OD&D Monster Origins

Here are descriptions of origin, intended looks, function or behaviour for various monsters in OD&D and AD&D from the ENworld and Dragonsfoot Q&As.

Origin of the Monsters

The vast majority of all the "monsters" in the original D&D and AD&D games are all of my creation, as I either made them up out of my imagination or else shaped them for the system they were used in. #2652

The many monsters I devised for the A/D&D games came from a variety of sources including mythology, legends, medieval bestiaries, folklore, fairy tales, and authored fiction. 

I designed D&D with little regard for mythology; more for folklore, legend, and authored fiction. #6867

When I made up the stats and such for the monsters in the D&D game most of them were absolutely novel. After some 30 years, though, many have become standards, so any differing take on them will likely be viewed as novel or non-conforming #5928

As a part of the never-ending search for new critters to dismay PCs, I stretched a lot of established fantastic monsters to suit the need, just as I made up quite a few like things out of whole cloth or a mere depiction of name. It worked pretty well, eh? #6139

I did not include Vance-inspired creatures in the A/D&D game because they didn't fit well with a quasi-medieval fantasy game, and although I found his work excellent, the potential audience for the RPG would not be particularly attracted by such inclusion. I let it go at having the whole of the spell-casting system be an inspiration from his writing. #3199

Popular Monsters

I can not single out any particular creature, but as a class, the humanoids are far and away the most used in most everyone's campaigns. The general dungeon clean-up crew critters are always popular in subterranean settings as well. In the days of OAD&D, that would be the rats, carrior crawlers, gelatinous cubes, otyughs and neo-otyughs, plus the jellies, molds, puddings, and slimes [11]

Upon reflection I have to say no, the "architypical" monsters were pretty well accepted across the board and included by DMs...includine many very clever variations and permutations.  #7895

I created the D&D game to sell, to get to as many consumers as possible, and the best way to do that was to include races that were favored by the many young Tolkien fans. Dwarves are hardly a main feature of the Rings trilogy, but hobbits, elves, orcs, balrog, and ents (the Anglo-Saxon word for "giant," of course) were. So I included them so as to sell the game. Even though I find the Rings trilogy a bore, found Bored of the Rings great sport, so what? Gamers are able to enjoy their D&D campaign with as much Tolkien flavor as they wish.

Rating the impact of monsters is pretty well impossible. Consider dragons and drow, then think of orcs and giants. Impossible to determine which are more meaningful in the many, many campaigns that have been run, are being conducted now.  #4336

Images of Monsters

There were so many monsters drawn on a manner that didn't match my mental picture that I simply gave up keeping track of them. After all, if the illustrations passed muster with the fans, who am I to demand a change? [11]

Keep Players Guessing

The commonly encountered creatures, as well as those that are generally known to the party and nonsuches I usually name. Otherwise I give as vague a description as is appropriate considering familiarity, light, distance, and viewing time. #6915

The variety of monster choices, even those in the FF, should be appreciated by all DMs who are populating dungeons and similar settings. For other environments, about 10 normal animals, 20 ordinary monsters and 10 special ones should serve pretty well. Almost all of the additions I made to the base roster used in D&D were for dungeon crawls and special encounters in modules so as to keep the players guessing or to challenge the powerful PCs. #1918

Almost any creature that the party doesn't recognize or remember how to handle is sure to be scary for them. #6912

[pseudo-undead] I liked it as it gave the clerics something to fret about when they went into turning mode. Once in a while having the seemingly undead monster threatening not subject to that clerical power made adventues a bit more uncertain and exciting. #8179

Monster Stats

If you can not recall the stats for some critter in the OAD&D game or the LA system, make 'em up on the spot! Neither system is a rule-playing one [11]

[Attribute Stats] Only humanoid ones of exceptional sort and very exceptional other sorts. Who wants to spend forever figuring out what monsters' stats are and then have to employ them in the game? #7478

A very few of the AD&D monsters were meant to be near-unkillable. Those were done to pose a real challenge to PCs that were exceptionally well-equipped with magic items and of level above the usual--say 14th and above. After all, something had to be around that would pose a very real and difficult problem for such characters, no? Again, the game was meant to be such that no character could be invulnerable, unkillable.  #494

Deadliness of Monsters

In truth, a man or orc with a sword is pretty deadly, that such an attack might well cut someone in half, deal deadly harm--albeit not usually in terms of the D&D game, granted #187

I can wreak havoc with kobolds if the PC party is of low level. Terry Kuntz's beholder is always a fun critter to bring into play. A black pudding in the right place or a small dragon can work wonders in discomfiting the plans of a PC party. Then again a trecherous NPC tends to be amusing... :eek:

Not always using a set of stock monsters is a key to interesting and exciting adventures for sure. #727

I enjoy playing the part of any challenging monster or NPC, making the players feel their PCs' are in dire peril, for that is entertainment. Of course as a player I am anxious when faced by such a threat to my PC  #4336

About the worst monster I faced with Rob's iron golem that could levitate, breathe fire, and was armed with a whip causing petrifaction and a poisoned sword. that critter did for both Mordenkainen and Bigby, and only a wish restored things :]

CE forces do not advance in formation but atack in a wild mass. think of LE as somethink akin to the Roman Legion, CE as the swarm of screaming barbarians, and NE as something in between #6523

The Dime-Store Monsters

Many dime store figurines were made to do for fantasy monsters when we played Chainmail Fantasy miniatures back in c. 1970, as no one made metal ones based on games then.

There was a set of plastic toys laughlingly labled as dinosaurs IIRR. I frequented the local dime stores back in the late 60s and early 70s searching for toys that would suit tabletop fantasy gaming. The said bag contained three we incorporated--the bulette, the owl bear, and the rust monster. Scale was a bit of a problem, but when improvised figurines are all that one has, the players were quite willing to make do #6005

AFAIK the monster figures were imaginary creatures...e,g. the ones we named bulette, owl bear and rust monster. [11]

In addition to the rust monster and the bulette the owl bear came from that pack of weird figurines I found and converted to the FRPG monster roster. There might have been another, but I can't recall all the critters in that mix  #5237 [So did the Umber Hulk]

When we were all playing CHAINMAIL Fantasy Supplement Miniatures on the sand table in my basement, finding figurines for monsters was a priority. Of course the fantasy miniatures field was nil then. In my search I came upon the bag of monsters in a dime store, brought them home, and various persons involved suggested what they might be. Eventually we created names and stats for all, and so the resemblance is no coincidence at all  #304

As for stegasaurs, I used a plastic model of one to create what was likely the first miniature figurine for table-top fantasy gaming. Two of the tail spikes became horns, and wire and auto body putty extended the tail, gave it a nasty barbed point too. Cardboard wings of bat-like sort completed the basic form, and then I painted it in shades of red save for an underbelly that faded from orange to yellow. The latter I studed with sparkle "gems" ala Smaug, and the gamers loved it's appearance, feared it's 9" long cone of fiery breath (made from red bond paper). #5253

We also had a rust monster plastic toy as kids, you could win them at Wine-feast fairs along other plastic toys as prizes in our village. When we came to play D&D, coming from the German "Das Schwarze Auge" with a more limited Nordic/Medieval/Tolkien monster roster, we found many of the D&D monsters garish and ridiculous to the point of destroying immersion, and the rust monster certainly was in that category, along with the beholder. 

Tolkien Monsters

A careful analysis of all the races and creatures in the OAD&D game will see how small the percentage of Tolkien-inspired material there is actually within the roster. Of course, I do not count elves as JRRT's creation at all, they being the stuff of much British folklore, as Dwarves are Scandanivian and Germanic. Of all that the Professor wrote about, the hobbits, the balrog, and the ents were all that were uniquely detailed. #3187

The Underdark Monsters

When I got to ruminating on the inhabitants of the Underdark, the Drow were the main human-types I came up with to compliment the Illithids. Not wanting to have a lot of repetition in encounters, it seemed that some picean race would be novel and fit relatively well into the setting. I envisaged large communities of the Kuo-toa wherever there was underground water, expecially in the Sunless Sea environs.

Blibdoolpoolp was an onomatopoeic name I came up with for a lobstress deity of theirs. The sound is to call to mind the sound of large drops of water falling into a pool, and splashing in general #1525

Circumstances prevented me from further developing the matter as I had thought to--the Drow as the main social denizens of the Underdark, their contention with the Illithids and the Kuo-toa and the Gray Dwarves. (I never did really develop anything special about the Sunless Sea, but I imagined it with strange islands and ships plying it's waters, monstrous marine monsters of fearsome mien...) Drow of any sort for that matter, about as likely as desert-dwelling polar bears :lol: Drow will visit the "Roofless World" of the surface, rove about outside on on cloudy and dark days, after sundown, but they like the sky and the open spaces not at all. [11]

Angels

The Devas, Planatars, and Solars were added to the roster of creatures to counter-balance the various demone, devils, and fiends. #7273

Devas were drawn mainly from mytholology. Planetar and Solar were inspired by Theosophy. There were no grades of either IIRR--too lazy to dig up MMII and check for sure. The lot were surely meant to counter, and then some, the minions of the Lower Planes #7254

Theophysical Solar spirit creature. a sort of thing similar to a Seraph, just as the Planatar is rougly equivalent to a Cherub. #7269

As a Christian I have stayed away from Judeo-Christian theology. Thus the use of Theophysical in Hindu spirit entities. #7272

As a Christian I stayed well away from basing any of the D&D game on scripture. The Deva, Solar and Planatar are benign and rather angelic in their purposes. No Milton, but I did use a bit of Dante's Inferno is developing the denizens of the Nine Hells. #7309

Baku The baku is drawn from Chinese mythology, just as the ki-lin and fu dog and lion were. [11]

Banshee

The banshee isn't undead, but a member of the Unseelie Court. The vampire drow is indeed as noted. I am really not sure of exactly how the non-humans like that become vampires, as they don't have souls--maybe a process similar to that of becoming a lich... #1267

Indeed, in AD&D I "fudged" the banshee to be a spirit of an evil female elf--that flying in the face of elves being soul-less... So you were basically correct, and I was using my revised treatment, returning the banshee into the ranks of the sidhe where they belong #1296

As noted by another poster, the Banshee is a "Special" undead monster and is turned accordingly. A Banshee is not a normal human undead so is to be treated as a special sort of evil spirit entity. #8125

Beholder

The beholder was the original conception of Terry Kuntz, Rob's brother, a regular in the early days of my campaign. I developed it a bit, but it's essentially his work #378

The beholder was the conception of Terry (Theron) Kuntz, Rob's brother. I simply developed and polished it. [11]

Beholder--Terry Kuntz dreamed up this sweet little critter.  #903

Terry Kuntz came up with the beholder after he had been playing in my campaign for about two months. Where he got the idea I have no idea, but I latched onto it immediately, and with his kind permission made it an integral creature in the D&D roster of ugly customers to encounter #1523

Terry Kuntz was the primary creator of the Beholder, why I have no idea, except maybe he was a glutton for havng his PC punished. All I did was detail the monster and polish the concept--one that is an excellent one for sure! The pun was unintended by Terry. He just chose the term because of the number of eyes the critter possessed as far as I can ascertain. #7936

Black Pudding

Dave Arneson conceived the black pudding, and I confess it is one of my favorite critters for disconcerting PCs... #170

Dave Arneson evidentaly disliked English black pudding, made up an amoeboid monster of that name which I glommed onto..figuratively of course [11]

Bugbear

The pumpkin-headed bugbear was an artist taking literally my diesription of the monster as having a head like a pumpkin, i.e large, round flat oval. [11]

When I said bugbears had "a head like a pumpkin", meaning large and shaped thus, the artist drew one with a jack-o-lantern punpkin for a head 8O Getting the right look for a critter is often a hopeless task... [11]

Bugbears: Big, hairy hobgoblins with large, round heads. [11]

Bulette That is so, but the name and stats were created by Tim Kask, then editor of Dragon Magazine.

Brownie Elfdart noted that the pech and the brownie were derived from the Picts. I am not sure of the origin of the grugach, but it might well have been another foklore take on them. As a matter of fact I did much enjoy reading through texts dealing with mythology and folklore, the medieval bestiaries and all, translating what seemed interesting into material for the AD&D game. #5976

Carrion Crawler I just needed something nasty for the "clean-up crew, so thought this one up.  #903

Cave Men Cave men could remain in the mix nicely under that heading #6139

Demon Lords and Archdevils

It was the Greeks, in their mythology, who had Demogorgon originally. He was held as the elemental force of earth that which made plants grow, and was thus depicted as an old man covered with moss. Medieval writers demonized him into a terrible ruler of the underworld--a much more colorful depiction for use in a FRPG #688

Demogorgon is mentioned in various occult books, demonologies list him. #7337

I likely should have noted that the DM is assumed to supply Dispater with some nasty offensve magic items to employ against a PC party daring to attack him. the same is true for pit fiends;) The latter are also smewhat likely to be guarding the treasure of another entity. #6121

I wanted to augment the roster of potent demons, so I made up Yeenoghu as the Demon Lord of Gnolls. #8679

Demon & Devil

The demon descriptions found in the AD&D works I did are strictly from my own imagination, and I have never seen Demonographia. #1378

The demon names were dug up form medieval sources in the main. 

The demon types I, II, III, etc. were similarly devised using mainly my imagination. The devils were a mix of imagination and Dante's writing. #1993

The separation of demons and devils followed rather naturally from the use of the alignments. Demons in mythology are typically depicted as being brutish and chaotic, while devils are more orderly and cunning, so there you have the distinction.

The lower planes were a drawn from mythology as well, those being the realms of evil, the evil dead, and whatever was malign. #4771

Demons are also unpredictable, not prone to follow instructions save through fear and force. A major one might well not cause death and desituction, but rather do something wealsome on a whim...or be exceptionally cruel.

Devils are far more predictable and orderly in their evil activities. Of course they too are subject to force and fear, but they need not be supervised continually to be assured of their acting as instructed, because their own nature is regimentation and obedience to those more powerful and malicious. #5263

I never developed stats for these monsters, as none of my players were sufficiently high in level to deal with them. I envisioned Dreggals as the egg-like, bird-like-and fish-like demons or devils illustrated by Durer or Dore...or some similar artist. They are relatively weak indivudually but come in companies. Maelvis were imagined as flying demons of bat-like sort, IIRR, also of no great power individually but strong when operating in company. A Cacodemon is shown on the cover of Artifact of Evil. These are very bad critters. Pamdemonium is a likely home for them. #7645

Anyway, the Type I through III demons being both rather stupid and also cannon fodder were not individually named, each sort being one of the vrock, herzou, etc. The higher ranking demons had no species name but rather personal names. So calling all Type VI demons Balor is not what was meant. #8217

It is up to the DM, but I'd say that those of 5th rank or above can attempt possession as if casting a magic jar spell. Your assumption regarding dead bodies, and animals for that matter, is correct. they can be turned by clerics as "special." I'd vary chances depending on the strength of the possessing entity, but all will be difficult to turn. #3737

The telekinetic abilities of demons were inspired by accounts of demonic possession. I simply elaborated on that theme. [11]

I definately did not contemplate the use of spell-like powers as an attack form that could take place as these monsters attacked physically. [11]

Now as to numerology, better put it that I like numbers as tools and as evocotive additions to descriptive text. The connotations being more important than the actual denotations.

Working downwards, I envisaged that the Demon Lords numbered somewhat greater than the number of layers of the Abyss. However, as the place is of Chaos, as with all numbers there some uncertainty must always exist. So anywhere from 600 to 800 of them might exist at a given time, the larger layers having more than one.

Now as to the Type VI "Balors," in the whole of the Abyss there must be at least an average of 10 per layer, the captains of the lords, so your 6,666 is a good estimate in my thinking. Reference to six being known was indeed for purposes of knowing their names for purposes of summoning. Lack of cooperation between Demon Lords means that overall large numbers are not threatening to other planes...

Of course, that is all based on the conceptual cosmology of OAD&D and won't necessarily fit other systems.

I hope that covers it, but don't hesitate to ask further questions, as I am adept at giving vague answers :rolleyes: Fact is that is careful quantification is given, one must then live with it, and that could constrain later creative work! #1288

The pit fiends should have more than that pittance :lol: Use I rather than J, or else make up some special array that suits you. However, unless in their lair, these sweethearts don't carry much in the way of treasure, save for useful attack and defence items. #6125

Demi-Lich The demi-lich is a terror. Roblilar assessed that at a glance (a few words of my description), scooped up the treasure, and ran away. I envisaged the the terrible power Acererak possesses as coming from the nether planes deity he served, not from any human source. It is cleaner assuming such, for then there is no lost lore of super magic to be discovered.

Derro Yes indeed, the Derro were to work with the evil Dwarves, the former not being too numerous, needing the dwarven race to assist in working their malign plans for surface dwellers. [11]

Dinosaur

Actually, the number of dinosaurs given as monster listings for the AD&D game can be considered only a brief survey. First I loved dinosaurs since I was a little child around age 5. As there existed when I wrote the AD&D monster materials any number of works featuring encounters with such creatures, the film King Kong amongst them, I decided to include a selection of them for use by DMs acquiring the book.  #8720

It would be amusing to see how long a party of PCs could last in a prehistoric swamp environment where dinosaurs roamed and giant crocodiles lurked. Amusing for the DM that is.  [11]

Crocodiles are no relation to dinosours, existed before the dinos appeared, and one extinct species of crocs was in the 50-foot-length range and preyed on saurations.  [11]

Displacer Beast

Displacer Beast--Vaguely inspired by a PJ Farmer critter in his "Created Universes" series, but not drawn from any specific thing therein.  #903

The displacer beast was most assuredly inspired by A. E. van Vogt's Voyage of the Space Beagle. #7998

Dragons

[First Dragon] It was an unnamed red dragon converted from a plastic stegasaurus. It appeared on the top of my sand table at 330 Center St. here in the first CHAINMAIL Fantasy Supplement game c. 1970. #4370

I came up with the colors of the dragons out of my imagination--the colors suited the breath weapon each one had. [11]

If you read the intro to the SLAYER'S GUIDE TO DRAGONS from Mongoose, you'll see therein how I came up with the chromatic dragons. Some colors other than red were needed, hues that would be harmonious with their breath weapons. When I'd done the four new additions to the CHAINMAIL red dragon, it seemed a good plan to have a LG dragon, one of gold color that was based on the Oriental model. From that I worked on the rest of the metallic species. Of course, such potent creatures needed great leaders or masters, so I delved into mythology for the names--Tiamat and Bahamut--and thus came up with the Evil Queen and good King of the chromatic and the metallic dragons. #221

Originally there were the five "chromatic" and evil dragons, each with a color that suited their breath weapon, and a sixth good dragon patterened on the Oriental model of that imaginary creature. As it was both of different origination and alignment I desided to empower the gold dragon so as to more closely resemble the potent Oriental sort. So it got more of everything, including two breath weapons.

There came a time thereafter when more 'metallic" dragons were desirable so as to expand the roster of good, Oriental-type ones. Thus all of them were modeled on the gold dragon template, had two breath weapons. Logically, with metal value being used as the basis for potency, platinum (Bahamut) being the highest, then gold and silver, the sequence should have been platinum-gold-electrum-silver-copper-bronze. However, I thought bronze looked more potent than copper, and skipped then to brass--that metal conmveying some not-so-benign connotations. #1862

In short, I do not believe that dragons were ever or should be now, the toughest monsters in the marches, and I will not cave in to pressure to change my mind in that regard. #7935

What you say about small dragons is quite so IMO. One of my toughest encounters was with a young red one that had both spider climb and invisibility spells... A surprise breath attack from above, then a plummeting one with fang and claw wrought a lot of havoc. #7955

As a matter of fact I have not utilized itty-bitty dragonlings in my campaign play...nothing like the Norweigen Ridgeback in the Harry Potter flick. #6275

Actually, you have the source of that inspiration, the Oriental treatment of dragons. It seemed a good idea to me to enable Occidental dragons to be able to converse and use magic in order to make them more dangerous and complex. #8637

Frank was given leave by me, and that means virtually free rein, to develop the D&D, as opposed to AD&D, game in a direction that led to super-powerful PCs if the DM so desired. That assuredly led to what I consider over-powered dragons #7938

I made up the Latin names for the dragons with much huffing and puffing. The silver dragon was not difficult to cobble together using the gold and blue dragon stats for reference. #7924

The various colors and metallic-hued dragons I made up mainly on my own, the other bad ones being permutations of the red, fire-breathing drake, the metallic dragons coming from. Of course Bahamut was based off of the Biblical name Behemoth, but Tiamut's five-heads were inspired only by the five colors of Evil dragon.

Drider I did not mean the drider to be a creation of Lolth, but rather shadows as you note, that coming from her draining humans of positive life energy as a spider sucks the fluids from its prey. Dave Sutherland created the drider for Q1 and attributed it to Lolth, so that was that. So under those circumstances the best way to reconcile the problem is to have the EEG be the creator of the shadow. #7271

Drow

The drow were actually created to be the dominant human-like race in the vast subterranean world. what little i know about how they have been treated by other authors since then is not at all palatable to me. The drow are purely malign by temperment, as hateful as wolverines, as opportunistic as hyneas. they have absolutely no angst, save when facing an immediate threat from a mor epowerful drow or demon [11]

The drow was strictly an invented NPC. #106

"Drow" is an Anglo-Saxon word. I found it in an old unexpurgated dictionary way back when. It means "dark elf." From that entry I created the drow race for AD&D, of course. There is no other background for them in myth or fable. Their characteristics were designed as they were to make them a suitable set of inhabitants of the subterranean world. #496

The drow were inspired by no more than a dictionaly listing for the name as "dark elves," and i made up the kuo-toa out of whole cloth so as to have another underground race on distinctly non-human sort. #4692

For the drow it was the dictionary mention as dark elves. #3387

While abberant individuals can be other than steeped in wickedness, the Drow race is EVIL, more so than the Melnibonean one of Michael Moorcock's creation #2528

The drow are an evil and malign race as originally conceived, and their temper is thus correctly spider-like #2958

The Drow are as as sympathetic and caring as wolf spiders #2897

The Drow have no political agenda, do not desire to do more than enslave, pillage, loot, and send sacrificial victims to Lolth #2995

As for Drow, I never envisaged them as a standard PC race. I guess I erred in not making them more loathesome...although malign subterranean elves that love spiders seem pretty unappealing as is... #7567

The Drow are nasty and poisonous and lurking and dwell in darkness as do many sorts of spiders.

As I created them, there are absolutely no good Drow save for the insane. #8355

You put your finger on the matter nicely. Spiders lurk in dark places, attack savagely, are nasty and poisonous. That's the way most people think of them, so what better symbol for the Drow than that? #1112

The Drow are as they are because they are evil, subterranean elves. When I conceived the race they were meant to be fascinating and horrid at the same time, the most powerful and most malign group in the vast Underdark. They are like no other humanoid or demi-human race. It is thus natural that the female of the species is larger and more powerfyl than the male. #8498

Drow females are like spiders in regards their superiority to the male. There are quite a few examples of females being larger and stronger than their male counterparts in the animal kingdom, and it seems that many of the theropod dinosaurs were likewise. The first mammal I can think of that fits the case in point is the hyena. #4503

Drow rangers are as chaorically evil as any other Drow. They are allowed rangers so as to be viable as a fighting race that needs scouts and trackers.  [35]

What astonished me was the players' being smitten with the drow, desiring to play a PC of that race. I devised them as a most unlikable, ruthlessly evil subterranean race. To cater to the demand, the Drow were made into realtively more warm and fuzzy sorts. I can only liken that into changing Hannibal Lector into a visiting nurse. #7895

Faeries I made up the jermlaine based on the gremlin, an older version of it if you will. The booka and kilmoulis are "fairie folk" from books of folklore from which I devised the creatures of the same nemes for the AD&D game.

Gargoyle Actually I envisioned gargoyles as a species of monsters hailing from another material plane. That is the place from whence they were summoned, and some escaped to dwell on the PMP, inspired the sculptured stone likenesses of them. Their plane is one to which various other grotesques are native. These include winged humanoids and non-flying species of gargoyle. #8576

Gelatineous Cube

The 'Cube was my cration. It was inspired by the amoeba and gelatin. Perhaps I also had in the back of my mind the old EC Comisc SF story about Mars being covered in dormand gookum, that stuff having devoured all other life forms on the planet. When the crew returns to earth they are feted at a banquet, with a dessert course of strawberry Jello. "Good Grief! It's dormant gookum!!!" #7620

[First GC encounter] there was a group going through the 2nd level, and the fighter scouting ahead walked right into the Gelatinous Cube thinking some spell or gas was making his vision blurry. Only after that PC being nearly killed did the others note the "floating" coins and such. #7625

Ghoul/Ghast

The D&D ghoul was inspired by the Lovecraftian critter of that name and my own imagination. they first appeared in play in c. 1970 in the Chainmail Fantasy Supplement table top games. #4285

The ghouls of the D&D game were certainly inspired by HPL, and by association ghasts. There was a spell/magic item or two likewise inspired, but I can not remember which after all these years. Two of my favorite stories by Lovecraft are "Pickman's Model" and "The Lurking Fear". [11]

As far as I recall I had discovered that the ghoul was from Egyptian folklore, a demonic creature. I then connected them to hyenas, famed scavengers, via Yeenoghu. As I have seen plenty of hyenas as a lad at the zoo, heard their calls and smelled their stink, that seemed most fitting to me. I really dislike those animals [11]

Giant

Jack and the Beanstalk was the inspiration for the cloud giant. That's one of my favorite fairy tales. [11]

The Verbeeg was inspired by French Canadians and Paul Bunyon...and you should be able to get the connection easily... [11]

As a matter of fact I made up the Verbeeg and used them in some of my campaign encounters, but they were not in print before MMII as I hadn't the time to do a modulE that included them. I had thought to have a mainly outdoor adventure in a woodland setting with the verbeeg being the lumberjacks, a really big one as their leader, and the lot of them pretty difficult to deal with on a rational basis. #3437

Gnoll

I took the general name from a short story in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, "The Man who sold Rope to the Gnoles". everything else I made up to suit the game #2300

The name for gnolls is from Dunsany, but nothing else. [11]

Although the gnole might be such, I thought that a cross between a gnome and a troll was quite unlikely in the developing game system, so I decided to make the gnoll a hyena-like humanoid. I took a dislike to hyenas odor and appearance when I was a wee lad taken to the zoo regularly by my father. [11]

Who says a cross between a gnome and a troll can't have a hyena-live visage? After all, it was me that mentioned the origination of the species. I just decided it was too bland and needed something more evil. I dislike hyenas intensly... #3669

Gnolls: Hyena-men that smell and sound like hyenas when they cry out. [11]

Goblin

Raiding and looting is far easier than earning an honest livelihood, and wretched Goblins, being both malign and bone lazy, indeed make marauding their primary occupation.. #8216

Goblins: Orange-skinned little humanoids with bulbous heads and bodies. [11]

Golem

You have the inspirational sources for the clay and flesh golems correct. The iron golem was drawn from Greek mythology, the bronze one therein, Talos. The breath weapon addition was from Rob #3013

Gorgon

You clearly are not steeped in medieval bestiary lore;) In that regard the gorgon is a scaled bull, so rather than having only three sisters the D&D game had a rade of medusas and a race of gorgons.

The scale-mailed bull model of a gorgon came directly from a copy of a medieval bestiary, the title of which I do not recall, but it was and probably still is in the local (Lake Geneva) public library. I was happy to use that model, for it added another fearsome monster to the roster for DM use #5292

The bull-like, metalpscaled gorgon is taken directly from a medieval bestiary. You might point out that I have medusae as a separate kind of monster. Do tell your Astute Wife that the critter shown is just one of many taked from medieval bestiaries. the catoblepas and opinicus being a couple of other examples. #7537

There is no definative authority regarding fabulous monsters. For example, a medieval bestiary shows the gorgon as a metal-scaled bull as I gave in the AD&D MM. [11]

The bull-like gorgon with iron scales is found in medieval bestiaries. I know it for a fact because that's where I got the critter--along with the catoblepas and a handful of other monsters [11]

Grugrach I lifted the Grugach from folklore. #5993

Hag Folklore: Annis, Jenny Greenteeth, Hag. [11]

Hobgoblin

I made hobgoblins larger, although the prefix "hob" indicates little" because goblins had been made too small and weak for challenging higher-level characters. goblins and hobgoblins are treated in various ways from mischiveous to darkly malign in folklore. I went with the latter for game purposes. #3669

The LE alignment means that they are well-organized and can plan ambushes, fight in formation, and will likely obey orders from a superior. #6518

Dave Sutherland, rest his soul, did the hog-faced orcs and the hobgoblins in samurai-like armor. #7016

I took a good deal of literary license in creating monsters for the D&D game. As I needed a humanoid tougher than a goblin but not as powerful as a gnoll, I simply used "hobgoblin",,,even though its name indicated a smaller sort of goblin. In short, only the name was drawn from folklore, and the rest was made up out of whole cloth #1894

Hobgoblins I saw as apish in visage and build. #7021

Hobgoblins: Larger goblins, reddish of skin, also with skinny limbs. [11]

Humanoids

[Kobolds Hobgoblins Orcs] The named humanoids are not particularly different in their method of attack, only in the weapons they employ, their AC, and the chance to hit.  #6518

I used all of the standard ones in subterranean and outdoor settings--kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, bugbears, ogres, oger magi, and thje various giants. I even used flinds and norkers in some of my later adventures as well a verbeeg. [11]

Hydra

As for me giving a hydra legs, where do you see my name in the illustration? #3669

As for the hydra, to be more useful in general play, the artist depicted it more like a crocodile or sauracian, and so I went along figuring there were plenty of snake-bodied critters. #3681

A snake-like hydra offers fewer environmental possibilities than does one with a quadrupedal body. #8720

Kobold

I thought of kobolds as humanoid, but with green complexion due to their forest habitat and skin that was rough and scaly even though they were mammalian. #2291

It was indeed Dave sutherland that decided to give the kobolds a dog-like visage, likely because I had described gnolls as hyena-like. I had actually originally envisaged them as more impish ot countenence, but I went along with the depiction, as it made no difference to the game's play. #2311

Kobolds are humanoid, mainly forest-dwelling creatures that Dave Sutherland gave the canine visage and scaley skin. #3669

Right about the kobolds. they are Germanic forest and mine "spirits," that is goblinesque creatures.

I expect that the first description of the three medusa sisters is rather more flattering than the one you cite ;) Anyway medieval bestiaries seemed as anxious to have a broad repetorie of monsters as I was when creating the Monster Manual for AD&D. #3681

The LE alignment means that they are well-organized and can plan ambushes, fight in formation, and will likely obey orders from a superior. #6518

Kobolds: Greenish little humanoids with imp-like faces. [11]

Yes indeed, even a kobold leader can be quite a challenge for a low-level PC, and en mass a well-organized band of the little humanoids can wipe out the careless adventuring party [11]

Kuo-Toa

Kuo-toa--Another "I need something new" race dreamed up out of whole cloth so populate the subterranean world.  #903

The third race was the Kuo-toans, but they provved to be less popular... Simple as that #3387

The kuo-toa were mainly from my imagination, as was their deity, Blibdoolpoolp. Perhaps I was thinking of HPL's batrachian people, but not consciously. Maybe it was inspired by The Creature from the Black Lagoon. [11]

Lich

The AD&D lich was inspired by the stories of Robert E. Howard. There was no model for the monster to be found in the works of JRRT. I can't say what other sources I drew from when imagining and creating the lich #2170  Well, if you think of the One Ring as Saurons phylactery, that he put part of his soul into and thus that allowed him, a mighty wizard, to survive his death, there is very well a lich in the works of Tolkien...

The business about the lich is not accurate. Lich is listed in the dictionary. I never offered payment to anyone for an idea for a monster. If they wished to not have it published, fine. Monsters are fairly easy to devise on your own. #7055

Lizard Men Lizardmen I made up to add to the list of humanoid monsters. They were added to the encounter mix to provide another and different aquatic, marsh, or swamp peril. #7063

Mind Flayer

Mind Flayer--the depiction inspired by the cover of the paperback noved by Brian Lumley, the Burrowers Beneath, but all the detals made up by me.  #903

I freely admit that the cover of Brian Lumely's paperback novel, The Burrowers Beneath, inspired me to create the D&D mind-flayer. #8147

The mind flayer I made up out of whole cloth using my imagination, but inspired by the cover of Brian Lumley's novel in paperback edition, The Burrowers Beneath #2272

I had to reach a good deal to come up with the mind flayer, that being inspired by the paperback cover of Brian Lumly's The Burrowers Beneath, and its characteristics based on inferences in HPL's writing. [11]

Larry Niven's writing had nothing to do with the creation of the Illithid race for the AD&D game.

I happened to be thinking of devising a new terrible race if creatures inimical to humans, and my eye fell upon a paperback book authored by Brian Lumley, The Burrowers Beneath. The cover illustration was of a bipedal monster with a head resembling a squid or an octopus. Voila! That was a perfect model for an underground-dwelling race of fiendish predators on humankins, and thus the mind flayer was born.

I made up all the details of the race, of course, they being a form of AD&D monster. #4692

The Illithids were not meant to be extra-terrestrial in origination, rather marine and subterranean. #2955

When I was contemplating the denizens for the vasty subterraneal realms I determined to create some interesting races to populate the underdark. As with the drow, the Illithids came mostly from my imagination after a spark of inspiration.  For the mind flayers it was the cover of Brian Lumley's paperback book, The Burrowers Beneath. #3387

Those monstrous creatures were never native to any human planet. I my mind they came from another plane, managed to find their way to the Oerth...although they could be spacefaring aliens whose ship crashed on the planet marooning them, the occupants being sufficiently numerous to have a viable breeding population. #8140

I believe that such a starship would need to be larger than the vessel that ended up in the Barrier Peaks. I viable breeding population would need at least 500 or so individuals methinks. #8150

I really liked mind flayers as the disguised evil manipulators of mankind, so they appeared in several places in my campaign. #2258

Ah yes, Illithids were indeed found in my campaign. They delivered a mind blast to one target subject, it causing damage without inclusion of psionic element, A stunned victim would then be struck by the brain-devouring tentacles. #8578

There were no psionic or psychic powers in my campaign. A mind flayer did its blast and/or used spell-like powers to affect others, just as you are doing in your campaign. [11]

Mind Flayers, the Illithids, were operative before I developed the crappy psioniscs sysyem I hate to admit I devised [11]

Those critters were generally done before psionics were included in the OAD&D rules. Thery were adjusted and augmented to make them particularly dangerous to the psionicaly able PC. [11]

Mental types of attack are possible without having PCs be able to use and respond to them. A few magic items can cover a multitude of omissions, be they virtues or sins... [11]

Mummy The mummy being indicated as from the PMP [positive material plane] was a typo. It was meant to be Negative as all undead are. [11]

Oozes and Slimes

Because of the large and varied ecology of the D&D dungeons and underground, it was necessary to have scavengers of all sorts, so I made up the gelatinous cube, carrion crawler, ocher jelly, etc. There was no particular inspiration save for nature--amobeas, insect larva, and imagination. #3669

My concept wasthat both were accidental creations of careless wizard alchemists that dumped various failed magical and alchemical experiments down the drain or into some cess pit. These admixtures affected single-celled life forms, thus eventually engendering the various jellies (and a gelatinous cube is one of those), oozes, puddings. The slimes were generated in similar fashion, the waste affecting normal slime. #6591

Orc

The LE alignment means that they are well-organized and can plan ambushes, fight in formation, and will likely obey orders from a superior. #6518

Dave Sutherland, rest his soul, did the hog-faced orcs and the hobgoblins in samurai-like armor. #7016

I envisioned the D&D game orcs as porcine in appearance but not actually pig faced--more like large, upturned noses and small tusks jutting from their mouths, heavy bodies and small, pig-like eyes.  #7021 

I mentioned "pig-like faces" to Dave Sutherland, and he took me far too literally as far as I was concerned. #8398

Orcs; Brutish, ape-man-like humanoids with small eyes and snout noses. [11]

Owlbear

As for the owlbear, I used the Oriental plastic figure sold in a package of various other "monsters" as the basis for it's appearance, then made up its specs.  #903

The owlbear came from a plastic toy, one of a bag of "monsters" that also inspired the bulette and rust monster. #6731

Pseudodragon A co-worker or a fan--I do not recall which it was--that wanted a special familiar for his or her PC. It didn't seem too out of line, so I was agreeable to the inclusion of the critter in the roster of AD&D monsters. [11]

Rakshasha

There was a TV show, THGE NIGHT STALKER, that had an episode in which rakshas were the featured monster. In that program these demons could be slain thus, rather like the way a vampire would be by a blessed wooden crossbow bolt through the heart. So I thought that it would be a good idea to follow that lead. #133

Hindu Mythogy and Kolchak, The Night Stalker in combination #4703

As the AD&D rakshasa is not a potent demon, I did indeed have a couple of them as the head of a group of nasties bent on wreaking havoc. As some nagas were opposing them the PCs could get assistance to defeat the tiger-demons. My original inspiration for the AD&D rakshasa was indeed an episode of The Night Stalker. #8375

Roper The Roper I dreamed up out of whole cloth, like the unber hulk, so WotC could well claim it is unique. 

Rot Grub Based on a common insect, but not very popular [11]

Rust Monster

As near as I can recall the rust monster was brought into action first on the sand table in my basement at 330 Center Street back in early 1973. At that time elementals were rubbery dime store critters about 65 mm scale, each vaguely reminiscent of the element it represented, the fire figure a red and orange, the water one shades of blue, Can't recall the color of the air one, but it was whirrled I think. The earth elemental figurine was sort of man-like and lumpy perhaps. [11]

All monsters were purpose driven, the purpose to bring more challenge to playing the AD&D game. The specific ones you note were created to alow the DM to encourage more fast-paced and interesting play. Clever players quickly moved to an ear trumpet for listening at dungeon doors, but no easy answer for dealing with a rust monster was ever discovered--short of carrying a lot of poisoned scrap iron around [11]

The name and stats were created by Tim Kask, then editor of Dragon Magazine

Skeleton Movement for skeletal troops should likely be as you note.Armor against arrows should apply to pike, spear and other piercing attacks as well, but heavy shock and cutting weapons--club, mace, axe, halbred, sword should be AC 9 I should think. Light conditions will not affest them, and they never check morale. Water, heat, cold do no damage to them, but acid, lightning, and magical fire have full effect. [11]

Stirge

The stirge I made up frm whole cloth, vaguely inspired by the myth of Strygea.

The stirgie was inspired from the mythological Strygia et al. as was noted. for game purposes a more conventional vampiric creature was desirable, as there were plenty of more potent sorts of monsters such as the vampire to fulfill the larger roles of party antagonists. [11]

Attempting to kill stirgies by hand is possible, but I'd give the attacker a penalty of about half normal chance to hit to manage such a feat. In short I like hacking away, with misses having the chance to strike the character to which the strige is attached [11]

Snirfneblin I got tired of having only basically good gnomes hanging around. I thought that the svirfneblin would add some spice to the otherwise dull race. The drow being shunted to the underground was the last straw in their becoming truly wicked, hating all those who dwell above. If you consider the sorts of creatures that walk the streets of Erelheicindlu, that's plain #2560

Tarrasque  The tarrasque is a fablous monster from French legend, and it was French author Francois Marcela Froideval who called the beast to my attention, did up the stats for it. I thought the game needed at least one near-undestructable creature from myth, so it made the book #1456

Thoul

What's so bizarre about a ghoul troll? They just are not in ther general undead pantheon, if you will, but they make great monsters that paralyze and regenerate and are much tougher to turn that are ghouls or even ghasts. #2906

As for thouls, some PCs adventuring on a level of my old original castle's dungeons ran into a pack of ghouls and thouls...and died, as they were only around 3rd to 5th level and they didn't flee in terror as thay should have 8O A cross between a troll and a ghoul is more justifiable that a gnome and a troll. Besides the thouls have paralyzing claw strikes... [11]

A critter never detailed in and form of the D&D game and which I have included in the monsters found in the CZ dungeons already [11]

Titan Titans in OAD&D were generic, not tied to Greek mythology. [11]

Troglodyte

Anyway, I thought underground dwellers might better be of non-mammalian sort, possibly even of the same genus as salamanders.  #6139

Trogs are found in many literary sources--cave or underground dwelling sub-human types. They were added to the encounter mix to provide another and different subterranean peril. #7063

Troll

Scandanavian trolls are pretty borinng, and who needs such critters when they can't go into sunlight? So I used Poul Anderson's model for a more challenging and fearsome monster. #3669

IMO the troll is described correctly in the books. [11]

Umber Hulk

Umber Hulk--Just a tough monster I made up from my imagination so the players would have something new and difficult to deal with.  #903

The umber hulk a creation made from the whole cloth of my imagination. they were meant to be a considerable challenge to potent PCs, so they were given the abilities you appreciate. #1993

Ah well, that's another original I created, as are ropers and shambling mounds, the latter inspired by The Heao from the old Airboy comics I loved dearly as a lad. [11]

Contrary to what Gary claims, the Umber Hulk also had its origin in the plastic monsters. 

Usk The usk is a tree that I created for the World of Greyhawk, and the description of the fruit is likewise my own. The blue of the description is a real blue, so Oerth has blue food #1235

Undead and Turning

Just as vampires always have not merely wolves but also their servants to knock away outthruse crosses, other undead should have similar protections. Traps certainly, but mainly non-undead creatures of symbiotic sort to assail the threatening clerics while their masters have at the others in the party. I have even resorted to talismans that make turning more difficult, and sending vast numbers of low-level undead at the cleric, even as some stronger ones come forth to lay him low. [11]

The undead are all motivated by something non-corporeal, whether their own evil spirit that lingers or some malign spirit entity that has possessed the remains [11]

Right you are about mindless skeletons and zombies. They operate as golems, by magical energy, although some malign intellect might direct them. Animated dead are not akin to the true undead--ghouls and wights and the rest. [11]

This is not to say thet a malign spirit could not possess a skeleton or a corpse, so as to make something more potent and dangerous than the usual. the juju zombie was an example of such a concept, and skeleton "lords" are likewise. [11]

Vampire The vampire's level drain came from me. I decided upon it as a way of simulating that monster's capacity to weaken and make helpless its victims. Once established, the level-draining attack power made all undead so able into most fearsome opponents #1936

Violet Fungi As the DM I would allow a second roll to save against poison, and it it was successful I would rule that the violet fungi dropped off after devouring the leather armor, so the wearer was safe but armorless. It it were magical armor, I'd give a plus to the saving throw for each plus of the armor. #6574

Wight Absolutely did have in mind that a wight was a physical being, a wraith mainly immaterial, and I thought that was clear from the get-go in original D&D. #415

Not explained

Slaad--This isn't my creation, so I can't say more.  #903

Yuan-ti--this isn't my beastie...  #903

The grell was not my creation--it's from the FF, as I recall--so I can't supply a useful answer. #1550

The opinicus is a chimerical creature that is part camel and not particularly fearsome. Check your dictionary, as most will have a description of it. The critter was used in some heraldry, as was the peryton,, a similar chimerical beast, I believe. #5305

As far as I can recall, both of those critters made their first appearance in MM2. Shick had the concept for the quickling, and blamed if I can remamber anything about the obliviax #6131

The ixitxachitl is a creation of Steve Marsh. 

The morkoth isn't mine, so I can't comment. 

I did not create the aboleth I can not venture a guess as to the source of inspiration for it. [11]