active or not"Umm... yeah. Doesn't sound like the DM nerfed the beholder at all to me. He was letting it close and open it's eye in the same round, which is actually more powerful than it actually is. You guys just got lucky. (Well, he was nice giving the fighter a chance to grab the rope, but from what you said that wouldn't have changed the outcome probably.) You also have a much larger party than normal, which gave you an advantage over a "normal" party.
was_fired 12-14-04, 02:51 PM	Nah I never said nerf I said that he cheated. He upgraded the power of the beholder without upgrading the CR. So really you should have earned even more XP. ;)
Aluroon 12-15-04, 03:32 PM	Well, we play mostly 3.5, but the dm won't pick up new books (long storie thats alittle more personally then I would like to vollenter). As with the eye, I really didnt have that much of a problum with it, although at first it messed up our stratagy dont shoot the eye because if we do we loss the antimagic cone protection (to a degree) oh well, it worked anyway. As for my questions on Gauths...well going down the pit we ran into one, which got a suprise round on everyone but me. I threw my last lighting bolt and blew it apart (it only had 29hp as it was a very young one). Dm ruled it was a CR 4 because he lowered the hp on the major. On another note, later on our twin human fighter brothers told an insain archmage to get a girlfriend, so he turned them into women. It was amusing, and they spent the rest of the sesson pouting (they never really rp, and do stupid things like saying things like to to archmages, so no one else had a problum with it, and the dm told them to deal). Aluroon
FFTGeist 12-15-04, 04:20 PM	Well when i was DMing i had a simmiliar occurance. Two level 14 characters, one fighter and one cleric managed to kill my (epic) paragon advanced vrock/half saphire dragon CR 26. I have never seen so many natural 20's being rolled in my entire life. If killing the beholder gave him a heart attack... my heart shredded under the pressure of them killing the BBEG 10 levels before the final fight. (he was supposed to capture them... )
EatFlan 12-15-04, 05:01 PM	you must've played that bad guy like a complete 101 post lover (re)