BECMI Monsters with Different Names in Other Editions
by HåvardI am trying to compile a list of BECMI monsters that appear in other editions under different names:
| BECMI | OTHER EDITION NAME | NOTES |
| Frogfolk (DA2) | Kuo Toa | Kuo Toa are closer to Lovecraft's Deep Ones. |
| Kna (AC9) | Locathah | |
| Devil Fish | Ixitxachitl | |
| Yowler (AC9) | Yeth Hound | |
| Shark-Kin (AC9) | Sahuagin | Similar concepts, but different in appearance and culture |
| Nekrozon | Catoblepas | |
| Agarat (AC9) | Ghast? | |
| Ice Wolf (AC9) | Winter Wolf | |
| Sea Horse (PC3) | Hippocampus | |
| Rakasta (AC9) | Catfolk, Tabaxi | Tabaxi are somewhat different from Rakasta |
| Sea Giant | Ocean Giant | |
| Colossus (X2) | Colossus, Flesh (Pathfinder) | |
| Hook Beast, Hulker (AC9) | Umber Hulk | Hulkers are weaker |
| Hook Beast, Hooked Horror (AC9) | Hooked Horror | Related to Hulkers on Mystara. |
| Faun (PC1) | Satyr | |
| Sasquatch (Big Foot) | Yeti | |
| Lamara (AC9) | Lamia Noble | |
| Pachydermion (AC9) | Loxo | Pachydermions only have one trunk, while Loxo have two |
| Flitterling (AC9) | Petal (MM3) and Shimmerlings (MM3) from 3rd edition have been suggested, but Flitterlings are much smaller Fey | |
| Randara (AC9) | Rakshasa | The stats are similar, but otherwise they are very different |
| White Fang (AC9) | Snow Serpent (AD&D) | Originally from Lankhmar |
| A wychglow (AC9) | will-o-wisp (Monster Manual, 101) | |
| killer tree (AC9) | the hangman tree (1e Monster Manual II, 74). | |
| Demon, Roaring | Balor | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Screeming | Vrock | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Croaking | Hezrou | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Howling | Glabrezu | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Groaning | Nalfeshnee | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Hissing | Marilith | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Demon, Whispering | Succubus | Also called Fiends, BECMI's demons are more powerful |
| Elven Hound (DMR2) | Coin Sithe, Cooshee | |
| Redcap (Brownie) (PC1) | Redcap | Redcaps usually have their own entry in non-BECMI books |
| Clurichaun (Leprechaun) (PC1) | Clurichaun (Dragon #239) | Only gets a small reference in PC1 |
| Puck (Sprite) (PC1) | Puck | In PC1, Pucks are typically wicked Sprites. |
| Stalwart (AC9) | Goliath | Somewhat speculative. Concepts are similar, but no confirmed connections |
| Sidhe (PC1) | Eladrin | Not the same race, but fills the same niche |
| Manscorpion | Scorpionfolk | |
| Beholder, Aquatic (AC9) | Eye of the Deep | |
| Blast Spore | Gas Spore (Fungus) | |
| Haouu | Aerial Servant | |
| Mesmer (AC9) | Morkroth | Different appearance, but similar abilities. Mesmers are undead. |
| Strange Vine (AC9) | Strange Vine, Choke Creeper | |
| Sshai | Invisible Stalker | Also known as Invisible Stalkers on Mystara |
| Hag, Black | Annis Hag or Green Hag | Black Hags have a greater range of power that covers both Green and Annis Hags. |
| Hag, Sea | Sea Hag | BECMI's Sea Hags are much more powerful than in later editions. |
| Ranivorus (Gaz10) | Yeenoghu | Also sometimes known as Yeenoghu on Mystara. Patron of Gnolls |
| Garal Glitterlode (HW Box) | Garl Glittergold | Many spelling variations exist. Patron of Gnomes |
| Jammudaru (Gaz10) | Vaprak | |
| The Shining One (Gaz7) | Kurtulmak. | Patron of Kobolds |
| Bartziluth | Hruggek | Patron of Bugbears |
| Wogar (Gaz10) | Maglubiyet. | Patron of Goblins |
| Karaash (Gaz10) | Ilneval | on Mystara, the main patron of Orcs. |
| The Great One Dragon | Io | Different backstory on Mystara |
| Diamond | Bahamut | Different, but fills similar niche |
| Pearl | Tiamat | Different, but fills similar niche |
| Opal | Chronepsis | Different, but fills similar niche |
| Minoides | Baphomet | Different, but fills similar niche |
| Masauwu | Graz'zt | Different, but fills similar niche |
| Earthquake Beetle (AC9) | Devastation Vermin | Different, but fills similar niche |
This thread has more on the origins of AC9 monsters, including linking some to AD&D monsters
See also my list of Mystara references in 3E/4E/5E
by Ripvanwormer
There's a 2nd edition creature found in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I and the Outer Planes Appendix called a light aasimon (alphabetized as "Aasimon, Light," and sometimes referred to simply as a light) which seems a closer match for tonals.
Lantern archons are very low-level celestials who are promoted into higher archon castes, and eventually to aasimon. Tonals are powerful, Immortal-level beings who "cannot progress within the hierarchy of their Sphere."
Light aasimon are fairly minor beings as aasimon go (between agathinons and devas in power), but they're substantially more powerful than lantern archons. They're described as "energy creatures, swirling mists of light." A tonal attacks with a blast of sound, while a light aasimon has an undefined energy attack that good creatures are immune to.
Lights can be of any good alignment, so I suppose they correspond to flickers as well or better than they do tonals. They're a little more powerful than flickers are, but not a lot: lights have 10 HD and are worth 10,000 xp, while flickers have 9 HD and are worth 8,600 xp. The weakest kind of tonal, the semiquaver, has 15 HD and is worth 54,900 xp.
I'll also note that eladrins, as they were defined in 2e, all have energy or elemental forms. Coure eladrins, the most minor kind of eladrin, can take the forms of balls of light at will, appearing similar to lantern archons. Bralani take the form of whirlwinds, firre appear as pillars of flame, a ghaele eladrin can manifest as "an incorporeal globe of eldritch colors," noviere eladrins can take the form of "golden dolphins made entirely of shimmering water," shiere eladrins can transform into balls of faerie-light similar to a coure, and the mighty tulani eladrin can assume any of the above forms. Firre eladrins are portrayed as the bards of their kind, so maybe they fit well as parallels of tonals?
The dhour, described in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II, is an amoebalike creature native to the Astral Plane, and as such is somewhat similar to the Immortal Set's protean, though the dhour is intelligent and the protean is not.
The notion, "creatures of nearly pure thought," corresponds closely to the incarnate from the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I. "Each notion has a specialty, a concept or emotion that makes up its essence," including honesty, love, hate, peace, rage, insanity, etc. Incarnates embody concepts like charity, courage, hope, justice, gluttony, lust, pride, and sloth. Notions are "often completely undetectable" but "can be seen by magical aid" while incarnates are also invisible unless magic is used.
The mugumba from Champions of Mystara are similar to the intelligent giant beavers ("Beaver, Giant") from the 1e Monster Manual. The mugumba are probably meant to be more humanoid, but giant beavers don't actually have an illustration so it's difficult to tell. Giant beavers are described as being six feet long, though, rather than six feet tall.
Were the goatmen from the Savage Coast/Red Steel ever in BECMI, or were they just in 2e? There are goatfolk in the 3e Monster Manual III. I don't see a reference to them in Champions of Mystara.
The elemasters from the Immortal Set correspond to the Elemental Rulers from AD&D: Kossuth, Grumbar, Akadi, and Istishia, who in turn are based on the elemental lords from the Melnibonean mythos in the original printing of Deities & Demigods: Kakatal, Grome, Misha, and Straasha. In 4th edition, these beings are primordials.
Elemental rulers from the Master Set could correspond to the primal elementals from the Epic Level Handbook and/or to the elemental princes of good and evil (called archomentals in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III). These are also primordials in 4e.
The BECMI sollux is called a seraph in Dragon #42. Both were created by Tom Moldvay, both belong to the Brotherhood of the Sun; they're the exact same monster.
The ee'ar from Mystara are called the Winged Folk or Al Karak Elam in Dragon #51, and appear as avariel in the Complete Book of Elves. The Winged Folk were described as looking more like half-elves, but the avariel are explicitly inspired by them.
This is kind of a stretch, but I guess the baak sort of correspond to the mediators (or Mediator, Mechanus) described in the Outer Planes Appendix and Planescape Appendix I in that both are geometric shapes who personify pure law, essentially unkillable by mortals.
Dragon Magazine #47 included a creature called the flard, which is an infinitely tall marble column found on the lawful neutral plane of Nirvana, "created by a now-extinct race of humanoids for the sole purpose of answering questions." Like baaks, they're non-intelligent in their dormant state, but unlike the baak they awaken to godlike intelligence when called by their true names, then sleep for 1,000 years after answering a single question. The extended cycles of dormancy punctuated by periods of activity, plus their enormous size, makes them perhaps correspond to BECMI's megalith. Like the megaliths, they might have been creations of the Old Ones who preceded the Immortals.
The genius loci from the Epic Level Handbook is also broadly similar to the megalith, in that it can take the form of a small world.
They're not really the same thing, but it seems reasonable to compare the nipper from the Immortal Set to the spirit centipede from the Monstrous Compendium: Kara Tur Appendix in that both are otherworldly centipedes. Spirit centipedes are more magical, and they're agents of the gods, while nippers are just pests native to the Astral Plane. It might make more sense to compare nippers to Astral hazards like the astral searcher from the Planescape boxed set.
You could also make some correspondences between creatures from AD&D's Chronomancer accessory and the Immortal Set:
The BECMI soo is similar to Chronomancer's chronovoid in that both are amorphous, bloblike beings.
The BECMI repeater is similar to Chronomancer's tether beast in that both are multilegged reptilian beings.
The BECMI jumper is sort of like the time dimensional from Chronomancer in that both have attacks that can age their opponents.
Here's a chart summarizing this post!
| BECMI | OTHER EDITION NAME | NOTES |
| Baak | Mechanus Mediator | Mediators are physically weaker, but effectively omnipotent |
| Ee'ar | Winged Folk, Al Karak Elam, Avariel | Elves or half-elves with wings |
| Elemaster | Elemental Ruler, Primordial | Kossuth, Akadi, Istishia, Grumbar |
| Elemental Ruler | Primal Elemental, Archomental, Primordial | Zaaman Rul, Imix, Yan-C-Bin, Chan, Ogremoch, Olhydra, Ben-Hadar, Sunnis, etc. |
| Flicker | Light Aasimon | Beings of pure light; possibly eladrins could correspond to flickers as well |
| Jumper | Time Dimensional | Also broadly similar to the Epic Level Handbook's phane; they look different but have some similar abilities |
| Megalith | Flard | Or genius loci? |
| Mugumba | Giant beaver | Mugumbas might be more humanoid |
| Notion | Incarnate | Personifications of concepts |
| Nipper | Spirit Centipede | Astral Searchers? |
| Protean | Dhour | Astral blobs |
| Repeater | Tether Beast | Multi-legged reptilian time things |
| Sollux | Seraph | Sun Brothers |
| Soo | Chronovoid | Time blobs |
| Tonal | Light Aasimon | Amorphous energy beings; perhaps eladrins could also fit here, especially fires |