#zombie... specter... wight?

[glknight]

TWILIGHT'S DAUGHTER CREATURE - THE WITHERED

In this write-up, heavily inspired by John Carpenter's The Fog and Prince Of Darkness, we are introduced to The Withered - poor unfortunate souls who were trapped in The Void Between and left to be worn down by the corruptive and maddening realm of non-existence until they were nothing more than empty husks serving the will of their master.

But then that raises some questions.

Just who do The Withered call "master"?

And second,

2. Why are the so interested in Davrick Bene above all the other heroes of Twilight's Daughter?

(AKA This wholesome goober right here, who prefers to be kind instead of casting one of the MANY INCREDIBLY POWERFUL SPELLS that have been lost to time and only he knows?)

The only way to find out is to read Twilight's Daughter when I finally finish writing it! But until then, I'll continue these write-ups of various monsters from Twilight's Daughter to fill the void (pun intended). Not sure what monster or creature I'll do a write-up for, next. Lord knows I have a lot to choose from.

[sheppi-isometrics]

I wanted to show the sketches in their full glory! These creature tokens are part of the Gothic Project that we've been working on, together with a map and isometric assets. Hopefully, it will be done before spooky season.

The Witch and Scarecrow are done. Plus we have a Skeleton Horse, Specter, Bats, Zombie Shambler, Vampire Spawn, Zombie Hulk, Wight, Ghoul, Skeleton Warrior, Nightmare, and a few others, but these are not spooky enough tough.

🌟 Get access to more than 200 creatures, maps and assets by supporting us on Patreon! Complement your campaigns with hi-res monster tokens and start building the adventure of your dreams with our isometric assets 🏰!

[myth-lord]

Monster Manual 1 List

While D&D isn’t as good as it used to be, most of the monsters are still iconic.

Here is a list of all monsters and how often they appeared in the MONSTER MANUAL 1 (Only the first Monster Manual of an edition counts) of every edition.

Monsters that are put into Monster Manual 1 are the lovechilds of a generation, they are the first to appear in the books and so the most loved by the DEV’s and often also by the fans.

I included only the ones I really love, I left out monsters I don’t care for such as Hippogriff, Hill Giants and some others, but most important monsters are present.

THE MOST FAMOUS D&D MONSTERS THAT MADE IT INTO EVERY SINGLE FIRST MONSTER MANUAL EDITION

Basilisk (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Fire Beetle (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Beholder (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Bugbear (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Bulette (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Carrion Crawler (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Chimera (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Displacer Beast (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Doppelganger (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Black Dragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Blue Dragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Green Dragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Red Dragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) White Dragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Dryad (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Efreet (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Drow (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Ettin (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Gargoyle (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Gelatinous Cube (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Ghoul (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Fire Giant (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Storm Giant (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Gnoll (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Goblin (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Flesh Golem (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Gorgon (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Griffon (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Harpy (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Hell Hound (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Hobgoblin (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Hydra (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Imp (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Lamia (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Lich (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Lizardman (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Wererat (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Werewolf (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Manticore (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Medusa (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Mind Flayer (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Minotaur (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Mummy (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Guardian Naga (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Ochre Jelly (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Ogre (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Oni (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Orc (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Otyugh (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Owlbear (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Pseudodragon (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Purple Worm (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Rakshasa (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Roc (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Roper (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Sahuagin (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Salamander (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Satyr (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Shambling Mound (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Skeleton (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Specter (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Sphinx (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Stirge (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Treant (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Troglodyte (1)(2,5)(3)(4)(5) Troll (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Umber Hulk (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Unicorn (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Vampire (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Wight (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Worg (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Wraith (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Wyvern (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) Zombie (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

MONSTERS THAT ONLY MISSED 1 EDITION OF D&D FIRST MONSTER MANUAL

Ankheg (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Black Pudding (1)(2)(3)(5) Blink Dog (1)(2)(3)(5) Centaur (1)(2)(3)(5) Cockatrice (1)(2)(3)(5) Couatl (1)(2)(3)(5) Succubus (1)(3)(4)(5) Vrock (1)(3)(4)(5) Hezrou (1)(3)(4)(5) Glabrezu (1)(3)(4)(5) Marilith (1)(3)(4)(5) Balor (1)(3)(4)(5) Osyluth (1)(3)(4)(5) Gelugon (1)(3)(4)(5) Pit Fiend (1)(3)(4)(5) Djinn (1)(2)(3)(5) Bronze Dragon (1)(2)(3)(5) Copper Dragon (1)(2)(3)(5) Gold Dragon (1)(2)(3)(5) Silver Dragon (1)(2)(3)(5) Dragon Turtle (1)(2)(3)(5) Air Elemental (1)(2)(3)(5) Earth Elemental (1)(2)(3)(5) Fire Elemental (1)(2)(3)(5) Water Elemental (1)(2)(3)(5) Violet Fungus (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Ghast (1)(2)(3)(5) Cloud Giant (1)(2)(3)(5) Frost Giant (1)(2)(3)(5) Stone Giant (1)(2)(3)(5) Iron Golem (1)(2)(3)(5) Gray Ooze (1)(2)(3)(5) Banshee (1)(2,5)(4)(5) Invisible Stalker (1)(2)(3)(5) Werebear (1)(2)(3)(5) Merfolk (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Mimic (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Spirit Naga (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Nightmare (1)(3)(4)(5) Pegasus (1)(2)(3)(5) Pixie (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Quasit (1)(2)(3)(5) Remorhaz (1)(2)(3)(5) Rust Monster (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Sea Hag (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Shadow (1)(2)(3)(5) Phase Spider (1)(2)(3)(5) Will o Wisp (1)(2)(3)(5) Winter Wolf (1)(2)(3)(5) Xorn (1)(2,5)(3)(5) Yuan-Ti Pureblood (2)(3)(4)(5) Aboleth (2,5)(3)(4)(5) Drider (2,5)(3)(4)(5) Ettercap (2,5)(3)(4)(5) Green Hag (2,5)(3)(4)(5) Kuo-Toa (2,5)(3)(4)(5) Tarrasque (2,5)(3)(4)(5)

MONSTERS THAT MADE IT INTO 3 EDITIONS OF D&D

Nalfeshnee (1)(3)(5) Hamatula (1)(3)(5) Erinyes (1)(3)(5) Lemure (1)(3)(5) Gas Spore (1)(2,5)(5) Lacedon (1)(2)(3) Lammasu (1)(2,5)(3) Water Naga (1)(2,5)(3) Nixie (1)(2)(3) Nymph (1)(2)(3) Piercer (1)(2)(5) Titan (1)(3)(5) Triton (1)(2,5)(3) Water Weird (1)(2,5)(5) Yeti (1)(2)(5) Behir (2)(3)(5) Merrow (2)(3)(5) Duergar (2,5)(3)(5) Galeb Duhr (2,5)(4)(5) Cyclops (2,5)(4)(5) Fomorian (2,5)(4)(5) Kraken (2,5)(3)(5) Azer (3)(4)(5) Chuul (3)(4)(5) Barbazu (3)(4)(5) Kyton (3)(4)(5) Gibbering Mouther (3)(4)(5) Gith (3)(4)(5) Shield Guardian (3)(4)(5) Red Slaad (3)(4)(5)

MONSTERS THAT ONLY MADE IT INTO TWO EDITIONS OF D&D

Axe Beak (1)(5) Catoblepas (1)(2) Green Slime (1)(2) Hippocampus (1)(2,5) Intellect Devourer (1)(5) Kirin (1)(2,5) Leprechaun (1)(2,5) Leucrotta (1)(2,5) Morkoth (1)(2,5) Peryton (1)(5) Rot Grub (1)(2,5) Slithering Tracker (1)(2,5) Sylph (1)(2,5) Trapper (1)(2,5) Dao (2)(5) Aarakocra (2,5)(5) Bullywug (2,5)(5) Marid (2,5)(5) Annis (2,5)(3) Blood Hawk (2,5)(5) Myconid (2,5)(5) Quipper (2,5)(5) Allip (3)(4) Deva (3)(5) Solar (3)(5) Bodak (3)(4) Choker (3)(4) Cloaker (3)(5) Destrachan (3)(4) Cornugon (3)(5) Devourer (3)(4) Eladrin (3)(4) Ghaele (3)(4) Bralani (3)(4) Magmin (3)(5) Mephit (3)(5) Mohrg (3)(4) Nightshade (3)(4) Shadow Mastiff (3)(4) Death Knight (4)(5) Goristro (4)(5) Dracolich (4)(5) Flameskull (4)(5) Grell (4)(5) Helmed Horror (4)(5) Hook Horror (4)(5) Bone Naga (4)(5)

MONSTERS THAT ONLY MADE IT INTO 1 EDITION OF D&D

Larva (1) Amphisbaena (1) Su-Monster (1) Mobat (2) Cave Fisher (2) Pyrolisk (2) Flind (2) Korred (2) Phycomid (2,5) Ascomoid (2,5) Firbolg (2,5) Huecuva (2,5) Kelpie (2,5) Foxwoman (2,5) Choke Creeper (2,5) Hangman Tree (2,5) Tri-Flower Frond (2,5) Tenebrous Worm (2,5) Yellow Musk Creeper (2,5) Musk Zombie (2,5) Achaierai (3) Aranea (3) Lantern Archon (3) Arrowhawk (3) Assassin Vine (3) Barghest (3) Belker (3) Bebilith (3) Babau (3) Retriever (3) Derro (3) Digester (3) Girallon (3) Gray Render (3) Avoral (3) Leonal (3) Nessian Hound (3) Howler (3) Krenshar (3) Lillend (3) Phantom Fungus (3) Aasimar (3) Hellwasp Swarm (3) Tendriculos (3) Thoqqua (3) Vargouille (3) Yrthak (3) Atropal (4) Phane (4) Balhannoth (4) Fire Bat (4) Boneclaw (4) Evistro (4) Immolith (4) Rage Drake (4) Iron Cobra (4) Kruthik (4) Magma Hurler (4) Magma Strider (4) Winterclaw (4) Quickling (4) Phoenix (4) Rot Harbinger (4) Hellstinger (4) Swordwing (4) Dusk Unicorn (4) Sword Wraith (4) Spectator (5) Twig Blight (5) Crawling Claw (5) Chasme (5) Shadow Demon (5) Yochlol (5) Shadow Dragon (5) Faerie Dragon (5) Nothic (5) Revenant (5) Scarecrow (5) Thri-Kreen (5)

MONSTERS I HOPE WILL MAKE IT ONE DAY IN THE 1’S OFFICIAL MONSTER MANUAL OF A EDITION / 6th EDITION

Caller in Darkness Spriggan Pech Cooshee Thorny Bagman Ulgurstasta Armanite Argos Boggle Grung Blindheim Quarrak Nagpa Rutterkin Narzugon Maurezhi Deep Dragon Splinterwaif Basidirond Fog Giant Juggernaut Cranium Rat Neothelid Marrash Witherling Cadaver Collector Bladeling Steel Predator Tabaxi Bheur Hag Dharculus Boneyard Abishai Wereshark Grisgol Disenchanter Magebane Abeil Advespa Orcwort Crimson Death Bloodthorn Sibriex Trilloch Wood Woad Abyssal Maw Shardmind Crysmal Crystal Dragon Ambush Drake Fell Drake Feyr Eldritch Giant Greenvise Tlincalli Arcane Ooze Avalancher Redcap Zorbo Canoloth Adaru Solamith Oblex / Deepspawn Ahuizotl Wastrilith Nerra Corpse Flower Hoard Scarab Gremiskha Carrionette Inkling Guardian Portrait Aurumvorax Barkburr Flail Snail Hollyphant Froghemoth Iron Dragon Mercury Dragon Cave Moray Gloomwing Carbuncle Hatori Dustdigger Id Fiend Sandman Ascomoid Almiraj Bonesnapper Banderhobb

[ameasureofseperation]

Meepo's channel is like one of those Hydraulic press crushing everything channels, but he uses Shatter-spike.

Look below the cut for the rest of Echo's choices....

(Answers given under the assumption Echo would survive the encounter)

Aboleth - Smash (those tentacles)

Angels - Smash

Azer - Smash (HOT)

Banshee - Smash

Behir - Smash

Beholders - Smash (should be obvious by now)

Bullywug - Smash (forgs)

Cambion - Smash

Centaur - Smash

Cloaker - Smash (they literally moan to communicate)

Couatl - Smash

Cyclops - Smash (don't need depth perception to have a good time)

Death Knight - Smash (the armor stays on, baby)

Demons - Smash

Devils - Smash

Doppelganger - SMASH (like, c'mon, is this even a question?)

Dracolich - Pass

Dragon, Shadow - Smash (It's a dragon!)

Dragons - SMASH (It's a dragon!)

Dragon turtle - Smash (It's a dragon!)

Drider - Smash

Dryad - Smash

Empyrean - Smash

Ettin - Smash

Faerie Dragon - Smash

Flumph - Smash

Fomorian - Smash

Galeb Duhr - Smash (get you a rock boyfriend)

Gargoyle - Smash (we've all seen the show)

Genies - Smash

Ghost - Smash

Giants - Smash

Gith - Smash

Gnolls - Smash

Grell - Pass

Grimlock - Smash

Hags - Smash

Half-dragon - Smash

Harpy - Smash

Homunculus - Smash

Hook Horror - Smash

Jackalwere - Smash

Kraken - Smash (don't worry about the physics...)

Kuo-toa - Smash

Lamia - Smash

Lich - Pass

Lizardfolk - Smash

Lycanthropes - Smash

Manticore - Pass

Medusa - Smash

Mephits - Smash

Merfolk - Smash (Echo grew up on the coast, gotta dream)

Merrow - Smash

Mind Flayer - Smash

Minotaur - SMASH

Myconids - Smash

Nagas - Smash

Ogres - Smash

Oni - Smash

Pegasus - Smash

Pixie - Smash

Pseudodragon - Smash

Rakshasa - Smash

Revenant - Smash

Sahuagin - Smash

Salamanders - Smash (HOT)

Satyr - Smash

Shadow - Pass

Slaadi - Pass (Echo's not into chest-bursters)

Sphinxes - Smash

Sprite - Smash

Succubus/Incubus - SMASH (again, is this even a question?)

Treant - Smash

Troglodyte - Pass

Troll - Pass

Umber Hulk - Pass

Unicorn - Smash

Vampires - SMASH

Wight - Pass

Xorn - Smash

Yetis - Smash

Yugoloths - Smash

For a grand total of 84 Smashes to 10 Passes The rest of the entries from the MM weren't included because they weren't capable of giving/understanding consent. (Animated objects, Ankheg, Basilisk, Blights, Bullette, Carrion Crawler, Chimera, Chuul, Cockatrice, Crawling Claw, Darkmantle, Demilich, Dinosaurs, Displacer Beasts, Elementals, Ettercap, Flameskull, Fungi, Ghouls, Gibbering Mouther, Golems, Gorgon, Grick, Griffon, Hell Hound, Helmed Horror, Hippogriff, Hydra, Intellect Devourer, Invisible Stalker, Magmin, Mimic, Modrons, Mummies, Nightmare, Nothic, Oozes, Otyugh, Owlbear, Peryton, Piercer, Purple worm, Quaggoth, Remorhazes, Roc, Roper, Rust Monster, Scarecrow, Shambling Mound, Shield Guardian, Skeletons, Specter, Stirge, Tarrasque, Water Weird, Will-o’-wisp, Wraith, Wyvern, Zombies)

[moonscribe]

Dungeon Blogging #1: Warlock Necromancers

Once upon a time a friend of mine asked me for advice on how to build a warlock necromancer in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. My response was to send them a long string of texts that was my breakdown on the matter. For this new blog series I thought I’d start out with that. So here is my take on building a necromancer as a warlock in 5e.

So necromancers in D&D run into the same problem as animal companions and summoned creatures: action economy. One of the most powerful things that you can do in a turn based game is get more of it, that’s why Extra Attack is such a big deal for combat classes. When you have one or more zombies doing your bidding you’re getting more things that you can do in a turn which is something that Wizards of the Coast is hesitant about giving to low level characters. Because of this, most of the low level “necromancy school” spells (Toll the Dead, Cause Fear) have nothing to do with making undead and your first real necromancy spell Danse Macabre doesn’t show up until level 9.

When a player has a character concept they generally want to play that concept right away. Waiting however many months or years it takes for their character to reach level 9 is not what most players are looking for when they say they wanna be a necromancer. This is why so many campaigns start out with a party of level 3 characters. By level 3 the druids can wildshape, the monks have ki, and every class has chosen their subclass, which is where your character really comes to life.

So assuming you don’t want to wait until you have 5th level spell slots for your character to feel right, there are two things that you need to do: be on good terms with your Dungeon Master (always important) and take advantage of the freedom to reskin and reflavor abilities. The spell Find Familiar is extremely good as it provides a ton of utility and flavor. Every game I’ve played with a character that took this spell has gotten crazy use out of it, it’s hands down one of the most useful 1st level spells in the book. Whatever animal you summon with the spell has either the celestial, fey, or fiend monster type. That’s the rules as written. That said the Player’s Handbook is ultimately a book of suggestions for the DM to use to make their group have a fun experience and in the spirit of such I’d say 95% of them are going to be willing to let you choose undead as your familiar’s type (this may not work in Adventurer’s League). Now imagine your warlock, conspiring with dark forces their familiar perched atop their shoulder, perhaps it’s a zombie weasel or a skeleton crow! There is so much exciting stuff aesthetically to go from here and help flesh out the image of the character you want to play. Now technically Find Familiar is not on the warlock spell list but there are some ways around this without multiclassing to take a level in wizard (though that is an option too).

The first two options are feats so if you’re playing a human you can take these at level 1: Magic Initiate and Ritual Caster. Magic Initiate gives you two cantrips and one 1st level spell that you can cast once per day, they all have to be the same class so your cantrips would be from the wizard spell list giving you good utility options like Message and Mending as well as the necromancy attack options of Toll the Dead and Chill Touch. If you take the Ritual Caster feat then you get to cast wizard spells but only as rituals and you only learn them from scrolls, spellbooks, and the like. The spells you get from these feats will always be cast with your intelligence rather than your Charisma so be wary of that.

The other two options are a little better in my opinion but don’t come until level 3:  Pact of the Chain and Pact of the Tome. Pact of the Tome gives you 3 additional cantrips from any class and access to the Book of Ancient Secrets eldritch invocation which functions like the Ritual Caster feat but better since you get access to rituals from any class and still use your charisma. Pact of the Chain is my favorite giving you the ability to cast the Find Familiar ritual as well as access to four, much more powerful familiars: imp, pseudodragon, quasit, and sprite. Imps and quasits are CR1, which is to say a balanced challenge for a party of four level 1 adventurers! Furthermore, they along with the pseudodragon have magic resistance as well as the ability to share their magic resistance with their summoner! Finally, unlike a normal familiar, Pact of the Chain familiars can attack (at the cost of the warlock’s own attack). Now I know you edgy nerds who got this far reading a blog post about how to make a necromancer warlock are going to be at least interested in the idea of summoning a zombie pseudodragon. Its tattered leathery wings and empty eye sockets burning with the cold blue flames of undeath serving as a reminder to everyone you encounter that your totally Chaotic Good and not going to sick your pet the next NPC to draw your ire.

Okay that was a lot more about the Find Familiar spell than I expected to write so I’ll keep the next bit brief.

As I mentioned Danse Macabre (5th level) is your first real necromancy spell. It lets you quickly animate several corpses for combat but its a concentration spell with an hour long duration, after that time the undead return to being normal dead bodies. Wizards, Spore Druids, and Death Clerics all get the 3rd level spell Animate Dead but that’s them and we aren’t so spoiled. At level 11 we get Create Undead which lets us make the more elite undead: ghouls, and later ghasts, wights, and mummies.

At level 9 I’d take the Eldritch Invocation Whispers of the Grave which lets you cast Speak With Dead as many times as you want without spending a spell slot.

Finally when it comes to subclasses there are two patrons who will reward you well for your service.

The first is The Undying from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. This patron is usually a lich on an evil god and it basically sets you up as a lich in training. You get some self healing powers, the undead have trouble attacking you, and at level 10 you don’t require food, water, or sleep (though you still need long rests) and you age at a rate of 1 year for every 10 which is even crazier if you play an elf.

The other patron to look at is The Hexblade. The Critical Role fans reading this (which is to say probably more than half of you) will recognize this as Fjord’s patron. The Hexblade is the most thematically versatile of all of the warlock patrons, the book is vague about what your patron actually is beyond “a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell- a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow” so who or what your patron actually is is up to you and your DM. Mechanically the reason that we care is the 6th level class feature Accursed Specter which lets you bind the soul of someone you just killed, raising it as a specter. The Specter gets temporary hit points equal to half your warlock level and a bonus to it’s attacks equal to your charisma modifier so it’s slightly stronger than a normal specter. In addition, it sticks around until you take a long rest at which point it passes on to the afterlife. You can only do this once per long rest so don’t expect to collect a bunch of souls and see how long you can sleep deprive your character.

Although 5th edition is relatively simple, there are a lot of potential combinations to create lots of types of characters. If there was anything I missed be sure to let me know!

If you have a question or idea for a future Dungeon Blogging post be sure to send me an ask! ^^ 

Edit: I was asked to cite the art used in this post, I don’t know where the bird art was from so I replaced it. I apologize.

Art: Willian Murai, Tianhua X, (I couldn’t find the name of the artist for the last piece but it’s from page 153 of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything).

[ladytabletop]

Hey! First off, I love your blog, just amazing. Also I'd love to see a random encounter table for level 8 to 10 PCs for a city where the night is infested with lots of undead.

1d4 Vampire Spawn + 1 d4 Revenant

2 Allips

1d6 Ghosts

1 Boneclaw

1d6 Deathlocks

2d4 Wights

1d6 Specters, 1d6 Skeletons, 2d6 Zombies

1d4 Vampiric Mist + 1d6 Ghasts

1 Alhoon

1 Swordwraith Commander + 2 Wraiths

request a d10 list

[sageadvicednd]

Best monsters to find in a necromancer’s lair. Go! Crawling clawZombie Specter Wight with zombie minionsAnimated armor containing the wailing soul of a past "specimen." Otyugh in the "refuse" pit, disposing of unused bodies and parts Flesh golem Ogre zombie Minotaur skeleton — Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) May 28, 2019

[myth-lord]

The First Monster Manuals of Dungeons & Dragons are mostly the best ones. But which monsters are most often found in the first Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manuals? And which are the most loved/famous/wanted ones?

Monsters that Appeared in each first Monster Manual of Dungeons & Dragons of every Edition. - Balor - Basilisk - Beholder - Black Dragon - Blue Dragon - Bugbear - Bulette - Carrion Crawler - Chimera - Dire Rat (or Giant Rat) - Displacer Beast - Doppelganger - Dryad - Efreet - Ettin - Fire Giant - Flesh Golem - Gargoyle - Gelatinous Cube - Ghoul - Gnoll - Goblin - Gorgon - Green Dragon - Griffon - Harpy - Hell Hound - Hydra - Imp - Kobold - Lamia (*) - Lich - Lizardman - Manticore - Marilith - Medusa - Mind Flayer - Minotaur - Mummy - Naga - Nightmare - Oni (*) - Orc - Otyugh - Owlbear - Purple Worm - Rakshasa - Red Dragon - Roc - Roper - Sahuagin - Salamander - Satyr - Shambling Mound - Skeleton - Specter (*) - Sphinx - Stirge - Treant - Troll - Umber Hulk - Vampire - Wererat - Werewolf - White Dragon - Wight - Worg (*) - Wraith - Wyvern - Zombie

Monsters appearing in 4 of the 5 First Monster Manuals (= Monster Manuals in which they not appeared) - Aboleth (1st) - Air Elemental (4th) - Ankheg (4th) - Banshee (3rd) - Black Pudding (4th) - Centaur (4th) - Cloud Giant (4th) - Cockatrice (4th) - Couatl (4th) - Dire Boar (or Giant Boar)(2nd) - Djinn (4th) - Dragon Turtle (4th) - Drider (1st) - Drow (1st) - Earth Elemental (4th) - Ettercap (1st) - Fire Elemental (4th) - Frost Giant (4th) - Gelugon (2nd) - Gith (1st) - Glabrezu (2nd) - Grimlock (1st) - Hezrou (2nd) - Iron Golem (4th) - Mimic (4th) - Night Hag (2nd) - Osyluth (2nd) - Phase Spider (4th) - Remorhaz (4th) - Rust Monster (4th) - Shadow (4th) - Succubus (2nd) - Tarrasque (1st) - Violet Fungus (4th) - Vrock (2nd) - Water Elemental (4th) - Will o Wisp (4th) - Winter Wolf (4th) - Yuan-Ti (1st)

Monsters appearing in 3 of the 5 First Monster Manuals (= Monster Manuals in which they not appeared) - Barbazu (1st & 2nd)(*) - Behir (1st & 4th) - Bombardier Beetle (4th & 5th) - Chuul (1st & 2nd) - Cloaker (1st & 4th) - Cyclops (1st & 3rd)(*) - Death Knight (1st & 3rd) - Duergar (1st & 4th) - Erinyes (2nd & 4th)(*) - Fomorian (1st & 3rd) - Gas Spore (3rd & 4th) - Giant Ant (4th & 5th) - Gibbering Mouther (1st & 2nd) - Grick (1st & 2nd) - Grell (1st & 3rd) - Hamatula (2nd & 4th) - Hook Horror (1st & 3rd) - Intellect Devourer (3rd & 4th) - Kraken (1st & 4th)(*) - Kyton (1st & 2nd) - Lemure (2nd & 4th) - Peryton (3rd & 4th) - Yeti (3rd & 4th)

Monsters appearing in 2 of the 5 First Monster Manuals (= Monster Manuals in which they appeared) - Axe Beak (1st & 5th) - Bullywug (2nd & 5th) - Catoblepas (1st & 2nd)(*) - Choker (3rd & 4th) - Crawling Claw (2nd & 5th) - Dao (2nd & 5th) - Destrachan (3rd & 4th) - Devourer (3rd & 4th)(*) - Faerie Dragon (2nd & 5th) - Green Slime (1st & 2nd) - Helmed Horror (4th & 5th) - Leucrotta (1st & 2nd) - Magmin (3rd & 5th) - Marid (2nd & 5th) - Merrow (2nd & 5th)(*) - Mohrg (3rd & 4th)(*) - Morkoth (1st & 2nd)(*) - Rot Grubs (1st & 2nd) - Scarecrow (2nd & 5th) - Slithering Tracker (1st & 2nd)(*) - Su Monster (1st & 2nd) - Trapper (1st & 2nd)

Monsters appearing in only 1 of the 5 First Monster Manuals (= Monster Manuals in which they appeared) - Aurumvorax (2nd) - Cave Fisher (2nd) - Deepspawn (2nd) - Gloomwing (2nd) - Hatori (2nd) - Gremlin (2nd)(*) - Stinger or Scorpionman (2nd) - Vegepygmy (2nd) - Crimson Death (2nd) - Yellow Musk Creeper (2nd) - Kelpie (2nd)(*) - Korred (2nd)(*) - Bebilith (3rd) - Babau (3rd) - Ethereal Filcher (3rd) - Ethereal Marauder (3rd) - Girallon (3rd) - Gray Render (3rd) - Howler (3rd)(*) - Vargouille (3rd) - Fire Bat (4th) - Quickling (4th)(*) - Swordwing (4th) - Chasme (5th) - Nothic (5th)

Monsters that Never Appeared in a First Monster Manual, but which should in future Editions. - Abyssal Maw (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Advespa (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Ahuizotl (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Bladeling (First Appeared in 2nd Edition) - Bloodthorn (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Boneyard (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Crysmal (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Darktentacles (First Appeared in 2nd Edition) - Disenchanter (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Dustdigger (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Ethereal Slayer (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Flail Snail (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Froghemoth (First Appeared in 1st Edition) - Greenvise (First Appeared in 3rd Edition) - Kazrith (First Appeared in 4th Edition)

NOTE: That I count the creatures from the remake (3.5 Edition Monster Manual as well with 3rd Edition)

NOTE 2: 2nd Edition is a mess, I used the Monstrous Manual for this, the one with Crimson Death and Deepspawn in it.

NOTE 3: I left out all the creatures I don’t care for, but Hobgoblins, Stone Golems, Hippogriff, Merfolk, Ogre and Hill Giants (example) are also in ALL First Monster Manuals in each Edition.

NOTE 4: Creatures with (*) behind their name = In one of more editions of D&D they changed A LOT, turning into very different creatures than they were before. Some changed back (like Lamia) for others the change was final until maybe the next edition.