Commentary and opinions on the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual" by Gary Gygax. This video covers the first half of the "B" section.
The following is the original script. Changes were made during recording and editing the video. This version doesn't reflect those changes. It is provided for those who prefer a written version over video.
I was hoping to get section B done in one go. However, since it is twice as long as the previous section, I've decided to break it up into two episodes. This episode covers section B from the Baboon to the Beholder. Next episode will cover the rest of section B.
Baboon
Curiously, "Climbing" is listed as a Special Defense of the Baboon, but no details are given. Much like the Ape, Baboons are relatively non-threatening to an adventuring party. While they will defend their territory, half the group will be young who will not attack and there is a 90% chance that the Baboons will flee if pressed. This is another entry that I question. It doesn't seem to have much in the way of utility.
Badger
The Badger is described as "typically solitary" but their Number Appearing is listed as 2-5. Badgers were historically hunted or trapped for their fur and the entry gives the value of a Badger pelt as 10-30 gold pieces. This presents an adventuring party with an option for supplementing their income while moving through a wilderness area. The entry also describes the Giant Badger as being twice the size with scaled up combat stats. It does not state that Giant Badger pelts are any more valuable than the regular variety.
Baluchitherium
This was based the world's largest land mammal, which lived roughly 35 to 24 million years ago. Combat wise, it can deal a good amount of damage while tanking anything an adventuring party can throw at it with its 14 hit dice. In the end, it's another prehistoric animal converted into an AD&D monster. Given its lack of treasure, I'm not sure why an adventuring party would choose to take one of these on.
Barracuda
An adventuring party is unlikely to encounter these animals unless they were diving in the ocean or deep sea fishing. It's possible, given the existence of various magics, but is a situation that I've never personally encountered.
Basilisk
This slow-moving, eight-legged reptile is inspired by medieval European myth. It has a bite attack, but who cares because the only reason a DM would bring one in is its petrification attack. Any "fleshy creature" that meets its gaze gets turned to stone. Presumably a saving throw is allowed, but the entry doesn't specify. Reflecting its gaze back will cause the Basilisk to petrify itself, but it is noted that there needs to be enough light around to make this effective. Interestingly, the Basilisk can see into the Astral and Ethereal Planes. Its gaze is lethal in the Astral Plane while victims in the Ethereal Plane are turned into Ethereal Stone, which is invisible except on the Ethereal Plane. This makes it a threat for almost any adventuring party and no doubt inspired groans and thrown objects from generations of players. The Basilisk is a monster with a strong legacy, appearing in later editions and in other F20 games having lost none of its fearsome reputation.
Bear
This entry features the Black, Brown, and Cave Bears. Black and Brown are based on the real world animals of the same names. The Cave Bear could be described as a "Dire" Bear in more recent editions, being larger, more aggressive, and preferring a carnivorous diet. In the real world, most bear encounters involve bears detecting a food source controlled by humans and the resulting interactions. It is entirely plausible that a Black or Brown Bear might investigate an adventuring party's camp site and raid it for their rations or trash while they are away or asleep. The Special Attack of all Bear types - the Bear Hug - is described in detail. It is also noted that Brown and Cave Bears will continue to fight for a short period after reaching negative hit points, although damage pushing them below -9 hit points will kill them immediately.
Beaver, Giant
Giant Beavers are based on the real world animal, but are larger and intelligent enough to grasp abstract concepts. They are sometimes willing to use their skills in building structures out of natural materials - dams in particular - in exchange for "coins and other valuables". This explains their Treasure Type of C, which is presumably stored in their "castle-like" dens. Not all interactions with Giant Beavers are assumed to be equitable, since the value of their pelts and young are also given. This entry is much more interesting than I remember it being.
Beetle, Giant
This entry features the Bombardier, Boring, Fire, Rhinoceros, Stag, and Water varieties of Giant Beetle. All Giant Beetles are described as "basically unintelligent and always hungry". Gygax takes particular care to note how beetles tear their food apart while ingesting it and that "nothing actually eaten by giant beetles can be revived in any manner short of a wish". I'm guessing that the situation must have come up at least once in his campaigns.
Every type of Giant Beetle has a gimmick. The Bombardier Beetle can expel a cloud of acidic vapor a couple times of day. The sound made by releasing the vapor is loud enough to stun or deafen those nearby. The Boring Beetle is a little dull when it comes to social interactions and feeds on rotting wood. Large groups may develop a communal intelligence, but no game effects are noted. The Fire Beetle possesses a pair of glands that glow brightly enough to be a light source. This makes them a target for miners and player characters who don't want to bother with torches or lanterns. Unfortunately for all concerned, the glands only produce light for a few days. Rhinoceros and Stag Beetles are both characterized by their large horns, which they use to attack. Finally, the Water Beetle is found in deep bodies of fresh water.
Of all of these, only the Bombardier and Fire Beetles made any lasting impression on me. I vaguely remember using Bombardier Beetles in a game, where they thoroughly annoyed the players. Fire Beetles featured in many games, since players would seek them out as light sources until Continual Light spells became available to the party.
Beholder
The Beholder is an iconic D&D monster. This is a monster that can wipe whole armies of low level hirelings and the adventuring parties that employed them in one go. In many ways, the Beholder embodies the wild, anything goes nature of early D&D. The Beholder also shows some of the weaknesses of early D&D when compared to more modern RPG designs.
Nine of those ten eyes are on stalks that sprout off its top. The other is larger and located above the mouth. By the way, the Beholder has a bite attack, but who cares? Each of the Beholder's ten eyes can generate a magical attack. The entry goes into detail about how many eyes can attack a target depending on its position relative to the Beholder and how many eyes stop functioning depending on how much damage the Beholder suffers. The entry does not specify which eye possesses which magical attack. Do the listed attacks go clockwise starting from the front-most eye-stalk? Counterclockwise? Does the count start with the main eye on the body? Or is it randomly determined when the encounter is generated?
While the entry listed the magical attacks, it doesn't provide any details. Most of the attacks duplicate spells or the effects on magical items. However, the burden of knowing what these spells and magic items do is placed squarely on the DM. The DM would either have to possess a working knowledge of these spells and magic items or reference the books during play. The first demands an experienced DM, the second slows down the game. Now, it is true that, in an ideal world, the DM would study the rules beforehand and taking notes as necessary. However, this is not an ideal world. Later systems avoid this issue by providing the required information in the monster entry. This was likely an oversight on Gygax's part. This information was likely second nature to Gygax. Also, he may not have internalized the need to convey all of the necessary information on the page. There is also the issue of space. Including more information in this entry would have meant reducing the size of others. However, I have already pointed out monsters of questionable utility. One or more of them could have been omitted to free up space.
Next time, I'll be starting with the Black Pudding and finishing up the rest of section B.
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