History Characters / DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesH

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

'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), LawfulGood (5E)

Bird-elf women with a supernaturally alluring song, but evil natures.

* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: ''D&D'' has had harpies throughout its history as evil {{Monstrous Humanoid}}s with hypnotic singing voices, though their appearance has varied considerably. Similarly, their status as an AlwaysFemale OneGenderRace has fluctuated, from being always female and depending on parthenogenesis/crossbreeding with humanoid men/a combination of the two, to having males who are simply less common and/or expected to StayInTheKitchen.
** 2e harpies are ugly, resembling nasty-looking crone-like women who have the lower bodies and wings of vultures, but with beautiful, enrapturing voices.
** 3e harpies are, similarly, ugly creatures who combined the worst aspects of crones and vultures and contrast them with hypnotic voices. In 3.5, they become fully inhuman monsters with draconic legs and wings.

* WingedHumanoid: Harpies largely resemble monstrous women with functional wings -- these are usually avian, but in 3.5 they're draconic instead.

'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\

->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E, 5E) to 6 (warlord, 5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E), 0 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Same as creator (3E), TrueNeutral (5E)

'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E, 5E), Unaligned (4E)

->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\

* MainliningTheMonster: Hydra body parts have a surprising number of uses. Hydra tongues hung from a pole, for instance, will change color rather dramatically depending on the approaching weather, while hydra fat mixed with corn meal makes for extremely effective rat bait and powdered hydra bone is a potent desiccant.

* BoisterousBruiser: Hadozee aren't warlike, and only fight when they must... but they do enjoy "a good scrap and a friendly brawl," and will jump into one with gusto. They still prefer nonlethal fights to bloodbaths, and won't hold a grudge afterward.
* BornUnderTheSail: If the hadozee have a homeland, they don't remember it, and they keep enclaves in the coastal cities of other races (especially elves), hosting any hadozee who come to port.

->'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Fiend (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E), 5 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4 (3E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

[[folder:Helmed Horror]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_helmed_horror_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Warrior constructs with uncommon intelligence and magical power.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Their 3rd Edition write-up notes that helmed horrors frequently outlive their masters and continue following their final orders, but keep interpreting those orders more and more broadly as their creators' binding magics fade.
* AnimatedArmor: A helmed horror is an intelligent construct resembling a suit of plate armor, the gaps of which reveal occasional flares of PureEnergy.
* ExactWords: Averted according to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', which states that a helmed horror is intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order's intent and its exact wording, seeking to fulfill the former instead of slavishly following the latter like most other constructs.
* {{Flight}}: They enjoy the benefit of a permanent ''air walk'' spell.
* LostTechnology: In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, helmed horrors are relics of the fallen kingdoms of Imaskar and Netheril, and the secrets of their construction have been lost. A sufficiently powerful wizard might have the resources to rediscover the method, but it is said that only the evilest of souls would be willing to pay the price for it.
* NoSell: They're resistant to magic in general, and furthermore, a helmed horror's creator can make the construct fully immune to three specific spells while building it.
* SpellBlade: In 3rd Edition, helmed horrors can use a free action to imbue their swords with a set combat enchantment: ''flaming burst'', ''keen'', ''speed'', etc.
* SuperSenses: 3rd Edition helmed horrors are under a constant ''see invisibility'' effect. 5th Edition instead gives them blindsight out to 60 feet, with the caveat that they're blind beyond this radius.

[[folder:Hippocampus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippocamp_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood (3E), NeutralGood (5E)

Intelligent aquatic horses prized as underwater mounts, and who gladly serve good causes.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippocampi feature in countless tales as guides and mounts for ocean-faring heroes.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Hippocampi are aquatic equines that travel in herds and can breath both air and water, and hold valued places in triton society.
* SapientSteed: They have human-level intelligence and can speak Aquan, but they're fairly simple creatures that want little more than to speed through the open water.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Hippcampi like to make challenges out of everyday events, and among themselves pass the time with marathon relay races or long-distance scavenger hunts. Winning is secondary to the joy of striving, for these creatures.

[[folder:Hippogriff]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 5 (4E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

Flying creatures that combine the features of horses and giant eagles.

* ArtEvolution: 3rd edition gave them a more physically unified look, with hooves that are modified bird claws and manes and tails of feathers, but later editions go back to the traditional "eagle in front and horse behind" version.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippogriffs can be trained to bear a rider, and are prized as mounts capable of flight and of being fearsome combatants in their own right. Their physical prowess and relatively even disposition and lower intelligence compared to a griffon or pegasus makes them particularly attractive for this role, and they're the most common flying mounts seen among civilized races.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: The classic creature with an eagle's claws, head and wings and a horse's hindquarters. Unlike the sapient griffons, hippogriffs are animals, and griffons sometimes prey on them. They're also popular flying mounts.

[[folder:Hoard Scarab]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoard_scarab_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Beetle-like creatures with a strong resemblance to coins when dormant, and who have a symbiotic relationship with dragons.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: With their legs tucked in against their carapaces, hoard scarabs can be mistaken for gold coins, and thus camouflage themselves amongst a dragon's other treasures.
* OrificeInvasion: 3rd Edition hoard scarabs can burrow into an opponent's flesh, dealing Constitution damage each round (more if it's a swarm making the attack). Unless the stricken victim is given a ''remove disease'' or ''heal'' spell, death is inevitable.
* SeeTheInvisible: Creatures outlined by a hoard scarab's magical glittering dust constantly shed blue light and cannot become invisible.
* TheSwarm: These tiny creatures are most dangerous as swarms of crawling, biting insects.
* TheSymbiote: Hoard scrabs have a mutually beneficial relationship with dragons. The scarabs clean the dragon's scales as they eat other vermin on the larger creature's hide (which doesn't hurt the dragon, due to their natural armor), and share the dragon's lair, acting as an additional layer of defense.
* TrackingSpell: Hoard scarabs in 5th Edition produce a magical dust that sticks to intruders and allows dragons to sense their location.

[[folder:Hoary Hunter]]
[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoary_hunter_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:303:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (hoary steed), 25 (hoary hunter) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Fey hunters who appear on moonlit winter nights to ride down humanoid prey, taking captives for the Unseelie Court.

* HellishHorse: These fey's hoary steeds are magnficient but malevolent creatures whose coats are white as snow, and whose blue eyes glow coldly in the darkness. They're capable of shifting to the Astral or Ethereal Planes, and gallop through the skies under a permanent ''air walk'' effect.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: Hoary hunters pursue travelers for sport, but have a sense of honor about it -- should a victim elude the hunter for an hour, or defeat them in combat, the hunter will relent for the night, and after five failed attempts to take a prisoner, a hoary hunter will never trouble them again.
* MadeASlave: Hoary hunters never kill their prey if they can help it, instead their swords carry a ''binding'' enchantment that, upon a CriticalHit or what would be a fatal blow, traps their victims within a diamond at the end of the sword's hilt. The prisoner can then be brought to the Unseelie Court for enslavement.
* SmokeOut: The foggy breath of a hoary hunter's steed replicates an ''obscuring mist'' effect.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Once a hoary hunter has marked someone as their prey, not even death will make them relent -- if slain, the hunter and their steed will be revived in the fey realm, ready to continue the hunt the next night the conditions are right. Hoary hunters are willing to wait years for another chance to hunt a victim, and can cross planar boundaries to do so, appearing wherever moonlight falls upon frozen ground. Those pursued by hoary hunters have been known to relocate to the tropics, or take up residence in eternally-temperate demiplanes, to hide from the hunters.
* TheWildHunt: They're evil fey horsemen who appear at midnight when the moon shines upon frozen ground, heralded by a roiling fog and echoing hoofbeats. Any who fall victim to the hoary hunters are spirited away to the world of the evil fey, never to return.

* ShoutOut: A reference to the Haggunenons of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy.''

[[folder:Huitzil]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_huitzil_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Animal (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Tiny dragonblooded avians who instinctively steal and hoard shiny trinkets.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: They are curious, "easily distracted and insatiably nosy."
* DragonAncestry: Huitzils are "drakken," creatures with a clear draconic ancestry, but whose dragon blood has diluted to the point that they lack their progenitor's supernatural powers. As such, they're classified as Animals (dragonblood) rather than lesser Dragons.
* {{Familiar}}: Some mages make familiars out of huitzils, using them to deliver touch-ranged spells, though the partnership is not without difficulty.
-->'''Naelan, Lord of the Uttercold:''' Upon further research, it has become quite evident that huitzil make challenging familiars due to their tendency to hoard any spell components that reflect too much light.
* FragileSpeedster: They're weak enough to most likely die in a single hit, but they're fast and evasive, resulting in a high flight speed and Armor Class.
* StickyFingers: They have a magpie-like obsession with shiny things, exacerbated by their draconic instinct to amass a hoard. Huitzils thus try and snatch any glittering baubles they come across, and their males will use these treasures to try and attract mates.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Huitzils eat mainly fruits supplemented by insects, but seem to enjoy hunting colorful butterflies in particular.
* WeNeedADistraction: Huitzils can take a "Distract" action in combat, squawking and flapping their wings in a creature's face, to impose a penalty on their attack rolls. They'll also use this strategy to collect treasure, with some huitzils causing a ruckus while another darts in to grab something shiny.

[[folder:Hybsil]]
[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hybsil_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralGood

Fey combinations of antelopes and pixies, whose tribes roam forests and grasslands, generally avoiding other races.

* BadassNative: They have something like the Native American tradition of counting coup, in which young hybsil warriors (of both sexes) prove their daring by darting amongst enemies, stabbing them once, and escaping.
* ForcedSleep: Like their pixie kin, hybsils can coat their weapons with a poison that causes ''sleep''.
* HornedHumanoid: Both male and female hybsils have horns, the former large forking antlers that molt in the dead of winter and grow back in the spring, the latter smaller straight or spiral antlers that remain year-round. Hybsil horns are said to have magical properties, leading some mages or alchemists to pay for shed specimens... or horns attached to a fresh hybsil scalp, ensuring their magical efficacy.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent: They're three-foot-tall tauric creatures with cervid lower bodies and fey humanoid torsos.
* OurPixiesAreDifferent: Their other half; hybsils are considered cousins to pixies, and possess tricksy spell-like abilities such as ''dancing lights,'' ''mirror image'' or ''ventriloquism''.
* SeeTheInvisible: In 3rd Edition, hybsils can see ''invisible'' creatures without difficulty.

[[folder:Hydra]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hydra_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned
Many-headed reptiles famous for their regenerative powers, hydras mostly live as bestial predators in swamps.

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClasses Character Classes by Edition]]:'' 1st to 3rd ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFirstToThirdEditionCoreClasses Core]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherPreThirdEditionClasses Pre-3rd]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherThirdEditionClasses 3rd Other]]) | 3rd & 3.5 ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThirdEditionPrestigeClasses Prestige Classes]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThreePointFiveEditionNPCClasses NPC Classes]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFourthEditionClasses 4th]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFifthEditionClasses 5th]]\\

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDeities Deities]]'': Real-World Deities ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRealWorldDeitiesAtoF A to F]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRealWorldDeitiesGtoZ G to Z ]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsLiteraryDeities Literary Deities]] | Non-human Pantheons ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDemihumanDeities Demihuman Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGiantDeities Giant Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGoblinoidDeities Goblinoid Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsScalykindDeities Scalykind Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUnderdarkDeities Underdark Deities]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsElderEvils Elder Evils]]\\

''Campaign Settings:'' Characters/{{Dragonlance}} | Characters/{{Eberron}} | Characters/ForgottenRealms ([[Characters/ForgottenRealmsGods Gods]] | [[Characters/ForgottenRealmsFactions Factions]] | ''Characters/TheLegendOfDrizzt'') | Characters/{{Greyhawk}} ([[Characters/GreyhawkDeities Deities]]) | Characters/{{Planescape}} ([[Characters/PlanescapeFactions Factions]] | [[Characters/PlanescapeRaces Races]]) | Characters/{{Ravenloft}} ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords Darklords]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheCarnival The Carnival]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheKargataneOfVallaki The Kargatane of Vallaki]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheFraternityOfShadows Fraternity of Shadows]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheGreatFamilies Great Families of the Core]] | [[Characters/RavenloftGods Faiths]]) | Characters/{{Spelljammer}} ]] -]]]

[[folder:Hydra]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hydra_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned
Many-headed reptiles famous for their regenerative powers, hydras mostly live as bestial predators in swamps.

[[folder:Hound of the Gloom]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hound_of_the_gloom_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E)\\

Large, tentacled quadrupeds that have emerged from deep underground in the past decade to menace Underdark races.

* BeastOfBattle: Some evil subterranean races have taken up the practice of capturing young hounds to raise and train. If a pup is taken young enough, it accepts its new world easily, especially if it's well fed and allowed to fight.
* CombatTentacles: In addition to their bite and foreclaws, hounds of the gloom can attack with two large tentacles surrounding their heads, which have a reach of 10 feet and end in five-fingered hands with strong, sharp claws.
* ItCanThink: They have human-level intelligence, make cunning use of terrain in battle, and even have their own language.
* TheParalyzer: Their tentacle attacks carry a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison that can potentially leave victims paralyzed and helpless.
* WallCrawl: They can climb surfaces at half their normal speed, which they use to drop down on prey.

[[folder:Howler Wasp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_howler_wasp_3e.jpg]]

'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (standard), 5 (queen) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Dog-sized, wasp-like creatures with screaming simian faces.

* BewareMyStingerTail: Beyond their bite and claw attacks, howler wasps have stings that deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison. Female howler wasps can sting at will, while the rare males will die a few rounds afterward.
* BioweaponBeast: Howler wasps were created by the wizard Otiluke, who was trying to create some guard creatures in anticipation of an attack by slaadi. The howler wasps were his first attempt, which he judged a failure, but before Otiluke could properly dispose of them, the slaadi attacked and the aberrations escaped in the confusion.
* HiveMind: Surprisingly averted, unlike most insectoid monsters, hence why howler wasp patrols need to return to their nest to summon reinforcements.
* KillerGorilla[=/=]WickedWasps: They're giant stinging insects with baboon-like features, and just as unpleasant as that combination sounds. Howler wasps are so hateful and aggressive that they kill everything they meet, whether they need food or not. Worse, they live in nests containing over sixty of the things.
* LargeAndInCharge: Normal howler wasps are only 4 feet long, but their queens are Large creatures twice that size.
* MonstrousCannibalism: Howler wasps breed much more rapidly than their nests can support, so their queens and the healthiest larva routinely devour the weaker ones.
* TakingYouWithMe: If subjected to a CriticalHit or an attack that would reduce its hit points past 0, a howler wasp can immediately try and douse its foes with an inciting pheromone. This does no damage in itself, but will drive all other howler wasps in the area into a screaming rage, giving them bonuses on attack and damage rolls against the affected creature, and allowing the aberrations to track the doused foe like they had blindsense. The pheremone's effects last for ten minutes, or until the victim washes it off.

[[folder:Huitzil]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_huitzil_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Animal (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Tiny dragonblooded avians who instinctively steal and hoard shiny trinkets.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: They are curious, "easily distracted and insatiably nosy."
* DragonAncestry: Huitzils are "drakken," creatures with a clear draconic ancestry, but whose dragon blood has diluted to the point that they lack their progenitor's supernatural powers. As such, they're classified as Animals (dragonblood) rather than lesser Dragons.
* {{Familiar}}: Some mages make familiars out of huitzils, using them to deliver touch-ranged spells, though the partnership is not without difficulty.
-->'''Naelan, Lord of the Uttercold:''' Upon further research, it has become quite evident that huitzil make challenging familiars due to their tendency to hoard any spell components that reflect too much light.
* FragileSpeedster: They're weak enough to most likely die in a single hit, but they're fast and evasive, resulting in a high flight speed and Armor Class.
* StickyFingers: They have a magpie-like obsession with shiny things, exacerbated by their draconic instinct to amass a hoard. Huitzils thus try and snatch any glittering baubles they come across, and their males will use these treasures to try and attract mates.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Huitzils eat mainly fruits supplemented by insects, but seem to enjoy hunting colorful butterflies in particular.
* WeNeedADistraction: Huitzils can take a "Distract" action in combat, squawking and flapping their wings in a creature's face, to impose a penalty on their attack rolls. They'll also use this strategy to collect treasure, with some huitzils causing a ruckus while another darts in to grab something shiny.

[[folder:Hydra]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hydra_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\

Many-headed reptiles famous for their regenerative powers, hydras mostly live as bestial predators in swamps.

[[folder:Halfling]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_halfling_2e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:2e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), LawfulGood (5E)

Short but nimble humanoids known for their love of simple pleasures, natural good luck, and surprising courage in the face of evil. See [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRaces the Playable Races subpage]] for more information about them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hammerclaw]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hammerclaw_3e.jpg]]

->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Lobster-like monsters the size of horses, which subdue prey with the help of sonic attacks fired from their claws.

* GiantEnemyCrab: Large predatory crustaceans known to attack even when not hungry, simply for the pleasure of harming others.
* ItCanThink: Downplayed; hammerclaws can manage a few words of Aquan, and have enough vicious cunning to be successful hunters, but their Intelligence is only 4, making them dumber than ogres.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Hammerclaws can snap their oversized claws to create a cone of sonic energy that deals damage and can stun those caught in its effect.
* PowerPincers: Their claws deal damage, and can grab and constrict foes they hit.

[[folder:Hannya]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hannya_3e.jpg]]

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

'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

These fallen women have made unholy pacts to attain serpentine forms.

* CharmPerson: They can project a ''suggestion'' into the mind of an unwary target, which works regardless of language barrier, but only if the target is unaware of the hannya's true nature.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: Hannya can wrap around and constrict prey like boas.
* {{Revenge}}: Hannya were [[WasOnceAMan formerly human females]], evil wu jen, shugenja, or other mages who were cast out of their homes for their crimes. This led them to pledge their loyalty to dark powers in exchange for their new forms and abilities, which they use to prey upon their old communities.
* SnakePeople: Their lower bodies are that of a thick serpent's, and when excited or agitated, they tend to speak in [[SssssnakeTalk sputtering hisses]] interspaced with cackling.
* ToServeMan: Like hags, hannya's favorite food is human flesh.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: They can use ''polymorph self'' at will, usually to assume the form of a harmless old lady, traveling priest, or lost child, to lull victims into a false sense of security.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Violets. A hannya will not voluntarily enter a building surrounded by violets, nor can she bring herself to touch someone carrying the flowers -- in fact, she can't even affect such a person with her spells. At best, a disguised hannya can politely ask for the person to put the violets away by claiming she's allergic to them, or for the person to put the flowers in a vase so she can admire them.
* WickedWitch: Their entries usually describe hannya as an oriental variant of hag.

[[folder:Harpoon Spider]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_harpoon_spider_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4, 9 (dread harpoon spider) (3E)\\

Arachnoid aberrations that reel in prey with organic harpoons, then impale victims upon their spiny carapaces for later consumption.

* GiantSpider: A harpoon spider superficially resembles a black widow that measures around 8 feet long and weighs nearly 1400 pounds. "Dread" harpoon spiders are even larger, certifiably Huge monsters 18 feet long weighing in at 7200 pounds.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The spines covering harpoon spiders will damage foes that attack them in melee, but their primary purpose is to secure prey. Harpoon spiders can impale a helpless victim upon their spiny bodies, dealing damage and letting the monster carry on normally without having to maintain a grapple.
* NonIndicativeName: Harpoon spiders are not spiders at all, possessing ten legs, human eyes, and hundreds of razor-sharp spines covering its body.
* PoisonousPerson: Their bites carry a poison that deals [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity damage]], potentially paralyzing victims who succumb to it.
* {{Sadist}}: They're fully sentient, capable of speech in Common and Undercommon, and have a morbid sense of humor as they play with victims "ripening" on their spines.
* WallCrawl: As spider-like creatures, harpoon spiders can move along webs without getting stuck, and scale sheer surfaces, but their climb speed is only half their standard movement speed.
* YouWillNotEvadeMe: A harpoon spider can launch its fangs up to 20 feet, then use leathery tendrils to drag any prey it catches straight to its maw.

[[folder:Harpy]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harpy_d&d.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:4e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4 (3E), 1 (5E)\\

Bird-elf women with a supernaturally alluring song, but evil natures.

* CompellingVoice: No matter their physical form, harpies have long had the ability to lure victims closer with an enthralling song, overlapping these harpies with mythological [[OurSirensAreDifferent sirens.]] Their 1st Edition ''Monster Manaul'' simply states that sirens ''are'' harpies that happen to live along coasts and prey upon sailors.
* FanDisservice: Their 3rd Edition ''Monster Manual'' art depicts them topless, but with the sagging bosom of an old woman.
* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: ''D&D'' has had harpies throughout its history as evil {{Monstrous Humanoid}}s with hypnotic singing voices, though their appearance has varied considerably. Similarly, their status as an AlwaysFemale OneGenderRace has fluctuated, from being always female and depending on parthenogenesis/crossbreeding with humanoid men/a combination of the two, to having males who are simply less common and/or expected to StayInTheKitchen.
** 2e harpies are ugly, resembling nasty-looking crone-like women who have the lower bodies and wings of vultures, but with beautiful, enrapturing voices.
** 3e harpies are, similarly, ugly creatures who combined the worst aspects of crones and vultures and contrast them with hypnotic voices. In 3.5, they become fully inhuman monsters with draconic legs and wings.
** 4e harpies take a swing into the GorgeousGorgon territory, with bird wings and claws but otherwise regular humanoid appearances. In the default ''TabletopGame/NentirVale'' setting, they’re given an origin as the descendants of an evil elf queen whose family misused magic to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting assume the form of birds]] in order to spy upon their tyrannized subjects. When their people revolted, the magic went haywire and trapped them as half-elf, half-bird beings.
** In 5th edition, harpies keep the CuteMonsterGirl looks, with human-like bodies but monstrous claws. They're also given a new origin story as an elven maiden who learned a beautiful song to woo the god Fenmarel Mestarine. When her trick didn't work, she got mad and used magic to turn herself into the first harpy, corrupting her love into a predatory hunger for the flesh of others.
* WingedHumanoid: Harpies largely resemble monstrous women with functional wings -- these are usually avian, but in 3.5 they're draconic instead.

[[folder:Harssaf]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_harssaf_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 5 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Desert-dwelling humanoids who can command the forces of heat and sand.

* ApocalypseCult: Harssafs don't worship any particular deity, but the desert itself. They believe themselves to be the chosen children of the desert, spawned from its very sands, and only they will survive when great sandstorms expand the desert to cover the rest of the world.
* BareFistedMonk: Harssafs' favored class is monk, and rumors persist of ancient harssaf monasteries hidden deep in the desert, which record the race's history and pass down fighting techniques.
* DesertBandits: These humanoids live nomadic lives in the great deserts of the world, sometimes skirmishing with other harssaf clans, but preferring to raid their "soft outlander" neighbors. They don't take any particular pride in killing others, but harssafs view it as a necessary survival skill.
* ElementalShapeshifting: Harssafs can freely assume a sand form, allowing them to evade attacks, slither along the ground, and slip through narrow gaps and crevices.
* ManOnFire: At will, harssafs can surround themselves with a fiery aura that damages anything around them, or anything they strike with metal weapons.
* SandBlaster: Once per day, a harssaf can generate a pulse of sand in a 30-foot radius, dealing damage and potentially [[AHandfulForAnEye blinding]] victims.

[[folder:Hebi-No-Onna]]
[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hebi_no_onna_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:266:3e]]

'''Challenge Rating:''' 15 (3E)\\

Beautiful and vain women with snakes for arms, who use their magic and charisma to build cults devoted to themselves.

* TheBeastmaster: Hebi-no-onna can command ordinary snakes (i.e. those with the Animal type).
* CharmPerson: Their gaze can replicate a ''hypnosis'' spell, causing other creatures to stop and stare in fascination, and making them receptive to requests. While a hebi-no-onna uses this ability, her eyes turn yellow, with a snake's slitted pupils.
* {{Cult}}: They try to establish these, using their hypnotic gaze and spellcasting to brainwash people into believing the hebi-no-onna is a living goddess, so that they're willing to die for her.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Hebi-no-onna are totally self-interested, and the entire aim of the cults they form is to surround themselves with beautiful luxuries and provide them with doting servants to help them bathe, get dressed, arrange their hair, etc. But "they are more in love with themselves than any of their plans or goals," and won't hesitate to sacrifice their prized minions if it helps them escape a losing battle.
* NoSell: They're immune to poison, as well as the gaze attacks of any reptilian creature, and a dark naga's ''detect thoughts'' ability.
* PoisonousPerson: They can make two bite attacks with their arm-snakes each round, which deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Constitution-damaging poison]] in 3rd Edition, or one of eight different poisons in 2nd Edition, depending on which species of snake is up their sleeves. In addition, a hebi-no-onna can bite with her human mouth to deliver a poison that causes nightmarish hallucinations, leaving victims [[SupernaturalFearInducer cowering helplessly for several rounds.]]
* SnakePeople: They appear as beautiful and well-dressed women, who wear robes with voluminous sleeves to hide the serpents they have for arms.
* StalkerWithATestTube: Hebi-no-onna are exclusively female, and desire only healthy, handsome, and strong-willed mates to pass those traits on to their daughters. They'll thus seek out such exceptional males and kidnap them -- though in some cases, a hebi-no-onna will try and lure adventurers to her lair to more easily capture a desirable mate. The father's spirit will then be broken down over weeks of conditioning until he's willing to cooperate, but once his work is done, he'll be [[BlackWidow ritualistically sacrificed]] in a grand ceremony attended by the rest of the hebi-no-onna's cult.
* UnreliableIllustrator: Their 3rd Edition art depicts hebi-no-onna with a pair of human arms surrounded by smaller serpents, while their ''AD&D'' picture has a single, larger snake in each sleeve, with no sign of human arms.
* VillainTeamUp: Hebi-no-onna sometimes cooperate with dark or spirit nagas, and while such alliances usually end in a power struggle that leaves one party dead or driven off, until that point the naga and hebi-no-onna use their combined power to dominate entire villages.

[[folder:Helmed Horror]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_helmed_horror_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Warrior constructs with uncommon intelligence and magical power.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Their 3rd Edition write-up notes that helmed horrors frequently outlive their masters and continue following their final orders, but keep interpreting those orders more and more broadly as their creators' binding magics fade.
* AnimatedArmor: A helmed horror is an intelligent construct resembling a suit of plate armor, the gaps of which reveal occasional flares of PureEnergy.
* ExactWords: Averted according to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', which states that a helmed horror is intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order's intent and its exact wording, seeking to fulfill the former instead of slavishly following the latter like most other constructs.
* {{Flight}}: They enjoy the benefit of a permanent ''air walk'' spell.
* LostTechnology: In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, helmed horrors are relics of the fallen kingdoms of Imaskar and Netheril, and the secrets of their construction have been lost. A sufficiently powerful wizard might have the resources to rediscover the method, but it is said that only the evilest of souls would be willing to pay the price for it.
* NoSell: They're resistant to magic in general, and furthermore, a helmed horror's creator can make the construct fully immune to three specific spells while building it.
* SpellBlade: In 3rd Edition, helmed horrors can use a free action to imbue their swords with a set combat enchantment: ''flaming burst'', ''keen'', ''speed'', etc.
* SuperSenses: 3rd Edition helmed horrors are under a constant ''see invisibility'' effect. 5th Edition instead gives them blindsight out to 60 feet, with the caveat that they're blind beyond this radius.

[[folder:Hippocampus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippocamp_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood (3E), NeutralGood (5E)

Intelligent aquatic horses prized as underwater mounts, and who gladly serve good causes.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippocampi feature in countless tales as guides and mounts for ocean-faring heroes.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Hippocampi are aquatic equines that travel in herds and can breath both air and water, and hold valued places in triton society.
* SapientSteed: They have human-level intelligence and can speak Aquan, but they're fairly simple creatures that want little more than to speed through the open water.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Hippcampi like to make challenges out of everyday events, and among themselves pass the time with marathon relay races or long-distance scavenger hunts. Winning is secondary to the joy of striving, for these creatures.

[[folder:Hippogriff]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 5 (4E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

Flying creatures that combine the features of horses and giant eagles.

* ArtEvolution: 3rd edition gave them a more physically unified look, with hooves that are modified bird claws and manes and tails of feathers, but later editions go back to the traditional "eagle in front and horse behind" version.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippogriffs can be trained to bear a rider, and are prized as mounts capable of flight and of being fearsome combatants in their own right. Their physical prowess and relatively even disposition and lower intelligence compared to a griffon or pegasus makes them particularly attractive for this role, and they're the most common flying mounts seen among civilized races.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: The classic creature with an eagle's claws, head and wings and a horse's hindquarters. Unlike the sapient griffons, hippogriffs are animals, and griffons sometimes prey on them. They're also popular flying mounts.

[[folder:Hoard Scarab]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoard_scarab_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Beetle-like creatures with a strong resemblance to coins when dormant, and who have a symbiotic relationship with dragons.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: With their legs tucked in against their carapaces, hoard scarabs can be mistaken for gold coins, and thus camouflage themselves amongst a dragon's other treasures.
* OrificeInvasion: 3rd Edition hoard scarabs can burrow into an opponent's flesh, dealing Constitution damage each round (more if it's a swarm making the attack). Unless the stricken victim is given a ''remove disease'' or ''heal'' spell, death is inevitable.
* SeeTheInvisible: Creatures outlined by a hoard scarab's magical glittering dust constantly shed blue light and cannot become invisible.
* TheSwarm: These tiny creatures are most dangerous as swarms of crawling, biting insects.
* TheSymbiote: Hoard scrabs have a mutually beneficial relationship with dragons. The scarabs clean the dragon's scales as they eat other vermin on the larger creature's hide (which doesn't hurt the dragon, due to their natural armor), and share the dragon's lair, acting as an additional layer of defense.
* TrackingSpell: Hoard scarabs in 5th Edition produce a magical dust that sticks to intruders and allows dragons to sense their location.

[[folder:Hoary Hunter]]
[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoary_hunter_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:303:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Fey (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (hoary steed), 25 (hoary hunter) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Fey hunters who appear on moonlit winter nights to ride down humanoid prey, taking captives for the Unseelie Court.

* HellishHorse: These fey's hoary steeds are magnficient but malevolent creatures whose coats are white as snow, and whose blue eyes glow coldly in the darkness. They're capable of shifting to the Astral or Ethereal Planes, and gallop through the skies under a permanent ''air walk'' effect.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: Hoary hunters pursue travelers for sport, but have a sense of honor about it -- should a victim elude the hunter for an hour, or defeat them in combat, the hunter will relent for the night, and after five failed attempts to take a prisoner, a hoary hunter will never trouble them again.
* MadeASlave: Hoary hunters never kill their prey if they can help it, instead their swords carry a ''binding'' enchantment that, upon a CriticalHit or what would be a fatal blow, traps their victims within a diamond at the end of the sword's hilt. The prisoner can then be brought to the Unseelie Court for enslavement.
* SmokeOut: The foggy breath of a hoary hunter's steed replicates an ''obscuring mist'' effect.
* SuperPersistentPredator: Once a hoary hunter has marked someone as their prey, not even death will make them relent -- if slain, the hunter and their steed will be revived in the fey realm, ready to continue the hunt the next night the conditions are right. Hoary hunters are willing to wait years for another chance to hunt a victim, and can cross planar boundaries to do so, appearing wherever moonlight falls upon frozen ground. Those pursued by hoary hunters have been known to relocate to the tropics, or take up residence in eternally-temperate demiplanes, to hide from the hunters.
* TheWildHunt: They're evil fey horsemen who appear at midnight when the moon shines upon frozen ground, heralded by a roiling fog and echoing hoofbeats. Any who fall victim to the hoary hunters are spirited away to the world of the evil fey, never to return.

* EnemySummoner: Once per day, a hollphant can try to summon another hollyphant, an asura, or an avoral guardinal, with a 45% chance of success.

* HorrorHunger: Hydras are ruled by a constant hunger for flesh that eventually strips their surroundings bare of food, forcing the beast to find new hunting grounds. If a hydra goes for too long without prey, its hunger will become too strong for it to bear and its head will turn upon each other as the maddened creature eats itself alive.

* NotQuiteFlight: Hadozee have patagia, allowing them to glide horizontally a set distant each round and avoid falling damage, but not ascend. It's not uncommon for a hadozee in a ship's rigging to just glide back down to the deck.

* TheLostWoods: Green hags prefer to lair with dark and dismal woods, and as they grow in power they can make them increasingly angled, malignant and dangerous to traverse.

[[folder:Hag]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Fey Humanoid (4E), Fey (5E)
->''Want to know a dark secret? Ask a hag. The trick lies in getting the truth out of her.''
-->-- '''Volo'''

Malevolent crones that resemble elderly humanoid women, hags are cunning and ancient creatures that use their intellect and magical power to sow misery and destruction.

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDeities Deities]]'': Non-human Pantheons ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDemihumanDeities Demihuman Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGiantDeities Giant Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsGoblinoidDeities Goblinoid Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsScalykindDeities Scalykind Deities]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUnderdarkDeities Underdark Deities]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsElderEvils Elder Evils]]\\

''Campaign Settings:'' Characters/{{Dragonlance}} | Characters/{{Eberron}} | Characters/ForgottenRealms ([[Characters/ForgottenRealmsGods Gods]] | [[Characters/ForgottenRealmsFactions Factions]] | ''Characters/TheLegendOfDrizzt'') | Characters/{{Greyhawk}} ([[Characters/GreyhawkDeities Deities]]) | Characters/{{Planescape}} ([[Characters/PlanescapeFactions Factions]] | [[Characters/PlanescapeRaces Races]]) | Characters/{{Ravenloft}} ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords Darklords]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheCarnival The Carnival]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheKargataneOfVallaki The Kargatane of Vallaki]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheFraternityOfShadows Fraternity of Shadows]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheGreatFamilies Great Families of the Core]] | [[Characters/RavenloftGods Faiths]]) ]] -]]]

''Campaign Settings:'' Characters/{{Dragonlance}} | Characters/{{Eberron}} | Characters/ForgottenRealms ([[Characters/ForgottenRealmsGods Gods]] | ''Characters/TheLegendOfDrizzt'') | Characters/{{Greyhawk}} ([[Characters/GreyhawkDeities Deities]]) | Characters/{{Planescape}} ([[Characters/PlanescapeFactions Factions]] | [[Characters/PlanescapeRaces Races]]) | Characters/{{Ravenloft}} ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords Darklords]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheCarnival The Carnival]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheKargataneOfVallaki The Kargatane of Vallaki]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheFraternityOfShadows Fraternity of Shadows]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheGreatFamilies Great Families of the Core]] | [[Characters/RavenloftGods Faiths]]) ]] -]]]

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreatures Creatures]]'': [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesA A]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesB B]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesC C]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesD D]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesE E]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesF F]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesG G]] | '''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/DungeonsAndDragonsUndead Undead]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsSettingSpecificCreatures Setting-Specific Creatures]]\\

* WeaksauceWeakness: Violets. Hannya will not voluntarily enter a building surrounded by violets, nor can they bring themselves to touch someone carrying the flowers -- in fact, she can't even affect such a person with her spells. At best, a disguised hannya can politely ask for the person to put the violets away by claiming she's allergic to them, or for the person to put the flowers in a vase so she can admire them.

[[folder:Hebi-No-Onna]]
[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hebi_no_onna_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:266:3e]]

'''Challenge Rating:''' 15 (3E)\\

Beautiful and vain women with snakes for arms, who use their magic and charisma to build cults devoted to themselves.

* CharmPerson: Their gaze can replicate a ''hypnosis'' spell, causing other creatures to stop and stare in fascination, and making them receptive to requests. While a hebi-no-onna uses this ability, her eyes turn yellow, with a snake's slitted pupils.
* {{Cult}}: They try to establish these, using their hypnotic gaze and spellcasting to brainwash people into believing the hebi-no-onna is a living goddess, so that they're willing to die for her.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Hebi-no-onna are totally self-interested, and the entire aim of the cults they form is to surround themselves with beautiful luxuries and provide them with doting servants to help them bathe, get dressed, arrange their hair, etc. But "they are more in love with themselves than any of their plans or goals," and won't hesitate to sacrifice their prized minions if it helps them escape a losing battle.
* NoSell: They're immune to poison, as well as the gaze attacks of any reptilian creature, and a dark naga's ''detect thoughts'' ability.
* PoisonousPerson: They can make two bite attacks with their arm-snakes each round, which deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Constitution-damaging poison]] in 3rd Edition, or one of eight different poisons in 2nd Edition, depending on which species of snake is up their sleeves. In addition, a hebi-no-onna can bite with her human mouth to deliver a poison that causes nightmarish hallucinations, leaving victims [[SupernaturalFearInducer cowering helplessly for several rounds.]]
* SnakePeople: They appear as beautiful and well-dressed women, who wear robes with voluminous sleeves to hide the serpents they have for arms.
* StalkerWithATestTube: Hebi-no-onna are exclusively female, and desire only healthy, handsome, and strong-willed mates to pass those traits on to their daughters. They'll thus seek out such exceptional males and kidnap them -- though in some cases, a hebi-no-onna will try and lure adventurers to her lair to more easily capture a desirable mate. The father's spirit will then be broken down over weeks of conditioning until he's willing to cooperate, but once his work is done, he'll be [[BlackWidow ritualistically sacrificed]] in a grand ceremony attended by the rest of the hebi-no-onna's cult.
* UnreliableIllustrator: Their 3rd Edition art depicts hebi-no-onna with a pair of human arms surrounded by smaller serpents, while their ''AD&D'' picture has a single, larger snake in each sleeve, with no sign of human arms.
* VillainTeamUp: Hebi-no-onna sometimes cooperate with dark or spirit nagas, and while such alliances usually end in a power struggle that leaves one party dead or driven off, until that point the naga and hebi-no-onna use their combined power to dominate entire villages.

[[folder:Helmed Horror]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_helmed_horror_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Warrior constructs with uncommon intelligence and magical power.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Their 3rd Edition write-up notes that helmed horrors frequently outlive their masters and continue following their final orders, but keep interpreting those orders more and more broadly as their creators' binding magics fade.
* AnimatedArmor: A helmed horror is an intelligent construct resembling a suit of plate armor, the gaps of which reveal occasional flares of PureEnergy.
* ExactWords: Averted according to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', which states that a helmed horror is intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order's intent and its exact wording, seeking to fulfill the former instead of slavishly following the latter like most other constructs.
* {{Flight}}: They enjoy the benefit of a permanent ''air walk'' spell.
* LostTechnology: In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, helmed horrors are relics of the fallen kingdoms of Imaskar and Netheril, and the secrets of their construction have been lost. A sufficiently powerful wizard might have the resources to rediscover the method, but it is said that only the evilest of souls would be willing to pay the price for it.
* NoSell: They're resistant to magic in general, and furthermore, a helmed horror's creator can make the construct fully immune to three specific spells while building it.
* SpellBlade: In 3rd Edition, helmed horrors can use a free action to imbue their swords with a set combat enchantment: ''flaming burst'', ''keen'', ''speed'', etc.
* SuperSenses: 3rd Edition helmed horrors are under a constant ''see invisibility'' effect. 5th Edition instead gives them blindsight out to 60 feet, with the caveat that they're blind beyond this radius.

[[folder:Hippocampus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippocamp_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood (3E), NeutralGood (5E)

Intelligent aquatic horses prized as underwater mounts, and who gladly serve good causes.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippocampi feature in countless tales as guides and mounts for ocean-faring heroes.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Hippocampi are aquatic equines that travel in herds and can breath both air and water, and hold valued places in triton society.
* SapientSteed: They have human-level intelligence and can speak Aquan, but they're fairly simple creatures that want little more than to speed through the open water.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Hippcampi like to make challenges out of everyday events, and among themselves pass the time with marathon relay races or long-distance scavenger hunts. Winning is secondary to the joy of striving, for these creatures.

[[folder:Hippogriff]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 5 (4E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

Flying creatures that combine the features of horses and giant eagles.

* ArtEvolution: 3rd edition gave them a more physically unified look, with hooves that are modified bird claws and manes and tails of feathers, but later editions go back to the traditional "eagle in front and horse behind" version.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippogriffs can be trained to bear a rider, and are prized as mounts capable of flight and of being fearsome combatants in their own right. Their physical prowess and relatively even disposition and lower intelligence compared to a griffon or pegasus makes them particularly attractive for this role, and they're the most common flying mounts seen among civilized races.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: The classic creature with an eagle's claws, head and wings and a horse's hindquarters. Unlike the sapient griffons, hippogriffs are animals, and griffons sometimes prey on them. They're also popular flying mounts.

[[folder:Hoard Scarab]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoard_scarab_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Beetle-like creatures with a strong resemblance to coins when dormant, and who have a symbiotic relationship with dragons.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: With their legs tucked in against their carapaces, hoard scarabs can be mistaken for gold coins, and thus camouflage themselves amongst a dragon's other treasures.
* OrificeInvasion: 3rd Edition hoard scarabs can burrow into an opponent's flesh, dealing Constitution damage each round (more if it's a swarm making the attack). Unless the stricken victim is given a ''remove disease'' or ''heal'' spell, death is inevitable.
* SeeTheInvisible: Creatures outlined by a hoard scarab's magical glittering dust constantly shed blue light and cannot become invisible.
* TheSwarm: These tiny creatures are most dangerous as swarms of crawling, biting insects.
* TheSymbiote: Hoard scrabs have a mutually beneficial relationship with dragons. The scarabs clean the dragon's scales as they eat other vermin on the larger creature's hide (which doesn't hurt the dragon, due to their natural armor), and share the dragon's lair, acting as an additional layer of defense.
* TrackingSpell: Hoard scarabs in 5th Edition produce a magical dust that sticks to intruders and allows dragons to sense their location.

[[folder:Hobgoblin]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hobgoblin_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E, 5E) to 6 (warlord, 5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Cunning, disciplined and warlike, hobgoblins exist to subjugate others, and frequently bully their fellow goblinoids, the lesser goblins and bugbears, into serving with their legions as they march to their next conquest. See [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRaces the Playable Races subpage]] for more information about them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hollyphant]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Celestial (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3E), 5 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood

Celestials from the Wilderness of the Beastlands with the unlikely appearance of two-foot-long, gold-furred, winged elephants. They can be found throughout the Upper Planes, serving as messengers and helpers for good deities, or assisting other celestial agents with their tasks.

* EnemySummoner: Once per day, a hollphant can try to summon another hollyphant, an asura, or an avoral guardinal, with a 45% chance of success.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: Averted; hollyphants have feathered or iridescent insect wings in their Small form, and leathery wings in their Large mastodon form, but remain celestials no matter their shape.
* KillerRabbit: They look harmless or even comical, which has led to the downfall of countless evil creatures.
* MakeMeWannaShout: A hollyphant can unleash a trumpeting blast through its trunk to either deal sonic damage and stun those in a 60-foot-cone, or fill an equivalent space with sparkles of sunlight that deal heavy damage to fiends, undead and anything else vulnerable to holy water.
* NoSell: 3rd Edition hollyphants in their Small form gain a ''globe of invulnerability'' effect, rendering them immune to all spells or spell-like abilities of 4th level or lower, but they lose this benefit in their mastodon form.
* PsychicPowers: 3rd Edition hollyphants have both an array of spell-like abilities and psionic powers like ''blessed sight'', ''invisibility'', and ''suggestion''.
* SizeShifter: In 3rd Edition, a hollyphant can switch between two forms, a Small golden-furred elephant that weighs 60 pounds and a Large biepdal mastodon that weighs 1200 pounds.
* {{Telepathy}}: Hollyphants can't speak, but can communicate telepathically with any creature that has a language.

[[folder:Homunculus]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_homunculus_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E), 0 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Same as creator (3E), TrueNeutral (5E)

Tiny winged constructs created by mages as helpers or spies.
----
* ForcedSleep: Their bite attack does ScratchDamage at best, but carries a poison that can render an opponent unconscious.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Homunculi are made by an expensive alchemical recipe from clay, ash, mandrake root, spring water and the wizard's own blood and are living tools linked to their makers much like a {{Familiar}}.
* PsychicLink: A homunculus knows everything its creator does, and likewise its master senses everything a homunculus sees or hears, regardless of the distance between them, provided they're on the same plane of existence.
* {{Synchronization}}: A homonculus will expire if its master dies, and in 3rd Edition, the destruction of a homonculus dealt damage to its creator.

[[folder:Hook Horror]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hook_horror_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E, 5E), Unaligned (4E)

Intelligent pack hunters of the Underdark feared for their hook-like claws.

* AndroclesLion: Pointedly averted in their ''AD&D'' write-up, which notes that hook horrors [[LanguageEqualsThought don't even have a concept for "indebtness" or "gratitude."]] Other creatures are just meat, whatever they've done for the hook horror.
* MixAndMatchCritters: A hook horror has a head resembling a vulture's and the torso of an enormous beetle.
* MooksAteMyEquipment: In 3rd Edition, hook horrors can attempt to sunder a character's armor or shield without provoking an attack of opportunity.
* StarfishLanguage: Hook horrors communicate with one another by clacking and scraping their claws against stone, which sounds unintelligible to other creatures, but forms a complex language that can echo for miles through their home cave systems.
* SuperSenses: A hook horror has short-ranged darkvision, but their keen hearing gives them blindsight out to 60 feet.

[[folder:Hound of the Gloom]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hound_of_the_gloom_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Large, tentacled quadrupeds that have emerged from deep underground in the past decade to menace Underdark races.

* BeastOfBattle: Some evil subterranean races have taken up the practice of capturing young hounds to raise and train. If a pup is taken young enough, it accepts its new world easily, especially if it's well fed and allowed to fight.
* CombatTentacles: In addition to their bite and foreclaws, hounds of the gloom can attack with two large tentacles surrounding their heads, which have a reach of 10 feet and end in five-fingered hands with strong, sharp claws.
* ItCanThink: They have human-level intelligence, make cunning use of terrain in battle, and even have their own language.
* TheParalyzer: Their tentacle attacks carry a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison that can potentially leave victims paralyzed and helpless.
* WallCrawl: They can climb surfaces at half their normal speed, which they use to drop down on prey.

[[folder:Howler Wasp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_howler_wasp_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (standard), 5 (queen) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Dog-sized, wasp-like creatures with screaming simian faces.

* BewareMyStingerTail: Beyond their bite and claw attacks, howler wasps have stings that deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison. Female howler wasps can sting at will, while the rare males will die a few rounds afterward.
* BioweaponBeast: Howler wasps were created by the wizard Otiluke, who was trying to create some guard creatures in anticipation of an attack by slaadi. The howler wasps were his first attempt, which he judged a failure, but before Otiluke could properly dispose of them, the slaadi attacked and the aberrations escaped in the confusion.
* HiveMind: Surprisingly averted, unlike most insectoid monsters, hence why howler wasp patrols need to return to their nest to summon reinforcements.
* KillerGorilla[=/=]WickedWasps: They're giant stinging insects with baboon-like features, and just as unpleasant as that combination sounds. Howler wasps are so hateful and aggressive that they kill everything they meet, whether they need food or not. Worse, they live in nests containing over sixty of the things.
* LargeAndInCharge: Normal howler wasps are only 4 feet long, but their queens are Large creatures twice that size.
* MonstrousCannibalism: Howler wasps breed much more rapidly than their nests can support, so their queens and the healthiest larva routinely devour the weaker ones.
* TakingYouWithMe: If subjected to a CriticalHit or an attack that would reduce its hit points past 0, a howler wasp can immediately try and douse its foes with an inciting pheromone. This does no damage in itself, but will drive all other howler wasps in the area into a screaming rage, giving them bonuses on attack and damage rolls against the affected creature, and allowing the aberrations to track the doused foe like they had blindsense. The pheremone's effects last for ten minutes, or until the victim washes it off.

[[folder:Huitzil]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_huitzil_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Animal (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Tiny dragonblooded avians who instinctively steal and hoard shiny trinkets.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: They are curious, "easily distracted and insatiably nosy."
* DragonAncestry: Huitzils are "drakken," creatures with a clear draconic ancestry, but whose dragon blood has diluted to the point that they lack their progenitor's supernatural powers. As such, they're classified as Animals (dragonblood) rather than lesser Dragons.
* {{Familiar}}: Some mages make familiars out of huitzils, using them to deliver touch-ranged spells, though the partnership is not without difficulty.
-->'''Naelan, Lord of the Uttercold:''' Upon further research, it has become quite evident that huitzil make challenging familiars due to their tendency to hoard any spell components that reflect too much light.
* FragileSpeedster: They're weak enough to most likely die in a single hit, but they're fast and evasive, resulting in a high flight speed and Armor Class.
* StickyFingers: They have a magpie-like obsession with shiny things, exacerbated by their draconic instinct to amass a hoard. Huitzils thus try and snatch any glittering baubles they come across, and their males will use these treasures to try and attract mates.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Huitzils eat mainly fruits supplemented by insects, but seem to enjoy hunting colorful butterflies in particular.
* WeNeedADistraction: Huitzils can take a "Distract" action in combat, squawking and flapping their wings in a creature's face, to impose a penalty on their attack rolls. They'll also use this strategy to collect treasure, with some huitzils causing a ruckus while another darts in to grab something shiny.

[[folder:Hydra]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hydra_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned
Many-headed reptiles famous for their regenerative powers, hydras mostly live as bestial predators in swamps.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Hebi-no-onna are totally self-interested, and the entire aim of the cults they form is to surround them with beautiful luxuries and provide them with doting servants to help them bathe, get dressed, arrange their hair, etc. But "they are more in love with themselves than any of their plans or goals," and won't hesitate to sacrifice their prized minions if it helps them escape a losing battle.
* PoisonousPerson: They can make two bite attacks with their arm-snakes each round, which delivers a [[NonHealthDamage Constitution-damaging poison]] in 3rd Edition, or one of eight different poisons in 2nd Edition, depending on which species of snake is up their sleeves. In addition, a hebi-no-onna can bite with her human mouth to deliver a poison that causes nightmarish hallucinations, leaving victims [[SupernaturalFearInducer cowering helplessly for several rounds.]]

* StalkerWithATestTube: Hebi-no-onna are exclusively female, and desire only healthy, handsome, and strong-willed mates to pass those traits on to their daughters. They'll thus seek out and capture such exceptional males, capture them, and break their spirits over several weeks until they finally cooperate. Once the father's work is done, he'll be [[BlackWidow ritualistically sacrificed]] in a grand ceremony attended by the rest of the hebi-no-onna's cult.

[[folder:Helmed Horror]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_helmed_horror_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Warrior constructs with uncommon intelligence and magical power.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Their 3rd Edition write-up notes that helmed horrors frequently outlive their masters and continue following their final orders, but keep interpreting those orders more and more broadly as their creators' binding magics fade.
* AnimatedArmor: A helmed horror is an intelligent construct resembling a suit of plate armor, the gaps of which reveal occasional flares of PureEnergy.
* ExactWords: Averted according to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', which states that a helmed horror is intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order's intent and its exact wording, seeking to fulfill the former instead of slavishly following the latter like most other constructs.
* {{Flight}}: They enjoy the benefit of a permanent ''air walk'' spell.
* LostTechnology: In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, helmed horrors are relics of the fallen kingdoms of Imaskar and Netheril, and the secrets of their construction have been lost. A sufficiently powerful wizard might have the resources to rediscover the method, but it is said that only the evilest of souls would be willing to pay the price for it.
* NoSell: They're resistant to magic in general, and furthermore, a helmed horror's creator can make the construct fully immune to three specific spells while building it.
* SpellBlade: In 3rd Edition, helmed horrors can use a free action to imbue their swords with a set combat enchantment: ''flaming burst'', ''keen'', ''speed'', etc.
* SuperSenses: 3rd Edition helmed horrors are under a constant ''see invisibility'' effect. 5th Edition instead gives them blindsight out to 60 feet, with the caveat that they're blind beyond this radius.

[[folder:Hippocampus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippocamp_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood (3E), NeutralGood (5E)

Intelligent aquatic horses prized as underwater mounts, and who gladly serve good causes.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippocampi feature in countless tales as guides and mounts for ocean-faring heroes.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Hippocampi are aquatic equines that travel in herds and can breath both air and water, and hold valued places in triton society.
* SapientSteed: They have human-level intelligence and can speak Aquan, but they're fairly simple creatures that want little more than to speed through the open water.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Hippcampi like to make challenges out of everyday events, and among themselves pass the time with marathon relay races or long-distance scavenger hunts. Winning is secondary to the joy of striving, for these creatures.

[[folder:Hippogriff]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 5 (4E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

Flying creatures that combine the features of horses and giant eagles.

* ArtEvolution: 3rd edition gave them a more physically unified look, with hooves that are modified bird claws and manes and tails of feathers, but later editions go back to the traditional "eagle in front and horse behind" version.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippogriffs can be trained to bear a rider, and are prized as mounts capable of flight and of being fearsome combatants in their own right. Their physical prowess and relatively even disposition and lower intelligence compared to a griffon or pegasus makes them particularly attractive for this role, and they're the most common flying mounts seen among civilized races.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: The classic creature with an eagle's claws, head and wings and a horse's hindquarters. Unlike the sapient griffons, hippogriffs are animals, and griffons sometimes prey on them. They're also popular flying mounts.

[[folder:Hoard Scarab]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoard_scarab_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Beetle-like creatures with a strong resemblance to coins when dormant, and who have a symbiotic relationship with dragons.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: With their legs tucked in against their carapaces, hoard scarabs can be mistaken for gold coins, and thus camouflage themselves amongst a dragon's other treasures.
* OrificeInvasion: 3rd Edition hoard scarabs can burrow into an opponent's flesh, dealing Constitution damage each round (more if it's a swarm making the attack). Unless the stricken victim is given a ''remove disease'' or ''heal'' spell, death is inevitable.
* SeeTheInvisible: Creatures outlined by a hoard scarab's magical glittering dust constantly shed blue light and cannot become invisible.
* TheSwarm: These tiny creatures are most dangerous as swarms of crawling, biting insects.
* TheSymbiote: Hoard scrabs have a mutually beneficial relationship with dragons. The scarabs clean the dragon's scales as they eat other vermin on the larger creature's hide (which doesn't hurt the dragon, due to their natural armor), and share the dragon's lair, acting as an additional layer of defense.
* TrackingSpell: Hoard scarabs in 5th Edition produce a magical dust that sticks to intruders and allows dragons to sense their location.

[[folder:Hobgoblin]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hobgoblin_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E, 5E) to 6 (warlord, 5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Cunning, disciplined and warlike, hobgoblins exist to subjugate others, and frequently bully their fellow goblinoids, the lesser goblins and bugbears, into serving with their legions as they march to their next conquest. See [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRaces the Playable Races subpage]] for more information about them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hollyphant]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Celestial (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3E), 5 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood

Celestials from the Wilderness of the Beastlands with the unlikely appearance of two-foot-long, gold-furred, winged elephants. They can be found throughout the Upper Planes, serving as messengers and helpers for good deities, or assisting other celestial agents with their tasks.

* EnemySummoner: Once per day, a hollphant can try to summon another hollyphant, an asura, or an avoral guardinal, with a 45% chance of success.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: Averted; hollyphants have feathered or iridescent insect wings in their Small form, and leathery wings in their Large mastodon form, but remain celestials no matter their shape.
* KillerRabbit: They look harmless or even comical, which has led to the downfall of countless evil creatures.
* MakeMeWannaShout: A hollyphant can unleash a trumpeting blast through its trunk to either deal sonic damage and stun those in a 60-foot-cone, or fill an equivalent space with sparkles of sunlight that deal heavy damage to fiends, undead and anything else vulnerable to holy water.
* NoSell: 3rd Edition hollyphants in their Small form gain a ''globe of invulnerability'' effect, rendering them immune to all spells or spell-like abilities of 4th level or lower, but they lose this benefit in their mastodon form.
* PsychicPowers: 3rd Edition hollyphants have both an array of spell-like abilities and psionic powers like ''blessed sight'', ''invisibility'', and ''suggestion''.
* SizeShifter: In 3rd Edition, a hollyphant can switch between two forms, a Small golden-furred elephant that weighs 60 pounds and a Large biepdal mastodon that weighs 1200 pounds.
* {{Telepathy}}: Hollyphants can't speak, but can communicate telepathically with any creature that has a language.

[[folder:Homunculus]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_homunculus_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E), 0 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Same as creator (3E), TrueNeutral (5E)

Tiny winged constructs created by mages as helpers or spies.
----
* ForcedSleep: Their bite attack does ScratchDamage at best, but carries a poison that can render an opponent unconscious.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Homunculi are made by an expensive alchemical recipe from clay, ash, mandrake root, spring water and the wizard's own blood and are living tools linked to their makers much like a {{Familiar}}.
* PsychicLink: A homunculus knows everything its creator does, and likewise its master senses everything a homunculus sees or hears, regardless of the distance between them, provided they're on the same plane of existence.
* {{Synchronization}}: A homonculus will expire if its master dies, and in 3rd Edition, the destruction of a homonculus dealt damage to its creator.

[[folder:Hook Horror]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hook_horror_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E, 5E), Unaligned (4E)

Intelligent pack hunters of the Underdark feared for their hook-like claws.

* AndroclesLion: Pointedly averted in their ''AD&D'' write-up, which notes that hook horrors [[LanguageEqualsThought don't even have a concept for "indebtness" or "gratitude."]] Other creatures are just meat, whatever they've done for the hook horror.
* MixAndMatchCritters: A hook horror has a head resembling a vulture's and the torso of an enormous beetle.
* MooksAteMyEquipment: In 3rd Edition, hook horrors can attempt to sunder a character's armor or shield without provoking an attack of opportunity.
* StarfishLanguage: Hook horrors communicate with one another by clacking and scraping their claws against stone, which sounds unintelligible to other creatures, but forms a complex language that can echo for miles through their home cave systems.
* SuperSenses: A hook horror has short-ranged darkvision, but their keen hearing gives them blindsight out to 60 feet.

[[folder:Hound of the Gloom]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hound_of_the_gloom_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Large, tentacled quadrupeds that have emerged from deep underground in the past decade to menace Underdark races.

* BeastOfBattle: Some evil subterranean races have taken up the practice of capturing young hounds to raise and train. If a pup is taken young enough, it accepts its new world easily, especially if it's well fed and allowed to fight.
* CombatTentacles: In addition to their bite and foreclaws, hounds of the gloom can attack with two large tentacles surrounding their heads, which have a reach of 10 feet and end in five-fingered hands with strong, sharp claws.
* ItCanThink: They have human-level intelligence, make cunning use of terrain in battle, and even have their own language.
* TheParalyzer: Their tentacle attacks carry a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison that can potentially leave victims paralyzed and helpless.
* WallCrawl: They can climb surfaces at half their normal speed, which they use to drop down on prey.

[[folder:Howler Wasp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_howler_wasp_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (standard), 5 (queen) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Dog-sized, wasp-like creatures with screaming simian faces.

* BewareMyStingerTail: Beyond their bite and claw attacks, howler wasps have stings that deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison. Female howler wasps can sting at will, while the rare males will die a few rounds afterward.
* BioweaponBeast: Howler wasps were created by the wizard Otiluke, who was trying to create some guard creatures in anticipation of an attack by slaadi. The howler wasps were his first attempt, which he judged a failure, but before Otiluke could properly dispose of them, the slaadi attacked and the aberrations escaped in the confusion.
* HiveMind: Surprisingly averted, unlike most insectoid monsters, hence why howler wasp patrols need to return to their nest to summon reinforcements.
* KillerGorilla[=/=]WickedWasps: They're giant stinging insects with baboon-like features, and just as unpleasant as that combination sounds. Howler wasps are so hateful and aggressive that they kill everything they meet, whether they need food or not. Worse, they live in nests containing over sixty of the things.
* LargeAndInCharge: Normal howler wasps are only 4 feet long, but their queens are Large creatures twice that size.
* MonstrousCannibalism: Howler wasps breed much more rapidly than their nests can support, so their queens and the healthiest larva routinely devour the weaker ones.
* TakingYouWithMe: If subjected to a CriticalHit or an attack that would reduce its hit points past 0, a howler wasp can immediately try and douse its foes with an inciting pheromone. This does no damage in itself, but will drive all other howler wasps in the area into a screaming rage, giving them bonuses on attack and damage rolls against the affected creature, and allowing the aberrations to track the doused foe like they had blindsense. The pheremone's effects last for ten minutes, or until the victim washes it off.

[[folder:Huitzil]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_huitzil_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Animal (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/3 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Tiny dragonblooded avians who instinctively steal and hoard shiny trinkets.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: They are curious, "easily distracted and insatiably nosy."
* DragonAncestry: Huitzils are "drakken," creatures with a clear draconic ancestry, but whose dragon blood has diluted to the point that they lack their progenitor's supernatural powers. As such, they're classified as Animals (dragonblood) rather than lesser Dragons.
* {{Familiar}}: Some mages make familiars out of huitzils, using them to deliver touch-ranged spells, though the partnership is not without difficulty.
-->'''Naelan, Lord of the Uttercold:''' Upon further research, it has become quite evident that huitzil make challenging familiars due to their tendency to hoard any spell components that reflect too much light.
* FragileSpeedster: They're weak enough to most likely die in a single hit, but they're fast and evasive, resulting in a high flight speed and Armor Class.
* StickyFingers: They have a magpie-like obsession with shiny things, exacerbated by their draconic instinct to amass a hoard. Huitzils thus try and snatch any glittering baubles they come across, and their males will use these treasures to try and attract mates.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Huitzils eat mainly fruits supplemented by insects, but seem to enjoy hunting colorful butterflies in particular.
* WeNeedADistraction: Huitzils can take a "Distract" action in combat, squawking and flapping their wings in a creature's face, to impose a penalty on their attack rolls. They'll also use this strategy to collect treasure, with some huitzils causing a ruckus while another darts in to grab something shiny.

[[folder:Hydra]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hydra_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4+ (3E), 8 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned
Many-headed reptiles famous for their regenerative powers, hydras mostly live as bestial predators in swamps.

[[folder:Harpoon Spider]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_harpoon_spider_3e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4, 9 (dread harpoon spider) (3E)\\

Arachnoid aberrations that reel in prey with organic harpoons, then impale victims upon their spiny carapaces for later consumption.

* GiantSpider: A harpoon spider superficially resembles a black widow that measures around 8 feet long and weighs nearly 1400 pounds. "Dread" harpoon spiders are even larger, certifiably Huge monsters 18 feet long weighing in at 7200 pounds.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The spines covering harpoon spiders will damage foes that attack them in melee, but their primary purpose is to secure prey. Harpoon spiders can impale a helpless victim upon their spiny bodies, dealing damage and letting the monster carry on normally without having to maintain a grapple.
* NonIndicativeName: Harpoon spiders are not spiders at all, possessing ten legs, human eyes, and hundreds of razor-sharp spines covering its body.
* PoisonousPerson: Their bites carry a poison that deals [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity damage]], potentially paralyzing victims who succumb to it.
* {{Sadist}}: They're fully sentient, capable of speech in Common and Undercommon, and have a morbid sense of humor as they play with victims "ripening" on their spines.
* WallCrawl: As spider-like creatures, harpoon spiders can move along webs without getting stuck, and scale sheer surfaces, but their climb speed is only half their standard movement speed.
* YouWillNotEvadeMe: A harpoon spider can launch its fangs up to 20 feet, then use leathery tendrils to drag any prey it catches straight to its maw.

[[folder:Harpy]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harpy_d&d.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:4e]]
->'''Classification:''' Monstrous Humanoid (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 4 (3E), 1 (5E)\\

Bird-elf women with a supernaturally alluring song, but evil natures.

* CompellingVoice: No matter their physical form, harpies have long had the ability to lure victims closer with an enthralling song, overlapping these harpies with mythological [[OurSirensAreDifferent sirens.]] Their 1st Edition ''Monster Manaul'' simply states that sirens ''are'' harpies that happen to live along coasts and prey upon sailors.
* FanDisservice: Their 3rd Edition ''Monster Manual'' art depicts them topless, but with the sagging bosom of an old woman.
* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: ''D&D'' has had harpies throughout its history as evil {{Monstrous Humanoid}}s with hypnotic singing voices, though their appearance has varied considerably. Similarly, their status as an AlwaysFemale OneGenderRace has fluctuated, from being always female and depending on parthenogenesis/crossbreeding with humanoid men/a combination of the two, to having males who are simply less common and/or expected to StayInTheKitchen.
** 2e harpies are ugly, resembling nasty-looking crone-like women who have the lower bodies and wings of vultures, but with beautiful, enrapturing voices.
** 3e harpies are, similarly, ugly creatures who combined the worst aspects of crones and vultures and contrast them with hypnotic voices. In 3.5, they become fully inhuman monsters with draconic legs and wings.
** 4e harpies take a swing into the GorgeousGorgon territory, with bird wings and claws but otherwise regular humanoid appearances. In the default ''TabletopGame/NentirVale'' setting, they’re given an origin as the descendants of an evil elf queen whose family misused magic to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting assume the form of birds]] in order to spy upon their tyrannized subjects. When their people revolted, the magic went haywire and trapped them as half-elf, half-bird beings.
** In 5th edition, harpies keep the CuteMonsterGirl looks, with human-like bodies but monstrous claws. They're also given a new origin story as an elven maiden who learned a beautiful song to woo the god Fenmarel Mestarine. When her trick didn't work, she got mad and used magic to turn herself into the first harpy, corrupting her love into a predatory hunger for the flesh of others.
* WingedHumanoid: Harpies largely resemble monstrous women with functional wings -- these are usually avian, but in 3.5 they're draconic instead.

[[folder:Helmed Horror]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_helmed_horror_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 10 (3E), 4 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral

Warrior constructs with uncommon intelligence and magical power.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Their 3rd Edition write-up notes that helmed horrors frequently outlive their masters and continue following their final orders, but keep interpreting those orders more and more broadly as their creators' binding magics fade.
* AnimatedArmor: A helmed horror is an intelligent construct resembling a suit of plate armor, the gaps of which reveal occasional flares of PureEnergy.
* ExactWords: Averted according to the 5E ''Monster Manual'', which states that a helmed horror is intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order's intent and its exact wording, seeking to fulfill the former instead of slavishly following the latter like most other constructs.
* {{Flight}}: They enjoy the benefit of a permanent ''air walk'' spell.
* LostTechnology: In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, helmed horrors are relics of the fallen kingdoms of Imaskar and Netheril, and the secrets of their construction have been lost. A sufficiently powerful wizard might have the resources to rediscover the method, but it is said that only the evilest of souls would be willing to pay the price for it.
* NoSell: They're resistant to magic in general, and furthermore, a helmed horror's creator can make the construct fully immune to three specific spells while building it.
* SpellBlade: In 3rd Edition, helmed horrors can use a free action to imbue their swords with a set combat enchantment: ''flaming burst'', ''keen'', ''speed'', etc.
* SuperSenses: 3rd Edition helmed horrors are under a constant ''see invisibility'' effect. 5th Edition instead gives them blindsight out to 60 feet, with the caveat that they're blind beyond this radius.

[[folder:Hippocampus]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippocamp_5e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 1/2 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticGood (3E), NeutralGood (5E)

Intelligent aquatic horses prized as underwater mounts, and who gladly serve good causes.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippocampi feature in countless tales as guides and mounts for ocean-faring heroes.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Hippocampi are aquatic equines that travel in herds and can breath both air and water, and hold valued places in triton society.
* SapientSteed: They have human-level intelligence and can speak Aquan, but they're fairly simple creatures that want little more than to speed through the open water.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Hippcampi like to make challenges out of everyday events, and among themselves pass the time with marathon relay races or long-distance scavenger hunts. Winning is secondary to the joy of striving, for these creatures.

[[folder:Hippogriff]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hippogriff_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Magical Beast (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 2 (3E), 5 (4E), 1 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E), Unaligned (4E-5E)

Flying creatures that combine the features of horses and giant eagles.

* ArtEvolution: 3rd edition gave them a more physically unified look, with hooves that are modified bird claws and manes and tails of feathers, but later editions go back to the traditional "eagle in front and horse behind" version.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Hippogriffs can be trained to bear a rider, and are prized as mounts capable of flight and of being fearsome combatants in their own right. Their physical prowess and relatively even disposition and lower intelligence compared to a griffon or pegasus makes them particularly attractive for this role, and they're the most common flying mounts seen among civilized races.
* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: The classic creature with an eagle's claws, head and wings and a horse's hindquarters. Unlike the sapient griffons, hippogriffs are animals, and griffons sometimes prey on them. They're also popular flying mounts.

[[folder:Hoard Scarab]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hoard_scarab_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Vermin (3E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (individual), 5 (swarm) (3E); 1/8 (individual), 2 (swarm) (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Unaligned

Beetle-like creatures with a strong resemblance to coins when dormant, and who have a symbiotic relationship with dragons.

* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: With their legs tucked in against their carapaces, hoard scarabs can be mistaken for gold coins, and thus camouflage themselves amongst a dragon's other treasures.
* OrificeInvasion: 3rd Edition hoard scarabs can burrow into an opponent's flesh, dealing Constitution damage each round (more if it's a swarm making the attack). Unless the stricken victim is given a ''remove disease'' or ''heal'' spell, death is inevitable.
* SeeTheInvisible: Creatures outlined by a hoard scarab's magical glittering dust constantly shed blue light and cannot become invisible.
* TheSwarm: These tiny creatures are most dangerous as swarms of crawling, biting insects.
* TheSymbiote: Hoard scrabs have a mutually beneficial relationship with dragons. The scarabs clean the dragon's scales as they eat other vermin on the larger creature's hide (which doesn't hurt the dragon, due to their natural armor), and share the dragon's lair, acting as an additional layer of defense.
* TrackingSpell: Hoard scarabs in 5th Edition produce a magical dust that sticks to intruders and allows dragons to sense their location.

[[folder:Hobgoblin]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hobgoblin_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Humanoid (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1/2 (3E, 5E) to 6 (warlord, 5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulEvil

Cunning, disciplined and warlike, hobgoblins exist to subjugate others, and frequently bully their fellow goblinoids, the lesser goblins and bugbears, into serving with their legions as they march to their next conquest. See [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsRaces the Playable Races subpage]] for more information about them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hollyphant]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_5e.png]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:3e]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hollyphant_3e.png[[/labelnote]] ]]
->'''Classification:''' Outsider (3E), Celestial (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 8 (3E), 5 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' LawfulGood

Celestials from the Wilderness of the Beastlands with the unlikely appearance of two-foot-long, gold-furred, winged elephants. They can be found throughout the Upper Planes, serving as messengers and helpers for good deities, or assisting other celestial agents with their tasks.

* EnemySummoner: Once per day, a hollphant can try to summon another hollyphant, an asura, or an avoral guardinal, with a 45% chance of success.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: Averted; hollyphants have feathered or iridescent insect wings in their Small form, and leathery wings in their Large mastodon form, but remain celestials no matter their shape.
* KillerRabbit: They look harmless or even comical, which has led to the downfall of countless evil creatures.
* MakeMeWannaShout: A hollyphant can unleash a trumpeting blast through its trunk to either deal sonic damage and stun those in a 60-foot-cone, or fill an equivalent space with sparkles of sunlight that deal heavy damage to fiends, undead and anything else vulnerable to holy water.
* NoSell: 3rd Edition hollyphants in their Small form gain a ''globe of invulnerability'' effect, rendering them immune to all spells or spell-like abilities of 4th level or lower, but they lose this benefit in their mastodon form.
* PsychicPowers: 3rd Edition hollyphants have both an array of spell-like abilities and psionic powers like ''blessed sight'', ''invisibility'', and ''suggestion''.
* SizeShifter: In 3rd Edition, a hollyphant can switch between two forms, a Small golden-furred elephant that weighs 60 pounds and a Large biepdal mastodon that weighs 1200 pounds.
* {{Telepathy}}: Hollyphants can't speak, but can communicate telepathically with any creature that has a language.

[[folder:Homunculus]]
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_homunculus_5e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:349:5e]]
->'''Classification:''' Construct (3E, 5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (3E), 0 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' Same as creator (3E), TrueNeutral (5E)

Tiny winged constructs created by mages as helpers or spies.
----
* ForcedSleep: Their bite attack does ScratchDamage at best, but carries a poison that can render an opponent unconscious.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Homunculi are made by an expensive alchemical recipe from clay, ash, mandrake root, spring water and the wizard's own blood and are living tools linked to their makers much like a {{Familiar}}.
* PsychicLink: A homunculus knows everything its creator does, and likewise its master senses everything a homunculus sees or hears, regardless of the distance between them, provided they're on the same plane of existence.
* {{Synchronization}}: A homonculus will expire if its master dies, and in 3rd Edition, the destruction of a homonculus dealt damage to its creator.

[[folder:Hook Horror]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hook_horror_5e.png]]

->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E), Natural Beast (4E), Monstrosity (5E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 6 (3E), 3 (5E)\\
'''Alignment:''' TrueNeutral (3E, 5E), Unaligned (4E)

Intelligent pack hunters of the Underdark feared for their hook-like claws.

* AndroclesLion: Pointedly averted in their ''AD&D'' write-up, which notes that hook horrors [[LanguageEqualsThought don't even have a concept for "indebtness" or "gratitude."]] Other creatures are just meat, whatever they've done for the hook horror.
* MixAndMatchCritters: A hook horror has a head resembling a vulture's and the torso of an enormous beetle.
* MooksAteMyEquipment: In 3rd Edition, hook horrors can attempt to sunder a character's armor or shield without provoking an attack of opportunity.
* StarfishLanguage: Hook horrors communicate with one another by clacking and scraping their claws against stone, which sounds unintelligible to other creatures, but forms a complex language that can echo for miles through their home cave systems.
* SuperSenses: A hook horror has short-ranged darkvision, but their keen hearing gives them blindsight out to 60 feet.

[[folder:Hound of the Gloom]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_hound_of_the_gloom_3e.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 9 (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' NeutralEvil

Large, tentacled quadrupeds that have emerged from deep underground in the past decade to menace Underdark races.

* BeastOfBattle: Some evil subterranean races have taken up the practice of capturing young hounds to raise and train. If a pup is taken young enough, it accepts its new world easily, especially if it's well fed and allowed to fight.
* CombatTentacles: In addition to their bite and foreclaws, hounds of the gloom can attack with two large tentacles surrounding their heads, which have a reach of 10 feet and end in five-fingered hands with strong, sharp claws.
* ItCanThink: They have human-level intelligence, make cunning use of terrain in battle, and even have their own language.
* TheParalyzer: Their tentacle attacks carry a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison that can potentially leave victims paralyzed and helpless.
* WallCrawl: They can climb surfaces at half their normal speed, which they use to drop down on prey.

[[folder:Howler Wasp]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d&d_howler_wasp_3e.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3e]]
->'''Classification:''' Aberration (3E)\\
'''Challenge Rating:''' 1 (standard), 5 (queen) (3E)\\
'''Alignment:''' ChaoticEvil

Dog-sized, wasp-like creatures with screaming simian faces.

* BewareMyStingerTail: Beyond their bite and claw attacks, howler wasps have stings that deliver a [[NonHealthDamage Dexterity-damaging]] poison. Female howler wasps can sting at will, while the rare males will die a few rounds afterward.
* BioweaponBeast: Howler wasps were created by the wizard Otiluke, who was trying to create some guard creatures in anticipation of an attack by slaadi. The howler wasps were his first attempt, which he judged a failure, but before Otiluke could properly dispose of them, the slaadi attacked and the aberrations escaped in the confusion.
* HiveMind: Surprisingly averted, unlike most insectoid monsters, hence why howler wasp patrols need to return to their nest to summon reinforcements.
* KillerGorilla[=/=]WickedWasps: They're giant stinging insects with baboon-like features, and just as unpleasant as that combination sounds. Howler wasps are so hateful and aggressive that they kill everything they meet, whether they need food or not. Worse, they live in nests containing over sixty of the things.
* LargeAndInCharge: Normal howler wasps are only 4 feet long, but their queens are Large creatures twice that size.
* MonstrousCannibalism: Howler wasps breed much more rapidly than their nests can support, so their queens and the healthiest larva routinely devour the weaker ones.
* TakingYouWithMe: If subjected to a CriticalHit or an attack that would reduce its hit points past 0, a howler wasp can immediately try and douse its foes with an inciting pheromone. This does no damage in itself, but will drive all other howler wasps in the area into a screaming rage, giving them bonuses on attack and damage rolls against the affected creature, and allowing the aberrations to track the doused foe like they had blindsense. The pheremone's effects last for ten minutes, or until the victim washes it off.