Dragon Magazine Monsters
Monsters first printed in the pages of the long-running gaming magazine, ranging from silly to truly sinister. 242 monsters, grouped by the book they come from.
- Dragon190 (26)
- Dragon156 (13)
- Dragon204 (13)
- Monstrous Compendium, 1997 Annual, Volume 4 (13)
- Dragon248 (11)
- Dragon167 (9)
- Dragon198 (9)
- Dragon269 (9)
- Dragon174 (8)
- Dragon243 (7)
- Dragon #238 (6)
- Dragon170 (6)
- Dragon239 (6)
- Dragon162 (5)
- Dragon199 (5)
- Dragon242 (5)
- Dragon244 (5)
- Dragon268 (5)
- DragonMagazineAnnual1998 (5)
- Dragon227 (4)
- Dragon235 (4)
- Dragon247 (4)
- Dragon262 (4)
- Dragon272 (4)
- DragonMagazinAnnual1997 (4)
- Dragon172 (3)
- Dragon186 (3)
- Dragon223 (3)
- Dragon228 (3)
- Dragon246 (3)
- Dragon266 (3)
- Dragon267 (3)
- Dragon #210 (2)
- Dragon159 (2)
- Dragon165 (2)
- Dragon180 (2)
- Dragon182 (2)
- Dragon187 (2)
- Dragon271 (2)
- MC11 Forgotten Realms Appendix II (2)
- Dragon163 (1)
- Dragon184 (1)
- Dragon191 (1)
- Dragon192 (1)
- Dragon213 (1)
- Dragon221 (1)
- Dragon230 (1)
- Dragon233 (1)
- Dragon234 (1)
- Dragon237 (1)
- Dragon249 (1)
- Dragon252 (1)
- DragonMagazineAnnual1996 (1)
- Dungeon #76 (1)
- MC12 Dark Sun Appendix I - Terrors of the Desert (1)
Dragon190
- Alicorn [Unicorn] A unicorn with a gnarled, twisted horn, the alicorn charms defenders who will fight to the death for it and gallops across thin air as if it were solid ground.
- Bay Unicorn A chestnut unicorn with ember-red eyes that haunts mines and volcanic tunnels, hurling fire from its horn at anyone who intrudes on its underground realm.
- Black Unicorn A jet-black, fanged unicorn wrapped in permanent silence, whose paralyzing horn and taste for living flesh make it a terror for anyone caught in the dark.
- Brown Unicorn A gentle, telepathic desert unicorn that hears the thoughts of everyone nearby and sings even mighty intruders to sleep, so it is almost never caught off guard.
- Cunnequine [Unicorn] A silvery, law-minded cousin of the forest unicorn that can flip a creature's moral outlook with one touch and drive off undead and summoned beings.
- Deep-Dwelling Octopus A peaceful, farming octopus of the lightless abyss that talks in clicks and glowing patterns, and can paint an attacker with ink that shines for hours.
- Dragon Fish Huge, fang-crammed eels that track prey by scent, motion and electric sense, toy with the wounded before swallowing them whole, and hoard sunken metal in their lairs.
- Faerie Unicorn A small, green-eyed unicorn that fades into the forest like a chameleon, rarely seen unless someone wantonly harms the wild places it watches over.
- Father-of-All-the-Turtles [Sea Serpent] A turtle the size of a small island, 60 feet long, with a mouth that splits its whole head open and a shell shingled like a roof.
- Giant Clam [Variant] A chalk-white bivalve as tall as a man that snaps its shell closed on anything brushing its lips, pinning limbs in a slow, crushing vise.
- Giant Tube Worm Towering tube worms crowd the scalding vents of the deep sea, and hidden among the harmless filter feeders lurk toothy blood worms waiting to lunge.
- Gray Unicorn A serene gray unicorn whose body throws every blow straight back at the attacker, a lesson most predators only need to learn once.
- Great Orm [Sea Serpent] A hundred-foot worm shaped like a plesiosaur, whose writhing, slimy body revolts onlookers and whose warty skin oozes a poison that kills at a touch.
- Long-necked Sea Serpent A sleek, seal-like giant with a periscope neck and snorkel horns, able to breathe while lying almost invisible at the surface.
- Many-finned Sea Serpent An armored, primitive whale with a lobster-like plated back and spiky side projections that sailors mistake for a row of fins.
- Many-humped Sea Serpent A fast, ox-headed primitive whale whose back carries a long row of air-filled humps, streaking along continental shelves at up to 40 knots.
- Marine Saurian [Sea Serpent] A 60-foot sea crocodile, the only sea serpent that is certainly a reptile, which can swallow a swimmer whole in one bite.
- Merhorse A long-necked sea beast with a horse's head and a flowing red mane, the merhorse prowls dark ocean depths for squid and big fish, and sailors' tales place it in nearly every sea.
- Palomino Unicorn A cream-colored arctic unicorn that hurls ice and frost from its horn, vanishes against the snow, and kills anything that strays into its frozen range.
- Pinto Unicorn A patchwork-coated plains unicorn that blasts foes with rainbow light and conjures false images of itself to lure hunters into wasting their shots.
- Sea Unicorn A shape-shifting guardian of the deep that swims as a horned whale or sea horse, calls up storms, and gallops across the waves in unicorn form.
- Super Eel A conger or moray grown to sea-serpent scale, possibly the real explanation behind famous serpent sightings, stretching anywhere from 50 to 180 feet long.
- Super Otter A primitive, many-humped marine mammal of the frigid northern seas, possibly the last link between land carnivores and true sea serpents, and possibly already extinct.
- Unisus [Unicorn] A winged unicorn born of pegasus and unicorn bloodlines that plunges from the sky with horn and hooves for devastating diving strikes.
- Yellow Belly [Sea Serpent] A vivid yellow, tadpole-shaped giant up to 100 feet long whose bite is so enormous it does damage in multiples of five.
- Zebracorn [Unicorn] A striped, stubborn savannah unicorn that dazzles foes with colored light, can wear any shape it likes, and turns on evil creatures the instant it touches them.
Dragon156
- Blink Wooly Mammoth A mammoth that teleports in short hops when threatened, the blink wooly mammoth may reappear behind you, beside you, or directly on top of you.
- Death Sheep Grubby hillside sheep with black, dripping fangs whose bite spreads a maddening curse-disease that turns any mammal into a doomed, biting berserker.
- Gello Monster A fruit-flavored mutant of the gelatinous cube that smothers its victims and shrugs off swords and spells alike, the gello monster can be beaten only by eating it as fast as possible.
- Killer Spruce A spiteful evergreen that tolerates no living thing beneath it, flailing passersby with iron-hard needles and, when finally felled, toppling onto its killers.
- Man-Drake A duck that becomes a dashing, dim-witted druid around the full moon and spends those nights hopelessly courting swanmays who want nothing to do with him.
- Paper Dragon [Dragonet] A flat, parchment-bodied dragonet that lives in spellbooks and scrolls, eats the magic off the page, and burps its last meal back at anyone who disturbs it.
- Pigeontoad Winged, taloned swamp toads that hunt in hungry flocks, pigeontoads will pin a victim in their claws and peck, and some flocks carry a slow, wasting poison.
- Pink Dragon A giggling, rose-colored dragon that adores telling jokes, blinds its foes in a cloud of stinging soap bubbles, and eats any listener who fails to laugh.
- Tickler A tiny winged puffball that darts under armor and clothing to tickle its victim helpless, feeding on the laughter while every monster nearby hears the noise.
- Tin Golem A toylike soldier in red coat and tall hat, the tin golem waits motionless until summoned, then wades in with a huge sabre while blades bend and dull against its body.
- Unicow A shy, one-horned cow of the open plains that charges with surprising force, ignores charms and death spells, and gives milk that toughens whoever drinks it.
- Variant Behir Two regional behirs that trade the classic lightning for a gout of fire or a jet of acid, growing over decades from 6-foot hatchlings into 40-foot adults.
- Werelagomorph [Were-hare] A spiteful little were-hare that dreams up endless cruelties and rarely has the nerve to carry them out, though only silver or magic can hurt it.
Dragon204
- Acidic Hallucigenia A land-dwelling hallucigenia that runs its prey down, rears up to slash with spines and pincers, and finishes the job with stinging jets of digestive acid.
- Amiskwia A sleek, wormlike swimmer that lives like a seal, the amiskwia lounges in small shoreline colonies whose members swarm any lone intruder with biting jaws.
- Anomalocaris The 'odd shrimp' of the ancient seas, a squidlike hunter with spiny grasping arms that flips boats and feeds swallowed victims through a gut lined with crushing teeth.
- Cave Hallucigenia A blood-drinking cave hallucigenia that hangs from stalactites by its tail, drops onto passersby with fourteen spines, then hauls them up into the dark to be drained.
- Hallucigenia An utterly baffling spiny creature from the primordial seas, hallucigenia crawls ashore to lash with dozens of tentacles and trample prone victims under fourteen razor-sharp legs.
- Leanchoilia An armored, fin-legged arthropod from the dawn of life, the leanchoilia snares prey with whip-tipped feelers and can stalk the shoreline for an hour at a time.
- Marrella An armored, many-legged water crawler that looks like a trilobite crossed with a centipede, able to whip foes with feathery antennae or ram them headfirst.
- Odontogriphus A flat, leech-like swimmer that glides like a ray, drops onto prey with a ring of teeth, and can wrap around a victim to drink and smother at once.
- Opabinia A five-eyed prehistoric sea predator that lies camouflaged on the seabed, then snaps out a long clawed trunk to haul swimmers under and drown them.
- Ottoia A buried prehistoric worm that lurks in sandy pits, shooting out a fanged proboscis to bite or swallow whole anyone who steps too close.
- Sanctacaris A primitive, lobster-armored arthropod nicknamed Santa Claws that guards its burrow with a heavily plated head and jaws that do not easily let go.
- Wiwaxia A yard-long, armor-plated seabed crawler bristling with fourteen bladed spines, wiwaxia is a scavenger that happily snaps at living prey and punishes anyone who fights it hand to hand.
- Yohoia A fast-swimming, camouflaged ambusher related to the opabinia, whose two spined, four-fingered hands skewer small prey and snatch wands and daggers from larger victims.
Monstrous Compendium, 1997 Annual, Volume 4
- Albino Wyrm [Dragon-kin] A pale, half-mad, flightless dragon of the deepest caverns that swallows prey whole, crushes armor in its tail, and breathes a rattling blast of shattering cold.
- Bainligor Ugly, flightless bat-folk of the upper underworld, bainligors hunt by echo in total darkness, blast foes with crushing ultrasound, and grow into mighty undead elders as they age.
- Brass Minotaur Golem A brass bull-headed avenger that wakes when a shrine is violated, tracks the guilty without rest, and drags them through the gem in its axe into an inescapable maze.
- Chromatic Mold A drab brown cave fungus that blazes with hypnotic swirls of color to anyone using infravision, luring them close enough to be filled with spores that burst out of their corpse.
- Deep Ocean Fish Four predators of the black abyss: lure-dangling anglers, a magical minnow that swells to swallow a man and shrinks him away, the endless-tailed gulper, and the cruising viperfish.
- Gohlbrorn [Bulette] A smaller, smarter, pack-hunting cousin of the bulette, the gohlbrorn ambushes from inside cavern walls, targets spellcasters first, and spits stones from its gullet.
- Kercpa Tiny squirrel-folk archers of deep forests, kercpas pepper intruders with arrows from every direction, lead invaders astray, and stand as loyal allies of the elves.
- Lukhorn Worm A 200-foot shapeshifting worm that molds itself into a convincing tunnel mouth, the lukhorn lets whole patrols walk straight into its acid-filled gut.
- Octo-Jelly A blind, bell-shaped deep-sea octopus that drops over prey like a living sack, chewing and smothering it, then blinds stronger foes with a glowing cloud.
- Sea Demon A colossal, ten-armed octopus that hunts ships as if they were whales, crushing hulls, blinding crews with ink and spinning up whirlpools to swallow anything that slips its grip.
- Tropical Fish Four menaces of warm reefs and shallows: a man-swallowing giant grouper, the lightning-quick morena, a puffed-up porcupine fish with lethal spines, and the shocking electric ray.
- Variant Skeleton Three nasty skeletal breeds for undead armies: dust skeletons that burst into paralyzing clouds, spike skeletons that set blood ablaze, and obsidian skeletons that rise again and again.
- Varkha Short, frog-eyed lizard folk of the deep underworld's flooded caverns who herd prey into dark water and drown it under sheer numbers.
Dragon248
- Amphitere A thick-bodied flying serpent with a venom-tipped second tongue, the cowardly amphitere picks off stragglers and children, and every few years erupts in migrating swarms of hundreds.
- Dragonet A small, nimble blue dragon with fire breath and poison in its blood, often sold to gullible buyers as a shrunken full-size dragon in a classic wizard's con.
- Gargouille A mosasaur-like sea dragon that breathes a crushing torrent of water, the gargouille sinks galleons, drowns whole coastal fields and dines on everything it floods.
- Garrovash [Master Fire Worm] An ancient dragon fused with his own mountain, Garrovash tears free in earthquakes to breathe volcanic lava and is growing hungrier, and angrier, every year.
- Hai Riyo A bird larger than a roc with the whiskered head of an eastern dragon, the hai riyo plummets silently from the clouds, swallows prey whole, and breathes a scalding cone of steam.
- Lesser Cetus A tusked, plate-scaled sea serpent that can swallow a horse whole, the lesser cetus becomes a living catastrophe when settlers crowd the lonely beaches where it nests.
- Orange Dragon [Sodium] A blazing-hued jungle tyrant descended from red dragons, equally happy to roar a challenge or spring from ambush, and quick to bully black dragons out of its swamps.
- Peluda A wingless, fire-breathing 'shaggy beast' bristling with venomous ten-foot quills, the peluda rules swamp and forest from ambush and happily eats any young dragon it catches.
- Purple Dragon [Energy] A sadistic night raider of the open plains whose jagged claws leave slow-healing wounds and whose blinding breath can burn a path straight through solid rock.
- Sirrush A sand-colored, serpent-necked hybrid of lion, bird and lizard with venomous fangs and a taste for live prey, feared by caravans and prized by alchemists.
- Yellow Dragon [Salt] A cruel, snake-supple dragon of salt flats and seashores that blinds its prey with a cone of salt crystals and keeps a larder of salted meat, elves included.
Dragon167
- Bloodflower A lovely white-blossomed shrub whose sweet narcotic scent drops passersby into a deep sleep, then feeds on them through spiny leaves until its petals blush red.
- Cenozoic Animals Giant bears, dog-headed hunters, tusked forest elephants and shoulder-high warthogs: these lost beasts of the Age of Mammals can stalk prehistoric lands or hidden valleys of any campaign.
- Clubthorn A blood-drinking cousin of the holly that snares passersby with buried roots, beats them with its branches, and gums up any blade that bites its bark.
- Giant Bladderwort A drifting swamp plant whose underwater bladders snap open in a split second, sucking in swimmers to drown and digest them inside a sealed sac.
- Giant Butterwort A carnivorous bog plant whose flat, greasy leaves glue down anything that steps on them, then roll up into a tight cocoon that slowly digests the catch.
- Giant Rainbow Plant A ten-foot carnivorous plant whose shimmering slime dazzles its prey, then glues sticky, knob-tipped leaves to them, smothering any victim struck in the face.
- Giant Waterwheel Plant A rootless, drifting water plant whose clamshell traps snap shut on anything small that brushes their trigger hairs, then drown and digest it inside a sealed chamber.
- Helborn A cunning, telepathic carnivorous plant that lures swamp travelers with treasure and false promises, then clubs, crushes, and swallows them into its clamshell head.
- Sword Grass Clumps of giant, razor-edged blades that slice anything walking through them, growing from a buried rhizome that shrugs off fire and makes a living moat.
Dragon198
- Angreden A swollen, black-skinned corpse with a grotesquely huge head, the angreden is pure undying fury, sapping strength with its touch and terror with its stare.
- Goop Ghoul A paralyzing, flesh-dissolving ooze that wears skeletons like a suit, the goop ghoul passes for undead until it engulfs a victim and splits into two.
- Ka The undying mummy of a long-dead king, a ka guards its tomb with curses, commanding glyphs and stone statues, yet can be won over by reverence and gifts.
- Kamigoroshi [Lesser Spirit] A spirit-eater whose blistering red skin shrieks with the souls it has swallowed, the kamigoroshi grows huge by devouring honor, and every dishonorable act against it feeds it.
- King-Wight A wicked king who chose undeath to keep his throne, the king-wight rules a barrow court of wight warriors and baits heroes with glimpses of his hoard.
- Kraken [Al-Qadim] Colossal albino squid of the ocean depths, once worshipped by coastal humans, that hate all goodness, drag ships beneath the waves, and keep human slaves in flooded caverns.
- Skullrider A spider disguised as a bleached human skull that eats a fresh corpse's brain, rides the body like a puppet, and leaps off to deliver a venomous bite.
- Vartha A guardian spirit in the shape of a neatly embalmed corpse, the vartha is a fighter-priest undead that may protect a treasure, aid a hero or relentlessly hunt a criminal.
- Wraith-King A hollow suit of enchanted plate lit by two burning red eyes, the wraith-king drains life with a glance and turns everyone it kills into a wraith that serves it forever.
Dragon269
- Brak Twan [Dwarven Tunnel Hound] A hairless, battle-scarred war dog bred by dwarves for the tunnels, the brak twan locks its jaws on a foe and can crush a throat with one lucky bite.
- Byut [Fey Deer] A tiny, color-shifting deer bred as a pampered elven pet, the byut vanishes into its surroundings when startled and can leave pursuers dazed in a cloud of sweet musk.
- Crayghe [Elven Hawk] A swift, clever hawk bred by elves over countless generations, able to carry messages and stand guard, and deadly accurate at clawing out an enemy's eyes.
- Demihuman Pets Over the centuries the elder races have bred their own rare companion animals, prized beasts that most humans have never seen and few will ever own.
- Guttar [Dwarven Ox] Shaggy, tunnel-bred cattle of the dwarves, guttar graze on deadly fungi, talk in musk, and when stampeded down a corridor they leave little of an orc warband behind.
- Pennig [Halfling Pony] Shaggy, stubborn and nearly fearless, the halfling pony carries more than its size suggests, climbs mountain trails with ease, and in its war-trained form kicks like a mule.
- Stoght [Forest Gnome Fisher] A fierce, bushy-tailed fisher bred by forest gnomes as a guardian, quick enough to bite twice a round and willing to fight anything to protect its gnome family.
- Twill [Pocket Rat] A clever, thumbed marsupial bred by rock gnomes as a mining companion, the pocket rat sniffs out gems, hides from infravision and stuffs its pouch with treasure.
- Yyllethyn [Elven Horse] The 'sun follower', a gray elf breed of horse refined over millennia into a silent, clever, magic-resistant steed so beautiful that foes may refuse to strike it.
Dragon174
- Chamrol A towering, lead-heavy blend of plant, animal and stone that grows where positive energy meets living rock, lashing visitors with tentacles and blasting them with raw life force.
- Energy Pod A tentacled sphere from the border of positive energy and elemental mineral whose glowing nodules burst with searing power on impact and regrow from any spell cast at it.
- Glomus A drifting boulder of fused crystals from the quasi-plane of Mineral that rams foes with jagged spires, shatters weapons, explodes when slain and slowly reassembles.
- Mineral Quasielemental Overview The gem-strewn quasi-plane of Mineral teems with crystal natives who guide, guard and punish visitors, especially those caught pocketing its gems or ioun stones.
- Quarzheon The vast crystal giant who rules the quasi-elemental plane of Mineral from a jeweled throne, guarded by a whirling cloud of ioun stones and plotting his rise to godhood.
- Shard Razor-edged living crystals from the quasi-plane of Mineral, shards swarm in their dozens or hundreds, shatter ordinary blades, and stun foes with spinning bursts of color.
- Spined Shard A cruel, crystalline predator of the borderland between the mineral and positive planes that melts weak weapons, scrambles magic, and fires one-inch beams of raw positive energy.
- Trilling Crysmal A six-legged crystal predator of the mineral border planes that slices with razor limbs, fires shattering splinter darts, and bounces spells back out of its great prismatic heart.
Dragon243
- Armadillephant An elephant clad in armadillo plate and made by humanoid gods for war, the armadillephant wades through battle lines carrying a howdah full of crossbowmen.
- Dragonfly Turtle Nicknamed the hovershell, this wizard-bred cross of giant turtle and giant dragonfly buzzes through the sky as a flying armchair, usually with an armed spellcaster perched on top.
- Duckbunny The beginner's project of magical crossbreeding, a fluffy, egg-laying cross between a hare and a duck that quacks at intruders, swims like a champion and charms nearly everyone.
- Equar Planar horses bound to a rider by a summoning pact, each of nine breeds carrying the moral flavor of its home plane, a strange appetite, and one secret weakness.
- Moat Cat A wizard-made blend of big cat and newt, the silent moat cat lurks underwater in castle moats and erupts from the surface to drag intruders down.
- Spider-Horse A wizard-made blend of riding horse and giant spider that gallops on hooves, scales cliffs on eight-eyed spider legs, and spins its master a web tent at night.
- Venom Dog Wizard-bred guard hounds crossed with pit vipers or giant scorpions, venom dogs are loyal, easily trained and carry poison that can kill an intruder in a single round.
Dragon #238
- Albino Crocodile Small, pale sewer crocodiles twisted by generations of magical runoff into creatures that magic cannot touch, and that have learned to hunt spellcasters first.
- Ice Mummy The freeze-dried corpse of a mountaineer who died alone, an ice mummy lures climbers onto snow bridges, breathes cones of cold, and numbs everything near it with killing frost.
- Lich's Blood A crawling pool of living blood born from a necromancer's last experiment, lich's blood smothers wizards, strips their memorized spells and multiplies on their magic.
- Necromantic Sludge A failed lich potion poured down the sewer, necromantic sludge hunts thinking beings, reflects every spell thrown at it, and wears its victims' corpses as zombie shells.
- Plague Moth Huge, green-eyed sewer moths bred by a wizard to brew potions inside their bodies; they drink blood, and their bite injects a random and often deadly magical draught.
- Water Cat Sewer-dwelling descendants of murdered wizards' familiars, water cats carry a venomous bite that weakens foes, slays rats outright, and can slowly twist people into mongrelmen.
Dragon170
- Chromium Dragon [Ferrous] The cruelest and greediest of the ferrous dragons, a mirror-scaled arctic killer easily mistaken for a silver dragon, armed with a numbing frost cloud and a bolt of solid ice.
- Cobalt Dragon [Ferrous] A cruel, trap-setting ferrous dragon of deep forests whose magnetic breath hurls armored foes backward, shunned even by its own kin for its hunger to dominate everything it meets.
- Iron Dragon [Ferrous] Lords of the ferrous clans, iron dragons walk among mortals in human guise, gathering secrets for the day dragons reclaim the world, and they would rather take captives who talk than leave corpses.
- Khalvoreth [Supreme Ferrous Dragon] The undying Supreme Dragon of the ferrous clans, a colossal iron wyrm reborn in each chosen heir, broods beneath a towering mountain and plots the extinction of every red dragon.
- Nickel Dragon [Ferrous] The smallest and weakest ferrous dragon makes up for it with sheer viciousness and wild unpredictability, as likely to swallow one adventurer and wander off as to slaughter the whole party.
- Tungsten Dragon [Ferrous] Grim, uncompromising desert guardians who serve good by any means that works, tungsten dragons scour their arid domains for intruders and flay them with blasts of scouring sand.
Dragon239
- Boggart Tiny, kindhearted house spirits related to brownies, boggarts quietly do chores for good families and prank evil intruders with harmless magic until they leave.
- Clurichaun A tiny wine-loving spirit of the tavern cellar, kin to leprechauns, that can turn every bottle in the room into a weapon when crossed or drunk.
- Desert Stirge A flightless, six-legged stirge that hides under the sand, leaps twenty feet onto an unwary traveler's back, and grips so hard that only combined brute strength can pry it loose.
- Jungle Stirge A crimson, double-sized stirge of the deep jungle whose long beak punches through most armor and whose venom leaves victims paralyzed for hours.
- Leshy The lone, comically dressed guardian spirit of an ancient forest, a leshy is a foot tall at the edge of its wood and giant-sized at its heart.
- Wicked Leprechaun Twisted by dark magic, these black-clad leprechauns trade pranks for poisoned blades, murderous traps and hornet swarms, and they drink their victims' blood.
Dragon162
- Ankou A gaunt, red-eyed peasant walking the dusk roads, trailed by the creak of an invisible cart that hauls away every traveler it kills and leaves no body behind.
- Ghost-Stone An ordinary-looking stone housing the spirit of a wicked hoarder, the ghost-stone seizes anyone whose shadow touches it and drains their blood through that shadow until they die.
- Skotos Evil spirits escaped from the realm of the dead, shadowy packs that lurk in darkness and grow stronger with every drop of blood they spill.
- Sluagh A storm cloud of shadowy, sprite-sized undead elves that sweeps over the night moors loosing poisoned arrows, raising the slain as zombies and carrying them off in the swarm.
- Spiritus Anime The invisible, dusty ghost of someone buried alive, which hops from corpse to corpse in its graveyard and can only be ended by finding and destroying its own buried body.
Dragon199
- Fire Troll Blood-red trolls that swim through lava, hurl molten globs, heal fastest while engulfed in flame, and bleed a mauve ichor that eats steel weapons away.
- Gray Troll Trolls drained of life by undead yet somehow surviving, gray trolls heal six points a round, fade into mist at will, and crumble to ash in sunlight or flame.
- Phaze Troll Short, muscular, unusually bright trolls born of magical radiation, phaze trolls blink through space and spin off mirror images while hacking at foes with polearms.
- Stone Troll Huge, hairless, rock-skinned trolls that eat stone to match their surroundings, throw boulders, and shrug off blades, but can shatter when fire and frost strike together.
- Trollhound Massive, regenerating wolves with troll blood, trollhounds hunt by night in disciplined packs, lock their jaws on a limb and refuse to let go while spreading disease.
Dragon242
- Caravan Talisman Servant A many-legged pack automaton built from trunks, saddlebags and carved stone, the caravan servant is a good-natured beast of burden that bellows, bites like a sword of sharpness and guards its cargo fiercely.
- Gladiator Talisman Servant A spike-bracered pit fighter of stone and bronze built by sadistic mages for blood sport, the gladiator servant hugs, bites and sometimes goes berserk, killing everything in reach.
- Infiltrator [Mongrelman] Wizard-made shapechangers that eat humanoid flesh to learn new forms, serving as perfect spies, and the forgotten ancestors of today's mongrelmen.
- Spellward Talisman Servant A noble, animal-headed sentinel of stone and silver, the spellward servant guards a treasure or person with a paralyzing gaze, a magic polearm and a memory that never forgets a thief.
- Talisman Servant Overview Cheap, adaptable automatons from a vanished magical empire, talisman servants obey whoever holds their linked charm, but each carries a spark of its own will and a copy of its maker's quirks.
Dragon244
- Ashiera Stocky, gray-skinned sea folk who learned to swim through the sky, ashiera raid coasts in fog-wrapped swarms, hurling ice from their fingertips and abandoning any oath that stops serving them.
- Fainil Bat-winged descendants of drow and tanar'ri, bred as night-raiding sky troops and now plotting from two impregnable mountain fortresses with hand crossbows, sleep poison and spells.
- Masgai Patient, chitin-armored insect folk who fly without wings and build world-spanning empires, trading their way into power for centuries before they ever draw a spear.
- Sky-Raider Spiders The sacred spider crews of the sky-raider drow windships: a living firebomb, a tireless rigger, gliding drop spiders and blade-legged leapers, all kept under a spidermaiden's command.
- Telvar Towering winged nomads of the high mountains, deadly archers who rain arrows from the sky, target spellcasters first, and guard their hunting grounds fiercely.
Dragon268
- Agrutha Eight-foot lizard folk built like alligators with ape arms, agrutha lie hidden in swamp mud, then burst out bellowing to crush prey with fists, jaws and tail.
- Crocodilian Huge, short-tempered crocodile-folk who brawl with jaws and hammer tails, and their smaller, cackling master caste of evil priests who scheme in city sewers.
- Geckonid Bright-scaled, bug-eyed lizard folk who scurry across walls and ceilings, geckonids are cheerful, endlessly curious pranksters who see invisible things and steal mostly for the joy of snooping.
- Iguanids Tall, frilled iguana folk who bask in silent packs and follow druid shamans, iguanids are peaceful until their villages, young or mating season are disturbed.
- Varanid Ambidextrous, merciless monitor-lizard warriors of tropical islands who raid villages by night with bizarre double-bladed weapons and lashing razor tails.
DragonMagazineAnnual1998
- Acid Pigeon Looking like any city pigeon, the acid pigeon has a stomach so caustic that its droppings burn skin and slowly eat away at statues and rooftops.
- Piranha Ant Inch-long city ants with a single hive mind, piranha ants scout lonely victims, move into the walls, and strip the sleeper to bone before dawn.
- Polyroach An ordinary-looking colony of kitchen cockroaches that can pile up and fuse into a single roach as long as a man is tall, then burst back into hundreds of fleeing bugs.
- Rat Burglar A talking, spell-touched black rat descended from a thief's familiar, the rat burglar slips into homes, pockets jewelry and coins, and leaves charmed rats to cover its escape.
- Stone Termite Rock-eating termites, possibly a wizard's siege weapon gone feral, whose colonies can chew through a castle's foundations until the whole fortress comes down.
Dragon227
- Darkness Elemental A creature of distilled undeath and night, called up by the senior priests of dark deities, that strikes through its victim's shadow to blind it and detonates when touched by healing or light.
- Fireweed A black, spongy plant of the deep underworld that feeds on heat, grows a foot for every die of fire thrown at it, and turns scorching wastes into livable jungle.
- Giant Scarab Beetle A shy, dung-rolling cave beetle that flees at first, but when cornered or facing the dead it erupts with a blazing sunlike flare that burns undead and shadow creatures.
- Glouras A moth-winged, giggling faerie of the deep underworld whose droning wingsong enslaves bats, spiders and thinking beings into a fawning, fanatical court.
Dragon235
- Angler Fish A bloated, slow-swimming ambusher that dangles a glowing or wriggling lure before its jaws, then clamps down with inward-curving teeth and never lets go.
- Death Minnow A tiny orange guard fish that swells to monstrous size, swallows a swimmer whole and shrinks back down, leaving companions wondering where their friend went.
- Gulper A deep-sea fish that is mostly mouth and endless tail, the gulper swallows prey larger than itself and digests it alive while the tail strangles anything else.
- Hide A gigantic, mop-shaped octopus of the deep sea floor that numbs its prey with a cone of cold before closing in to tear at it with its beak.
Dragon247
- Archer Frog An oversized marsh frog whose tongue ends in a cluster of hooked barbs, archer frogs harpoon lone travelers, reel them in, and dissolve them alive in acidic, pouch-like mouths.
- Ghoul Frog A glowing, see-through frog that looks like a walking corpse, the ghoul frog blinds attackers with bursts of light and makes anyone who eats it violently sick.
- Leech Toad Pitch-black, red-eyed toads that hunt at night in chirping packs, freezing a victim with a glowing stare so the rest can leap on and drink.
- Spined Toad A giant toad bristling like a hedgehog, whose spines punish anyone who grabs it and whom bored goblins and ogres turn into games, shields and even ammunition.
Dragon262
- Grillig Scaly, knuckle-walking pack hunters of angular badlands that no blade can touch, grilligs always pick on something bigger and meaner than themselves.
- Gronk Deaf, foul-tempered 'stone frogs' that bound across the neutral planes to smash anything in sight with spiked headplates, breeding through the very collisions they love.
- Sohmien Ash-hided, dead-eyed horses of vengeance with bone spikes jutting from their shoulders, summoned to ride down an enemy and forever hunting every nightmare in existence.
- Trelon Shadow-born, orange-and-black insectile killers that blink into existence beside spellcasters, scissor them apart with spiked arms, and can sniff out a wizard through any invisibility or disguise.
Dragon272
- Crow's-nest Dragon [Dragonet] A pearly, pelican-winged dragonet that follows ships like a gull, dives for fish with a crushing bite, and brings good luck to any vessel it accompanies.
- Geyser Dragon [Dragonet] A tiny, eel-like dragonet of hot springs, convinced it is a mighty wyrm, that blasts foes with jets of boiling water and sprays scalding blood when cut.
- Mole Dragon [Dragonet] A dour, gem-crusted burrowing dragonet that tunnels through solid stone, clamps its jaws onto victims, and devours veins of gold and silver to the fury of dwarves.
- Pavilion Dragon [Dragonet] A jewel-scaled, beak-snouted dragonet of the rainforest canopy that stuns intruders with a thunderclap of sound and wields the psionic powers of a trained psionicist.
DragonMagazinAnnual1997
- Crystal Skeleton Cunning skeletons of blue ice that hunt in telepathic packs and dive into the thickest crowd, exploding into razor shards that then flash to scalding steam.
- Growler A cunning, telepathic predator disguised as a drifting chunk of arctic ice, the growler baits its back with carrion, stuns whoever steps aboard with a sonic blast, and drowns them.
- Snow Spiders Furry, owl-headed, warm-blooded hunters of the tundra that look like eight-legged spiders, hunt in coordinated packs, and leap onto prey with hidden 3-foot bone spikes.
- Tundra Lizard A snow-camouflaged northern lizard that lulls prey to sleep with a lavender scent and then drinks their body heat, freezing to death itself if it goes three days unfed.
Dragon172
- Averx Horned, winged little cave imps with a thief's skills and a pocketful of illusions, averxes harass trespassers in the crystal caverns they guard, and curses simply slide off them.
- Biclops A filthy two-headed, two-eyed giant that swings a weapon in each fist and hurls boulders with uncanny aim when both heads look at the same target.
- Cushion Fungus A soft, velvety mound in a still crypt that breathes out invisible sleeping spores, then slowly turns its dreaming victims into more of itself.
Dragon186
- Cariad Ysbryd The radiant ghost of a good elf woman who refused to leave the world, the cariad ysbryd soothes all violence with her endless song and saves her fury for the undead.
- Memento Mori A glowing, translucent echo of a revered dead person, raised by a priest's rite to guard its own tomb with a dwindling reserve of lightning.
- Tymher-haid Born from forgotten mass graves, the tymher-haid or ghost-swarm is a dazzling cloud of colored sparks that stings living things to death one tiny burn at a time.
Dragon223
- Rendclaw A raptor god-king who lives for the hunt, Rendclaw always strikes first, leaps onto skulls with crushing hind claws, and bellows up his clan to run down the prey his worshipers set loose.
- Rimehowl A primal beast-god freed from a glacier by a falling star, Rimehowl pounds foes with great fists, breathes killing ice and roars in the mountain storms.
- Sythraxa [Cobrasaur Sorceress] A cobra-headed sorceress freed from exile by a world-shattering meteor, Sythraxa pairs archmage alteration magic with a stony gaze, a killing bite and acid that melts crowds.
Dragon228
- Chia Golem A hollow clay sculpture sprouting living greenery, from a charming topiary lion on a royal lawn to a thorn-choked horror creeping around a ruined tower.
- Chocolate Golem A sculpted confection that sits harmlessly among the banquet sweets until ordered to fight, when it pummels guests, sprays blinding filling, and splatters molten chocolate if anyone uses fire.
- Plush Golem Disguised as a cuddly stuffed toy, the plush golem quietly comes alive for the child who owns it, maddening parents and fighting fiercely whenever that child is in danger.
Dragon246
- Chaos Wight Undead born of raw chaos, these wights wear their victims' faces, whisper them into despair, then erase them from existence and from every memory of them.
- Daemon Warrior Shapeless undead soldiers of a primordial chaos god, wearing the face of each viewer's worst nightmare and bursting into flame when finally cut down.
- Fire Dragon A mocking counterfeit of true dragons shaped from living magma by a primordial chaos god, the fire dragon rains burning embers as it flies and shrugs off ordinary weapons entirely.
Dragon266
- Giant Werebat [Lycanthrope] Pale, gaunt wood giants who sprout leathery wings and vampire fangs, these true lycanthropes rule mountain caves as screeching, meat-hungry flocks that feast even on their own elderly.
- Giant Werebear [Lycanthrope] Surly frost giants who become polar bears twenty feet tall, polarweres want nothing but food and a warm cave, and anything that wanders too near either is in trouble.
- Weregiant Overview [Lycanthrope] When a werewolf's bite lands on a hill giant or an ettin, the result is a towering werebeast that hits twice as hard and can snatch a halfling up for an easy bite.
Dragon267
- Glitterworm A color-shifting cousin of the purple worm that disguises itself as a vein of gold or mithral, then blasts greedy miners with acid and clamps on with dissolving jaws.
- Stalking Catfish A huge cave catfish that walks on muscular fins, sweeps the dark with whip-long barbels, and swallows whole whatever living thing they touch.
- Tunnelmouth Dweller A corridor-filling cave predator that is mostly mouth, the tunnelmouth dweller lunges down dungeon passages and gulps whole parties into a gullet slick enough to drown torches.
Dragon #210
- Charuntes Vulture-nosed, snake-haired undead priests of death who rise in plate armor with great hammers to reap victims for the dark powers they served in life.
- Dark Lord A mighty evil spellcaster unmade by a sphere of annihilation who clawed back from beyond as a shadowy undead master of gravity, time and dimensional magic.
Dragon159
- Andeloid A gem-like spore that hatches into a living slime, the andeloid glues its victims together into a single horrifying composite creature that grows stronger with every body it collects.
- Infernite Molten soldiers from worlds of living fire, infernites fight in disciplined squads of five, hurl chunks of their own burning bodies and sail red-hot starships that set wooden hulls ablaze.
Dragon165
- Giant Archerfish A hunter of shallow seas and big lakes, the giant archerfish blasts sailors off decks and rigging with a jet of water, then snaps them up once they hit the waves.
- Giant Damselfish A drab ocean fish whose trailing dorsal streamer mimics a drowning woman, luring would-be rescuers into the water to be rammed and bitten.
Dragon180
- Battering Ram Giant mountain sheep with massive horns whose charging rams can splinter gates and crack walls, especially when one hears its flock bleating for help.
- Quakedancer A six-legged, sauropod-like predator that grazes peacefully among herds until it rocks the ground into shock waves, stunning everything nearby and swallowing the helpless whole.
Dragon182
- Lindworm The wingless, armless runt of an evil dragon brood, the lindworm is cast out at birth and spends its bitter life ambushing anything it can catch.
- Swamp Wyrm A legless, dragon-headed serpent that lurks in poisoned pools of its own making, coiling around drinkers and breathing fire or frost, and hoarding treasure only to win a mate.
Dragon187
- Kruel Once-good woodland fey twisted by some ancient evil, kruels are elf-torsoed, bird-legged tormentors who pelt farmsteads with burning pebbles and drag travelers off for cruel sport.
- Pardal The laziest of the great cats, this spotted black hunter strolls up to its meal, mesmerizes the herd with swirling spots, and freezes its chosen victim in place with spinning golden eyes.
Dragon271
- Dvati Slender, three-fingered humanoids of the neutral planes who are always born as identical twins sharing one soul, fighting in deadly unison and dying if separated by death.
- Visceraith A glowing brain and dangling organs that build themselves a bone body, the visceraith hides among the living in robes and can snap a victim's bones from 60 feet away.
MC11 Forgotten Realms Appendix II
- Carapace A gray, spongy fungus that glues itself to living flesh and hardens into a protective shell, the carapace makes its host tougher, calmer, and slowly, irreversibly, its own.
- Golden Ammonite A deep-sea mollusk whose coiled shell is solid gold, the golden ammonite blinds intruders with magic globes of light and wraps them in blood-drinking tentacles.
Dragon163
- Dzalmaus Dragon A drab, three-headed steppe dragon that follows nomad tribes to feed on horses and humans, and whose breath drains life to swell its own strength.
Dragon184
- Undead Hulk Stitched together from several dead tunnel brutes by web-eel slaver rituals, the undead hulk is a mindless, crushing servant that obeys its small masters without hesitation.
Dragon191
- Faerie Phiz An ancient living face grown into enchanted wood, a sage-like memory of every passerby that spits fire-quenching resin and casts any spell it has ever watched.
Dragon192
- Sa'ir [Lamia] The animal offspring of common lamias, sa'ir are lion-fronted, goat-legged predators that stalk prey disguised as harmless grazers, then pounce with claws, horns and fangs.
Dragon213
- Shade [Classed] A mortal hero who traded death for shadowstuff, the shade is a brooding immortal of the demiplane of Shadow whose power swells in gloom and gutters in glare or total darkness.
Dragon221
- Chaos Toad Lords Four death toads who seized a private brand of chaos and became immortal, near-divine lords of insanity, entropy, randomness and color on the plane of raw chaos.
Dragon230
- Vorzhak Lifesbane the Guardian A young but already terrifying gray-and-gold dragon who guards five mountain summits with a 20d6+20 fire breath, a paralyzing gaze, and spells learned from his legendary mother.
Dragon233
- Tanar'ri Living Fortress A demon that is also a building, the living fortress feels every footstep inside its halls and seizes intruders with clawed arms that sprout from its own walls, floors and ceilings.
Dragon234
- Variant Zombie Three specialized zombies a necromancer can craft with the right rare ingredients: acid-sweating grapplers, twitching sprinters, and spell-eating wizard hunters.
Dragon237
- Poisonous Amphibian Jewel-bright jungle frogs and squat neotropical toads whose skin oozes nerve and heart toxins, these small amphibians can kill a careless adventurer who simply picks one up.
Dragon249
- Knight Terror A fallen knight who still leads his order while secretly feeding on his followers' willpower, growing gaunt and paranoid when hungry and fearless when gorged.
Dragon252
- Web-Spectre A dead wizard reborn as a shambling figure of dusty cobwebs crawling with spiders, the web-spectre is a lesser lich that rebuilds itself from any webbing nearby.
DragonMagazineAnnual1996
- Elghonn A robed, red-eyed stalker of the deep underworld that savors its victims' terror, paralyzing them with fungal poison and leaving corpses frozen in horror.
Dungeon #76
- Living Hair A shambling figure of matted hair that seeps through keyholes, chokes victims by forcing itself down their throats, and nurses a bitter hatred for anyone beautiful.
MC12 Dark Sun Appendix I - Terrors of the Desert
- Giant Clam An enormous shellfish that snaps shut on careless divers and drowns them, guarding pearls as big as a fist, while its hunting cousin, the scallop, stuns prey with poison.