New monster encounter, what to do?

[PopTart]

I have a pretty irresistible possibility for an encounter with beholders, and I want to know if it's suicidal to engage them.

My character is a level 31 HE mage at dungeon level 36. I detected a horde of eye monsters, with 5 beholders in the middle (and 10 gauths and other lesser eyes). I'm pretty well stocked with a teleportation staff, staff of curing, 280 HP, 218 mana, wands, Free Action, Speed +9. I have the four main resistances plus light, dark, and nexus.

I don't have pBlnd (this is blindness resistance, right?) so that could be a problem, but I can always backtrack through the now-empty corridors until I regain sight, right?

The beholders are worth 7700 xp each, which is a lot at this character level. That's mostly what freaks me out.

I'm concerned that, even with Free Action, they could paralyze me. Or one-shot me with psionic energy.

I just want to know, is this an encounter I should avoid?

[archolewa]

I wouldnt. A few things Ive learned about Angband:

1. There will always be more (and better) loot.

2. There will always be more (and easier) experience

3. Death is forever.

So I almost always avoid fighting crowds. Beholders are especially nasty because they spam spells, so it's harder to get them in a bottleneck. And they don't drop any loot, so you dont really get anything for it (after level 30, experience becomes MUCH less important in my experience).

[Pete Mack]

Yep. Turn around and go somewhere else. A room full of eyes is just not worth it.

[PopTart]

I took your advice and bravely ran away. The old Angband monster manual an thangorodrim.net states about the Beholder:

It is magical, casting spells which produce fire bolts, cause mind blasting, drain mana, confuse, cause amnesia, blind, create darkness, produce acid bolts, produce lightning bolts, slow, terrify, or produce frost bolts; 1 time in 2.
...
It can gaze to lower experience (by 20d6+) with damage 2d6, gaze to drain charges with damage 2d6, gaze to reduce intelligence with damage 2d6, and bite to attack with damage 6d6.

And while this info may be out of date, I don't need to have my intelligence lowered and my mind blasted.

Thanks!

[Derakon]

Beholders (of all types) are up there with liches and hydras as one of those categories of enemies that's just not really worth engaging with if you have the option not to. They're quite dangerous for the challenge they pose, and don't drop any worthwhile loot.

[PopTart]

I encountered a single Beholder after a couple character levels (mostly thanks to a Potion of Experience. You were right, experience can come cheap). With a +12 Ring of Speed and Mana Channel, my mage made quick work of the Beholder. I know people think (and Nick admits) that certain aspects of mages are way overpowered in this version, but I'm enjoying mine immensely.

[mrfy]

I'd say beholders are totally worth it for the experience earned. It does move quickly, so I'd hit it first with my Wand of Slow Monster and then hit it repeatedly with fire, cold, acid, etc from a distance. If it got close phase door away.

[wobbly]

Beholders are chunky little potion smashers. Without fire & cold immunity they'll wreck a bunch of your consumables taking them out.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Unless my @ is somehow powerful enough to easily dispatch a beholder, I tend to just TO them. They don't have any drop and they cause too much damage to inventory, stats and life levels (depending on the variety).