In this article, I am going to attempt to take all of the relevant lore about beholders, and put them in one place for your convenience. This should allow us to have a good base understanding of what a beholder is, and how a beholder should be run.
The thing I have noticed while working on this is that beholders are really deadly. It’s hard as a DM to figure out how to run them. In the older editions, they just fired off ten deadly eye rays every round. In newer editions, the use of eye rays has become more limited.
The Essential Information
Here’s what you need to know about beholders:

• They are spherical creatures that hover. They have eyestalks that fire off deadly beams that do everything from turn people to stone, to disintegrate them.
• The beholder has a central eye that emit a cone of anti-magic.
• Their ability to hover is not a magic effect that can be dispelled.
• Beholders hate each other and despise variant beholder races.
• They may be from the Far Realm.
• They create lairs with their disintegrate beams.

The Real Life Origin of the Beholder

This goes all the way back to the original greyhawk campaign, run by Gary Gygax (which I’ve written about quite extensively here). Terry, the brother of Rob Kuntz, came up with the idea for the monster. He was quite dismayed when Gary unleashed it on him and his adventuring buddies.
AD&D 1st Edition

Let’s see what the 1st edition Monster Manual has to say about beholders:

• The beholder is also known as an “eye tyrant” or a “sphere of many eyes”.
• It has a globular body with a large mouth full of pointed teeth and floats slowly about as it wills.
• It has 10 eyestalks and an 11th central eye.
• Eyestalks that are cut off can grow back in a week.
• A beholder’s hit points are allocated in a weird way. You get to choose where you attack the beholder. You could try to stab an eyestalk, ot the cetral eye, or an eyestalk. Each holds a certain percent of the total hit points. To kill a beholder with 45 hit points, you can do 30 points to the main body, and it will die.

The big thing with beholders is that they shoot beams from their eyes that do different spell effects. Not all of their eyestalks can attack the party at once, unless the party has completely surrounded it. So if a party all stands in a clump to one side, only 1-4 eyestalks can attack.
This is odd considering the old vague rules in 1e about a round being a minute and that a combat includes lots of assumed movement and back-and-forth. I assume the idea here is that if a beholder is easily able to fire off all ten eyestalks every round, then most parties won’t stand a chance.
Here’s what the eyes do:

1. Charm person
2. Charm monster
3. Sleep
4. Telekinesis
5. Flesh to stone
6. Disintegrate
7. Fear
8. Slow
9. Cause serious wounds
10. Death ray
11. Central Eye: Anti-Magic ray

They can fire off Death ray, flesh to stone and disintegrate all in the same round! Unreal.
Dragon Magazine #76 – Ecology of the Beholder

This is by Ed Greenwood and Roger Moore and it is a fantastic piece of work – short, easy to read and packed full of great ideas. Seriously, Ed Greenwood has to be considered as one of, if not the best D&D designer. The only other D&D article writer that I ever enjoyed as much would be James Jacobs.
This is written in short story form, with a sage teaching students about beholders.
Levator Magnus: Beholders have a magical organ called the levator magnus located in the center of its body, surrounded by the brain, that causes the beholder to float in the air. This means that the levitation can’t be dispelled. In the appendix to this article, it is noted that beholders can “…levitate themselves without limit, to the height of the breathable atmosphere”.
Anti-Magic: The anti-magic field projected from the central eye is a faintly-visible beam of grayish light, extending out up to 10 feet wide in a cone up to 140 feet away. In the monster manual, the range is done in inches (as in, you put your beholder mini on a map and use a tape measure). The beam focuses on one target at a time.
Laying Eggs: Beholders lay eggs! From their mouths?! Every year, beholder lay 1 to 4 eggs. The beholder deserts them. When an egg hatches, the baby immediately grows (in a year it is full-sized), eats the shell and has full use of its eyestalks.
Strategy: There’s some strategy, too. The beholder will hover high in the air, focus the anti-magic on a spellcaster and go to town with the eye rays. This is.. scary. I feel like I’ve never run a beholder correctly after reading this.
Other fun facts:

• They eat raw meat in vast quantities. Beholders are at the top of the food chain.
• They live for “nine hundred seasons”. Sheesh.. so complicated. That’s what, 225 years?
• The article includes a chart to randomly determine where you strike a beholder. You roll a d100, and on a 1-75, you hit the main body (which has an AC 0 – in 1e, a low AC is good). 76-85 is the central eye (AC 7), 86-95 is an eyestalk (AC 2) and 96-100 is a small eye on an eyestalk (AC 7). Any hit on a small eye immediately destroys it. That sounds like a lot of fun.
• Every beholder’s arrangement of eyestalks is different. The DM should pick where they are located on its body prior to running the battle “…to determine which eyes may fire in which direction since the small eyes cannot point in just any direction.”

What a fantastic article. It looks like part of the reason this was written was to clarify how certain things worked, and to stop players from using dispel magic to make the beholders roll around on the ground in what would be a pretty pathetic scene.
AD&D 2nd Edition

The Monstrous Manual has a massive pile of versions of beholders, known as beholder-kin. I will focus on the main ones, and I’ll compile a list of the variants at the bottom of this article.

• It is now official that beholders have different armor classes for different parts of their body.
• The central eye anti-magic cone now covers a 90 degree arc and extends out 420 feet! No magic, including the effects of the eyestalks, will function inside the cone. Well, that’s quite a wrinkle. Further, spells cast in the anti-magic cone, or even ones passing through, cease to function.
• Beholders are hateful and aggressive. They attack or dominate other races, due to a xenophobic intolerance – they hate all creatures not like themselves.
• This book claims that beholder reproduction is a mystery – they may lay eggs or they may give live birth.

I, Tyrant

This is a 96 page supplement all about beholders. I have never looked through this book before. I really don’t like the cover art and I guess it scared me away all these years.
Anatomy: We kick the book off by getting a look at beholder anatomy. They can hear, but not well. They have two skull layers. In between the layers is a gas called tiusium that allows them to levitate. They outright threw out the “organ inside the brain” thing from the ecology article. Beholders don’t have hearts, and they have one lung.
They have male and female reproductive organs, so they can self-fertilize. They give birth to 3-6 live young out of their mouths, in an “appalling” process.
Beholders love to eat rodents, roast beef and flower petals. They enjoy wine and blood. They hate hard-boiled eggs and eyes.
Diseases: Some beholders suffer from certain diseases:

• Spasms (Diohurr): As they get older, beholders begin to lose mental coherence and levitate in random directions.
• Mania (Edorakk): Has violent mood swings, thinks all creatures are beholders.
• Meat-Rot (Malohurr): This is a type of food poisoning, they gain pustules and blisters on their skin.

History: Beholders worship the Great Mother, whose first spawn was named Kzamnal. Kzamnal gave birth to the mortal ancestors of the beholder race and instructed them to gather knowledge.
Some beholders, known as “the traitors”, spawned beholder-kin that did not resemble the Great Mother. This sparked a genocidal was among beholders which continues to this day.
Deities: There are a few beholder gods:

• The Great Mother: A giant beholder that travels the lower planes. She is devoid of any logic. She devours creatures on her endless journey and lays eggs (spawning beholder variants).
• Gzemnid: This beholder spies on mortal wizards and steals knowledge from them.

Blindness: There’s a note on blindness. Even if blinded, a beholder can still use its eye power with a -1 penalty.

Psychology: Every beholder thinks they are the ideal specimen of their race, and that those who are different from them should be destroyed.
Sometimes beholders will group together, led by a hive-mother. This is known as a “hive”. When two or more hives unite, they create a city comprised of a few hundred beholders of different types. Some cities contain thousands of beholders.
There’s even a FAQ. We learn all sorts of things:

• Most beholders have eyelids
• If you obtain a newborn beholder and try to rise it as a pet, it will see you as flawed and try to kill you no matter how kind you are to it. Their paranoia is present from birth.
• Their levitation is not magical, so it can’t be dispelled.
• Throwing a blanket on a beholder is a dumb tactic, because it can use telekinesis to remove it or just disintegrate it. I assume this came up in some games back then.

There are a trilogy of adventures about beholders as part of the “Monstrous Arcana” series. Let’s take a quick look at each one.
Eye of Pain

This adventure seems like it has a lot of problems. There’s a hive of beholders in some caves underground.. A beholder wants to overthrow the hive mother by tricking the heroes into killing her. There’s this whole thing where the heroes are supposed to meet a wizard in a town, but the wizard never shows up, and the adventure expects the heroes to do research rather than just go home. The only thing that really stuck out to me as cool in this was a “time bomb” magic item – an hourglass that explodes like a fireball when the sand runs out.
Eye of Doom
A human settlement is on or near a beholder holy site. A beholder uses a thieves’ guild to try to take over and destroy the town. The heroes have to infiltrate the guild. There’s a marked lack of beholders in this beholder trilogy.
Eye to Eye

The City of Ilth K’hinax

This adventure is 64 pages, and features the heroes finally actually going down to the beholder city and possibly killing the beholder hive mother. Ilth K’hinaxs is a city with over 2,000 beholders in it. The city is loaded with all sorts of weird monsters, like olive slimes, intellect devourers, xorn and mind flayers. Somehow the heroes encounter very few beholders in this beholder city.
If I was writing an adventure about a beholder city, it would be pretty high level and it would be loaded up with beholders and beholder-kin of all types. That’s the whole point, right?
Wildspace

This is a spelljammer adventure wherein the heroes fly their magic ship through a massive asteroid complex. It’s basically a space dungeon full of beholders. Each “room” of the dungeon is over two miles long.
Each of the ten rooms has an “eye” of the beholder queen in charge of the hive. The “eyes” are gems in the shape of a d10 that are about 150 in diameter. Each eye has become sentient and plays a part in the bigger story.
Here’s some of the flavor from the very first room:
“…the light fades, leaving an amber glow that settles all around you. It surrounds you with a glittering aura. It also surrounds a tall, handsome man in white robes lined with gold. You feel that this man is the closest friend you have in your world or any other. He smiles angelically and opens his upper robe, above the belt. Embedded in his pale chest is a huge, red, withered eye.“
In the final part of this gigantic adventure, a huge miles-long sentient ship/artifact called The Ravager becomes active. It is in the shape of a beholder and apparently it can destroy worlds. This adventure is insane.
D&D 3rd Edition

• We continue to get beholders that can only aim a certain amount of tentacles in a given direction. All the rays can shoot every round, but only 3 rays can reach targets in a given 90 degree arc.
• Beholders naturally levitate and fly at the speed of 20 feet per round. They also have a permanent feather fall effect going. There must have been a real swath of players trying to dispel the beholde levitate ability back then.
• The antimagic cone is 150 feet long and it still shuts down the beholder’s own powers. I guess the beholder does a lot of turning around. I’m not clear on whether it can close its central eye, fire rays, and then re-open the eye in the same round. Seems like it could, right?

In this ENWorld thread, the general consensus is that the eye is either “off” or “on” for the round. You have to pick one. Also, the beholder can’t fly up, turn upside-down and launch all ten eye rays on the party at once. Good gawd!
One person notes that the beholder could use telekinesis to cause a hero to hover above it, in full range of the other 9 eyestalks… wow.
Lords of Madness

This book has an entire chapter on beholders.

• Beholders weigh around 4,500 pounds!
• They have no sense of taste at all.
• They detect scents through thousands of tiny holes in their hide, known as “spiracles”.
• A beholder and its organs are buoyant like a balloon.
• It drools its own waste, which is frothy and pink.
• It lives about 100 years.
• It reproduces only once in its life. The womb is below the back of the tongue.

When it gives birth: “The parent observes its young and decides which look most like itself. The others are eaten by the ravenous parent, along with the discarded womb, and the surviving young are forced from the parent’s lair within the hour to fend for themselves.”
As if beholders aren’t scary enough, we are given some beholder magic items!

• Lens of Ray Chaining: Allows a ray to bounce to a second target.
• Lens of Ray Doubling: Splits a ray so it hits two targets.
• Lens of Ray Widening: Turns a ray into a cone! The saving throw is a bit lower, though.

D&D 4th Edition

There’s a few different types of beholder in the Monster Manual of 4e. The 19th level “Beholder Eye Tyrant” seems to be your classic beholder.

• It has an aura. When an enemy starts its turn within 25 feet of the beholder, the beholder can shoot an eye ray at it. I like that.
• The beholder’s powers are greatly “nerfed” for 4e. It can only shoot two eye rays on its turn, and each ray must target a different creature.
• The disintegrate ray just does a bit of damage, and the death ray has to hit a bloodied target to have a chance of killing them (they have to fail two consecutive saving throws to actually die).
• It does have a recharge power where they can fire four eye rays, but only when bloodied.
• In the Monster Manual 3, it is claimed that beholders come from the Far Realm, and that they have come to the world “…seeking to swallow up everything with their greed and ambition”.

D&D 5th Edition

• The beholder shoots 3 eye rays per round, and the eye rays are determined randomly (!).
• “When a beholder sleeps, it closes its central eye but leaves its smaller eyes open and alert.”
• A beholder’s lair is likely to have space for the beholder to hover above the heroes to fire down eye rays on them. It also has lair actions, like causing the walls to sprout stalks, or even an eye that shoots a random eye ray.

Other Notable Products

Beholders appear in a pile of D&D adventures and products. While I can’t read them all, I scoured the internet for mentions of cool, official beholder stuff.
The Fell Pass: This is an adventure in Dragon Magazine #32.. It’s about a beholder named Xorddanx. It has 8 gargoyles at its beck and call. If a fight breaks out, Xorddanx hovers over a molten pool and abuses the PCs. Here’s a quote for you:
“The handling of Xorddanx must be left mainly in the hands of the Dungeon Master, but it is intended that Xorddanx be a very dangerous character, so the referee is encouraged to show no mercy. A low-level party has no business thinking it can take on a menace as obviously great as Xorddanx. High-level parties often need to be taken down a peg. Be strong!”
Labyrinth of Madness: In this super-deadly adventure, there is a room called “Abode of the Eye Tyrants” that contains three beholders. Some of their stalks are snakes. Not only do the snakes shoot eye rays, but they also have a poison bite that kills you. One beholder can actually strap in to a suit of magic plate mail. Insane.
Beholder Dome: The 3rd Edition Book of Challenges has a trap in it called a “Beholder Dome”. The floor is wobbly, and a failed DEX check will send a hero careening into a trapped door. Each one has a magic spell trap that emulates one of the eye rays.
The Shackled City: There’s a beholder villain that plays a major part in the Shacked City adventure path, but I really don’t want to say much about it because it’s a pretty major spoiler.
Trial of Eyes: In the 4th edition Dungeon Delve book is a series of short adventures. 30 adventures, in fact! The adventure for level 17 characters is about a beholder who has come through a portal from the far realm and has claimed a magic item off of some dead adventurers.. There’s these far realm insanity portals. They’re orange and they “seethe with anger”. They do psychic damage and they slow you.
The Xanathar

This is perhaps the most well known beholder NPC in D&D lore. He’s a crime boss in the Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep. He runs a thieves guild and only a select few know that Xanathar is actually a beholder.
Xanathar has four humanoid lieutenants who handle different aspects of all the illegal goings-on. Xanathar is into all sorts of stuff, including extortion, smuggling, burglary, and slavery.
There’s a really good article on The Xanathar here.
Beholder Variants

Here’s a list of all the other types of beholders I came across while working on this:
Death Kiss: This beholder-kin has no mouth, and the eyestalks are actually tentacles with hooks. It feeds by attaching tentacles to a victim and draining its blood.
Eye of the Deep: This water-breather has crab pincers, and it shoots cones of blinding light from its eyes. The eye of the deep has two tentacles which can create illusions and hold people and monsters.
Gauth: This beholder-kin feeds on magic. It can fire off different spells, and it can drain charges from magic items. It actually eats magic items.
Spectator:A spectator is a guardian of places and treasures. The central eye can reflect spells back at the caster! Spectators are summoned from Nirvana and are actually quite friendly.

Undead Beholder (Death Tyrant): These abominations have milky film covering their eyes. They are slow and strike last in every combat round. They are mindless servants of powerful masters.
Hive Mother: The “Ultimate tyrants”, they are twice the size of a normal beholder. They can swallow people whole on a critical hit. A Hive Mother has no eyestalks, the eyes are embedded in the creature’s hide with hooded covers! They can control other beholders, usually 5-10 normal beholders or up to 20 beholder-kin.
Director: These insectoid beholder-kin breed specialized mounts (?). The mount is usually a centipede/spider type of creature.
Examiner: These are scholars ad clerks who study magic items..
Lensman: This thing actually has a humanoid body. Instead of a head, it has a whip-like tentacle. OK, now we’re getting really random.

Overseer: These guys are like fleshy trees with 13 limbs, each of which has an eye.
Watcher: Watchers have large eyes all around their body. They have true sight, ESP, and can teleport.
Beholder Mage: These guys actually blinded their central eyes so that they could cast spells.
Elder Orb: Ancient beholders of god-like intelligence.
Orbus: A pale white beholder with great magical ability.

Gas Spore: These things look like beholders, but they’re just full of gas.
Doomsphere: A ghost-beholder created by magical explosions.
Kasharin: An undead beholder that can pass on a rotting disease.
Astereater: A boulder-like beholder without eyes.. ummm..
Gorbel: A clawed beholder, without magic. Explodes if attacked!

Eye of Flame: These beholders serve more powerful beholders. They have fire rays, telekinesis rays and fear rays. When they die they explode in a fire burst.
Beholder Spawn: These are 4th edition minions (they have a single hit point). They fire a single eye ray that does 11 damage of a single type (fire, force, etc).
Eye of Shadow: These beholders spent too much time in the Shadowfell. It has eye rays that blind, do thunder damage, and immobilize. It can also teleport and become invisible.
Other Links

How much is an eyestalk worth?
4e beholder cartoon
The beholder from the ’80’s cartoon
Original Article: Power Score

floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion

floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion

ˌfläksəˌnôsəˌnīˌhiləˌpiləfiˈkāSHən/

noun

noun: floccinaucinihilipilification

1. the action or habit of estimating something as worthless. (The word is used chiefly as a curiosity.).

Origin

mid 18th century: from Latin flocci, nauci, nihili, pili (words meaning ‘at little value’) + -fication. The Latin elements were listed in a well-known rule of the Latin Grammar used at Eton College, an English public school.

Translate floccinaucinihilipilification to

Use over time for: floccinau

Ratick, Gords Greyhawk

Disclaimer: This page is not an official TSR or Trigee page. It is derived from material written by Gary Gygax for those companies and the use of such trademarks as D&D, AD&D, The World of Greyhawk, Greyhawk Adventures, Gord the Rogue et al. do not constitute challenges to the trademarks which may be owned by either of the above companies.

The Bandit Kingdoms

The Horned Society wages war with them in beginning of Artifact of Evil. After the siege of Molag, they allied with Iuz. The southeast kingdoms are the last rumored location of the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar (1st ed. DMG p. 157). See Dragon 56 p. 21 for a break down of the kingdoms and a detailing of their battles with the Horned Society and their forays into other lands. Dragon 63 presented a map defining the territorial borders as of spring 579.

GROSSKOPF

a bandit kingdom north east of Stoink that was recently (in Saga of Old City) taken by the Duchy of Tehn (Placing these events in 578 or 579 (Dragon #56 p. 21)). Area 17 on the map.

FELLANDS

A bandit kingdom north east of Stoink that was recently (in Saga of Old City) taken by the Duchy of Tehn. Area 16 on the map.

ROOKROOST

Area 15 on the map.

NPC's of Rookroost:

Plar Teoal Fent

the leader of the bandit kingdom of Rookroost

STOINK

once an Aerdian outpost - founded in 24 CY; turned to banditry in 376 CY, pop. 12,000; Ruled by Lord Mayor, Boss Dhaelhy; Population is 50-70,000 in the city state of Stoink. Stoink has nine wards, motley buildings and a motley population. It has many shops, taverns, houses of ill repute, and slave pens. The town watch wear leather armor and carry shields. The town gates close at dusk and open at dawn (I3-64). Area 10 on the map.

The Wards

Claybrick Ward

Norward

houses the Thieves guild, separates Claybrick Ward from Great Ward

Great Ward

administration district

Buildings, Places of interest:

The Three Gables

an inn in West Stoink

The Double Dagger

a run down inn and tavern, a popular gathering place

The Thieves Guild

This guild's sign is in common! It lies on Safe Avenue in Norward between the Slave Market and Stonegate. The receptionist is Stoat. Entry fees are 1 electrum piece, 1 silver piece per month. Rules - places protected by Boss Dhaely, Mayoral guards, the town Watch, town officials, etc., are off limits to thieves; thieves receive guild protection if caught on a job that was reported to the guild in advance.

Stoink's Palace

The palace has both inner and outer walls, tall turrets and towers. The inner bailey has 20' walls inside, 30' walls outside (it is built on a terraced hill). The Great Tower, whose roof is 90 feet high, is on the southwest end of the palace. The uppermost story of the the great tower holds well-to-do prisoners, such as Evaleigh. It is guarded by Sergeant "Black" Melson. Boss Dhaelhy lives of the third floor; The roof of the great hall is 60' high. There is a turret in the northeast where four men stand guard at night, in a room near the roof; they are led by Corporal Meader. There is a trap door in the turret floor. Commander Oakert is in charge of the night watch. There is a 60' deep dungeon, the first level is the cellar; in the cellar there is a stair column from the bottom to top that leads to a secret exit on the bottom level to the east.
Under the middle tower of the fortress compound (B wall and a burned door) near it is a concealed 2' high hole/ exit. 10' in is a vertical shaft, the passage continues east. 10' up the shaft is a ladder of iron rungs set into the wall. A projection opposite the rungs, closes the bottom of the shaft off. 40' up the shaft is a chamber of a 20' diameter. The shaft comes up 3' from the wall. The ceiling is domed and the apex is 13.5' above the floor.
A pile of filthy rags lies a short distance from the shaft and an ancient lantern is on the opposite side of the shaft. The air is stale and stagnant. A large worm creature of about 10 hp lies within the rags. A secret door opposite the shaft pivots open to reveal a narrow corridor, which ends when it meets a 10' wide perpendicular corridor. To the left lies a pillared arched room with 5 exits and a stairway up. Going right leads to a narrow stairway with a heap of clothing. At the top of that stair is a manure pile. a wooden ladder is at the far end, the trap door at the top leads to a shed in Ratswarf on Tannery Street by Umber Stream.

Streets:

Serpent Lane

crosses Suggil Way - the entertainment zone in Stoink

Suggil Way

crosses Serpent Lane

Safe Street

links the fortress with the Slave bazaar in the north

Joy Street

also goes to the market

Shackle Street

also goes to the slave market

Crook Street

intersects with Safe Street near the guild

Hall Street

in the south area, near and parallel to the palace

Gates:

Stonegate

is the East entry to Norward

Towergate

the entrance to Stoink on Holdroon's side

Ratswharf

suburb - pop. 1000+; has rope walks, tanneries, timber and span trade, low dives

Streets:

Tannery Street

A round about exit from Stoink's castle by subterranean passages leads to a shed on this street near the Umber River.

Ratspool

A widening of the Artonsmay River where it is joined the Umber River; several wharfs and docks form Ratswarf are located here.

Holdroon

suburb - pop. 1000+; mostly brigands and mercenary companies, has some low dives

The Horn and Haunch

tavern, best in the entire area, owned by Tubb, has a pretty waitress named Amy

NPC's of Stoink:

Commander Oakert

He is in charge of the night watch of Castle Stoink (he hates it). He had been in charge of espionage until the Hierarchs' plan was exposed.

Sergeant "Black" Melson

He guards the top floor of the Great Tower.

Corporal Meader

He is the guard on night duty of the northeast turret of Castle Stoink

Goldie

Evaleigh's maid. She was left in Stoink after her mistress's escape.

Flechet

Recruiter in the Bandit Kingdoms to attack Redspan (sent by the Horned Society)

Swutch

Recruiter in the Bandit Kingdoms to attack Redspan

Tau

Recruiter in the Bandit Kingdoms to attack Redspan

Stoat

receptionist of the Thieves Guild in Stoink

Uve Paulic

assistant Guildmaster of the Stoink Thieves Guild

Tubb

owns the Horn and Haunch, a tavern in Holdroon.

Amy

a pretty waitress at the Horn and Haunch

WORMHALL

a bandit kingdom in the West that was recently (in Saga of Old City c. 578) invaded by the Horned Society (centered around X3-66). Area 2 on the map.

WARFIELDS

a bandit kingdom in the West that was recently (in Saga of Old City) invaded by the Horned Society (centered around X3-64). Area 1 on the map.

Key to Bandit Kingdom map from Dragon 63 for remaining kingdoms:

3. Freehold

4. Kor

5. Tangles

6. Rift

7. Reyhu

8. Redhand

9. Artonsamay

11. Dimre

12. Johrase

13. Midlands

14. Greenkeep

NPC's of the Bandit Kingdoms

Barl

He is a rider in Mossback and Weasel's company

Mossback

He is a rider from outside Stoink downstream of the Artonsmay, in the Phostwood, in a company of eight

Weasel

He is a rider from outside Stoink, they buried a coffer with a lot of coins in an old campfire.

Renfil Leed

A bandit leader of eighty or so men from c. 565 who led a long foray into Urnst, the Pale, Nyrond and the Shield Lands. Along the way he picked up the Chrysoberyl ring and his party was killed by goblinkind in the Shield Lands.

Dogteeth

Renfil's lieutenant.

The Great Kingdom (including the Bone March and the Adri Forest)

Adri Forest

Angleford

This place is a town/shallows on the Harp River in the Adri

Flash Crossing

This place is a town/shallows on the Harp River in the Adri

Oddgrave Hill

This rises within the Adri forest, a three plus days' hike northeast from Stalker's village

Woodford

This place is a crossing of the Harp River in Adri

NPC's of the Adri Forest:

Stalker

He is a ranger of the Adri Forest who knows Gellor.

Ned Horn

He is a native of the Adri Forest and an associate of Stalker. He also knows Gellor

Wren

She is a 6'6" woman of Stalker's tribe in the Adri. She has hazel eyes, long braids of brown hair and is very comely and charismatic. She is attracted to Chert. She leads troops carrying bardiche.

THE GREAT KINGDOM OF AERDY

NPC's of Aerdy:

Grand Marshal Dreek

Lomor's superior

General Lomor, Margrave of Uskedge

He is the leader of the Great Kingdom's forces against the Adri and bears the coat of arms of Uskedge on a golden banner.

Comet

He is Lomor's best warlock

BONE MARCH

See Dragon 57 p. 15.

Castle Blemu

This edifice lies in the Blemu hills which is a vassal state to Nyrond (I2-59).

Fugel's farm

is just that (J2-61)

NPC's of the Bone March:

Dunstan, Count Blemu, Lord Knurl

father of Evaleigh, uses the broadsword, vassal of Archibold III. One wonders if either this Dunstan or Archibold's father were the same Dunstan from Gygax's unfinished Gnome Cache novella which appeared in Dragon issues 1-7.

Sir Mellard

Count Blemu's jailor

Medegia, See of

See Dragon 63, pp. 16-17.

North Province

See Dragon 63 pp. 15-16

RATIK

by the time Gord was released from his prison in Blemu, Ratik had seized Johnsport and besieged Spinecastle. See Dragon 57 pp. 14-15.

NPC's of Ratik

Alain IV

He is the son of Baron Lexnol Ratik. He married Lady Evaleigh for political reasons in 578/9.

Lady Evaleigh

She is the beautiful blonde daughter of Dunstan, Count Blemu, Lord Knurl; she is 5' 1" tall; she possesses a flat milky crystal carved as a bird with sheltering wings folded down that is suspended from a silver chain, this device protects her from being sought by magical means.

Rel Astra

See Dragon 65 p. 11.

Sea Barons

See Dragon 63 p. 15

South Province (Ahlissa)

See Dragon 57 p. 15. Eneever Zig hails from here.

Spindrift Isles

See L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, L2 The Assassin's Knot, and Dragon 65 pp. 11-12.

The Iron League

Idee

See Dragon 57 p. 16.

Irongate

See Dragon 57 p. 16.

Onnwal

See Dragon 57 p. 16

Sunndi, County of

See Dragon 57 pp. 15-16.

The Scarlet Brotherhood

Founded by descendents of the lost Suel Empire, this organization's Monks wear red and gold, and call their leader the Oldest. They also worship Nerull.

They sacked Densac Gulf, the Olman Islands, Hepmonaland and the Pomarj. They thought that the next Theopart was in the Wormjaws, they discovered it was in the Suss. They had brought the Chaotic Evil one to Strandkeep earlier.

The Siege of Strandkeep Castle

occurred 6 months after the end of Saga of Old City.

The Besiegers

standard siege equip, 1000 troops, dwarven miners, Gord

Spellcasters

cone of cold, magic missile, fireball, darkness, continual light, weather control, conjure water elemental, conjure earth elemental, lots of illusions.

The Scarlet Brotherhood moved through the Suss and Welkwood harried by elves and woodsmen. The Suels rallied more goblins, hobgoblins, and other humanoids. Their advance guard had 1000 men, and their main force was 4000 men. They sacked Celene, killing Parsival. They then retreated and were pursued. They attack northward with the Great Kingdom at the beginning of Come Endless Darkness. They hold the Initiator and relinquish it to the Dukes of Hell.

NPC's of the Scarlet Brotherhood

The Oldest

the leader of the Scarlet Brotherhood

Rhizia (Cruski, Fruztii, Schnai, and Stonefist)

Cruski

See Dragon 57 p. 14.

Fruztii

See Dragon 57 p. 14.

Schnai

See Dragon 57 p. 14

The Hold of Stonefist

after the siege of Molag, Stonefist allied with Iuz. See also Dragon 57 pp. 13-14.

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Back to Gord's Greyhawk Main Page?

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Consider the original material found herein and the organization and phrasiology applied to the old material to be Copyright 1998 by Chris Siren and may be reused as far as I'm concerned, so long as I'm credited with researching it. Of course, you'll have to comply with TSR & Trigee's guidelines as well, but if it's just for personal use you're in the clear.

Roman Money

When studying Ancient Rome, it is only natural to wonder what the price of everyday items might have been.  In order to fully understand the price of an item, you must also consider the wages workers received at the time the item was purchased.
Before you study the information below, it is helpful to understand that professions were valued differently in ancient times than they are today.  Likewise, the value of items was different then than now.  For instance, in today's world, one might spend 20% of their total income on food, but in ancient times the cost may have been 50% or more of one's total income.  

In fact, during parts of the history of Rome, food costs were so high that without free wheat subsidies from the government, the common people would not have been able to survive!  These subsidies were known as ‘doles' and according to AEJ Morris'sHistory of Urban Form[1970 George Godwin LTD], up to 1/3 of the citizens of the capital city received this public assistance.
Grain formed the foundation of the common Roman's diet.  It was not uncommon for grain to be the only thing a poor Roman ever ate.  The cost of baking bread was very high to a poor Roman, so if no access to a communal, public oven could be had, the grain would be crushed and made into a porridge known as ‘puls' that was likely similar in taste and texture to modern polenta.  While we take it for granted today, meat was an extravagant luxury that most Romans could not afford to indulge in.



              Clothing was another expensive proposition.  One‘libra'(Roman pound, just under of a modern pound, 326 grams), of fine silk cost more than a dozen human beings.  It seems absurd to us today, but such was the case, because ancient Romans lacked the production machines of today that make cheap fabric possible.  For the commoners, fashion was not a consideration.  Clothing was utilitarian, had to be durable, and was patched until finally the garment became the thing from which patches were taken for its replacement.
Historically, the cost of living has expanded to consume all of the income that is available to the majority of the people in the society.  As technology has enabled faster production, technology has also introduced new things to consume the income the increased productivity creates.  The ancient Romans did not have many things to pay for in comparison to life today, yet it was every bit as much a struggle for them to survive as it is today, and probably, it was even more of a struggle. 


As you read the data below, consider what you might have been in ancient Rome.  Would you have been a carpenter?  A mason?  Would you have been fortunate enough to receive an education and become an advocate (ancient equivalent of the modern lawyer)?  Pick your profession, and then take a look at the kind of food and clothing you would have been able to afford.  You might gain a new appreciation for modern life! 


                 All the prices and wages are listed indenariicommunes, which were not actually silverdenariias we usually think of when discussing ancient Roman coinage. Denarii communes, or d.c., were notational currency.  What this means is, an exchange rate was given, telling how much of the currency in circulation at that time (nummi) it took to equal one d.c.  This made it easy to change the value of the money in circulation, without having to rewrite and redistribute the entire edict.  A series of exchange tables are at the end of this handout.
* FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS - SEE SHORTER VERSION  pp 9 and 10 *

 

Wages in 301 AD in theRoman Empire

All data based on Diocletian's "Edict of Maximum Prices" issued in 301 AD

General Laborers brick maker, for every 4 fired bricks and preparation of the clay....................... 2
brick maker, for every 8 sun dried bricks, and preparation of the clay............... 2
clerk (based on specified bath attendant wage)................................................. 25
farm laborer, with maintenance......................................................................... 25
lime burner, with maintenance........................................................................... 50
mule driver, camel driver, with maintenance...................................................... 25
sewer cleaner, working a full day, with maintenance.......................................... 25
shepherd, with maintenance.............................................................................. 25
water carrier, working a full day, with maintenance........................................... 25
all other general labor....................................................................................... 25

Skilled Laborers

barber, per customer....................................................................................... 2
cabinet maker, with maintenance...................................................................... 50
carpenter, with maintenance, daily.................................................................... 50
stone mason, with maintenance......................................................................... 50
figure painter, with maintenance........................................................................ 150
fuller (Wool weaver), per cloak........................................................................ 175
marble paving and walls custodian, with maintenance........................................ 60
wall mosaics worker, with maintenance............................................................ 60
model maker, with maintenance........................................................................ 75
other plaster worker, with maintenance................................................. 50
parchment maker, for a quaternion, white or yellow parchment......................... 40
shipwright of a river vessel, with maintenance.................................................... 50
shipwright of a seagoing vessel, with maintenance............................................. 60
tessellated floormaker , with maintenance......................................................... 50
wagon blacksmith, with maintenance................................................................ 50
wagonwright, with maintenance........................................................................ 50
wall painter, with maintenance.......................................................................... 75


Professionals advocate, for opening a case............................................................................ 250
for pleading a case........................................................................................... 1000
scribe, for the best writing 100 lines.................................................................. 25
for second quality writing..................................................................... 20
secretary......................................................................................................... 35
notary, for writing a petition or legal document.................................................. 10

Teachers in AncientRome

A teacher in ancient Rome would have lived in the home of a wealthy patrician, who would have provided the teacher with food and clothing appropriate to the house.  The teacher would not have had much spending money, but would have lived comfortably just the same.  These are salaries indenariiper month, per student.
elementary teacher............................................................................... 50
arithmetic teacher................................................................................. 75
Greek, Latin literature or geometry....................................................... 200
teacher of rhetoric (public speaking)..................................................... 250

Soldiers in Ancient Rome

Soldiering was one of the best ways a Roman male could provide for his family.  The base wage was low, not enough to live on.  Four times a year, a soldier received a "donative" greater than his annual base pay.  Additionally, soldiers received an annual "annona" subsidy for grain purchases.  The best soldiers hoped to be recruited to the Praetorian Guard, the soldiers who guarded the emperor.  These soldiers were paid roughly 3 times the base wage of the average soldier, and likely enjoyed many additional privileges as well.
Soldiers had high expenses in their profession, but they still came out much better than the average citizen even after expenses.  The soldiers were expected to pay for much of their own equipment, rations, and clothing.  They even had to pay part of the cost of burial for their fallen from their unit.
Soldiers' Pay:     
average Roman soldier,annually........................................................................ 1800
Praetorian Guard, annually............................................................................... 5500
annual grain annona (1 per year)....................................................................... 600
donative (4 per year)....................................................................................... 2500
Additionally, every soldier received a grain allotment of
30 modii of wheat per year that would be worth................................... 3000
Total Annual Pay for an average Roman Soldier............................................... 15,400
For a Praetorian Guard.................................................................................... 19,100

Compare that to a general laborer working 305 days a year.................................................. 7625

Soldiers' Costs:
boots, without hobnails.................................................................................... 100
shoes, soldiers................................................................................................. 75
saddle............................................................................................................. 500
polisher, for a sword........................................................................................ 25
       for a helmet.............................................................................................. 25
       for an axe................................................................................................. 6
       for a double axe........................................................................................ 8
       for a sword scabbard................................................................................ 100

Prices in 301 AD in theRoman Empire

All data based on Diocletian's "Edict of Maximum Prices" issued in 301 AD

The Edict of Maximum Prices was an attempt to control runaway inflation and poverty in the Empire.  The penalty for exceeding the prices of the Edict was severe: death.  Not satisfied to execute just the seller, Diocletian decreed that the buyer was to be executed as well.  As a final measure, if a seller refused to sell his goods at the stated price, the penalty was death.

Food

 

Dry Foods

Prices refer to one modius unless otherwise indicated. 1 modius=8 liters dry measure.

alfalfa seed...................................................................................................... 150
barley.............................................................................................................. 60
barley, cleaned................................................................................................ 100
beans.............................................................................................................. 60
beans, crushed................................................................................................. 100
chickpeas........................................................................................................ 100
flaxseed........................................................................................................... 150
hayseed........................................................................................................... 30
lentils............................................................................................................... 100
millet, crushed.................................................................................................. 100
millet, whole.................................................................................................... 50
oats................................................................................................................. 30
peas, crushed.................................................................................................. 100
peas................................................................................................................ 60
rice, cleaned.................................................................................................... 200
rye.................................................................................................................. 60
salt.................................................................................................................. 100
sesame............................................................................................................ 200
wheat.............................................................................................................. 100

Fruits & Vegetables
cabbage or lettuce, head.................................................................................. 1-2 ½
dessert grapes, libra......................................................................................... 1
fenugreek, modius............................................................................................ 100
peaches, one, up to.......................................................................................... 1-2 ½

Prices in 301 AD in theRoman Empire

Food (continued)

Meats and Fish Prices refer to one libra unless otherwise noted. 1 libra=326 grams or just under pound.
beef................................................................................................................. 8
chicken............................................................................................................ 60
fish, freshwater................................................................................................ 12
second quality...................................................................................... 8
fish, saltwater................................................................................................... 25
second quality...................................................................................... 16
goose, fattened................................................................................................ 200
not fattened......................................................................................... 100
goat................................................................................................................. 12
lamb................................................................................................................ 12
pheasant, depending on variety......................................................................... 125-250
pork................................................................................................................ 12
sausage, depending on variety.......................................................................... 10-16
Wine, Beer & Oil

Prices refer to one sextarius.  1 sextarius=1.14 Pints or .546 liters

beer, Celtic or Pannonian................................................................................. 4
Egyptian.............................................................................................. 2
Aminean, Falernian, Picene, Sabine, Tiburtine regional wines............................ 30
aged wine........................................................................................................ 24
second quality...................................................................................... 16
chrysattic wine................................................................................................. 24
Maeonian wine, boiled down one-third............................................................. 30
must, boiled down........................................................................................... 16
must, boiled down one-half.............................................................................. 20
rose wine......................................................................................................... 20
spiced wine..................................................................................................... 24
wine with wormwood...................................................................................... 20
vin ordinaire (ordinary wine)............................................................................. 8
olive oil, fresh.................................................................................................. 40
second quality...................................................................................... 24
liquamen (fish sauce seasoning)........................................................................ 16
second quality...................................................................................... 12
vinegar and wine vinegar.................................................................................. 6

Prices in 301 AD in theRoman Empire

ClothingFabric Prices are per item or libra for raw materials.
African cloak................................................................................................... 500
Dalmatian tunic................................................................................................ 2000
hooded cloak, Laodicean................................................................................. 4500
soldier's winter tunic........................................................................................ 75
wool from Tarentum........................................................................................ 75
white silk......................................................................................................... 12,000
purple silk^†..................................................................................................... 150,000
^†Purple silk was to be used only at the direction of the Emperor under penalty of death.
Boots and Shoes boots for mule drivers or farm workers, without hobnails.................................. 120
boots for soldiers, without hobnails................................................................... 100
women's boots................................................................................................ 60
patrician's shoes.............................................................................................. 150
senatorial shoes............................................................................................... 100
equestrian's shoes............................................................................................ 70
soldier's shoes................................................................................................. 75
Sandals and Gallic Sandals double-soled Gallic sandals for farm workers................................................... 80
single soled Gallic sandals................................................................................ 50
Gallic sandals for runners................................................................................. 60
women's oxhide sandals double-soled.............................................................. 50

 

Sketch by  Marvin Tameanko of actual Roman Jug  found during

 an excavation inLondon.   It is inscribed / addressed to

"TheTempleofIsisinLondon"

Exchange Rates of Currency toDenarii Communes

From 297 to 308 A.D.

                                   Number ofDenarii Communesexchanged for:

Period Coin (mat'l.)	293-300	300-301	301-307
Aureus(gold)	600	1200	2400
Argenteus(silver)	25	50	100
Nummus‡ (billon)	5	12.5	25
Radiate (billon)	2	2.5	5
Laureate (bronze)	1	1	1

^‡Base Currency Unit
To determine the buying power of the currencies above for a given time period, compare the exchange rate of the actual currency to the prices or wages listed on the preceding pages indenarii communesusing the formula below:

(Price from list in d.c.) X (Number of coins exchanged perd.c.from chart above) = Cost or Wage in actual currency

 

Suggestions for further reading

 Tenney Frank,Economic Survey of AncientRome  (Baltimore, 1940)
 Jo-Ann Shelton,As The Romans Did   (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998) 




SHORTER  VERSION  FOR  YOUNGER  STUDENTS

Wages and Food Costs in AncientRome

Common Food Items

and their Prices in 301 AD

During the reign of Diocletian

Barley, Rye	60 Denarii per Modius
Beans, Crushed	100 Denaris per Modius
Beans, Whole	60 Denarii per Modius
Beef, Mutton or Goat	8 Denarii per Libra
Beer	2 to 4 Denarii per Libra
Cabbage and Lettuce	1 to 2 Quintarius
Cheese	8 Denarii per Libra
Chickens	30 Denarii
Eggs	1 Denarius
Fish, River	8 to 10 Denarii per Libra
Fish, Sea	15 to 25 Denarii per Libra
Goose	100 to 200 Denarii
Ham	20 Denarii per Libra
Honey	10 to 40 Denarii per Sextarius
Lentil Beans	100 Denarii per Modius
Sausage	10 to 16 Denarii per Libra
Olive Oil	40 Denarii per Sextarius
Peaches	1 to 2 Quintarius
Pheasant	125 to 250 Denarii
Pork or Lamb	12 Denarii per Libra
Rice, cleaned	200 Denarii per Modius
Salt	100 Denarii per Modius
Wheat	100 Denarii per Modius
Wine	16 to 30 Denarii per Sextarius

Common Professions

and Their Wages

In Ancient Rome

Artist, mosaic worker	50 - 60 Denarii per day
Barber	2 Denarii per customer
Bath Attendant	20 -25 Denarii per day
Carpenter	50 Denarii per day
Farm Laborer	25 Denarii per day †
Fortune Teller	20 - 25 Denarii per day
Fuller (Wool weaver)	175 Denarii per cloak
Linen Weaver	20 - 40 Denarii per day †
Manual Laborer	25 Denarii per day
Messenger	18 - 20 Denarii per day
Scribe	1 Denarius per 5 - 7 lines
Secretary	30 - 35 Denarii per day
Skilled Tradesman	35 - 75 Denarii per day
Stone Mason	50 Denarii per day
Teacher, elementary	50 Denarii per month ‡
Teacher, advanced	250 Denarii per month ‡

Soldiers in AncientRome:
Soldiering was one of the best ways a Roman male could provide for his family.  The base wage was low, not enough to live on.  Recognizing the importance of the soldiers, the emperors paid what can be equated to a quarterly bonus.  Four times a year, a soldier received a "donative" greater than his annual base pay!  Additionally, soldiers received an annual "annona" subsidy for grain purchases.  Furthermore, the best soldiers may have been recruited to the Praetorian Guard, the soldiers who guarded the emperor.  These soldiers were paid roughly 3 times the base wage of the average soldier.  Praetorian Guards were respected and feared, even by the emperor himself, and likely enjoyed many additional privileges as well.



Soldiers' Base Pay:                1800 Denarii per year               Praetorian Guard:         5500 Denarii per year
Annual Grain Annona:             600 Denarii per year
Donative (4 per year)             2500 Denarii
Grain allotment                      30 Modii of wheat per year


†  Some employers supplemented the salaries of these professions with "Keep".  That meant that the worker was allowed to retain some of what they produced- usually scrap or in the case of grain, what could be carried from the ground at day's end.  This was a huge benefit to the worker... and perhaps the source of the phrase "Earns his keep."



‡  The teaching professions were paid the amount shown per student.  Teaching was done in the homes of the wealthy patrons who hired the teacher for one-on-one educating.  The style resembled today's tutoring more than the Greek or current models of classrooms of many students.  Thus, teachers were paid poorly.  It is assumed that room and board were often provided.

Techmarines

Techmarines

Padius+Spider-kin, Arachnotaur

 I give this monster a low review as of such, but I am reserving judgement at this time . .  .

Spider-kin, Arachnotaur

by James Mishler I posted this critter in the SC/RS folder yesterday; thought I might drop it in here as well, as it could well be encountered in the Old World more likely than the New World...
Spider-Kin, Arachnotaur
Climate/Terrain: Temperate and tropical forest or subterranean
Frequency : Very Rare
Organisation : Clan
Activity Cycle : Any
Diet : Omnivore
Intelligence : Average (8-10)
Treasure : M, Q (B)
Alignment : Chaotic (3% Good, 7% Neutral, 90% Evil)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No. Appearing : 2-12 (20-80)
Armour Class : 7
Movement : 12, Wb 12
Hit Dice : 3+1
THAC0 : 17
No. of Attacks : 1
Damage/Attack : 1d4 (Bite) + Poison; or webbing; or by weapon
Spec. Attacks : Poison, webbing, possible spell use
Spec. Defences : Possible spell use
Magic Resist. : Nil
Size : L (6' long; 5' tall)
Morale : Steady (12)
XP Value : Normal: 420
Sorcerer or Priestess (3+1HD): 650
Wizard-King or Priest-Queen (5+1HD): 1,400
Arachnotaurs have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a large spider.
The arachnotaurs lower body resembles a pony-sized giant spider, usually very hairy and either black or brown in coloration. The spider body conforms in form to a normal spiders abdomen, thorax and eight legs. Each leg is about four to five feet long; two spinnerets are located at the end of the abdomen. The human torso sprouts from the section of the thorax at which the head would usually be found on a spider.
The upper torso and head resemble that of a human, with copper coloured skinned and black hair (body hair is sparse on the human portion; very few arachnotaurs can grow beards). Their eyes are usually human appearing except for those who can become sorcerers or priests; these specimens have eight eyes, similar to those of the aranea species of spider (four small, motion detecting eyes and four larger, human-like eyes, two facing forward and one facing each side). Arachnotaurs have very prominent if human appearing fangs.
Arachnotaurs speak Common and their own language, a descendant of an Oltec dialect (with many aranea borrowing words). Arachnotaur Sorcerers also speak a mystic tongue, related to their native language (which linguists may with difficulty recognise as being derived from the language of the wizards of Herath of the Savage Coast); Priestesses do not speak the mystic tongue normally, though they do learn it for informational purposes. The arachnotaur mystic tongue has a written form. Combat: Arachnotaurs prefer to avoid combat when they are not in their own territories, but fight fiercely whenever their homes and families are threatened. They prefer to fight where they can use the terrain to their advantage; as they can easily move in their own webs or along walls and ceilings, they naturally prefer terrain that utilises these abilities to the maximum. Arachnotaurs prefer to use swords, daggers, lassos, nets and blowguns (needles and daggers may be treated with their own venom, though swords are not); they will attempt to capture foes if at all possible, rather than slay them outright (captured foes are generally tortured, then kept alive in webbing for a period before becoming the centrepiece of a victory feast). Arachnotaurs almost never wear any Armour, as it may inhibit their ability to move along walls and in their webbing.
Arachnotaurs have two natural attacks, their bite and their webbing. Arachnotaur venom causes no extra damage on the round injected, but if the saving throw is failed, it will cause damage equal to that caused by the initial bite every round for the following 1d4 rounds. During the period the venom is running its course a victim will be incapacitated, being unable to attack and only defending at -4 penalty to armour class. Damage from multiple bites is cumulative, though the Armour class penalty is not. Arachnotaur venom can be placed on weapons when treated with arachnotaur saliva (thus, it is usually impossible for any but arachnotaurs to utilise the venom; otherwise it becomes non-poisonous on contact with air). Venom used on blowgun darts or needles will cause 1d4 damage per round for 1d4 rounds; there is enough venom in one "injection" to treat 3 blowgun darts or one dagger. An arachnotaur can inject venom up to three times each day.
All mature arachnotaurs can spin webs from the spinnerets on their spider abdomen. These webs have a range of 40', and can entangle an opponent with a successful to hit roll. An arachnotaur web strand can be cut with 2 or more points of cutting damage inflicted in a single blow or can be broken by a successful "open doors" roll. When opponents are outnumbered arachnotaurs will often work in concert to capture single opponents in multiple strands. An arachnotaur can "shoot" up to three web strands per day (whether or not a hit is successful, a strand will stick to anything in its path and remain an obstacle).
A few arachnotaurs are capable of becoming either wizards or priests (evil clans will have Sorcerers, good and neutral clans will have Priestesses). There will be one sorcerer or priestess per ten members of a clan; any individual group of eight or more will have a sorcerer or priestess leader. There will be one Sorcerer- King or Priestess-Queen per clan. Average Sorcerers and Priestesses have 3+1 HD and the spellcasting abilities equal to a 3rd level wizard or priest; Kings and Queens have 5+1 HD and the spellcasting abilities of 5th level wizards or priests. Some few are able to rise even further in level (up to 14th level wizard or 9th level priest), though normal Sorcerers and Priestesses will rarely be above 3rd level in ability. Habitat/Society: Arachnotaurs build their lairs in the deepest and darkest sections of temperate and tropical forest; some clans may live in large cavern complexes underground. An arachnotaur clan consists of 40 to 80 adults, evenly divided among males and females; in addition to the adults, there will also be a number of non-combatant young equal to one half the adult population. A few clans keep large spiders as pets, though they are rarely trained in any guardian capacity; some Sorcerer-Kings may have watch spiders in their treasure rooms or guarding their laboratories.
While arachnotaurs are fairly uniformly chaotic in nature (vis a vis the rest of the world), their morality may otherwise vary according to clan. An arachnotaur clan will all be predominantly of one moral alignment; good and neutral clans will be led by the Priestesses of Yehm (Korotiku), while evil clans will be led by Sorcerers (who may or may not revere fiends and Immortals of the Sphere of Entropy, notably Enebaan (Masauwu) and the Dark Mother (Hel)). Regardless of alignment all arachnotaur clans are reclusive and attempt to avoid all contact with other races; as they have in the past been considered monsters and beasts by other intelligent races, they return the favour several fold. The evil clans and some neutral clans will not at all be above using other intelligent races as food. The Yehm clans and the Sorcerous clans are inimical toward each other, and usually attack on site. Ecology: Arachnotaurs are omnivorous, though they do prefer fresh meat (or rather, meat well fermented on the web, so to speak). The Yehm clans do not eat intelligent beings, but many of the Sorcerous clans consider humans and demihumans to be delicacies. Arachnotaurs are usually the dominant species in the region they inhabit; they compete with other forest races for space. Arachnotaurs will rarely inhabit forests that are home to elves or fairy races (some few Yehm clans have been known to cooperate with Chaotic Neutral Druids in the past, however). Arachnotaurs are sworn enemies of the aranea race of spider-kin; they also have a special hatred for the Wizards of Herath (arachnotaurs can detect an aranea even in human or demihuman form). Arachnotaur inhabited forests tend to be dark, brooding and overgrown; the terrain is remoulded according to arachnotaur concepts of defence and aesthetics, replete with webs and other ambush points.
Arachnotaurs are not a naturally evolved race. It is believed that they were created centuries ago in emulation of the Manscorpions of the Savage Coast; some believe that they were created by the Wizards of Herath in ancient experiments. If so, the wizards decided that they were an unworthy race, and led a crusade against them; the race is believed to be extinct on the Savage Coast, though some may still be found in deep caverns. Arachnotaur clans are known to inhabit the Ugly Woods of the Alphatian Kingdom of Blackheart and the Dark Wood of Hule; some reports from colonists in the Hinterlands indicate that arachnotaurs may have spread to the southern continent as well.