In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the term monster refers to a variety of creatures, some adapted from folklore and legends and others invented specifically for the game. Included are traditional monsters such as dragons, supernatural creatures such as ghosts, and mundane or fantastic animals. A defining feature of the game is that monsters are typically obstacles that players must overcome to progress through the game. Beginning with the first edition in 1974, a catalog of game monsters (bestiary) was included along with other game manuals, first called Monsters & Treasure and now called the Monster Manual. As an essential part of Dungeons & Dragons, many of its monsters have become iconic and recognizable even outside D&D, becoming influential in video games, fiction, and popular culture.
Origins
While many "bizarre and grotesque creatures" are original creations of Dungeons & Dragons, the inspiration for others includes real-world fauna, mythology, "bestiaries of the later Middle Ages", science-fiction, fantasy literature, and film. Mauricio Rangel Jiménez goes so far to say that a basic knowledge of mythology, religion and fantasy is required to keep pace with the game, although the "creatures were unbound by time or place" of their original sources and co-creator Gary Gygax "made them coexist in a single aggregate world". With regard to pre-modern sources, scholar Laurent Di Filippo remarked that game creators often do not rely directly on original texts. Rather the material undergoes "cultural processes of transmission which go from medieval sources to the productions of contemporary cultural industries [...]. These transformations may be the result of translations or adaptations. This process of continuous evolution which involves both permanence and change is called 'work on myth [Arbeit am Mythos]' by the German philosopher Hans Blumenberg."
Because of their broad, inclusive background, D&D monsters have been called a pastiche of sources. In some cases, this has resulted in legal battles, such as when names taken from the works of J. R. R. Tolkien had to be changed due to copyright disputes.
In game books, monsters are typically presented with illustrations, game statistics, and a detailed description. Monsters may be adapted to fit the needs of the game's writers and publishers, such as by describing combat abilities that may have been absent or only implied by an original source. Artistic renderings of various creatures have been a central tool for immersion in the game from the point of its creation.
Influence and criticism The monsters of Dungeons & Dragons have significantly influenced modern fantasy fiction, ranging from licensed fiction to how monsters are portrayed in fantasy fiction generally. The scope of this influence has been compared to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. In a 2005 interview, author China Miéville stated,
References and homages to Dungeons & Dragons monsters can be found in works such as Adventure Time, and the game's monsters have inspired tributes that both celebrate and mock various creatures. A 2013 io9 retrospective detailed memorable monsters, and in 2018 SyFy Wire published a list of "The 9 Scariest, Most Unforgettable Monsters From Dungeons & Dragons", and in the same year Screen Rant published a list of the game's "10 Most Powerful (and 10 Weakest) Monsters, Ranked". Other writers have highlighted the game's more odd or eccentric creations, such as Geek.com's list of "The most underrated monsters of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", The Escapists list of "The Dumbest Dungeons & Dragons Monsters Ever (And How To Use Them)", and Cracked.com's "The 15 Most Idiotic Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons History". D&Ds monsters have also been licensed as toys, like in LJN's action figures, and even candy.
The number and variety of different monsters contributes to keeping the game interesting and forces players to think about employing diverse strategies.
The monsters of Dungeons & Dragons have received criticism from multiple sources. In addition to other game elements, the presence of magical or demonic monsters has provoked moral panics among religious conservatives. While some of the presented creatures are friendly or harmless, the game's emphasis on slaying monsters has also elicited negative commentary. As monsters have traditionally been defined by the number of "experience points" they award when killed, the game has been said to promote a "sociopathic" violence where the dungeon master "merely referees one imagined slaughter after another." Nicholas J. Mizer, in contrast, suggested that experience through combat was an in-game variation on Thorstein Veblen's theory that application of the "predatory spirit" of humans to warfare could lead to high standing in society. Environmental humanities scholar Matthew Chrulew summarized that the impact of "such violent imaginings and enactments" has "long been a matter of dispute", and has variously been judged "inciting or cathartic".
Some female monsters, such as the nymph and succubus, were seen by Philip J. Clements as an instance of the sexist tropes the game draws on which presented female sexuality as inherently dangerous.
Monster types Many kinds of monsters can be classified into typologies based on their common characteristics, and various books and game guides have been produced focusing on specific kinds of monsters. Such groupings include humanoids, monstrosities, dragons, giants, undead, aberrations, fiends, celestials, , elementals, constructs, oozes and plants; and beasts. There is some flexibility within these groupings. For example, many kinds of creatures can become undead or can be used to form magical constructs.
The 3rd edition of the game also used a broader type named "outsiders", encompassing any creature from the Outer Planes or Inner Planes.
Notable monsters
Monster Manual (1977) The Monster Manual (1977) was the initial monster book for the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1977. Gary Gygax wrote much of the work himself, having included and expanded most of the monsters from the previous D&D supplements. Also included are monsters originally printed in The Strategic Review, as well as some originally found in early issues of The Dragon and other early game materials. This book expanded on the original monster format by including the stat lines on the same page as the monsters' descriptions and introducing more stats, expanding the length of most monster descriptions, and featuring illustrations for most of the monsters. The book contains a treasure chart and an index of major listings.
Creature Page Other appearances Variants Description
Fiend Folio (1981) The Fiend Folio: Tome of Creatures Malevolent and Benign was the second monster book for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1981. The Fiend Folio consisted mostly of monsters submitted to White Dwarfs "Fiend Factory" column. The monsters in this book are presented in the same format as those in the previous Monster Manual work, and most featured illustrations of the monsters.
Creature Page Other appearances Variants Description
Monster Manual II (1983) Monster Manual II was the third and final monster book for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1983, and has the largest page count of the three. As with the Monster Manual, this book was written primarily by Gary Gygax. This book contains a number of monsters that previously appeared in limited circulation and a large amount of its contents was entirely new at publication. The monsters in this book are presented in the same format as the Monster Manual and Fiend Folio.
Creature Page Other appearances Variants Description
Fiends
Fiend is a term used in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game to refer to any malicious otherworldly creatures within the Dungeons & Dragons universe. These include various races of demons and devils that are of an evil alignment and hail from the Lower Planes. All fiends are extraplanar outsiders. Fiends have been considered among "D&D's most classic monsters".
Demons Demons are a chaotic evil race native to the Abyss; these "magical and occult" creatures are rapacious, cruel and arbitrary. They are also portrayed as more widespread than other races of fiends, as the Abyss and its population are both theoretically infinite in size. The dominant race of demons is the tanar'ri (). "True" tanar'ri such as the balors (originally called Balrogs) and the six-armed serpentine mariliths push other weaker tanar'ri around and organize them into makeshift armies for battle. and demon princes such as , Demogorgon, Juiblex, Zuggtmoy, Graz'zt, and countless others are said to rule over the demons of their individual layers of the Abyss, as much as the chaotic demons can be ruled over.
Devils The devils, of which the ruling type are called baatezu (), are lawful evil natives of the Nine Hells of Baator; they are said to subjugate the weak and rule tyrannically over their domains. Pit fiends are the most powerful baatezu, though even the strongest pit fiends are surpassed by the Lords of the Nine, or Archdevils, whose ranks include Baalzebul, Mephistopheles, and Asmodeus. Unlike the demons, the devils are described as arranged in a strict hierarchy. Like the demons, the devils are scheming backstabbers; while a demon only keeps its words when it is convenient for it, a devil keeps its word all too well—they are said to be used to exploiting repressive bureaucratic machinations to the fullest and thus always know all ways around the letter of a contract to begin with. The tanar'ri and the baatezu hold an eternal enmity for one another and wage the Blood War against one another.
Yugoloths The yugoloths (called daemons in 1st edition D&D) are neutral evil natives of the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna and the Gray Wastes of Hades; they are neutral to the affairs of the other fiendish races, interfering only when they see a situation that may be profitable or a potential for the advancement of their own schemes. The yugoloths are portrayed as manipulative, secretive, and mercenary by nature, often acting as soldiers for deities in their own private wars, or even at times aiding both sides of the Blood War. In 4th Edition, the yugoloths are considered to be demons, and their previously standard naming convention of "loth" is replaced by "demon" (e.g. the Mezzoloth is the 4e Mezzodemon). In fifth edition, yugoloths are listed as neutral evil fiends under their original names.
Other fiends Demodands The demodands are race of evil fiends that live on the plane of Carceri (Tarterus in 1st edition D&D). Demodands were introduced in the 1st edition supplement Monster Manual II, renamed as gehreleths in the 2nd edition Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix, and reintroduced as demodands in the 3rd edition sourcebook Fiend Folio. In 1st edition D&D, the three types of demodands from weakest to strongest were tarry, slime, and shaggy. In 2nd and 3rd editions, the three types are farastu, kelubar, and shator. "The name (changed slightly from "Deodand" to "Demodand" to add a tie to the word "demon") and evil nature are taken from the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance, but everything else about them was created by TSR's writers."
Hordlings