Kopru

The following is a list of monsters that appeared in various books and supplements for the "Basic" version of Dungeons & Dragons from the release of the first Basic Set in 1977 until the end of the line in 1994.

The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, edited by John Eric Holmes, was first released in 1977, as an introductory set for new players. While players were intended to go onto Advanced Dungeons & Dragons once the play options in the Basic Set were exhausted, as stated in the book, many players found they preferred the simpler play style of the basic game. The Basic Set was based upon the original work published in 1974 and three of the supplementary booklets to the original set. Much like the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, also released in 1977, this book collected many of the monsters from the previous D&D supplements, and included the stat lines on the same page as the monsters' descriptions. The monster descriptions are found on pages 22–33 of the book. Most descriptions do not feature illustrations.

The second version of the D&D Basic Set, edited by Tom Moldvay, was first printed in 1981, and is generally known as the "red book".This revision solidified the split between the "Basic" and "Advanced" lines of the game. The page numbers are prefixed with B; creature descriptions are found on pages B30 through B44. Few of the descriptions include illustrations, and most descriptions are limited to one paragraph.

The D&D Expert Rules were first printed in 1981, and is generally known as the "blue book". The new rules allowed for outdoor, wilderness-based adventures (over and above dungeon adventures), and for characters up to 14th level. The page numbers are prefixed with X; creature descriptions are found on pages X28 through X42. Again, few of the descriptions include illustrations, and most descriptions are limited to one paragraph. ().

A fifth edition of the Basic Rules was printed in 1983. This version split the rules into two books, the Player's Manual and the Dungeon Master's Rulebook, and was sold as a boxed set. Creature descriptions are provided on pages 25–39 of the Dungeon Master's Rulebook; with some minor changes to order and naming conventions and some removals, they duplicate the entries found in the 1981 edition. Once again the descriptions are generally limited to one paragraph, with few illustrations.

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