The original Diablo pitted you against a host of unique and terrible creatures like balrogs, acid beasts, succubi, steel knights, rhino demons, and more. And Diablo II takes suit from its predecessor, as it makes you do battle with a huge variety of ferocious creatures all bent on your destruction. Specifically, the Diablo II beta features more than a dozen types of monsters for you to fight and several different subclasses of each. Some of Diablo II's monsters return from the previous game, but there are a number of new and unusual creatures as well. What follows is a listing of the monster types you'll encounter early in the Diablo II beta:

　　Fallen: These little imps are the same weak, red-skinned creatures that pestered you in Diablo. The fallen in Diablo II wield a variety of weapons, including swords, axes, and torches. In addition, they tend to have shamans backing them up. The shamans are easily recognizable by their headdresses and their firebolt attack, but their most distinguishing mark is their ability to raise dead fallen ones back to life. When fighting a group of fallen, it's best to go for the shaman first or else all the fallen fodder you take down will simply rise again. Other breeds of fallen include carvers, devilkin, and dark ones, who are somewhat stronger, but otherwise distinguishable only by their skin color.

　　Black rogues: This sect of evil women travels the land in large packs, looking to waylay adventurers such as yourself. They'll strike first and ask questions later, and they're armed with a variety of weapons, including swords, axes, spears, tridents, and bows. Black rogues aren't very strong individually, but packs of vile archers or dark spearwomen can quickly overwhelm you if you aren't careful. When black rogues die, a faint dragon spirit can be seen escaping from their bodies.

　　Quill rats: These angry rodents look like porcupines, only sharper. They attack by firing multiple needles in your relative direction, but fortunately the needle attack is more irksome than deadly, and the quill rat itself is easily killed. However, the more dangerous quill-rat breeds, such as the razor-spine, shouldn't be taken lightly. Quill rats are found out in the open.

　　Foul crows: Birdlike imps - or imp-like birds, at any rate the foul crows - are a pestering, cowardly flying breed that will hover near you and peck away. A single sword strike is usually enough to slay these pests. The more powerful blood hawks can be somewhat more difficult to defeat, especially since they tend to travel in flocks. Both varieties can be found spewing forth from gigantic, ugly, and organic nests. Foul crows pollute the outdoor areas of Diablo II.

　　Skeletons: There are a wide variety of skeletons in Diablo II, including warriors, archers, and mages. Warrior skeletons are armed with swords, axes, and more. Archer skeletons will shoot at you with bows but will stand relatively still, making them easy prey. Some skeletons wear some armor. Skeletal mages attack with fire, ice, lightning, or poison, and you can identify them by their glowing hands. Other Diablo II skeletal tribes include the Returned and the Bone.

　　Zombies: As in Diablo, the zombies of Diablo II are slow and stupid, yet powerful and fairly resistant to damage. There's an assorted variety of zombies, including ghouls and the hungry dead.

　　Gargantuan beasts: Larger than any monsters in the original Diablo, these huge, shaggy humanoids are an intimidating sight to behold. But surprisingly, they're rather easy to kill, and they travel only in small packs. Other varieties include brutes and yeti, but they're all large, strong creatures that slap at you with their heavy paws. Gargantuan beasts are mostly found outdoors.

　　Click on the link to the right to learn all about the more powerful Diablo II denizens that lurk underneath the surface.