Hive Mother

The Hive Mother is a very rare, high-powered subrace of Beholder that is able to magically hold dominion over other types of beholders, including Death Tyrants. Twice as large as a standard beholder, they are highly intelligent, fanatical creatures that are capable of delivering devastating magical attacks with their "Hive Mother" Beholder Eye Rays. And just like Elder Orbs, a hive mother is also capable of learning and casting spells.
==Locations==
===Watcher's Keep===
*Final Seal
**a hive mother along with an Elder Orb and a Death Tyrant are spawned as part of the fourth Green Globe scenario.
**a second hive mother and five other very nasty guardian creatures will spawn when the Heart Key is inserted into the heart key pedestal.
===Sendai's Lair===
*Area outside Sendai's Hideout
**a hidden ambush trap will spawn a hive mother, two Drow and two Umber Hulk Elders.
*Holding Chambers
**a hive mother along with an Abishai, a Demon Knight, a Vampire and the drow priestess Diaytha are located in the northwestern holding chamber. 
==Abilities==
A hive mother uses nine different potent magical eye ray attacks, the most notable being the "Hive Mother" versions of the Anti-Magic Ray, the Cause Serious Wounds Ray and the Disintegrate Ray. They are also able to cast ten different wizard spells and one priest spell.
Hive mothers have the most hit points of any type of beholder and have 75% resistance to all magical effects and 50% resistance to all melee and ranged attacks. This creature can detect invisibility, is capable of uninterrupted Free Action ability, and like all beholders, is immune to backstab attacks.
When engaged in battle, hive mothers will utilize their eye rays and wizard/priest spells in the following manner:
===Eye Rays:===
*See party member w/ reflect magic effects: — Cause Serious Wounds Ray
*See least damaged party member w/ reflect magic effects: — Death Ray
*See nearest enemy or Mage or Cleric class seen or party member w/ reflect magic effects: — Anti-Magic Ray
*See summoned: — Paralyze Ray
*See summoned undead (under reflect magic effects): — Disintegrate Ray (50%), Cause Serious Wounds Ray (100%)
*See summoned or undead (≥7 HD), (under reflect magic effects): — Cause Serious Wounds Ray (50%), Death Ray (100%)
*See summoned or undead (≤6 HD), (under reflect magic effects): — Cause Serious Wounds Ray (30%), Fear Ray (30%), Slow Ray (30%), Cause Serious Wounds Ray (50%) and Domination Ray (100%)
*See least damaged party member (under reflect magic effects): — Cause Serious Wounds Ray
*See 2nd or 3rd nearest party member (under reflect magic effects): — Anti-Magic Ray (20%), Hold Person Ray (20%), Cause Serious Wounds Ray (100%)
*See nearest enemy (under reflect magic effects): — Anti-Magic Ray (40%), Cause Serious Wounds Ray (40%) , Death Ray (100%)
===Spells:===
*See nearest enemy (prep for battle): — Stoneskin, Improved Mantle
*See nearest enemy (every five rounds): — Cure Critical Wounds & if Stoneskin remaining <1: — Stoneskin
*See nearest enemy 1: — Remove Magic (30%), Magic Missile (50%), Lightning Bolt (30%), Maze (30%), Prismatic Spray (30%), Chain Lightning (100%)
*See nearest enemy 2: — Magic Missile (20%), Chain Lightning (40%), Maze (40%), Prismatic Spray (40%), Magic Missile (100%)
*See summoned: — Death Spell
*See summoned or undead (≥7 HD), (under reflect magic effects): — Finger of Death (30%)
*See 2nd or 3rd nearest enemy (under reflect magic effects): — Finger of Death (40%)
*See nearest enemy (under reflect magic effects): — Finger of Death (40%)
==Gameplay==
The hive mother will liberally release any of the magical eye rays it possess under the triggers/conditions detailed above. Spell casting is performed mostly in-between eye ray releases, based on target detection and type. It will release an eye ray or cast a spell at a target at least once every round. A hive mother will not run out of these eye rays or spells through use, the only limitation on them is a timed delay interval between applied uses at detected targets. None of the eye rays can be interrupted via damage, but it is possible to interrupt spell casting with a successful hit.
The hive mother will notice when its eye rays are bouncing back at itself, and cease using certain rays at that protected creature which may be using the Shield of Balduran, the Cloak of Mirroring or other protective items or spells.
When an enemy is first detected, the creature will apply a contingency that protects the itself with Stoneskin and Improved Mantle. During battle, another contingency will be applied every five rounds that casts Cure Critical Wounds and checks and recasts stoneskin if they are depleted.
Summoned and undead creatures are recognized and the hive mother has different eye rays and spells designated for them.
If required, the beholder will launch a Paralyze Ray and a wizard Death Spell to destroy detected summoned creatures, but just once.
==Gallery==
Hive Mother.jpg|Hive Mother encountered on the Final Seal level of Watcher's Keep dungeon after inserting the Heart Key.
OG Green Globe 4A.png|Operating the Globe Machine on the Final Seal level will spawn a beholder group including a Hive Mother.
OG Hive Mother Anti Magic.png|The Hive Mother envelopes a PC at point blank range with its Anti-Magic Ray, removing all the character's spell-applied buffs, such as Protection From Evil and Protection From Magic Energy.
Heart Key Fight 7.png|A Hive Mother is included as part of the Heart Key pedestal guardian group. Here the aberration releases a Cause Serious Wounds eye ray at a PC.
==Mod content==
===Mods:===
Installation of the Sword Coast Stratagems Mod and the "Tactical Challengers for BG2" component will add a Hive Mother to the Beholder Cave in Underdark, as well as some other gauths and or Death Tyrants and standard Beholders, depending on the game difficulty level you have selected.
With this mod, beholders are given different colored animations to distinguish between normal beholders, Death Tyrant, Elder Orb and Hive Mother varieties.
With this mod, the creature has a level 20 Mage class assigned and 200 HP. It casts spells in the same round as beholder blast rays (of various types), although it waits one round after an Anti-Magic Ray (Hive Mother), because with SCS the victim has one round of 100% magic resistance after exposed to it.
These memorized spells include Magic Missile , Dispel Magic, Chain Lightning, Prismatic Spray and Maze . Unlike the unmodified creature, when all the spells are cast, they are expended.
SCS Hive Mother Beholders have been provided with a more potent Anti-Magic Ray (SPIN550.SPL), that drains spells from memory and charges from items and wands in quick slots or if equipped. 
The Hive Mother's rapid firing Cause Serious Wounds ray (SPIN551.SPL) now bypasses magic resistance and deals 5d8 Magic energy damage and has power level 0 so it will ignore spell level protections such as Spell Trap and Spell Deflection. 
The Hive Mother has a super potent Disintegration eyestalk (SPIN552.SPL), that has a -4 penalty to saving throws. If you are playing SCS with Spell Revisions, the disintegrate beam also deals massive magic energy damage (35d6), even if you make your saving throw, you'll take at least 5d6. The Hive Mother's telekinesis eyestalk will steal the Shield of Balduran and or the Cloak of Mirroring from an opponent in range, after a few rounds.
In addition to the abilities, immunities and special powers of the unmodded variety. the SCS Hive Mother is innately protected from its own beholder blasts, in case they were reflected.
SCS also includes a permanent Improved Alacrity to the creature, so that there is no spell launch/beholder beam "cool down" period between attacks. The Beholder is able to cast a spell and at least two beams every round of combat. Sometimes it will be a spell cast and three beholder beams per round. 
The SCS Hive Mother version's Anti-magic ray will take down a Protection From Magic scroll's protection and get rid of it. If Icewind dale spells are being used, it will also remove the Anti-magic shell spell.
===Gallery:===
ST Hive Mother and Brood.png|A Hive Mother and brood of beholder and gauth monsters is observed in the Beholder Cave in Underdark with the SCS mod.
==External Links==
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Category:Creatures of neither sex