Eldritch Wizardry: The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures

The third part of the Eldritch Wizardry supplement included wandering monster tables for the astral and ethereal planes, in addition to psionic encounters, as well as updated and greatly expanded wilderness wandering monster tables (including several new creatures).


Astral and Ethereal Encounters:

These are divided between the underworld (20), outdoor (20), and space (12, astral only), mostly involving creatures described in Eldritch Wizardry, in addition to the blink dog* and the phase spider (both from the Greyhawk supplement).

*this implies that blink dogs use planar travel, as they can be encountered on the astral or ethereal plane in the underworld


Psionic Encounters:

These are divided between the underworld (16) and outdoor (16), involving psionic creatures described in Eldritch Wizardry.


Wilderness Wandering Monsters:

Wilderness wandering monster tables were originally presented in OD&D vol. 3.  The table to determine the type of wandering monster encountered based on terrain is expanded from 8 to 12 rows, and a new category of terrain ("Ruins") is added.

This basic framework was retained for the wilderness wandering monster tables in B/X and BECMI.  A much more complex set of tables, presented in Appendix C: Random Monster Encounters of the Dungeon Masters Guide, was developed for AD&D 1e.

The perils of the wilderness.  Illustration by David Sutherland.

Men: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and two new categories of terrain ("Woods" and "City/Ruins") are added.  Lizard men from Greyhawk and new character types are included (paladins, rangers, assassins, druids, and half-elves), in addition to merchants and pilgrims (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977), with a chance of encountering a caravan in the desert.

Flyers: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (gargoyles from OD&D vol. 2; harpies, lammasu, and stirges from Greyhawk; couatl, ki-rin, shedu, and demons from Eldritch Wizardry).

Undead: The table is expanded from 8 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (dopplegangers, shadows, liches, and will o' wisps from Greyhawk; ghosts from The Strategic Review #3).

Giant-Types (aka humanoids): The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (bugbears and ogre-magi from Greyhawk; leprechauns and yeti from The Strategic Review #3).

True Giants (new category): This table includes the five types of giants from OD&D vol. 2, in addition to storm giants and titans from Greyhawk.

Lycanthropes: The table is expanded from 4 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (wererats from Greyhawk).

Dragon Class: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (brass, bronze, copper, and silver dragons, as well as the dragon king/queen from Greyhawk).

Swimmers: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (giant lizards, giant slugs, lizard men, sea monsters, and tritons from Greyhawk; giant frogs from Blackmoor).

The swimmers listed in OD&D vol. 3 (mermen, nixies, dragon turtle, giant leeches**, crocodiles*, giant (sea) snakes, giant octopi**, giant squid**, giant crabs*/**, and giant fish) were described in the section on naval adventures.

*given statistics in Greyhawk
**given statistics in Blackmoor

Demon Class (new category): This table includes wind walkers from The Strategic Review #3, rakshasas from The Strategic Review #5, and the various demons from Eldritch Wizardry.

Miscellaneous Monsters (new category): This table includes beholders, blink dogs, displacer beasts, hell hounds, phase spiders, rust monsters, and umber hulks from Greyhawk, ropers from The Strategic Review #2, shambling mounds from The Strategic Review #3, and su-monsters from Eldritch Wizardry.

Enchanted-Type Monsters (new category): This table includes djinn, efreet, and elementals from OD&D vol. 2, salamanders, invisible stalkers, aerial servants, and golems (flesh, stone, iron) from Greyhawk, and clay golems from The Strategic Review #4.

Animals: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and six categories of terrain ("Clear", "Woods", "Mountains", "Desert", "Jungle-Like", and "Swamps/Marsh") are added.

Clear (new subtable): 12 rows, including giant beetles, giant snakes, giant weasels, and wolves from Greyhawk; giant ants, wild cattle, wild dogs, wild horses (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977), and wild pigs.

Woods (new subtable): 20 rows, including giant lizards, giant snakes, giant spiders, giant ticks, giant toads, giant weasels, owl bears, and wolves from Greyhawk; bears, boars, giant centipedes, giant lynx, giant owls, giant porcupines, giant skunks, stags, wolverines (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977).

Mountains (new subtable): 12 rows, including owl bears and wolves from Greyhawk; bears, boars, giant goats, giant rams, mountain lions, stags (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977).

Desert (new subtable): 20 rows, including giant beetles, giant lizards, giant scorpions, giant snakes, and lions from Greyhawk; baboons, flightless birds, giant ants, leopards, wild camels, wild dogs, wild horses (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977), and wild asses.

Jungle-Like (new subtable): 20 rows, including giant lizards, giant snakes, giant spiders, giant ticks, and lions from Greyhawk; apes, buffalo, elephants, giant ants, giant centipedes, herd animals, hyenas, jaguars, leopards, rhinos, tigers, wart hogs, wild dogs (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977).

Optional Woods: The table is expanded from 8 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (basilisks, cockatrices, elves, ents, and pixies from OD&D vol. 2; nymphs, satyrs (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977), and faeries).

Swamps/Marsh (new subtable): 10 rows, including crocodiles, giant snakes, giant slugs, lizard men, and will o'wisps from Greyhawk; giant frogs and giant leeches from Blackmoor; catoblepas from The Strategic Review #7; and giant crayfish, giant turtles, hippos (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977).

Optional Swamp: The table is expanded from 8 to 10 rows, and giant crocodiles from Blackmoor are added.

Optional Mountains: The table is expanded from 12 to 20 rows, and new monsters are included (Irish deer (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977) and giant sloths, giant tortoises, great armadillos, Neanderthalers).

The prehistoric animals listed in OD&D vol. 3 were cave bears, dire wolves*, sabre-tooth tigers*, spotted lions, mammoths, mastodons*, titanotheres, wooly rhinos (described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published in 1977).

*given statistics in Greyhawk

It's interesting to note that almost all of the new animals included in the wilderness wandering monster tables in Eldritch Wizardry were described in greater detail in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, published over a year later.