Bezhuldaar

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This article is about the bezhuldaar creature. For the Shapeshifter form, see Bezhuldaar form.

Bezhuldaars

The bezhuldaar species is widely feared, being full of both power and cruelty. The peoples of the world often misrender the race's name as 'beholder', for reasons which will soon become apparent. The bezhuldaars, for their part, commonly refer to the peoples of the world as 'the prey races'.

Bezhuldaars are bizarre in form, consisting of a roughly spherical main body with a gaping mouth featuring double rows of sharp carnivore's teeth and armoured in chitinous plates. The main body's diameter falls within about the same range as a man's height. Dominating this bulk is a massive central eye. Atop the main body is found an array of ten jointed, flexible stalks, each bearing another, small eye.

The source of the widespread terror of bezhuldaars has much to do with their innate magickal abilities. First and least, they are natively able to propel their legless bulk through the air, controlling their flight by will alone. Stories traditionally used to frighten little children out of wanting to become adventurers center on their further abilities. Each of the ten eyestalks reportedly bears a different deadly ability, with the precise set of powers being unique to a particular bezhuldaar, though some are more common than others -- for example, the frequently used bezhuldaar death ray. The large central eye, for its part, projects a field that suppresses magick, often changing otherwise powerful magicians into just another prey animal.

These powers might perhaps be less fearsome in a less unpleasant race. Unfortunately for those they come into contact with, however, bezhuldaars are renowned for their cruelty, ruthlessness, and taste for the raw flesh of other sentient beings. To the typical bezhuldaar, other living beings are either threats, potential slaves, or dinner.

The origins of the bezhuldaar race are a matter of more than a little controversy. Some accounts relate bezhuldaars speaking of themselves having been spawned -- personally -- by an entity they call Bezhuul. Whether this individual is divine or monstrous in nature, or both, is extensively debated, as is whether it is the true source of the bezhuldaar race. A significant school of thought asserts that bezhuldaars were sorcerously created, as is the case with so many species of such weird and unnatural appearance. Fuel for this theory is found in the fact that all creditable accounts of bezhuldaars speaking to others have them fluent in, if not relying entirely on, the Zadjalin language, which is pointed at as evidence of drow involvement. However, those waters are further muddied by the fact that bezhuldaars are generally fluent in a range of tongues, displaying a native aptitude for language that seems bizarre in a race so uninterested in social interaction; nearly every theorist on bezhuldaar origins finds a way to make that tidbit into supporting evidence for his position. Further conjecture holds that the power of the bezhuldaar central eye, in particular, indicates that the race was designed for the assassination of mages, which tends to point back to the drow. In any event, the truth of the matter is not common knowledge, and certainly the species shows as much zest for drow flesh as any other fare.

Bezhuldaar Powers

The bezhuldaar race has potent innate magickal abilities that make it greatly feared. Each bezhuldaar has its own unique set of powers, with the only true universal ability being that the great central eye projects a field which suppresses magick. Beyond that, each of the ten eyestalks has a different power in it, and some are more commonly found than others.

You can see what powers you possess, which eyestalks they are associated with, and how much practice you have with each power using 'show bezhuldaar powers'.

The potency with which an ability operates depends on several factors. First is your power control skills, of which generation is usually the most important (and which, notably, bezhuldaars possess a natural talent with). Second is your attributes, of which willpower is generally most important and constitution a lesser factor (reflecting the overall health of the body generating the effect), with other attributes sometimes weighing in as well. Third is how much practice you have with that particular power.

The accuracy of your beams, bolts, rays, and so on, on the other hand, always depends on the same factors: mainly, your gaze weapon skill and your power direction skill, and the perception attribute they are based on; then, to a lesser extent, your general combat skills and the power's inherent tendency to accuracy or inaccuracy, if any. A missed eyestalk attack will be cut off more quickly than a successful one, saving a measure of spiritual energy -- about a third of the expenditure for a successful attack -- but too many misses can still deplete your energy reserves quickly.

Help is available on individual powers, detailing what they consist of, how common they are, the skills and attributes relevant to their potency, how taxing they are to the user's spiritual energy, and any requirements for using them. Some powers only become usable when your level of skill or raw power reaches a certain point. To see help on the force bolt power, for example, type 'help force bolt'. Any bezhuldaar can review information on the most common bezhuldaar abilities, but information on the rarer powers is only available to individuals possessing them. The common powers are the aging ray, agony ray, blinding ray, death ray, disruption beam, domination ray, fire bolt, force bolt, frost bolt, heat beam, lightning bolt, paralysis ray, slow beam and void bolt.

Your powers are instinctive, and your eyestalks will operate quite on their own in combat. In some situations this can be something of a disadvantage, because your eyestalks will target independently, which can diffuse your efforts and lead to actually having some difficulty in wiping out large numbers of simultaneous opponents. On the other hand, the occasional bolt of destruction tearing through a crowd can help keep other opponents off your back while you work on one. With a slight mental effort, you can also initiate powers by choice. To initiate a force bolt, for example, you need only think about, imagine, or visualize projecting a force bolt at someone. If you are already engaged in combat, thinking about projecting a force bolt will direct one at your opponent. Simply willing a force bolt at someone, or willing a force bolt, will also work.

You can control your central eye's power to suppress magick simply by open and closing it with the commands 'close my central eye' and 'open my central eye'. This is useful in circumstances where you wish to allow magick to function around you.

Be aware that, your natural powers being magickal in nature, they can be affected by effects that suppress magick -- including the central eyes of other bezhuldaars. In practice, this generally means that the bezhuldaar who arrived on the scene second will not be able to use its powers, and will be at a massive disadvantage. In formal duels, bezhuldaars close their central eyes; in other forms of internecine conflict, tactics center around ways of quickly disabling the opponent's central eye.

Bezhuldaar beams

Death ray

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Death Ray
 [ Description          : ] The eyestalk with this powerful power bathes the target in deadly
   necromantic power.  The potency of this ability, combined with the fact that it is quite common
   among bezhuldaars, is a large part of the reason the race is so feared.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] two parts power direction, two parts power generation, one part power
   focusing, one part power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] inept skill (15)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Aging ray

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Aging Ray
 [ Description          : ] A beam of energy that damages living issue by vastly accelerated,
   localized aging.  The aging effects also decrease the target's physical abilities somewhat.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] two parts power direction, two parts power generation, one part power
   focusing, one part power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] typical
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Force bolt

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Force Bolt
 [ Description          : ] This is the power to project a bolt of invisible force at a distance.
   The eyestalk that projects a force bolt is also used, in a more delicate fashion, for moving
   objects, serving bezhuldaars in place of hands; presumably because of this, the force-manipulating
   eyestalk is nearly universal.  The rare bezhuldaar without this power is despised as a cripple,
   having to clumsily manipulate objects with its mouth and eyestalks.
 [ Frequency            : ] very common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power generation, three parts power direction, three parts
   power focusing, two parts power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part constitution, one part intelligence,
   one part perception
 [ Accuracy             : ] fairly accurate
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Heat Beam

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Heat Beam
 [ Description          : ] A ray of intense heat energy.
 [ Frequency            : ] unusual
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power direction, three parts power generation, two parts
   power focusing, two parts power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] typical
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Displacement Beam

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Displacement Beam
 [ Description          : ] One of the stranger bezhuldaar powers, the displacement beam teleports
   things, usually within a short distance.  What's the benefit, you may ask?  Well, aside from the
   disorientation an opponent tends to suffer should he be suddenly teleported across a room, the
   beam's effects often localize to within a small area.  This is to say, much more disorienting
   indeed is having your head teleported across the room, without the rest of you.  In a pinch, the
   displacement beam can also be used as a clumsy substitute for a working force bolt eyestalk,
   insofar as moving objects around is concerned.
 [ Frequency            : ] very rare
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power tuning, three parts power focusing, two parts power
   direction, two parts power generation
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, two parts intelligence, two parts perception, one
   part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] unpracticed skill (25)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Lightning Bolt

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Lightning Bolt
 [ Description          : ] This eyestalk spits out a powerful lightning bolt at its target.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] five parts power generation, three parts power direction, three parts
   power tuning, two parts power focusing
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] very inept skill (10)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 5

Slow beam

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Slow Beam
 [ Description          : ] Bathes the target in a beam of energy that slows his reactions.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power tuning, three parts power direction, two parts power
   focusing, two parts power generation
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part constitution, one part intelligence
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] very inept skill (10)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Agony ray

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Agony Ray
 [ Description          : ] Projects a beam of magickal energy that sends tremendous pain coursing
   through the victim's nerves.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power generation, two parts power direction, two parts power
   tuning, one part power focusing
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, two parts perception, one part constitution, one
   part intelligence
 [ Accuracy             : ] typical
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 5

Paralysis ray

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Paralysis Ray
 [ Description          : ] The bezhuldaar paralysis ray is a magickal energy beam that acts to shut
   down the victim's control of hir own body.  This is perhaps even more dreaded than the somewhat more
   common death ray and disruption beam; at least those have the matter over with quickly, while the
   domination ray holds out some hope of escape, but the paralysis ray simply leaves one helpless for
   the bezhuldaar to do with as it pleases.  Little more need be said on that account.
 [ Frequency            : ] unusual
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power tuning, two parts power generation, one part power
   direction, one part power focusing
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, two parts charisma, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] inept skill (15)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 30

Disruption beam

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Disruption Beam
 [ Description          : ] Another power both common among bezhuldaars and of deadly potency, this
   is a powerful stream of chaos energy that tears the target apart at a core level.  If the stream
   comes into contact with equipment in use by the target where it is struck, said equipment will
   generally suffer tremendous damage.  If, on the other hand, the beam meets no such resistance, the
   damage inflicted at the point of contact is tremendous.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power generation, three parts power tuning, two parts power
   direction, two parts power focusing
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] five parts willpower, one part constitution, one part perception
 [ Accuracy             : ] inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] unpracticed skill (25)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 20

Domination ray

[ Bezhuldaar Power : ] Domination Ray
[ Description : ] A common power that constitutes the bezhuldaar's preferred medium of social
contact with other races, this ray attempts to suppress the target's will and place him under the
bezhuldaar's control. The ray has a cumulative effect, with multiple exposures often necessary to
establish control over recalcitrant individuals. A target's resistance is primarily a matter of his
willpower and charisma, with some skills, such as courage and leadership, also playing a part. Any
resistance to magick the target possesses is, of course, also of great significance. It is difficult
to affect another bezhuldaar with this power, but not impossible.

Once domination is established, the subject will obey your verbal commands (if they can understand you),
will follow you unless you order otherwise, will be unable to attack you or, indeed, to do much of
anything except at your instruction, and will come to your aid in battle. The strength of the
domination field slowly decays, so it is wise to renew it from time to time. More determined subjects
can also resist the domination somewhat, increasing its rate of decay.

Maintaining any domination field at all, whether domination is complete or not, represents a small,
periodic drain on your spiritual energy. If your spiritual energy is depleted, the rate of the field's
decay increases quite significantly. The most common time for a bezhuldaar to lose control of a slave
is while heavily engaged in combat. Maintaining domination also requires the devotion of a certain
amount of your overall domination power, such that the more slaves you control and the more thoroughly
you control them, the less spare power you have available to dominate more individuals.

When multiple bezhuldaars use their domination rays on a given target, the effects conflict with each
other, and all are reduced in effectiveness. This sometimes allows an individual who would otherwise
be under control to re-attain self-will, so take care when contending with other bezhuldaars for
control of their slaves.
[ Frequency : ] common
[ Skill Relevance : ] three parts power tuning, two parts power generation, one part power direction,
one part power focusing
[ Attribute Relevance : ] six parts willpower, four parts charisma, one part constitution, one part
intelligence, one part perception
[ Accuracy : ] slightly inaccurate
[ Requirements : ] inept skill (15)
[ Spirit Cost : ] 10

Sonic Blast

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Sonic Blast
 [ Description          : ] Generates a damaging sonic wave that injures and stuns living beings.
 [ Frequency            : ] very unusual
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] five parts power generation, three parts power focusing, three parts
   power tuning, one part power direction
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, two parts intelligence, two parts perception,
   one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] inept skill (15)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Cancellation Ray

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Cancellation Ray
 [ Description          : ] Sends forth a beam of energy that has the power to disrupt magickal
   manifestations.  Rather than simply preventing the active conduct of magick, as does the central
   eye, this ability actively seeks out magickal effects and destroys them.  Bezhuldaars who have
   mastered this power can dispel some of the most powerful of magicks.
 [ Frequency            : ] rare
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power generation, two parts power direction, two parts power
   focusing, one part power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] five parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Frost Bolt

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Frost Bolt
 [ Description          : ] The power to project a stream of deadly freezing cold.
 [ Frequency            : ] common
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power generation, three parts power direction, two parts power focusing,
   one part power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] typical
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Order Bolt

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Order Bolt
 [ Description          : ] Produces a pulse of energy of pure order, causing damage by
   over-structuring the material of the target, as well as slowing its actions.  The beam
   also acts similarly to the domination ray, acting to place the target under your mental
   control, though it is weaker than the true domination ray and cannot affect many targets
   that that power can.  The drawback to the ability, however, is its unfortunate side effect
   of causing temporary enhancement of the target's constitution.
 [ Frequency            : ] very unusual
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power focusing, four parts power generation, three
   parts power direction, three parts power tuning
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, two parts charisma, one part constitution
 [ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] none
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 5

Plasma Bolt

 [ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Plasma Bolt
 [ Description          : ] This deadly power allows its wielder to project a pulse of
   high-energy plasma that not only will severely damage equipment where it strikes or
   cause terrible damage if no such protection is present, but clings to its point of
   impact and continues to burn away at it for some time.
 [ Frequency            : ] rare
 [ Skill Relevance      : ] six parts power generation, six parts power tuning, three
   parts power direction, one part power focusing
 [ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, two parts constitution, one part
   intelligence
 [ Accuracy             : ] inaccurate
 [ Requirements         : ] unpracticed skill (30)
 [ Spirit Cost          : ] 20

Blinding Ray

[ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Blinding Ray
[ Description          : ] A magickal ray that disrupts living beings' nervous systems,
  inflicting temporary blindness.
[ Frequency            : ] common
[ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power direction, two parts power focusing, two parts
  power generation, one part power tuning
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, one part constitution, one part intelligence
[ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
[ Requirements         : ] inept skill (15)
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Void Bolt

[ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Void Bolt
[ Description          : ] The eyestalk with this power projects a bolt of raw
 emptiness that rips and tears at any substance accustomed to the presence of
 ordinary air pressure.
[ Frequency            : ] unusual
[ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power direction, three parts power
 focusing, three parts power generation, two parts power tuning
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, one part constitution
[ Accuracy             : ] typical
[ Requirements         : ] none
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Poison Gas Stream

[ Bezhuldaar Power     : ] Poison Gas Stream
[ Description          : ] Projects a stream of noxious gas that clings to the target, choking and poisoning him.
[ Frequency            : ] very unusual
[ Skill Relevance      : ] five parts power generation, three parts power tuning, two parts power direction, one part power focusing
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] three parts willpower, two parts constitution
[ Accuracy             : ] typical
[ Requirements         : ] very inept skill (10); your rating is unskilled (0)
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 5

Alkaline Stream

[ Description          : ] Creates a stream of a powerfully corrosive alkaline liquid that clings to its target, eating away at it.
[ Frequency            : ] very unusual
[ Skill Relevance      : ] six parts power generation, three parts power direction, one part power focusing, one part power tuning
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] five parts willpower, three parts constitution
[ Accuracy             : ] typical
[ Requirements         : ] very inept skill (5); your rating is unskilled (0)
[ Your Status          : ] possessed in right mid-fore eyestalk, not usable
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 3

Ion Burst

[ Description          : ] Projects a pulse of ionic energy that disrupts the physical and mental processes of its target.
[ Frequency            : ] very unusual
[ Skill Relevance      : ] four parts power generation, three parts power tuning, two parts power direction, one part power focusing
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part constitution, one part intelligence
[ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
[ Requirements         : ] inept skill (15); your rating is unskilled (0)
[ Your Status          : ] possessed in left mid-hind eyestalk, not usable
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 10

Curse Ray

[ Description          : ] The target of this ray has a magickal curse inflicted on him, interfering with his will and perceptions.
[ Frequency            : ] very unusual
[ Skill Relevance      : ] three parts power tuning, two parts power direction, two parts power generation, one part power focusing
[ Attribute Relevance  : ] four parts willpower, one part intelligence
[ Accuracy             : ] slightly inaccurate
[ Requirements         : ] none
[ Your Status          : ] possessed in left mid-fore eyestalk, usable
[ Spirit Cost          : ] 5

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