Unfortunately for it, a floating skull, no matter how well executed, cannot hold a candle to the Beholder. It comes extremely close to being my favorite monster in all of Dungeons and Dragons. They are a great evolution of the legendary Beholder in terms of lore, design and abilities. Conclusionĭeath Tyrants are absolutely excellent in every respect. Because the one you just killed is back, and he’s even stronger than ever! Though not by much. Hope you players were taking notes the first time around. This makes them a decent follow-up for a party that just fought a Beholder. Every other ability of the Beholder, including the Eye Rays and Legendary Actions, are preserved in the Death Tyrant. Combine that with their unique Negative Energy Cone ability, which can invisibly prevent a target from healing, then turn it into an undead slave upon death, and you have a beast of a foe.īut that’s not the end of it. With their high perception, immunity to every condition in the game, and high AC/HP, these guys are absolute tanks. TL DR: the Death Tyrant is great! But its no Beholder! Stats: I Am You, But StrongerĪ Death Tyrant is the worst nightmare to stealthy attackers, condition afflicting casters, or anyone who can’t consistently hit above a 19. A Beholder isn’t just iconic because of its stats. However, while the design is effective, it is a step down from the monster before it. Though I guess the one big eye and lack of limbs does sort of give it away. Even when their flesh melts away, they are instantly recognizable. If you are even mildly familiar with a Beholder, than you can tell what a Death Tyrant used to be. That’s no human skull, nor is it any other monster in the vast worlds of Dungeons and Dragons.
Just looking at it, you can tell what it used to be. Only now, they can’t be sliced off to momentarily weaken the monster! It is a perfect evolution of the Beholder! In undeath, it has managed to trim off one of its few weaknesses! Within these, the Beholder’s Eye Rays are preserved. But it does enough to make it creative, interesting, and terrifying! However, I still don’t think that it looks any better than the Beholder.įirst, the glowing orbs. With that in mind, you’d think that I’d rank the Death Tyrant lowly in terms of design. Floating skulls are one of the most tired and boring images in the history of fiction. But there’s a reason it’s been done so many times that it’s more dead than the Tyrant itself: it’s effective! Sometimes a simple story is the best one! You don’t need to take your players on a complex tale with lots of characters, twists and turns! Sometimes, all you need is to go on a big adventure and slay an evil monster! The group of heroes taking the fight against an undead king is one of the oldest tropes in fantasy. Or maybe they could unite the lands of the living and take the war to it! The players could try to sneak through the undead country to build up power and kill the Tyrant. This could be the basis for a whole campaign! Across the world, a Death Tyrant has ascended too far and threatens the world. From there, it can wage war against a whole country. If left unchecked, a Death Tyrant can overthrow a city within weeks. It uses its Eye Rays to kill any poor soul in its path, then turn them into extra forces for its army. Instead, the Death Tyrant will strive for power and wage war against the living. In its new form, the Beholder won’t settle for isolation. Though they do serve as a great distraction, which allows the Tyrant to maneuver into an advantageous position. Wretched corpses that the Death Tyrant will discard at a moments notice. They’ll spread their undeath and turn their slaves into zombie servants. Only now, they don’t just enslave those around them. In its place is something even more dangerous: a Death Tyrant.Įven in death, these monsters lord themselves over all others. When they have these dreams, their flesh rots away, and the Beholder dies. They are Beholders who dreamed of a reality in which it alone survived beyond death itself. On its own, a Beholder is already madness incarnate. But the most dangerous thing about a Beholder is its eyes, and a Death Tyrant doesn’t have those! Surely they’re not as bad as the legendary beast!
Sure, its a scary skull monster teeming with magical power.
Upon first glance, a Death Tyrant may seem less dangerous than the monster that transformed into it. I’d highly recommend doing so it was a lot of fun. If you want to check that out, click the link right here. This is a follow up to last weeks ‘Best of the Bestiary’, in which we reviewed the most legendary monster in all of Dungeons and Dragon: the Beholder. From the journal of Jastus Hollowquill, Explorer of Undermountain These motes cast an eerie glow on the great, alien skull that hung beneath them. A cluster of tiny lights descended from a dark crevice in the ceiling.
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