Page 1 of 1

Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:53 pm
by darnizhaan
I have been rereading the DMG and have been pleasantly surprised to find several new monsters that I hadn't noticed before. Sure there is the minor Death from the Deck of Many Things, but Brooms of Animated Attack and Figurines of Wondrous Power make good adversaries, especially a Goat of Travail for high-level parties. Plus, reading the encounter tables in the back, one can that they addressed the nothosaurus, giant white furred snakes, and even polar bears (not the MM II version, but ones with brown bear stats).

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 9:10 pm
by foxroe
Yep, another reason to love the 1ed DMG. It almost seems like it's a "quieter" take on the encounter tables in U&WA with Thouls, dinosaurs, and Barsoomian denizens. "Hey, here's some non/semi-stat-ed monsters... fill in the details yourself. It's the thing to do!"

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:27 pm
by prespos
Giant Lobsters, which are identical to the Giant Crayfish in stats.

Bon appetit,
Prespos

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:01 pm
by grodog
Appendix E also expands on several monster types (hydras go up to 20HD IIRC, for example), and provides meaningful notations for some monsters too (trolls only surprised on a 1, for example).

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:26 pm
by prespos
Yes, indeeed.

Also, there's a lot of detail for the different types of whales there too.

Moby Dick,
Prespos

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:15 am
by thedungeondelver
And not to forget the Nycademon and Mezzodemon!

(Yes I know they're statted elsewhere)

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:33 pm
by Zenopus Archives
The Bag of Tricks also includes stats for some normal (non-giant) animals not found in the Monster Manual: weasel, skunk, owl, goat, ram, eagle, ostrich. These are interspered with normal animals that are in the MM, and the stats for those generally match those in the MM. The Sample Dungeon also has a 1 hp monster: a young Large Spider.

For other opponents, don't forget Tribal Spellcasters, Intelligent Swords (controlling an NPC), and Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes. Even Baba Yaga's Hut has some stats.

Gygax was always doing this. B2 has no new monster section, but several encounters are with previously undescribed creatures: Huge Dog, Asp, Mountain Lion, Giant Rat Leaders and "Warrior Zombie" (former 3rd level fighter). The World of Greyhawk encounter tables also have a few 'new' monsters.

Among 1E hardbacks, Deities & Demigods likewise has a number of overlooked monsters.

Just noticed that the original post in this thread is from 2011. 8)

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 1:43 am
by darnizhaan
Zenopus Archives wrote:Among 1E hardbacks, Deities & Demigods likewise has a number of overlooked monsters.

Just noticed that the original post in this thread is from 2011. 8)
Yeah I wanted to use deep ones and shoggoths in my mega-dungeon, Castle Triskelion, but I'm concerned about whether people had the Cthulhu/Moorcock version and would be able to get monster descriptions.

Also the Minions of Set are in the DDG. They get used in Jaquays Dark Tower. They may have showed up in one of the OD&D supplements, though first.

Re: Hidden monsters in the DMG

Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:29 pm
by francisca
darnizhaan wrote: Also the Minions of Set are in the DDG. They get used in Jaquays Dark Tower. They may have showed up in one of the OD&D supplements, though first.
Very briefly, in Supp IV Gods, Demi-Gods, & Heroes.