History Characters / DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesB

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreatures Creatures]]'': [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesA A]] | '''B''' | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesC C]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesD D]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesE E]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesF F]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesG G]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesH H]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesIToL I to L]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesM M]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesNtoQ N to Q]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesR R]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesS S]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesT T]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesUToZ U to Z]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiends Fiends]] ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDemons Demons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDevils Devils]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsYugoloths Yugoloths]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUndead Undead]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsSettingSpecificCreatures Setting-Specific Creatures]]\\

Beholderkin are strange creatures that live in caverns deep beneath the earth. They're a wide family with many branches, but almost all beholderkin are floating, orb-like creatures with a single central eye, an additional set of eyestalks capable of projecting magical beams, and a very alien, hostile and often insane outlook on life.

* AntiMagic: The central eye of most beholders projects an anti-magic cone that shuts down magic. Unfortunately, this cone also affects their own eye beams.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Beholder morality is very, ''very'' weird. For one thing, they're ''so'' self-centered that they actually hate other beholders (for being deviants from true beholderdom) more than they hate other races, and their extraordinary paranoia means they hate other races quite a lot.
* EyeBeams: One of their signature powers is their ability to fire rays from their stalk eyes, which can simulate the effect of a number of powerful spells.
* FlyingFace: Beholders resemble floating heads with a single eye and fang-lined maws, and "hair" made out of eyestalks. There is considerable speculation in-universe as to how they make this body shape work, and they have some interesting organ placement to compensate -- their stomachs are in their lower jaws, for instance.
* {{Oculothorax}}: Beholders have a spheroid body with a great bulging eye sitting above a wide, toothy maw. They are the TropeCodifier for these monsters in fantasy games.
* ThemeNaming: Most type of beholderkin are named after a synonym for "beholder" (gazer, spectator, examiner, watcher, observer, etcetera).

!True Beholders
!!Beholder
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beholder_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Every beholder thinks it is the epitome of beholderkind, and the only thing it fears is that it might be wrong." --Valkara Ironfell, dwarf sage]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3.5E, 5E), Aberrant Magical Beast (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 13 (3E), 19 (4E), 13 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil, Evil (4E)

Beholders, sometimes referred to as eye tyrants, are bizarre creatures that live deep underground. They resemble fleshy orbs dominated by a single huge eye above a fang-filled mouth, topped by a cluster of smaller eyestalks, but exhibit extreme mutability within this template in terms of flesh color, skin and eyestalk texture, or the size of their body parts. Beholders believe themselves to be the pinnacle of living things, and each and every beholder views itself as the apex of beholderkind. When two beholders meet each other, they will scrutinize each other for the smallest flaws and deviations from the ideal beholder form (that is, from their own personal form); on inevitably finding some minute difference, they will then attempt to kill each other for being repulsive abominations.

* AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder: The beholders' creator deity is the Great Mother, who they venerate so much that each chooses to remember being personally birthed by her, regardless of the actual circumstances of their creation. Sometimes her avatar appears to a crowd of beholders, which would seem to settle the question of which is the true ideal beholder form -- except for the fact that any beholder who looks upon the Great Mother only sees their own features, scaled up. In other words, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
* BattleTrophy: Beholders enjoy taking trophies from slain foes, and their lairs are decorated with the petrified remnants of defeated adventures, pieces of other beholders, and magical items taken from powerful foes.
* BerserkButton: The one time when adventurers might be ''happy'' to encounter a beholder is if they're already fighting another one and it looks in any way different from the new arrival, as both beholders will then try to bite each other to death for being "imperfect".
* BizarreAlienPsychology: Beholders have two brains, an emotional one and a logical one. They process their data through the emotional part before transferring it to the logical part, which means that if something is against a beholder's beliefs (which, through genetic memory, always amount to an AlwaysChaoticEvil racist monster) it won't ever get far enough to apply to its logic.
* BizarreAlienReproduction: Beholders, depending on edition, are either asexual or hermaphroditic, but in either case reproduction ends with the beholder puking up its uterus so that its offspring can then eat their way free. Once it recovers, it tends to kill and/or eat the ones it thinks look the least like itself. More recently they've been re-skinned as literal nightmares made manifest, and reproduce both their own kind and various beholderkin by involuntarily ''dreaming'' them into existence.
* CombatBreakdown: Beholders are fearsome enemies thanks to their multitude of eye-rays, but when two beholders fight one another, their mutual use of their anti-magic central eyes means that the aberrations must resort to crashing against and biting each other to deal damage.
* DisintegratorRay: One of the eye beams they can project functions as the spell ''disintegrate'', which they like to use against any foe that seems like a real threat.
* EliteMook: Elder orbs, unusually long-lived and ancient beholders that are biologically immortal and develop sorcerous powers.
* MagicEater: ''Lords of Madness'' describes beholders as a downplayed example of this trope. Each beholder has specialized "evocularies" in its central eye connected to "dweomerlobes" in its brain, which power its eye-stalks' spell-like abilities by absorbing magic by viewing it through its main eye (the same one that can generate a cone of AntiMagic). The actual magic drained from looking at something like a scroll or wand is minuscule, and it would take extended viewing to drain the item to uselessness, but beholders get more benefit from examining new and different magic items.
* MundaneUtility: Beholders often use their disintegrator eye beam to excavate their lairs.
* RealityWarper: A beholder's dreams can distort reality in 5th edition. If it dreams of another beholder, or of seeing its reflection, it will wake up to find that its dream has brought one or more new beholders into existence. If it dreams of ways to live on after death, it will wake up as an undead death tyrant.
* SanityHasAdvantages: Beholders are ''incredibly'' destructive and would be a terrifying threat to the world if they weren't so batshit crazy. They can disintegrate matter at will, control minds, kill with a glance and nullify any magic, but they're also all individually convinced that they and they alone are created in the true image of their goddess, and any beholders that look slightly different must be destroyed, even their own offspring. They can't even come together to form a coherent society because they all hate each other so much.
* SelfHarmInducedSuperpower: Beholders are already potent arcanists thanks to their eye-rays, but if one wants to learn ''new'' magic, they have to do something about their central anti-magic eye. Thus, beholder magi must put out their central eye at the start of their arcane study, but gain the ability to convert their existing eyestalks into "spellstalks" that cast additional magic.
* SupernaturalFearInducer: One of the eyebeams they can project causes its target to become frightened. They use this ray to disorient their opponents during combat, and as a form of psychological torture out of combat.
* TakenForGranite: One of the eye beams they can project functions as the spell ''flesh to stone''. Beholders tend to favor this one when fighting spellcasters, although they also use it on creatures that they find interesting in order to use them as decorations.
* TrulySingleParent: Beholders reproduce without any need for mating. Instead, after reaching adulthood, the womb located beneath every beholder's tongue will spontaneously generate a litter of offspring. In 5th Edition, beholders instead reproduce by dreaming each other into existence, a process that, once again, involves a single "parent" individual.

!!Death Tyrant
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_death_tyrant_5e_transparent.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Undead (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 13 (3E), 14 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Undead beholders that sometimes arise as a result of an obsessive desire to endure beyond death.

* AnimateDead: Any humanoid that dies while a death tyrant is looking at it with its central eye becomes a zombie under the death tyrant's command. There’s no limit to the number of zombies a death tyrant can command this way, so it can easily create a small army of the dead from its victims.
* AntiRegeneration: instead of the anti-magic cone of a regular Beholder's gaze, the Death Tyrant's central eye prevents healing both magic and non-magical for anything in its line of sight.
* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: The death tyrant's 5E artwork shows it with a glowing red light in the center of its main eye socket and ten smaller dots floating around its head, marking where its smaller eyestalks would have been in life.
* NonHumanUndead: On rare occasions, a beholder's sleeping mind drifts to places beyond its normal madness, imagining a reality in which it exists beyond death. When such dreams take hold, a beholder can transform into an undead death tyrant.

!!Hive Mother
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_hive_mother_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 16 (3.5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Rare, powerful beholders capable of magically controlling other beholderkin, hive mothers rule over cities of beholders with iron wills.

* HiveQueen: Hive mothers can telepathically control beholders and beholder-kin, and use this ability to set themselves up as the rulers of hives of mentally linked eye tyrants.
* KingMook: Hive mothers are very rare, large and powerful beholders capable of magically dominating their lesser kin, and are usually found ruling over communities of beholder and beholderkin with iron wills.
* MindControl: Hive mothers can exert complete control over beholders and beholderkin, and can additionally cast ''charm monster'' and ''charm person'' from their smaller eyes to attempt to control other beings.
* StraightForTheCommander: A hive mother's telepathic control is usually the only thing keeping the other beholder's hatred for each other under control, and if she's killed her minions will instantly turn on each other or disperse.

!Beholderkin
Beholderkin are a broad grouping of creatures related and physically similar to, but distinct from, true beholders. Almost all are as evil and cruel as beholders are, although they do not share their intense xenophobia. Beholders consider beholderkin to be abominations -- although, of course, beholders also consider each other to be abominations.

* {{Tulpa}}: In 5th Edition, when beholders dream obsessively about a specific subject, their dreams can manifest as the beholderkin, beholder-like entities with bodies and abilities shaped by the traits of the dreams that gave them birth.

!!Death Kiss
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_kiss_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 11 (3.5E), 10 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Death kisses, also called bleeders or eyes of terror, are beholderkin whose long stalks end in blood-draining mouths. In 5th Edition, death kisses arise when a beholder dreams of blood.

* BodyToJewel: Death kisses have a nerve node within their bodies that hardens into a red gem when the creature dies. These jewels are called bloodeyes, and are prized for their soft glow that intensifies with the wearer's emotions.
* CombatTentacles: A death kiss' tentacles are its primary weapons, and can deal damage both through their barded tips and by sucking blood.
* ShockAndAwe: While they cannot actively control it, death kisses are surrounded by an electric aura that can harm those who tangle with them in melee.
* TakingYouWithMe: When a death kiss dies, it internal electrical charges shoot out of its corpse in a last area attack.
* TooManyMouths: A death kiss has ten long tentacles, each ending in a mouth full of teeth.

!!Director
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_director_3e.jpg]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Tentacled beholderkin that act as cavalry units for beholder cities.

* DeflectorShields: Their central eye projects an invisible force field that improves the Armor Class and Reflex saves of both the director and its mount.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: These beholderkin are often found riding various giant vermin, using their tentacles to grasp their steeds just behind their head while the director fires off ''burning rays'' or ''force missiles'' with their eyestalks. They've even developed specialized mounts such as "crawlers," spider-centipedes with a paralyzing venom.
* PuppeteerParasite: A director can ''dominate'' any vermin they grasp with their tentacles, an effect that lasts as long as the two are in physical contact. As a side benefit, when bonded this way both the director and its mount take half damage from attacks.

!!Eye Monger
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_eye_monger_5e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Also known as "astereaters," these beholderkin hide in asteroid fields, disguising themselves as space rocks until prey draws close.

* FantasticRacism: All true beholders hate beholderkin, but astereaters are particularly despised as "vile errors of creation" owing to their stupidity and lack of magical ability.
* SwallowedWhole: They can swallow Medium-sized or smaller creatures they bite, and in 5th Edition, a swallowed victim is also subject to an AntiMagic effect.
* ThatsNoMoon: With their eye and mouth shut, an eye monger can easily be mistaken for an ordinary asteroid.

!!Eye of the Deep
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eye_of_the_deep.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3.5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Aquatic beholders with two eyestalks and a pair of crablike claws.

* AquaticMook: They're a fairly straightforward variant of beholder that you find underwater.
* BlindedByTheLight: An eye of the deep's central eye can emit flashes of intense light that can blind and stun victims.
* MasterOfIllusion: They hunt by attracting victims with a ''persistent image'' illusion of something like shipwreck survivors, small islands, or comely mermaids.
* PowerPincers: Their clawed hands can grapple and constrict opponents.

!!Gauth
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gauth_5e_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3.5E, 5E), Aberrant Magical Beast (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E, 5E), 5 (4E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil (2E), LawfulEvil (3E, 5E), Evil (4E)

Lesser beholders with four tentacles growing from their bottom and a ring of smaller eyes surrounding their central one. Gauths originate from an unknown plane, and are occasionally called into the material plane by failed attempts to summon spectators.

* AnIcePerson: They can cast ''cone of cold'' through one of their eyestalks.
* ArtEvolution: Their 2nd Edition art shows them with a downward-pointing circular mouth on the lower section of their bodies and with a set of tough ridges separating the eyelets around their central eye, but modern artwork shows them with a regular, forward-facing set of jaws and omits the ridges.
* MagicEater: Gauth feed on the magic of enchanted objects. One of their eye beams allows them to do this in combat, draining one charge at a time from magical items or, for permanently enchanted ones, rendering them useless for a round. They can also swallow magical items, where items with charges lose one per round and permanently magical ones are drained over a day; the items are spat back out once the gauth has sucked them dry. They cannot, however, drain magic or spells from living creatures. They can live fine on meat, but prefer to eat magic.
* ShockAndAwe: They can cast ''lightning bolt'' through one of their eyestalks.

!!Gazer
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_gazer_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3.5-5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Also known as "eyeballs," these tiny beholderkin are no smarter than animals, and sometimes taken as familiars.

* {{Familiar}}: Gazers can be taken as familiars by evil spellcasters, usually true beholders or humanoid wizards associated with aberrations in some way.
* AnIcePerson: Gazers can cast ''ray of frost'' through one of their eyestalks, which serves as their main weapon when hunting or fighting.
* MiniMook: They're essentially tinier, weaker beholders about eight inches across.

!!Gouger
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_gouger_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 11 (3.5E)\\

Spear-tongued monsters bred to hunt other beholders.

* EyeScream: When fighting other beholderkin, gougers specialize in using their tongues to sever eyestalks and gouge out the central eyes.
* FoodChainOfEvil: Beholders are powerful monsters that can easily wipe out an unprepared party. Gougers are the monsters that hunt and kill beholders.
-->''The gouger was bred to stalk and kill normal beholders. What can kill a beholder can destroy a party of adventurers.''
* MultipurposeTongue: A gouger's tongue is fifteen feet long, very strong and very sharp, and serves as its primary weapon in combat.

!!Overseer
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_overseer_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:275:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 15 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Appearing like rubbery, fleshy trees, these beholderkin often serve as lieutenants to hive mothers in beholder cities.

* CombatTentacles: They can make eight tentacle attacks in melee, which can also [[TentacleRope grab and constrict]] foes.
* MindControl: Overseers can use ''dominate person'' with an eye ray, as well as a variant of ''dominate monster'' that affects beholders and beholderkin, with the exception of other overseers and hive mothers.
* LivingMoodRing: The thick, wiry fungus that covers an overseer not only provides bonuses to their Armor Class, it changes color in reaction to the creature's emotions.
* ManipulativeBastard: In the rare event an overseer isn't keeping order in a beholder city, it seeks out another community it can infiltrate and dominate from behind the scenes, amassing a number of minions to tend to its real (or imagined) needs.
* MightyGlacier: Overseers can't fly and can only move one square per round, but they have a very high Armor Class, and are nearly as effective with their physical attacks as they are while using eye rays such as ''chain lightning'' or ''polar ray''.

!!Spectator
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spectator_5e.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4 (3E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulNeutral

Spectators are unusually non-hostile beholders from the Outer Planes, which can be summoned to stand watch over valuable items.

* AttackReflector: As long as their central eye is intact, spectators can reflect one ranged spell per round back at its caster.
* {{Telepathy}}: Spectators are naturally telepathic, and use this as their primary means of communication.
* TokenHeroicOrc: On a species-wide scale, spectators are this to the rest of beholderkin. They're no saints, but they're fairly even-tempered, aren't terribly interested in fighting other beings if not given a reason to, are usually quite willing to carry on a civil conversation, and can even form friendships with each other or with other beings -- traits no other beholderkin displays.

!Other
!!Eyedrake
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_eyedrake_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

When a beholder grows obsessed with a draconic rival, its fevered dreams can manifest as an eyedrake, a beholder-like creature with draconic features.

* BreathWeapon: The eyedrake's mouth emits a breath-like wave of antimagic energy.
* DragonHoard: If left to its own devices, an eyedrake exhibits a dragon's stereotypical behaviour to gather and jealously protect its hoard.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: An eyedrake's wings are made of eyestalks, and its mouth is perpetually open, showing a large central eye.

!!Gas Spore
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_gas_spore_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Plant (3E, 5E), Fey Beast (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E), 4 (4E), 1/2 (5E)\\

Gas spores aren't true beholderkin, but instead a kind of fungus that strongly resembles beholders and is often used by the aberrations as a living trap for would-be beholder slayers.

* FesteringFungus: Gas spores reproduce by spreading clouds of aggressively parasitic spores, which infest living being, rapidly turn them into piles of mush, and grow a new clutch of gas spores from their remains.
* LivingGasbag: Unlike beholders, who float supernaturally, gas spores float through sacs filled with buoyant gas.
* MimicSpecies: Gas spores greatly resemble much more dangerous beholders. They are almost completely harmless if left alone, but their mimicry goads beholder-slayers into attacking them and releasing their clouds of toxic spores.
* MultipleChoicePast: Nobody truly knows where they came from, though since they resemble Beholders to a startling degree, the prevailing theory is that they came from parasitic fungi that fed on the corpses of Beholders and were changed by the latent magic of the aberrations. However, other theories posit that they were created on purpose by beholder mages, illithids or even [[MushroomMan myconids]].
* OneHitPointWonder: According to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', the average Gas Spore only has a single hit point.[[note]] 1d10 - 4 hit points. [[/note]]
* TakingYouWithMe: When slain, a gas spore explodes in a cloud of deadly parasitic spores.

!!Gorbel
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_gorbel_2e.jpg]]

->'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Three-foot-wide spherical animals that are either a distant relative of true beholders or the product of a mage's experiments

* ArmedLegs: They attack by quickly drifting into a target and latching on with their clawed feet, and once attached a gorbel will keep dealing clawing damage each round until either it or its target are dead. On the upside, they're quite easy to hit once they've attached to a foe.
* AttackAttackAttack: These unintelligent creatures attack and try to eat anything that moves, which can include trees swaying in the breeze.
* ConstantlyCurious: They tend to investigate anything out of the ordinary in their territory (such as an adventuring party's camp), frantically mewing like a kitten if they find something that catches their interest... which they then try to attack and eat.
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Their rubbery hides are immune to blunt weapons, but any hit with a piercing or slashing weapon, or any sort of magical damage, will make a gorbel explode for minor damage in a 5-foot radius. Since gorbels aren't immune to each others' blast damage, this means that one well-placed attack can trigger a chain reaction that wipes out an entire gorbel herd at once.
* LivingGasbag: Zig-zagged; gorbels' rubbery red bodies are filled with a pyrophoric gas, and they're much faster drifting through the air than plodding on the ground, but sages believe their actual method of propulsion is magic similar to a ''levitation'' spell.
* OrganDrops: Their six eyes, while incapable of producing magic rays like true beholders, can be harvested as components for ''wizard eye'' spells or similar magic. Similarly, gorbels' pyrophoric gas can be collected to make ''potions of fire breath'', and their rubbery hides, if harvested intact, can be used to make lighter-than-air craft.

!!Lurking Strangler
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_lurking_strangler_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Much like how humans may take monkeys as companions, some beholders keep these flying eyeballs as pets that resemble themselves.
----
* EyeBeams: They can fire rays that act as the ''[[SupernaturalFearInducer cause fear]]'' and ''[[ForcedSleep sleep]]'' spells.
* FacelessEye: They're just a pair of free-flying eyeballs, bound together by a cord of muscles
* SinisterSuffocation: A lurking strangler can use its three-foot-long strand of striated muscle as a garrote, causing a helpless victim -- such as someone hit by its ''sleep'' ray -- to die of suffocation in three rounds.
* StarfishLanguage: The creatures are smart enough to understand Beholder and Common, they just have no verbal means of communication. Instead they twist their bodies, with a wide-open posture signifying assent or a spiral denoting disagreement or tension, for example.

[[folder:Belgoi]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_belgoi_4e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:4e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/DarkSun''\\
'''Classification:''' Fey Humanoid (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 7 (4E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil (2E), ChaoticEvil (4E)

Murderous demihumans who use bone bells to lure victims into the wastes to be devoured.

* DesertBandits: They live in the most forlorn parts of the desert wastes, raiding caravans and unprotected villages for plunder and food.
* TheFairFolk: Their 4th Edition lore paints belgoi as proud but evil fey, who ended up stranded in Athas' barrens after the destruction of their homeland, which they blame on the eladrin. The belgoi have since degenerated into despoiling marauders that scour the land around them of life and prey upon intelligent beings.
* ForDoomTheBellTolls: They carry bells made by shamans from their tribe's own dead. The dissonant chiming of these macabre instruments will herald either some lone victim's death, or accompany an all-out attack by a belgoi tribe.
* LuringInPrey: A belgoi can use one of their bone bells to make a psionic attack, collapsing their mental defenses so the creature can use powers like ''domination'' or ''attraction'' to make the victim leave their camp and move towards the belgoi. 4th Edition simplifies things so that the bell can shift a target around on the battlefield.
* ToServeMan: Belgoi are omnivores, but particularly savor the flesh of intelligent beings. 4th Edition elaborates that they don't just prefer a meal "seasoned with the terror that a sentient creature feels when it faces impending death," belgoi also believe that they gain some of the power of those whose flesh they consume.

[[folder:Belker]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_belker_3e.jpg]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Elemental (3E)\\

'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Reclusive but malicious creatures from the Paraelemental Plane of Smoke.

* AchillesHeel: As per their ''AD&D'' rules, belkers are particularly vulnerable to the ''gust of wind'' spell, which can send them flying up to a mile away, while a ''wind wall'' holds them in place.
* OrificeInvasion: A belker's signature attack is to engulf opponents with their gaseous forms, so that their victim inhales part of the belker. It then solidifies a claw within their victim's lungs and rips them apart from the inside, dealing damage until said victim succeeds in coughing out the semivaporous claw.
* {{Sadist}}: If a belker is hungry, its prey dies quickly. Otherwise, the belker might play with its food and see just how loud it can make something scream in pain.
* SuperSmoke: Belkers are mostly-solid monsters that can temporarily transform into smoke. Incidentally, their nature means that they can attack creatures with a similar ability that might normally be immune to damage, such as a vampire trying to flee in mist form.

[[folder:Berbalang]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_berbalang_5e.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Immortal Humanoid (4E), Aberration (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (4E), 2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil (2E), Evil (4E), NeutralEvil (5E)

Winged humanoids that dwell upon the petrified carcasses of deities that drift across the Astral Plane. They're obsessed with gathering secrets from the living and dead.

* AstralProjection: They can create a "spectral duplicate" to explore other planes and spy on other creatures, though the berbalang's body is unconscious and vulnerable while it's perceiving the multiverse through its spectral form.
* CreepySouvenir: They collect the bones of the creatures whose spirits they call up, and record what they've learned on them.
* DeadPersonConversation: Berbalangs prefer talking to the dead over the living, and can freely use ''speak with dead'' to converse with spirits.
* KnowledgeBroker: They're willing to share some of what they've learned, but will only exchange knowledge for other knowledge... or the bones of interesting creatures.

[[folder:Bhuka]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bhuka_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\
'''Playable:''' 3E\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood

Goblinoids who are much more benign and peaceful than their kin, and have several adaptations to help them thrive in arid lands.

* BodyPaint: They use this to signify social position, ranging from simple stripes on a young bhuka's neck frill to elaborate patterns covering a matriarch's upper body.
* HiddenElfVillage: Bhukas are not a violent people, and have learned to avoid conflict by simply not being seen by potential threats. They prefer to watch strangers from hiding while gauging their intent, and even if a bhuka does make contact, they'll never reveal anything about their kin and their settlement.
* {{Matriarchy}}: Bhuka settlements are led by a Grandmother, who serves as a link between them and their mother deity Kikanuti.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: They're the only goblinoids who aren't on board with murder, thuggery or conquest, and have nothing to do with their distant kin.
* NatureHero: The bhuka have several adaptations to help them thrive in the desert -- broad feet to help them balance on sand, dark skin around their eyes to fight the glare of the sun, frills on their necks to dissipate heat -- as well as a racial bonus on Knowledge (Nature) checks, and the extraordinary ability to locate drinkable water within 100 feet.
* UndergroundCity: Distinctly averted; bhuka culture holds that their ancestors emerged from underground, a Lower World that is also considered the Second Womb. As such, the bhuka make their dwellings in cliffs that require ladders or lifts to reach, while each village contains a single ceremonial pit decorated with depictions of the Emergence. The bhuka consider the fact that other goblinoids dwell in caves as evidence that they're not yet mature enough to live on the surface, while conversely, the sand-swimming asherati's habit of building settlements beneath the desert surface disturbs the bhuka's entire conception of reality.

[[folder:Bi-nou]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bi_nou_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:2e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\

Subterranean creatures that resemble natural stone columns, a trait they use to ambush prey.

* AchillesHeel: As rock creatures, ''passwall'' stuns them for several rounds, while ''rock to mud'' can instantly kill them. On the upside, ''stone shape'' will heal them of nearly all their hit points.
* BioweaponBeast: No one knows for sure where the bi-nou came from, though the prevailing theories are that they're the result of drow experiments, or were created by the mad mage Halaster Blackcloak to serve as guardians. At any rate, and despite their innate hostility towards warm-blooded life, bi-nou have been known to ally with drow, guarding the borders of their settlements from intruders.
* CraftedFromAnimals: Bi-nou eggs look like gemstones and are valued as such, leading other races to snatch and chill the things so they never hatch. Some dwarves also hunt the largest rockworms, the so-called "rocklords," to convert their stony hides into naturally-enchanted maces.
* DishingOutDirt: They can cast ''dig'', ''stone shape'' and ''wall of stone'' each once per day.
* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: Bi-nou are all but indistinguishable from a natural rock formation when at rest, and intelligent enough to take advantage of this fact.
* KillerBearHug: They hunt by grabbing victims and crushing them against the bi-nou's stony bodies until they suffocate, then the creatures move over the corpses to absorb their flesh.
* RockMonster: Bi-nou look like columns of rock with a pair of craggy arms.
* SnakePeople: Comparatively-speaking; "rockworms" are creatures closely related to bi-nou but aren't capable of an upright stance, leaving them to crawl on cave floors on their bellies and arms. Rockworms don't bother with ambushes and simply move to attack any prey they see.
* SuperSenses: Bi-nou are blind ([[UnreliableIllustrator their creature art notwithstanding]]), but can perceive their surroundings through a mixture of echolocation and infravision, foiling both magical darkness and ''invisibility'' spells.

[[folder:Bisan]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bisan_3e.jpg]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/KaraTur''\\
'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Female nature spirits bound to a camphor, teak or mahogany tree, known for preferring the shape of wasps.

* CantLiveWithoutYou: Much like bajangs and dryads, bisan will die if their tree is destroyed.
* GreenThumb: They can cast ''animate wood'', ''plant growth'' and ''wood shape'' at will.
* MorphicResonance: A bisan's natural, human form looks as old as their tree, they often wear flowers from their tree in their hair, and sometimes their skin tone will reflect the coloration of their tree.
* OurNymphsAreDifferent: Bisan are a spin on the classic dryad, though they're appropriately more waspish than charming. They'll act as protectors for any trees of the same type as their "home" tree in an area, but bisan are willing to let humans harvest sap, fruit, leaves or branches from those trees, or even cut down trees near the end of their lifespan, so long as humans leave an appropriate offering in exchange. Anyone who touches a bisan's trees without her permission is sure to feel her wrath.
* {{Reincarnation}}: If a bisan's tree dies of natural causes, and the gods are pleased with her behavior, her essence will take up residence in a newly-grown tree. In some cases, a bisan's essence will be divided four ways, each assigned to a new sapling, to create a new generation of the nature spirits.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: They can use ''polymorph self'' at will, typically to assume the form of a normal or giant wasp.
* WordsCanBreakMyBones: Bisans can use ''castigate'' every turn, belittling opponents with enough supernatural force to stun and damage them based on how far their alignment is from True Neutral.

[[folder:Black Willow]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_black_willow_3e.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Plant (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 13 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Intelligent and malevolent dark-barked willow trees, which relish killing helpless creatures.

* CombatTentacles: They can make a whopping twelve attacks each round with their tendrils, which they also use to [[TentacleRope grapple prey]].
* ForcedSleep: Before attacking with its lashing tendrils, a black willow generates an aura of drowsiness that replicates a ''sleep'' spell -- and in their 2nd Edition rules, anyone who was already in the process of taking a nap beneath the tree automatically fails their saving throw.
* ManEatingPlant: Black willows get only a portion of their nourishment from soil, water and photosynthesis, the rest comes from eating live prey, particularly humans, elves and gnomes.
* SwallowedWhole: Once they get their tendrils around something, a black willow stuffs their victim into a large internal cavity filled with digestive juices that both [[TheParalyzer paralyze]] and deal [[AcidAttack acid damage]] to their prey. A swallowed victim who resists the paralysis effect can try to cut their way out with a small, sharp weapon.
* WhenTreesAttack: They're slow but mobile trees out to stuff other creatures into their gullets for digestion. Naturally, black willows are easy to mistake for a normal plant, and can even disguise themselves as ordinary willow trees.

[[folder:Blackroot Marauder]]
[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blackroot_marauder_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:346:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Dark, thorny saplings the size and shape of humanoids, created by evil clerics or druids as sentinels and hunters.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: They are expectedly good at blending into wooded surroundings, and cunning and patient enough to make the most of their natural camouflage. "A swarm of marauders might slowly creep up on an encampment or castle, shifting into position so slowly that their prey fails to notice the gradual rise in the number of trees and the density of the underbrush in the area."
* PoisonousPerson: Their claws and thorns carry a damaging poison.
* SpikeShooter: They can fire volleys of thorns from their bodies as a ranged attack, which does more damage than their claws.
* SupernaturalSensitivity: Beyond [[SuperSenses tremorsense]], blackroot marauders can ''detect good'' at will, helping them spot and stalk any do-gooders who might trouble their creators.
* WhenTreesAttack: Blackroot marauders are made in a fairly simple ritual in which a wild sapling no more than seven feet tall is kept out of direct sunlight for a month, over which time it's watered with the blood of an intelligent creature at sunrise and sunset. At the end of the month, the spells ''animate plants'', ''command plants'', ''detect good'' and ''poison'' are cast on the sapling, and 5,000 gp of crushed rubies are scattered around it, turning it into an intelligent, ambulatory guardian. The catch is that this procss creates a woody, thorny ''construct'', not a plant monster, though blackroot marauders retain enough vitality to be able to slowly recover hit points if they rest in loamy soil.

[[folder:Blackstone Gigant]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blackstone_gigant.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 18 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Gargantuan statues of fearsome, eight-armed women usually created to guard a sacred site.

* CreepySouvenir: Blackstone gigants often take trophies from their victims, wearing belts of petrified arms or necklaces of petrified heads.
* {{Flight}}: Despite their size and weight, they have a perfect 40-foot flight speed.
* LivingStatue: Not only is the blackstone gigant one, it can animate any victims of its petrification attacks, which serve as its minions for 20 rounds, after which point they can't be animated again. The blackstone gigant usually takes the time to smash any useless statues, to prevent any applications of ''stone to flesh'' mid-fight.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: They have eight limbs, and thus fearlessly wade into combat, flailing about with their arms to try and petrify as many foes as possible.
* SnakePeople: Some blackstone gigants are carved with serpentine lower torsos, specifically in imitation of demonic mariliths.
* TakenForGranite: Anything hit by a blackstone gigant's slam attack has to save or be turned to stone.
* TrampledUnderfoot: They're large and heavy enough to deal trample damage to creatures they move over.

[[folder:Bladeling]]
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bladeling_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Humanoid (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E), 6 (4E)\\
'''Playable:''' 4E\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil or LawfulNeutral (3E), Any (4E)

Spiny, metal-skinned humanoids who have settled on Ocanthus, fourth layer of the Infinite Battlefield of Acheron.

* AbsoluteXenophobe: Downplayed; bladelings encountered on other planes or outside their home city of Zoronor can be courteous and amiable among strangers. But they're superstitious and xenophobic beings at heart, and anyone who intrudes upon their city is swiftly slain.
-->'''Velassi Shade's Doom:''' I suppose you might call us a little "prickly" on some matters.
* AchillesHeel: Though bladelings normally resist fire damage, the ''heat metal'' spell deals double damage to them.
* AlienBlood: Theirs is the color and consistency of oil.
* ArtEvolution: Bladelings have gotten less spiky across the editions, from being nothing ''but'' spikes in ''AD&D'' to being majority smooth-skinned in 4E. They were also noted to be made of wood, ice and steel in 2E, before becoming metallic in subsequent editions.
* ChromeChampion: Bladelings' skin has a dull metallic color and is studded with patches of metal spines.
* EnemyMine: Bladeling society is characterized by infighting and politicking, but this ends immediately in the face of an external danger.
* FlechetteStorm: Once per day they can fire a short, conical blast of shrapnel from their skin, though this reduces their natural armor bonus for the next 24 hours.
* NoSell: They resist cold and fire damage, as well as slashing and piercing damage from non-magical weapons, and they're fully immune to acid damage and rusting effects. The latter is the result of magical experimentation, as shortly after the bladelings' arrival on Acheron, they were nearly wiped out by the native rust dragons.
* TheTheocracy: What little is known about bladeling society is that it's ruled by a priest-king who directs the worship of their unknown gods.

[[folder:Blazewyrm]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blazewyrm_4e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:4e]]
->'''Classification:''' Elemental (3E), Elemental Magical Beast (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E), 4 (4E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil (3E), Unaligned (4E)

Dragon-shaped fire elementals that delight in immolating everything they come across.

* AchillesHeel: Like anything with the fire subtype, they take extra damage from cold attacks.
* DanceBattler: A variant; a blazewyrms' signature "Tumbling Flame" attack has them whirling and crackling through an opponent's square on the battle map, dealing heavy fire damage. They do have a bite attack they can fall back on, but it's not nearly as effective.
* EvilLivingFlames: Blazewyrms are creatures of living fire in the shape of dragons, and spend their time seeking out things and creatures to burn to ashes for no other reason than that they like doing it.
* ForTheEvulz: Blazewyrms don't require any sort of sustenance, but they still enjoy attacking other creatures.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Blazewyrms have been likened to the Elemental Plane of Fire's version of wyverns, and as such, some more intelligent beings of fire like salamanders sometimes tame blazewyrms as mounts.

[[folder:Blight]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blights_5e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:Vine, needle and twig blights (5e)]]
->'''Classification:''' Plant (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/8 (twig blight), 1/4 (needle blight), 1/2 (vine blight) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Blights are malevolent humanoid plants which spring up in forests tainted by evil. They carry out the whims of whatever dark force spawned them, spreading their corruption throughout the land.

* BotanicalAbomination: The first blights came into being when a particularly evil vampire named Gulthias was staked through the heart. His foul blood seeped into the stake, and in time it grew into a sapling called the Gulthias tree. The seeds of this tree became the first blights. Any sufficiently evil force can contaminate an ordinary tree and turn it into a new Gulthias tree, from which new blights emerge.
* CombatTentacles: Vine blights, as you might imagine, attack by constricting enemies with their vines.
* TheCorruption: A Gulthias tree taints its surroundings with its evil presence. Nearby trees which are not killed by this corruption are transformed into blights, which spread the corruption further throughout the forest.
* GreenThumb: Vine blights can make roots and vines erupt from the ground in their immediate vicinity. They use this power to ensnare and slow down their enemies.
* KillItWithFire: Twig blights are vulnerable to fire damage on account of how dry and brittle they are. Needle and vine blights do not share this vulnerability.
* MonsterProgenitor: The Gulthias trees which spawn blights are named after Gulthias, the vampire whose blood gave rise to the first such tree.
* MouthOfSauron: Vine blights have a direct connection to their Gulthias tree and speak on its behalf, using the voice of whatever evil entity gave rise to the tree.
* PlantPerson: They resemble humanoids made of twigs, needles, or vines.
* SpikeShooter: Needle blights can launch their needles at distant enemies like crossbow bolts. They pack quite a punch.
* ThatsNoMoon: Twig and vine blights look like ordinary plants while they aren’t moving. Twig blights exploit this fact to conceal themselves near places frequented by travelers and ambush unwary victims.

[[folder:Blindheim]]
[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blindheim_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:285:2e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E)\\

Froglike creatures that lurk in watery subterranean areas, blinding prey with their luminous eyes.

* BlindedByTheLight: Blindheims' eyes shine like searchlights when their two sets of eyelids are fully opened, potentially blinding other creatures for a minute or so -- creatures with infravision or sensitivity to bright light, such as goblins or drow, are particularly susceptible to this attack.
* EyeBeams: "Advanced" blindheims have eyes with additional or alternate effects than normal. Amber- and blue-eyed blindheims can't blind foes with their eye beams, but can replicate a ''hypnotic pattern'' or ''faerie fire'' effect, respectively. White-eyed blindheims can use a ''sunburst'' every few rounds in addition to blinding foes.
* FrogMen: A barely-sapient example; most blindheims are primitive even compared to bullywugs, with an animal intelligence that leaves them unable to use even simple tools. "Advanced" blindheims are those who live in crude villages, croak a rudimentary language, and throw darts in combat; such tribes are known to worship slaadi.
* TheHorde: Blindheims usually dwell in small groups, but every so often will gather into ravening hordes that can number in the hundreds, overrunning and consuming everything in their path before suddenly dispersing.
* PlayingWithFire: Gold-eyed blindheims can spit small ''fireballs'' every few rounds.
* SwallowedWhole: Their bite attacks can snap up Tiny creatures such as jermlaine, which at least keeps the little gremlins' numbers down.

[[folder:Blink Dog]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blink_dog_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Fey (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood

Intelligent canines named for their ability to teleport short distances.

* AnimalJingoism: Blink dogs harbor a long-standing hatred for displacer beasts and attack them on sight -- the classic cat/dog rivalry, it seems, extends even to magical canine and feline beasts.
* HitAndRunTactics: 5th Edition lets blink dogs make bite attacks before or after a teleport.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Blink dogs have been known to serve as mounts for halfling or gnome paladins, who they treat as the leaders of the "pack" of adventurers they've joined. With a ''ring of blinking'' a rider can take advantage of the creature's ''blink'' ability, though no known item lets a blink dog take its rider along when it uses ''dimension door''.
* LanguageBarrier: Blink dogs have human-level intelligence and their own language of barks, yips and growls, but while they can understand Sylvan, they can't speak it.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: Blink dogs are normally playful, but ''very'' protective of their pups, due to other creatures sometimes trying to steal them to train as guard animals.
* TeleportSpam: In 3rd Edition they can use the ''blink'' spell at will to give them a chance to evade attacks, or ''dimension door'' once per round as a free action. 5th Edition instead gives them a straighforward teleport action they can combine with a bite attack.

[[folder:Blood Ape]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blood_ape_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Red-furred apes that can grow in size in response to danger.

* GentleGiant: Blood apes are generally peaceful foragers, but when pressed they can be very nasty in combat.
* KingKongCopy: They start out Large and can grow to Huge size, putting them in the same size category as giants.
* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Blood ape alpha males have the ability to use the ''animal growth'' spell on themselves and others in their group, enhancing their combat capacity.

[[folder:Bloodthorn]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bloodthorn_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Plant (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E)\\

Briar-like, blood-drinking plants found in arid parts of the Lower Planes and the Outlands, though rarely a specimen will survive being transplanted to Material Plane wastelands.

* CombatTentacles: Bloodthorns attack and feed by lashing out with their tendrils, trying to grapple opponents to drain blood.
* DeathTrap: A bloodthorn produces succulet, bright red berries year-round, whose appealing fragrance lures in prey for the plant to attack. Any who survive the plant's attacks will be disappointed to find that the fruits are bitter and provide no sustenance.
* EerilyOutOfPlaceObject: Since bloodthorns sustain themselves on blood rather than water or sunlight, one big clue about their nature is that they're flourishing where a normal plant should not survive.
* VampiricDraining: Anyone grappled by a bloodthorn takes [[NonHealthDamage Constitution damage]] as its three-inch-long, hollow thorns pierce their flesh and drain their blood. Even if the victim tears themselves free with an opposed Strength check, one of the thorny tendrils comes lose from the bloodthorn, resulting in a bleeding wound that deals 1 point of DamageOverTime until healed.

[[folder:Bodytaker Plant]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_doppelganger_plant_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:2e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Plant (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 7 (bodytaker plant), 1/2 (podling) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil (2E)

Also known as "doppelganger plants," these strange plants abduct innocents and replace them with "podlings" that help them take over whole societies.

* AssimilationPlot: Bodytaker plants usually set up near communities and systematically go about replacing every denizen. "To their minds, a world would be healthier and more efficient were they in control. Anyone who disagrees either lacks perspective or is fit only to serve as fertilizer."
* EyeOfNewt: Their sap or pods' flesh can be used to craft mind-affecting potions and magic items, such as a superior ''potion of human control.''
* GenreRefugee: They seem out of place in GothicHorror-rich ''Ravenloft'', until you remember that the setting dabbles in ''all'' kinds of horror, even something as "sci-fi" as {{alien abduction}}s.
* KillAndReplace: 5E bodytaker plants work by grappling a victim with a lashing vine and pulling them into its pod. After a few hours soaking in enzymes, the helpless victim dies and is immediately transformed into a loyal podling; before this process is complete, a victim can be torn out of the pod with a Strength check, while killing the bodytaker plant enables an easier escape.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Dead podlings quickly melt into a "slurry" when they or their host plant dies.
* NotQuiteDead: These malevolent plants are quite difficult to kill, since if any of its roots or pods is left intact after its main "body" is seemingly destroyed, the plant will simply regrow in a matter of months. [[SaltTheEarth Salting the earth]] or soaking the ground with poison can do the job.
* PlantAliens: They're implied to be as such, often turning up after an [[CometOfDoom "inauspicious comet or meteor shower"]] is sighted in the night sky.
* PossessionBurnout: In 2nd Edition, a doppelganger plant needs only to target a sleeping or unconscious creature with its ''mind bondage'' power to take them over, no conversion in a central pod needed. While under the plant's mental control, the new podling is fed upon by its host, losing 1d4 hit points each day as its life force is transferred into one of the plant's pods. The podling will gradually lose weight, and those who fight it with melee weapons might notice that their opponent is partially hollowed-out. By the time it's fully consumed by the doppelganger plant, a podling is little more than "a hollow shell of flesh with some muscle tissue and subcutaneous fat."
* ShoutOut: They're obviously inspired by the antagonists of ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers''.
* TheyLookLikeUsNow: Podlings are nearly indistinguishable from the originals, though they may [[ImpostorForgotOneDetail forget certain things]], and in 5E ping as plants under spells that detect creature types.

[[folder:Bog Hound]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bog_hound_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:2e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''\\

Murderous canines spawned from a moor, the result of a fel curse or evil conjuring.

* TheBattleDidntCount: A moor hound can't be slain in normal circumstances -- even if reduced to 0 hit points, it won't collapse but will instead try to flee combat, leaving behind a trail of blood that disappears into a bog or pool of quicksand, and the monster will fully regenerate in time for the next night's hunt.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Moor hounds are coal-black creatures with flaming red eyes.
* KeystoneArmy: Should their moor hound be slain, the rest of a bog hound pack instantly crumbles, howling as they follow their pack leader into oblivion.
* LargeAndInCharge: The moor hound that leads a bog hound pack is a Large creature compared to its Medium-sized packmates.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Standard bog hounds can be slain, at which point their bodies will crumble to inanimate matter as their breaths escape like wisps of marsh mist, but the creatures will continue to spawn from the bog each night, so long as their pack leader survives.
* SwampMonster: The standard bog hounds are empty-eyed beasts made from the mud and straw of their home marsh, while the moor hound that leads them is comprised from the vapors of the bog, which incidentally means that only magic weapons can hit them.
* SwampsAreEvil: In some cases, bog hounds are spawned "naturally" from swamps that have powerful curses laid upon them.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Bog hounds' bane is natural sunlight. When exposed to it, ordinary bog hounds will instantly go inert, becoming mere sculptures of mud and straw trapped in the pose the sun caught them in, statues that crumble apart at the slightest touch. In the case of the moor hound, sunlight causes any damage it sustained that evening to properly apply to it, potentially killing it outright. At any rate, a moor hound in sunlight can be slain by even mundane weapons, and will let out one last ghostly howl before fading into nothingness.

[[folder:Bog Imp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bog_imp_fix_3e.jpg]]

->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

These murderous little fey delight in drowning other creatures who enter their swamps, unless doing so would conflict with the imps' strange code of honor. Despite their names, they have no relation to fiendish imps.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: These fey are unusually lawful, and bound by customs and a system of honor that they are psychologically incapable of breaking. While the specifics vary between clutches of bog imps, they provide ways for would-be victims to spare themselves, such as having someone defeat the bog imp in a race through the marsh or game of wits, or successfully guessing the bog imp's family name. Bog imps who were formerly elves may also spare any elves from their former communities.
* FastTunneling: As amphibious creatures, bog imps have a swim speed, but their burrowing speed is twice as fast -- the catch is that it can only be used while moving through viscous, not-quite-liquid material like swamp muck.
* PoisonousPerson: A bog imp's claw attacks force victims to save or be sickened for several rounds.
* SupernaturalSuffocation: Bog imps can simply glance at a victim and cause a phantom force to drag them beneath the water or mud. This process can take as little as one round, though creatures with Strength bonuses can resist for correspondingly longer, but unless someone pulls the victim out, drags them to solid ground, or kills the bog imp, said victim will begin drowning.
* TheVirus: If an elf succumbs to a bog imp's signature attack, they don't die but instead enter a form of stasis, shriveling and "pickling" over 13 days before being reborn as a bog imp with an instinctive understanding of the local clutch's code of conduct.
* WalkingWasteland: Any nonmagical liquid, from water to wine to milk, becomes stagnant as soon as it comes within 60 feet of a bog imp, and will cause hours of nausea if drank. Fortunately, potions are immune to this effect.

[[folder:Boggle]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_boggle_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Fey Humanoid (4E), Fey (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E, 4E), 1/8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticNeutral, Evil (4E)

Small humanoids that behave much like obnoxious monkeys, stealing trinkets and making nuisances of themselves.

* MischiefMakingMonkey: Their behavior fits the trope, and 4th Edition directly compares boggles' relationship to banderhobbs and goblins to that between apes and humans.
* ThePrankster: Boggles engage in petty pranks to amuse themselves. Although a boggle's antics might cause distress and unintentional harm, its intent is usually mischief, not mayhem.
* RubberMan: Boggles are noted for their rubbery skin and stretchy limbs, giving them a much longer reach than their 3-foot stature would suggest.
* SlipperySkid: They can secrete a nonflammable oil from their skin that replicates a ''grease'' effect.
* StickySituation: Alternatively, 5th Edition boggles can create a glue-like puddle to restrain other creatures.
* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: 4th Edition casts boggles as "bogeymen" that lurk in the corner of children's vision before disappearing. "Parents dismiss such stories as phantoms of an overactive imagination -- until the boggle snatches the child away."
* ThinkingUpPortals: Boggles can use existing doorways and spaces to create short-ranged dimensional rifts, allowing them to reach (or attack) something within 30 feet of it.
* {{Tulpa}}: 5th Edition casts boggles as fey born from feelings of loneliness, such as that felt by a friendless child, old widow, or hermit. Unfortunately, the boggles' attempts to amuse themselves always come at their "host"'s expense.

[[folder:Bogun]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bogun_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Tiny clumps of ambulatory compost created by druids as helpers.

* ArtificialInsolence: Since they're self-aware and sometimes willful, boguns have a 1-in-20 chance to ignore a given order. If their creator cannot pass a Diplomacy check to convince the bogun to behave, it may defiantly do the opposite of the prior order, or refuse to do anything at all for the rest of the day.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Boguns are small nature servants, created by druids as an extension of themselves.
* PoisonousPerson: They aren't intended for combat, but boguns are covered in nettles that can inject a Dexterity-damaging poison.
* {{Synchronization}}: Part of the ritual to create a bogun involves the caster putting a part of themselves - a clump of hair, a few drops of blood -- into the construct to create a bond. Thus, a bogun's destruction inflicts damage to its creator, while if its creator dies, the bogun does as well.
* {{Telepathy}}: Boguns can't speak, but have a telepathic link with their creators.

[[folder:Boneleaf]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_boneleaf_fix_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E)\\

Creatures that use illusions to lure prey into reach of their tendrils and razor-sharp leaves.
----
* HiveMind: Subverted; each individual boneleaf in an area is just one part of a much larger organism, and their nerves run underground for miles between the "trees" above the surface. Practically speaking, the difference is trivial, and anything that "one" boneleaf experiences becomes known to the "rest."
* ManEatingPlant: Subverted; while boneleaves are often mistaken for plants, a DC 15 Spot check will pick up on their off-white, green-tinted coloration, and their vines' tendency to move without a breeze. Dissecting one reveals that its vines and leaves have blood vessels and cartilage, while its roots are in fact a nervous system. They feed on the blood shed by their victims more than their flesh, supplemented by nutrients from the soil.
* MasterOfIllusion: Boneleaves hunt with an illusory lure, a variant of ''major image'' that only lasts a few rounds at a time, and which typically takes the form of someone crying for aid, or a glimpse of something valuable in or next to the "tree."
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: If sorely pressed in combat, a boneleaf will use its modest burrow speed to vanish beneath the earth and soil, leading to the bizarre sight of a "tree" disappearing as if yanked down by something below.
* TentacleRope: Boneleaves attack with tendrils that can grab and constrict prey, all while their razor-sharp leaves deal a bit of additional damage.

[[folder:Bonespear]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bonespear_3e.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}''\\
'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 12 (3E)\\

Giant insects native to Acheron, though they've since spread to other planes, where their ability to harpoon prey makes them deadly hunters.

* AnchoredAttackStance: A bonespear can anchor itself to the ground with all six legs, giving it a huge bonus to opposed Strength checks and attempts to be moved against its will.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: They're insectoid predators some eight feet long.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: A bonespear hunts by using a powerful blast of compressed air from specialized bladders in its head to launch its two horns at a victim. If this attack hits, the victim is impaled and takes a minor penalty on rolls as well as damage each round until the horn is removed, though pulling the barbed horn free will deal additional damage (which can be lessened with a successful Heal check).
* PoisonousPerson: Each of their horns carries a different poison, one dealing [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity damage, the other Strength damage.]]
* YouShallNotEvadeMe: Bonespears' signature weapons are tethered by long lengths of sinew, allowing them to reel in an impaled victim at a rate of 10 feet per round with an opposed Strength check.

[[folder:Bonetree]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bonetree_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Plant (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Horrible swamp-dwelling carnivorous trees, which subsist upon their prey's bones. They're unrelated to the boneleaves above.

* BlindedByTheLight: A bonetree's trunk is charged with energy, which is released in a flash of light whenever it takes damage, forcing all nearby to save or be blinded for a round.
* BotanicalAbomination: They look something like a bulbous mangrove tree with exposed roots and leafless branches, covered in hundreds of knots and jagged holes that hide its stinging vines.
* CombatTentacles: As soon as a bonetree senses prey, a mass of tentacles erupt from the holes in its trunk, attacking everything within 30 feet of it.
* IncreasinglyLethalEnemy: After a bonetree has drained 3 points of Constitution from one or more victims, it can "sweat" a mixture of enzymes and liquified bone that instantly hardens into interlocking armored plates that double its natural armor bonus. After draining 6 points of Constitution, it can similarly add bony spurs to its vines, tripling their damage. The spurs drop off after 10 minutes (and are picked up and re-eaten by the tree), while its improved natural armor decays over the next three hours before similarly being re-absorbed.
* ManEatingPlant: Downplayed in that while they prey upon animals, bonetrees are specifically after bone, not meat. Also, unlike most ''D&D'' plant monsters, bonetrees are completely immobile.
* NonHealthDamage: Their vines can attach filaments to a paralyzed victim that excrete an enzyme that dissolves bone without harming the surrounding tissues. In gameplay terms, this means a point of Constitution drain each round (with NoSavingThrow) until the victim is torn free by an opposed Strength check.
* TheParalyzer: A bonetree's stinging vines carry a poison that deals Dexterity damage, with a secondary effect of paralyzing victims.
* RoarBeforeBeating: A variant; when a bonetree senses prey, its tentacle-branches rattle in anticipation, producing a sound similar to a nest of rattlesnakes.
* WeakToFire: Averted; unlike most plant enemies, bonetrees are resistant to fire damage.

[[folder:Bookworm]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bookworm.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:2e]]
->'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Remarkably speedy inch-long worms whose hunger for paper, leather and wood makes them the bane of librarians everywhere.

* ChameleonCamouflage: Their bodies are normally gray, but bookworms can change their hue to blend in with their surroundings.
* LampreyMouth: It's just for feeding, though, they don't actually have an attack that can deal damage to a living creature.
* LiteralBookworm: They are tiny worms that, while harmless to people, can prove to be the undoing of anyone dependent on books and scrolls, such as magic users.
* NonMaliciousMonster: They just simply feed on any printed material and are relatively harmless.
* OrganDrops: The bookworms' own bane is ink, which they can't digest and which builds up in their bodies until it poisons them. On the plus side, the ink stored inside their corpses is a potent ingredient for AntiMagic.

[[folder:Brachyurus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brachyurus_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 23 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulNeutral

Extraordinarily large and vicious wolves, who roam lost extraplanar wilderlands or walk among their lesser kin as living myths.

* CanisMajor: They're Large wolves with bristling manes and overlarge, but perfectly functional, teeth and claws.
* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: A brachyurus pelt is a tempting prize for esoteric hunters, but more often than not such would-be hunters end up in the creatures' bellies.
* KickThemWhileTheyreDown: Brachyuruses can make a special "savage" attack against any enemy that goes prone in their threatened area, dealing potentially over 100 points of damage as the beast latches onto their victim's body and tears their flesh. This combos nastily with the creature's Improved Trip feat.
* LightningBruiser: They have a blistering 80-foot movement speed, and thanks to their Blinding Speed epic feat, they can ''haste'' themselves for a total of 10 rounds per day.
* MonsterProgenitor: They're said to be "the primordial stock from which all lesser wolves and canines devolved," and their descendants include the mythical Fenris Wolf.
* SavageWolves: They are a different species of wolves and can attack any enemy in sight.
* SupernaturalFearInducer: A brachyurus' frightful howl can make even the most hardened warriors quake in their boots, an ability the beast uses to break up opponents.

[[folder:Brain Mole]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brain_mole_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\

Burrowing mammals all but indistinguishable from their mundane cousins, but which feed upon psychic energy.

* AntiTrueSight: Brain moles can hide their minds from clairsentience powers or divination magic.
* AttackAnimal: Non-psions have been known to keep brain moles as protection against psionic attackers.
* ManaDrain: They can use ''power leech'' as an at-will psi-like ability, which they use to feed upon other psionic creatures' power points.
* PoisonousPerson: Their bite attacks at most deal 2 points of damage on a critical hit, but can infect other creatures with cascade flu, a malady that can cause them to [[PowerIncontinence inadvertantly manifest an increasing number of psionic powers until their power point reserve is completely spent.]]
* PsychicPowers: Besides ''power leech'', brain moles use ''detect psionics'' to find prey, and when pressed will use ''aversion'' or ''mind thrust'' to defend themselves.

[[folder:Branta]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_branta_3e.jpg]]

->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Hardy herbivores adapted to life in the frostfell.

* FantasticLivestock[=/=]HorseOfADifferentColor: Averted; nobody's managed to domesticate brantas yet. However, some orc tribes or dragons will block off mountain valleys to trap a herd in the area, to take advantage of their tight, light-hued, nourishing meat.
* HornAttack: Brantas prefer to flee rather than fight, but when cornered will lower their heads and charge at a threat to make gore attacks, and potentially toss enemies around with their horns.
* TheNoseKnows: Downplayed; brantas' sense of smell is developed enough for them to detect the presence of other creatures within 30 feet, but they have to get right on top of them to pinpoint an unseen creature's location.

[[folder:Braxat]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_braxat_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_braxat_3e.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:2e]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_braxat_2e.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/DarkSun''\\
'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Humanoid (4E), Giant (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E), 14 (4E), 9 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil, Evil (4E)

15-foot-tall psionic humanoids who relish hunting intelligent prey by moonlight.
----
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Zig-zagged. Young braxats commonly fight one another as they compete for treasure, mates, lairs, etc. But once a braxat has joined a hunting warband, conflict within that group is strictly forbidden, and killing a bandmate is punished by executing both the offender and their family.
* ArtEvolution: Their 2nd Edition art mixes rhino and reptilian features, giving them leathery grey hides beneath scaly armor plates, and has them standing fully upright. Their 3rd Edition art instead depicts them hunched over, with colorful, insectoid carapaces. 4th Edition reverts to their original design, then 5th Edition depicts them as something like a Huge, bipedal mix of a ceratopian and ankylosaur.
* BreathWeapon: They can breathe a cone of [[AcidAttack acid]] (or [[AnIcePerson cold]] in 3E), but only use this attack in emergencies, since it tends to leave prey unfit for consumption.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: Braxats can eat just about anything, but only properly hunt other intelligent beings, and in fact their entire society is structured around raiding and stalking their neighbors. Sometimes other creatures [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted try and turn this around]] and attempt to harvest braxats' shells or horns, but in most cases the braxats are more than a match for such would-be hunters of hunters.
* MixAndMatchCritters: They're towering bipeds with rhino-like bodies but beetle-like shells.
* PsychicPowers: Like most life from the world of Athas, braxats are naturally psionic. Beyond powers such as ''[[{{Intangibility}} blink]]'', ''[[{{Teleportation}} dimension door]]'' or ''[[SupernaturalFearInducer fear]]'' (the specific powers varying by edition), they can also use a ''mind blast'' to stun prey in 3rd Edition, while 4th and 5th Edition let braxats throw up a telekinetic barrier to block an incoming attack.
* {{Sadist}}: Braxats try and maximize their victims' fear as they close in, and never kill quickly.
* {{Telepathy}}: In 2nd and 3rd Edition, they can communicate psychically out to a range of a mile, and often use this power to [[HopeSpot create false hope]] for their victims, or [[ToThePain describe the grisly fate in store for their prey.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Breathdrinker]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_breathdrinker_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Elemental (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 7 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Cruel elemental creatures that steal the very air from their victims' lungs.
----
* InvisibleMonsters: The breathdrinker is normally invisible until it attacks, at which point it mimics the form of its current target.
* SupernaturalFearInducer: A breathdrinker's glowing red eyes can strike fear into its prey, rendering them helpless so it could follow up with stealing their breath.
* SupernaturalSuffocation: The breathdrinker feeds on air extracted from the lungs of living creatures, causing them to eventually suffocate.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Briarvex]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_briarvex_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Plant (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Sometimes called "vine ogres," these hulking ambulatory plants seek only to fill the woodlands with their spawn, and view all other creatures as threats to their existence.
----
* AbsoluteXenophobe: Briarvexes only rarely seek peaceful relations with neighboring creatures such as gnolls, and even then consider such lesser beings to be nuisances, no better than fertiliser. In most cases, the only time briarvexes don't try to kill or drive out other creatures is because said creatures are strong enough that the briarvexes are waiting to build up overwhelming numbers. They're so nasty that some sages think briarvexes originated in the Nine Hells before being transplanted to the Material Plane.
* ArchEnemy: Briarvexes and treants hate each other and fight on sight, seeing each other as their most powerful competitor for control of the forest.
* ExplosiveBreeder: There have been instances, in lush terrain, where briarvexes have planted nearly a thousand of their kind in the space of a year, and since a briarvex takes only two years to mature, the result is a mighty [[TheHorde horde]] of plant monsters that overruns settlements near their forests.
* GreenThumb: A briarvex can control the plants around it, causing them to grapple and hold its foes as per the ''entangle'' spell.
* NoSell: They can move through the thorniest of undergrowth without being slowed or taking damage, and are similarly immune to magical attempts to impede them with plants. This means groups of briarvexes can use their ''entangle'' ability without fear of hampering each other.
* PowerFist: An organic example; briarvexes' fists are studded with thorny spikes, which break off when they punch foes and embed themselves in their victims' flesh, at which point the briarvex can take a swift action to make the thorns twist and burrow deeper for additional damage. A victim can use an action to dislodge the thorns, thankfully.
* WeakToFire: Like most plant monsters, briarvexes are vulnerable to fire damage, and as such take care to appraise threats before leaping into combat, in case any are carrying sources of fire.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brigganock]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brigganock_soul_light_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralGood

Tiny, mouse-like denizens of the Feywild, who make their living mining for rare gems.
----
* BigEater: Brigganocks never turn down a good meal and eat a lot for a creature of their size.
* HitodamaLight: These fey's souls exist outside their bodies, appearing as bulbs of pale light. [[MundaneUtility They use them to help see in the dark]], and can take a bonus action to send their soul-lights up to thirty feet to illuminate an area before returning.
* MakeAWish: Mortal wishes take physical form in the Feywild, becoming lodged in "wish stones." The brigganocks seek these out, collecting and polishing those containing good wishes into proper gems, and leaving behind malicious wishes. The resulting polished wish stones are then traded to other fey for use as scrying stones, or to power charms or animated objects.
* OurKoboldsAreDifferent: They're arguably closer to the source material than ''D&D''[='s=] draconic kobolds, as brigganocks are explicitly fey creatures that work in mines, though they're more benign than most folkloric kobolds. Their rodent-like appearance also makes brigganocks look quite similar to ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''[='s=] take on kobolds.
* TimeMaster: A brigganock can accelerate time around itself, allowing it to finish an hour's work in mere seconds, so long as said work takes place within a single room-sized area.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brixashulty]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brixashulty_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Animal (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Brixas for short, these goatlike creatures have long been domesticated by halflings, who boast that the beasts are "as surefooted as a mule, as loyal as a dog, as calm as a milk cow, and as tough as a badger."
----
* AttackAnimal: Their does are often trained for guard duty in addition to work, and are valid animal companions for classes like druids and rangers.
* FantasticLivestock: Brixas are quite useful livestock, providing wool, milk, and meat that's somewhat tough and stringy, but well-flavored (though some find the taste overpowering).
* HornAttack: They attack by goring with their horns, which can also inflict KnockBack.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Small humanoids can easily ride brixashulties, whose bucks are often trained as combat mounts.
* SweetSheep: They're mostly even-tempered, but brixashulties are always alert and sensitive to strange sights, sounds or smells, tend to charge and gore offenders when annoyed, and a herd of agitated brixas can fend off even packs of wolves by concentrating their attacks and covering each other's flanks. Of course, these are all positive qualities for livestock in a halfling caravan traveling through potentially dangerous lands.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:B'rohg]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brohg_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/DarkSun''\\
'''Classification:''' Natural Humanoid (4E), Giant (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (4E), 6 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Neutral (2E), Unaligned (4E), Any (5E)

Primitive four-armed giants who are often captured for use in gladiatorial combat.
----
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: B'rohgs' primitism and lack of intelligence makes it difficult for them to bond with other creatures, but 5th Edition mentions that if a stranger helps a b'rohg, the giant will be at first puzzled, then wary, but may eventually come to trust the smaller being, tagging along for a time and repaying their kindness by carrying heavy loads or helping their friend cross dangerous terrain, before leaving to seek out other b'rohgs.
* DumbMuscle: They're big, strong, and very stupid -- despite having the same Intelligence stat as an ogre, b'rohgs have no language beyond grunts and gestures, don't seem to grasp the concept of death (they ignore anything showing no sign of life, but will give a downed opponent a thump to keep them from getting back up), and in their home setting, haven't even discovered fire (though they at least have no irrational fear of it).
* GladiatorGames: As mentioned, b'rohgs' strength and the spectacle of their four-armed combat style make them popular in gladiatorial arenas, especially on Athas, where they tend to be treated as exotic animals rather than giant humanoids and are never given the chance to earn their freedom. B'rohgs who escape captivity do so with a new appreciation for weapons and armor, but they can never go back to their home societies, both due to the shame of being captured, and out of shame for their people's primitive lifestyle.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: They can make four attacks per round with their fists, weapons or [[BoulderBludgeon hurled rocks]]. In 5th Edition, a b'rohg can also make a special attack to grapple a foe with a "Hideous Rend," dealing damage each turn until their victim is torn into four pieces.
* TheSpeechless: The b'rohg language consists of grunts and hand signals, and their limited intellects make them incapable of learning spoken or written languages (and hamstrings attempts at telepathic communication).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Broken One]]
[[quoteright:341:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_broken_ones_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:341:2e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Sometimes called "animal men," these twisted beings are the survivors of magical mishaps or scientific experiments that have left them horrid combinations of beast and humanoid.
----
* BarbarianTribe: Broken ones usually dwell within small communities of their own kind, occasionally raiding caravans or nearby settlements for supplies, in self-defense, or out of vengeance for real or imagined wrongs. Though given the opportunity, they'll try to hunt down and kill the person responsible for their condition.
* BeastMan: A particularly haphazard example, with asymmetrical mixes of beast and man for a generallly grotesque appearance. On the upside, broken ones enjoy SuperToughness, a HealingFactor, and often additional powers based on the animal they've been mingled with.
* CameBackWrong: Rumor has it that some broken ones are the result of ''resurrection'' or ''reincarnation'' spells gone awry.
* HumanoidAbomination: While other, "natural" bestial humanoids might be labeled Humanoids or {{Monstrous Humanoid}}s, broken ones are classified as Aberrations in 3rd Edition.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: One in ten broken ones can communicate with the type of creature they resemble.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bronze Serpent]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bronze_serpent_d&d.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Twenty-foot-long constructs originally built to guard the temples of snake-worshipping jungle cultures, until the secret of their creation spread to other lands.
----
* AnimalMecha: Bronze serpents are magical metal constructs consisting of bronze rings assembled in the shape of giant snakes.
* FeedItWithFire: Due to their affinity for it, bronze serpents are healed by electricity-based attacks.
* GlowingEyes: A bronze serpent's eyes glow with blue-white electricity.
* ShockAndAwe: The jaws of a bronze serpent drip electrical sparks, dealing extra damage to victims of its bite. It also gets an attack bonus against targets wearing metal armor.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brood Keeper]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brood_keeper_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 16 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

30-foot-long insectoid monsters that unleash swarms of their voracious offspring in battle.
----
* AttackAnimal: While brood keepers' belligerance makes them ill-suited as guard creatures, some have used them as walking vaults by sneaking a valuable item beneath their chitin plating.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: They are Huge creatures resembling wingless beetles with six cat-like eyes.
* FoodChainOfEvil: They're strong and fearless enough to go after giants and dragons.
* ItCanThink: Brood keepers have the Intelligence score necessary to learn a language if taught, but do not speak, and view other creatures as nothing more than food.
* SupernaturalFearInducer: Any creature who sees a brood keeper rend a foe in combat, or unleash its swarm of offspring, has to save against fear.
* TheSwarm: Brood keeper larva fight in clouds of foot-long, winged grubs.
* WeaponizedOffspring: Brood keepers carry their many young within their carapaces, and can take a full-round action to lift the plates of chitin on their backs (reducing the brood keeper's Armor Class) to release a flying swarm of larva, typically so their young can feed, or to send after distant foes. Brood keepers are willing to risk their offspring in combat, since the larva don't grow while sheltering on their parent, and if the single swarm they support is destroyed, the monsters can asexually create a new one within a month.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brownie]]
[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_brownie_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:270:2e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey Humanoid (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (4E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood (brownie), NeutralGood (dobie), TrueNeutral (buckawn)

Two-foot-tall, friendly humanoids who live in rural areas, coexisting with larger folk.
----
* ArchEnemy: 4th Edition states that brownies despise goblins and boggles in particular, and will slice off the fingers of any boggle reaching into a brownie's home. This means goblins or boggles will hesitate to enter a home under a brownie's protection.
* {{Familiar}}: While most brownies prefer to work without any recognition, some brownies who have moved into the home of a good wizard are known to offer their services as familiars, helping organize arcane components, copy spells from one tome to another, and keep the wizard's robes tidy.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Watchdogs and other domestic animals know that brownies are friendly, and never bark at or attack them.
* OurGnomesAreDifferent: A type of brownie known as buckawns better fits the "forest gnome" mold than the "house fey" archtype. Buckawns dwell in forests, their clans living in single homes carved into the bowels of a great tree. They're reclusive and distrustful of outsiders, even other buckawn clans, and known for employing both [[MasterOfIllusion illusions]] and [[MasterPoisoner potent, fast-acting poisons]] against threats.
* {{Hobbits}}: Brownies are possibly related to halflings, and when they aren't inhabiting abandoned structures will dwell within burrows in pastoral areas.
* HouseFey: They usually live in or close to farms, quietly doing chores in exchange for taking a minor portion of milk and grain. "House" brownies are those who have moved into the homes of families who meet their moral standards, offering them further assistance in exchange for a bit of fruit or bread. But their etiquette demands that their hosts take no notice of them, and brownies will leave a home if its owners boast of having assistants.
* MasterOfIllusion: They can use magic like ''ventriloquism'', ''dancing lights'' and ''mirror image'' each once per day.
* StealthExpert: Brownies don't have the magical ability to hide themselves, they're just so good at blending in with their surroundings that they're practically invisible. And when they do need to escape in an emergency, they know ''dimension door.''
* UnwantedAssistance: This is the gimmick of dobies, more rustic brownies (i.e. they're depicted in denim overalls) who typically work on farms. Like normal brownies, they try to do services for the big folk, but always botch the job in some way -- if they milk the cows, they forget to close the barn door, and if they bring the cows back, they trample a garden in the process. They're also amazingly oblivious to criticism, instead redoubling their efforts in an attempt to make amends, and are next to impossible to drive away. About the only good thing about them is that they'll interrupt burglars and wild animals' attacks on their farm, albeit in a way that causes a lot of chaos and minor property damage.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bugbear]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bugbear_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Playable:''' 2E-5E\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

The biggest of the goblinoids, and suprisingly sneaky for their size and strength. See the [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRaces Playable Races]] subpage for details.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bulette]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bulette_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 7 (3E), 9 (4E), 5 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Armored, shark-like predators that burrow through sand and soil.
----
* CraftedFromAnimals: Their armored head-plates can at least be fashioned into shields, enchanted ones if a dwarven smith works with them.
* TheDreaded: As their ''AD&D'' entry explains, "Ogres, trolls, and even some giants all move off in search of greener and safer pastures when a bulette appears. A bulette can turn a peaceful farming community into a wasteland in a few short weeks, for no sane human or demihuman will remain in a region where a bulette has been sighted."
* ExtremeOmnivore: Bulettes are indiscriminate predators that will attack whatever they can hear moving on the surface. They will eagerly devour any other living thing (except elves and dwarves, whose taste they dislike), and their powerful stomach acids will allow them to digest even the clothing, armor and weapons of their prey -- hungry bulettes aren't above eating whatever gear and belongings their victims left scattered around.
* LandShark: Bulettes are armored, shark-shaped monsters that burrow through earth and sand, often with just their dorsal fins poking through, attacking anything they can find.
* MobySchtick: The ''Ecology of the Bulette'' article in ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' #74 focuses chiefly on a hunter named A'ahb retelling his hunt of a legendary albino bulette named Mobh Idich.
* SandWorm: Their sharklike shape aside, bulettes are classic examples of this trope. They're subterranean, burrowing predators that spend most of their time belowground, using their sensitivity to tremors in the earth to detect the presence of creatures above them. As soon as a bulette feels something walking around on the ground above, it surfaces, attacks and tries to devour it.
* ThreateningShark: While not true sharks, bulettes are in many ways a terrestrial version of this. They're voracious predators that specialize in preying on helpless creatures on top of the medium they move through, unseen except for their triangular dorsal fin cutting through the surface, and are often referred to as land sharks for this reason.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bullywug]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bullywug_d&d_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E), Natural Humanoid (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E, 4E), 1/4 (5E)\\
'''Playable:''' 2E, 4E\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil, NeutralEvil (5E)

Brutish and malicious thugs who live in swamps, raiding nearby civilizations for both useful goods and shiny trinkets to use as status symbols.
----
* AxCrazy: 4th edition describes them as being "Among the [[EvilIsPetty pettiest]] and [[StupidEvil most mindlessly destructive]] of all humanoid societies."
* EnemySummoner: Their 3rd edition write-up notes that bullywug spellcasters have a dangerous enthusiasm for ''summon monster'' spells, one that outstrips their ability to control what they call up. This means there's a chance for a bullywug cleric to summon more monsters than normal with a spell, as well as a chance for said monsters to be outside the cleric's control. Which leads to some bullywug spellcasters spending more time fighting their own summoned reinforcements than the enemy.
* FrogMen: They resemble humanoid frogs, and live in wet, swampy habitats. Naturally, they're amphibious, adept at hiding in marshy terrain, and are powerful jumpers.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Some bullywugs, particularly their nobility, ride into battle on giant toads.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Their main defining trait as of 5e is that they will always try to show off to visitors, and get very angry if insulted. On the upside, this means that captives who grovel and flatter their bullywug captors will usually be set free after providing suitable tribute to the mighty frog-monarch who captured them.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Bullywugs can communicate simple concepts with frogs and toads when speaking Bullywug.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Buomman]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_buomman_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\
'''Playable:''' 3E\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood or LawfulNeutral

Humanoids known as the "moaning monks," who dwell in shrines and temples on the Astral Plane, amidst the remains of forgotten deities.
----
* BareFistedMonk: Their lifestyle is monastic to begin with, so most buomman characters progress as monks.
* BarrierMaiden: Neutral or Evil buommans tend to believe that the petrified deities on the Astral Plane are dead and must not be revived, and thus go through their rituals to prevent that from happening. Good buommans, on the other hand, invert this trope and sing their songs in the hope that the sleeping deities will awaken someday.
* CreepyLongFingers: Their fingers and toes are noticably elongated, adding to their otherworldly air.
* ElectiveMute: Buommans take a vow agianst speech at an early age, though not a vow of silence -- their monks get their nickname for conversing in low, throaty singing, and their proper name from the first note each learns to vocalize before learning to walk, "buomm." They're not ''constantly'' singing, but buommans sing during daily rituals, and have songs for occasions such as waking, sleeping or eating, as well as for less concrete concepts. A buomman who breaks their vow against speech takes Wisdom damage and a penalty on rolls for the next 24 hours, cumulative for each offense. For this reason, buomman spellcasters rely on metamagic feats like Silent Spell, or use the Nonverbal Spell feat to cast spells using other sounds besides speech.
* HumanSubspecies: The first buommans were human visitors to the Astral Plane, but thousands of years later they're considered natives, humanoids with the extraplanar subtype rather than the human subtype.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Buommans' names for themselves are short melodies in specific keys, so for the convenience of other races, adventuring buommans accept nicknames from their companions, as long as they aren't too harsh. "Jak" would be uncomfortable, while "Moony" is acceptable.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Burbur]]
[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_burbur_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290:2e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Strange little creatures that feed upon dangerous slimes and molds.
----
* BigEater: Burburs won't stop feeding until they've dealt thrice as much damage to an ooze as they had starting hit points. After feeding, the burbur will be bloated and sluggish, and retreat to its nest to rest.
* BizarreAlienReproduction: Once each year in the spring, a burbur develops a bulge on its tail that grows into a second head, then sprouts arms, until finally a second, entirely new creature splits off the end of the first.
* HelpfulMook: They're unintelligent monsters, but their ability to consume dangerous dungeon oozes make them prized by adventurers and valuable as exotic pets (though not to plasmoids, for obvious reasons).
* NoSell: They can not only safely eat the likes of green slime and russet mold, they're also immune to the effects of dangerous plants or fungi like yellow musk creepers or violet fungi, and will frequently make their nests behind such hazards.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Burburs have foot-long, worm-like bodies, mosquito-like heads complete with a straw-like proboscis they use to slurp up prey, and pair of dextrous arms.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Burrow Root]]
[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_burrow_root_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:240:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Plant (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Carnivorous plants over 12 feet long, which burst from the soil, attack prey with their thorny maws, then retreat underground to feed on the blood seeping into the earth.
----
* AsteroidsMonster: Once per day, when a burrow root is reduced to half its full hit points, it splits into two creatures, each of which receives half the original's remaining hit points (the "newborn" then has to wait another day before it has a chance to split). This is in fact how burrow roots reproduce, so they'll remain in combat until they either win or split, at which point both burrow roots typically flee beneath the surface.
* DamageOverTime: Their attacks cause persistent bleeding damage.
* FastTunnelling: Their base burrow speed is only 20 feet per round, but three times per day they can use an immediate action to burrow an extra 20 feet, moving fast enough to avoid attacks of opportunity.
* SandWorm: They hit most of the beats of the trope, they're just plant monsters rather than animals.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Buso]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_tigbanua_buso_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/KaraTur''\\
'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Tigbanua buso are ghoulish, one-eyed creatures whose filthy claws curse others to transform at night into similar monsters called tagamaling buso.
----
* {{Cyclops}}: Buso's distinguishing characteristic is their single eye, a lurid red and yellow color.
* OurGhoulsAreDifferent: Tigbanua buso are often compared to ghouls, being filthy, feral humanoids that ambush their victims in the night, but they're not actually undead.
* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: A tigbanua buso's claws carry the tagamaling curse, causing those who fail their saving throws to have a cumulative 1% chance each night of transforming into a tagamaling buso -- their eyes fuse together, their hands twist into claws, their Intelligence score falls to 2, and they attack everything they see. When dawn arrives, the victim returns to their natural form and has no memory of what they did the previous night, but is considered fatigued all day. While this condition can be cured by ''remove disease'' or ''remove curse'', if 99 days pass and the victim reaches a 100% chance of transforming, from that point on their nightly transformations can only be stopped by a ''wish'' or ''miracle''.
* SupernaturalFearInducer: Tigbanua buso are surrounded by a 10-foot aura that can cause other creatures to cower in fear.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bariaur]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bariaur_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\
'''Playable:''' 2E-3E\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood

Natives of the Heroic Domains of Ysgard, these tauric beings possess the upper bodies of humanoids and the lower bodies of mountain sheep or goats

* AllThereInTheManual: Very little information was provided about the bariaur in the original ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' run; instead, their creator went on to write two sourcebooks all about them and made them freely available online, fleshing out their culture and their spirituality.
* AnimalGenderBender: A small minority of females are born with horns like a ram, whilst an even smaller minority of males are born hornless.
* GenderRestrictedAbility: Cultural more than physical, but in bariaur society, only ewes (or hornless rams) practice magic, whilst rams (and horned ewes) practice martial combat.
* IResembleThatRemark: Literally! Bariaur ''hate'' to be compared to centaurs, and regard it as quite insulting, but they share the exact same body structure, the same herbivorous appetite, and even many cultural traits.
* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Horned ewes are considered very unlucky and unappealing in bariaur culture, which actually drives many of them to study martial combat; they're outcasts anyway, so they may as well gain the strength to force others to respect them.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent: They're extraplanar beings who resemble mountain sheep or goats with the torso of a humanoid being growing from where the head should be.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Bariaur flocks often meet on Ysgard's plains to engage in singing or tale-telling contests, or play a game much like polo. "Human observers often mistake the rivalry for pride or pettiness, and are often completely flabbergasted when, at the end of a festival, the bariaur depart on the friendliest terms." It's not unknown for two questing bariaur who happen to meet to abandon their mission for a few hours (or days) to have a good-natured race or other contest.
* UseYourHead: It goes without saying that horned bariaur can deliver killer headbutts, especially if they can build up ramming speed first.
* WanderingCulture: Bariaurs' natural wanderlust keeps them from establishing permanent settlements (with the exception of the town of Steadfast), and most don't bother constructing houses for themselves.

[[folder:Basilisk]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_basilisk_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E), 10 (4E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Hulking, eight-legged reptiles with deadly gazes.

[[folder:Blackroot Marauder]]
[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blackroot_marauder_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:346:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E)\\

Dark, thorny saplings the size and shape of humanoids, created by evil clerics or druids as sentinels and hunters.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: They are expectedly good at blending into wooded surroundings, and cunning and patient enough to make the most of their natural camouflage. "A swarm of marauders might slowly creep up on an encampment or castle, shifting into position so slowly that their prey fails to notice the gradual rise in the number of trees and the density of the underbrush in the area."
* PoisonousPerson: Their claws and thorns carry a damaging poison.
* SpikeShooter: They can fire volleys of thorns from their bodies as a ranged attack, which does more damage than their claws.
* SupernaturalSensitivity: Beyond [[SuperSenses tremorsense]], blackroot marauders can ''detect good'' at will, helping them spot and stalk any do-gooders who might trouble their creators.
* WhenTreesAttack: Blackroot marauders are made in a fairly simple ritual in which a wild sapling no more than seven feet tall is kept out of direct sunlight for a month, over which time it's watered with the blood of an intelligent creature at sunrise and sunset. At the end of the month, the spells ''animate plants'', ''command plants'', ''detect good'' and ''poison'' are cast on the sapling, and 5,000 gp of crushed rubies are scattered around it, turning it into an intelligent, ambulatory guardian. The catch is that this procss creates a woody, thorny ''construct'', not a plant monster, though blackroot marauders retain enough vitality to be able to slowly recover hit points if they rest in loamy soil.

[[folder:Blackstone Gigant]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_blackstone_gigant.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]

'''Challenge Rating:''' 18 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Gargantuan statues of fearsome, eight-armed women usually created to guard a sacred site.

* CreepySouvenir: Blackstone gigants often take trophies from their victims, wearing belts of petrified arms or necklaces of petrified heads.
* {{Flight}}: Despite their size and weight, they have a perfect 40-foot flight speed.
* LivingStatue: Not only is the blackstone gigant one, it can animate any victims of its petrification attacks, which serve as its minions for 20 rounds, after which point they can't be animated again. The blackstone gigant usually takes the time to smash any useless statues, to prevent any applications of ''stone to flesh'' mid-fight.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: They have eight limbs, and thus fearlessly wade into combat, flailing about with their arms to try and petrify as many foes as possible.
* SnakePeople: Some blackstone gigants are carved with serpentine lower torsos, specifically in imitation of demonic mariliths.
* TakenForGranite: Anything hit by a blackstone gigant's slam attack has to save or be turned to stone.
* TrampledUnderfoot: They're large and heavy enough to deal trample damage to creatures they move over.

[[folder:Bainligor]]
[[quoteright:255:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bainligor_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:2e]]
->'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Flightless humanoid bats who roam the upper levels of the Underdark, scavenging what they can to survive.

* BatPeople: Leaning more towards "bat" than people -- bainligors are considered hideous even by the most charitable observer.
* DodgeTheBullet: Their reflexes are fast enough that if they're aren't distracted by a melee, they get an improved Armor Class against missile attacks.
* TheNecrocracy: Bainligor tribes are led by the oldest members, who go through a number of magical transformations as they age, growing in size each time. Eventually the eldest bainligors feel a calling to seek out a dry, empty cavern where they transition into an undead creature. These Revered Ones act as warlords and high priests for their swarms, and may lead for generations. Bainligor legend has it that the Deep Tribes from the harshest depths of the Underdark have starved until being reduced to nothing but Revered Ones, who continue to attack other creatures for the joy of it.
* StarfishLanguage: Zig-zagged; most of bainligors' speech is too high-frequency for humanoids to hear (though dogs and cats can), but the bat folk can pitch their voices low enough to speak with normal races (though even then, they sound high-pitched and squeaky). But since bainligors have nothing of value to trade, they rarely bother to communicate with other creatures.
* SuperScream: Once per hour, a bainligor can emit a burst of ultrasound that deals damage and may stun their victim, or even leave them permanently deafened.
* SuperSenses: They can ignore darkness thanks to their echolocation, though this gets shut down if they're deafened by an effect like ''silence''.
* TooDesperateToBePicky: Bainligors will eat anything, from rothé to insects to fungi to rotting flesh. This is actually a point of pride for bainligors, evidence that they can survive anywhere, and they'll boast about eating noxious foods.

[[folder:Bajang]]
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bajang_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:3e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/KaraTur''\\
'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Malicious nature spirits resembling squat, taloned, sneering humanoids, bound to a specific corrupted jungle tree.

* CantLiveWithoutYou: Much like the more benign dryads, bajangs' lives are tied to a specific tree in their home forest, and they'll die if it is destroyed. But see below.
* CombatPragmatist: Bajangs prefer weak or helpless prey, attacking from ambush or while their victims are sleeping.
* JediMindTrick: They know the spell ''transfix'', and use it to order their victims to stand still indefinitely, while the monster attacks at its leisure.
* PoisonousPerson: Their claws carry a [[NonHealthDamage Strength-damaging poison.]]
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Their ''AD&D'' rules explain that should a bajang be slain, its spirit goes dormant, waiting to be reborn in a jungle tainted by a bloody battle, dark ritual, or the burital site of an evil spellcaster. When a suitable tree reaches maturity, the next full moon, the bajang's dormant essence is absorbed by the tree, appearing as a tumor-like growth in its roots that gradually moves up its trunk. When the swelling reaches the highest limb, it bursts and the bajang is reborn, ready to cause new misery.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bajangs can ''polymorph'' themselves into orange-eyed wildcats, and also into humans in their 2nd Edition rules.

[[folder:Bakemono]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bakemono_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]

'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\

Small, misshapen humanoids that launch haphazard raids on everyone around them.

* BarbarianTribe: Everything they own, from weapons to patchwork armor, is stolen from their victims, and bakemono never bother to maintain their gear. They don't farm or build, they raid supplies from civilized people and squat in abandoned structures, or drive out a hamlet's inhabitants to convert the settlement into a crude fort.
* DayHurtsDarkAdjustedEyes: Downplayed; like goblins, bakemono dislike sunlight, but unlike (2nd Edition) goblins they don't take any penalties from being in it. On the flipside, bakemono don't have darkvision to help them see in caves.
* GratuitousJapanese: Their name is simply Japanese for monster.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: They're given the goblinoid subtype in 3rd Edition, and are repeatedly compared to standard goblins as a type of small, savage humanoid often bossed around by stronger beings (in this case oni). But they're notably dumber than proper goblins, have no affinity for living underground, and their bodies are much more variable: bakemono skin tones can range from fiery red to blue to green, some have hoofed feet or stunted wings, some have scales and others fur, some have huge noses or drooping ears, and so on.
* TookALevelInDumbass: In 2nd Edition, bakemono are still noted to be dumber than goblins, but are at least smart enough to use weapons and armor. Their 3rd Edition incarnation, in contrast, is only about as intelligent as guard dogs, and typically fight with their claws or by latching onto victims with their jaws -- only exceptional individuals are smart enough to speak.

[[folder:Balhannoth]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_balhannoth_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E, 5E), Aberrant Magical Beast (4E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 13 (4E), 11 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticNeutral (3E), ChaoticEvil (4E, 5E)

Tentacled horrors that use their magic to help ambush their victims.

* NotQuiteDead: These malveolent plants are quite difficult to kill, since if any of its roots or pods is left intact after its main "body" is seemingly destroyed, the plant will simply regrow in a matter of months. [[SaltTheEarth Salting the earth]] or soaking the ground with poison can do the job.

Murderous demihumans who lure victims into the wastes to be devoured.

* AssimilationPlot: Bodytaker plants usually set up near communities and systematically go about replacing every denizen.

* TheyLookLikeUsNow: Podlings are nearly indistinguishable from the originals, though they may [[ImpostorForgotOneDetail forget certain things]] and ping as plants under spells that detect creature types.

[[folder:Bog Hound]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bog_hound_2e.jpg]]

'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Murderous canines spawned from a moor, the result of a fel curse or evil conjuring.

* TheBattleDidntCount: A moor hound can't be slain in normal circumstances -- even if reduced to 0 hit points, it won't collapse but will instead try to flee combat, leaving behind a trail of blood that disappears into a bog or pool of quicksand, and the monster will fully regenerate in time for the next night's hunt.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Moor hounds are coal-black creatures with flaming red eyes.
* KeystoneArmy: Should their moor hound be slain, the rest of a bog hound pack instantly crumbles, howling as they follow their pack leader into oblivion.
* LargeAndInCharge: The moor hound that leads a bog hound pack is a Large creature compared to its Medium-sized packmates.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Standard bog hounds can be slain, at which point their bodies will crumble to inanimate matter as their breaths escape like wisps of marsh mist, but the creatures will continue to spawn from the bog each night, so long as their pack leader survives.
* SwampMonster: The standard bog hounds are empty-eyed beasts made from the mud and straw of their home marsh, while the moor hound that leads them is comprised from the vapors of the bog, which incidentally means that only magic weapons can hit them.
* SwampsAreEvil: In some cases, bog hounds are spawned "naturally" from swamps that have powerful curses laid upon them.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Bog hounds' bane is natural sunlight. When exposed to it, ordinary bog hounds will instantly go inert, becoming mere sculptures of mud and straw trapped in the pose the sun caught them in, statues that crumble apart at the slightest touch. In the case of the moor hound, sunlight causes any damage it sustained that evening to properly apply to it, potentially killing it outright. At any rate, a moor hound in sunlight can be slain by even mundane weapons, and will let out one last ghostly howl before fading into nothingness.

[[folder:Bog Imp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bog_imp_fix_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

These murderous little fey delight in drowning other creatures who enter their swamps, unless doing so would conflict with the imps' strange code of honor. Despite their names, they have no relation to fiendish imps.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: These fey are unusually lawful, and bound by customs and a system of honor that they are psychologically incapable of breaking. While the specifics vary between clutches of bog imps, they provide ways for would-be victims to spare themselves, such as having someone defeat the bog imp in a race through the marsh or game of wits, or successfully guessing the bog imp's family name. Bog imps who were formerly elves may also spare any elves from their former communities.
* FastTunneling: As amphibious creatures, bog imps have a swim speed, but their burrowing speed is twice as fast -- the catch is that it can only be used while moving through viscous, not-quite-liquid material like swamp muck.
* PoisonousPerson: A bog imp's claw attacks force victims to save or be sickened for several rounds.
* SupernaturalSuffocation: Bog imps can simply glance at a victim and cause a phantom force to drag them beneath the water or mud. This process can take as little as one round, though creatures with Strength bonuses can resist for correspondingly longer, but unless someone pulls the victim out, drags them to solid ground, or kills the bog imp, said victim will begin drowning.
* TheVirus: If an elf succumbs to a bog imp's signature attack, they don't die but instead enter a form of stasis, shriveling and "pickling" over 13 days before being reborn as a bog imp with an instinctive understanding of the local clutch's code of conduct.
* WalkingWasteland: Any nonmagical liquid, from water to wine to milk, becomes stagnant as soon as it comes within 60 feet of a bog imp, and will cause hours of nausea if drank. Fortunately, potions are immune to this effect.

[[folder:Boggle]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_boggle_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Fey Humanoid (4E), Fey (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 3 (3E, 4E), 1/8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticNeutral, Evil (4E)

Small humanoids that behave much like obnoxious monkeys, stealing trinkets and making nuisances of themselves.

* MischiefMakingMonkey: Their behavior fits the trope, and 4th Edition directly compares boggles' relationship to banderhobbs and goblins to that between apes and humans.
* ThePrankster: Boggles engage in petty pranks to amuse themselves. Although a boggle's antics might cause distress and unintentional harm, its intent is usually mischief, not mayhem.
* RubberMan: Boggles are noted for their rubbery skin and stretchy limbs, giving them a much longer reach than their 3-foot stature would suggest.
* SlipperySkid: They can secrete a nonflammable oil from their skin that replicates a ''grease'' effect.
* StickySituation: Alternatively, 5th Edition boggles can create a glue-like puddle to restrain other creatures.
* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: 4th Edition casts boggles as "bogeymen" that lurk in the corner of children's vision before disappearing. "Parents dismiss such stories as phantoms of an overactive imagination -- until the boggle snatches the child away."
* ThinkingUpPortals: Boggles can use existing doorways and spaces to create short-ranged dimensional rifts, allowing them to reach (or attack) something within 30 feet of it.
* {{Tulpa}}: 5th Edition casts boggles as fey born from feelings of loneliness, such as that felt by a friendless child, old widow, or hermit. Unfortunately, the boggles' attempts to amuse themselves always come at their "host"'s expense.

[[folder:Bogun]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bogun_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Tiny clumps of ambulatory compost created by druids as helpers.

* ArtificialInsolence: Since they're self-aware and sometimes willful, boguns have a 1-in-20 chance to ignore a given order. If their creator cannot pass a Diplomacy check to convince the bogun to behave, it may defiantly do the opposite of the prior order, or refuse to do anything at all for the rest of the day.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Boguns are small nature servants, created by druids as an extension of themselves.
* PoisonousPerson: They aren't intended for combat, but boguns are covered in nettles that can inject a Dexterity-damaging poison.
* {{Synchronization}}: Part of the ritual to create a bogun involves the caster putting a part of themselves - a clump of hair, a few drops of blood -- into the construct to create a bond. Thus, a bogun's destruction inflicts damage to its creator, while if its creator dies, the bogun does as well.
* {{Telepathy}}: Boguns can't speak, but have a telepathic link with their creators.

[[folder:Berbalang]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_berbalang_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''\\
'''Classification:''' Immortal Humanoid (4E), Aberration (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (4E), 2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil (2E), Evil (4E), NeutralEvil (5E)

Winged humanoids that dwell upon the petrified carcasses of deities that drift across the Astral Plane. They're obsessed with gathering secrets from the living and dead.

* AstralProjection: They can create a "spectral duplicate" to explore other planes and spy on other creatures, though the berbalang's body is unconscious and vulnerable while it's perceiving the multiverse through its spectral form.
* CreepySouvenir: They collect the bones of the creatures whose spirits they call up, and record what they've learned on them.
* DeadPersonConversation: Berbalangs prefer talking to the dead over the living, and can freely use ''speak with dead'' to converse with spirits.
* KnowledgeBroker: They're willing to share some of what they've learned, but will only exchange knowledge for other knowledge... or the bones of interesting creatures.

Small, armored, desert-dwelling animals that are timid when encountered singly, but dangerous in packs.

* AttackAnimal: Downplayed; baazrags can be domesticated as guard beasts, but they're more commonly used as to get rid of household pests, or in teams to pull wagons.
* PoisonousPerson: In 4th Edition, their bite attacks deal poisonous DamageOverTime, while in 2nd Edition, a baazrag's saliva contains a toxin that [[AntiRegeneration slows natural healing to 20% of its normal rate]]. Their ''AD&D'' rules explain that this same toxicity also applies to the sack of fluid beneath their armored shell, so that it will sicken those who drink from a slaughtered baazrag.
* SexShifter: Their 4E entry explains that all baazrags are born female, but if one grows into a larger potential breeder, several of the pack's members will turn male to produce eggs.

Intelligent, magical creatures resembling dog-sized rodents, much sought by mages and pouchers alike. Not to be confused with the 3rd Edition mindbending character class.

Intelligent, magical creatures resembling dog-sized rodents, much sought by mages and pouchers alike. Not to be confused with 3rd Edition mindbending character class.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_beholder_death_tyrant_5e.jpeg]]

* MobySchtick: The ''Ecology of the Bulette'' article in ''Dragon'' #74 focuses chiefly on a hunter named A'ahb retelling his hunt of a legendary albino bulette named Mobh Idich.

->'''Origin:''' ''TabletopGames/ForgottenRealms''\\

* MakeMeWannaShout: Once per hour, a bainligor can emit a burst of ultrasound that deals damage and may stun their victim, or even leave them permanently deafened.

* StarfishLanguage: Zig-zagged; most of bainligors' speech is too high-frequency for humanoids to hear (though dogs and cats can), but the bat folk can pitch their voices low enough to speak with normal races (though even then, they sound high-pitched and squeaky). But since bainligors have nothing of value to trade, they rarely bother to communicate.

* DeathTrap: A bloodthorn produces succulet, bright red berries year-round, whose appealing fragrance lures in prey for the plant to attack. Any who survive the plant's attacks will be disappointed to find that the fruits and bitter and provide no sustenance.

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Humanoid (4E), Giant (5E)\\

* ArtEvolution: Their ''AD&D'' art mixes rhino and reptilian features, giving them leathery grey hides beneath scaly armor plates, and has them standing fully upright. Their 3rd Edition art instead depicts them hunched over, with colorful, insectoid carapaces. 4th Edition reverts to their original design, then 5th Edition depicts them as something like a Huge, bipedal mix of a ceratopian and ankylosaur.

* PsychicPowers: Like most life from the world of [[TabletopGame/DarkSun Athas]], braxats are naturally psionic. Beyond powers such as ''[[{{Intangibility}} blink]]'', ''[[{{Teleportation}} dimension door]]'' or ''[[SupernaturalFearInducer fear]]'' (the specific powers varying by edition), they can also use a ''mind blast'' to stun prey in 3rd Edition, while 4th and 5th Edition let braxats throw up a telekinetic barrier to block an incoming attack.

->'''Classification:''' Natural Humanoid (4E), Giant (5E)\\

* GladiatorGames: As mentioned, b'rohgs' strength and the spectacle of their four-armed combat style make them popular in gladiatorial arenas, especially on [[TabletopGame/DarkSun Athas]], where they tend to be treated as exotic animals rather than giant humanoids and are never given the chance to earn their freedom. B'rohgs who escape captivity do so with a new appreciation for weapons and armor, but they can never go back to their home societies, both due to the shame of being captured, and out of shame for their people's primitive lifestyle.

* SpeaksFluentAnimal: One-in-ten broken ones can communicate with the type of creature they resemble.

->'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E, 5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Immortal Humanoid (4E), Aberration (5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Elemental (3E)\\

->'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

* BioweaponBeast: No one knows for sure where the bi-nou came from, though the prevailing theories are that they're the result of drow experiments, or were created by the mad mage [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Halaster Blackcloak]] to serve as guardians. At any rate, and despite their innate hostility towards warm-blooded life, bi-nou have been known to ally with drow, guarding the borders of their settlements from intruders.

->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Humanoid (4E)\\

* ArtEvolution: Bladelings have gotten less spiky across the editions, from being nothing but spikes in ''AD&D'' to being majority smooth-skinned in 4E. They were also noted to be made of wood, ice and steel in 2E, before becoming metallic in subsequent editions.

* DeathTrap: A bloodthorn produces succulet, bright red berries year-round, whose appealing fragrance lures in prey for the plant to attack.
* EerilyOutOfPlaceObject: Since bloodthorns sustain themselves on blood rather than water or sunlight, one big clue about their nature is that they're plants that are flourishing where a normal plant should not survive.

->'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_bog_imp_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_boneleaf_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:3e]]

A creature entry's listed '''Challenge Rating''' may be for "baseline" examples of the monster, rather than listing every advanced variant presented in ''Monster Manual''s. Also remember that 3rd and 5th Edition use a 1-20 scale for "standard" Challenge Ratings, while 4th Edition uses 1-30. Not all '''Playable''' creatures are created equal, especially in 3rd Edition, in which MonsterAdventurers can have significant Level Adjustments for the sake of party balance. A creature's listed '''Alignment''' is typical for the race as a whole, not an absolute for every individual in it -- even supposed embodiments of Good and Evil can change their alignment. Also, if there are two alignments listed, and one is for 4th Edition, assume that the other alignment holds true for all other game editions. Finally, the "Always Neutral" alignment listed in previous editions for nonsapient creatures has been equated with the "Unaligned" alignment of recent editions.

->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Immortal Magical Beast (4E)\\

* TheNoseless: Banshares breath through holes in the sides of their heads, hidden by their hair.

->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Magical Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\

* EliteMook
** Elder orbs, unusually long-lived and ancient beholders that are biologically immortal and develop sorcerous powers.
** Beholder mages undergo a ritual removal of their central eye, becoming powerful spellcasters in exchange.

->'''Classification:''' Undead (3E, 5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\

* {{Tulpa}}: When beholders dream obsessively about a specific subject, their dreams can manifest as the beholderkin, beholder-like entities with bodies and abilities shaped by the traits of the dreams that gave them birth.

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E, 5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3.5E, 5E), Aberrant Magical Beast (4E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\