Vault of the Beholder
An invisible beholder lairs in this circular chamber. To enter, adventurers must pass through a locked door.
44A. Eyes of the Beholder
When the door opens, read:
Any characters inhabited by the spirits of Kubazan, Obo’laka, or Wongo receive the following advice:
The black drape conceals a magical sphere of iron, 6 feet in diameter and floating 20 feet above the floor. A Nystul’s magic aura spell placed on the sphere makes it seem like an evil aberration to features or magic that can sense such information. The iron sphere is hollow and immobile, and it remains inert while the drape covers it. Belchorzh can use its telekinetic eye ray to remove the drape at any time, revealing the sphere and causing it to emit a magical magnetic field. Each creature in the room wearing metal armor is pulled to the sphere and becomes stuck to it, as does any metal weapon or object that isn’t secured or being held. Any creature stuck to the sphere is restrained until the magnetic field deactivates. Any ranged attack made in the chamber that uses ammunition made wholly or partly from metal has disadvantage on the attack roll; if the attack misses, the ammunition becomes stuck to the sphere. Throwing the black drape over the sphere renders it temporarily inert, with creatures and objects stuck to it falling to the floor. A successful dispel magic (DC 16) cast on the sphere dispels the Nystul’s magic aura spell, permanently deactivates the magnetic field, and causes the sphere to crash to the floor. This sends a web of cracks through the marble, negating the floor’s frictionless effect and allowing creatures to move across it normally. The sphere also deactivates and falls if it comes into contact with an antimagic field or is destroyed. The sphere is a Large object with AC 20; 100 hit points; resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks; and immunity to poison and psychic damage. It weighs 1,000 pounds. While the magnetic field is active, any attack made against the sphere with a metal weapon automatically hits, though the weapon becomes stuck to the sphere after impact. Beholder Tactics
The Tomb of the Nine Gods is not truly the beholder’s domain, so it can’t use lair actions. The invisible beholder puts as much distance between itself and the adventurers as possible, while making sure to not catch the iron sphere in its Antimagic Cone. Belchorzh doesn’t pursue intruders who flee its vault. However, if the adventurers steal even one copper piece from its trove, the beholder uses the alien growth throughout this level of the dungeon against them. Whenever the characters come near a patch of the growth, it sprouts an eyestalk and attacks (see "Alien Growth"). The beholder knows Deep Speech and Undercommon, and it refers to itself in the third person. Haughty and defiant, it delights in the destruction of tomb robbers while refusing to yield. Any character who understands its words can translate a few of Belchorzh’s choice sayings:
The nine alcoves contain the following treasures:
The corridor ends in a large door with a round mirror set into its surface. Ten circular indentations, each about an inch across, surround the mirror.
The door is sealed tight and can’t be opened with ability checks or magic. To open the door, ten crystal eyes found elsewhere in the dungeon (see areas 31A, 32, 33, 35B, 37, and 39) must be inserted into the indentations. Each eye lights up as it clicks into place. With each eye that is inserted, the reflections of the characters in the mirror become progressively unhealthier — losing weight, hair, and teeth as they come to resemble undead.
When all ten eyes are in place, they disappear and the door grinds open and remains open henceforth.
44B. Inside the Vault
When the door opens, read:
The vault door grinds upward, revealing a domed, candlelit room fifty feet high. The polished marble floor is so perfectly reflective that it creates the illusion of standing at the entrance to a sphere. Nine alcoves filled with glittering treasure open up along the walls. In the middle of the chamber, a large spherical object hovers under a black silk drape twenty feet above the floor.
The beholder, Belchorzh (pronounced BEL-korj), floats at the top of the room. Acererak cast a wish spell to render Belchorzh invisible. A successful dispel magic (DC 19) cast on the beholder or contact with an antimagic field ends its invisibility. Belchorzh reacts to intruders as described in the “Beholder Tactics” section below.
The hall contains one hundred lit candles. While the candles remain inside this vault, they burn indefinitely. If a candle is taken from the room, it burns down normally.
The floor beneath the dome is magically slick. Any creature that steps onto or starts its turn on the floor must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. When an untethered creature is shoved or otherwise moved across the floor, it travels in one direction and does not stop until it comes into contact with a wall or other barrier.
The alcoves contain treasure (see “Treasure” below).
Advice from the Spirits
Any characters inhabited by the spirits of Kubazan, Obo’laka, or Wongo receive the following advice:
Impulsive Kubazan urges his host to attack whatever is hiding under the black drape, with no warning or negotiation.
Cautious Obo’laka thinks a beholder is hidden under the black drape and urges her host to flee at once.
When he becomes aware of the beholder, reckless Wongo suggests that his host attack another party member, to trick the beholder into thinking it has an ally.
Black Drape, Iron Sphere
Cautious Obo’laka thinks a beholder is hidden under the black drape and urges her host to flee at once.
When he becomes aware of the beholder, reckless Wongo suggests that his host attack another party member, to trick the beholder into thinking it has an ally.
The black drape conceals a magical sphere of iron, 6 feet in diameter and floating 20 feet above the floor. A Nystul’s magic aura spell placed on the sphere makes it seem like an evil aberration to features or magic that can sense such information. The iron sphere is hollow and immobile, and it remains inert while the drape covers it. Belchorzh can use its telekinetic eye ray to remove the drape at any time, revealing the sphere and causing it to emit a magical magnetic field. Each creature in the room wearing metal armor is pulled to the sphere and becomes stuck to it, as does any metal weapon or object that isn’t secured or being held. Any creature stuck to the sphere is restrained until the magnetic field deactivates. Any ranged attack made in the chamber that uses ammunition made wholly or partly from metal has disadvantage on the attack roll; if the attack misses, the ammunition becomes stuck to the sphere. Throwing the black drape over the sphere renders it temporarily inert, with creatures and objects stuck to it falling to the floor. A successful dispel magic (DC 16) cast on the sphere dispels the Nystul’s magic aura spell, permanently deactivates the magnetic field, and causes the sphere to crash to the floor. This sends a web of cracks through the marble, negating the floor’s frictionless effect and allowing creatures to move across it normally. The sphere also deactivates and falls if it comes into contact with an antimagic field or is destroyed. The sphere is a Large object with AC 20; 100 hit points; resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks; and immunity to poison and psychic damage. It weighs 1,000 pounds. While the magnetic field is active, any attack made against the sphere with a metal weapon automatically hits, though the weapon becomes stuck to the sphere after impact. Beholder Tactics
The Tomb of the Nine Gods is not truly the beholder’s domain, so it can’t use lair actions. The invisible beholder puts as much distance between itself and the adventurers as possible, while making sure to not catch the iron sphere in its Antimagic Cone. Belchorzh doesn’t pursue intruders who flee its vault. However, if the adventurers steal even one copper piece from its trove, the beholder uses the alien growth throughout this level of the dungeon against them. Whenever the characters come near a patch of the growth, it sprouts an eyestalk and attacks (see "Alien Growth"). The beholder knows Deep Speech and Undercommon, and it refers to itself in the third person. Haughty and defiant, it delights in the destruction of tomb robbers while refusing to yield. Any character who understands its words can translate a few of Belchorzh’s choice sayings:
“You fight like flumphs!”
“You are no match for Belchorzh the Unseen’s terrible eye rays!”
“What ugly, imperfect creatures you are.”
Treasure
“You are no match for Belchorzh the Unseen’s terrible eye rays!”
“What ugly, imperfect creatures you are.”
The nine alcoves contain the following treasures:
- 12,000 cp, 5,000 sp, and 2,200 gp
- A clay chameleon statuette covered in crystal beads that change colors (25 gp)
- Three painted gold masks sized for children and shaped like the faces of a bat, a monkey, and a parrot, respectively (75 gp each)
- A gold coronet shaped like an octopus with mother-of-pearl eyes (2,500 gp)
- A potion of diminution, a bead of force, and a bronze +1 shield shaped like a screaming devil’s face
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