Common Monsters
Some of the more common "monsters" players may find in a dungeon: (all information is from the AD&D Monster Manual 2e unless otherwise indicated)
Beholder
"A beholder, sometimes called a sphere of many eyes or an eye tyrant, was a large aberration normally found in the Underdark. These large, orb-shaped beings had ten eyestalks and one central eye, each containing powerful magic. Powerful and intelligent, beholders were among the greatest threats to the world." https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Beholder
Bugbears live in loose bands, and are typically found in the same areas as are goblins. Unlike their smaller cousins, however, these hairy giant goblins operate equally well in bright daylight or great darkness (as they have infravision to 607, so they are as likely to choose a habitation above ground as they are to select a subterranean abode.
Carrion crawlers strongly resemble a cross between a giant green cutworm and a huge cephalopod. They are usually found only in subterranean areas. The carrion crawler is, as its name implies, a scavenger, but this does not preclude aggressive attacks upon living creatures, for that insures a constant supply of corpses upon which to feed or for deposit of eggs. The head of the monster is well protected, but its body is only armor class 7. A carrion crawler moves quite rapidly on its multiple legs despite its bulk, and a wall or ceiling is as easily traveled as a floor, for each of the beast's feet are equipped with sharp claws which hold it fast. The head is equipped with 8 tentacles which flail at prey; each 2' long tentacle exudes a gummy secretion which when fresh, will paralyze opponents (save versus paralysis or it takes effect). As there are SO many tentacles with which to hit, and thus multiple chances of being paralyzed, these monsters are greatly feared.
Drider
"Driders were drow that had been transformed from the waist down so they had the body of a spider. The transformation was typically a punishment for failing a test of Lolth" https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Drider?so=search
Fomorians are the most hideous, deformed, and wicked of all giantkind. They tend to be solitary, dwelling in forlorn places such as mountain caves or abandoned mines. Their thick, hairy hides, combined with the pelts and odd metal bits they wear for protection, give an effective armor class of 3. Although these deformed monsters move but slowly for their size, they can do so with considerable stealth, and they have +1 to +3 on surprise depending upon the terrain.
A fomorian will have terrible deformities, such as one arm misplaced; huge feet on short legs; eyes on the side like a fish's or one in the back of the head; a hump on the back; a pointed, long head; flapping ears; a gaping or tiny mouth; a huge nose or snout; and so on. They have scattered patches of hair as tough as wire.
Shriekers are normally quiet, mindless fungus which are ambulatory. They live in dark places beneath the ground. Light within 30' or movement within 10' will cause them to emit a piercing shriek which lasts for 1-3 melee rounds. This noise has a 50% chance of attracting wandering monster each round thereafter. Purple warms and shambling mound; greatly prize shrieker as food.
Ghouls are ”undead,” once human creatures which feed on human and other corpses. Although their change from human to ghoul has deranged and destroyed their minds, ghouls have a terrible cunning which enables them to hunt their prey most effectively.
Ghouls attack by clawing with their filthy nails and with fangs. Their touch causes humans – including dwarves, gnomes, half-elves, and halflings, but excluding elves - to become rigid (paralysis) unless o saving throw versus paralyzation is successful. Any human killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected). Ghoul packs always attack without fear. These creatures are subject to all attack forms except sleep and charm spells. They con be turned by clerics. The magic circle of protection from evil actually keeps these monsters completely at bay.
Lacedon: The lacedon is a marine form of the ghoul. It conforms in all other respects to ghouls.
Giant bats
have bodies up to three feet long, and their wings can spread between five and six feet wide. As you might guess, they find it hard to gather enough bugs to satisfy their larger appetites. They make meals out of small rodents and sometimes even attack larger animals like cattle, horses, and even people. They clamp onto their victim using tiny fingers on the elbows of their wings and tear out a few coin-sized bites.
All beetles are basically unintelligent and always hungry. They feed on virtually any form of organic material, including other sorts of beetles. They taste by means of their antennae or feelers; if the substance is organic, the beetle then proceeds to grasp it with its mandibles, crush it up, and eat it. Because of this thorough grinding, nothing actually eaten by giant beetles can be revived in any manner short of a wish. Beetles do not hear or see well, relying primarily on taste and feel.
Fire Beetle: The smallest of the giant beetles, fire beetles, nevertheless are capable of delivering serious damage with their powerful mandibles. They are found both above and below ground, being primarily nocturnal. Fire beetles have two glands above their eyes and one near the back of their abdomen which give off a red glow. Far this reason they are highly prized by miners and adventurers, as this luminosity will persist for from 1 - 6 days after the glands are removed from the beetle. The light shed illuminates a 10' radius.
These nasty creatures are found nearly everywhere. They are aggressive and rush forth to bite their prey, injecting poison into the wound, but in many cases this poison is weak and not fatal (add +4 to saving throw die roll). Also, as the centipede is small, it is less likely to resist attacks which allow it a saving throw (-1 on die). Centipedes come in many colors- pale gray to black, red to brown.
Found only in the fetid waters of swamps and marshes, giant leeches are a threat to any warm-blooded creature which passes within their movement range of 3". These horrors wait in the mud and slime far prey, and as it passes they strike. Giant leeches range from 1 to 4 hit dice in size; various sized creatures usually are found in the same group. The initial attack also attaches the sucker mouth of the giant leech, and on the next melee round, and on each round thereafter, it will drain blood the equivalent of 1 hit point damage per hit die it possesses. There i s only a 1% chance that the victim will be aware of the attack unless it comes out of the water, for the leech has anesthetizing saliva, and its bite and blood drain are not usually felt until weakness (loss of 50% of hit points) makes the victim aware that something is amiss. Giant leeches will come out of water at night to attack prey within 3". They can be killed by attack or with quantities of salt sprinkled on their bodies. There is a 50% chance that the bite of one of these creatures will cause disease which will be fatal in 2-5 weeks unless cured.
Kobold
The society of these creatures is tribal with war bands based on gens. The stronger tribes rule weaker ones. Kobolds are usually found in dank, dark places such as dismal overgrown forests or subterranean settings. They hate bright sunlight, not being able to see well in it, but their night vision is excellent, and they have infra-red vision which operates well up to 60'. If they are in bright sunlight they have a lesser chance to fight well (-1 from dice rolls to hit opponents).
For every 40 kobolds encountered there will be a leader and two guards who are equal to goblins.
Mimic
Mimics are subterranean creatures which cannot stand the light of the sun. They are able to perfectly mimic stone or wood. There are two varieties of this creature, the large (9-10 dice), semi-intelligent carnivorous "killer mimic" and the slightly smaller, intelligent sort. While the former will attack anything which is nearby, the latter are generally friendly if offered food. All mimics move about constantly in their search of prey.
Mimics pose as stonework, door, chests, or any other substance or item they can imitate. When a creature touches the mimic, the latter lashes out with a pseudopod, delivering 3-12 points of damage per hit. Meanwhile, the mimic excretes a glue which holds fast whatever member the creature touched the mimic with.
The killer mimics do not speak, but the other breeds have their own
language and can usually speak several other tongues such as common,
orcish, etc. For consideration they will usually tell a party about what they
have seen nearby.
Manticore
Manticores prefer dismal lairs, so they are typically found in caves or
underground. They range in all climes, although they enjoy warm places
more than cold. The favorite prey of manticores is man, and they are
usually encountered outside their lairs hunting for human victims.
A manticore attacks first by loosing a volley of 6 of its iron toil spikes (18'
range as a light crossbow, 1-6 hit points damage per hit). They can fire four
such volleys.
Description: The coloration of the manticore is that of its various parts -
lion-colored body, bat-brown wings, human flesh head.
Mind-Flayer
Mind flayers are found only in subterranean places, as they detest sunlight. They are greatly evil and consider the bulk of humanity (and its kin) as cattle to feed upon.
The mind flayer's physical attack is by striking a victim with its four tentacles. If a tentocle hits it will reach the opponent's brain in 1-4 melee rounds and draw it forth, immediately killing the creature. The mind flayer then devours the brain. Its more feared attack mode, however, is the mind blast of psionic power. All within a 6" directional cone of 1/2" diameter at the point of emanation and 2" diameter at extreme range are affected (psionic attack on non-psionic).
Mind flayers have the following psionic abilities: levitation, domination, ESP, body equilibrium, astral projection, probability travel. They perform at 7th level mastery.
If an encounter is going against a mind flayer it will immediately flee, seeking to save itself regardless of its fellows or its treasure.
These monsters speak only their own arcane language and several other weird tongues- purportedly those of terrible races of things which dwell in regions of the subterranean world far deeper than mankind has ever ventured. It is also rumored that these monsters have a city somewhere deep beneath the earth.
Description: The mind flayer's skin glistens with slime. Its skin color is a nauseous mauve, its tentacles being purplish black. A mind flayer's eyes are dead white, no pupil being evident. The three long fingers of each hand are reddish, but the hands are mauve.
Goblins
Goblins have a tribal society, the strongest ruling the rest, allowing fealty to the goblin king. It is possible that goblins are distantly related to kobolds. Like the latter, goblins enjoy dwelling in dismal surroundings, although they tend to inhabit caves and similar underground places in preference to any habitation above ground, They too hate full daylight and attack at a -1 when in sunlight. Goblins hove normal infravision (60' range).
Goblins are fair miners, and they are able to note new or unusual construction 25% of the time. They hate gnomes and dwarves and will attack them in preference to any other creature. All goblins are slave takers and fond of torture.
The languages spoken by goblins are: their own, lawful evil, kobold, orcish, and hobgoblin.
Description: Goblins range from yellow through dull orange to brick red in skin color. Their eyes are reddish to lemon yellow. They dress in dark leather gear, and their garments tend towards dull, soiled-looking colors (brown drab, dirty gray, stained maroon). Goblins reach the age of 50 years or so.
Orcs
Orc tribes are fiercely competitive, and when they meet it is 75% likely that they will fight each other unless a strong leader (such as a wizard, evil priest, evil lord) with sufficient force behind him is on hand to control the orcs. Being bullies, the stronger will always intimidate and dominate the weaker. (If goblins are near, for example, and the orcs are strong enough, they will happily bully them.) Orcs dwell in places where sunlight is dim or non-existent, for they hate the light. In full daylight they must deduct 1 from their dice rolls to hit opponents, but they see well even in total darkness (infravision).
Orc lairs are underground 75% of the time, in an above ground village 25% of the time. Orcs are cruel and hate living things in general, but they particularly hate
elves and will always attack them in preference to other creatures. They take slaves for work, food, and entertainment (torture, etc.) but not elves whom they kill immediately.
Orcs are accomplished tunnelers and miners. The majority of orcs speak goblin, hobgoblin, and ogre in addition to the languages of orcs and lawful evil.
Description: Orcs appear particularly disgusting because their coloration - brown or brownish green with a bluish sheen - highlights their pinkish snouts and ears. Their bristly hair is dark brown or black, sometimes with tan patches. Even their armor tends to be unattractive - dirty and often a bit rusty. Orcs favor unpleasant colors in general. Their garments are in tribal colors, as are shield devices or trim. Typical colors are blood red, rust red, mustard yellow, yellow green, moss green, greenish purple, and
blackish brown. They live for 40 years.
Half-Orcs: As orcs will breed with anything, there are any number of unsavory mongrels with orcish blood, particularly orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, and orc-humans. Orcs cannot cross-breed with elves. Half-orcs tend to favor the orcish strain heavily, so such sorts are basically orcs although they can sometimes pass themselves off as true creatures of their other stock (goblins, hobgoblins, humans, etc.).
Ogres
Ogres can be found in virtually any terrain, including subterranean places. They are ugly-tempered and voracious. Ogres are also fond of treasure, and they will sometimes be found serving as mercenaries in the ranks of orc tribes or evil clerics or joining with gnolls for a profitable raid. Ogres mingle freely with trolls and some giants, and they are at times enslaved by certain demons.
If 11 or more ogres are encountered, there will be one who is a leader (armor class 3, 30-33 hit points, attacking as a 7 hit dice creature and doing from 2-12 hit points damage/attack). If 16 or more are encountered there will be 2 such leaders plus 1 additional ogre, a chieftain with armor class 4, 34-37 hit points, and attacking as a 7 hit dice monster and doing 4-14 hit points damage/attack. (If weapon type is used to determine damage/attack, give a standard bonus of +2 hit points to ogres and leaders/chieftains gain an additional +1/+2 bonus.)
If ogres are found in their lair there will be from 2-12 females who fight as normal ogres but do only 2-8 points of damage and take a maximum of 6 hit points per hit die. There will also be from 2-8 young who will fight as goblins. Ogres will take prisoners in order to use them as slaves (25%) or food (75%). so there is a 30% chance that an ogre lair will contain 2-8 slaves/prisoners. As they are very fond of halfling, dwarf, or elf flesh, there is only a 10% chance that such creatures will be found alive in an ogre lair.
Ogres speak their own language as well as that of chaotic evil, orcs, trolls, and stone giants.
Description: The hide of ogres varies from dull blackish-brawn to dead yellow. Rare specimens are a sickly violet in color. Their warty bumps are often of different color - or at least darker than their hides. Hair is blackish-blue to dull dark green. Eyes are purple with white pupils. Teeth are black or orange, as are talons. Ogres wear any sort of skins or furs. They care for their arms and armor reasonably well. The life span of an ogre is not less than 90 years.
Trolls
Trolls are horrid carnivores found in nearly every clime. They are feared by most creatures, as a troll knows no fear and attacks unceasingly. Their sense of smell is very acute, their infravision is superior, and their strength is very great.
A troll attacks with its clawed forelimbs and its great teeth. A troll is able to fight 3 different opponents at once. 3 melee rounds after being damaged, a troll will begin to regenerate. Regeneration repairs damage at 3 hit points per round; this regeneration includes the rebonding of severed members. The loathsome members of a troll have the ability to fight on even if severed from the body; a hand can claw or strangle, the head bite, etc. Total dismemberment will not slay a troll, for its parts will slither and scuttle together, rejoin, and the troll will arise whole and ready to continue combat. To kill a troll, the monster must be burned or immersed in acid, any separate pieces being treated in the same fashion or they create a whole again in 3-18 melee rounds.
Description: Troll hide is a nauseating moss green, mottled green and gray, or putrid gray. The writhing hair-like growth upon a troll's head is greenish black or iron gray. The eyes of a troll are dull black.
Dragons
Black Dragon
The black dragon is typically found in miasmal swamps or marshes, although they also inhabit subterranean lairs as well, for black dragons always seek to lair in deep, dark caves. They tend towards the mid point
between law and chaos in their evil.
The black dragon attacks with a claw/claw/bite or breathes - in this case spitting acid in a 1/2" wide stream which extends 6" in a straight line beginning at the height of the dragon's head and traveling in the direction and at the angle which the monster's head was facing at the time of discharging the acid. Black dragons which can speak and are capable of using magic can employ one first level spell for each stage of their maturity, i.e. 1-8 spells. Roll randomly to determine which spells they know. The spells known are a special form of the ordinary spells which require only a spoken component, but each can be employed but once per day. Repeat spells are possible if random rolls so indicate.
Blue Dragon
Blue dragons typically prefer deserts and arid lands; like others of their kind their lair is always some vast cave or underground cavern. The attack of a blue dragon is a claw/claw/bite or use of its breath weapon. A blue dragon is capable of discharging a bolt of electricity (lightning) in a straight line %" wide by 10" long. This discharge is always of the stated proportion.
Speaking blue dragons which are able to use spells do so as follows: For each stage of maturity from 1st through 3rd they gain a 1st level spell. From the 4th through 6th stages they gain a second level. At the 7th and 8th brackets they gain a 3rd level spell. Thus, an ancient blue dragon would have three 1st level, three 2nd level, and two 3rd level spells. Determine all such spells randomly; if the same spell is rolled twice the dragon is able to use the spell twice per day.
Green Dragon
The race of green dragons prefer to locate their underground lairs in or near woods or forests of the bleaker wilder sort if possible. They are very nasty tempered and thoroughly evil. A green dragon can attack by a claw/claw/bite routine or by breathing a cloud of poisonous chlorine gas. The gas cloud is 5" long, 4" wide, and 3" high.
Those talking green dragons able to use magic gain a 1st level spell for each of their first four ages, and a 2nd level spell for each of the successive ages, until a maximum of four 1st and four 2nd level spells are known.
Select these spells by random determination.
Gold Dragon
Gold dragons are able to dwell in any clime, but their lairs are always of solid stone - whether a cave or a castle. Although they love precious metals and gems and use jewels and pearls as nourishment, all gold
dragons are lawful, just and good. They are able to assume the form of animals or the guise of humanity, for they can polymorph themselves without harm. It is in some other form that they are typically encountered.
The attack of a gold dragon can be a claw/claw/bite routine or one of two breath weapon+fire in a 9" X 3" cone, or chlorine gas in a 5" X 4"X 3" cloud. Also, a gold dragon is able to cast spells of 1st through 6th level. At the very young age the creature has but a single 1st level spell, as a young dragon it has two such spells. Thereafter it gains two spells of progressively higher level at each new age bracket through old. At very old and ancient age they gain the use of a 6th level spell. Thus, at ancient age a gold dragon knows two of 1st through 6th level spells in addition to being able to polymorph self three times per day. As gold dragons are so intelligent their spells are always of the better sort, and at least half of them actually have regular spell books.
Red Dragon
The red dragon is usually found dwelling in great hills or mountainous regions. As with most others of this species, they make their lairs in subterranean coves and similar places. They are very greedy and
avaricious. Of all evil dragons, this sort is the worst, save for Tiamat herself.
A red dragon is able to attack by means of a claw/claw/bite routine or by breathing a cone of fire, 9" long by 3" base diameter. Speaking red dragons are 40% likely to be able to employ spells.
For each age bracket the dragon has attained it is able to use an additional spell. At the first two ages the red dragon gains a 1 st level spell, at the next two a 2nd level spell is gained, at the fifth and sixth ages a 3rd level spell is gained, and at the last two ages a 4th level spell is gained. Thus, an ancient red dragon would be able to employ two spells each of spell levels 1 through 4.
White Dragon
White dragons favor chilly or cold regions in which to dwell. They lair in icy caves or deep subterranean places. Although not as intelligent as most other dragons, they are as evil and greedy as any.
The white.dragon is able to attack with a claw/claw/bite or with its breath weapon - a cone of cold (frost) 7" long with a base diameter of 2%".
Rare magic-using white dragons are able to employ a maximum of four 1st level spells, gaining one at each even-numbered (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th) age bracket, i.e. one spell at young age, a second at young adult stage, a
third at old age, and the fourth at ancient status. To determine spells usable, select randomly from the 1st level spell list. Duplication is possible, merely indicating that the dragon can use the same spell twice, thrice, or even four times.