The following are examples of special monsters to be used by the Judge as he sees fit. They are not actually Gods but are created by the true Gods, the Lords of the Higher Worlds. Because each is unique and all are nearly indestructible they are known to most mortals as "Gods".

A "God" usually is placed on the earth for a specific purpose. For example, some guard valuable magical treasures, while others might guard artifacts, or bar the way to some ancient/arcane area, and so on. Usually a "God" will not leave its appointed task to pursue adventurers, but persistent troublemakers may be pursued as long as the "God" does not abandon its primary duty, i.e., players can't lure the "God" away from its treasure. A "God" is automatically alerted if its treasure or the area it is guarding is disturbed.

 "Gods" have no Alignment and no brain-waves but may register on Detect Magic at the Judge's discretion. Players should not know the characteristics of "Gods" except from legend and information-gathering spell (Commune, Contact Higher Planes, Legend Lore). Only three examples are given here: Judges must devise other (secret) Gods as needed. Possible names are Chained, Bloated, Gorged, Hissing, Singing, Dancing, Molten, Mad, Whirling, Slumbering, Shrieking, Rotting, Dazzling, etc.

The Crystal God: The Crystal God is a man-size Humanoid with a crystalline structure. It Moves 6". It attacks as a six-die monster with a sword-like part of its body which does double normal sword damage and paralyzes unless a Saving Throw is successful. In addition, a six-die damage heat beam issues from its "eyes" every other round (half damage if Save vs. Dragon Breath), Range l", only one victim each time. The Crystal God is immune to every means of harming it except two swords which shatter it if they strike (AC: 10 in this case). The location of one sword is lost in legend; the other is guarded by the God, along the Scepter of the Kings of the West, a sword Defeat (first creature type it is used against; no Intelligence or Ego), a Crystal Ball with ESP, and a Gem worth 20,000 Gold Pieces.

The Howling God: The Howling God is a man-size bipedal creature with especially large lungs. It Moves 6", AC: 2, 50 Hits. It may be harmed only by weapons which have been immersed in the still-warm blood of a Dragon killed in physical combat without the aid of spells or magic items (except weapons) affecting the Dragon (e.g., Charm Monster not permitted; Strength spell permitted). The blood may not be artificially heated. Assume blood remains warm for an hour (6 turns), 50% longer if from a fire-breathing Dragon.

The God howls when struck even if the weapon is not blood-immersed. All within 1" must Save vs. Paralysis or be paralyzed 2 - 8 Melee rounds. The Howling God attacks as though an 11 die monster with a sword. It guards a Rod of Omnilumenence, Horn of Blasting, and 10,000 Gold Pieces worth of gems.

The Burning God: The Burning God looks like a man-size Fire Elemental. It Moves 12". AC: 0, 50 Hits. Any normal weapon which hits it (inflicts damage) melts away. Any magic weapon must Save vs. Magical Fire or Melt, except the Sword of Cold. The Burning God attacks by immolation, 3 - 18, requiring an 11 to hit anything regardless of Armor Class or Dexterity. A Ring of Fire Resistance acts as against a Balor. For each point of damage it inflicts on a living creature the Burning God adds one Hit Point to its original 50. The Burning God is super-aware, consequently invisibility and hiding in shadows have no effect. Magic is useless against this God. It guards an Arcane Tool of the Red Souls Cult (20 charges), a Protection Elementals Scroll, and 40,000 pieces of Gold.

Note: The Blood-stained God of Gods, Demigods, and Heroes is another example of this type.

Webmaster's Note: The following list of magic items were a part of the original printed article, but may have been a layout error.

The Scepter of the Kings of the West: This is a silver rod with an ebony handle and diamond tip, about 2 feet long. It holds a maximum of 200 charges, and adds one every week that it is carried by a King. It commands creatures, including non-human monsters, as a Charm Person/Monster spell, using one charge per hit die. A Save is applicable, and if the creature Saves, no charges are expended. If the Scepter fails due to the Magic Resistance of a monster (for example, a Balor would have 90% Magic Resistance since the Scepter is 8th Level) the charges are expended. There is no limit to the number of creatures which the user may attempt to control at one time, given sufficient charges, but all must initially be within 10" and in line of sight. The user automatically releases those previously under command in order to use the Scepter to attempt to command others. This item may also be used for Monster Summoning (MS), as the spell (using GH tables) except that the monster(s) remain a full turn rather than six rounds. Charges are expended as follows: I - 1, II - 3, III - 6, IV - 10, V - 15, VI - 21. MS VII cannot be used. A form of ‘final strike' may be used, destroying the Scepter and calling forth one hero mounted on a Pegsi or one Swashbuckler with +I Sword per charge, which serve 24 hours and then disappear. Usable by Fighters only.

The Arcane Tool of the Red Souls Cult: This item is given to the Red Souls Cult by their patron Lord of Chaos. Members of the Cult always work alone, and an initiate must accomplish a task set for him by the Cult in order to become a full member and receive an Arcane Tool. The item appears to be an iron rod with various protrusions and attachments. It contains a maximum of 50 charges; one may be expended to accomplish any of the following: turn user Ethereal for one turn (subject to the Ethereal Wind of EW, maximum encumbrance 50 GP per Level of user), enable user to Fly 6 plus 1 – 6 turns, Dimension Door as spell, Heal user as Cure Serious Wounds spell. It is usable by Thieves only. Because members of the Cult are not invincible, despite legend, these items are occasionally found in the hands of others.

Rod of Omnilumenence: This item contains a maximum of 25 charges; each charge looses at random 1 - 4 spells as from a Beholder, though the direction is controlled by the user. Only Magic Users may use.