Gazers

Gazers and eyebeasts are intelligent, powerful fleshy masses. The two races are very similar and often live together. These creatures are very adept with magic, and seem to favor evocative spellschool, but are also notably capable in psionics.

General

Physiology

Both eyebeasts as well as gazers are distinguished by their spherical bodies, from which protrude numerous eyestalks, one huge central eye, a huge mouth, a lot of pinkish flesh and they move by means of levitation. Contrary to popular belief, gazers can not cast spells but eyebeasts can. The central eye of a gazer can project an Antimagic Field.

Behaviour and society

These magical creatures are known for their greed for power and control over others. In case of lacking a herd of its own, it is not uncommon for a solitary eyebeast or a gazer to "ally" itself with a horde of other creatures that it perceives as inferior to itself. This would imply towards the fact that eyebeasts and gazers are social creatures in their own right. The eyebeasts and gazers are also known to be attracted to knowledge that allows them to further their magical skills, and finally wealth, oftentimes hoarding magical trinkets and tomes.

As far as an eyebeast or gazer's morality goes, so long as an individual serves the creature's needs, it is fit to live. As soon as this individual of lesser race has outlived its uselfulness, it serves but one purpose anymore -- a meal or target-practice. Both eyebeasts and gazers, while differentiating in physiology slightly, retain similar cognitive concepts and are equally inherently evil.

An interesting concept to note of the eyebeasts' and gazers' habit of talking is that an individual never refers to itself as a singular person but as a plural.

Magical capabilities

Gazers cannot perform traditional evocative magic (i.e. summon fire or lightning) but have expertised in psionics instead, capable of, for example, dumbfounding a hostile magician. Eyebeasts, on the contrary, are especially adept at conjuring magical storms and very capable of casting spells that equal in strength to an Arcane Blow. The eyebeasts seem to favor lightning and raw magic above other elements, and have a tendency of casting hasting spells upon themselves as well as their allies in combat. These creatures have, while not as strong as their gazer-cousins, proved to be able in psionics in the form of charming effects.

It should be noted that but only very recently researchers and sages from both Empire of the surface and the Kingdom of Avernum have learned to make use of eyebeasts' and gazers' eyestalks which have incredibly powerful magical properties. In order for an eyestalk to work as a magical reagent, however, it needs to be fresh and relatively cleanly cut.

Eyebeast and Gazer names

• Gazer Ghysa'Eye
• Gazer Blacksight
• Eyebeast Chel-Far
• Eyebeast Hynga-Far
• Eyebeast Thunla-Far