Spectator

A spectator is a lesser beholder that is summoned from another plane of existence by a magical ritual, the components of which include four beholder eyestalks that are consumed by the ritual's magic. Appropriately, a spectator has four eyestalks, two on each side of the wide eye at the center of its four-foot diameter body.

Magical Guardians

A summoned spectator guards a location or a treasure of its summoner's choice for 101 years, allowing no creature but its summoner to enter the area or access the item, unless the summoner instructed otherwise. If the item is stolen or destroyed before the years have all passed, a summoned spectator vanishes. It otherwise never abandons its post.

Glimmers of Madness

Though it can speak, a spectator communicates primarily by way of telepathy. It is civil while on guard, openly discussing its orders and its summoner. However, even a brief conversation with a spectator is enough to reveal quirks in its personality brought on by its years of isolation. It might invent imaginary enemies, refer to itself in the third person, or try to adopt the voice of its summoner. Like any beholder, a spectator views itself as the epitome of its kind, and it has an intense hatred of other spectators. If two spectators encounter one another, they almost always fight to the death.

Freed from Service

When a spectator has fulfilled its service, it is free to do as it pleases. Many take up residence in the places they previously guarded, especially if their summoners have died. With the spectator's loss of purpose, the flickers of madness it displayed during its servitude flourish.

Genetic Ancestor(s)