I'm making a simple retro clone and want to have a small monster manual, so I need some good low level monsters.
I took a stab at it, and I must say that getting a nice mix of CR's as well as a well-rounded list of creatures is actually pretty hard to pull off within only 20 choices. Well, here's my list:
CR 1/3
Dire Rat, Skeleton
CR 1/2
Zombie, Stirge
CR 1
Ghoul, Giant Spider, Wolf, Horse
CR 2
Hippgriff, Imp, Werewolf, Yellow Musk Creeper
CR 3
Ankheg, Doppelganger, River Drake, Gelatinous Cube
CR 4
Schir Demon, Pixie
CR 5
Flame Drake, Troll
I think that gives a nice balance between different CR's, creature types, and general variety. Undead and animals dominate at the low CR's, while at CR 2-3 we get a mix of fantastic creatures to populate the fantasy setting and provide variety. At CR 4-5 we have the boss monsters; I'm iffy on the Schir given it's not the most iconic creature, but I feel demons need at least one representative on the list and it's the only one that really fit.
So, I like weirder monsters with interesting effects. Like the
Pugwampi CR 1/2
These guys are jerks, wonderful, wonderful Jerks. Set them up with some Gnolls and they'll put the party through their paces. Heck, have one with some class levels cast invisibility on itself and hang out in the middle of a dangerous puzzle or trap and watch the excitement.
Faceless Stalker CR4
Speaking of Wonderful Jerks, Faceless Stalkers are my personal favorite Dopplegangers to use in a campaign. They are sneaky, durable, tough to detect, and most of all dangerous when encountered unexpectedly. Any mention of these sends my PCs to paranoia town.
Lurker In Light CR 5
The Lurker in Light is just about the single best low level antagonist you could ever ask for in a campaign. Completely invisible in the middle of daylight, sneaky as hell, can sneak attack the party on the middle of a deserted beach, and they can gate in more of themselves with an interruptible and thematic ritual? Oh yeah, sign me on. The story writes itself, especially when you have Faceless Stalkers working together with the Lurkers to abduct people.
I'll find you some others, I know these aren't your standard Zombie, Orc, Dragon sort of monsters but I like the ones that are a bit unexpected.
Krenshars are one of my favorites for a lvl 1-3 fight.
So, I like weirder monsters with interesting effects. Like the
Not a fan of Pugwampis; their effect is both irritating and badly designed, IMO. I love your other two choices, though. Those are great monsters.
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My most memorable 1st level adventures have involved;
A necromancer who created multiple 1 HD undead from 1 corpse. A skeleton from the bones, an entangling 'sheet phantom' from the (cured) skin, a cold clammy 'ooze' from the blood that attempted to blind and drown the target, another 'ooze' from the viscera that bludgeoned and spit digestive acid, a dangling whip-like nervous system flailing from a floating brain, etc. A single 'zombie' would haul itself up at the other side of the room, and then fall apart grotesquely into a half-dozen 1 HD undead and attack! It was a first D&D game for several players, and so I tried to come up with the multiple undead to showcase various rules (like grappling and entangling) and creature types (undead, but some were also oozes).
An 'Aliens' scenario as the party infiltrated a dark musty warren of giant ant tunnels that were undermining a small town, to rescue missing townsfolk, and find the source of the ants strange behaviors. (A crazed town alchemist who had enslaved the ant queen and used its pheremones to fool the other ants into doing his bidding.
Otherwise it's been ye olde standbys, goblins and kobolds and human bandits and urban rogues or pirates or whatever.
Templated wolves can be fun. Half-dragon wolves punch a bit above their weight class, thanks to the breath weapon.
Very minor outsiders can be annoying at this level. It doesn't get much smaller (or more annoying!) than Quasits or Imps, but Dretches or, if you can find rules for them, Manes or Lemures, can add some variety.