AD&D Monster Manual part 23

I said Wednesday, okay, I just didn't say which Wednesday.

Hippopotamus: The only previous mention of Hippos in D&D was in the Conjure Animals spell. With 8 Hit Dice and a damage range of 3-18, they’re a pretty tough monster, and they are said to be aggressive despite being herbivores. And in real life, they are responsible for a lot of human deaths. Any animal that can tear a low-level party to shreds like this one can isn't to be sneezed at.

Hobgoblin: Hobgoblins, which first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2, have not changed at all statistically. But they have been greatly expanded on, because the only description that OD&D gave for them was that they were bigger goblins with a bonus to morale. The Monster Manual gives them a tribal lifestyle (with such names as Leg Breakers, Marrow Suckers and Slow Killers), stats for leaders and chieftains, details of their lairs (including the use of carnivorous apes), what weapons they use, their physical description, and a hatred of elves. The militaristic bent that they will have in later editions isn’t really evident here, although they are illustrated in their traditional samurai-helmet look. They are said to always keep their weapons polished, which I guess is more military discipline than most humanoids show. But like most of the humanoid monsters (kobolds, goblins, orcs), at this point they’re basically the same monster with a different amount of Hit Dice.

Homonculous: This monster first appeared in Supplement I. Statistically there is a major change, as its Hit Dice drop from 6 to 2. That’s a big shift, but it makes sense to me given how small these guys are. Their Armor Class has imprived from 7 to 6, but that’s hardly enough to offset the hit point drop. Their bite attack now has a duration for the sleep that it causes. They now use the same saving throw values as their master ( and given what happens to the magic-user when their homonculous dies, a lot of PCs will be breathing a sigh if relief). They can also be controlled at a greater range than before – 48” as opposed to 36”. The process of creating a Homonculous hasn’t changed much. It still requires an alchemist, who needs 1-4 weeks and a pint of the magic-user’s blood. But the cost is now variable, so it could be more or less than the 1,000 gp it required before. And the M-U must now cast mending, mirror image and wizard eye, whereas before he didn’t need to cast any spells.

Horse: Horses first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2, and they’re a pretty important part of the game. The types detailed here are Draft, Heavy, Light, Medium, Pony, and Wild. The first four of those were in OD&D. Ponies have only been briefly mentioned in Swords & Spells, of all places. Wild Horses were in the wilderness encounter tables in Supplement III. Draft Horses gain an extra hit dice, and a damage range (which they didn’t have before). Heavy Horses have gotten slightly faster and gained a few hit points. Light Horses are unchanged, and Mediums have gained a solitary extra hit point. Ponies and Wild Horses get stats for the first time. It is mentioned that ponies can be trained for war, so 3rd Edition's war ponies do have some precedent. Figures are given for how much horses can carry, with one figure showing how much they can carry before being encumbered, and another being their maximum load. The first figure given matches closely to the maximum load figures for horses in OD&D, which means that a horse can now carry almost double what it was able to before.

Hydra: Hydras were one of the toughest monsters that first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2. The only statistical change they have here is that they are slightly slower. They are much the same as before, with the notable difference that each of their heads now has 8 hit points instead of 6 (an effect of using 1d8 for monster hit dice now). Otherwise it’s much the same.

The Lernaean Hydra appears for the first time. This is the version from the story of Hercules, the one that grows two heads every time you cut one off.

Pyrohydras also make their debut, being hydras with a fiery breath weapon.

Hyena: Hyenas first appeared in the wilderness encounter tables from Supplement III. They have more Hit Dice than I was expecting, but are unremarkable otherwise, having no special abilities to mark them out. Hyaenodons make their D&D debut here, but they are just extra big hyenas.

And Now a Word from Our Sponsors

If you'll indulge me for a short while, I'd like to do a spot of self-promotion.  In addition to my love of D&D, I have an even deeper and more abiding love of super-hero comics.  What that means is that while I have one D&D-related blog, I have two comics-related blogs.

The first is here at http://marvelindexes.blogspot.com/.  This is my Marvel Comics site, in which I do detailed issue descriptions and chronologies and other incredibly nerdy stuff.  At the moment I'm running through the Ant-Man issues of Tales to Astonish, which shows you how obscure I'm willing to go with this.

The other is at http://comicsodyssey.blogspot.com/.  This one os much more general, and sort of similar to what I'm doing here at Save or Die, actually.  I've started with the beginnings of DC Comics in 1935, and I'm reading everything I can get my hands on from that point forward, encompassing DC, Marvel and everything else that I find of interest.  I've just started on the year 1938, and am closing in one the first appearance of Superman.

So that's it, shameless plug over.  I'll be back on Wednesday with my next installment from the Monster Manual.

AD&D Monster Manual part 22

Halfling: Yes, I think at this point we can safely declare the use of the term ‘hobbit’ in D&D to be dead and buried. Halflings first appeared in OD&D Vol. 1, but they did not appear in Vol. 2, making this the first time that they get their own monster entry (they didn’t even get one in the Holmes Basic Set). They get the usual treatment for humanoids, with descriptions of their arms and armour, as well as the capabilities of their leaders. Their special abilities remain much the same, although their accuracy with slings now also applies to bows as well.

Of most significance is the introduction of the Halfling sub-races, Hairfoots, Tallfellows and Stouts.  Hairfoots are the standard variety of halfling.  Tallfellows, as their names would suggest, are taller and slimmer than regular hobbits, and sometimes pal around with elves. If they are strong enough, they can attain 5th or 6th level as Fighters (remembering that regular Halflings can only reach 4th). Stouts are the opposite, being smaller and friendlier with dwarves. A Stout with 18 Strength can reach 5th level as a fighter, and they all get infravision.

Harpies: Harpies first appeared in Supplement I. Whereas before they were said to have the lower bodies of eagles, now they have the lower bodies of vultures (which I guess is more evil-sounding). Their special abilities are the same, being a song that draws in any victim that fails a save, and a touch that charms them. They torture and eat their charmed victims, but get this: ‘What they do not want, they foul with excrement’. That is hardcore Chaotic Evil behaviour.

Hell Hound: Hell Hounds are fire-breathing dogs that first appeared in Supplement I. They have a couple of statistical changes. Their Hit Dice used to range from 3 to 7, but now it is 4 to 7. Their damage range has also been increased, from 1-6 to 1-10. We learn that they are not native to the Prime Material Plane, though it’s not specified where they do come from. (I think Hell is a pretty safe bet.) Their breath weapon now gets a range of 1”, but it still does a measly 1 point of damage per Hit Dice. But now that I think of it, they have no limit to how often they can use it, and it seems to me that they can do so even in the same round they use their bite attack, so that is actually pretty good. Their stealth and heightened senses are also better defined now, with actual numbers to back them up.

Herd Animal: Herd Animals first showed up as a result on the Wilderness Encounter Tables in Supplement III. It’s a wide-ranging category that includes such things as reindeer, oxen, giraffes, and antelopes. They’re not usually aggressive, but if they stampede your character you will be killed instantly, so don’t go pissing them off. Still it’s hard to take that picture of the dudes fleeing a lone rampaging giraffe at all seriously.

Hippocampus: It’s a new monster, but don’t get too excited, because this is pretty much just a bigger, smarter seahorse. Tritons ride them, and that’s about the only thing here of interest.

Hippogriff: Hippogriffs (just like griffons, but with horse parts instead of lion parts) first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2. They have a very minor statistical change, with their Hit Dice increasing from 3+1 to 3+3. They also can have treasure in a lair, which they didn’t have before. They don’t get much more detail than they already had, except for the ubiquitous open market prices for their eggs.

AD&D Monster Manual part 21

Gorgons: Gorgons, which first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2, are still metal-skinned bulls with a petrifying breath weapon, and that makes them among my all-time favourite monsters. They haven’t changed at all statistically, although their breath weapon now has a more well-defined area of effect, and a limit on the number of times it can be used in a day. The entry here is actually quite sparse, as though Gary realised that a metal-skinned bull was already rad enough. We don’t need any ecology nonsense detracting from it’s majestic awesomeness.

Gray Ooze: Gray Ooze also made its first appearance in OD&D Vol. 2. They now have a value for Number Appearing, whereas before this was blank. Thier Hit Dice has increased slightly from 3 to 3+3. Their immunities haven’t changed much, except that they are now specifically immune to all spells except those that use lightning. They are still subject to damage from normal weapons, but those weapons are now said to possibly corrode or break. They are also said to strike like snakes when attacking, which was not detailed before. I’m also really happy to see that they’ve retained their latent psychic abilities from Supplement III, and can hit anyone who uses psionics near them with a psychic crush. There’s something about psionically-powered slimes that really resonates with me.

Green Slime: There are no changes to the basics of green slime, although their relative deadliness to OD&D can depend on your interpretation of the rules. In AD&D, it takes a slime 1-4 melee rounds to turn any creature it contacts into green slime (no resurrection possible!). In OD&D, it took one turn, but the use of word turn was ambiguous in those rules. It could mean ten combat rounds, or it could mean a single round, and there’s a world of difference between the two.  As usual, I will probably interpret the rules to be the most fair to the players, but it's a moot point once we get to AD&D anyway.  Oh, and green slimes are specifically said to be able to sense vibrations and drop on people passing underneath, so thay are at least a little more of a threat now.

Griffon: The only change to griffons is that their Number Appearing has decreased from 2-16 to 2-12. There are also some extra details about whether their young will be present in a nest, because Gary has thrown in the option of taking them and selling them for thousands of gold pieces.

Groaning Spirit: The only mention of a Groaning Spirit in previous D&D books was in Supplement III, under the description for the Iron Flask of Tuerny the Merciless. But that reference to a demon or devil of small power has no connection to this new monster, more commonly known as the Banshee. As far as undead go they have an unusually specific origin, being the spirits of evil female elves, something we’re assured is very rare.  (Although, come to think of it, that describes pretty much the entirety of dark elf civilisation.  Does every female drow become a banshee after death?)  They have the usual raft of undead immunities, and can’t be harmed by non-magical weapons. Their main attack is a wail that kills everything within 30 feet that doesn’t make its saving throw. An exorcise spell will kill one outright, but just for fun I’m going to check the range on that – and as I suspected, it is 10 feet, so your cleric will have to get well within that banshee’s wail to get this spell off.

AD&D Monster Manual Part 20

Golem: There are four types of golems detailed here: flesh, stone, iron and clay. The first three were introduced in Supplement I, and the clay golem was first seen in The Strategic Review #4. Golems are still immune to non-magical weapons, but now any magical creature with hit dice equal to or greater than the golem can successfully attack it.

Clay Golem: Clay Golems begin with a significant change, as their AC worsens from 2 to 7. This makes perfect sense to me, because clay isn’t exactly renowned for its protective properties, and they really shouldn't have an AC equivalent to the Iron Golem. Their damage range has changed slightly; it was 4-32, and now it is 3-30. A 17th level lawful good cleric is now required to create one, whereas before the level was 15th and the alignment was lawful. Even so, now it is stated that a lower-level cleric can do so with the right magical item. More spells are needed for the process as well; before it was raise dead, animate object and commune, and now it is resurrection, animate objects, commune, prayer and bless. To me the lower level spells that have been added feel a bit redundant, because any cleric that is casting resurrection will have no trouble with the weaker spells. The ritual now requires a massive outlay of at least 50,000 gp, whereas before you could get away with under 20,000 gp if you were lucky (part of the costs were randomly determined).

There’s still a chance for the clay golem to be “imbued with a chaotic evil spirit” – a much more evocative description than the event had before – but instead of a flat 1% each round, it is now a cumulative chance. So your clay golem is absolutely guaranteed to go berserk eventually.

And now we come to the most controversial sentence in the entry: “Damage inflicted upon living matter by a clay golem is only repairable by means of a healing spell from a cleric of 17th or greater level.” Yes, that means what it says. If you get damaged by a clay golem, that damage is permanent until you can find a 17th level cleric to heal it. It seems incredibly unfair, and I know of a lot of people who insist that the rule must be some kind of mistake. To them I say shenanigans. Suck up that hit point damage or find a high-level cleric, because some monsters are just plain dangerous.

The golem now attacks with 11 hit dice instead of 12, but it can still cast haste upon itself (and will now automatically do so if it goes berserk). They are still immune to all weapons except those that are blunt and magical. A move earth spell will still drive them back, and now it also deals a load of damage. Whereas before a disintegrate spell just paralysed them for a round, now it slows their movement by 50% and deals damage also. In addition, the earthquake spell now affects them, paralysing them and dealing massive damage.

I think most of the changes to the Clay Golem’s stats can be attributed to someone trying to strengthen the creature’s connection to that chaotic evil spirit. They were trying to create a more powerful creature, and they did so, but the cost is a greater chance for it to be possessed. Them’s the breaks!

Flesh Golem: Flesh Golems haven’t changed at all statistically. They are given a lot more detail, though, most notably that the means of creating one is described for the first time (it’s the first time that Iron and Stone Golems get this description as well). It requires a 14th level magic-user to cast wish, polymorph any object, geas, protection from normal missiles and strength, as well as the expenditure of 40,000 gp and one month of game time. They also now have the same chance as a clay golem to go berserk, which was not present before. At least with Flesh Golems there’s a decent chance that the creator can regain control of it, which cannot be done with a Clay Golem. Otherwise they have the same immunity to normal weapons, are still slowed by fire and cold, and are healed by lightning.

Iron Golem: Iron Golems’ AC has worsened from 2 to 3, but on the plus side they are slightly faster than before, and their damage range has increased from 4-32 to 4-40. Their creation requirements are detailed, needing an 18th level magic-user to cast wish, polymorph any object, geas and cloud kill, and to spend 80,000 gp and 3 months game time. And these guys are a good investment, because they won’t go nuts like the previous two types. They are still immune to weapons of less than +3 enchantment, are slowed by lightning and healed by fire. The only change is that it is explicitly stated that they are affected by rust monsters, although there's no indication of exactly how long it takes a rust monster to destroy one.

Stone Golem: Stone Golems haven’t changed a bit statistically. To create one you need a 16th level magic-user to cast wish, polymorph any object, geas and slow, and to spend 60,000 gp and 2 months of game time. The golem can still cast a slow spell on an opponent, but only every second round instead of every round. You’ll still need a +2 weapon or better to hurt one. They are no longer slowed by fire spells, but a rock to mud spell now has the same effect. Mud to rock still heals all damage the golem has taken. More interestingly, stone to flesh makes it temporarily vulnerable to normal attacks.

And, I’m done for today. You might have noticed a lack of updates lately. That’s been partly due to the holidays, but mostly due to a general lack of interest in D&D. Without actually being able to play the game (and I haven’t for a couple of years now) it’s hard to maintain my enthusiasm. The good news is that I’m in the initial stages of getting my regular game going again, so hopefully there’s some game-play in my future.

AD&D Monster Manual part 19

Gnoll: Although these guys haven’t changed very much at all statistically, just about everything else in their entry is new. We learn that they live in loosely organised bands that occasionally form together to fight a common foe. They have leaders and chieftains with extra hit points, and also travel with their females and young (meaning that they procreate in the usual fashion). There’s no mention of them being a cross between gnomes and trolls here, as there was in OD&D. Gnolls are said to use trolls and hyenadons as guards. As weapons they favour battle axes, morning stars and two-handed swords. Although strong, they’re lazy. They only live for about 35 years. And most importantly, we get the first physical description of them as hyena-headed humanoids.

I’m still going with the gnome/troll hybrid idea in my game, as nothing given here contradicts it. I suppose that was the ancient origin of the race, and they were able to breed true despite their artificial beginnings.

Gnome: Again, while gnomes are unchanged statistically they receive a whole lot more detail than they had in OD&D. There’s a long breakdown of the NPC types that will accompany large bands, and it should be noted here that gnomes can become Fighters or Clerics. Gnomes typically use short swords, clubs and spears, and the description of their armour as leather covered in rings or studs is the first mention in the game of studded leather, or possibly ring mail. Their lairs are now often guarded by badgers, giant badgers, or wolverines. They still get pretty much the same special abilities as dwarves. There are also rumours of gnome magic-users, which I guess foreshadows their ability to become illusionists. They have brown skin, white hair, and live to about 600.

That gnomes are described here as having PC classes is pretty significant.  They haven't yet been presented as a PC race in D&D to this point, and this is the first inkling that they'll get the full treatment in the AD&D Player's Handbook.

Giant Goat: So far, Giant Goats have only appeared in the wilderness encounter tables from Supplement III. They get stats here for the first time, and their main thing is that they deal a lot of damage, even more so when they charge. They can be tamed in rare cases and used as steeds, which is pretty cool. I kind of like the idea of having bugbears ride around on these things, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for any races that are said to hang out with giant goats.  When I get to the inevitable goat-headed humanoids, I'll probably have them mounted on the giant goats.

Goblin: Like all the humanoids, goblins get a lot more detail than they did in OD&D. There’s the usual description of leaders and chieftains, but the assertion in OD&D that every goblin tribe has a king is unfortunately not present. They are said to ride huge wolves, though, which is always something I’ve loved about goblins. They have females and young, which distances them from their fairy tale origins significantly, I feel. We learn that they are decent miners, and can note unusual construction 25% of the time, like dwarves. Their skin ranges from yellow to red, and they only live for about 50 years.

So in the early stages of my campaign, every goblin tribe’s leader will be claiming to be king of the goblin race. By this point, it seems that won’t be the case, so I guess one of them won out. An article in an issue of The Dragon had an off-hand mention of the Goblin Wars, so I’m going to tie these together. The Goblin Wars, fought between many different tribes of goblins, started decades before the beginning of the campaign, and will end with a single goblin king at around the point I incorporate the Monster Manual.

Merry Christmas, all

This one is for commentor Dwight Divine, who was looking for the Christmas message on the back cover of The Dragon #11.  Here it is!  A hearty 'merry Christmas' from the crew at TSR circa 1978, and a hearty BAH HUMBUG from me.

AD&D Monster Manual part 18

Giants: There are six types of giants detailed in the Monster Manual: Cloud Giants, Fire Giants, Frost Giants, Hill Giants, Stone Giants and Storm Giants. The first five debuted in OD&D, while Storm Giants were first seen in Supplement I.

The first thing that leaps to my attention is that giants are said to have Strength scores ranging from 19 to 25. This is the first time we have seen mention of ability scores greater than 18. I don’t think these scores get detailed until the Player’s Handbook, but they're factored into the giants' stats in a vague sort of fashion.

There’s a method given here for determining the stats of young giants. You simply roll percentile dice, and the percentage rolled is how close to fully grown the giant is. Their hit points and damage are adjusted by the percentage rolled. This seems like a good enough solution to work for just about any monster, and I’m going to use it for monsters where this stuff is not already detailed (i.e. dragons have the whole age category thing going on, so I wouldn’t do it for them).

Giants have gotten poorer on average, it seems. In OD&D, a giant always carried with it a sack containing 1000 to 6000 gold pieces. Now they carry 1000 to 6000 coins, which could be anything from copper to silver to gold to platinum.

Cloud Giant: Cloud Giants are now encountered in smaller groups than they were in OD&D, have a better Armor Class, move faster, and have just a few more hit points on average. In OD&D they were either Neutral or Chaotic, but now they are Neutral with either good or evil tendencies.

Giants were pretty sparsely detailed in OD&D, so we get a lot of new info here. Firstly, we learn that some Cloud Giants actually live on clouds, which cements them as being inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk. In OD&D all giants had a chance to have pets, those being hydras, bears and wolves. These pets have now been individualised for each type of giant, and Cloud Giants get spotted lions. A specific range and damage are provided for the giant’s stone throwing ability, and they can now catch any large stones hurled at them (this applies to all the other giants as well). While previously Cloud Giants had been said to have a keen sense of smell, that has now been translated into a mechanical bonus, as they are very hard to surprise. And logically, given that 10% of Cloud Giants live in the sky, they can now levitate themselves. We also get a physical description for Cloud Giants; they have blue skin and silver hair.

Fire Giant: Fire Giants have a slightly better Armor Class, but are otherwise statistically similar. Neutral or Chaotic in OD&D, they are now Lawful Evil. They are still immune to fire (and this includes red dragon breath, so I’d extend it to pretty much any fire there is). Their pets of choice are hell hounds. They have black skin and red beards.

Frost Giant: Frost Giants have a very small amount of extra hit points, and their alignment has changed from Neutral or Chaotic to Chaotic Evil. They are also a little shorter on average (15’ instead of 18’). They keep winter wolves as pets. They’re immune to all cold attacks, including dragon breath, just like they were in OD&D. They have dead white skin and blue or yellow beards.

Hill Giant: Hill Giants now appear in greater numbers, and get a couple of extra hit points. They’re also a little shorter on average than they were (10½ feet instead of 12). As guards they keep dire wolves, giant lizards, or ogres. These guys are coloured pretty much like humans, and that’s basically what they are – very big dumb humans with clubs.

Stone Giant: Stone Giants have gotten a major boost to Armor Class – from 4 to 0. It looks like the ‘Stone’ part is starting to apply literally. They could be Neutral or Chaotic in OD&D, but now their alignment is listed as Neutral. Like most of the other giants, they’ve shrunk on average, from 15 feet tom 12 feet tall. They keep cave bears as pets. In OD&D Stone Giants used the heavy catapult rules for stone throwing, as opposed to the regular catapult that all the other giants used. Here they’ve retained their rock-throwing proficiency, getting a better range and damage than everyone else. They’re also better at catching rocks than the others as well. And I like how they are described as playful, like they throw rocks at people just for kicks (it reminds me of the Stone Giant scene from The Hobbit, actually). They have gray-brown skin that helps them blend into rocky surroundings, but aren’t given a surprise bonus or anything for it.

Storm Giant: Storm Giants are now encountered in smaller groups, but they have a better Armor Class and a few more hit points. Their alignment has changed from Lawful to Chaotic Good. They’re shorter on average than they were, going from 24 feet to 21 feet. They keep rocs and griffons as pets, and may even use a roc as a mount. Some storm giants live underwater, and they may have sea lions. Surprisingly, storm giants couldn’t cast lightning bolts in OD&D – but here they can summon an 8d6 bolt once per day. They also get some other new abilities: levitate, predict weather, call lightning, control winds and weather summoning (some of these replace the giant’s old Control Weather ability, which I guess is a spell that doesn’t have that name or doesn't exist in AD&D). They’re now immune to electrical attacks. Physically, they have green or purple skin, with green, blue or purple hair.

AD&D Monster Manual part 17

Giant Gar: Gar were first mentioned in OD&D as companions for Nixies.  And I tell you, the stats here make any encounter with Nixies a darn sight deadlier.  Giant Gars can also swallow opponents whole on an attack roll of 20, with a 5% chance per round that the swallowed character will die.
Gargoyles: Gargoyles first appeared in OD&D.  Statistically, there are a few minor changes, but nothing noteworthy.  They're still super-aggressive, even more so than before - instead of a 75% chance, they now have a 90% chance to attack anything they meet.  And now they like to torture their prey to death, so gargoyles aren't getting any more pleasant as the game progresses.

Kapaocinths get a mention. They were introduced in Supplement II, along with a whole host of other superfluous aquatic variations of already existing monsters.  We learn that they dwell in caves in shallow waters.

Gas Spores: It's another 'gotcha' monster designed by Gary to trick his players.  A gas spore is a mindless floating sphere that resembles a beholder.  If struck, it explodes and deals 6d6 damage to anyone within 20 feet.  That's the part I remember.  What I never knew is that if one touches you, it injects you with tiny 'rhizomes' that grow throughout your body and kill you unless you get a cure disease within 24 hours.  If you die, your body sprouts a lot of baby gas spores.  Awesome - I love monsters that turn the PCs into more monsters.

Gas spores are very cool, but their effectiveness has waned over the years, because every player's first instict upon seeing a beholder now is to think that it's a gas spore.  That's probably their best use now - to lull players into a false sense of security before you unleash the real beholders on them.

Gelatinous Cube: Gelatinous Cubes were first mentioned in OD&D, but they didn't get stats until Supplement I.  They now get a greater chance to surprise opponents, and their 'anesthetizing' power now gets a duration.  Cubes used to be immune to cold, but now if they fail a save vs. a cold attack they take 1d4 damage and are slowed.  They also get explicit immunity to sleep and hold spells now.  Oh, and the aquatic Gelatinous Cubes mentioned in Supplement II are not to be seen here.

Ghast: I'm kind of shocked that Ghasts are making their first appearance here.  A ghast is like a ghoul, but tougher.  It has more hit dice, and the same paralysing touch (that even works on elves).  Their main ability is their stench, which causes anyone who fails a save vs. poison to attack at -2.  They have the standard undead immunities, but cold iron weapons deal double damage to them.  They are also said to be often used as slaves by demons, so I wonder if they have some sort of demonic pedigree.  Demons are the only other monsters I can think of that are affected by cold iron.

Ghost: Ghosts first appeared in The Strategic Review #3.  They are basically the same monster, with a few minor tweaks.  Characters of over 9th level are no longer immune to their aging attack, though those of over 8th get a +2 to their saving throw.  And whereas before 5th level clerics were immune, now it is 6th level clerics.  They can also now be struck by silver weapons when semi-materialised, though they only deal half damage.  And they can only be hit by spells from an ethereal caster.

Ghoul: Ghouls first appeared in OD&D, and they are so rad that all Gary had to change was their bite damage (from 1d4 to 1d6).  The more I read, though, the more I become convinced that ghouls are not 'dead' in the way that other undead are.  They feel more to me like humans warped and twisted by their corpse-feeding tendencies.

Lacedons, the aquatic ghouls mentioned in Supplement II, are also present.

AD&D Monster Manual part 16

Flightless Bird: Honestly, I’m disappointed. Gary went to the trouble to differentiate Asian and African Elephants, but he’s lumped emus and ostriches together. Anyway, flightless birds first appeared in Supplement III on the wilderness encounter tables, but this is the first time they get stats. Actually, I was wrong about Gary above, because ostriches get 3 hit dice, emus get 2, and rheas get 1. They’re non-aggressive and will run away, but might peck you if cornered.

You know, I’m not so sure about that non-aggressive bit. I’ve been around emus that have become acclimatised to tourists, and they’re pushy bastards. Especially so if you’ve got a handful of chips.

Giant Frog: There are three types of giant frogs detailed here: the regular sort, killer frogs, and poisonous frogs. The regular sort first appeared in Supplement II. Statistically they have changed very little – just their bite damage, which has gone from a flat 1-10 to a different range based on how many hit dice it has. A lot of space is devoted to their average sizes and weights, because they’re used to determine whether the frog can drag its prey with its tongue and swallow it whole. The tongue works much the same as it did in OD&D, drawing its prey in for a bite attack. But now the bite deals maximum damage. And to top it off, they can swallow their prey whole on a roll of 20, and any victim so caught has 3 rounds to get out before dying. Their leap ability has been decreased in distance, but they now get a bonus to surprise. All in all, these guys have gotten a pretty serious upgrade in deadliness.

Killer frogs are smaller, but they have teeth and talons, and love to eat people. And each other apparently, as they’re cannibals. These guys are said to be specially bred mutants, which fits very well with the Temple of the Frog scenario from Supplement II. I guess the killer frogs there flourish even after the temple gets put out of business.

Poisonous frogs are exactly that – smaller frogs that secrete a weak poison from the skin. Not too weak, because the poison is fatal – you just get a bonus to the saving throw.

Violet Fungi: It’s another new monster. They’re purple mushrooms that hide in with shriekers (the mushrooms that make a loud noise when you approach). If you get too close they flail about with tentacles. If these tentacles hit they supposedly rot flesh in a single melee round, but nothing is said about what effect this has. Instant death? Or is it the same as mummy rot? I’d be inclined to support the latter, less deadly version.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of hiding them with shriekers is.  Once players have figured out what shriekers are, they tend to stay away, and if they don't go near the big mushrooms the violet fungi can't do much of anything.