In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , the term monster refers to a variety of creatures, some adapted from folklore and legends and others invented specifically for the game. Included are traditional monsters such as dragons , supernatural creatures such as ghosts, and mundane or fantastic animals. A defining feature of the game is that monsters are typically obstacles that players must overcome to progress through the game. Beginning with the first edition in 1974 , a catalog of game monsters ( bestiary ) was included along with other game manuals, first called Monsters & Treasure and now called the Monster Manual . As an essential part of Dungeons & Dragons , many of its monsters have become iconic and recognizable even outside D&D , becoming influential in video games , fiction , and popular culture .
62-499: This is a list of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd-edition monsters , an important element of that role-playing game . This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, Inc. or Wizards of the Coast , not licensed or unlicensed third-party products such as video games or unlicensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition manuals. The second edition of
124-488: A basic knowledge of mythology, religion and fantasy is required to keep pace with the game, although the "creatures were unbound by time or place" of their original sources and co-creator Gary Gygax "made them coexist in a single aggregate world". With regard to pre-modern sources, scholar Laurent Di Filippo remarked that game creators often do not rely directly on original texts. Rather the material undergoes "cultural processes of transmission which go from medieval sources to
186-451: A central tool for immersion in the game from the point of its creation. The monsters of Dungeons & Dragons have significantly influenced modern fantasy fiction, ranging from licensed fiction to how monsters are portrayed in fantasy fiction generally. The scope of this influence has been compared to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien . In a 2005 interview, author China Miéville stated, "I use AD&D-type fascination with teratology in
248-473: A distraction by Asmodeus to hide his true goal of usurping divine power and reshaping the multiverse. Later official materials claim Asmodeus possesses a piece of the pure elemental chaos Tharizdun used to create the Abyss. The demons are drawn to this and seek to reclaim it. ComicBook.com contributor Christian Hoffer considered "Blood War between demons and devils" one "of the great conflicts that make up
310-621: A large amount of its contents was entirely new at publication. The monsters in this book are presented in the same format as the Monster Manual and Fiend Folio . Fiend is a term used in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game to refer to any malicious otherworldly creatures within the Dungeons & Dragons universe. These include various races of demons and devils that are of an evil alignment and hail from
372-765: A list of "The 9 Scariest, Most Unforgettable Monsters From Dungeons & Dragons", and in the same year Screen Rant published a list of the game's "10 Most Powerful (And 10 Weakest) Monsters, Ranked". Other writers have highlighted the game's more odd or eccentric creations, such as Geek.com 's list of "The most underrated monsters of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", The Escapist 's list of "The Dumbest Dungeons & Dragons Monsters Ever (And How To Use Them)", and Cracked.com 's "15 Idiotic Dungeons and Dragons Monsters". D&D' s monsters have also been licensed as toys, like in LJN 's action figures, and even candy. The number and variety of different monsters contributes to keeping
434-460: A list of the game's "10 Most Powerful (And 10 Weakest) Monsters, Ranked" in 2018, calling this one of the strongest, saying "There are a lot of giant monsters that roam the various Dungeons & Dragons worlds, but none is more feared than the Tarrasque. This creature is an engine of destruction and it can crush entire cities in a single rampage." Backstab reviewer Michaël Croitoriu highlights
496-673: A lot of my books, and I have the original Monster Manual, and the Monster Manual 2, and the Fiend Folio. I still collect role-playing game bestiaries, because I find that kind of fascination with the creation of the monstrous tremendously inspiring." References and homages to Dungeons & Dragons monsters can be found in works such as Adventure Time , and the game's monsters have inspired tributes that both celebrate and mock various creatures. A 2013 io9 retrospective detailed memorable monsters, and in 2018 SyFy Wire published
558-436: A more relaxed attitude towards the hobby, Wizards of the Coast reinserted many of these excised references in the third edition of the game. They kept intact the terms they had been replaced with, using both when applicable to appeal both to older players and those who played in subsequent editions of the game. While the 1st edition of AD&D used the term "Daemon", all subsequent editions beginning with 2nd edition have used
620-657: A new creature. ISBN 1-56076-422-8 The Al-Qadim Land of Fate boxed set contained 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-329-9 Monsters in Dungeons %26 Dragons While many "bizarre and grotesque creatures" are original creations of Dungeons & Dragons , the inspiration for others includes mythology , medieval bestiaries , science-fiction , fantasy literature , and film . Mauricio Rangel Jiménez goes so far to say that
682-428: A primordial race for use as a weapon against the gods. The tarrasque has been called "a creature that embodies wanton destruction" and "singularly deadly" and been compared to a kaiju . It was ranked No. 2 on the list of the ten best high-level monsters in Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies . Rob Bricken from io9 named the tarrasque as the 10th most memorable D&D monster. Screen Rant compiled
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#1732791761252744-639: A result, creatures that were fearsome by description were not taken seriously due to ill-suited visuals. Likewise, humanoid monsters too closely resembled humans to be compelling. In the view of Rausch as well as Backstab reviewer Michaël Croitoriu, the Planescape setting marked a turning point for these shortcomings, which also had a significant impact on the presentation of the 3rd edition. The second edition's monsters were based on original inventions, fantasy literature, and mythologies from various cultures. Many monsters were updated from earlier editions, but
806-463: A situation that may be profitable or a potential for the advancement of their own schemes. The yugoloths are portrayed as manipulative, secretive, and mercenary by nature, often acting as soldiers for deities in their own private wars, or even at times aiding both sides of the Blood War. In 4th Edition, the yugoloths are considered to be demons, and their previously standard naming convention of "loth"
868-506: A smoldering cold war that was formerly an all-out war. The Blood War has been given various causes across different game books. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss attributes it to an offshoot of the primordial battles between law and chaos, continued out of violent and sadistic stubbornness. Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells depicts Asmodeus as a formerly angelic being tasked with fighting an eternal war against
930-516: A very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. This appendix to the Monstrous Compendium series updated and reprinted creatures from the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Fiend Folio published in 1981. It contained 64 unnumbered loose leaf pages and 4 pages of illustrations on heavier card stock. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named the continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of
992-447: Is a thick, glossy caramel-colored shell or carapace. It has spikes coming from its chin, the sides of the mouth, the underside of its neck, the elbows of its front arms, and its shell. The creature also has two horns projecting forwards from the top of its head. The tarrasque's skin is very hard and thick, and provides excellent armor. It is immune or resistant to most offensive magic, and regenerates damage quickly. The second edition of
1054-566: Is described in 3.5 edition of the Monster Manual II and is the hybrid of a devil and an unsuspecting duergar . The fiendish creatures are simply fiendish versions of other species in Dungeons & Dragons. They typically look like fearsome travesties of beings from the Material Plane . Most fiendish species are divided into a number of variants, usually in a hierarchy of increasing power and cunning. The hecatoncheires in
1116-527: Is replaced by "demon" (Ex. the Mezzoloth is the 4e Mezzodemon). In fifth edition, yugoloths are listed as neutral evil fiends under their original names. The demodands are race of evil fiends that live on the plane of Carceri (Tarterus in 1st edition D&D ). Demodands were introduced in the 1st edition supplement Monster Manual II , renamed as gehreleths in the 2nd edition Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix , and reintroduced as demodands in
1178-609: Is some flexibility within these groupings. For example, many kinds of creatures can become undead or can be used to form magical constructs. The 3rd edition of the game also used a broader type named "outsiders", encompassing any creature from the Outer Planes or Inner Planes . The Monster Manual (1977) was the initial monster book for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1977. Gary Gygax wrote much of
1240-419: Is the tanar'ri ( / t ə ˈ n ɑːr i / ). "True" tanar'ri such as the balors (originally called Balrogs ) and the six-armed serpentine mariliths push other weaker tanar'ri around and organise them into makeshift armies for battle. Demon lords and demon princes such as Orcus , Demogorgon , Juiblex, Zuggtmoy, Graz'zt, and countless others are said to rule over the demons of their individual layers of
1302-492: Is very loosely based upon the French legend of the tarasque . It is very large, 50 feet (15 meters) tall and 70 feet (21 meters) long, and has a Tyrannosaurus rex –like form, although it is much more broad and muscular, with a differently shaped head, and with larger and more developed front arms. It has brown skin, with scabs and warts and bits of encrusted dung all over it which are grey in color. Protecting its back and tail
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#17327917612521364-478: The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game featured both a higher number of books of monsters – "many tied to their growing stable of campaign worlds" - and more extensive monster descriptions than both earlier and later editions, with usually one page in length. Next to a description, monster entries in this edition contained standardized sections covering combat, their habit and society, and their role in
1426-642: The Feywild and are exiled to the Gray Wastes of Hades . Rakshasas are fiends (often tiger-headed) that may have originated on Acheron according to 3rd edition sources. In 5th edition they originated in the Nine Hells . In the 4th edition game, Slaadi are chaotic evil and originate out of the Elemental Chaos. This is markedly different from the portrayal of Slaadi in all prior editions of
1488-511: The Lower Planes . All fiends are extraplanar outsiders . Fiends have been considered among "D&D's most classic monsters". Demons are a chaotic evil race native to the Abyss ; they are rapacious, cruel and arbitrary. They are also portrayed as more widespread than other races of fiends, as the Abyss and its population are both theoretically infinite in size. The dominant race of demons
1550-1132: The Maztica setting by Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach contained three new fictional creatures. ISBN 1-56076-139-3 The Forgotten Realms Menzoberranzan boxed set included 7 pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format, bound into the first book of the set (The City) on pages 88–94. ISBN 1-56076-460-0 The Forgotten Realms The Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-569-0 The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2nd edition) boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1560766174 The Forgotten Realms City of Splendors boxed set included unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-868-1 The Forgotten Realms campaign expansion Powers & Pantheons by Eric L. Boyd contained next to
1612-549: The Spelljammer campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. The pack consisted of 64 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages, unnumbered, providing the descriptions of the fictional monsters. Also included were 4 full-page illustrations on heavier card stock. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named the continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of the factors that made Ravenloft
1674-559: The nymph and succubus , were seen by Philip J. Clements as an instance of the sexist tropes the game draws on which presented female sexuality as inherently dangerous. Many kinds of monsters can be classified into typologies based on their common characteristics, and various books and game guides have been produced focusing on specific kinds of monsters. Such groupings include humanoids , monstrosities, dragons, giants , undead , aberrations, fiends, celestials, fey , elementals , constructs , oozes and plants ; and beasts. There
1736-422: The 2nd edition also introduced a great number of new creatures. Some types, such as devils and demons , were initially removed by TSR in response to a moral panic promoted by Patricia Pulling 's advocacy group Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons (BADD). These were later reintroduced, sometimes with different names to avoid complaints. This appendix to the Monstrous Compendium series was designed for use with
1798-458: The 3rd edition sourcebook Fiend Folio . In 1st edition D&D , the three types of demodands from weakest to strongest were tarry, slime, and shaggy. In 2nd and 3rd editions, the three types are farastu, kelubar, and shator. The hordlings are fiends that form the hordes of the Gray Waste of Hades . They first appeared in the 1st edition supplement Monster Manual II . Hordlings wander
1860-455: The Abyss, as much as the chaotic demons can be ruled over. The devils , of which the ruling type are called baatezu ( / b eɪ ˈ ɑː t ɛ z uː / ), are lawful evil natives of the Nine Hells of Baator ; they are said to subjugate the weak and rule tyrannically over their domains. Pit fiends are the most powerful baatezu, though even the strongest pit fiends are surpassed by the Lords of
1922-526: The Blood War], you'll be more inclined to treat them as unique creatures, with their own goals and motivations." The tarrasque is a gigantic lizard-like creature which exists only to eat, kill, and destroy, "the most dreaded monster native to the Prime Material plane ". The tarrasque was introduced in 1983 in the Monster Manual II , in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons . It
List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters - Misplaced Pages Continue
1984-494: The D&;D multiverse". Black Gate reviewer Andrew Zimmerman Jones described it as the "eternal" conflict "for who gets claim on being more evil" and praised the Blood War as a background for adventures putting the player characters between the fronts. The inclusion of demons and devils proved controversial among critics of Dungeons & Dragons . TSR eliminated most references to occult symbols, demons, and devils from
2046-592: The Galchutt, who did not appear until later on in Chaositech . Cook originally planned on perhaps renaming them so their name was not quite so similar to kytons, or chain devils, as well as other episodes of Cook's Ptolus campaign to see how they were originally used. Night hags are fiends from the Gray Wastes of Hades that traffic in the souls of mortals in 3rd edition sources. In 5th edition they come from
2108-607: The Gray Waste preying upon everything they come across, even other hordlings. Hordlings vary greatly in appearance. It is said that hordlings evolved from larvae whose hatred was so unique, their souls became individual. The hordlings can be summoned using an artifact known as the Bringer of Doom , which was created around the time of the Invoked Devastation of Greyhawk . Hordlings are the most common inhabitants of
2170-532: The Gray Waste. They also occasionally roam the other Lower Planes as well. The kythons (not to be confused with kytons, which are chain devils Baatezu ) are distinct from the other fiends in that they did not originate on any of the lower planes. When a group of fiends (the Galchutt, from Monte Cook's Chaositech and Ptolus ) were trapped on the Material Plane , they tried creating more of their own kind through magical means. The results were eyeless reptilian creatures with insectoid traits and neutral evil traits. As
2232-457: The Nine , or Archdevils, whose ranks include Baalzebul , Mephistopheles , and Asmodeus . Unlike the demons, the devils are described as arranged in a strict hierarchy. Like the demons, the devils are scheming backstabbers; while a demon only keeps its words when it is convenient for it, a devil keeps its word all too well—they are said to be used to exploiting repressive bureaucratic machinations to
2294-515: The continuous presence of supernatural beings as one of the factors that made Ravenloft a very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. Monstrous Compendium Annuals collected and updated monsters published in a variety of sources. Creatures listed under the heading of earlier publications are not repeated here. This section lists fictional creatures for AD&D 2nd Edition from various sources not explicitly dedicated to presenting monsters. Primarily, these are
2356-410: The culture it was taken from. Nicholas Montegriffo from The Gamer called them "worthy foes for epic heroes" and found the down-scaling of offensively usable arms sad. The Blood War concept was introduced as part of the new background for the outer planes in 1991's Monstrous Compendium Volume Outer Planes Appendix . The conflict is depicted as a bitter war of annihilation between the baatezu race and
2418-412: The deadliest monsters of D&D by several reviewers. Marley King from Screen Rant recommended the hecatoncheires for Dungeons Masters to pit against high-level parties as a monster that is not "too cliché". He commented that - aside from the monster's many attacks, and high perception - it was given "incredible martial prowess" in the game, hearkening back to the importance of skill in battle in
2480-409: The demons. When he and his followers take on demonic traits to better combat their foes, these angels, now deemed devils, are either exiled to or granted (depending on perspective) their own plane, where they fight the Blood War without disturbing the primordial lords of order. This is depicted as possibly being self-serving historical revisionism. The Guide to Hell instead portrays the Blood War as
2542-616: The description of many deities also new creatures. ISBN 0-7869-0657-X The Dragonlance adventure Dragon's Rest by Rick Swan contained three new fictional creatures. ISBN 0-88038-869-2 The Dragonlance adventure Wild Elves by Scott Bennie contained six new fictional creatures. ISBN 1-56076-140-7 The Dragonlance game accessory Taladas: The Minotaurs by Colin McComb contained several new creatures. ISBN 1-56076-150-4 The Dragonlance adventure Flint's Axe by Tim Beach contained
List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters - Misplaced Pages Continue
2604-491: The eco-system. While later editions gave the various creatures all the attributes which player characters had, 2nd edition only listed intelligence as a characteristic important for creating challenging encounters in the game. The 2nd edition also used a unique format in the form of Monstrous Compendiums of loose sheets that could be collected in a folder, and allowed the combination of monster books together with individual monster pages from boxed sets. This "unruly" format
2666-455: The factors that made Ravenloft a very well received role-playing game setting during the 33 years of its existence. The Mystara campaign setting began as the "Known World" in the D&;D Basic and Expert rules, and as a result many of the entries below originated in the D&D Basic, Expert, Companion or Masters rulebooks, and the modules associated with them. Luis Javier Flores Arvizu named
2728-566: The fullest and thus always know all ways around the letter of a contract to begin with. The tanar'ri and the baatezu hold an eternal enmity for one another and wage the Blood War against one another. The yugoloths (called daemons in 1st edition D&D ) are neutral evil natives of the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna and the Gray Wastes of Hades ; they are neutral to the affairs of the other fiendish races, interfering only when they see
2790-547: The game included rules for extracting treasure from the creature's carcass. In the Spelljammer series, the accessory Practical Planetology suggests the tarrasques originate from the planet Falx. Several hundred tarrasques live there, where they feed upon the native Imbul, a lizard-like creature. In the 4th edition of the game, the tarrasque is listed as an "abomination" and classed as a "Gargantuan elemental magical beast"—a living engine of death and destruction created by
2852-445: The game interesting and forces players to think about employing diverse strategies. The monsters of Dungeons & Dragons have received criticism from multiple sources . In addition to other game elements, the presence of magical or demonic monsters has provoked moral panics among religious conservatives. The game's emphasis on slaying monsters has also elicited negative commentary. As monsters have traditionally been defined by
2914-532: The game is based on the creature with the same name from Greek mythology . Like their counterparts, D&D's hecatoncheires were presented as giants with one-hundred arms and fifty heads in early editions. They also had the ability to throw a whole "barrage of boulders" at their enemies. In later editions their description was changed to "abominations that are formed from the fusion of one-hundred beings." In another version they were reduced in power, appearing as "a mere four-armed giant". They were considered among
2976-869: The game, when they were chaotic neutral natives of Limbo and thus not fiends. The cambions (whose name comes from a different kind of mythological, demonic creature) are simply half-fiends; hybrids of fiends and non-fiendish creatures, often humans or other humanoids. Cambions are typically created through fiends raping mortals or seducing them after shape-shifting , although some of the most depraved beings actually participate willingly. Those cambions that actually survive birth typically look like grotesque, hellish variants of their mortal progenitors, having wings, claws, fangs and often many other features that reveal their fiendish origins. Cambions are usually outcast, being feared and hated in mortal societies for their fiendish origins and being derided by pure-blooded fiends for their impure heritage. A variant of cambion called durzagon
3038-467: The kythons matured, they took on varied forms. None of them were loyal to the fiends that created them. Because kythons originated on the Material Plane instead of the Abyss (or another lower plane), they are also called earth-bound demons. Kythons are only interested in eating and breeding. They have spread rapidly across the Material Plane . The current hierarchy of kythons, from the weakest to
3100-481: The length of most monster descriptions, and featuring illustrations for most of the monsters. The book contains a treasure chart and an index of major listings. The Fiend Folio: Tome of Creatures Malevolent and Benign was the second monster book for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1981. The Fiend Folio consisted mostly of monsters submitted to White Dwarf ' s "Fiend Factory" column. The monsters in this book are presented in
3162-523: The number of " experience points " they award when killed, the game has been said to promote a "sociopathic" violence where the dungeon master "merely referees one imagined slaughter after another." Nicholas J. Mizer, in contrast, suggested that experience through combat was an in-game variation on Thorstein Veblen 's theory that application of the "predatory spirit" of humans to warfare could lead to high standing in society. Some female monsters, such as
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#17327917612523224-545: The productions of contemporary cultural industries [...]. These transformations may be the result of translations or adaptations. This process of continuous evolution which involves both permanence and change is called "work on myth [Arbeit am Mythos]" by the German philosopher Hans Blumenberg ." Because of their broad, inclusive background, D&D monsters have been called a pastiche of sources. In some cases, this has resulted in legal battles, such as when names taken from
3286-469: The same format as those in the previous Monster Manual work, and most featured illustrations of the monsters Monster Manual II was the third and final monster book for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons , published in 1983, and has the largest page count of the three. As with the Monster Manual , this book was written primarily by Gary Gygax . This book contains a number of monsters that previously appeared in limited circulation and
3348-472: The second edition of the game. When the creatures were reintroduced after a few year in the Monstrous Compendium supplement MC8: The Outer Planes , the terms "baatezu", "tanar'ri", "yugoloth", and "gehreleth" were introduced and were used exclusively in place of the terms "devil", "demon", "daemon", and "demodand", respectively, but without changing the creatures fundamentally. Following
3410-1307: The separate sourcebooks and expansions for the Forgotten Realms, Al-Qadim and other campaign settings produced by TSR. The Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space Spelljammer campaign setting boxed set contained 11 new creatures in the standard Monstrous Compendium format, on pages 67–86 of the Lorebook of the Void . ISBN 0-88038-762-9 The Spelljammer game accessory Lost Ships , by Ed Greenwood , contained several new creatures on pages 84–96. ISBN 0-88038-831-5 The Legend of Spelljammer boxed set added four new creatures on pages 60–64 of The Grand Tour sourcebook. ISBN 1-56076-083-4 The Spelljammer game accessory Krynnspace , by Jean Rabe , contained two new creatures. ISBN 1-56076-560-7 The Forgotten Realms Ruins of Undermountain boxed set included 8 unnumbered 5-hole punched loose-leaf pages of creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format. ISBN 1-56076-061-3 The Maztica Campaign Set boxed set contained 4 new creatures in
3472-491: The standard Monstrous Compendium format, on pages 59–62 of the Maztica Alive booklet. ISBN 1-56076-084-2 This 128-page softbound book provided additional details on the history, culture and society of the dark elves , and included 9 additional creature descriptions in Monstrous Compendium format on pages 113–127. ISBN 1-56076-132-6 The Forgotten Realms adventure Fires of Zatal for
3534-449: The strongest is: broodlings, juveniles, adults, impalers, slaymasters, and slaughterkings. Eventually, with more time, kythons will grow into newer and more powerful forms. Kythons closely resemble xenomorphs . They were originally created for Monte Cook 's Ptolus campaign, based on some gaming miniatures he had bought, and were added by him to the Book of Vile Darkness absent the context of
3596-520: The tanar'ri; an absolute, all encompassing, and virtually eternal struggle. Trenton Webb of Arcane magazine wrote, "the fate of all the planes hangs on its outcome". The Blood War was thoroughly detailed in various books throughout the Planescape setting, particularly the 1996 boxed set Hellbound: The Blood War . The 4th edition of D&D's Manual of the Planes updated the Blood War into
3658-500: The term "yugoloth" for the same creatures. Fiends were considered among the "standard repertoire of 'Monsters'" in the game by Fabian Perlini-Pfister. Black Gate reviewer Andrew Zimmerman Jones positively contrasted the extended description provided in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018) as compared to earlier material: "It's easy to treat demons and devils as villains just there to be killed, but after reading this chapter [on
3720-514: The work himself, having included and expanded most of the monsters from the previous D&D supplements. Also included are monsters originally printed in The Strategic Review , as well as some originally found in early issues of The Dragon and other early game materials. This book expanded on the original monster format by including the stat lines on the same page as the monsters' descriptions and introducing more stats, expanding
3782-431: The works of J. R. R. Tolkien had to be changed due to copyright disputes. In game books, monsters are typically presented with illustrations, game statistics , and a detailed description. Monsters may be adapted to fit the needs of the game's writers and publishers, such as by describing combat abilities that may have been absent or only implied by an original source. Artistic renderings of various creatures have been
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#17327917612523844-407: Was abandoned again in 1993 in favor of bound books. In parallel with this change, the 2nd edition introduced colored images for each monster, which became standard in later editions of the game. Referencing Wizards of the Coast art director Dawn Murin, GameSpy author Allan Rausch found that until the 2nd edition the artwork depicting monsters was influenced by the popular culture of the late 1970s. As
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