Monsters are usually the characters' countless and nameless enemies - not just scary beasts but also rather intelligent adversaries such as magicians or mercenaries. The characters are rewarded with experience points and gold when they kill them. Sometimes, items can be found among the loot.
Like the characters, monsters have hit points (HP) and do damage with their attacks. Moreover, certain monsters may have rather special powers.
However, not all monsters are implicitly hostile. Sometimes, the party meets "friendly" groups of monsters. They player can choose for himself if he wants to attack them. In Wizardry I - III and V, this decision may affect the characters' alignment. Attacking friendly monsters may change a good alignment to an evil one, while evil characters may become good when they don't fight friendly monsters.
There are also monsters that are unique. Werdna, the chief villain of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, is definitely a unique enemy, whose special powers include the casting of spells.
The Monsters of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord[]
The Monsters of Wizardry IV: Return of Werdna[]
As the player is playing the evil wizard Werdna, his enemies are groups of heroes not unlike the parties from the previous games. Therefore, Werdna is battling members of the several hero classes. The further the wizard advances, the higher are the heroes' levels. Interestingly, the "monsters" were given names by the programmers. Also, as it is Werdna's quest to regain his strength, he does not earn experience points for slaying heroes. He can still find gold and items, though.
Monsters like they appear in the other games are the player's allies in this game. The evil Werdna can summon them whenever he enters a square with a pentagram.