137-568: The beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game . It is depicted as a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and many smaller eyestalks on top with powerful magical abilities. The beholder is among the Dungeons & Dragons monsters that have appeared in every edition of the game since 1975. Beholders are one of the few classic Dungeons & Dragons monsters that Wizards of
274-513: A military formation . These characters embark upon adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as referee and storyteller for the game, while maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur, and playing the role of the inhabitants of the game world, known as non-player characters (NPCs). The characters form a party and they interact with the setting's inhabitants and each other. Together they solve problems, engage in battles, explore, and gather treasure and knowledge. In
411-473: A "strong impact" though he also said that the list of other influential authors was long. The D&D magic system, in which wizards memorize spells that are used up once cast and must be re-memorized the next day, was heavily influenced by the Dying Earth stories and novels of Jack Vance . The original alignment system (which grouped all characters and creatures into 'Law', 'Neutrality' and 'Chaos')
548-401: A 6-foot-diameter sphere with three central eyes. On the ventral side of the orb is a long, barbed tentacle, which extends from just behind the watcher's mouth, and on the dorsal side is a ring of six eye spots and a compound eye. Watchers are 6-foot-diameter spheres with three central eyes arranged around the circumference of the sphere. These eyes are huge and unlidded. On the crown of the sphere
685-518: A better play experience than under the 3rd Edition. The new game was developed through a number of design phases spanning from May 2005 until its release. Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition was announced at Gen Con in August 2007, and the initial three core books were released June 6, 2008. 4th Edition streamlined the game into a simplified form and introduced numerous rules changes. Many character abilities were restructured into "Powers". These altered
822-430: A collection of magical wands which they use when needed in combat, although they prefer flight whenever possible, working to maintain the arsenal of the beholder hive. Examiner has 4 eyestalks with Enlarge or Reduce, Identify or Legend Lore, Transmute Form (similar to a Stone Shape spell, but works on all types of nonmagical, nonliving material) and Spell Reflection as a ring of spell turning. Their role in beholder society
959-406: A description, monster entries in this edition contained standardized sections covering combat, their habit and society, and their role in the eco-system. While later editions gave the various creatures all the attributes which player characters had, 2nd edition only listed intelligence as a characteristic important for creating challenging encounters in the game. The 2nd edition also used
1096-431: A diet of humans and horses, but will attack anything that has blood. An older name for these creatures is eye of terror. The central body of a death kiss has no mouth. Its central eye gives it 120-foot infravision, but the death kiss has no magical powers. A death kiss is 90% likely to be taken for a beholder when sighted. The 10 tentacles largely retract into the body when not needed, resembling eyestalks, but can lash out to
1233-414: A different magical ability; the main eye projects an anti-magical cone, and the other eyes have different spell -like abilities (disintegrate objects, transmute flesh to stone, cause sleep, slow the motion of objects or beings, charm animals, charm humans, cause death, induce fear, levitate objects, and inflict serious wounds). Many variant beholder species exist, such as "observers", "spectators", "eyes of
1370-576: A fantasy supplement, before the game was published as Chainmail . When Dave Wesely entered the Army in 1970, his friend and fellow Napoleonics wargamer Dave Arneson began a medieval variation of Wesely's Braunstein games, where players control individuals instead of armies. Arneson used Chainmail to resolve combat. As play progressed, Arneson added such innovations as character classes, experience points, level advancement, armor class, and others. Having partnered previously with Gygax on Don't Give Up
1507-548: A fiendish pleasure in permanently wrecking a foolish opponent's psyche. An examiner is a beholder-kin that is a 4-foot-diameter sphere with no central eye and only four small eyes, each at the end of an antenna, mounted atop the sphere. They have one small, lamprey-like mouth on their ventral surface. The mouth is surrounded by four multi-jointed limbs ending in gripper pads. An examiner's true strength lies in their talent with manipulating objects both mundane and magical, and their ability to wield magical items. Most examiners maintain
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#17327810677511644-433: A full 20-foot stretch with blinding speed. Directors have a fanged mouth below the central eye and possesses three clawed, sensory tendrils on their ventral surface. These tendrils are used to cling to the mount and link with its limited mind. A director is often found dwelling in a beholder community led by a hive mother or an overseer. A director uses three clawed tentacles to bond with monstrous vermin mounts. Directors are
1781-404: A grid map as a visual aid if desired, particularly during combat. Some editions of the game presume such usage. Many optional accessories are available to enhance the game, such as expansion rulebooks, pre-designed adventures, and various campaign settings . Before the game begins, each player creates their player character and records the details (described below) on a character sheet. First,
1918-428: A healthy seller for TSR. In the 1980s, the rules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and "basic" Dungeons & Dragons remained separate, each developing along different paths. In 1981, the basic version of Dungeons & Dragons was revised by Tom Moldvay to make it even more novice-friendly. It was promoted as a continuation of the original D&D tone, whereas AD&D was promoted as an advancement of
2055-544: A large number of variations in the beholder race with some sub-races having smooth hides and others chitinous plates. Other noticeable differences include snakelike eyestalks or crustacean like eyestalk joints. Some variations seem minor such as variations in the size of the central eye or differences in skin colour. Each beholder nation believes itself to be the true beholder race and sees other beholders as ugly copies that must be destroyed. Lone beholders in wildspace are often refugees who have survived an attack that exterminated
2192-408: A lock, are determined by rolling dice. Different polyhedral dice are used for different actions. For example, a twenty-sided die is used to determine whether a hit is made in combat, with other dice such as four, six, eight, ten, or even twelve-sided die used to determine how much damage was dealt. Factors contributing to the outcome include the character's ability scores, skills, and the difficulty of
2329-603: A loose-leaf binder that was subsequently replaced by the hardcover Monstrous Manual in 1993. In 1995, the core rulebooks were slightly revised, although still referred to by TSR as the 2nd Edition, and a series of Player's Option manuals were released as optional rulebooks. The release of AD&D 2nd Edition deliberately excluded some aspects of the game that had attracted negative publicity. References to demons and devils, sexually suggestive artwork, and playable, evil-aligned character types – such as assassins and half-orcs – were removed. The edition moved away from
2466-418: A measure of a character's vitality and health and are determined by the class, level and Constitution of each character. They can be temporarily lost when a character sustains wounds in combat or otherwise comes to harm, and loss of HP is the most common way for a character to die in the game. Death can also result from the loss of key ability scores or character levels. When a PC dies, it is often possible for
2603-522: A more general audience of college and high school students. Roughly 1,000 copies of the game were sold in the first year, followed by 3,000 in 1975, and many more in the following years. This first set went through many printings and was supplemented with several official additions, such as the original Greyhawk and Blackmoor supplements (both 1975), as well as magazine articles in TSR's official publications and many fanzines . In early 1977, TSR created
2740-558: A near-bankrupt TSR was purchased by Wizards of the Coast . Following three years of development, Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition was released in 2000. The new release folded the Basic and Advanced lines back into a single unified game. It was the largest revision of the D&;D rules to date and served as the basis for a multi-genre role-playing system designed around 20-sided dice, called
2877-475: A one large central eye and large mouth filled with pointed teeth. The skin of the creature is virtually identical in appearance and consistency to rock. Astereaters speak the language of beholders and the common tongue. The Death Kiss, or "bleeder", is a fearsome predator found in caverns or ruins. Its spherical body resembles that of the dreaded beholder, but the "eyestalks" of this creature are bloodsucking tentacles, its "eyes" are hook-toothed orifices. They favor
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#17327810677513014-408: A party of heroes is unparalleled... until they fight a true beholder, that is." The Envoyer magazine called the beholder a terrible beast, properly shown as such in the 3rd edition Monster Manual , in contrast to earlier depictions where it rather looked like "a cuddly rosy ball with too many eyes". Richard W. Forest commented in "The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters" that
3151-467: A player determines their character's ability scores , which consist of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each edition of the game has offered differing methods of determining these scores. The player then chooses a species (such as a dwarf, elf, or human – called "race" prior to 5e 2024), a character class (such as a fighter, rogue, or wizard), an alignment (a moral and ethical outlook), and other features to round out
3288-454: A powerful Daelkyr who is also known as the Lord of Eyes. Others claim the beholders are the eyes of Xoriat itself—that while they serve the daelkyr, they are conduits to a power even greater and more terrible than the shapers of flesh. Information about beholder variations and related creatures has been made available in Dungeons & Dragons publications. The powerful eyes of observers are
3425-716: A response which walked back several changes to the OGL; this response did not contain the updated OGL. The Motley Fool highlighted that "Hasbro pulled an abrupt volte-face and had its subsidiary D&D Beyond publish a mea culpa on its website". On January 27, 2023, following feedback received during the open comment period for the draft OGL1.2, Wizards of the Coast announced that the System Reference Document 5.1 (SRD 5.1) would be released under an irrevocable Creative Commons license ( CC BY 4.0 ) effective immediately and Wizards would no longer pursue deauthorizing
3562-464: A series of meetings to complete a single adventure , and longer into a series of related gaming adventures, called a " campaign ". The results of the party's choices and the overall storyline for the game are determined by the DM according to the rules of the game and the DM's interpretation of those rules. The DM selects and describes the various non-player characters (NPCs) that the party encounters,
3699-634: A social, warrior-beholder, and breed specialized mounts. They mindlink with their mounts to better control them. Overseers are covered with a fungus which changes color as the overseers desire, commonly mottled green, gray, and brown. The powers of their 13 eyes are as follows: (all magical effects are cast at 14th level) Cone of Cold, Dispel Magic, Paralysis, Chain Lightning, Telekinesis 250 lb weight, Emotion, Mass Charm, Domination, Mass Suggestion, Major Creation, Spell Turning, Serten's Spell Immunity, Temporal Stasis. A reviewer for Arcane magazine described
3836-417: A task such as picking a lock, deactivating a trap, or pushing a boulder, a Difficulty Class must be hit or exceeded. Relevant ability bonuses are added to help players succeed. As the game is played, each PC changes over time and generally increases in capability. Characters gain (or sometimes lose) experience, skills and wealth, and may even alter their alignment or gain additional character classes, which
3973-653: A theme of 1960s and 1970s " sword and sorcery " fantasy fiction to a mixture of medieval history and mythology. The rules underwent minor changes, including the addition of non-weapon proficiencies – skill-like abilities that appear in first edition supplements. The game's magic spells are divided into schools and spheres. A major difference was the promotion of various game settings beyond that of traditional fantasy. This included blending fantasy with other genres, such as horror (Ravenloft), science fiction (Spelljammer), and apocalyptic (Dark Sun), as well as alternative historical and non-European mythological settings. In 1997,
4110-568: A unique blending of these elements. The world of D&D was influenced by world mythology, history, pulp fiction , and contemporary fantasy novels, as listed by Gygax in the Appendix N of the original Dungeon Master's Guide . The importance of Tolkien's works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as an influence on D&D is controversial. The presence in the game of halflings , elves , half-elves , dwarves , orcs , rangers , and
4247-426: A unique format in the form of Monstrous Compendiums of loose sheets that could be collected in a folder, and allowed the combination of monster books together with individual monster pages from boxed sets. This "unruly" format was abandoned again in 1993 in favor of bound books. In parallel with this change, the 2nd edition introduced colored images for each monster, which became standard in later editions of
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4384-458: A violent intra-species war with others of their kind who differ even slightly in appearance. This intense hatred of other beholders is not universal; the most prominent exceptions are Hive Mothers, who use their powers of mind control to form hives with other beholders and beholder-kin. Beholder communities in the Underdark often, when provoked, wage war on any and all nearby settlements, finding
4521-494: Is "part of Wizards' plans to apply more resources to the digital side of D&D" following the purchase of D&D Beyond by Hasbro earlier in the year. Wizards of the Coast CEO Cynthia Williams and Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, at a December 2022 Hasbro investor-focused web seminar, called the Dungeons & Dragons brand "under monetized". They highlighted the high engagement of fans with the brand, however,
4658-404: Is a compound eye and a ring of six eye spots that make it difficult to surprise a watcher. A large tentacle with a barbed prehensile pad extends from the ventral surface, right behind the small mouth with its rasp-like tongue. Watchers feed on carrion and stunned prey. They are information gatherers and are the least brave of all the eye tyrant races. Each of a watcher's main eyes has two powers, and
4795-487: Is a structured yet open-ended role-playing game. It is normally played indoors with the participants seated around a tabletop. Typically, one player takes on the role of Dungeon Master (DM) while the others each control a single character, representing an individual in a fictional setting. When working together as a group, the player characters (PCs) are often described as a " party " of adventurers, with each member often having their own area of specialty that contributes to
4932-486: Is called "Multiclassing" . The key way characters progress is by earning experience points (XP), which happens when they defeat an enemy or accomplish a difficult task. Acquiring enough XP allows a PC to advance a level , which grants the character improved class features, abilities and skills. XP can be lost in some circumstances, such as encounters with creatures that drain life energy, or by use of certain magical powers that come with an XP cost. Hit points (HP) are
5069-542: Is credited with increasing the market share of d20 products and leading to a "boom in the RPG industry in the early 2000s". With the release of the 4th Edition , Wizards of the Coast introduced its Game System License , which represented a significant restriction compared to the very open policies embodied by the OGL. In part as a response to this, some publishers (such as Paizo Publishing with its Pathfinder Roleplaying Game ) who previously produced materials in support of
5206-599: Is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The beholder was featured on an AD&D Trading Card (1991). The book I, Tyrant (1996), and the Monstrous Arcana module series that accompanies it, develops the beholder further. I, Tyrant is a supplement focused on beholders, and builds on the known information about beholders by expanding on elements such as their history, religion, culture, habitations and behavior. Based on Tom Wham 's depiction in
5343-469: Is that of menial labor, and they are treated as semi-mindless drones. Few lensmen ever strive above this lot, and advanced lensmen are rare. Similar to a beholder a lensman's eye has power. They are able to fire off an eye ray from their single eye. Their eye can have one of the six following powers (although some come in pairs of effects): Remove Fear, Scare, and Rage, Cure Moderate Wounds, Dispel Magic, Tongues, Minor Image, Resist Energy. A watcher appears as
5480-454: Is the FRP game played most often in most places." In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames , game designer Jon Freeman asked, "What can be said about a phenomenon? Aside from Tactics II and possibly PanzerBlitz (the first modern tactical wargame), this is the most significant war game since H.G. Wells ." However, Freeman did have significant issues with the game, pointing out, "On
5617-598: Is the title of the thieves guild leader, passed from one to the next.) Beholders also compete to control the Underdark from where most of them originate, with their base of power in the City of the Eye Tyrants, Ootul . According to Ken Rolston , the beholder and the mind flayer "win starring roles as intergalactic menaces" in Spelljammer , and notes that the beholders, "with their abundant magical powers, are perhaps
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5754-622: The Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia . With the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition, the beholder appeared in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a hateful, aggressive, avaricious spherical monster that is most frequently found underground. Ed Greenwood and Roger E. Moore authored "The Ecology of the Beholder", which featured in Dragon #76 (August 1983). Second edition supplements to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons , especially those of
5891-513: The One D&;D initiative which includes a public playtest of the next version of Dungeons & Dragons and an upcoming virtual tabletop simulator with 3D environments developed using Unreal Engine . Revised editions of the Player's Handbook , Monster Manual , and Dungeon Master's Guide are scheduled to be released in 2024. In April 2022, Hasbro announced that Wizards would acquire
6028-792: The Spelljammer campaign setting , added further details about these classic creatures' societies and culture. Beholders feature prominently in the Spelljammer setting, and a number of variants and related creatures are introduced in the Spelljammer: AD&;D Adventures in Space campaign set, in the Lorebook of the Void booklet (1989). It also appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and
6165-679: The Beholder , and Gary Gygax detailed it for publication. The beholder was introduced with the first Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Greyhawk (1975), and is depicted on its cover (as shown in the section below). It is described as a "Sphere of Many Eyes" or "Eye Tyrant", a levitating globe with ten magical eye stalks. The beholder later appears in the Companion Rules set, in the Dungeon Masters Companion: Book Two (1984). In 1991, it appeared in
6302-449: The D&D product line, decided to continue supporting the 3rd Edition rules, thereby competing directly with Wizards of the Coast. Others, such as Kenzer & Company , returned to the practice of publishing unlicensed supplements and arguing that copyright law does not allow Wizards of the Coast to restrict third-party usage. During the 2000s, there has been a trend towards reviving and recreating older editions of D&D , known as
6439-650: The D&D Beyond digital toolset and game companion from Fandom ; the official transfer to Wizards occurred in May 2022. At the Hasbro Investor Event in October 2022, it was announced that Dan Rawson, former COO of Microsoft Dynamics 365 , was appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President for the Dungeons & Dragons brand; Rawson will act as the new head of the franchise. Chase Carter of Dicebreaker highlighted that Rawson's role
6576-556: The Los Angeles Times , wrote, "players and scholars attribute the game's resurgent popularity not only to the longueurs of the pandemic, but also to its reemergence in pop culture—on the Netflix series Stranger Things , whose main characters play D&D in a basement; on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory ; or via the host of celebrities who display their love for the game online". Following an apology issued by Wizards of
6713-1203: The Maztica setting by Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach contained three new fictional creatures. ISBN 1-56076-139-3 The Forgotten Realms Menzoberranzan boxed set included 7 pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format, bound into the first book of the set (The City) on pages 88–94. ISBN 1-56076-460-0 The Forgotten Realms The Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-569-0 The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2nd edition) boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1560766174 The Forgotten Realms City of Splendors boxed set included unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-868-1 The Forgotten Realms campaign expansion Powers & Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd contained next to
6850-481: The Old School Revival . This, in turn, inspired the creation of "retro-clones" , games that more closely recreate the original rule sets, using material placed under the OGL along with non-copyrightable mechanical aspects of the older rules to create a new presentation of the games. Alongside the publication of the 5th Edition, Wizards of the Coast established a two-pronged licensing approach. The core of
6987-438: The d20 System . The 3rd Edition rules were designed to be internally consistent and less restrictive than previous editions of the game, allowing players more flexibility to create the characters they wanted to play. Skills and feats were introduced into the core rules to encourage further customization of characters. The new rules standardized the mechanics of action resolution and combat. In 2003, Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5
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#17327810677517124-576: The "core rulebooks", were released: the Player's Handbook (PHB), the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and the Monster Manual (MM). Several supplementary books were published throughout the 1980s, notably Unearthed Arcana (1985), which included a large number of new rules. Confusing matters further, the original D&D boxed set remained in publication until 1979, since it remained
7261-618: The "orbus" (plural "orbii") race of beholders, who are stunted, albino, and very weak in combat. In the Eberron campaign setting, beholders served as living artillery during the Daelkyr incursion, using the terrible power of their eyes to shatter whole goblin armies. Beholders do not reproduce naturally and have not created a culture of their own—they are simply the immortal servants of the daelkyr. Most continue to serve their masters, commanding subterranean outposts of aberrations or serving as
7398-460: The 2024 core books are, uh, 'solid', according to the CEO, it's evident that Hasbro holds little faith in analog games clotting the money bleed elsewhere in the company's structure". Early in the game's history, TSR took no action against small publishers' production of D&D compatible material and even licensed Judges Guild to produce D&D materials for several years, such as City State of
7535-514: The 25 mm scale. Periodically, Dungeons & Dragons has returned to its wargaming roots with supplementary rules systems for miniatures-based wargaming. Supplements such as Battlesystem (1985 and 1989) and a new edition of Chainmail (2001) provided rule systems to handle battles between armies by using miniatures. An immediate predecessor of Dungeons & Dragons was a set of medieval miniature rules written by Jeff Perren . These were expanded by Gary Gygax , whose additions included
7672-478: The 2nd edition also introduced a great number of new creatures. Some types, such as devils and demons , were initially removed by TSR in response to a moral panic promoted by Patricia Pulling 's advocacy group Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons (BADD). These were later reintroduced, sometimes with different names to avoid complaints. This appendix to the Monstrous Compendium series
7809-569: The 5th Edition rules have been made available under the OGL, while publishers and independent creators have also been given the opportunity to create licensed materials directly for Dungeons & Dragons and associated properties like the Forgotten Realms under a program called the DM's Guild . The DM's Guild does not function under the OGL, but uses a community agreement intended to foster liberal cooperation among content creators. Wizards of
7946-446: The 5th edition Monster Manual (2014). Additionally, a zombie beholder also appears under the zombies section later in the book. Volo's Guide to Monsters (2016) provides more detail on beholder culture and contains stats for the death kiss , gauth and gazer beholder-kin. The half-illithid mindwitness also makes an appearance in this book. The book Xanathar's Guide to Everything (2017) contains various notes written from
8083-499: The Beholder's spelljamming ship and Jeff Grubb decided to keep them all and used xenophobia to explain the differences in design style. The third edition of Dungeons & Dragons included the Beholder in the Monster Manual (2000) with the expanded monster statistics of this release. Beholder variants appear in Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn (2001). Epic Level Handbook (2002) introduces
8220-451: The Coast claims as Product Identity and as such was not released under its Open Game License . Beholders have been used on the cover of different Dungeons & Dragons handbooks, including the fifth edition Monster Manual . Unlike many other Dungeons & Dragons monsters, the beholder is an original creation for D&D , as it is not based on a creature from mythology or other fiction. Rob Kuntz 's brother Terry Kuntz created
8357-545: The Coast , later a subsidiary of Hasbro , since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames , with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D 's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, which also deeply influenced video games , especially the role-playing video game genre. D&D departs from traditional wargaming by allowing each player to create their own character to play instead of
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#17327810677518494-522: The Coast , not licensed or unlicensed third-party products such as video games or unlicensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition manuals. The second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game featured both a higher number of books of monsters – "many tied to their growing stable of campaign worlds" - and more extensive monster descriptions than both earlier and later editions, with usually one page in length. Next to
8631-507: The Coast announced that it was working on a 5th edition of the game. The company planned to take suggestions from players and let them playtest the rules. Public playtesting began on May 24, 2012. At Gen Con 2012 in August, Mike Mearls , lead developer for 5th Edition, said that Wizards of the Coast had received feedback from more than 75,000 playtesters, but that the entire development process would take two years, adding, "I can't emphasize this enough ... we're very serious about taking
8768-738: The Coast for offensive and racist material included in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space and the announced revisions to the product in September 2022, Christopher Perkins – Wizards' game design architect – announced a new inclusion review process for the Dungeons & Dragons studio in November 2022. This process will now require "every word, illustration, and map" to be reviewed at several steps in development "by multiple outside cultural consultants prior to publication". The previous process only included cultural consultants at
8905-636: The Coast has started to release 5th Edition products that tie into other intellectual properties—such as Magic: The Gathering with the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (2018) and Mythic Odysseys of Theros (2020) source books. Two 5th Edition starter box sets based on TV shows, Stranger Things and Rick and Morty , were released in 2019. Source books based on Dungeons & Dragons live play series have also been released: Acquisitions Incorporated (2019) and Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020). Between November and December 2022, there
9042-565: The Content Marketing Institute's 2019 award for best "In-Person (Event) Content Marketing Strategy". Dungeons & Dragons continued to have a strong presence on Twitch throughout 2019; this included a growing number of celebrity players and dungeon masters, such as Joe Manganiello , Deborah Ann Woll and Stephen Colbert . Wizards of the Coast has created, produced and sponsored multiple web series featuring Dungeons & Dragons . These shows have typically aired on
9179-514: The Gibbering Orb, a purported common ancestor of the beholder and gibbering mouther . The beholder appears in the revised Monster Manual for the 3.5 edition (2003). The mindwitness was a sample creature of the half-illithid template using a beholder as the base creature, featured on Wizards of the Coast's website on August 14, 2003. The beholder receives its own chapter in the book Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations (2005). With
9316-580: The Invincible Overlord . This attitude changed in the mid-1980s when TSR took legal action to try to prevent others from publishing compatible material. This angered many fans and led to resentment by the other gaming companies. Although TSR took legal action against several publishers in an attempt to restrict third-party usage, it never brought any court cases to completion, instead settling out of court in every instance. TSR itself ran afoul of intellectual property law in several cases. With
9453-543: The OGL1.0a. Eric Goldberg reviewed Dungeons & Dragons in Ares Magazine #1 (March 1980), rating it a 6 out of 9, and commented that " Dungeons and Dragons is an impressive achievement based on the concept alone, and also must be credited with cementing the marriage between the fantasy genre and gaming." Eric Goldberg again reviewed Dungeons & Dragons in Ares Magazine #3 and commented that " D&D
9590-521: The Ship! , Arneson introduced Gygax to his Blackmoor game and the two then collaborated on developing "The Fantasy Game", the game that became Dungeons & Dragons , with the final writing and preparation of the text being done by Gygax. The name was chosen by Gygax's two-year-old daughter Cindy; upon being presented with a number of choices of possible names, she exclaimed, "Oh Daddy, I like Dungeons & Dragons best!", although less prevalent versions of
9727-569: The age range of 25–34 and 26% of players are aged 35+. In January 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported that according to Liz Schuh, head of publishing and licensing for Dungeons & Dragons, "revenue was up 35% in 2020 compared with 2019, the seventh consecutive year of growth," and in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , "virtual play rose 86% [...] aided by online platforms such as Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds ". Sarah Parvini, for
9864-482: The basic game includes many rules and concepts which contradicted comparable ones in AD&;D . John Eric Holmes , the editor of the basic game, preferred a lighter tone with more room for personal improvisation. AD&D , on the other hand, was designed to create a tighter, more structured game system than the loose framework of the original game. Between 1977 and 1979, three hardcover rulebooks, commonly referred to as
10001-400: The beholder was designed to counter magic-using characters while being a formidable opponent for a whole party due to its versatility. The beholder was considered one of the "game's signature monsters" by Philip J. Clements, while Backstab reviewer Philippe Tessier called it a "classic of D&D ". Witwer et al. considered the beholder "iconic", "the brand's signature beast" and "one of
10138-711: The beholder: "11 eyes, paranoid, xenophobic, having a taste for live animals and being deadly with magic." Artist Chris Hagerty called the beholder a "creature that looks at you and is destroying you by the power of its magical eyes". Wizard magazine's top 100 greatest villains ever list selected the beholder as the 99th-greatest villain. Rob Bricken from io9 named the beholder as the most memorable D&D monster. SyFy Wire in 2018 called it one of "The 9 Scariest, Most Unforgettable Monsters From Dungeons & Dragons", saying that "Beholders are an iconic Dungeons & Dragons monster and one you don't want to come face to eyestalk with if you can help it." The beholder (gauth)
10275-530: The best-known, and best-selling, role-playing game in the US, with an estimated 20 million people having played the game and more than US$ 1 billion in book and equipment sales worldwide. The year 2017 had "the most number of players in its history—12 million to 15 million in North America alone". D&D 5th edition sales "were up 41 percent in 2017 from the year before, and soared another 52 percent in 2018,
10412-409: The character's abilities and backstory, which have varied in nature through differing editions. During the game, players describe their PCs' intended actions to the DM, who then describes the result or response. Trivial actions, such as picking up a letter or opening an unlocked door, are usually automatically successful. The outcomes of more complex or risky actions, such as scaling a cliff or picking
10549-412: The compound eye on top may draw on three different abilities. The six eye spots have no special powers. Main eyes: True Seeing and ESP, Advanced Illusion and Demi-Shadow Magic, Telekinesis 1,000 lb and Teleport. Compound Eye: Message, Tongues, and Suggestion. The astereater has none of the intelligence or magical abilities of the beholders. In appearance, the astereater resembles a large round boulder with
10686-516: The continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of the factors that made Ravenloft a very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. Monstrous Compendium Annuals collected and updated monsters published in a variety of sources. Creatures listed under the heading of earlier publications are not repeated here. This section lists fictional creatures for AD&D 2nd Edition from various sources not explicitly dedicated to presenting monsters. Primarily, these are
10823-514: The continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of the factors that made Ravenloft a very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. The Mystara campaign setting began as the "Known World" in the D&D Basic and Expert rules, and as a result many of the entries below originated in the D&;D Basic, Expert, Companion or Masters rulebooks, and the modules associated with them. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named
10960-410: The dead character to be resurrected through magic, although some penalties may be imposed as a result. If resurrection is not possible or not desired, the player may instead create a new PC to resume playing the game. A typical Dungeons & Dragons game consists of an "adventure", which is roughly equivalent to a single story or quest. The DM can either design an original adventure or follow one of
11097-587: The deep", "elder orbs", "hive mothers", and "death tyrants". In addition, some rare beholders can use their eyes for non-standard spell-like abilities; these mutant beholders are often killed or exiled by their peers. Beholders wishing to cast spells like ordinary wizards relinquish the traditional use of their eyestalks, and put out their central anti-magic eye, making these beholder mages immediate outcasts. In 4th edition, different breeds of beholders have different magic abilities. Beholder Eyes of Flame only have Fear , Fire , and Telekinesis Rays ; Eyes of Frost are
11234-616: The description of many deities also new creatures. ISBN 0-7869-0657-X The Dragonlance adventure Dragon's Rest by Rick Swan contained three new fictional creatures. ISBN 0-88038-869-2 The Dragonlance adventure Wild Elves by Scott Bennie contained six new fictional creatures. ISBN 1-56076-140-7 The Dragonlance game accessory Taladas: The Minotaurs by Colin McComb contained several new creatures. ISBN 1-56076-150-4 The Dragonlance adventure Flint's Axe by Tim Beach contained
11371-421: The details from a leaked full copy of the OGL 1.1 including updated terms such as no longer authorizing use of the OGL1.0. Codega highlighted that "if the original license is in fact no longer viable, every single licensed publisher will be affected by the new agreement. [...] The main takeaway from the leaked OGL 1.1 draft document is that WotC is keeping power close at hand". A week after the leak, Wizards issued
11508-415: The different editions. The original Dungeons & Dragons , now referred to as OD&D , is a small box set of three booklets published in 1974. With a very limited production budget of only $ 2000—with only $ 100 budgeted for artwork —it is amateurish in production and assumes the player is familiar with wargaming. Nevertheless, it grew rapidly in popularity, first among wargamers and then expanding to
11645-437: The discretion of the product lead for a project. All products being reprinted will also go through this new review process and be updated as needed. In September 2021, it was announced that a backwards compatible "evolution" of 5th edition would be released in 2024 to mark the 50th anniversary of the game. In August 2022, Wizards announced that the next phase of major changes for Dungeons & Dragons would occur under
11782-524: The edition numbering from AD&D ; a revised version 3.5 was released in June 2003. These 3rd edition rules formed the basis of the d20 System , which is available under the Open Game License (OGL) for use by other publishers. D&D 4th edition was released in June 2008. The 5th edition of D&D , the most recent, was released during the second half of 2014. In 2004, D&D remained
11919-517: The equivalent of a true seeing spell, except that the monster can't determine alignment by sight. This means they can't be deceived by illusions or invisibility. Observers are also powerful psionicists, in possession of potent telepathic and psychokinetic abilities. An observer usually relies on its magical abilities first, but should those fail or a subtler means of attack be required, it'll fall back on mental attacks. Observers enjoy experimenting with telepathic attacks against nonpsionic creatures and take
12056-422: The factors that made Ravenloft a very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. This appendix to the Monstrous Compendium series updated and reprinted creatures from the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Fiend Folio published in 1981. It contained 64 unnumbered loose leaf pages and 4 pages of illustrations on heavier card stock. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named
12193-421: The first edition Monster Manual , TSR artist Keith Parkinson characterized its popular appearance with plate-like armored scales and arthropod-like eyestalks. Jeff Grubb cites Keith Parkinson's artwork as the inspiration for the beholder-kin created for the Spelljammer campaign setting. The Beholder's xenophobia towards other subraces of Beholders was added after Jim Holloway submitted multiple designs for
12330-419: The first element of a two-pronged strategy that would divide D&D for nearly two decades. A Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed edition was introduced that cleaned up the presentation of the essential rules, makes the system understandable to the general public, and was sold in a package that could be stocked in toy stores. Later in 1977, the first part of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ( AD&D )
12467-415: The game by giving "the busy gamer the chance to play D&D once a week as their schedules allow. In the past, D&D games could take months, even years, and players generally had to attend every session so that the story flow wasn't interrupted. With Encounters , players can come and go as they choose and new players can easily be integrated into the story continuity". On January 9, 2012, Wizards of
12604-621: The game had been played by more than 20 million people. As many as six million people played the game in 2007. David M. Ewalt , in his book Of Dice and Men (2013), praised that the game allows for a personal fantastical experience and stated that "even though it's make-believe, the catharsis is real." Gibbering mouther This is a list of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd-edition monsters , an important element of that role-playing game . This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, Inc. or Wizards of
12741-613: The game have been inspired by hundreds of individual works such as A. E. van Vogt's "Black Destroyer", Coeurl (the Displacer Beast ), Lewis Carroll 's " Jabberwocky " ( vorpal sword) and the Book of Genesis (the clerical spell 'Blade Barrier' was inspired by the " flaming sword which turned every way" at the gates of Eden ). Dungeons & Dragons has gone through several revisions. Parallel versions and inconsistent naming practices can make it difficult to distinguish between
12878-564: The game's biggest sales year yet". The game has been supplemented by many premade adventures , as well as commercial campaign settings suitable for use by regular gaming groups. D&D is known beyond the game itself for other D&D -branded products , references in popular culture , and some of the controversies that have surrounded it , particularly a moral panic in the 1980s that attempted to associate it with Satanism and suicide. The game has won multiple awards and has been translated into many languages. Dungeons & Dragons
13015-410: The game. Referencing Wizards of the Coast art director Dawn Murin, GameSpy author Allan Rausch found that until the 2nd edition the artwork depicting monsters was influenced by the popular culture of the late 1970s. As a result, creatures that were fearsome by description were not taken seriously due to ill-suited visuals. Likewise, humanoid monsters too closely resembled humans to be compelling. In
13152-522: The hidden leaders of various Cults of the Dragon Below. Others lead solitary lives, contemplating mysteries or studying the world. Such lone beholders may manipulate humanoid communities, but their actions are rarely driven by a desire for personal power. Members of the Cults of the Dragon Below believe that these creatures function as the eyes of a greater power. Some insist that they serve Belashyrra,
13289-440: The launch of Dungeons & Dragons' s 3rd Edition , Wizards of the Coast made the d20 System available under the Open Game License (OGL) and d20 System trademark license . Under these licenses, authors were free to use the d20 System when writing games and game supplements. The OGL has allowed a wide range of unofficial commercial derivative work based on the mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons to be produced since 2000; it
13426-475: The like, as well as the convention of diverse adventurers forming a group, draw comparisons to these works. The resemblance was even closer before the threat of copyright action from Tolkien Enterprises prompted the name changes of hobbit to 'halfling', ent to ' treant ', and balrog to ' balor '. For many years, Gygax played down the influence of Tolkien on the development of the game. However, in an interview in 2000, he acknowledged that Tolkien's work had
13563-555: The majority of spending is by Dungeon Masters who are only roughly 20% of the player base. Williams commented that the increased investment in digital will "unlock the type of recurrent spending you see in digital games". At the July 2024 Hasbro investor meeting, Cocks stated "that digital revenue on D&D Beyond 'accounts for over half' of" the total earnings from Dungeons & Dragons . Carter, now for Rascal , commented that "we know physical books sell poorly, and even if pre-orders for
13700-452: The many premade adventures (also known as "modules") that have been published throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons . Published adventures typically include a background story, illustrations, maps, and goals for players to achieve. Some may include location descriptions and handouts, although they are not required for gameplay. Although a small adventure entitled " Temple of the Frog "
13837-415: The market leader in the role-playing game industry. In 1977, the game was split into two branches: the relatively rules-light game system of basic Dungeons & Dragons , and the more structured, rules-heavy game system of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as AD&D ). AD&D 2nd Edition was published in 1989. In 2000, a new system was released as D&D 3rd edition, continuing
13974-465: The mechanics. An accompanying Expert Set , originally written by David "Zeb" Cook , allows players to continue using the simpler ruleset beyond the early levels of play. In 1983, revisions of those sets by Frank Mentzer were released, revising the presentation of the rules to a more tutorial format. These were followed by Companion (1983), Master (1985), and Immortals (1986) sets. Each set covers game play for more powerful characters than
14111-480: The most feared and fearsome monsters of the game". Beholders have appeared in many D&D-related or licensed products including : Dungeons %26 Dragons Dungeons & Dragons (commonly abbreviated as D&D or DnD ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson . The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of
14248-447: The most formidable warrior race of the universe, but fortunately they are too busy slaughtering one another to present a big threat to other spacefaring races". Beholders in the Spelljammer campaign are common antagonists, like the deadly neogi and sadistic illithids . However, one thing prevents them from being the most dangerous faction in wildspace: the beholders are engaged in a xenophobic civil war of genetic purity. There are
14385-503: The most resistance from the drow and illithids . Beholders worship their insane, controlling goddess known as the Great Mother, though some also, or instead, follow her rebel offspring, Gzemnid, the beholder god of gases. Some beholder strains have mutated far from the basic beholder stock. These are aberrant beholders, of which there are numerous different types. These aberrants may have differing abilities and/or appearances but
14522-591: The official Dungeons & Dragons Twitch and YouTube channels. In 2020, Wizards of the Coast announced that Dungeons & Dragons had its 6th annual year of growth in 2019 with a "300 percent increase in sales of their introductory box sets , as well as a 65% increase on sales in Europe, a rate which has more than quadrupled since 2014". In terms of player demographics in 2019, 39% of identified as female and 61% identified as male. 40% of players are considered Gen Z (24 years old or younger), 34% of players are in
14659-407: The other hand, beginning characters are without exception dull, virtually powerless, and so fragile" which was not encouraging for "newcomers." He also called the magic system "stupid" feeling that many of the spells were "redundant" and "the effects of the majority are hopelessly vague." He found essential elements such as saving throws, hit points, and experience points "undefined or poorly explained;
14796-413: The perspective of the beholder known as Xanathar . Xanathar is also one of the possible villains adventurers can face in the adventure module Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (2018). A beholder is an aberration comprising a floating spheroid body with a large fanged mouth and single eye on the front and many flexible eyestalks on the top. It is protected by chitinous plates. A beholder's eyes each possess
14933-434: The players often seek in a dungeon. Magic items are generally found in treasure hoards, or recovered from fallen opponents; sometimes, a powerful or important magic item is the object of a quest. The game's extensive rules – which cover diverse subjects such as social interactions, magic use , combat, and the effect of the environment on PCs – help the DM to make these decisions. The DM may choose to deviate from
15070-477: The previous. The first four sets were compiled in 1991 as a single hardcover book, the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia , which was released alongside a new introductory boxed set . Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition was published in 1989, again as three core rulebooks; the primary designer was David "Zeb" Cook. The Monster Manual was replaced by the Monstrous Compendium ,
15207-401: The process, player characters earn experience points (XP) to level up, and become increasingly powerful over a series of separate gaming sessions. Players choose a class when they create their character, which gives them special perks and abilities every few levels. The early success of D&D led to a proliferation of similar game systems. Despite the competition, D&D has remained
15344-436: The published rules or make up new ones if they feel it is necessary. The most recent versions of the game's rules are detailed in three Fifth Edition core rulebooks : The Player's Handbook , the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual . The only items required to play the game are the rulebooks, a character sheet for each player, and a number of polyhedral dice . Many players also use miniature figures on
15481-491: The ratio of substance to "holes" compares unfavorably with the head of a tennis racquet." He also noted the rules were "presented in the most illiterate display of poor grammar, misspellings, and typographical errors in professional wargaming." Despite all these issues, Freeman concluded, "As it was given birth, it is fascinating but misshapen; in its best incarnations, it's perhaps the most exciting and attractive specimen alive." The game had more than three million players around
15618-472: The release of the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons , the beholder once again appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the beholder eye of flame and the beholder eye tyrant . Variants of the beholder also appear in Monster Manual 2 (2009), and Monster Manual 3 (2010). The beholder appears along with the more powerful undead death tyrant and the spectator in
15755-518: The rest of their nest or are outcasts who were expelled for having some form of mutation. The most famous lone beholder is Large Luigi, who works as a barkeeper on the Rock of Bral. Beholders use a large number of different ship designs. Some of these ships feature a piercing ram but others have no weaponry. All beholder ships allow a circuit of beholders to focus their eye stalks into a 400-yard beam of magical energy. These ships are powered and navigated by
15892-716: The same, with fire replaced by frost. The Beholder Eye Tyrant is mostly unchanged from traditional beholders, but the Death Ray causes ongoing necrotic damage rather than an instant kill, and the Disintegration Ray does not automatically kill its target. Other beholder types each have their own set of abilities. In this edition, the beholder's central eye no longer cancels out magic, instead dazing or giving some vulnerability to its victim. Beholders are extremely xenophobic . They will sometimes take members of other, non-beholder races as slaves; however, they will engage in
16029-1134: The separate sourcebooks and expansions for the Forgotten Realms, Al-Qadim and other campaign settings produced by TSR. The Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space Spelljammer campaign setting boxed set contained 11 new creatures in the standard Monstrous Compendium format, on pages 67–86 of the Lorebook of the Void . ISBN 0-88038-762-9 The Spelljammer game accessory Lost Ships , by Ed Greenwood , contained several new creatures on pages 84–96. ISBN 0-88038-831-5 The Legend of Spelljammer boxed set added four new creatures on pages 60–64 of The Grand Tour sourcebook. ISBN 1-56076-083-4 The Spelljammer game accessory Krynnspace , by Jean Rabe , contained two new creatures. ISBN 1-56076-560-7 The Forgotten Realms Ruins of Undermountain boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-061-3 The Maztica Campaign Set boxed set contained 4 new creatures in
16166-409: The settings in which these interactions occur, and the outcomes of those encounters based on the players' choices and actions. Encounters often take the form of battles with " monsters " – a generic term used in D&D to describe potentially hostile beings such as animals, aberrant beings, or mythical creatures. In addition to jewels and gold coins, magic items form part of the treasure that
16303-459: The spell-using classes by adding abilities that could be used at will, per encounter, or per day. Likewise, non-magic-using classes were provided with parallel sets of options. Software tools, including player character and monster-building programs, became a major part of the game. This edition added the D&;D Encounters program; a weekly event held at local stores designed to draw players back to
16440-491: The standard Monstrous Compendium format, on pages 59–62 of the Maztica Alive booklet. ISBN 1-56076-084-2 This 128-page softbound book provided additional details on the history, culture and society of the dark elves , and included 9 additional creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format on pages 113–127. ISBN 1-56076-132-6 The Forgotten Realms adventure Fires of Zatal for
16577-504: The story gave credit to his then wife Mary Jo. Many Dungeons & Dragons elements appear in hobbies of the mid-to-late 20th century. For example, character-based role-playing can be seen in improvisational theater . Game-world simulations were well developed in wargaming. Fantasy milieux specifically designed for gaming could be seen in Glorantha 's board games, among others. Ultimately, however, Dungeons & Dragons represents
16714-420: The success of the group as a whole. During the course of play, each player directs the actions of their character and their interactions with other characters in the game. This activity is performed through the verbal impersonation of the characters by the players, while employing a variety of social and other useful cognitive skills, such as logic, basic mathematics, and imagination. A game often continues over
16851-412: The task. In circumstances where a character is attempting to avoid a negative outcome, such as when dodging a trap or resisting the effect of a spell, a saving throw can be used to determine whether the resulting effect is reduced or avoided. In this case the odds of success are influenced by the character's class, levels and ability scores. In circumstances where a character is attempting to complete
16988-549: The time we need to get this right." The release of the 5th Edition, coinciding with D&D ' s 40th anniversary, occurred in the second half of 2014. Since the release of 5th edition, dozens of Dungeons & Dragons books have been published including new rulebooks, campaign guides and adventure modules . 2017 had "the most number of players in its history—12 million to 15 million in North America alone". Mary Pilon, for Bloomberg , reported that sales of 5th edition Dungeon & Dragons "were up 41 percent in 2017 from
17125-703: The unifying feature among beholders and the various aberrant beholders seems to be a simple, fleshy body with one or more grotesque eyes. Beholders are especially prominent in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting , where they infiltrate and seek to control many sectors of society—many beholders are allied to the Zhentarim , some work with the Red Wizards of Thay , and a particularly powerful beholder, known as "The Evil Eye" or "The Xanathar" controls Skullport 's influential Thieves Guild. ("The Xanathar"
17262-775: The use of miniatures in a fashion similar to its direct precursors. The original D&D set of 1974 required the use of the Chainmail miniatures game for combat resolution. By the publication of the 1977 game editions, combat was mostly resolved verbally. Thus, miniatures were no longer required for gameplay, although some players continued to use them as a visual reference. In the 1970s, numerous companies began to sell miniature figures specifically for Dungeons & Dragons and similar games. Licensed miniature manufacturers who produced official figures include Grenadier Miniatures (1980–1983), Citadel Miniatures (1984–1986), Ral Partha , and TSR itself. Most of these miniatures used
17399-460: The view of Rausch as well as Backstab reviewer Michaël Croitoriu, the Planescape setting marked a turning point for these shortcomings, which also had a significant impact on the presentation of the 3rd edition. The second edition's monsters were based on original inventions, fantasy literature, and mythologies from various cultures. Many monsters were updated from earlier editions, but
17536-458: The world by 1981, and copies of the rules were selling at a rate of about 750,000 per year by 1984. Beginning with a French language edition in 1982, Dungeons & Dragons has been translated into many languages beyond the original English. By 1992, the game had been translated into 14 languages and sold over 2 million copies in 44 countries worldwide. By 2004, consumers had spent more than $ 1 billion on Dungeons & Dragons products and
17673-532: The year before, and soared another 52 percent in 2018, the game's biggest sales year yet. [...] In 2017, 9 million people watched others play D&D on Twitch , immersing themselves in the world of the game without ever having to pick up a die or cast a spell". In 2018, Wizards of the Coast organized a massive live-stream event, the Stream of Many Eyes, where ten live-streamed sessions of Dungeons & Dragons were performed on Twitch over three days. This event won
17810-666: Was derived from the novel Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson . A troll described in this work influenced the D&D definition of that monster. The Labyrinth of the Greek myth of the Minotaur has been seen as an inspiration for the game's use of dungeons as monster lairs. Other influences include the works of Robert E. Howard , Edgar Rice Burroughs , A. Merritt , H. P. Lovecraft , Fritz Leiber , L. Sprague de Camp , Fletcher Pratt , Roger Zelazny , and Michael Moorcock . Monsters, spells, and magic items used in
17947-483: Was designed for use with the Spelljammer campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. The pack consisted of 64 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages, unnumbered, providing the descriptions of the fictional monsters. Also included were 4 full-page illustrations on heavier card stock. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named the continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of
18084-1064: Was included in the Blackmoor rules supplement in 1975, the first stand-alone D&D module published by TSR was 1978's Steading of the Hill Giant Chief , written by Gygax. A linked series of adventures is commonly referred to as a " campaign ". The locations where these adventures occur, such as a city, country, planet, or entire fictional universe , are referred to as " campaign settings " or "worlds." D&D settings are based in various fantasy genres and feature different levels and types of magic and technology. Popular commercially published campaign settings for Dungeons & Dragons include Greyhawk , Dragonlance , Forgotten Realms , Mystara , Spelljammer , Ravenloft , Dark Sun , Planescape , Birthright , and Eberron . In addition to first-party campaigns and modules, two campaigns based on popular culture have been created. The first, based on Stranger Things ,
18221-479: Was published, which brought together the various published rules, options and corrections, then expanded them into a definitive, unified game for hobbyist gamers. TSR marketed them as an introductory game for new players and a more complex game for experienced ones; the Basic Set directed players who exhausted the possibilities of that game to switch to the advanced rules. As a result of this parallel development,
18358-403: Was ranked sixth among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies . The authors described the true beholder as an iconic creature of the game, "What could be more fantastic than a giant floating eyeball with little eye stalks sticking out, all of which shoot magic rays?" Of the gauth, the authors say "its ability to inflict a bewildering variety of damage on
18495-403: Was released as a revision of the 3rd Edition rules. This release incorporated hundreds of rule changes, mostly minor, and expanded the core rulebooks. In early 2005, Wizards of the Coast's R&D team started to develop Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, prompted mainly by the feedback obtained from the D&D playing community and a desire to make the game faster, more intuitive, and with
18632-509: Was released in May 2019. A campaign based on the Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons and Dragons comic book series was later released in November 2019. Alternatively, DMs may develop their own fictional worlds to use as campaign settings, either planning the adventure ahead or expanding on it as the players progress. The wargames from which Dungeons & Dragons evolved used miniature figures to represent combatants. D&D initially continued
18769-658: Was reported speculation that Wizards was planning on discontinuing the OGL for Dungeons & Dragons based on unconfirmed leaks. In response to the speculation, Wizards stated in November 2022: "We will continue to support the thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in 2024." Limited details on the update to the OGL, including the addition of revenue reporting and required royalties, were released by Wizards in December 2022. Linda Codega, for Io9 in January 2023, reported on
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