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3 years ago ::
May 20, 2010 - 7:05AM
#1
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 FR Dungeon 178
Ed Greenwood's Eye on the Realms
DeadeyesBy Ed Greenwood In this month's Eye on the Realms, Ed details the fate of a particular Beholder trapped beneath Waterdeep during the onset of the Spellplague. Now changed forever, it is known as "Deadeyes."
Harhoarguh was used to a steady diet of mortal flesh from before its captivity. It had devoured men daily, both sacrifices made to it and prey it hunted down. It awakened ravenous and angry. Many were the Waterdhavians it devoured in its initial liberty, when confusion reigned and citizens fled in all directions seeking sanctuary, escape, or to reach hidden magic or valuables. Harhoarguh’s meals included their brains and the magic they bore—rings, bracers, and pendants that sometimes exploded or burned within it, and more often were twisted by the Spellplague, discharging their magic in floods that raged through the beholder’s body.Talk about this article here. 
A great man once said "If WotC put out boxes full of free money there'd still be people complaining about how it's folded." – Boraxe
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3 years ago ::
May 20, 2010 - 6:41PM
#2
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Why do none of Ed's articles come with stats? I don't get it. Every one has been about a possible enemy, and not one has come with stats.
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 6:53AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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Well, in this case, it offers the sidebar on the last page that details the stats - as a normal Eye Tyrant, with some additional eye rays and control. Which I actually find a pretty smooth way of making the monster unique without needing to print an entirely new stat block.
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 7:17AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Aug 25, 2008
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Why do none of Ed's articles come with stats? I don't get it. Every one has been about a possible enemy, and not one has come with stats.
I think doing things this way also makes his articles edition-neutral. Apparently there are some people who prefer other editions of D&D to the current one, and they get ... vocal... about it when cool information comes out that is hard to use.
What makes me sad - no more compiled magazines: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/27580349/Dungeon_and_Dragon_Magazine_PDFs&post_num=24#495423645
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 7:20AM
#5
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Wouldn't it be more about not wanting to limiting the 4E DMs by giving them the liberty to design their own version to be used in their campaign at a level they are comfortable with?
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 8:45AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 25, 2008
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Wouldn't it be more about not wanting to limiting the 4E DMs by giving them the liberty to design their own version to be used in their campaign at a level they are comfortable with?
Fine, throw freedom out there as a reason, William Wallace. 
What makes me sad - no more compiled magazines: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/27580349/Dungeon_and_Dragon_Magazine_PDFs&post_num=24#495423645
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 9:55AM
#7
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- Dragon Slayer
- If only he would apply himself
- Dammit Jim, this is Star Trek, not D&D!
Date Joined:
Jan 31, 2006
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It isn't clear to me what "activates" means. Does that mean you attack with a regular eye stalk and one of the new ones? Or does it just enable the power for a future high roll? If I roll a 20 on my first attack, do I get to choose only amongst the normal eye stalk powers because I haven't activated any of the new ones?
Not a big deal, since the DM can make the call, but it could be clearer.
Overall, a very nice article with a nice idea that would be fun to include in a Waterdeep campaign.
Follow my blog and Twitter feed with Dark Sun campaign design and DM tips! Dark Sun's Ashes of Athas Campaign is now available for home play (PM me with your e-mail to order the campaign adventures).
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3 years ago ::
May 21, 2010 - 10:29AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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Looking at it more closely, I get the sense that the article was written with the assumption that every time a beholder fires its eye rays, it fires them randomly (as opposed to simply when its free eyebeams when someone starts within its aura.)
I would run it as using the 1d20 roll for those random rolls, and the rest of the time, he can choose freely amongst his 15 eye rays.
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