Core Rules Monsters
The backbone of the game: classic dungeon and wilderness monsters from the core monster books and annuals, from humble giant rats to ancient dragons. 517 monsters, grouped by the book they come from.
- Monstrous Manual (160)
- MC2 Volume II (75)
- Monstrous Compendium, 1994 Annual, Volume 1 (73)
- MC1 Volume I (w/binder #1) (70)
- Monstrous Compendium, 1995 Annual, Volume 2 (50)
- Other sources (26)
- Monstrous Compendium, 1996 Annual, Volume 3 (21)
- City of Splendors (10)
- Dragon Mountain (9)
- Monstrous Compendium, 1997 Annual, Volume 4 (5)
- HR3 Celts Campaign (4)
- MC3 Forgotten Realms Appendix I (3)
- The Illithiad (3)
- MC7 Spelljammer Appendix I (2)
- The Sea Devils (2)
- A Darkness Gathering (1)
- Dawn of the Overmind (1)
- Dragon271 (1)
- MC5 Greyhawk Appendix (1)
Monstrous Manual
- Aarakocra Proud, reclusive bird-folk of the highest peaks, aarakocra ride the mountain thermals and fall on their prey in shrieking two-javelin dives that strike with double force.
- Aboleth A twenty-foot cavern fish with a genius intellect, the aboleth rules lightless lakes and hunts surface folk to turn them into mind-bound servants.
- Air/Earth Elemental The classic conjured elementals of wind and stone: a shrieking storm that strikes like an invisible fist and spins into a killing whirlwind, and a gem-eyed giant of rock that levels walls.
- Amethyst Dragon [Gem] Serene, regal gem dragons of remote mountain lakes who would rather talk than fight, but who spit a violet crystal that bursts with stunning concussive force.
- Ankheg A hook-legged burrower that waits beneath fields and forest floors, bursting up to seize passersby in tree-snapping mandibles and dissolve them with acid.
- Aquatic Elf Reclusive, gilled elves of the kelp forests who melt into the seaweed, ride to war beside dolphins, and nurse a burning hatred for the sahuagin.
- Aurumvorax A badger-sized, eight-legged gold-eater that weighs over 500 pounds, the aurumvorax locks its jaws on a foe and refuses to let go until one of them is dead.
- Banshee The hate-filled ghost of an evil elf woman whose very sight terrifies and whose nightly keening kills outright, leaving a blighted wilderness of thorns and bones around her lair.
- Basilisk Slow, many-legged reptiles whose gaze turns flesh to stone, a family that includes the poison-breathing greater basilisk and the acid-spitting, dragon-blooded dracolisk.
- Bat From harmless cave swarms to rabid giants, screeching mobats, spark-tailed azmyths and silent, music-loving sinisters, bats are a nuisance at best and a deadly ambush at worst.
- Bear Powerful omnivores that usually avoid people but crush anyone who provokes them, ranging from the shy black bear to the aggressive grizzly, the huge cave bear and the polar bear.
- Behir A blue, twelve-legged serpentine hunter that bites, coils, rakes with six talons, spits lightning, and swallows its victims whole, and it hates dragons above all else.
- Bird From gem-hoarding blood hawks and poison-proof boobries to wise talking owls and patient vultures, this field guide covers the ordinary and uncanny birds a party may meet.
- Black Dragon [Chromatic] A spiteful swamp dragon that stalks prey from murky water, spits a line of acid, and pickles its meat in lair ponds before eating.
- Blue Dragon [Chromatic] A vain, territorial desert dragon that hides beneath the dunes or in the glare of the sky, then strikes from afar with a bolt of lightning.
- Brain Mole A small, friendly burrowing rodent that senses psionic activity from 200 yards and quietly feeds on mental energy, prized by nobles as a living shield against psionicists.
- Brass Dragon [Metallic] A sunbathing desert dragon that would rather chat than fight, and may gas you to sleep and bury you to the neck if you try to leave mid-conversation.
- Broken One Humans fused with animal essence by failed magic or reckless science, broken ones live in hidden tribes, heal every round, and dream of killing the one who made them.
- Bronze Dragon [Metallic] A curious, war-loving sea dragon that spies on adventurers in animal form, fights for just causes at fair wages, and wrecks pirate ships on sight.
- Brownie Tiny, scrupulously honest field folk who glean farmland and secretly help worthy households, brownies cannot be surprised and drive off troublemakers with a pouchful of minor spells.
- Catoblepas A hideous swamp beast whose bloodshot eyes kill with a glance, the catoblepas stuns prey with its lashing tail and then lifts its heavy head to finish the job.
- Cave Fisher Part spider, part lobster, the cave fisher strings nearly invisible sticky lines across underground passages and reels in whatever blunders into them.
- Centaur Half human and half horse, centaurs are proud forest tribesfolk who guard hidden glades with club, bow, and lance, and turn rowdy when the wine flows.
- Centipede Writhing, many-legged hunters that drop from above to deliver paralyzing bites, centipedes range from mouse-killers to deer-sized horrors with lethal acid venom.
- Chimera A three-headed horror of lion, goat and dragon that swoops from the sky with six attacks a round and a gout of fire, then broods on its stolen coins like a dragon.
- Cloaker A subterranean horror that passes for a discarded black cloak until it unfolds, wraps a victim in its leathery body, and moans its foes into helpless terror.
- Cloud Giant Cultured, harp-playing aristocrats of the high peaks and floating cloud castles, cloud giants fight like generals, raining boulders and spells from above before their morningstars fall.
- Cockatrice A spiteful bat-winged rooster with a lizard's tail whose peck turns bare flesh to stone, and whose fiery cousin the pyrolisk sets victims ablaze with a glance.
- Composite Elemental Living storms built from more than one element: malicious thunderclouds that drink the moisture of the dead, and evil black sandstorms that flay travelers to the bone before sleeping for centuries.
- Copper Dragon [Metallic] A joke-loving prankster dragon of rocky hills that leaps between cliffs, drowns foes in mud, and waves you past only if your joke is new.
- Corpse Creeper A many-legged underground scavenger crowned with paralyzing tentacles, the corpse creeper eats the dead but happily makes new ones when carrion runs short.
- Couatl A rainbow-winged feathered serpent revered as a near-divine benefactor, wielding spells, psionics and a killing venom against any evildoer it catches in the act.
- Crabman Man-sized, upright crabs that scavenge the shoreline in peace, until hunger and crowding drive whole tribes into brief, savage frenzies that can spill into coastal towns.
- Crawling Claw A severed hand or paw animated by necromancy that leaps on intruders to crush and pummel them, a favorite tireless guardian of wizards and priests.
- Crimson Death Mist A pale, man-shaped cloud of the bogs that wraps prey in vapor tentacles and drinks their fluids, flushing blood red and turning solid as it feeds.
- Crocodile An armored ambush predator that lurks like a drifting log, then lunges from the water to drag prey under and tear it apart, with giant kin that hunt sharks and fishing boats.
- Crypt Thing A robed skeleton with burning red eyes that guards a tomb by flinging intruders to random and often deadly distant places, then claws apart whoever remains.
- Crystal Dragon [Gem] Playful, curious gem dragons of cold, clear-skied lands whose glittering scales blaze in sunlight and whose shard-laden breath can blind a whole party.
- Cyclops [Giant] Filthy one-eyed herders of remote crags, cyclopskin lob spears with poor aim and charge with clubs, while their giant cyclops cousins hurl boulders across distant islands.
- Death Knight A fallen paladin cursed by the gods into a skull-faced undead warrior who still fights by a twisted code of honor and hurls power words and fireballs.
- Dinosaur I From tank-armored ankylosaurs to the tyrant lizard king, the great dinosaurs survive on lost continents and other planes, and even the plant eaters can kill.
- Dolphin Playful, brilliant sea mammals that guide drowning sailors ashore, drive off sharks, and raid sahuagin nests to smash their eggs.
- Doppelganger Gray-skinned shapeshifters that read minds, copy a victim down to the clothes, kill the original and slip into a richer, lazier life.
- Dracolich An evil dragon that traded death for undeath, its spirit anchored in a gemstone so that destroying its body only sends it hunting for a new corpse.
- Dragon Overview Ancient, greedy and terribly powerful, dragons grow through twelve age categories from hatchling to great wyrm, gaining armor, magic, fear and a bewildering arsenal of attacks along the way.
- Dragon Turtle A shell-backed terror of seas and great lakes, first mistaken for moonlight on the waves, that capsizes ships from below, scalds sailors with steam and hoards the plunder of its wrecks.
- Dragonne Part lion and part brass dragon, this solitary desert hunter tears into intruders with claw and fang, then unleashes a roar that saps strength and shatters hearing.
- Drow [Elf] Black-skinned elves exiled to the lightless underworld, armed with poisoned darts, uncanny adamantite gear and innate spells, and forever plotting against the sunlit races that cast them out.
- Dryad A shy, enchanting oak spirit whose beauty shifts with the seasons, the dryad can charm a handsome traveler so completely that he may vanish into her grove for years, or forever.
- Dwarf Stubborn, long-lived masters of stone and steel, dwarves carve eternal cities beneath the mountains and wage endless war on the evil races of the deep.
- Earth Kin [Elemental] Two kindreds of elemental earth: gentle, granite-skinned pech who shape stone with group magic and smash stone monsters to rubble, and territorial sand creatures that erupt from underfoot.
- Elemental Overview The rules of summoning: how common elementals are called, held and lost, why a dull-witted but furious elemental turns on its conjurer, and how a rival can steal one away.
- Elf Long-lived, slender forest folk who vanish into the trees at will, shrug off charm and sleep magic, and loose arrows on the move with deadly grace.
- Emerald Dragon [Gem] Watchful, paranoid gem dragons that lair in sleeping volcanoes, spy on intruders from hiding, and unleash a shrieking sonic wail that leaves victims stunned and helpless.
- Ettercap A hunched, spider-friendly forest predator that weaves silk snares along game trails and finishes snared travelers with a heart-stopping venomous bite.
- Ettin [Giant] Two-headed, filth-caked night hunters, ettins are never caught napping, swing a spiked club in each fist, and fight to the death once a battle starts.
- Faerie Dragon [Dragonet] A tiny, butterfly-winged prankster of tangled forests that turns invisible at will, casts mischievous spells, and leaves its victims grinning in a haze of euphoria gas.
- Feyr A tentacled, brain-skinned horror spawned from a city's nightmares and stray magic, which stalks foggy streets terrifying onlookers, and can merge into a far deadlier invisible great feyr.
- Firbolg [Giant] Bearded, magic-touched forest giants who shrink, disguise themselves, and swat arrows out of the air, firbolgs prefer a clever prank to a fight but are deadly tacticians when cornered.
- Fire Drake [Dragonet] A jittery miniature red dragon whose blood ignites on contact with air, so it breathes jets of burning blood and splashes fire on anyone who cuts it.
- Fire Giant Soot-black, flame-haired soldiers of the volcanoes, fire giants march in disciplined bands, hurl heated boulders, guard their halls with hell hounds and traps, and crown kings who may keep red dragons.
- Fire Kin [Elemental] The cruel, serpent-bodied salamanders of the plane of fire, who skewer foes with red-hot spears and crush them in burning coils, and the paralyzing fire snakes that may be their young.
- Fire/Water Elemental The classic conjured elementals of flame and wave: a furious, blue-eyed pillar of fire that burns all it touches, and a towering crest of water that capsizes ships and drags foes under.
- Fish A field guide to the dangerous fish of rivers, lakes and seas, from toe-snapping barracuda and swallowing gars to shocking eels, poison-spined rays and frenzied sharks.
- Fog Giant Pale, silver-haired hunters who vanish into the mist, fog giants are sharper and stealthier than legend claims, ambushing prey with boulders from the fog before closing with clubs.
- Fomorian [Giant] Each one twisted in its own grotesque way, fomorians creep through dark tunnels to club victims senseless, then torture and devour them; they are the cruelest of all giant-kin.
- Frost Giant Crude but cunning raiders of the glaciers, frost giants ambush from beneath the snow, swing massive battle axes, and follow jarls who may keep winter wolves, yeti, or even white dragons.
- Fungus From harmless bread mold to deadly shriekers, violet fungi, phycomids, ascomoids and gas spores, the fungus family ranges from kitchen nuisance to dungeon killer.
- Galeb Duhr Singing boulders with hands and feet, galeb duhr guard their mountain stones like a treant guards its trees and can make the very rock rise up against intruders.
- Gargantua Titanic reptiles, ape-men and moths that flatten villages and hold grudges across oceans, gargantua are living disasters best left alone on their distant islands.
- Gargoyle I Living stone grotesques that perch motionless on rooftops and fountains, gargoyles strike when prey comes close and prefer to wound slowly rather than kill quickly.
- Gazer Tyrant and Gazer Kin I Floating, many-eyed orbs of pure malice, the gazer tyrants and their bizarre kin wield deadly magical gazes and hate everything unlike themselves, sometimes even each other.
- Gazer Tyrant and Gazer Kin II The hive mother and the specialized abominations that serve gazer communities: mounted warriors, tool-wielding scholars, starfish drones, fungal tree-lords and timid spies.
- Genie Proud spirits of the elemental planes, genies range from whirlwind-riding djinn and wish-twisting efreet to slaving dao, vain marids and desert-roaming jann, and few of them serve a mortal gladly.
- Ghost The cursed spirit of someone wicked or wronged, a ghost ages the living with a glance, steals bodies through magic jar, and can only be put to rest by settling its grievance.
- Ghoul Corpse-eating undead with paralyzing claws and a wicked animal cunning, ghouls haunt graveyards in packs and turn those they kill into more of their kind.
- Giant Crustacean Monstrous crabs that scuttle the shoreline snatching prey in crushing pincers, and giant crayfish that lurk on deep river bottoms ambushing sturgeon, eels and the occasional swimmer.
- Giant Insect Ants with stings, bees as big as dogs, fire-spitting termites and egg-laying assassin bugs: giant insects keep every mundane horror of the bug world and add brute size.
- Giant Slug A boneless, house-sized garden slug that squeezes through doorways, batters down walls and sprays acid that dissolves flesh and gear alike.
- Gibberling Howling, hunchbacked hordes that pour out of the night swinging short swords, devour everything in their path, and fear only fire and bright light.
- Gloomwing A huge black-and-silver moth from the plane of Shadow whose dizzying wings confuse, whose scent saps strength and calls more moths, and whose eggs hatch inside corpses.
- Gnome Big-nosed, illusion-loving kin of the dwarves, gnomes are cheerful miners and pranksters whose subraces range from wary gem hunters of the deep to unseen guardians of the woods.
- Goblin Small, cruel and endlessly numerous, goblins are cowardly ambushers who swarm out of filthy warrens to kill, steal and drag captives home in chains.
- Gold Dragon [Metallic] The noblest of the metallic dragons, a wise crusader that walks among mortals in disguise, breathes fire or chlorine, and blesses good heroes with enchanted luck-gems.
- Golem II [Lesser] Two of the crudest golems a wizard can make, a stitched corpse giant and a lumpen clay brute, both bound so weakly that every round of battle risks a berserk rampage.
- Golem Overview Golems are mighty constructs built from clay, stone, iron, flesh and stranger stuff, each driven by a captive earth spirit that resents its maker and the living world.
- Golem V Two cut-rate golems: a silent serpent skeleton with a human skull that mesmerizes and paralyzes, and a gourd-headed scarecrow whose burning gaze holds victims still while it beats them to death.
- Golem VI [Stone Variants] Cousins of the stone golem: a lovely pillar-maiden that wakes with a steel sword, a rolling stone engine that flattens everything before it, and a hulking stone guardian that blades barely scratch.
- Great Cat From the sprinting cheetah to the man-hunting tiger, the great cats are nature's most refined predators, nearly all of them able to leap huge distances and rake with their hind claws.
- Greater Golem I Bound elemental spirits in bodies of carved stone or forged iron, greater golems obey their makers absolutely, slowing foes with magic or choking them with poison breath.
- Green Dragon [Chromatic] A cruel, scheming forest dragon that loves to terrorize, interrogate and enslave, breathing chlorine gas and drawing out its victims' suffering for fun.
- Gremlin Bat-winged goblinoid pranksters, immune to ordinary weapons, that infest buildings and wreck them one cruel trap at a time, with several odd offshoot races besides.
- Griffon Golden eagle-lions with a ravenous craving for horseflesh, griffons will tear a rider from the saddle to reach his mount, yet a hatchling raised right becomes a fearless lifelong steed.
- Grimlock Blind, scaly cave warriors who hunt by scent and sound, grimlocks climb out of the deep caverns at night to drag humans back to their larders.
- Grippli Clever, peaceable tree-frog folk of the jungle who vanish into the foliage, snare intruders in nets and darts, and covet any bauble bright enough to catch the eye.
- Guardian Fiend Fire-breathing fiends that evil casters summon to protect a treasure, from horned frog-things to colossal winged bears, each chained to within 90 yards of its charge.
- Hag Iron-clawed crones with ogre strength and a gift for disguise, hags lure the unwary to their deaths, and three together form a covey whose dark magic can blight whole villages.
- Half-Ogre Smaller than an ogre but far sharper, the half-ogre turns a mob of brutes into a disciplined raiding party, and its grin alone can empty a tavern.
- Halfling Cheerful, small folk of burrows and cottages, halflings are deadly shots with sling and bow, nearly invisible in brush, and stubbornly resistant to poison and magic.
- Harpy Vulture-bodied horrors with the faces of ruined young women, harpies sing travelers into a helpless trance, then tear them apart at leisure in their reeking coastal caves.
- Hatori Called crocodiles of the sands, hatori are immense flipper-legged lizards that lie half-buried like rock outcrops beside caravan routes, waiting to swallow travelers whole.
- Haunt A restless spirit bound to the spot where it died, the haunt numbs the living with its touch until it can slip into their bodies and finish the task that holds it here.
- Hell Hound Fire-breathing hounds from the burning planes, hell hounds hunt in silent, encircling packs, spot the invisible, and set more forest fires than any creature but humanoids.
- Herd Mammals I Peaceful grazers such as buffalo, camels, cattle, antelope and sheep that turn deadly when angered or spooked, especially when the whole herd stampedes over anyone in its path.
- Hill Giant Long-armed, low-browed bullies of the hills, hill giants pelt foes with boulders from high ledges, hunt green dragons for a treat, and ritually kill any mage they catch.
- Human Brigands on the road, pilgrims bound for a shrine, pirates on the swell or rival adventurers: a game master's quick guide to the many kinds of ordinary humans met on the road.
- Hydra A huge many-headed reptile whose heads must be lopped off one by one, with fire-breathing, frost-breathing and endlessly regrowing varieties to ruin a party's day.
- Imp A pocket-sized fiend with a deadly stinger, the imp answers a lawful evil caster's call as a familiar, then quietly takes the reins while letting its master believe he is in charge.
- Insect Swarm Harmless one by one, velvet ants, grasshoppers and locusts become living disasters in the millions, stripping fields bare and biting anything caught in their path.
- Intellect Devourer A clawed brain on four legs that eats minds and wears the bodies it empties, the intellect devourer shrugs off most weapons and stalks psionic prey from the shadows.
- Invisible Stalker A tireless air spirit wrenched from its home plane to hunt or guard on a wizard's order, always looking for a loophole to twist that order against its master.
- Jermlaine [Gremlin] Thumb-sized tunnel brigands with a grudge against everyone taller, jermlaine net, club, rob and shave unwary adventurers, then sell what they know to the highest bidder.
- Ki-rin A golden-scaled sky steed with the spell power of an archmage, the ki-rin patrols the heavens rewarding the worthy and hunting down powerful evil.
- Kobold Yapping, rat-tailed little reptilian humanoids that nobody takes seriously until they spring a trap, outnumber the party and go for the wizard.
- Lurker Flat, stone-textured predators that cling to cavern ceilings or pose as floors, then fold around passing prey and squeeze until the victim suffocates.
- Maedar [Medusa] The rare, stone-walking male counterpart of the medusa, devoted unto death to his mate, who turns her petrified victims back into meat for their table.
- Mammal A field guide to the furred beasts of the wild, from shy gorillas and stinking skunks to vein-opening sleeks, coconut-hurling banderlogs and the foul cattle of the lower planes.
- Mercury Dragon A mirror-scaled, fickle good dragon that talks too fast to follow, blinds foes with light focused by its wings, and is poisonous to eat.
- Merman Fish-tailed descendants of transformed humans, mermen herd fish on undersea reefs, guard their territory fiercely, and in hard times drag ships down with grapples to loot the wrecks.
- Mist Dragon A brooding, reclusive dragon that dissolves into fog at will and breathes scalding vapor that condenses into a blinding, drowning mist.
- Mold I Three deadly fuzzy fungi of dungeon and cave: brown mold that steals body heat, russet mold that turns its victims into mold men, and yellow mold whose spores kill outright.
- Moldman Small, thorn-clawed fungus folk who camouflage themselves among plants and fungi, hunt anything made of meat, and reproduce through russet mold and the spores of their chiefs.
- Mongrelman Shy, rag-wrapped hybrids of a dozen humanoid bloodlines who survive by perfect mimicry, light fingers and uncanny camouflage, prizing patience and survival above glory.
- Mountain Giant Pot-bellied, foul-smelling cave giants who hurl boulders in the open, mountain giants can summon gangs of ogres, trolls, or hill giants to guard their caverns.
- Peryton A stag-headed green eagle that casts a human shadow, the peryton duels a single chosen victim to the death and tears out its heart to breed.
- Phantom Not a ghost but an echo, a phantom is the endlessly replayed image of a traumatic death, harmless in itself yet able to frighten onlookers literally to death.
- Phase Panther A six-legged, tentacled panther that seems to stand a few feet from where it really is, hunting in packs with a hatred for every living thing.
- Pseudodragon [Dragonet] A cat-tempered miniature dragon of deep forests whose tail sting drops foes into a deathlike trance, and who chooses its own human partner after days of silent, telepathic judgment.
- Quaggoth Shaggy white-furred hunters of the deep underworld that patrol their territory in tribes, fly into a berserk rage when wounded, and eat every body left on the field.
- Ray-Folk Cunning, evil manta-like beings who ambush swimmers from the sand, raise priests among their own, and bow to vampiric tyrants in hidden reef cities.
- Red Dragon [Chromatic] The greediest and vainest of dragons, a mountain tyrant that knows every coin in its hoard, burns armored foes with fire, and extorts maidens from terrified villages.
- Revenant A murdered soul hauled back into a rotting body by sheer will, a revenant hunts its killer anywhere, strangles without mercy, and can be ended only by fire.
- Sapphire Dragon [Gem] Fiercely territorial gem dragons of the deep underworld, often mistaken for blues, sapphires repel intruders with a near-silent shriek that panics even the fearless.
- Shadow Dragon A cautious, see-through dragon that stalks from the shadows, breathes a cloud of darkness that drains away its victims' life energy, and feasts on rotting carrion.
- Shedu Winged, bearded bull-horses of the desert who roam the planes in herds as psionic champions of law and good, their rank shown by a single jewel on the brow.
- Silver Dragon [Metallic] A gentle cloud-dwelling dragon that loves human company, walks on mist, and freezes or paralyzes the truly wicked before tossing them skyward with reverse gravity.
- Sirine Beautiful, reclusive sea maidens whose song charms and whose touch leaves a victim's mind as dull as an animal's, unless they choose to restore it.
- Slithering Tracker [Ooze/Slime/Jelly] A clear, silent jelly that slips through rat holes to find sleeping or wounded prey, paralyzes it, and drains away its plasma over a single hour.
- Small Cat From pampered house cats to feral strays and the magical, spellcasting cats of the elves, small cats are graceful, stealthy hunters found almost everywhere.
- Spriggan [Gnome] Filthy, spiteful gnome cousins who can swell to giant size at will, spriggans rob, burn and bully for the sheer joy of the wreckage they leave behind.
- Steel Dragon A sociable dragon that lives in disguise among the crowds of great cities, posing as a scholar or sage, and defends its adopted home with a cloud of lethal poison gas.
- Stone Giant Grim gray giants of storm-lashed peaks who vanish against the rock, ambush with boulders and avalanches, and spend their nights in thunderous rock-throwing games.
- Storm Giant Gentle, music-loving giants of cloud castles, peaks and sea floors who seldom anger, but when they do they summon tempests, hurl lightning and swing swords for triple damage.
- Su-Monster A gaunt, red-pawed ape that drops from the branches on its tail to rake with all four limbs, guards its family with adrenaline-fueled fury, and loathes anyone with psionic talent.
- Tako Clever octopus-folk who crawl out of the sea to raid with a weapon in every tentacle, tako make peaceful neighbors, honorable allies and relentless enemies of anyone who trespasses.
- Thought Eater A skeletal, platypus-headed drifter of the Border Ethereal that cannot fight at all, yet invisibly drains psionic energy, spells and finally Intelligence from anyone nearby.
- Topaz Dragon [Gem] Surly, erratic gem dragons of rocky seacoasts whose breath sucks the water from living bodies, draining Strength until a victim withers to death.
- Vampiric Mist A blood-scented, man-wide cloud that flows through cracks and over water to wrap sleeping victims and drain them, turning from pink to crimson as it gorges.
- Vasshari Thrall Humans poisoned and remade into hairless, scaly, near-mindless servants of the serpent-folk, who guard their masters' broods and fight to the death in berserk fury.
- Verbeeg [Giant] Gangly, cunning human giants who herd hill giants and ogres into battle like cattle, cursing all the way, then pick off stragglers once the brutes have done the hard work.
- Warrior Skeleton Once-mighty fighters cursed into undeath, their souls locked in golden circlets, who will stalk and slay anyone who holds their circlet and loses control.
- Web-Eel Slaver Spider-bodied, eel-necked slavers who see every being as owner or owned, web-eel slavers ride behind tunnel brute bodyguards and end their lives as monstrous brood-mothers.
- Wemic Lion-bodied hunters with humanoid torsos, wemics stalk the plains in prides, ambush with spear and claw, and charge travelers a toll to cross their land.
- Wererat [Lycanthrope] Sly, cowardly ratmen who rule the sewers beneath cities, luring drunks and fools into traps and summoning swarms of giant rats to finish them.
- Whale Wise, song-speaking giants of the deep, whales range from gentle plankton grazers to ship-sinking leviathans who answer only to the gods and avenge their own.
- White Dragon [Chromatic] The smallest, dimmest evil dragon, an impulsive arctic hunter that blasts prey with frost and will eat nothing that is not frozen solid.
- Wood Giant Lanky, hairless giant cousins of the wood elves who melt into the forest, loose four-foot arrows from hiding, and can take the shape of almost any humanoid.
- Worm From the tunnel-boring purple worm that swallows adventurers whole to the flesh-burrowing rot grub, these legless burrowers turn the ground itself into a threat.
- Xorn A three-armed, three-legged stone eater from the elemental plane of Earth that swims through rock, smells gold and gems at twenty feet, and demands a share or else.
- Yellow Dragon A secretive desert dragon that buries itself at the bottom of a sand trap like a giant antlion and breathes a scouring blast of hot, blinding sand.
MC2 Volume II
- Air Kin [Elemental] The kindred of elemental air: radiant, dragonfly-winged sylphs who may trade their spells for a favor, and the invisible, resentful aerial servants that clerics bind to their errands.
- Ant Giant ants guard sprawling underground colonies with venomous stings, while marching swarms of army ants strip bare anything too slow to step out of their path.
- Baboon Clever, skittish troop monkeys of jungle and mountain, baboons usually scatter at the first threat, but a cornered troop or a threatened infant brings big males screaming in fang-first.
- Badger Squat, striped night-diggers with a famously short fuse, badgers will tear into creatures many times their size when cornered, going for the throat and usually fighting to the death.
- Barracuda A lean, fang-jawed ocean predator that hunts in patient schools, darting in to tear mouthfuls from weak or lone swimmers and snapping at anything that glints.
- Brinekin Slimy, fish-headed humanoids of the deep underworld, brinekin loathe sunlight and surface folk, raiding upward for slaves and sacrifices with glue-smeared shields, barbed harpoons and priestly lightning.
- Bulette The landshark: an armored, burrowing eating machine that erupts from the ground at any vibration, devours everything including armor and coins, and empties whole regions of life.
- Bullywug Frog-faced swamp raiders who strike in hopping, spear-doubling ambushes, bullywugs strip their marshes bare and kill and eat any human they meet.
- Carnivorous Ape A cunning, gorilla-like hunter of jungle and plain that stalks prey for miles through the treetops, then drops down to rend it apart with clawed hands and long fangs.
- Dangerous Plants I Strangling creepers, luring mantraps, nauseating palm fruit, saw-toothed bushes, thorn-flinging weeds, three-bloomed predators and brain-eating yellow musk all prove that plants can hunt.
- Duergar [Dwarf] Gaunt gray dwarves of the deepest caverns who vanish or swell to giant size at will, shrug off poison and illusion, and ride leaping giant spiders into battle.
- Eagle Proud, sharp-eyed birds of prey that plunge from great heights with doubled speed and damage; their giant cousins speak, think, and guard mountain aeries fiercely.
- Eel Long, snakelike fish that mostly keep to themselves, until an electric jolt, a crushing bite, or a poisoned strike from camouflaged weed reminds swimmers otherwise.
- Frog Swamp-colored frogs grown to the size of a man, giant frogs snatch prey with tongues three times their length and can gulp down anything under 3 feet tall.
- Giant Ant Lion A mole-bodied insect buried at the bottom of a sliding sand pit, the giant ant lion seizes anything that tumbles in and saws it apart with barbed, razor-edged jaws.
- Giant Beetle Ravenous, armor-shelled beetles the size of ponies or larger, from the acid-spraying bombardier to the ship-sinking water beetle, whose jaws grind prey beyond almost any hope of revival.
- Giant Fish Outsized catfish, gars and pike of deep lakes and rivers, each big enough to swallow a person whole or burst from the weeds with a crushing bite.
- Giant Octopus A cunning, master-of-disguise sea monster that hides among the weeds, drags sailors off night watches, and can halt a small ship dead in the water.
- Giant Sea Horse An oversized sea horse prized as a war steed by locathah and sea elves, able to wrap a foe in its tail and outmaneuver land-dwellers in three dimensions.
- Giant Squid A ship-sinking cephalopod whose unbreakable tentacles pin arms and crush bodies, and whose colossal cousin, the kraken, rules whole stretches of the deep with slaves and storms.
- Gorgon A huge black bull plated in iron scales, the gorgon exhales a cone of vapor that turns flesh to stone and will track its prey for days to get a clear shot.
- Guardian Daemon Fire-breathing fiends called up by evil spellcasters to guard a treasure, guardian daemons never stray from their charge and may turn on a summoner who bungles the call.
- Gully Dwarf Grubby, cowardly, endlessly self-important scavenger dwarves who cannot count past two, worship rotten fruit and bent sticks, and grovel their way out of every fight.
- Hawk Swift hunters found from the tropics to the subarctic, hawks dive from great heights with doubled talon damage and a nasty habit of going for the eyes.
- Heucuva Skeletal undead in rotting monks' robes, heucuva are faithless holy brothers who mock the faith they betrayed, spreading a wasting disease and hunting priests above all others.
- Hippocampus Half horse and half fish, the clever, good-hearted hippocampus is the finest steed of the sea, and many a drowning sailor owes it their life.
- Hippogriff Part eagle, part horse, the hippogriff is as likely to be hunter, quarry or mount, a territorial flier that guards its nest fiercely and snatches lone travelers when meat runs short.
- Intelligent Plants Thinking, hunting vegetation that lures, strangles, digests or robs the minds of the unwary, from noose-vined trees and seaweed temptresses to memory-eating moss and thorny plant hounds.
- Kelpie A shapeshifting mass of intelligent seaweed, the kelpie charms men into embracing it beneath the waves, where they drown happily in its arms.
- Kenku Hawk-headed tricksters who live hidden among humans, kenku hand out fairy gold, give advice meant to mislead, and kidnap the rich for ransom.
- Killmoulis Tiny, mouthless, big-nosed workers who hide in mills and kitchens, doing chores at night and repaying insults with escalating mischief.
- Lamia Beautiful women from the waist up and swift beasts below, lamias haunt desert ruins, luring travelers with illusions and charms before draining their wisdom and turning them on their friends.
- Lammasu Golden-furred, eagle-winged lions with wise human faces, lammasu guard forgotten holy temples and bring healing, holy magic and razor claws against any evil that troubles the good.
- Lamprey Eel-like bloodsuckers of deep waters, lampreys clamp on with ring-toothed mouths and drink until sated, and the only sure way to get one off is to kill it.
- Leech From mud-dwelling giants that drink unnoticed to twig-like throat leeches and blood-draining swarms, leeches turn every swamp and still pool into a slow, sapping danger.
- Leprechaun A two-foot trickster of green country who steals, vanishes and lies with a grin, and whose three wishes come with a fourth that undoes everything.
- Leucrotta A hideous stag-bodied beast with a badger's head and bone-ridge jaws that can chew through shields, the leucrotta lures prey by mimicking cries for help.
- Locathah Eel-riding fish-folk nomads of warm coastal seas who fight in disciplined teams, guard coral-barred stone castles, and will sink a ship to recover a captured kinsman.
- Mimic The treasure chest that bites back: a wizard-made shapeshifter of stone-hard hide and sticky glue that waits as a door, chest or stair until someone touches it.
- Minimal Mammal Magically shrunken, half-sized versions of ordinary animals that thrive in isolated valleys and make easy-to-handle pets for halflings, brownies and other small folk.
- Morkoth A cruel, inky fish-thing of the deep sea that waits at the heart of spiraling tunnels, hypnotizing swimmers into its lair and hurling any spell cast at it back at the caster.
- Muckdweller Foot-tall swamp amphibians that blind passersby with jets of water, lure them into deep mud, and prize a kill on bigger prey above all else.
- Myconid Peaceful fungus folk of the deep underworld who live for shared spore-dream melding, defend themselves with growing arsenals of spores, and are ruled by a lonely king who brews strange potions.
- Naga Long-lived serpents with human heads and a scholar's patience, naga guard old secrets and hoards with spells first, venomous fangs second, and memories that outlast human dynasties.
- Obliviax A glossy black moss that steals a day's memories and spells from passersby, then grows tiny moss copies of its victims that hurl their own stolen magic back at them.
- Osquip [Rat] A hairless, many-legged rodent the size of a dog, the osquip chews tunnels through solid stone beneath cellars and dungeons and erupts from hidden holes to savage intruders.
- Otyugh Filth-dwelling, three-legged garbage eaters with grasping tentacles and disease-laden bites, who trade guard duty to dungeon neighbors in exchange for their waste.
- Piranha Small, saw-bellied fish that swarm in the hundreds through warm rivers, piranhas can strip a wading ox to bones within minutes once blood hits the water.
- Pixie Invisible, moth-winged pranksters of the deep woods, pixies lead travelers astray with illusions and carry arrows that bring sleep or wipe away every memory.
- Poltergeist An unseen, spiteful spirit chained to the scene of its death, hurling crockery and furniture to drive the living mad with terror and sometimes replaying the crime that made it.
- Porcupine A timid, salt-loving forest rodent bristling with barbed quills, plus a giant cousin that can fire them 30 feet and stud anyone who strays close.
- Roc An eagle of colossal size that drops silently from the sky, seizes elephants and horsemen alike in its talons, and carries them home to its mountaintop nest.
- Roper A cave predator that poses as a stalagmite or boulder, lashes out with strength-sapping sticky strands, and reels its catch into a toothy maw.
- Rot Grub Maggot-like vermin that bore painlessly into bare flesh and eat their way to the heart within minutes unless fire or cure disease stops them first.
- Rust Monster A mild-mannered tunnel beast that sniffs out iron and steel from 90 feet away and turns a warrior's sword and armor into a rusty snack with one touch.
- Sahuagin Savage, shark-loving fish-men of warm seas, ruled by a four-armed king in a sunken canyon city, who raid coasts and ships for loot, sport, and food.
- Sea Lion Half lion and half fish, this fiercely territorial predator mauls anything that enters its waters, hunts sharks out of pure spite and makes the mightiest steed under the sea.
- Shambling Mound A walking heap of rotting swamp vegetation that hides underfoot in bogs, crushes and smothers its prey, and actually grows stronger when struck by lightning.
- Shark Relentless killers of every sea, sharks sense thrashing and blood from a mile away, gather into frenzies, and in their giant megalodon form swallow prey whole.
- Small Mammal Quick notes on the little beasts of field and forest, from valuable-fur minks and otters to trinket-stealing black squirrels and gliding flying squirrels.
- Sphinx Four breeds of winged lion, from the noble, thunder-roaring androsphinx to the riddling gynosphinx, the greedy ram-headed criosphinx and the cruel hawk-headed hieracosphinx.
- Stirge A rust-red, bird-like bloodsucker that strikes with uncanny precision, clamps onto a victim's neck, and drains blood until it is too bloated to fly straight.
- Tarrasque The one and only tarrasque, a horned, armored engine of destruction that devours entire regions, reflects spells back at casters, and cannot truly die without a wish.
- Tasloi Green-skinned, cat-eyed jungle raiders that drop from the treetops with nets, prize human and elf flesh, and set ambushes along the escape paths of fleeing prey.
- Triton Proud, reclusive sea-folk from the plane of Water who guard their warm waters from undersea castles, ride hippocampi, and summon the ocean itself with their conch horns.
- Troglodyte Stinking, color-shifting reptile raiders of caves and mountain cracks who ambush travelers with deadly javelins and hunger for two things above all: steel and human flesh.
- Urchin A spine-covered sea creature that shoots poisoned needles with crossbow accuracy and hides a gem inside that alchemists pay well for.
- Urd A skittish, bat-winged cousin of the kobold that hunts in huge night flocks, raining jagged stones on travelers far below.
- Water Kin [Elemental] The kindred of elemental water: capricious, golden-haired nereids whose kiss can drown a man and whose soul lives in a white shawl, and serpentine water weirds that drag the living under.
- Water Weird [Water Kin Elemental] A hostile spirit from the elemental plane of Water that lurks in wells and fountains, rearing up as a liquid serpent to drag the living under and feed on their drowning.
- Weasel Quick, needle-toothed hunters of forest and cavern, ranging from shy rodent-killing weasels to pack-hunting giants that lock their jaws on a victim and drain its blood.
- Wereboar [Lycanthrope] Foul-tempered, tusked brawlers who charge into the thick of any fight, wereboars are miserable neighbors and impossible to read, yet make fiercely loyal friends once won over.
- Werefox [Lycanthrope] Breathtaking, silver-haired elven women who become foxes, foxwomen charm a household of male servants, kill the ones they cannot use, and live only to indulge their own vanity.
- Wolverine Squat, clawed and astonishingly fast, the wolverine is the bane of the frozen north, and its blinding, nauseating musk makes even a victory over one a miserable affair.
- Yellow Musk Creeper A lovely orchid-flowered vine whose musky pollen lures victims into its embrace, where its roots devour their minds and turn them into seed-carrying yellow zombies.
Monstrous Compendium, 1994 Annual, Volume 1
- Azer [Fire Kin] Dour, brass-skinned dwarves of the plane of fire with flames for hair, who live in rigidly ordered basalt towers, covet red and purple gems, and never break their word.
- Baelnorn Elven mages who chose undeath to keep an ancient trust, baelnorn guard their crypts and towers for centuries, scouting and spellcasting through ghostly projections of themselves.
- Baneguard A skeleton guardian that looks perfectly ordinary until it starts blinking in and out of sight and firing magic missiles from its fingertips, all with cold, silent intelligence.
- Banelar A cunning serpent with a humanoid head and a ring of tiny mouth-tentacles that casts priest and wizard spells by voice alone, poisons its foes and hoards magic out of deep paranoia.
- Blazing Bones A spellcaster whose death-cheating magic misfired in a fire, blazing bones is a burning skeleton that hurls flame, explodes into firestorms and grows stronger from fire magic.
- Bone Naga A skeletal serpent with an oversized human skull, raised by dark naga and evil wizards as a tireless, silent spellcaster that guards their young and their vaults.
- Brain Golem A hulking body made entirely of harvested brain tissue, crafted by mind reavers as a loyal bodyguard that hunts wizards first and unleashes a stunning psychic blast.
- Brain Spider A brain-shaped, eight-legged psionic predator whose venom liquefies a victim's nerves so the pack can sip them, and which grafts captured weapons onto its own limbs.
- Corpse Tearer [Linnorm] The most hideous and dreaded of the northern linnorms, Corpse Tearer is an ancient, carrion-reeking dragon whose claws drain life and whose twin breaths paralyze and rot.
- Crysmal [Earth Kin] A prism-shaped heap of living crystal from the plane of earth that tunnels through solid rock, fires its spinning spike at foes, and will fight anyone standing between it and a meal of gems.
- Dread Disembodied skeletal arms, bound by spell to guard vaults and deathtraps, that swoop out of hidden niches with sword in hand and knit their bones back together afterward.
- Dread Linnorm The rare two-headed dread linnorm lays waste to human lands with alternating blasts of freezing wind and scorching dust, then makes its lair in the ruins it leaves behind.
- Dread Wolf Rotting undead wolves bound to an evil mage's mind, dread wolves regenerate like trolls, spread a lethal wasting rot, and serve as their master's distant eyes and ears.
- Earth Weird [Elemental Kin] A patch of unusually dry dirt that rears up as an earthen serpent to lash anything living nearby, then slowly digests its victims within its own soil.
- Elder Mind Reaver Taller, darker and deadlier than the common mind reaver, this six-tentacled noble rules its kin, and its psychic blast leaves victims mindless husks.
- Electrum Dragon A thoughtful, philosophical dragon that loves trade, debate and beauty, yet becomes a cool and deadly tactician whose breath weakens and confuses its foes.
- Fang Dragon A bone-plated brawler of a dragon, spurred at every joint and armed with twin tail blades, whose bite steals hit points and adds them to its own.
- Feystag A clawed, cat-headed, antlered forest creature that senses every enchanted item nearby, learns how it works at a glance, and can trigger it from across the room.
- Flame Linnorm Radiant, greedy and rare, the flame linnorm blazes like a walking bonfire, enslaving mortals with magic to swell a hoard it guards with fire, ash and elemental servants.
- Flame Skull A floating, fire-trailing undead skull that guards forgotten places, spits flame, reflects spells back on their casters, and, once freed, tags along as a lonely, wisecracking nuisance.
- Forest Linnorm A vain, cruel serpent of tangled forests that lures prey with mimicked cries of wounded animals and saves its special hatred for anything it finds beautiful.
- Frost Linnorm Patient, calculating raiders of the frozen north, frost linnorms plan their wars for months and will not rest until every thinking creature in their domain is dead.
- Giant Cobra A hooded serpent big enough to swallow a goat, whose swaying dance freezes lesser beasts in place and whose fangs carry venom that kills within rounds.
- Giant Nautilus A colossal, telepathic shelled cephalopod nicknamed the druid of the deep, the giant nautilus keeps the sea in balance and can drag a small ship under with twenty tentacles.
- Gibbering Mouther A shapeless mass of eyes and mouths that babbles its victims into madness, blinds them with flaring spit, turns the ground to quicksand and swallows them whole.
- Gorynych A winged, three-headed wolf-dragon with a dozen whiplike tails, the gorynych binds its prey in coils, then tears victims apart between two sets of jaws.
- Gray Linnorm The smallest-bodied Norse dragon is a sadist that kills up close with claw, fang and a venomous whip of a tail, then frames other linnorms for its raids.
- Greelox A shadow-walking spider with scythe legs, humanlike arms and a lethal bite, the greelox webs, poisons and ambushes from darkness, then vanishes through the shadows.
- Hammer Golem A towering stone dwarf in adamantite armor with a warhammer for one forearm and an axe or pick for the other, built by dwarf priests to grind orcs and goblins into gravel.
- Heart Tick A blind, six-inch parasite that hears your heartbeat from 50 feet away, leaps to anchor itself in your flesh with barbed legs, and drinks until sated or you are dead.
- House Hunter Mimic A pack-hunting mimic that grows a shell shaped like a cottage, shed or ruined tower, lights its windows like candles, and snatches anyone who comes knocking.
- Jacinth Dragon [Neutral] One of the rarest dragons anywhere, a flame-orange desert loner whose riddling charm, hypnotic shimmering hide, and scorching breath leave visitors dazzled or ensnared.
- Jade Dragon [Neutral] A winged, near-mythical eastern cousin of the emerald dragon whose sonic wail can deafen and knock out a whole party, and whose hide is priceless.
- Jarbo A swift desert rodent with a psionic nose for water, able to smell a single spilled spoonful from a hundred yards away.
- Land Linnorm Greedy, patient stalkers of the hill country, land linnorms shadow wealthy travelers for days in borrowed shapes before striking with a withering blast of heat.
- Living Steel A shining, near-liquid mass of steel that reshapes itself into hounds or bladed warriors, shrugs off ordinary weapons, and hunts its enemies relentlessly once angered.
- Lock Lurker A tiny creature disguised as a coin, the lock lurker hides in keyholes and purses, striking with an ethereal stinger whose venom slows and then locks its victim rigid for hours.
- Loup de Noir [Lycanthrope] Skinchangers who pull on an enchanted wolf pelt to become dire-wolf-sized killers, the loup du noir chose its curse, and each day without blood makes the hunger harder to refuse.
- Lythlyx Corkscrew-spinning, eel-like psionic hunters that dance in midair for years, then lash, crush or drain prey with twenty sucker mouths before teleporting away.
- Magebane An invisible, bat-winged leech that latches onto a powerful wizard, sips the strength from their spells, and savagely defends the very caster it is starving.
- Marrashi Vulture-winged, jackal-headed archers of pestilence that shoot plague arrows, and whose rarest shafts devour a victim's soul to breed a new marrashi.
- Metagolem A hollow, talking metal construct with a sharp mind and no feelings, the metagolem casts fireballs, punches hard, and goads wizards into zapping it with the lightning it feeds on.
- Metalmaster A huge, saw-toothed slug that bends magnetism to its will, ripping weapons from hands, hurling armored foes aside, and wrapping itself in a whirling storm of stolen metal.
- Midgard Linnorm Possibly the only child of the World Serpent, the colossal Midgard linnorm rules the ocean floor and every other linnorm, meddling in mortal affairs from its abyssal sea cave.
- Nishruu A glowing red mist from another world that drifts relentlessly toward magic and devours it, draining wands, erasing memorized spells and leaving wizards feebleminded.
- Ormyrr Four-armed, frog-headed worm warriors from the northern lakes who hurl boulders, constrict their foes, and crave any magic that might finally let them fly.
- Pearl Dragon [Neutral] A lustrous seaside dragon that spends its days diving for pearls, breathes clouds of scalding steam, and charms visitors with riddles while it decides what to do with them.
- Pteraman Cruel, shape-shifting reptile folk of the jungle canopy who sprout leathery wings at will, dive-bomb their foes from on high and can turn into small pteranodons.
- Rain Linnorm [Dragon] A storm-loving northern wyrm that scalds foes with boiling water, dines on lightning, and insists on taking credit for every atrocity it commits.
- Saluqi Dog Sleek, pedigreed desert greyhounds that run quarry down by sight and heat trail, then bury it under a snapping pack that ruins any spell.
- Sandman [Elemental] A silent humanoid of magically bound sand whose nearness lulls victims into helpless sleep, letting it haul humans off as slaves for the dao masters it hates.
- Sea Linnorm [Dragon] A chameleon-scaled serpent of cold seas that capsizes ships from below and drowns their crews in acid fog, all in the name of protecting the ocean.
- Shadeling A living shadow from the demiplane of Shadow that swallows a victim's shadow, steals its body and gear, then hunts down the original to take its place.
- Shimmering Wraith Crackling shadows of lightning and negative energy, shimmering wraiths are an elemental's curse that doubles, then multiplies, each day until the victim dies.
- Skum Slimy, tailed servitors sculpted by aboleths from humanoid stock over a thousand years, skum are tireless underwater brutes and pack animals with no will of their own.
- Snow Troll Fur-patched, ambush-loving trolls of the frozen heights that feel prey through the snow itself, shrug off cold, and burst from hidden lairs with terrifying speed.
- Spectral Wizard A wizard bound into colorless half-ethereal undeath that still studies, memorizes and casts spells, and whose touch leaves limbs dead and useless.
- Spell Weaver Silent, six-armed sorcerers from another prime world who raid vaults for magic items, casting several spells at once and driving mad anyone who tries to read their minds.
- Spiderstone Golem A four-armed obsidian statue of a drow, haunted by a bound demon spirit, the spiderstone golem serves dark elf masters until the day it goes wild and turns on them.
- Stone Snake A granite-plated serpent that shrugs off blades, clubs foes with its rocky snout, and slowly turns prey to stone so it can swallow them whole.
- Stone Wolf Statue-still guardians of carved stone with blazing fire-opal eyes, stone wolves spring to life without warning, pin intruders beneath their weight, and shrug off arrows and blades.
- Talking Bird A centuries-old, toucan-like bird of great learning that waits in lonely places to advise the honorable, and sings so sweetly that wild birds join its chorus.
- Tuyewera A legless, tongueless corpse animated by a sorcerer's ancestral spirit, the tuyewera creeps on its hands to rob sleeping victims of their last breath.
- Undead Dwarf Faint, withered dwarven guardians that rise from the stones of their own tombs, undead dwarves pummel grave robbers out of sacred ground and simply reform if destroyed.
- Undead Lake Monster A colossal rotting sea serpent haunting a bottomless lake, the undead lake monster lures the curious to the shore, then drags them under or chokes them with poison breath.
- Vampire Moss [Plant] A pale green curtain of moss that drinks life from anyone walking within 10 yards, no touch required, glowing brighter emerald with every hit point it steals.
- Vampiric Wolf Black, orange-eyed undead raised from stolen pups by evil clerics, vampiric wolves hobble prey, pin its limbs, and drink it dry while healing with every bite.
- Werejaguar [Lycanthrope] Graceful, solitary hunters who slip into small villages as neighbors, werejaguars shrug off steel, fall to obsidian, and die instantly from a single taste of mercury.
- Whipsting A wrinkled, many-eyed ball on two whip tentacles, the whipsting springs like a coiled spring, cracks like a lash, and leaves its victims shaking helplessly with venom.
- Wind Walker [Elemental] Howling, half-ethereal knots of living wind that serve the djinn as cloud sculptors and batter anyone nearby with 3d6 points of buffeting force every round.
- Windghost A smoky, fanged flying cone that swallows prey whole, sings spellcasting into silence, and seizes incoming spells to hurl them back at the casters.
- Xantravar Two floating, rubbery bulbs joined by a glowing energy field, the stinging horror paralyzes or drains its prey, and turns into a fireball if a torch finds its gas.
- Xaver A living blade with gemlike eyes and tiny worm legs, the xaver lies hidden among treasure, shatters any iron that touches it, and slices adventurers with whirling dances.
MC1 Volume I (w/binder #1)
- Aerial Servant [Air Kin] An invisible, half-intelligent air elemental that clerics summon to fetch objects or people, which strangles anything in its way and hunts down any summoner who leaves himself unprotected.
- Boar Wild ancestors of the farmyard pig, boars are short-tempered tuskers that keep fighting after taking deadly wounds, and their undercooked meat can carry a nasty parasite.
- Bookworm An inch-long, color-shifting worm that sniffs out paper from 60 feet away and chews through spell books one spell level per round, making it every wizard's nightmare.
- Bugbear Huge, hairy goblin kin with a bear's nose and an ambusher's patience, bugbears raid from cave lairs for food, slaves, and anything that glitters.
- Deadly Pudding Acidic heaps of cell colonies that drop from dungeon ceilings, dissolve flesh and armor, and split into more puddings every time someone swings a sword at them.
- Dragonfish A shy, flat bottom-feeder hidden in streambeds whose venomous back spines punish careless waders with hours of mounting fever that may end in death.
- Elephant Gentle grazing giants that become living siege engines when roused, goring with twin tusks, crushing with their trunks, and trampling up to six foes at once.
- Giant Hornet A striped, man-length hornet that dives on anything it sees, paralyzing victims with a venomous sting so its larvae can eat them alive in a sealed mud chamber.
- Giant Toad Warty, dry-skinned toads grown big enough to swallow sheep, sewer workers and careless adventurers, with fire-spitting, frost-radiating and venomous cousins.
- Gnoll Hyena-headed raiders who swarm in hungry bands, gnolls will eat anything warm, prefer prey that screams, and turn on their own allies the moment those allies look weak.
- Hobgoblin Disciplined, warlike humanoids in blood-red garb, hobgoblins wage endless war on their neighbors from fortified villages and mines, and they hate elves above all.
- Homunculus A foot-and-a-half-tall winged servant grown from its wizard's own blood, the homunculus spies, scouts and carries messages, and its sleep-venom bite can drop a sentry in moments.
- Horse From ponderous draft teams to lance-trained chargers and stubborn mules, the horse family carries the world's riders, cargo and knights, provided nothing loud spooks them first.
- Hyena Cowardly, clumsy-looking pack scavengers whose locking jaws drag down the helpless, plus the hyaenodon, a giant prehistoric hunter that can take down elephants.
- Jackal Timid, fox-faced scavengers of warm plains whose eerie night cry spooks herds and has earned them a far worse reputation than they deserve.
- Jackalwere A shapeshifting jackal that walks among travelers as a helpless stranger, lulls them to sleep with a glance, and then feasts on their blood.
- Korred Wild-bearded, goat-legged forest revelers who hurl boulders, bind trespassers in living hair and stun crowds with a magical laugh.
- Lich A wizard who traded life for undeath to chase power forever, the lich hides its soul in a phylactery and, in time, decays into the even deadlier demilich.
- Lizard From fire-breathing 'false dragons' to cave crawlers that clamp down and never let go, the great lizards of swamp, hill and cavern are lazy, hungry and far more dangerous than they look.
- Lizard Man Savage, semi-aquatic reptile warriors of the swamps who ambush with snares, feast on their captives, and occasionally rally behind a towering, trident-wielding lizard king.
- Lycanthrope Overview Shapechangers who carry a beast inside them, spreading their curse through wounds, shrugging off ordinary steel, and fearing only silver, magic and the full moon.
- Manticore A man-headed, bat-winged lion that hunts humans, opening every fight with a volley of iron tail spikes before closing in with claws and teeth.
- Medusa A snake-haired woman whose glance turns the living to stone, luring victims close in shadow before revealing a face no one survives seeing.
- Mind Reaver Tentacle-faced tyrants of the deep underworld, mind reavers stun prey with a blast of psychic force, enslave whole races, and feast on the brains of thinking creatures.
- Minotaur Bull-headed, man-eating brutes who stalk the twisting passages of labyrinths, minotaurs never get lost, charge with lowered horns, and track intruders by scent.
- Mudman Mindless guardians born where enchanted waters pool and evaporate, mudmen rise from their pool to pelt intruders with hardening mud and then hurl their own bodies to smother them.
- Mummy An embalmed corpse driven by undying hatred, the mummy paralyzes onlookers with terror, spreads a fatal rotting disease with every blow, and shrugs off half the damage of magic weapons.
- Nixie Green-skinned lake sprites who bear humans no malice yet charm passing men into a year of underwater servitude, keeping them alive with water breathing while they haul and dig.
- Nymph A single look at her can steal a man's sight and her bare form can kill: the nymph is a spirit of nature's loveliest hidden places, with druidic magic and secrets of her own.
- Ogre Hulking, foul-smelling raiders who sell their muscle to orcs and evil priests, hoard every coin they can grab, and count elves, dwarves and halflings as dinner.
- Ooze/Slime/Jelly I Olive slime that turns its hosts into plant zombies, a cursed mustard jelly that splits and slows its prey, and a stunjelly disguised as a dungeon wall.
- Ooze/Slime/Jelly II The classic dungeon scavengers: the splitting ochre jelly, metal-eating gray ooze, near-invisible crystal ooze, paralyzing gelatinous cube and flesh-converting green slime.
- Orc Tusked, pig-snouted raiders who live for war and territory, and whose tribes are far cannier tacticians than their reputation for mindless brutality suggests.
- Owl Silent night hunters with uncanny eyes and ears, from ordinary barn owls to intelligent giant owls and rare talking owls that guide heroes on good quests.
- Owlbear I A furious, feathered hybrid of bear and giant owl that attacks anything on sight, crushes victims in a bone-breaking hug and never retreats.
- Pegasus Shy, proud winged horses that read the hearts of would-be riders, pegasi serve only the good, but once tamed they stay loyal until their master dies.
- Piercer Hanging among the cave's stalactites, a piercer looks like just another limestone spike until it drops point-first onto whoever is walking underneath.
- Rakshasa Beast-headed spirits of malice clothed in flesh, who wear the faces of trusted friends to lure humans to their deaths and laugh off almost every spell.
- Rat Bold, hungry and riddled with disease, rats swarm cellars and sewers everywhere, and their larger cousins, the giant rats and the burrowing osquip, are real threats to adventurers.
- Ray Flat, bat-winged hunters of warm shallows, rays range from the swallowing manta and the deadly-spined pungi to the stinging ray and a cruel race of priestly ray-folk.
- Remorhaz A huge, many-legged polar worm whose back glows cherry red with internal heat, melting weapons, searing attackers, and swallowing prey whole.
- Sandling [Earth Kin] A sliding, color-shifting mound of living sand that ignores trespassers until stepped on, then surges up to engulf them and grinds them with a rasping pseudopod.
- Satyr Goat-legged revelers of the deep woods, satyrs live for wine, music and mischief, and a single tune from their pipes can charm, lull or terrify a whole party.
- Scorpion Huge armored arachnids with crushing pincers and a lethal sting, giant scorpions attack almost anything that comes near and drag the remains back to their burrows.
- Seawolf [Lycanthrope] Former sailors twisted into seal-bodied, wolf-headed hunters, seawolf packs float like drowning men, then swarm aboard or chew through the hull of any ship foolish enough to help.
- Selkie Seal folk who can take human shape for a week each month, trading sunken treasure and pearls with the 'overworld' while hiding their nature behind uncanny green or blue eyes.
- Shadow Nearly invisible undead that sap strength with an icy touch, shadows turn the humans and demihumans they drain into new members of their mad, roving packs.
- Skeleton Mindless bone soldiers raised by animate dead, tireless and fearless guardians that shrug off blades and cold but shatter under a good mace.
- Skunk The familiar black-and-white forest scavenger whose musk cloud nauseates, blinds and ruins clothing, with a giant cousin whose spray reaches sixty feet.
- Snake From two-headed amphisbaenas and gaze-rotting boalisks to well-poisoning heways and hundred-foot snow serpents, this guide covers serpents both mundane and monstrous.
- Spectre A cunning, life-hating undead that drains two levels with every touch and turns its victims into enslaved spectres, building ghostly courts in places of utter darkness.
- Spider From swarming hairy hunters to blink-in phase spiders and sword-legged leapers, giant spiders paralyze, poison and drag their victims back to the web.
- Sprite Shy, winged faerie folk of glens, reefs and lakes, from sleep-arrow sprites to invisible pixie pranksters, slave-taking nixies, tree-village atomies and fiddling grigs.
- Treant Ancient tree-people who guard old forests in near-perfect disguise, waking whole groves to battle when evil or careless fire threatens their woods.
- Troll Gangly, fearless, endlessly hungry predators whose wounds close as you watch and whose severed hands keep fighting, trolls die for good only to fire or acid.
- Tunnel Brute A hulking burrower that claws through solid rock to ambush prey, the tunnel brute scrambles the minds of anyone who meets its four-eyed stare.
- Unicorn Fierce, white guardians of deep forests, unicorns impale despoilers with a magical horn, vanish by short-range teleport and bear only the purest of riders.
- Vampire The undead noble of the night: a charming, shapeshifting predator that drains life with every blow, commands beasts and thralls, and patiently plots across centuries.
- Vasshari Brilliant, scheming serpent-folk descended from a cursed human cult, ranging from near-human infiltrators to towering snake-bodied abominations that rule hidden jungle temples.
- Werebear [Lycanthrope] The best-known good lycanthropes, werebears are burly forest hermits who guard their woods like game wardens, cure disease, and crush evil shapechangers in a bone-cracking hug.
- Weretiger [Lycanthrope] Confident, cat-loving shapechangers, mostly female, who keep tidy cabins near villages, hoard gems, and fight with crushing punches and windpipe-tearing bites.
- Werewolf [Lycanthrope] The most dreaded of lycanthropes, werewolves roam in family packs, fight savagely to protect their mates and cubs, and shrug off any wound not dealt by silver or magic.
- Wight Barrow-dwelling undead with burning eyes and mummified claws, wights drain the life levels of the living and raise their victims as obedient slaves.
- Will O'Wisp A drifting ball of marsh light that leads travelers into quicksand and bogs, the will o'wisp feeds on the panic of the dying and laughs off nearly all magic.
- Wolf Feared far beyond its actual threat, the wolf is a clever, pack-bound hunter; its kin range from the hulking dire wolf and evil worg to the frost-breathing winter wolf.
- Wolfwere A murderous wolf that wears the face of a beautiful wandering minstrel, the wolfwere lulls travelers with an enchanted song before shifting into a half-wolf killer.
- Wraith The hateful shadow of a powerful evil human, the wraith drains life with its icy touch and turns every person it kills into another wraith under its command.
- Wyvern A huge, two-legged cousin of the dragon with a scorpion-like stinger dripping lethal poison, the wyvern dives silently from the sky to carry off its prey.
- Yeti A snow-white arctic ape that buries itself in drifts to ambush prey, freezes victims with an icy stare, and crushes them in a bone-chilling embrace.
- Zombie Mindless corpses raised by necromancers to shamble forward and obey, plus the cunning ju-ju zombie, the reeking zombie lord and the drowned sea zombie.
Monstrous Compendium, 1995 Annual, Volume 2
- Aquatic Dinosaur Six ancient terrors of the deep sea, from a rubber-shelled giant turtle to long-necked lunging reptiles and a primitive fish big enough to gulp a swimmer whole.
- Arch-Shadow The botched result of a failed lich ritual, an arch-shadow hides its life in a stolen magic item and hunts powerful beings to drain its way into the even deadlier demi-shade.
- Bi-nou Living stalagmites that sense heat and tremors, crush intruders in rocky arms and absorb their flesh, bi-nou guard gem-like eggs that dwarves hunt them for.
- Blackflame Lich Survivors of a long-dead empire, blackflame liches are wizards of negative energy who wear stolen human bodies like candles, burning each one out and seizing another.
- Boggle Rubbery, monkey-clever little thieves that stretch like taffy, spill slick oil underfoot, climb walls like spiders and reach through any doorway or pocket to steal from afar.
- Burning Man Golem A walking bonfire of glowing coals that showers foes with searing cinders, screams them into terror, and rebuilds itself from a speck of ash while plotting to burn its own master.
- Casurua Ghost Born where many died by violence, the casurua is a mindless storm of hateful floating eyes and skeletal hands that pelts intruders with stones inside its haunted site.
- Corvane's Automatons The discarded prototypes of an archmage's workshop, Corvane's automatons are crab-like scrap thieves, curious silverfish savants and scorpion war engines that keep building, fixing and dissecting long after their maker lost interest.
- Creature Mummy Preserved beasts and monsters bound to a single undying purpose, creature mummies keep the powers they had in life, spread exotic diseases, and the strongest rebuild themselves from destruction.
- Dangerous Plants II A blood-drinking thorn vine, a palm that drips instant death and a burrowing grass that drills through leather to paralyze, three more reasons to watch where you step.
- Dinosaur II A second herd of prehistoric giants and hunters, from the 30-ton thunder lizard to sail-backed dimetrodons and chicken-sized night stalkers that strike from cover.
- Dinosaur III More prehistoric beasts, from stampeding horned grazers and panicky herds to a long-necked swamp ambusher that drags prey under and a nimble plains carnosaur.
- Dobie [Brownie] A well-meaning but hopelessly clumsy brownie cousin, the dobie repays its farmer neighbors with chores that usually end in chaos, yet fights fiercely to protect them.
- Dorvesh [Centaur-kin] Bearded dwarven miners with the hindquarters of a donkey, dorvesh are stubborn, standoffish clansfolk who fight with discipline when their mining towns are threatened.
- Draco-Sphinx A dragon-headed, feather-maned sphinx of the desert highlands that weaves illusions like a master, breathes fire, and tests every visitor for strength before deciding whether to talk or eat.
- Dragonslayer [Human] Warriors and mages sworn to hunt dragons, clad in wyrm-shaped armor, fearless before draconic terror, and trained in blows that ground, silence or dazzle their quarry.
- Ekimmu The furious, bull-headed ghost of a human left unburied far from home, which seizes living bodies and drives them to slaughter their own companions.
- Flareater A cunning, warm-bodied cousin of green slime that pours across cavern walls like dark water, smothers torches to feed, and splits in two once it has eaten enough light.
- Flumph A good-hearted, cushion-shaped hoverer that hunts vermin with acid-soaked spikes, fends off bigger threats with a revolting stink spray, and in its rarer form keeps painted cloisters of priestly monks.
- Froghemoth An 18-foot amphibian nightmare with four shoulder tentacles, a stalked triple eye and a swallowing tongue, the froghemoth rules deep swamps and underground pools as their apex predator.
- Giant Jellyfish A drifting, often nearly invisible man-o-war whose long trailing tentacles paralyze anything that brushes them, then reel the helpless victim up to be eaten.
- Giant Mammal Oversized cousins of familiar beasts, including blood-draining weasels, quill-shooting porcupines, castle-building beavers and skunks whose musk blinds foes and rots cloth.
- Gnoat [Centaur-kin] Gnome above and mountain goat below, gnoats are wary but peaceful carvers who winter deep in mountain caves and trade their art to trusted merchants each spring.
- Greater Mimic A mimic big enough to be the room itself, the greater mimic lures whole parties into a fake treasure chamber, glues them to the floor and slams its walls shut.
- Ha'pony [Centaur-kin] Cheerful halfling-pony folk in ribbon-braided manes, ha'ponies live peacefully in village clusters but turn deadly with sling and bow when their homes are threatened.
- Half-Dragon Born of a demihuman mother and a shapeshifted gold, silver or bronze dragon, half-dragons grow into tall, serpent-eyed wanderers whose draconic powers slowly crowd out their mortal heritage.
- Herd Mammals II Bulls, boat-tipping hippos, charging rhinos, giant rams and other big grazers that keep to themselves until something wanders too close to the herd.
- Ker Ghost A black-winged, fanged spirit of vengeance that shadows its chosen victim as a gnat, then flays them with a barbed scourge that brings bad luck, age, and disease.
- Laerti Desert lizard-folk who sleep beneath the sand by day and burst from it by night, laerti ambush caravans with swords and crossbows while their poison-oozing stingtail kin follow orders.
- Marl A hooded, many-armed water serpent that pounds prey with a row of human fists, crushes with its coils, and flies into a killing frenzy at the sight of birds.
- Mold II Three more cave molds that hide lethal spore clouds under harmless fuzz: strength-sapping deep mold, floor-hugging gray mold, and the creeping, semi-intelligent death mold.
- Phantom Flyer [Golem] A golem woven from shadow and reflection, the phantom flyer hides inside any patch of darkness by day and serves as spy, courier and silent steed for whoever holds its silver whistle.
- Pleistocene Animal Ice-age giants that still roam remote wilds: axe-beaked killer birds, towering hornless rhinos, wagon-wrecking woolly rhinos, tree-ripping ground sloths and enormous-antlered deer.
- Savant Aboleth The rare sorcerer-priests of the aboleth race, savants rule drowned cities from behind walls of layered magical glyphs, and their mental domination makes slaves fight to the death.
- Scaladar [Automaton] Metal scorpions built by a reclusive archmage, scaladar crush victims in their pincers, sting with stored lightning, swallow every magic item they find and drink in electrical attacks as fuel.
- Sea Wyrm [Dragon-kin] A serene, limbless sea dragon of warm waters that coils around ships to roll them under, swallows prey whole, and puts enemies to sleep with its breath.
- Seelie Faerie [Sprite] Tiny, capricious faeries of ancient woodlands who ambush intruders with sleep-poisoned arrows and silly enchantments, and wage an endless war against their wicked unseelie cousins.
- Serpent [Herald and Teak] Two rare jungle serpents: the silver-tongued herald, a spell-casting envoy whose bite erases memory, and the teak serpent, a 30-foot constrictor posing as a hardwood branch.
- Serpent Vine Half constrictor and half plant, this leafy underground snake dangles over forest trails, wears illusory fruit, and charms travelers into walking straight into its coils.
- Shadow Lurker A paper-thin living shadow that clings to dungeon ceilings, drags every nearby shadow toward itself, and engulfs victims in numbing darkness that drains their Strength and dissolves them utterly.
- Sporebat [Bat] A silent, one-eyed fungal flyer that ambushes from the dark with a poisonous cone blast, then circles back to rend survivors with three claws and seed its kills with spores.
- Squealer A three-armed, pig-faced tree ambusher that mimics screams and crying infants to lure prey beneath it, then snatches them aloft to maul, hoard or drop.
- Subterranean Pudding Cave-dwelling cousins of the black pudding that shrug off swords, split under fire and lightning spells, and range from poison-dripping ceiling lurkers to bone-dissolving gray horrors.
- Unseelie Faerie [Sprite] Ugly, sadistic faeries who stalk travelers invisibly, drug them with sleep poison and wake them to torment, leaving blackened glades and poisoned water wherever they settle.
- Webbird Feathered, bird-shaped arachnids that mob travelers in flocks, bind them with sticky tail-silk, and inject eggs that hatch into flesh-eating grubs inside the helpless host.
- Werepanther [Lycanthrope] Black-furred cat folk born of ancient jungle rituals, werepanthers raid mountain tribes for slaves and serve a shaman lord who made their kind.
- Winged Elf Rare, feather-winged elves of the high peaks who fight in three dimensions, hunt down every survivor of an ambush, and fear fire and enclosed spaces above all else.
- Wraith-Spider Shadowy undead spiders that bite with freezing, level-draining fangs, weave glowing webs of numbing cold, and stand guard over hoards in the deep places of the dark elves.
- Zebranaur [Centaur-kin] Striped human-zebra nomads of the open wilds, zebranaurs are expert archers who paint their history in swirling patterns and their bodies in camouflaging stripes.
- Zorbo It looks like a cuddly koala in black and white, but the zorbo soaks up the toughness of rocks and trees and its claws turn magical armor to dust.
Other sources
- Ancestors The remembered dead of a people who honor their forebears, ancestor spirits stand behind their shamans in vast crowds, granting spells, blessing warriors and guarding the old ways.
- Aquatic Dwarf Gilled, web-fingered dwarves magically remade for life under the sea, aquatic dwarves forge the only metal of the deep and stand as a bulwark against sahuagin and their kin.
- Aquatic Lernaean Hydra Half lernaean hydra and half sea serpent, this many-headed lake predator snatches prey from the shore and dunks every severed stump before a torch can seal it.
- Bloodspirit Cowardly, stick-figure spirits born of cruelty, they possess bullies to flood them with crippling guilt or murderous excess, and quietly serve shamans who protect the weak.
- Cerebral Parasite Invisible specks that ride the wind and latch onto psionic minds, cerebral parasites silently feed on mental energy and multiply until their host's powers fail.
- Dwarf Crusher A two-faced, swivel-jointed golem built by a dwarf-hating wizard, the dwarf crusher has no back to sneak up on, radiates searing heat and swallows the blades that strike it.
- Fenette A river spirit born from a widow's grief-spun story, which lures men to the water's edge and crushes them in an iron embrace before dragging them under.
- Ferrous Dragon Overview Iron-hued dragons bound by a rigid chain of rank and shared telepathic links, the ferrous clans may once have been the mightiest wyrms alive, before a civil war split them forever.
- Fetish Spirits Dim, fawning little justice-spirits that can be bound into amulets, eager to punish any wrongdoer their owner points at as long as the cause looks lawful.
- Ghost Packs Spectral packs of predators wiped out by spreading civilization, ghost packs still hunt their old ranges straight through city walls, and will savage anyone who threatens a shaman ally.
- Great Spirits The mightiest and most aloof of all spirits, great spirits embody forces like the winds, fire and lightning, and they choose only shamans who mirror their own nature.
- Greater and Lesser Bogeymen Spirits spun from irrational dread, bogeymen treat cruelty as an art form, faking terrifying blows before biting and clawing in earnest, and tearing held victims apart slowly.
- Guardian Spirits Ghostly sentinels born where defenders once made a legendary last stand, guardian spirits keep that vigil forever and sap the vigor of anyone they strike.
- Hero Spirits The legendary founders and champions of a tribe, hero spirits stride out of myth to guard their people and favor shamans, provided the shaman never stops singing their praises.
- Intellect Devourer Larva [Ustilagor] A soft, fungus-furred brain on coral legs, the ustilagor larva whips victims with acid and turns companions against each other, and it always goes for whoever carries gems.
- Minor Spirits Faint spirits born of mortal guilt, grief and fear, from harmless replaying apparitions to cat-shaped breathstealers that smother infants in the night.
- Moor Bride The lovely, bedraggled ghost of a frontier wife who begs rescue from lonely wanderers, then dances them to death while drinking their blood through her skin.
- Nemesis Spirits The great villains of a people's legends, nemesis spirits wage endless war on the hero spirits who defeated them, and grant curses and spells to shamans who join the fight.
- Rogue Hero A once-revered hero spirit, forgotten or recast as a villain by its people, now a furious thing that never quits a fight and hungers for lost worship.
- Scylla and Charybdis Twin perils of a narrow sea passage: a many-headed monster that plucks sailors from passing decks, and a bottomless whirlpool that swallows whole ships.
- Steel Dragon [Variant] A small, sleek city-dwelling dragon that trades in secrets under a human face, knocks foes into a deathlike coma with its breath, and shrugs off most magic.
- Strigloi A child-stealing spirit born from bedtime tales of monstrous people, an ancient, dust-covered figure that flies off with children into the night and never brings them back.
- The Abomination of Zhirrak A stone-fleshed horror from another dimension that erupts up through the earth, clamps drooling mouths onto its prey to drain their life, and wears the screaming faces of dwarves it has devoured.
- Tomb Warden A wall of carved dwarven warriors that heaves to life when intruders pass, shrugging off most magic while a hidden crystal heart keeps the whole frieze alive.
- Totem Spirit The living archetype of an animal species, a shapeshifting guardian that rewards respectful hunters and curses anyone who wastes or abuses its kin.
- Vagabond An alien intelligence of unknown origin that slips into the shape of a local creature, a curious psionic hitchhiker that may be riding inside the party's own warhorse.
Monstrous Compendium, 1996 Annual, Volume 3
- Amber Dragon [Neutral] A moody, bark-skinned wanderer of ancient pine forests that drinks tree sap, entombs foes in hardening resin, and can magnetize an armored knight into helplessness.
- Beetle Three nasty giant beetles: the skull-marked death watch whose rattle can kill outright, the limb-severing slicer, and the harmless but foul-smelling stink beetle.
- Bramble Faerie [Petty] A tiny, vicious faerie in spiked plate armor that hurls its thorny body at foes, wrestles anything its size, and rides porcupines and hedgehogs like a knight.
- Faerie Fiddler A tiny, spry old fiddler who guards a faerie community with enchanted tunes, from tireless dancing to a full-moon reel that steals years from anyone who wrongs the fey.
- Firenewt Cruel, fire-breathing lizardfolk of volcanic wastes who ride giant striders to war, roast their captives alive, and live under the thumb of scheming egg-keeper priests.
- Freshwater Ray-Folk Underground lake cousins of the evil ray-folk, with thicker hides, sharper magic and stranger mutations, who scheme with brinekin and aboleth in the lightless deep.
- Gargoyle II Archers that look like cherubs, acid-spitting spouts, loyal stone lions and stern door-guarding faces: these crafted gargoyles range from murderous to devoted.
- Giant Moray Eel A sluggish, spiteful reef ambusher whose locking jaws stay clamped even after death, and whose filthy bite rots away whatever limb it seizes.
- Giant Strider A featherless, fire-spitting volcano bird ridden by firenewts, healed by flame and poisoned by a simple drink of water.
- Gorse Faerie [Petty] The tiniest and loveliest of faeries, archers barely a hand high who defend thorny gorse thickets with needle weapons, small magic and potions shared among twenty.
- Hound of Ill-Omen A divine harbinger that appears in a ghostly mist to howl once at a mortal who gravely offended a god, cursing them to take quadruple damage from wounds to come.
- Jabberwock The ancient forest's own guardian, a burbling, dragonlike horror whose voice scrambles minds and words, and whose hide yields to nothing but a vorpal blade.
- Manotaur A bull-bodied, horned centaur of cursed forests that lures victims into its maze of twisted paths and smashes into them with devastating charges.
- Meazel A filthy, sore-covered underground hermit that strangles stragglers with a cord and picks their pockets, so hated that every other cave dweller attacks it on sight.
- Owlbear II Two rarer owlbear breeds: a snow-white arctic hunter that swims after prey through icy water, and a winged terror that strikes silently from the sky.
- Petty Faerie Two nuisance fey: squeakers, gangs of rock-throwing pests guarding tiny territories, and stwingers, adorable charm-sprites that swing from beards until their playmates pass out.
- Shadow Mastiff Hounds of living darkness from the shadow plane whose baying sends warriors running, and who melt back into the gloom after every bite.
- Tidewrought Golem A shapeless mass of living water easily mistaken for a water elemental, the tidewrought golem drowns intruders inside its own body and drops crushing slabs of ice on foes ashore.
- Undead Dragon Slayer A rotting knight in glowing dragon-scale plate, the undead dragon slayer returns from the grave with a blessed blade and a lifetime of wyrm-killing tricks, and it must feed on dragon deaths to stay animated.
- Weredragon Not cursed lycanthropes but a true dragon race that can wear the shape of a lovely human woman, weredragons court wicked men, then devour them in their real form.
- Werespider [Lycanthrope] Rare shapechangers that become hulking, eight-legged hunters, cocoon victims in webbed lairs, and plant eggs in survivors that hatch into new werespiders.
City of Splendors
- Curst Humans bound by a wish-forged curse into a deathless half-life, keeping their old skills, shrugging off most magic and rising again from any wound until a remove curse sets them free.
- Ghaunadan [Ooze/Slime/Jelly] A cunning ooze in service to the god of slimes that wears a charming human shape, befriends victims with a look, and swallows their blades into its body.
- Greater Doppelganger A shapeshifter that eats its victims' brains to steal their whole identity, then lives their life so perfectly that only true seeing can tell the difference.
- Greater Leucrotta The changesteed is a leucrotta that can wear the shape of a horse, hound or griffon, hiding its shield-crunching jaws among ordinary animals and city streets.
- Gulguthhydra A rock-skinned cross between a filth-eating otyugh and a hydra, the gulguthhydra snares prey with two ridged tentacles and feeds it to a ring of six snapping heads.
- Nyth A glowing orb of living light often mistaken for a will o' wisp, the nyth hunts with magic missiles, feeds on fire and lightning, and makes a clever, loyal guardian.
- Palimpsest A hungry, half-aware sheet of enchanted parchment that hides among books, then draws lone readers into its pages as screaming illustrations while it devours them.
- Peltast A blob that disguises itself as a lost glove or coin purse, the peltast quietly sips its owner's blood, and its gem-shaped greater cousin summons monsters to make more corpses.
- Raggamoffyn Living heaps of rags, leather and scrap metal that wrap themselves around victims like a second skin and puppet them through crime, mischief and the making of more of their kind.
- Wereshark [Lycanthrope] Brutish, scarred loners who tear limbs off in human form and swallow swimmers whole as great white sharks, leaving the leftovers to their shark entourage.
Dragon Mountain
- Gnasher Sorcery-bred hunting dogs with too many teeth and a love of pain, gnashers run their prey ragged as a pack, then drag it down and tear it apart.
- Noran A stony, petrified tree-thing that wanders the underground spitting fist-sized rocks from a knothole in its trunk, so feared that whole dungeons empty out when it shuffles in.
- Ophidian Snake-bodied ambushers with human arms and a venomous bite that slowly turns its victims into new snakemen, stripping away their memories scale by scale.
- Rautym Eyeless psionic monkeys that see by hearing light, the rautym can dance raw magic into being, pooling their steps so a chosen focus can unleash spells of startling power.
- Squeaker Naked, big-headed little pests of uncertain magical origin that pelt travelers with rocks and sticks from cover, seemingly for no reason beyond pure annoyance.
- Stone Snake [Variant] A granite-scaled serpent that clubs foes with its rocky snout or injects a venom that slowly turns them to stone, then swallows the statue whole and digests it for days.
- Suwyze A cowardly, philosophizing heap of feelers that wizards keep as a living alarm, able to spy with magic and make attackers feel every blow they land.
- Winged Gnasher A larger, bat-winged cousin of the gnasher that launches from rocky ledges and glides onto its prey, winged gnashers bring pack savagery down from above.
- Wyrmhold Kobold Prosperous, trap-mad kobolds who rule a conquered dwarven mountain under a dragon's protection, burying intruders under nets, spells and swarming bodies.
Monstrous Compendium, 1997 Annual, Volume 4
- Bloodsipper [Farther Dark] An alien carpet of pulsing artery-vines rooted in stone, whose great red pods burst open to fling out tethered, many-toothed tadpole things that clamp on and drink.
- Coral Ordinary reefs cut and poison the careless, but psionic brain coral and the hull-chewing coral worm make some reefs far deadlier than they look.
- Moonstone Dragon [Neutral] A dreamlike giant among neutral dragons that drifts between faerie courts, the Ethereal, and sleepers' dreams, breathing glittering light that strips away magic and memory.
- Shade A former human who traded mortality for shadowstuff, nearly helpless in bright light or total dark but a formidable, deathless agent in the dusky places between.
- Unseelie Nymph A nymph's dazzling beauty wrapped around a rotten heart, the unseelie nymph enslaves admirers with a glance, withers those who stay near her, and turns paradise into wasteland.
HR3 Celts Campaign
- Boobrie A man-sized, coal-black diving bird that lurks among lakeside reeds, snatching lambs, calves and even small children, and stunning larger foes with a battering wing.
- Phouka A shapeless trickster of the wild roads that poses as a lost gold ring or a handsome horse, all to give some unlucky traveler the most humiliating ride of their life.
- Water Leaper A toothy, toad-like lake creature with gliding fin-wings that shrieks to freeze its prey, knocks fishermen out of their boats, and hunts in packs that strip lakes bare.
- Water-Horse A flawless-looking steed that grazes the shore on livestock, glues any rider to its back, and gallops straight into the sea to drown them.
MC3 Forgotten Realms Appendix I
- Bunyip A shaggy, gilled cross between seal and shark, the playful bunyip roars swimmers into panic, capsizes boats, and may bite a limb clean off a small creature.
- Burbur A harmless, cinnamon-scented worm that sucks up deadly slimes and molds, the burbur is a prized adventurer's companion and a poisonous meal for anything that eats it.
- Living Web Drifting sheets of dusty, carnivorous cobweb that crackle with stored lightning, split apart when cut, and merge with their own kind, often hiding among ordinary webs in ruins and caves.
The Illithiad
- Reaver Hivemind A glowing, tentacled mass of fused brains floating in a brine pool, the reaver hivemind is the memory, counsel and psionic heart of a whole mind reaver city.
- Reaver Wyrm What a mind reaver tadpole becomes if it never finds a host, the reaver wyrm is a huge, psionic, slime-drenched worm whose breath melts everything but its victims' brains.
- Urophion A mind reaver crossbreed with a roper, disguised as a rock pillar until it blasts intruders' minds and rips their brains out with its tendrils.
MC7 Spelljammer Appendix I
- Bog Hound Eyeless hounds of mud and straw raised by a curse, led by a coal-black moor hound that cannot truly die until the sun touches it.
- Dog From scavenging wild packs and loyal mastiffs to teleporting blink dogs and two-headed death dogs carrying a rotting plague, canines cover every role from pet to nightmare.
The Sea Devils
- Anguiliian Eel-bodied raiders of the black ocean depths, anguiliians surround their prey in a living sphere, then latch on with drilling mouths and eat their victims from within.
- Nawidnehr A roaring, shapeshifting great shark that walks ashore as a castaway or fisherman, the nawidnehr kills for the joy of it and swallows victims whole.
A Darkness Gathering
- Phthisic A buried neurosis torn out of a living mind and given monstrous flesh by mind reavers, the phthisic hunts thinkers and slowly devours their intellect in its hidden lair.
Dawn of the Overmind
- Reavercyte Eyeless, tentacled slugs descended from orphaned mind reaver tadpoles, reavercytes drift in writhing masses through lightless tunnels, stinging anything that might be a threat.
Dragon271
- Soul Mask A theater mask brought to life by years of stage passion, which grafts itself onto a victim's face and forces them to perform its emotion, scene after scene.
MC5 Greyhawk Appendix
- Norker [Hobgoblin] Small, fanged, hairless cousins of hobgoblins, norkers swarm their prey in stinking packs, clubbing and biting until sheer weight of numbers drags the victim down.