Beyond Size: Unraveling the Story of Large Luigi

Wiki, C. T. F. R. (n.d.). *Large Luigi*.

Who is Large Luigi? In short, he is the one who has passed the Spindle from his homeworld, H’Catha, and gained all knowledge that rivals the gods. With the full sum of all information now stuffed inside him, he could take in world-breaking insight and knows of beings beyond the gods known only as “roleplayers”. I love a good shout-out.

In the whimsical and fantastical world of D&D, you can run into many different characters and monsters. But what about a monster NPC that you can include in your next, and inevitable, tavern introduction game?

Humble Beginnings

To be, or not be, a Beholder? If you are already going to be a beholder, you could pursue a giant spindle from your homeworld. Long ago, the god of the Beholders created this 1,000-mile tall and 200-mile wide mountain and gave them the goal of climbing it to the top, so that they may never forget what their purpose is.

Well, they did not seem too interested in “remembering what their purpose is”, but what did start to happen was that the different groups on the ground started fighting each other, each trying to be the first to the top. This goes on, and the true meaning of why they climb this spindle is lost to the race. The spindle itself is constantly surrounded by dark and stormy clouds, this also makes it not very perceptible from the outside so there are not many ways to study the Spindle itself. It must be climbed from the bottom to the top, following a particular trajectory and checking in at special stones that help prepare the mind to take in all of the information of the universe.

Until one day when one of the Beholders finally made it, and finally was able to take in this godlike information! As you can guess, this of course was Large Luigi. He was one of the first Beholders to get this insight and realized that their sole purpose of creation was for him and his whole race to be the information brokers of the galaxy.

This was such mindblowing information. The anger that was characteristically assigned after years of fighting had faded away and had been replaced with inspiration and hope for their future. So Large Luigi climbs back down the mountain to tell his family, friends, and everyone else that they must fulfill their ultimate purpose. This does not go very well for Luigi, at all. Upon his return, his entire race shunned and hated him. When he tried convincing them of the power of his knowledge, they were more upset that he had reached the summit first!

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Flying back over the spindle (after achieving the impossible just before he came back down), Large Luigi was driven from his homeworld in the deep reaches of Realmspace. So where does a Beholder go when his realm wants nothing to do with him? Well, Large Luigi still remembered his purpose. He knew that the information that he held in his mind was powerful, and must be given only when it will not tilt the scales of good and evil too far in one direction.

Rock of Bral

So like the beginning of any good game, you end up in a tavern somewhere. In a last-ditch effort, the now gentle giant was able to convince a human tradesman and his crew who would be willing to take him on. While on his travels he would work his way, until finally, he would one day come across the floating island known as The Rock of Bral.

Being new in town, and most taverns not allowing monsters inside their place of business, Luigi decided to open up his own bar. This place full of food and drink (with a green parrot flying around somewhere) would be known as The Laughing Beholder. Located in the lower city of Bral, it can be described as “a small yet flourishing establishment” (Wiki, C. T. F. R. (n.d.-c).

While in this city, there was not much to do but listen once he was settled. Finding crystal spheres, Luigi was able to hear all kinds of things. Stories of adventures, rumors of the realms, collecting more knowledge than the gods had collected.

Of course, Large Luigi was not born as Large Luigi, he was born as a Beholder that was meant to be feared. But he was finally more than that, the spindle and its many steps along the way had fundamentally and mentally changed him forever. The people of Bral came to love and even need the information that was being given freely. This is when the city of Bral came up with the name, Large Luigi.

Abilities

What are some of the cool things Large Luigi can do? Here is a short list of canon abilities that come with this beloved Beholder.

Wise and Intelligent Friend
Knowledge that Surpasses the Gods
One Eyestalk has Detect Lie (Instead of the Common Death Ray Spell)
One Eyestalk has Telekinesis (Great for Serving Drinks)
Other Rays Include (Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep)

While these are his listed abilities, the main one of course would be the knowledge that passes the gods, which includes omniscent and worldbreaking information. Large Luigi should be played as someone who is eager to give out information, but not at the cost of the greater good. The processing power to understand and make everything click together can only be done by Large Luigi, so when information can not be given, it is for a reason.

My Bardic Verse

Large Luigi is probably one of my favorite NPCs, the way that you want to love the guy but have to be semi-weary due to being a full-sized Beholder can be a heartbreaking situation. While the people of Bral are used to him by now, I know role play-wise new adventurers would be getting confused every day, I am sure it is a constant battle for Luigi to constantly get people’s trust over and over again.

Just like the Spindle, Luigi still continues to climb over his problems and still continues to give the people and adventurers that come by information. He is constantly giving back because he knows how much he has received. To me, Large Luigi is the Vincent Van Gogh of his Universe. It is a sad story of a creature who wanted to spread what they knew with the universe only to be shunned by those close to them. This story luckily has a happy ending, and even better, with drinks!