Hit Locations for a Beholder

[Onkl]

Hi guys

My players will have to fight against a Beholder and since we are using Hit Locations I was wondering if anybody had made a hit location table for such a creature.

The way I modeled the Beholder, it has Injury Tolerance No Neck. The best match on the tables on B553 would be an Octopod I think.

When I last "winged it" I gave the big eye a Hit Location Modifier of -5

So, what do you think about this table:

Beholder Hit Location Table

3-4 Skull (-7)
5 Big Eye (-5)
6 Face (-5)
7-8 Eye-Tentacles 1-2 (-3)
9-12 Torso
13-14 Eye-Tentacles 3-4 (-3)
15-16 Eye-Tentacles 5-6 (-3)
17-18 Eye-Tentacles 7-8 (-3)

Small Eye (-9)
Vitals (-3)

Cheers!

Onkl

[Onkl]

Maybe it would be betterto have all the Eye-Tentacles Hit Locations just lead to the fact that you have to roll a d8 to see which tentacle was hit?

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by Onkl

Maybe it would be betterto have all the Eye-Tentacles Hit Locations just lead to the fact that you have to roll a d8 to see which tentacle was hit?

That's probably easier in the long run.

[GodBeastX]

I think most of your table should be torso for a beholder and I might actually put the main eye in the table, given the % of surface value the eye takes up compared to the rest of the thing vs how humans are shaped. IE, hitting a beholder eye might be easier than hitting a human.

Check the size modifier table to get rough estimates of just how difficult alien shaped creatures are to hit in various body parts and distribute on the table, that's how I tend to do it.

Edit:

Oh, looking at your table it seems you followed my thinking pretty much.

[Edges]

Originally Posted by Onkl

Maybe it would be betterto have all the Eye-Tentacles Hit Locations just lead to the fact that you have to roll a d8 to see which tentacle was hit?

Maybe in GURPS, beholders have 6 eye-stalks. :)

[Onkl]

This is the model I'm using, btw... :)

[GodBeastX]

Originally Posted by Onkl

This is the model I'm using, btw... :)

That is so full of win. I bet it's a fun campaign :)

[Flying Toaster]

Just thinking about sizes, I would want the central eye to be easier to hit than the eye stalks. Probably similar to a human torso and eyes.
If you want the central eye hard to damage, slap some magical DR or something over it to encourage more thoughtful attacks.

[Proteus]

Since beholders were recently classified as aberrant creatures, kind of Lovecraftian monstrosities from beyond time and space, isn't it possible they might not even have a Vitals hit location?

(I can't remember whether they're one of those odd creatures immune to "sneak attacks", or whether that varies by edition of D&D rules).

P.S. You almost definitely need a target modifier for attacking the mouth, if the DR is any less inside.

[Anders]

IIRC, they were canonically fungi in late 2nd ed AD&D. That says Homogenous to me.