Gazer

D&D 2024 monster: Gazer. Source: Volo's Guide to Monsters. challenge rating 1/2, creature type Aberration, Tiny size, speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover) A gazer is a tiny manifestation of a beholder's dreams. It resembles the beholder who dreamed it into existence, but its body is only 8 inches wide, and it has only four eyestalks. It follows its creator like a devoted, aggressive puppy, and sometimes small packs of these creatures patrol their master's lair for vermin to kill and lone creatures to harass. I met a wizard in the Yawning Portal tavern who had a tiny beholder pet. A gazer, she called it. When I reached to pet it, the creature struck me with one of its eye beams and flung me back against a wall with such force that I almost spilled my ale. Nuisance Pet A gazer can't speak any languages but can approximate mimicking words and sentences in a high-pitched, mocking manner. Beholders find gazers amusing and tolerate their presence like spoiled pets. A gazer can't be tamed by anyone but its creator, except through the use of magic or by bonding with a spellcaster (see sidebar). Some beholders with wizard minions insist they take a gazer as a familiar because they can see through the eyes of these creatures. Aggressive Vermin-Eater A wild gazer (one living separately from a beholder) is territorial, eats bugs and small animals, and is known for playing with its food. A lone gazer avoids picking fights with creatures that are Medium or larger, but a pack of them might take on larger prey. A gazer might follow humanoids in its territory, noisily mimicking their speech and generally being a nuisance, until they leave the area, but it flees if confronted by something it can't kill. Variant: Gazer Familiar Spellcasters who are interested in unusual familiars find that gazers are eager to serve someone who has magical power, especially those who make a point of bullying and harassing others. The gazer behaves aggressively toward creatures smaller than itself, and it...