Bartholomew Buttons is a brain-damaged beholder in a cravat who cheerfully runs the Haunted Halls as a macabre theme park, complete with puppet shows and guided tours. He believes he is preserving the Halls’ legacy through enthusiastic storytelling and “customer service.” Behind every polite “mm-hmm!” lies an unblinking eye ready to incinerate anyone who disrupts his curated historical experience.

Bartholomew “Buttons” (Beholder)

 

"Now, now, sugar — keep your hands to yourself, mind the illusions, and remember: it’s all fun ‘til the disintegration ray comes out."

 
Alias(es): Buttons, Bartholomew the Beholder
Race: Beholder
Occupation: Proprietor and Curator of the Haunted Halls Historical Experience
Location: The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar
 

Appearance

Buttons is a classic beholder with a wide, toothy grin, numerous eyestalks, and a central eye often hidden behind a large, battered golden monocle. Two eyestalks frequently hold a delicate porcelain teacup and adjust a tiny top hat perched on his crown, giving him an eccentric, “genteel host” appearance as he floats about the halls.
 
 

Personality

Once a feared guardian of the Haunted Halls, Buttons now believes his purpose is to “preserve the memory” of the Halls by turning them into a theme park attraction. He is:
 
Overly theatrical, with a faux-southern drawl and carnival-barker energy.
 
Cheerful but deeply controlling about his “attractions.”
 
Polite unless provoked or if visitors break the rules.
 
Genuinely enjoys his guests’ fear, but only if it is “tasteful terror.”
 

Abilities

 
Uses illusions, illusions of illusions, and minor conjurations to enhance the halls.
 
Retains his full Beholder stat block (MM p.28) but will not kill unless absolutely necessary.
 
Frequently uses Telekinesis and the Sleep Ray to remove unruly guests.
 
Able to disable or activate illusions, magical lighting, and soundscapes across the Halls remotely.
 
 
 

History

Originally placed in the Haunted Halls by a wizard to “guard the halls and preserve their legacy.” After a magical injury (misfired Feeblemind or psychic backlash), Buttons’ mind rewired this directive into: "Preserve the memory, share it, and protect the fun."
 
Over a century, Buttons transformed the deadly ruin into a family-friendly (ish) attraction, with exhibits like:
 
The Ghoul School
 
The Mimic Buffet
 
Rivior’s Rattlin’ Ride of Reckoning
 
Locals tolerate Buttons because the Halls truly are safer, and the attraction brings cautious trade and visitors.
Claims to have “murdered everything dangerous” in the Halls, but some secrets (sealed crypts, hidden Harbinger corruption, the Undercrypt) remain untouched and unknown to him.
Genuinely lonely, he considers visitors family while maintaining strict boundaries.
 

Example Lines

 
> “Now, I ask you plainly: are y’all here for the standard guided tour, the interactive delving package, or shall we just waive your rights and call it a day, see?”
“Careful with that exhibit, sugar — the last one to touch it spent a week sneezing up illusions.”
“You break it, you buy it, darlin’. And by ‘buy it,’ I mean you get to fight it. I don’t make the rules, I just enforce ‘em.”