Monster Manual: Kobold to Mephit

There are no 'J' monsters in this edition yet, so we jump straight to everyone's favorite cannon fodder: Kobolds. Small Reptilian humanoids, they have 1/2 HD and a CR of 1/6, which means it takes several of them to threaten even a single 1st-level character. Originally they were just halfling-sized, dog-headed humanoids, but now they are reptilian with ties to dragons that, from what I have seen and read, become far more explicit later on. There isn't a lot to say about them; even their entry is pretty short. They advance by character class, and their favored class is sorcerer, which is a bit surprising. Their deity is Kurtulmak, and their clerics can choose from the Evil, Law, Luck, and Trickery domains.

Next is a much larger beast, the Kraken. This is a Gargantuan Aquatic Magical Beast with 20 HD and a CR of 12. They have triple the normal treasure, if you can manage to kill one and finds its underwater lair. Like their little cousins, squids and octopi, they can shoot an ink cloud that covers their retreat in the unlikely event that they get into trouble in combat. They are also very smart, having an Int of 21. In fact, they have four characteristics of 20 or more: Str (34), Con (29), Int, and Wis (20). And they have spell-like abilities like a 9th-level druid, throwing control weather, control winds, dominate animal, and resist elements around. Impressive. Oh, and they can grow up to 60 HD and Colossal size. Because why not?

The Krenshar is a new monster, a Medium-sized Magical Beast with 2 HD and a CR of 1. The art makes it look like a mutated big cat with its face missing its skin. Gross. Anyway, the missing skin thing is actually its special ability; it can pull the skin back from its face, trying to jump-scare threats into running away. When they combine the skin-pull with a loud screech, it actually works like a scare spell from a 3rd-level sorcerer. Okay, then. Other than that, there's not much to write home about. They live in temperate and warm forests and plains, and live in prides of up to 10 cats. And the biggest ones (Large size) get up to 8 HD as well.

Then we have the Kuo-Toa, one of Gygax's creations that first appeared in the classic D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa module in 1978. Originally, they were a Lovecraftian race of frog-men whose lair was a kaleidoscopic acid trip. Now they are Medium-size Aquatic Monstrous Humanoids with 2 HD and a CR of 2. Their writeup has been stripped of most of the creepy stuff that peppered the original, and now they just feel like typical monsters. Too bad. They advance by character class, their favored class being rogues. Their deity is the naked lobster-headed Blibdoolpoolp, and her domains are Destruction, Evil, and Water.

The Lamia is from the original Monster Manual, and is a Medium-sized Magical Beast with 9 HD and a CR of 6. They live in deserts and hilly terrain (as well as underground), and their touch causes a permanent Wisdom drain. Note that there's no saving throw mentioned for this, so if they touch you, you get dumber. Then they'll use their spell-like abilities on you, like charm person and suggestion. they can advance to 27 HD and Huge size, too. Don't mess with them.

The Lammasu wins the 'most mocked name in D&D history' trophy due to people deliberately pronouncing it 'Lame-assu' for decades. They first appeared in the Greyhawk supplement. They are Large Magical Beasts and are always lawful good, so they are reliable allies when they are encountered in dungeons or any warm lands. They have 7 HD and a CR of 8, so they are much more powerful than their HD suggest. That's no surprise, since they start out as 7th-level clerical casters with the choices of Good, Healing, Knowledge, and Law domains. They also produce a continuous magic circle against evil in a 20-foot radius, as well as some additional spell-like abilities. And they're no slouches in combat, being able to pounce and rake like the winged lions they are. And they can advance to 21 HD and Huge size, but there's no indication that their spellcasting abilities improve as well.

The Lillend is another (chaotic) good creature that can be found anywhere; it's a Large Outsider with 7 HD and a CR of 7. It first appeared in Dragon Magazine 94 in the Creature Catalog II supplement. In 2nd edition, of course it became a Planescape monster. So, this would be...a winged serpent-centaur. How's that for a description? Like the lammasu, they are natural spellcasters (6th-level bards), and have several spell-like abilities. They also have the bardic music ability, and can constrict with their lower body while still attacking with their sword, because why not? They're also immune to normal fire and have fire resistance 20. Like lammasu, they can advance to 21 HD and Huge size.

Lizardfolk...these used to be lizard men, but 3rd edition is more PC than the earlier editions, pun only slightly intended. Anyway, these are another creature that surprisingly didn't appear in the original boxed set, instead being included in the Greyhawk supplement. Here they are Medium-sized Aquatic Reptilian Humanoids with 2 HD and a CR of 1. They live in swamps, of course. They don't have any special abiltiies, and live in small tribes of up to about 60 members plus leaders. They advance by character class, with their favored class being druid. Lizardfolk clerics worship Semuanya and choose from Animal, Plant, and Water domains.

The Locathah is originally from the Blackmoor supplement; they are Medium-sized Aquatic Humanoids. Lots of aquatic monsters today, aren't there? They have 2 HD and a CR of 1/2, so they aren't that tough. Again, no special abilities; they're just underwater humanoids that live in warm coastal waters and live their lives in their tribes. They advance by character class, and their favored class is barbarian. Most of their spellcasters are adepts, but they do have clerics who worship Eadro and select from the Animal, Protection, and Water domains.

And that's it for the 'L' monsters. But we're not stopping here! We're going to continue on with the 'M' monsters. Not all of them; 'M' is another big letter for monster listings. But we'll get through as much as possible. First up is the Magmin, a small Fire Elemental with 2 HD and a CR of 3. They first appeared as magmen in the classic A4 The Dungeons of the Slave Lords, and were later incorporated into the Monster Manual II. These guys just radiate heat, and lots of it. If you touch a magmin, you catch fire and take damage. If you're within 30 feet of it, you have to make a DC 11 Fort save or take damage. And if you hit it with a weapon, the weapon has a decent chance of melting into slag. So yeah, heat machines. Needless to say, they have the Fire subtype, and they can advance to 6 HD and Medium size.

Next up is another classic from the original boxed set: The Manticore. These are Huge Magical Beasts with 6 HD and a CR of 5. I remember them as winged lions with human-ish heads that can fire a volley of tail spikes before they rip you to pieces with their claws. Here...the art is creepier, and less lion-ish. But they're still nasty, throwing up to 6 spikes at their targets, with a total of 24 spikes per day; they grow back, apparently. They live anywhere that's not cold, and they can advance to 18 HD (Gargantuan size).

Ah, the Medusa. Funny, I just looked at the picture and I didn't turn to stone. Another 1974 original, these snake-headed women from Greek mythology are Medium-sized Monstrous Humanoids with 6 HD and a CR of 7. Their snakes can bite, and have poison, and they use shortbows and daggers when they aren't petrifying people who look at them. They live alone or in small coveys of 2-4 medusae, and advance by character class.

Our last entry for the day is a big one: Mephits. These first appeared way, way back in the British magazine White Dwarf #13 before becoming official in the Fiend Folio. Then there were four variants; there are ten listed here. They are all pretty similar, so they're listed alphabetically. They are all Small Outsiders with various elemental subtypes, and they all have 3 HD and CR 3. So, we have the Air, Dust (Air subtype), Earth, Fire, Ice (Air and Cold), Magma (Fire), Ooze (Water), Salt (Earth), Steam (Fire), and Water mephits. They all have breath weapons related to their particular type, spell-like abilities, fast healing, damage reduction, and the ability to summon other mephits of the same type (25% chance of success). Interestingly, they were originally always some form of evil alignment, but now they are 'usually neutral'. I wonder why they changed it. Anyway, they can all advance to 9 HD and reach Medium size. So, aside from the minor details, all mephits are pretty much the same.

So, we've added a total of 22 new monsters today, making our running total 268. That 500 is still a possibility (although I think the umpteen hydras was cheating). Next time, we'll finish the 'M' section and probably get as far as the 'O' monsters before calling it a night.