Beholders at low levels?

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Ok, so I'm in the process of soloing w/ a sorceress using the TDD mod for the first time ... coincidentally my first real run using a sorc. Its been fun and certainly changing a lot of the fights around and adding some randomness back in making it all more fun.

Long story short, I ran into the sewers at lvl 11 to kill off the troll for the fence and get that last little tiny bit of xp to hit lvl 12. I round the last corner to the troll and find myself staring eyeball to eyeball with a Beholder AND 2 gauth Needless to say I was dead before my brain got past the "omfg wha???" reaction (you know the thing that adds the fun back in hehe).

I'm thinking I really don't have much way to combat them at this level ... solo. Anyone have hints for hacking them up as a sorc while solo at "low" levels, of say 12 or 13 since I have to finish the temple quest down there.

I am also thinking more along the lines of that same "surprise" fight. If I know something is there I can cheese the beholders with mislead anyhow (unless they see invis? [like some demons]). Just smarter to keep some invis potions handy and pop one and run? I was NOT anticipating fighting beholders yet. Of course, if there's a "non-cheese" manner to kill something like that going toe to toe .. I'm all for it, I'm just not readily seeing it yet.

 

I'm not sure whether Darkest Day patches beholder-kin behavioural scripts, but in the vanilla game they aren't programmed to use their eyestalks against summoned monsters. I'm playing through with a solo sorcerer myself, I'm at the same level you are, and my attack routine usually consists of summoning 5 spiders, hasting them and sending them into battle. Granted I haven't encountered beholders yet, but give it a try.

You could also lay a bunch of skull traps and lure them over to you, maybe? I don't know which spells you have, though.

 

I did happen to have two residual dire wolves left over from getting rid of a pack of kobolds. There was a death spell used on them in the first second of the encounter.

You know ... never tried hasted spiders, I'll be testing that out soon, spiders + web can be extremely nasty combination. Wonder if web works on those beholders. I do have haste, spider spawn and skull trap of course, I have no idea how I'd kill half the mages out there if I didn't have skull trap since I don't carry nearly enough see invis scrolls or dispel magic. I tend to kill myself more than anything when I try to drag things over skull traps

Really having fun playing solo, whole new strats to be used.

 

Oh... yeah, my bad. *Gauths* act stupid vs summoned creatures; beholders just death spell them. Heh.

Web/spiders/haste is absolutely brilliant, and I really want a ring of free action. But unfortunately web doesn't work against beholders. (Looks as if it works against gauths, though?)

But! If you get one level and then come back, you can cheese them to death with spell immunity divination/mislead/whatever. Nice.

 

Web does work against Beholders. Throw in a Greater Malison. Confusion/Chaos, Emotion and Stinking Cloud also make them unable to use their rays.

It's good to use scrolls and wands, 'cos the casting failure effect of the Anti-Magic Rays obviously doesn't affect using them.

Don't try Hold Monster, though. They'll still blast you if they're held that way.

 

Beginning to think I should have taken greater malison instead of polymorph self, hich I nearly never use.

 

It doesn't. They're not making their saving throws, it just says 'Beholder - Held' and nothing happens. Looking in their CRE file, I see they have a ring called BEHOLDER which grants immunity to hold creature/web overlay/etc. Gauths don't have this.

They aren't immune to unconsciousness, though.

 

I haven't looked at any files, but I've used Web against Beholders quite succesfully many times - they look wrapped in it and don't move, and don't use their rays when held in a web. Are you sure that stuff doesn't come from a mod or a fixpack or something?

Stun effects iirc don't prevent them from using their rays.

Polymorph Self is actually quite handy against Gauths (Mustard Jelly form has 100% magic resistance), but Beholders' Anti-Magic Ray counters it.

Edit: I'm talking about the Beholders in the Underdark here. The Unseeing Eye quest actually seems to feature "Beholders" that are similar to Gauths in all aspects - the actual Beholders only appear if you're at high levels. But in the Underdark Beholder cave it's the real thing all the way, and I've used the web thing succesfully there.

[ February 02, 2006, 16:39: Message edited by: Susipaisti ]

 

It doesn't. But I'm noticing that some of the beholders in the unseeing eye quest don't have it; all other beholders do.

I'm up to the sewers now, and I'm finding it fairly easy to cast mislead and pummel them with skull traps. Poor things can't deal with invisibility.

Edit: And, yeah, the beholder immunity item also makes them immune to stun.

[ February 02, 2006, 16:24: Message edited by: Prine ]

 

Staff of Magi is best against them. Cast something FAST, or use a wand and immediately turn invisible again! They will die fast, though you may be targeted once or twice if you are not fast enough. And if it is a DEATH ray, too bad. Save vs Death or die.

Have SoM'S spelltrap active!

Mislead also works wonders!

Spell turning will be effective but it will last so short. Beware!

Spell immunity, Protection from lightning, magical energy, deathward will make you immune to alll, but then the smart beholder will use Anti-magic ray and poof, you are completely defenseless!

Beholders also have a nasty save vs spells/wands in my games. Is it from mods or original?

It is very discouraging to see:

Beholder-Save vs Wands:3

Sure. They have all saves of 1 in my games I guess.

 

Level 12 you maybe have minor globe? Use that, or a scroll of it, and maybe a prot from pet. scroll. They shouldn't be able to overly destroy you. Don't know if a sorc can use a shield, but it'd also be nice if you had the shield of Balduran with you when you went at them, you could just sit there and watch them kill themselves.