As anyone who has tried can tell you,
calculating the experience-point values of
newly invented monsters for the AD&D®
game is hard work. How much is this special
attack or special defense worth? Why
isn?t there a table somewhere that can give
you an idea of how a certain power should
be valued?

When we were preparing the monsters
included in this issue's Creature Catalog,
some general tendencies began to appear in
the Dungeon Masters Guide system for
assigning x.p. values. These have been
recorded below for use as guidelines.

Assigning x.p. values is not an exact
science. In fact, the figures given in the
DMG for creatures included in the Monster
Manual are referred to in the pertinent text
as "suggested values, and you may alter
them to suit your campaign." For example,
the system in the rule book lists magic
resistance as an exceptional ability, but
makes no distinction between a creature
with 100% magic resistance and one with
5%. If the situation in your campaign
warrants it, you may feel free to increase
the x.p. value of a creature with very high
magic resistance, or vice versa. And, because
the system as given is not hard and
fast, it is possible -- indeed, likely ? that
two DMs will assign the same monster
different x.p. values, each one perfectly
justifiable. But if the basic structure of the
system is adhered to by both DMs, the
values they come up with should be fairly
close to one another.

The system for assigning x.p. values
appears in the DMG on pp. 85-86; the
monster level table is on p. 174. Both are
quite straightforward, as far as they go. The
difficulty is in assigning x.p. values for
special and exceptional abilities not described
in detail, or not specifically mentioned.
Just what constitutes a special or
exceptional power?

Some abilities do not count at all for
experience point determination under the
present system. Swimming, climbing, burrowing,
and flying receive no x.p. rating,
since they do not directly affect a creature's
combat effectiveness (flying by itself does
not harm an opponent). The key word in all
cases, as the DMG implies, is combat. If a
power directly affects fighting or defense,
then it adds to the monster's x.p. value.

Below are some basic definitions of special
and exceptional abilities, with some
examples of each. Remember, there is no
precise way to calculate x.p. values, and
some latitude is allowed for DMs to develop
their values for monsters in
their campaigns, whether those monsters
are part of the rules or newly created.

Special abilities
Under this classification fall those powers
that directly affect combat situations and
enhance a monster's attack or defense capabilities.
Special abilities, though they may
be quite powerful, will generally not mean
sudden death for opponents who face their
possessor. The class of special abilities includes
the powers mentioned in the DMG
(some of which are detailed below) and can
also include other "specials," as follows:

Mild poison. This category includes
venoms that do not kill opponents, but do a
maximum of 24 or less points of damage per
USE and/or have some generally non-lethal
effect upon the victim. The diseased bite of
the ghuuna is one good example; its victims
will not die, but will become quite ill. Other
limited-effect poisons that reduce an opponents
chance to hit or to dodge blows or
that impair a combat-related function would
also count as special abilities (such as the
corkie's neurotoxin).

Increased chance to surprise. A millikan, <Dragon 133>
which resembles a tree stump and nearly
always surprises opponents, would have a
special ability bonus on its x.p. value, as
would any creature with a chance to surprise
greater than the norm.

Decreased chance to be surprised. Particularly <Dragon 133>
alert monsters who cannot be caught
unawares very easily, like the fachan, get a
special ability bonus for this.

High intelligence. Most monsters with
intelligence of "very" (a score of 11-12) and
all monsters with "high" intelligence and
above (score of 13+) should receive a special
ability bonus for this. However, the DM
must attempt to role-play such monsters in
the most realistic and effective ways possible.
For example, a giant killer beetle will
use what is obviously the most effective
attack in a given situation, will act with
planning and foresight, and will not simply
charge into melee against superior opponents
if it can possibly help it.

Low AC. Any monster with an
armor class of 0 (zero) or less should get a
special ability bonus. The utukku, with an
AC of -2, certainly counts in this category.

Continuous damage. There are a number
of ways in which monsters can inflict continuous
damage on opponents. The killer
whale can chew victims up, and the giant
if the circumstances of the campaign justify
the change. For instance, in a campaign
that's magic-poor, the utukku's immunity
could make the monster practically invincible
if no one in the attacking party has been
able to acquire a +2 or better weapon. If the
party manages to vanquish the monster
anyway, the DM might rightly feel that it
deserves more of a reward.

Resistance or immunity to certain types
of magic. Some monsters are resistant or
immune to certain magical attack forms (the
cantobele, for instance, is not bothered by
cold spells; the amitok takes half damage
from the same kind of attack). Note that
attack forms such as heat and cold are considered
in this category, regardless of
whether they are actually magical in nature;
see the preceding section on weapon immunity.
If a monster is immune or resistant to
several different magical effects; it still
receives only one bonus award for this
category, not one for each and every type of
magic it resists; thus, a duleep only gets one
bonus here. This category does not include
any consideration of magic resistance,
which is an exceptional ability (see below).

Resistance or immunity to poison.
More so than any other one mentioned, this
special ability could be considered optional
and ought to only be counted for an x.p.
bonus in a campaign where such is appropriate.
Slaying a poison-resistant monster
might give the victor(s) a special x.p. bonus
in a campaign where characters possess or
have easy access to poisons or poisonproducing
magic. However, the intent of
the AD&D Game rules is clearly that poison
use in a campaign should be severely limited.
If poison is not available to player
characters, or is very difficult to come by,
then a monster's immunity to poison will
have little (if any) effect on the outcome of a
battle against it, and in such a case its immunity
should not count as a special ability.
When we computed x.p. values for the
Creature Catalog monsters, this ability was
not counted in the totals for the amitok,
peltast, sind, or utukku. Note also that the
corkie's immunity to its own toxin is not
counted, since that ability is inconsequential
to combat.

Resistance or immunity to psionics. This
ability should be handled in much the same
way as poison resistance (see the preceding
section); in a campaign where the use of
psionics by player characters is extremely
rare or nonexistent, a monster's immunity
is immaterial and should not be valued as a
special ability. The giant horseshoe crab and
the ihagnim did not receive bonus points for
this ability in our x.p. calculations.

Four or more physical attacks per round.
If a creature can make simultaneous attacks
against four or more victims, or make four
or more attacks against a single victim, it
gets a special ability bonus here. The giant
venus fly-trap and the cantobele are examples
of monsters with this special ability.

Psionic ability without potential to seriously
harm most opponents. This category
could include monsters with no psionic
disciplines but with psionic attack modes
and/or defense modes (like the utukku), or
those able to use disciplines that would not
severely harm someone (like the giant killer
beetle or the psionic variety of the killer
whale). If a monster has psionic disciplines
that can directly cause damage to opponents,
such as the molecular shock power of
the star leviathan, then this counts as an
exceptional ability (see below). <link>

Magical powers that will not seriously
harm most opponents. Low-level amitok
shamans, who command very few harmful
spells, and the bichir with its entangle
power would warrant a special ability bonus
in this category. Defensive and offensive
spell-like or non-magical powers, such as
those used by the explodestool (deafening),
the millikan (blinding), the flailtail (stunning),
and the glasspane horror (which can
blind, dazzle, and become perfectly transparent),
also gain special ability bonuses for
those creatures under this category. Multiple
powers, such as those possesed by the
glasspane horror, are counted separately,
not lumped together as one bonus award.

Ability to attack with missile weapons. A
monster that can use missile weapons (as
sind may use bows) or hurl missiles of some
sort (like the fachan and bohun tree can do)
has this as a special ability. Note that it is
possible for such creatures to run out of
ammunition after a certain period of time,
and that all missile attacks require a roll ?to
hit? on the part of the attacker. The x.p.
award is still given if a monster is killed
after it has run out of ammunition, even if
none of its missile attacks succeeded in
hitting a target. However, the DM should
feel free to disregard this ability for purposes
of the bonus x.p. award if the monster
possessing the ability is vanquished without
having gotten off a shot; in such a case, it is
as if the monster did not have the ability in
the first place. The power to use a ranged
attack spell that does not require a ?to hit?
roll to succeed should be counted as an
exceptional ability (see below). A monster
with an effectively infinite supply of missiles
that could attack all day long without stopping
would also get an exceptional ability
award.

Rapid regeneration. A troll can regenerate
lost hit points quickly enough for this
ability to be a serious threat in combat
situations; the seastar, however, cannot
regenerate hit points except over a period of
days, and so receives no special ability
bonus for this power.

"Special" special abilities. The bag of
devouring lure used by the ihagnim may be
considered a special ability that can affect
combat (putting one's hand into the bag
immediately puts the character into direct
combat with the monster). Though finding
a bag of devouring will win no x.p.'s for the
finder, the ihagnim's x.p. value includes a
bonus for the ability to make it.

Any other powers of a monster that cause
a reduction in the number of attacks that
can be made against it, for instance by
repelling metals or slowly damaging weapons
ons that strike it (without destroying the
weapons) would be worthy of special ability
bonuses. DMs who make up their own
creatures should use these ability descriptions
as a framework for defining what's
"special" about a newly created monster.

Exceptional abilities
In this group are powers that have immediate
and dramatic effects upon melee combat,
and can easily lead to the death of an
attacking character, or the permanent reduction
of a character's ability to attack or
defend himself -- even after the monster is
vanquished. Some exceptional abilities
frequently in evidence are listed below.

Magic resistance. Any degree of magic
resistance is dangerous, since it reduces the
effectiveness of all spells except those from
high-level casters. Note that even the 7%
resistance of the peltast equates to a 57%
resistance against a 1st-level magic-user's
spells.

Poisons that kill. Obviously, poisons that
slay an opponent upon a single failed saving
throw are very dangerous, and gain exceptional
ability awards for the monsters that
have this power. The bohun tree and dark
naga are two examples.

Swallowing whole or entrapment. The
ability to prevent a character from escaping
further attacks, perhaps leading to the
victim's abrupt demise, is an exceptional
ability. The ihagnim can technically "swallow
" victims whole, and the vurgen will do
so as well.

Major spell use. This is the ability to USE
spells or spell-like effects that can cause
considerable damage to opponents. The
dark naga can use spells in this manner, as
can the cantobele, duleep, glasspane horror,
and utukku. Amitok shamans of levels 4
and 5 are included in this category.

Major psionics use. As with "major spell
use," this category includes powers that can
produce considerable damage to opponents
or provide exceptional protection from
attack to the psionic being. The star leviathan
's molecular shock power is a good
example of this, as is the creature's use of
telekinesis for combat purposes. Note,
however, that only one exceptional award is
given for any creature type with this ability,
regardless of how many forms the ability
might take.

Drowning, suffocation, and "fast-eating"
attacks. The giant pitcher plant and giant
venus fly-trap (to name a couple of examples)
have the ability to contain a victim
who, unless freed, will die within a limited
time regardless of the number of hit points
the victim still has or the amount of hitpoint
damage he has sustained; this warrants
an exceptional ability x.p. award for
such monsters. The ihagnim's one-round
killing power also falls into this category.

Permanent reduction of a victim's fighting
and defensive powers, or incapacitation
of a victim leading to death or removal from
the campaign. The vurgen can paralyze a
victim it swallows, and some sind can imprison
opponents. These powers count as
exceptional ones, as would the leveldraining
attacks of vampires and spectres. If
the opponent suffers some form of permanent
loss to his ability to fight or to defend
himself, then the power producing this is an
exceptional one. Note that ?permanent?
doesn?t mean the ability or characteristic
cannot be brought back to its previous
status, only that the effect won?t wear off or
subside by itself. Someone who loses a level
in battle with a vampire can regain that
level at a later time ? but through no fault
of the vampire?s.

Extreme damaging powers. As the DMG
notes, the ability to make "attacks causing
maximum damage greater than 24 singly,
30 doubly, 36 trebly, or 42 in all combinations
possible in 1 round" is an exceptional
ability. The killer whale and the utukku
have this ability.

Other exceptional abilities. Breath weapons
(similar to the millikan's flamethrower)
would be worth a bonus here, as would the
calygraunt?s power to control magical items,
which gives it a major edge in combat.

Rating the Creature Catalog
The following list shows how the x.p.
values for all of the monsters in the Creature
Catalog were determined, giving all the
relevant special abilities (SA) and exceptional
abilities (EA) for the monsters in
question. The abilities are listed in "short
form" instead of being spelled out as they
were in the text above, leading to some
usages that might seem improper; for instance,
the word "immunity" is used in
place of the phrase "resistance or immunity,
" even if a certain ability is actually
"only" a resistance.

Amitok -- SA: less surprised, spell immunity,
spell use (1st- to 3rd-level shamans <Dragon #141>
only); EA: major spell use (4th- and 5thlevel
shamans only).

Beetle, Giant Killer-- SA: 4 attacks/
round, high intelligence, psionics, spell
immunity.

Bichir -- SA: entangle power; EA: magic
resistance.

Bohun Tree -- SA: 4+ attacks/round,
missile use, spell immunity; EA: poisonous
gas from fruit.

Calygraunt -- SA: high intelligence; EA:
magic resistance, control of magical items.

Cantobele -- SA: 4+ attacks/round, high
intelligence, spell immunity; EA: major
spell use.

Corkie -- SA: poisonous bite.

Duleep -- SA: spell immunity, weapon
immunity; EA: major spell use.

Explodestool -- SA: deafening.

Fachan -- SA: missile use, less surprised.

Flailtail -- SA: stunning tail-slap.

Ghuuna -- SA: diseased bite, weapon
immunity, less surprised.

Glasspane Horror -- SA: spell immunity,
blinding, dazzling, invisibility; EA: major
spell use.

Horseshoe Crab, Giant -- SA: spell
immunity, less surprised; EA: major spell
use.

Ihagnim -- SA: 4 attacks/round; low
armor class, high intelligence, spell immunity,
weapon immunity, bag of holding; EA:
"fast eating," "swallowing" whole.

Millikan -- SA: blinding, gains surprise
easily; EA: flamethrower.

Naga, Dark -- SA: high intelligence; EA:
poisonous sting, major spell use.

Peltast -- SA: weapon immunity, spell
immunity; EA: magic resistance.

Pitcher Plant, Giant -- SA: continual
damage; EA: drowning.

Scallion -- SA: spell immunity.

Seastar -- None.

Shrike, Giant -- SA: high intelligence.

Sind -- SA: missile use, high intelligence,
spell immunity; EA: imprisonment
(used by some sind).

Star Leviathan -- SA: high intelligence;
EA: high damage, psionics use.

Utukku -- SA: low armor class, high
intelligence, spell immunity, psionics,
weapon immunity; EA: high damage from
claws, magic resistance, major spell use.

Venus Fly-Trap, Giant -- SA: 4+ attacks/
round, gains surprise easily; EA: drowning.

Vurgen -- SA: continual damage; EA:
swallow whole, paralysis.

Whale, Killer -- SA: high intelligence,
continual damage, gains surprise easily
(under ice), psionics (for unique individuals);
EA: high damage from bite.

Wind Steed -- SA: high intelligence,
spell immunity, suggestion (by nobles).