Core Rules
WoTC AD&D 2nd Edition -- Drakein API Reference
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Monster.dat — The bestiary

Holds the monsters — every creature the game can throw at a party, from the lowliest vermin to the mightiest dragon — with all the statistics, behaviors, and lore that describe them. It is one of the largest data files.

Data in this file includes

  • Name & Identity — The monster's name, its type or category, and its alignment.
  • Descriptive Text — The prose fields that flesh the creature out: its appearance, variants, habitat and society, ecology, combat notes, activity cycle, diet, intelligence, organization, and the terrain/climate description.
  • Images — The range of picture frames (a starting and ending index) used to illustrate the monster.
  • Frequency & Numbers — How commonly the monster is encountered (as a percentage) and the minimum and maximum number appearing at once.
  • Combat Statistics — The monster's armor class, THAC0, magic resistance, morale (high and low), and the experience-point award for defeating it, plus a set of special armor-class values.
  • Movement — The monster's land movement rate, together with its other movement modes — flying, swimming, burrowing, climbing, and web — each given as a movement call and a rate.
  • Hit Dice — The die count, die type, and modifier used to roll the monster's hit points.
  • Size — Which size category the creature falls into (tiny, small, man-sized, large, huge, or gargantuan).
  • Special Defenses — Flags for defensive traits — hit only by magic or silver, immune to spells, immune to weapons, invisible at will, regeneration, and special form — alongside descriptive special-defense text.
  • Climate & Terrain — The climates the monster inhabits (arctic, sub-arctic, temperate, sub-tropical, tropical) and flags for each of the many terrain types it may be found in.
  • Treasure — For every treasure type (A through Z), how much appears in the lair and how much an individual carries.
  • Armor-Class Descriptions — A list of descriptive notes qualifying the monster's armor class.
  • Attacks — Descriptive strings for damage per attack, number of attacks, special attacks, and special defenses, together with a list of the monster's distinct attack forms (each drawn from the standard catalog of special-attack types).
  • Spells — The spells the monster is able to cast.
  • Inventory — The equipment and possessions the monster carries.