Monster Manual: Giant Eagle to Grimlock

Okay, let's get through the 'G' section, and hopefully further than that as well. Next up we have the Giant Eagle, which is a long-time denizen of this game in all editions. This time around it's a Large Magical Beast with 4 HD and a CR of 3. They are usually neutral good in alignment and quite intelligent (for a bird), so if you ask them nicely they might be able to fly you over the mountains to the doorstep of Mount Doom. They can advance to 12 HD and Gargantuan size, which puts them close to a Roc in size. But we might get to that later on; I don't remember if Rocs are in this book. Giant eagles can be trained as mounts; the younger they are, the better the chance of success.

Next we have the Giant Owl. I guess those Dire animals don't completely replace the giant animals after all. Anyway, the giant owl has been around since Eldritch Wizardry, I believe, all the way back to 1976. Again, this is a Large Magical Beast with 4 HD and a CR of 3. And they're also usually neutral good. There are a lot of similarities between the owl and the eagle, aren't there? And they even have the same advancement limitations as the giant eagle. The main difference between them, really, is their skills; giant eagles have a +4 racial bonus to Spot checks during the day, while giant owls have the same bonus at night, as well as a +8 bonus to Listen checks and, when flying, +8 to move silently. Oh, and they have low-light vision five times as good as a human. And they can be trained, just like eagles.

And that's it for the giant animals, as we now move on to the Gibbering Mouther. This one originated in module C1, The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan back in 1980, and was included in the Monster Manual II. Now, it's a Medium-sized Aberration that looks like a flesh-colored amoeba covered in eyes and tooth-filled mouth that constantly form and disappear into the body. Creepy. They have 4 HD, but a CR of 5, because they have a lot more special abilities than owls and eagles. First off, they start babbling, or gibbering, whenever they spot something that might be edible. This gibbering works like a confusion spell on everyone within 60 feet who fail a Will save. They can also shoot out a stream of spittle, which explodes on contact with air, blinding everyone within 60 feet for 1d3 rounds. When they grab you, they mow down and start draining blood, and they can engulf their prey if it is small enough, which means the victim gets 12 bite attacks in the next round. Normally this thing only bites six times a round. So yeah, these things have a few interesting abilities, and they can advance to 12 HD (Large size).

The Girallon is next. This one looks new, unless it just has a new name. It's a Large Beast with 7 HD and a CR of 5 that lives in warm forests, mountains, and of course underground. And...it's a four-armed ape. That's about it, really; they climb well, they can rend with their claws if they hit with at least two on the same opponent, and they're ridiculously strong (26 Str). Oh, and they're always chaotic evil, so there's that. They run in small packs of 5-8, so be ready to run. And they can advance to 21 HD and Huge size, for extra fun.

Ah, the Gnoll. Another 1974 original, this hyena-headed Medium-sized Humanoid has been the bane of many a character. Here they have 2 HD and a CR of 1, and they prefer to use scale mail, battle axes, and shortbows. They're usually chaotic evil, and they advance by character class. They can be found anywhere that isn't a cold climate, and they have tribes of 200+ members to back them up sometimes. They have ranger as their favored class; remember, rangers can be evil in this edition.

Next is the Gnome, which is basically what you get in the Player's Handbook. Just take a basic gnome and put a character class on them, and you've got a monster encounter. There are also the svirfneblin, or deep gnomes, who are an underground subrace with a CR of 1 (normal gnomes are 1/2). Other than that...yeah, they're gnomes.

Goblins! Do I even have to mention they predate D&D all the way back to Chainmail? They're Small Humanoids with 1 HD and a CR of 1/4, so it takes a few goblins to overpower even one low-level fighter. They prefer to use morningstars and javelins, and live in very large (400+ members) tribes. They advance by character class as well, and their favored class is rogue. Other than that...cannon fodder, as always.

Okay, now for the Golems. There are four, all classics going back to 1975. Flesh, stone, and iron golems originated in Greyhawk, while the clay golem showed up in The Strategic Review #4. Once again, they are listed in order of HD, not alphabetically. They are all Large Constructs, and are not low-level opponents. Flesh golems have 9 HD and a CR of 7, and they have decent damage reduction of 15/+1. Their main attack is 'slam', which equates to punching repeatedly. They can be built up to 27 HD and Huge size.

Clay golems have 11 HD and a CR of 10. Their punches hurt to the tune of 2d10+7 damage, and you don't heal that damage easily. Their damage reduction is 20/+1, and they have plenty of immunities to magic as well as swords and other slashing and piercing weapons. They can have up to 33 HD in advancement, making them Huge size.

Stone golems are tougher, with 14 HD and a CR of 11. Their damage reduction is 30/+2, so they are very difficult to hurt, particularly with their additional immunity to various spells. They advance to 42 HD and Huge size.

Lastly, it's the iron golem, with 18 HD and a CR of 13. Their damage reduction is...50/+3?! Good Lord, you're not hurting that unless you are very lucky in your treasure hunting, or the party wizard really, really likes you enough to make you a +3 sword. They also have a breath weapon that spews out a cloud of poisonous gas, so beware. And they are immune to basically any spell you throw at them, so...good luck. And if you run into an advanced iron golem (no, not the T-1000), it might have up to 54 HD and be of Huge size.

Alright, the Gorgon is next, and it's another original monster. I imagine they included just about every monster from the original 1974 boxed set in this book. I hope so, anyway. Those are classics for a reason. Anyway, the gorgon is a Large Magical Beast with 8 HD and a CR of 8. It's our third 'turn you to stone' monster, this time by breathing on you. They look like metallic bulls, but they are alive, not animated. They can advance to 24 HD and Huge size if left alone long enough. I wouldn't recommend that.

The Grey Render is another new beast, literally; it's a Large Beast with 10 HD and a CR of 8. It's main special ability is, you guessed it, rending its victims before chewing on them. These things are ridiculously strong for their size, able to uproot thick trees with their jaws. Nasty. And they can get up to 30 HD and Huge size. They can be found anywhere, and they'll eat just about anything. But they are predators, so beware.

The Grick is new as well, a Medium-sized Aberration with 2 HD and a CR of 3. They look like three-foot-long snakes with four barbed and suckered tentacles coming out of their mouth. They are very difficult to hurt, having damage reduction of 15/+1. And their tentacles are both sharp and nasty, and they can attack with all four of them at once. They're found underground, and can advance to Large size with up to 6 HD.

The Griffon is another original, a Large Beast with 7 HD and a CR of 4. Everyone knows what they are; winged lions with eagle heads, made famous in countless fantasy movies. They can get up to 21 HD and Huge size with enough time, and they live in hills and mountains that aren't cold. They can, of course, be trained as mounts, if they feel like it.

The Grimlock is a Fiend Folio monster; they are Medium-sized Monstrous Humanoids that are completely blind thanks to countless time living underground. Literally, they don't have eyes. But their other senses are much better that it makes up for what they don't have. What they do have, though, is 2 HD and a CR of 1, and they live in small (up to 80) tribal groups. Some of those groups are run by mind flayers or medusae; the latter are particularly suited, since grimlocks are completely unaffected by the medusa's gaze. They're neutral evil and advance by character class; their favored class is barbarian.

And that will do it for tonight. I'm running a bit behind my planned progression, but it's a lot of monsters to cover. Speaking of which, we just added 16 more to the total, bringing us to 171 if my math is right. Next, we plunge forth into the 'H' section, starting with the hags.