D&D General The core monster lineup across all editions

[Parmandur]

Mind flayer: First appeared in The Strategic Review #1, then in Eldritch Wizardry, for 0e. Became a core monster with the 1e Monster Manual. Have been core ever since. (Except in Basic D&D, where they never appeared.)

Beholder: First appeared in Greyhawk for 0e. Became a core monster with the 1e Monster Manual, have been core ever since. (In Basic D&D, first appeared in the Companion Rules, then became a core monster in the Rules Cyclopedia.)

What does the list look like if you limit it to the AD&D line Monster Manuals?

 

[JEB]

Tell you what, folks, I'll see about translating my core lists into an accessible spreadsheet, and I'll share it here when I'm done! May be a bit, though.

 

[ezo]

I find this very interesting. One of the guys I play with did a similar thing, but worked backwards, starting with 5E.

IIRC, he ultimately ended up with a list of 150 (or so) "best of D&D monsters".

 

[RangerWickett]

That reminds me of the difference between a "fairy tale" about fairies versus a "folk belief" about fairies.

The fairy tale is fictional, following literary conventions.

The folk belief transmits reallife encounters with fairies. But the descriptions of the encounters themselves have less story. It is more like saying, so-and-so saw a UFO last night, or saying, that house is haunted − it felt weird or something weird happened while there. These encounters come with worldview implications in the attempt to explain it, but there isnt actually much story to the encounter.

Hm. Interesting framing.

 

[Yaarel]

Tell you what, folks, I'll see about translating my core lists into an accessible spreadsheet, and I'll share it here when I'm done! May be a bit, though.

In my experience, relating to other historical documents, it is often the case:

The parts of a tradition that are the most important, most meaningful, most impactful, and most vital, actually derive from the later commentary on the earlier tradition. Just because something is profound doesnt mean it was consciously or intentionally part the origin of the tradition.

In the context of the D&D tradition, some of the monsters that are most archetypal, most popular, or most culturally insightful, might or might not be part of the original publications.

Every phase of a tradition merits attention, including the origin and the evolution.

 

[the Jester]

I find this very interesting. One of the guys I play with did a similar thing, but worked backwards, starting with 5E.

IIRC, he ultimately ended up with a list of 150 (or so) "best of D&D monsters".

I think some of the best D&D monsters are more obscure, but it's definitely a matter of taste. For instance, I would put the son/spawn of Kyuss, the tsochar, and the banderhobb as among D&D's greatest monster creations, but none would get the "core" tag, no matter which editions you're drawing from.

 

[Minigiant]

• Black dragon (dragon)
• Red dragon (dragon)
• White dragon (dragon)
• Gargoyle (trick monster)
• Gnoll (mook)
• Goblin (little mook)
• Hobgoblin (mook)
• Kobold (little mook)
• Medusa (trick monster)
• Ochre jelly (trick monster)
• Ogre (bigger mook)
• Orc (mook)
• Skeleton (fodder)
• Werewolf (trick monster)
• Zombie (fodder)

 

[Remathilis]

I think it's interesting how many "iconic" monsters like beholder, owlbear, mind flayers, and fiends are missing. I also wonder how often that was due to the level range (B/X focusing on early levels) and monster split (4e's MM holding several iconic monsters back for MM2).

While the 32 list would be a good start if you were doing a "basic" monster list, I'm sure it's far from complete.

 

[JEB]

Hi all, here's the spreadsheet! link

I also created a separate thread for discussion: https://www.enworld.org/threads/every-core-monster-ever-in-d-d.702706/

But certainly happy to keep the chat going here, too...

 

[JEB]

@Parmandur asked about limiting the list to just AD&D forward. That adds 26 monsters to the original 15 and the Basic-less 17, for a total of 58:

• Beholder
• Bugbear
• Bulette
• Carrion crawler
• Displacer beast
• Doppelganger
• Ettin
• Gelatinous cube
• Flesh golem
• Stone golem
• Imp
• Lich
• Lizardfolk
• Mind flayer
• Otyugh
• Owlbear
• Pseudodragon
• Rakshasa
• Roper
• Giant poisonous snake (a.k.a. "deathrattle viper" in 4e)
• Stirge
• Troglodyte
• Umber hulk
• Wererat
• Wolf
• Dire wolf