Ecology of the Argusoïd

Argus Pantopes was a hundred-eyed giant from Greek myth. As far I could determine his name translates to "bright/shining all-eyes," which is less a name and more a literal description of his appearance.

Pathfinder, as it is wont, introduced Argus as a hideous "mythic" monster in Bestiary 4. (I should have already explained why I think "mythic" is stupid elsewhere.) It is not clear whether this Argus is a species or a curse, not that anyone cares since it is another generic evil monster to kill. The mythical origin is butchered as you would expect, since the original Argus Panoptes was not described as hideous and by contrast was immortalized after death as the beautiful tail feathers of the male peacock.

Argus Panoptes ©2010 sandara

Yeah... after seeing that I have no idea why anyone would think Argus looks even remotely unattractive. Our toga-clad peacock-haired supermodel here sparkles even more awesomely than Edward Cullen on a summer's day. His sparkle effects are baby blue eyes for crying out loud! (The Ancient Greek art is even worse in this regard since paintings of him on vases clearly show his genitals too.)

Mazes & Minotaurs introduces the "Argusoïd" as a monster in its Creature Compendium. The "-oïd" at the end of their name literally means they have the likeness of Argus, perhaps suggesting that these monsters are his offspring. If the classical art is any indication, much less the modern art (see inset), then Argus probably has women lining up to bear his children. On a side note, if I understand the naming scheme correctly than Argus' children should all bear the surname Panoptes.

While not a standard convention in Greek myth, a number of monsters went on to spawn races in their own image that were named for their progenitor. That is assuming that the multiplication was explained at all, which was not always the case (e.g. the Libyan queen Lamia became a member of the lamiae who share her namesake, but apparently not the first). But I digress...

Argus Panoptes ©2015 pellegrine

Like their father, the Argusoïds have so many eyes that even when they sleep at least some of these eyes are still awake and watching. They probably sleep with their eyes open too just to keep you from realizing which is which. Naturally, this makes them excellent watchmen since they may never be caught unawares... unless you use some clever trick to lull all their eyes to sleep. I am sure they have hobbies and societies just like every other race of civilized giants, but that is pretty much the sole reason anyone seeks them out deliberately unless you are going for the weird fiction angle or writing a romance novel (hint hint).

The Creature Compendium mentions that the many-eyed Argusoïds are quite naturally enemies of the one-eyed Cyclops (this was meant to be a humorous jab at their vastly different numbers of eyes). The book alludes to their shared origins by mentioning they are both spawns of "primal chaos", because in Greek myth they being giants ("earth-born") may trace their ancestry to Gaea and ultimately her predecessor Chaos.

The Daily Bestiary provides plot hooks for using Argus as something other than a monster to be killed. I respect that very much since killing monsters gets boring if it goes on too long. Since Argus is a handsome supermodel he cannot possibly deserve to be killed by the party. Everyone knows that all monsters are ugly because ugliness indicates evil, and nothing as handsome as him could ever be evil. (In case it does not carry over, I am being sarcastic.)

Addendum 8/7/2018 #1: Bestiary Malfearous by Worlds of Adventure includes the argusoïd under the name "megaclops," a variant of the cyclops or "clops" race. This version has spell-like abilities mimicking greater arcane sight, prismatic sphere and energy bolt. Not only do they have all-around vision and a bonus to visual perception rolls, but they receive a bonus against visual illusions. In addition, they cast spells as sorcerers and receive a bonus to abjuration spells.

Addendum 8/7/2018 #2: Monsters of Greek Mythology by Bernard Evslin mentions Argus in the book "Cerberus." Here Argus is described as a giant covered in fiery colored fur and blue eyes that crawl across his body like bluebottle flies; he is even mentioned as having eyes on the ends of his fingers to better look in crevasses.

Addendum 8/9/2018: According to theoi.com, the wife of the King of Argos (for which Argus Panoptes is named) was the naiad Ismenë. Her children were Iäsus, Iö and possibly Argus Panoptes. Other accounts state Argus Pantopes was the fatherless son of Gaia. To avoid confusion I am just going to assume that Argus Panoptes was the King of Argos, the husband of Ismenë, and the father of multiple children including Iäsus, Iö and Argus II.