The D&D Silver Age (the period beginning at the end of the 80s and segueing into the mid-90s) were my formative years as far as the hobby goes. I was raised on 2nd edition, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun and Planescape.
This was the era when narrative was everything and an RPG campaign was idealised as resembling a sort of interactive high fantasy novel. And as such, it created an implicit category of creature which I think of as the 'big good guy monster' - a sort of combination of Gandalf the Grey, the dragon from Neverending Story, and Yoda, who was supposed to exist to rescue the PCs from danger if a deus ex machina were required, give them quests, and/or dispense wisdom or plot advice.
These guys are peppered throughout the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Manual. Generally they are of a similar type. They tend to be able to fly (so as to appear at a moment's notice); to be able to heal, dispense wishes, and things of that nature; and to be able to find or 'know' things as needed. They also tend to be powerful, so as to be able to act as an ally in a desparate battle against a red dragon (or whatever).
Here, I review and rank them. My criteria are:
- The Big Good Guy Monster must have 7 or more HD
- The Big Good Guy Monster must be lawful good, neutral good or chaotic good (and not merely have a chance of having such an alignment)
- The Big Good Guy Monster must be L size or greater
- The Big Good Guy Monster must not be a dragon (because otherwise the list would be dominated by dragons)
They are here rated for interestingness, originality, and usefulness, with the latter defined on the basis of its usefulness for a typical Silver Age campaign, if one were of a mind to run such a thing (I emphasise I am not - this is just for fun):
Couatl - This is a vaguely central american monster that is supposed to put us mind of Quetzalcouatl and all that jazz. It inhabits jungles, deploys psionics, and is described as 'one of the most beautiful creatures in existence' (an assertion that is not exactly borne out by the illustration). It is a good place to start, as it is in many ways archetypal as a Big Good Guy Monster. It is powerful, super-intelligent, can fly, is telepathic, can go invisible, etc. It has all the characteristics one would want in a creature that you wish to use to deploy in a 'The eagles are coming!' moment, or as an otherwise powerful DM Mary Sue-style ally. It is a bit boring, though: all we're really told is it is intellectually curious, hates evil, and is generally left alone in its jungle home.
Interestingness: 2 bec de corbins; originality: 4 bec de corbins, usefulness: 4 bec de corbins
Djinni - We all know what a djinni is. This perhaps suffers from bearing the great weight of immense baggage - it either conjures images of the 1,001 Nights, or of Barbara Eden, or of Robin Williams, or perhaps of (boo, hiss!) Will Smith. In this respect it is a bit difficult to take it seriously. Boringly, there is nothing in the description about lamps or granting wishes. Rather, the djinni is described as a creature of elemental air which is able to perform various magical feats such as creating illusions or summoning whirlwinds. It does, however, have a suit of handy abilities when acting as a sidekick for the PCs, as would able to transport them around, create fake gold and treasure, and so on.
Interestingness: 2 bec de corbins, originality: 2 bec de corbins, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Firbolg - This is a sort of giant hairy woodsman a little like Beorn but without the shapeshifting ability - or, perhaps, like the Ghost of Christmas Present from the Muppet Christmas Carol. I can't say it is particularly impressive or interesting. It can do various tricksy things like creating fools gold or altering itself, and is 'cautious and crafty'. One can imagine the PCs discovering a friendly firbolg village in the forest and relying on its inhabitants for age in a very generic Silver Age campaign.
Interestingness: 1 bec de corbins, originality: 2 bec de corbins, usefulness: 2 bec de corbins
Reef Giant - This is one of the better of the giants, occupying both an interesting cultural niche (imagine a gigantic member of the front row from the Tongan rugby union side) and a useful in-game one (being the only Big Good Guy Monster suited for an aquatic or coastal campaign). Reading the description one imagines a kind of combination between said rugby player, thingy from Moana, and Ariel's dad from The Little Mermaid - a trident wielding solitary figure who inhabits a great underwater mansion. Reef giants lack many abilities though - they mostly create whirlpools.
Interestingness: 3 bec de corbins, originality: 3 bec de corbins, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Storm Giant - Storm giants are meant to invoke Zeus, but also - in common with many Big Good Guy Monsters, Gandalf. They are big blokes with big beards who live in castles in the clouds (or occasionally underwater) and have many weather- or lightning-related abilities. Again, one imagines that the position one would occupy in a campaign is a sort of free-standing powerful ally who the PCs might request to intervene in battles with Big Bad Evil Guys or, who, perhaps, commands them to do quests necessary for the saving of the world. The image of a cloud castle is itself a nice one, and I do quite like the idea of having a map with a Storm Giant palace on it somewhere. There is nothing wrong with Big Good Guy Monsters, even in an OSR campaign, if they are billed as stand-offish, mysterious, powerful entities one would do well not to cross.
Interestingness: 3 bec de corbins, originality: 2 bec de corbins, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Ki-rin - The ki-rin is a kind of celestial Chinese reptilian unicorn with golden scales (fun fact: in Japanese kirin is also the word for a giraffe, presumably because of its resemblance to the mythological creature). Its D&D iteration, however, is one of the ultimate Mary Sues - it is a perfect flyer, telepathic, psionic, magical (as an 18th level magic-user) and extremely powerful in a fight. And it also possesses all sorts of other useful abilities, including being able to create magic items, go to the Ethereal and Astral planes at will, create perfect and near-permanent illusions, and so on. And they are more or less designed with the Silver Age model in mind. We are told in the description that 'Ki-rin come to the aid of humanoids if asked properly or if such beings are faced with a powerful, extremely evil being. Ki-rin believe in self-improvement, though, and do not casually come to a humanoid's aid except in the most dire of circumstances.' We are also told that 'Ki-rin spend most of their time pursuing their own affairs. They often monitor the activities of powerful evil creatures and beings. If such beings become too malevolent, the ki-rin act against them. Ki-rin may reward allies or needy individuals by creating food and valuables.' If that doesn't scream RECURRING PLOT DEVICE to you with the volume turned up to 11, you must be stone deaf.
Interestingness: 3 bec de corbins, originality: 2 bec de corbins (it is really just a rehash of other similar beings), usefulness: 5 bec de corbins
Lammasu (lesser and greater) - The Lammasu is cursed with a faintly ridiculous-looking piece of art (how could they mess up such great source material as real-life pictures and statues of lammasu?) and, I have to say, a too-transparent shtick. Lammasu are more or less written into the game to provide the D&D with a Get Out of Jail Free card if he feels the PCs are in too much danger and their plot immunity is threatened. Hence, 'Since lammasu are concerned for the welfare and safety of good beings, they almost always enter combat if they see good creatures being threatened, in the way least likely to cause harm to the good beings.' A lot more could have been done with the concept, frankly. They can heal people, fly, and do telepath....... zzzzz
Interestingness: 2 bec de corbins, originality: 1 bec de corbin, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Werebear - A bit of a change of pace. Werebears, controversially, do not fly and are not telepathic. They exist to perform a Beorn-function, or else possibly act as a powerful sidekick: 'Only the rare individual (usually young) can be coaxed into joining a band of adventurers. Werebears may join an adventuring group as guides, provided the money is right and the job is agreeable.' I'm sure that this device exists in ten thousand fantasy novels, though right now I can't quite think of one.
Interestingness: 2 bec de corbins, originality: 1 bec de corbin, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Guardian Naga: There are scholars and sages who may dispute whether the guardian naga qualifies as a Big Good Guy Monster. The description is terse: it guards the treasure of 'a like-aligned being's treasure or some evil'. But it does meet the criteria, so I shall include it. And it must be said that the idea of a lawful good guardian acting as sentinel over some ancient evil is an intriguing and highly evocative one. Again, I could see myself putting that in a dungeon or on a hexmap somewhere.
Interestingness: 3 bec de corbins, originality: 3 bec de corbins, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
Phoenix - Phoenixes er, fly and are telepathic. Other than that, they are almost unfairly powerful - 20 HD, many, many spell-like powers, etc. With all of that said, they are rescued from a by-the-numbers feel by two things: the self-immolating mechanic and rebirth, and also the fact that their feathers can be used to make magic items or sold for vast sums. Clearly the phoenix has a Mary Sue element to it, but it is intrinsically a much more interesting concept than, say, the ki-rin or coautl, especially given the somewhat melancholic, even tragic nature of its death-and-rebirth cycle.
Interestingness: 4 bec de corbins, originality: 3 bec de corbins, usefulness: 3 bec de corbins
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