D&D Monster Design Lessons: 2cGaming’s Eyes that Bite

Review of a third-party monster: The Eyes that Bite by 2cGaming

This is an analysis and a review of the monster “Eyes that Bite” by 2cGaming. The goal of this article is not only to provide an example of the high quality of monsters in the wonderful bestiary Total Party Kill – Vol. 1 by 2cGaming.

It is also an attempt to learn from the best. What can we DMs take away from the design of the Eyes that Bite to improve our own monster creations? How can a monster like Eyes that Bite inform and inspire our own games?

There are three main take-home lessons that the design of the Eyes that Bite teaches us. First, bestiaries by third-party publishers such as 2cGaming are great. Second, focusing our custom monsters with a singular purpose or theme in mind makes for memorable creatures and encounters. And third, there are two particular mechanics that we can use for monsters with which we want to challenge powerful parties: life drain on steroids, and non-damage.

The lore: A voidborn magic-eater

A stat block is not a monster. For the Eyes that Bite to come alive in our game, we need to use the fiction around it. In Total Party Kill, this monster belongs to a group called the “voidborn.” These creatures are aberrations born from the void (or “antimagic”) created by the casting of magic. The Eyes that Bite are humanoids, giants or similar creatures changed by the void into magic-devouring brutes.

This material is fantastic. We can imagine entire campaigns built around the idea of creatures created by the equal and opposite reaction to magic.

Reskinning the Eyes that Bite

However, we can choose how much, if at all, we use the existing lore in our adventure, campaign, or setting. We can reskin the Eyes that bite to fit a wide range of monster types. Simply rename the attacks of the monster to fit the creature type. We can also change any other stats that absolutely do not work for the concept we had in mind. Here are ten types of monsters that thematically fit the Eyes that Bite:

A powerful wizard’s familiar that is preserved and transformed after the wizard’s violent death.
A shapeless anomaly created in the aftermath of a dark magic ritual.
An intruder from the Shadowfell.
The monstrous decadent tyrant of an evil empire who feeds solely on magic.
An umberhulk who has fed on ancient magic of the drow for ages.
A conglomeration of shadows, created when an entire city was wiped out in a magical cataclysm.
A mind-bending timeless threat from the Astral Sea.
The shadowed remains of a slain lich yearning to be revived by consuming magic.
An assassin automaton created specifically to eliminate spellcasters.
The avatar or champion of an evil god of magic.

Mechanics spotlight: life drain, non-damage, spell evasion, anti-spellcaster actions

The opportunities for storytelling that the lore of the monster provides is outstanding. But the mechanics make this creature truly stand out and will make encountering it a memorable (and potentially deadly) experience for your characters.

We will look at four features of the Eyes that Bite. These aspects are bits and pieces we can keep in mind when we’re designing our own monsters, traps, or encounters.

Life drain on steroids

The eyes that bite has a feature which I describe as life drain on steroids. It has an aura that reduces the hit point maximum of creatures within range to their current hit points. It’s simple, elegant, and terribly frightening for players.

We know maximum hit point reductions from other monsters such as the wraith or the night hag. In those cases, however, the maximum hit points of the target are reduced by a certain amount — scary, but manageable. Characters might already have taken some damage and only feel the maximum hit point reduction when they would be healed above their reduced maximum.

In the case of the Eyes that Bite the characters current hit points effectively becomes their new maximum. If they have taken damage from any source before this aura hits them, their hit point maximum could be reduced dramatically very quickly.

Imagine, a paladin who was beaten up by some minions, and some attacks of the Eyes that Bite previously. They might be as low as 10-20 HP but planning to use lay on hands or another source of healing on their turn. Now they fail their save against the aura and suddenly their hit point maximum goes from 100 to 15.

The life drain on steroids is powerful, elegant, and unique. We can use it in our games to make players instantly sit up straight in their chairs.

Non-damage

The eyes that bite is unique in another way. Many of its damage sources are actually not damage at all. Instead, they simply cause a target to “lose hit points.” This is another simple, yet powerful monster design twist. Many characters have ways to mitigate damage. The barbarian’s rage, the spell warding bond, or the Interception fighting style all reduce damage a character takes. None of them apply while fighting the Eyes that Bite. The Eyes that Bite doesn’t deal damage which characters can reduce through damage resistances or similar features. A character bitten by the monster instead loses hit points. No mitigation possible.

In the fiction, we can explain this with the supernatural essence of the Eyes that Bite. This monster doesn’t bite with physical teeth, instead it weakens characters with bite-like attacks which cause a character to bleed life energy and stamina without countermeasures.

If we want to challenge a party with lots of damage mitigation options, we can consider letting powerful monsters deal this kind of non-damage.

Spell evasion

The Eyes that Bite are devourers of magic. This trait is one of the main reasons for why the monster actually feels like an anti-magic beast. It has the rogue’s or the monk’s Evasion feature but applied to spells. Here’s what evasion normally does:

“When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.”
Player’s Handbook – Rogue – “Evasion”

Now for the Eyes that Bite, instead of applying to Dexterity saving throws, the feature applies to all spells that cause an effect on a successful saving throw of the target. Whenever the Eyes that Bite succeeds on a save against a spell, and would still suffer an effect, it instead suffers no effect. For example, if the Eyes that Bite is hit by a cone of cold and it makes its Constitution saving throw, it takes no damage instead of 4d8.

If we’re looking to give a monster supreme survivability against spells, this is a unique and powerful way to do it.

Anti-spellcaster actions

Sticking with the theme of anti-magic, the Eyes that Bite has a suite of actions which allow it to make quick work of spellcasters.

Its bite attack forces targets to expend spell slots on a hit, and heals the Eyes that Bite for 2d6 hit points per level of the spell slot expended.
Its breath attack creates a lingering zone of darkness and silence. This makes casting spells which require the caster to see the target, or any spell with verbal components impossible.
It has a reaction which forces a character casting a spell to expend an additional spell slot of 3rd level or higher, or the spell fails.

All of these actions and reaction make spellcasting extremely taxing or outright impossible. The spell slots of the spellcaster PCs will dwindle much quicker, or they might find themselves in a situation where they are unable to cast spells entirely.

Infusing the action options of a monster with spell-slot-draining mechanics, and giving them darkness-plus-silence area effects turns any foe into a spellcaster-devouring monstrosity.

Monster design lessons for D&D 5e

So what can we, as DMs for our own games, learn from the Eyes that Bite in terms of monster customization? There are three main take-aways from this review and analysis of the Eyes that Bite by 2cGaming.

Third-party bestiaries are an amazing source of inspiration. We should make liberal use of them whenever we want to feature unique and refreshing monsters at the table.
When designing or customizing a monster for our game, think about the overarching theme of the monster. The mechanics of the Eyes that Bite are so evocative because they all revolve around the idea of a magic-eating, anti-spellcaster monster. Focus in on the purpose and theme of a monster and then bathe every aspect, from lore to mechanics, in that flavor.
If we want to challenge powerful characters, we can use monster features that reduce their maximum hit points to their current hit points, or use effects that cause characters to “lose hit points” instead of taking damage.

Links & Resources

2cGaming: “Total Party Kill Bestiary – Vol. 1” – https://store.2cgaming.com/products/total-party-kill-bestiary-pdf
Keith Amman: “The Monsters Know What They’re Doing” (a blog with numerous wonderful analyses of monsters) – https://www.themonstersknow.com/