Monster Manual: Merfolk to Owlbear

Let's continue with the 'M' monsters, shall we? Next up is the Merfolk, aka merman in earlier editions including the original 1974 boxed set. Speaking of which, I just saw that Noble Knight Games has a 1st printing of that box available on their website for a mere $22K. It's not in mint condition, either. Still, it would be one hell of a collector's item, wouldn't it?

Alright, so the merfolk are Medium-sized Aquatic Humanoids with 1 HD and a CR of 1/2. They use tridents in battle and live in bands of up to 60 or so members. They advance by character class, and their favored class is...bard. Well, that's a new one. Their spellcasters are generally adepts, and like the locathah, they worship Eadro and their clerics can choose from the Animal, Protection, and Water domains. Otherwise, there's not much to say about them.

The Mimic first appeared in the original Monster Manual. Large Aberrations with 7 HD and a CR of 4, they can look like anything they want to. Inanimate objects, not people, but still. They can get up to 21 HD and Huge size, they do speak Common, and they are immune to acid. And they can stick to things as well. They can be found anywhere, so they're a neat opponent to put in a party's unsuspecting way.

Ah, the Mind Flayer. The very first new monster in D&D history, it first appeared in The Strategic Review #1 in early 1975, even before the Greyhawk supplement was released. It is a Medium-size Aberration with 8 HD and a CR of 8. Of course, everyone knows what these squid-headed psionic horrors are all about; they're the original brain eaters. They are alien creatures that will break your mind before eating it. And they advance by character class, so picture the joys of being a DM running a mind flayer wizard or cleric.

Minotaurs! Who doesn't remember the minotaur's lair in Keep on the Borderlands? These classic Greek monsters are 1974 originals, and here are Large Monstrous Humanoids with 6 HD and a CR of 4. They like to charge their opponents, goring them for 4d6+6 damage before wailing on them with their greataxes and their 19 Str. And they are so cunning and logical, that despite having an Int of only 7, they are immune to maze spells and can't be caught flat-footed. And...they advance by character class as well, meaning you can run into a minotaur barbarian. Or a minotaur monk, which would be absolutely terrifying. I can't imagine a monastery that would train a minotaur in martial arts, but I suppose anything is possible.

The Mohrg is a new creature, a Medium-sized Undead with 13 HD and a CR of 8. And they are really, really gross looking. They look like near-skeletal corpses, and can be mistaken for ghouls. However, they are much nastier than that, having long, purple clawed tongues that can paralyze anyone they hit. And if they kill someone, that corpse reanimates as a zombie a few days later. They are quite strong (21 Str) and tough to hit thanks to their Dodge and Mobility feats, and they can advance to 28 HD (Large size).

Finally, we have the Mummy, another 1974 classic. Medium-sized Undead with 6 HD and a CR of 3, these are preserved corpses that can infect anyone they hit with mummy rot, a supernatural disease that does continuous Constitution damage until the victim dies. They also have some damage reduction, take only half damage from physical attacks, and are vulnerable to fire. They're found in deserts and underground, and they can advance to 18 HD (Large size). Not sure how a mummy would grow, but I guess you could mummify an ogre if you really wanted to.

And that is it for the 'M' section. We'll just jump right in with the 'N' monsters, and we start with the Nagas. These are Large Aberrations, and there are four of them here: Water (7 HD, CR 7), Spirit (9 HD, CR 9), Dark (9 HD, CR 8), and Guardian (11 HD, CR 10). Water nagas are neutral, spirit and dark nagas are evil, and guardian nagas are good. All of them can be found anywhere that isn't cold, although obviously water nagas are found in wet places. They also all have a poisonous bite or sting, and can all cast spells as 7th-level sorcerers (except guardians at 9th level). They all advance to Huge size and triple their hit dice as well. Nagas first appeared way back in The Strategic Review #3, except for the dark naga, which made its debut in Dragon 89 in the first Creature Catalog supplement.

Oh, we get another hag next: The Night Hag, who first appeared in the 1977 Monster Manual. She is much tougher than the earlier hags, being a Medium-sized Evil Outsider with 8 HD and a CR of 9. Night hags are truly nasty customers, being able to inject a deadly disease into victims by biting them. They also have plenty of spell-like abilities, can visit the dreams of chaotic or evil individuals to haunt them and drain their Constitution, and are immune to fire, cold, charm, sleep and fear effects. They also have major damage reduction of 20/+3, and spell resistance of 25. So, they're very difficult to stop once they get into someone's head; they have to be fought on the Ethereal Plane to defeat them and free their victim. They can advance to 16 HD, too.

Nightmares are also from the 1977 Monster Manual. They are demonic horses that carry demons and night hags around. They are Large Evil Outsiders with 6 HD and a CR of 5. Their hooves spew flames, and they can fly around with good maneuverability even when carrying someone. In combat, they will snort out a cloud of hot, choking, blinding smoke that gives them concealment and weakens opponent who fail a saving throw. And they can jump into the Astral and Ethereal planes at will like a 20th-level sorcerer. They can advance to 18 HD and Huge size, so just right for those balors and pit fiends.

Next up, we have a trio of monsters collectively known as Nightshades. And these critters originated in the BECMI line and the Mystara setting, which of course is still my favorite setting of all time. So, it's nice to see these guys. I'll deal with them as if they were individual entries, just because. But they do have some things in common. All of the nightshades have a 60-foot-radius aura of absolute cold that doesn't do damage, but spoils food and drink and ruins holy water and potions. They also all have several at will spell-like abilities like cause disease, cloudkill, dispel magic, and hold person, as well as a once-per-night finger of death. They can summon undead creatures every four hours, are immune to cold, have 50 resistance to acid, fire and electricity, are completely immune to spells under 7th level, continuously detect magic and see invisible creatures, and have damage reduction of 25/+3. Oh, and they're also all telepathic. And this is just the starting point for these horrors.

The Nightwing is a Huge Undead with 17 HD and a CR of 14. Their Str is 29, and they are quite mentally proficient (Int and Wis 20, Cha 18). On top of all the other nasty things nightshades can do, nightwings can fly and drain magic with a touch attack. This weaken magic items such as armor, weapons and shields, reducing their power by one "plus" per touch. Any item that runs out of plusses loses any other abilities it might have had, and if a dispel evil isn't cast on it soon, it's permanently drained. Now, imagine a 51-HD, Gargantuan nightwing. And try not to whimper.

But the Nightwalker is even scarier. It's also a Huge Undead with 21 HD and a CR of 16. It's not as good a flyer as the nightwing, but it's much stronger (Str 35) and has the Great Cleave feat to beat you and your friends with. Along with the usual nightshade abilities, nightwalkers can simply crush any item that's Large size or smaller, including magical ones (but not artifacts). They also have an evil gaze that gives a -4 morale penalty to all attack rolls, checks, and saving throws unless a DC 24 Will save is made, and it takes a dispel evil or remove curse to get rid of it. And hey, who wouldn't want to run into an advanced Gargantuan nightwalker with 63 HD? Always a good time.

Then there is the Nightcrawler that makes the other two look like kobolds by comparison. Well, maybe not kobolds, but you get the idea. These start out as Gargantuan Undead with 25 HD and a CR of 18. They can swallow their opponents if they bite them, and if they succeed, not only does the victim take 2d8+12 crushing damage and 1d8 acid damage per round, but they also take a negative level per round, meaning they're going to run out of hit points even faster! And they are big enough to hold up to eight humans or sixteen halflings. They can even hold two Huge monsters in their gullets. And if that isn't enough, they have a poison sting that drains Strength. And if you really want to give your PCs recurring nightmares, nightcrawlers can advance to Colossal size and 75 HD. Don't be afraid; be terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.

Yeah, I like the nightshades. Sue me.

Okay, finishing off the 'N' section, we have the Nymph. First mentioned in the Blackmoor supplement, she officially appeared for the first time in the original Monster Manual. Unlike that tome, we actually get artwork this time. Fortunately, she's not naked as she would have been depicted in the original. Anyway, the nymph is a Medium-size Fey with 3 HD and a CR of 6. They have a Cha of 19, but they are so beautiful that any humanoid (yes, this includes orcs and kobolds) that looks at them goes permanently blind unless they save. And if the nymph feels threatened, she can ramp up the power of her looks to actually kill onlookers. She can also cast druid spells as a 7th-level caster, along with the spell-like ability of dimension door. And they can advance to 9 HD. They will sometimes crush on really handsome elves, half-elves and humans, even rescuing them if necessary from dangerous situations. Talk about a dream scenario. Anyway, the art here bears a resemblance to Drew Barrymore, who was indeed quite a looker at the age of 25 when this book came out.

Shall we continue? Yes, we shall. The 'O' section starts with the Ogre and Ogre Mage. Ogres are 1974 originals, and are Large Giants with 4 HD and a CR of 2. I have always loved ogres; they are the perfect monster to use at a wide range of levels. A single ogre is a challenge for a low-level party, while a party of eighth-level characters might take on a horde of ogres, say 20 or so. Most of my rangers would choose them as favored enemies, including Relgar Bloodhawk. They don't have any special abilities, but they are tough opponents. And they advance by character class. There's also an aquatic variant called the Merrow, which are basically the same except they swim and use different weapons.

The Ogre Mage is from the Greyhawk supplement, and they really belong in an Asian setting. But they are here, and they are also Large Giants, with 5 HD and a CR of 8. The main difference between them and regular ogres is that these guys are more magical. Specifically, they have spell-like abilities, including at-will darkness and invisibility, as well as charm person, cone of cold, gaseous form, polymorph self, and sleep. They can also fly if they want to, and they regenerate damage except from fire and acid. They also have spell resistance 18, and advance by character class as well.

Next we have the Oozes. These are all classic 1974 monsters: The Gray Ooze (Medium-sized, 3 HD, CR 4), the Gelatinous Cube (Huge, 4 HD, CR 3), Ochre Jelly (Large, 6 HD, CR 5), and the Black Pudding (Huge, 10 HD, CR 7) are the four we meet here. They all do acid damage along with their normal damage with their slam attacks, and as oozes they are all immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, polymorphing, and critical hits. Most of them can advance to triple their hit dice and one size category larger, except for the gelatinous cube, which can actually advance to 24 HD and Gargantuan size.

Up next...the Orc. Yep, the classic cannon fodder going all the way back to the Chainmail game, the orc is a Medium-sized Humanoid...with the Orc subtype. They have 1 HD and a CR of 1/2. Their alignment has changed; in the original Monster Manual they had the lawful evil alignment; now they are chaotic evil. I don't see the point of the change, but then I wasn't working for WOTC at the time. I'm sure they had a reason. Anyway, orcs advance by character class, and their favored class is, to no one's surprise, barbarian. Half-orcs are also mentioned here; they're straight out of the Player's Handbook. Orcs worship Gruumsh, and their domains are Chaos, Evil, Strength, and War. However, there aren't a lot of orc clerics (far more half-orcs than orcs), since most orc spellcasters are adepts.

The Otyugh is another Monster Manual original. Large Aberrations with 6 HD and a CR of 4, they are nasty scavengers that live in piles of crap. Seriously. They have tentacles that can rake their victims, and have a 15-foot reach. Considering where they live, anyone who gets injured by an otyugh is going to be risking a disease that does Dex and Con damage. And I don't think a tetanus shot will help. They can advance to 15 HD and Huge size. I'll note that the neo-otyugh (basically a bigger otyugh) from the original MM doesn't appear here.

Last but not least, we have the mighty Owlbear. First appearing in Greyhawk, these Large Beasts have 5 HD and a CR of 4. They aren't too tough to describe; they are basically bears with feathers on their arms and an owl's head. And they will attack anything bigger than a mouse on sight, fighting to the death. They just aren't friendly at all. They can get up to 15 HD and Huge size if you want, making them an even tougher fight.

Okay, that's going to bring this entry to a close. We had quite a few individual entries today, and we looked at 25 monsters in total, bringing our running total to 293. We're getting there, but we're running out of month, and I still have two magazines and a module to review before the end. I'll have to do a big entry next time to help run this out. Until then, just think about nightcrawlers and how much fun you could have with them.