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Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-14, 06:18 PM
What are your ten favourite monsters from any edition of the game?

My top ten, in no particular order, include ...

Ettercaps. Especially before they looked so spider-like.
Redcaps/Spriggans. I have always been fascinated with wicked fae, and redcaps fit the role perfectly. They are so much more fun than goblins or kobolds.
Myconids. A lovely departure from orcs and skeletons.
Gibbering Mothers. Such a neat idea. I like how every time they eat someone, a new mouth is added. Seems like a fate worse than death/and I must scream kind of thing.
Ghouls. I prefer them as living creatures instead of undead, though.
Wights. Describing what their life-draining touch feels like is fun.
Aboleths. Such an amazingly horrific concept.
Drow. Am I the only one who still thinks they are cool?
Illithids/Mind Flayers. Its also fun to describe to the players what their characters experience as they are mercilessly mind-raped.
Shadar-Kai. More wicked fae! I also like how the Fourth Edition MMII turned them into adrenaline junkies.

dsmiles
2012-04-14, 06:35 PM
Mine?


Flumphs


That is all. :smallwink:

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-14, 06:59 PM
Mine?


Flumphs


That is all. :smallwink:

Flumphs are pretty damn awesome. I actually used them in a serious game with players unfamiliar with the concept of a flumph once, and it worked.

NotScaryBats
2012-04-14, 07:01 PM
Sounds like someone likes the Underdark.

Mine would be
1:) Undead. I love undead

2:) The Fang Dragon from AD&D didn't have a breath weapon, but drained blood and life with its bite, and had a righteous TD illustration

3:) Illithids for the Lovecraft in me

4:) Spellweavers from the same book as 2, and because I like alien entities with mysterious goals. Usually a mysterious stranger the pcs can befriend in my campaigns

5:) Myconids really are pretty cool, and I have pleasant memories of my pcs' reactions to a particular Myconid-related plot line.

That's about it for the ones that really stand out.

Grinner
2012-04-14, 07:21 PM
Deadly Dancer - Have got a well detailed social structure and life cycle
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Kind of ridiculous, but great for silly games.
Spellweaver - Their life cycle.
Troglodyte Rock Band - A four piece race (drummer, singer, guitarist, and bassist) from a third party sourcebook.
Kaorti - They're kind of generic as far as Far Realm infiltrators are concerned, but their life cycle is still cool.
Lords of Madness sourcebook - All of them.


I've got a thing for well-detailed biologies.

Morithias
2012-04-14, 07:30 PM
Not in any particular order.

Succubus, Pleasure Devil, Enriyes, Nymph, Petal, Aasimar, Changling, Warforged, Pleasure Golem, Time Dragon.

Seharvepernfan
2012-04-14, 11:00 PM
These aren't in order, and don't include humanoids, but:

1. Titans. Biggest, strongest giants who use even bigger adamantine warhammers and can throw chain-lightning bolts. CG, and from Arborea. Yes, please! In the same vein, I like Storm Giants.
2. Fang Dragons. They're just so cool and badass. No breath weapon, but con drain bite and increased damage.
3. Eladrin. Fey elf angels who have rainbow powers and can change shape.
4. Beholders. Just so monster-y and dangerous. I like the floating-head-with-no-body thing, the big mouth, the giant central antimagic eye, and the eye-tentacles that shoot out death spells.
5. Pegasi. CG winged flying intelligent horses with alertness and iron will. Best mounts ever.
6. Adamantine Golem. From the PF MM2. Invulnerable, unstoppable golem. Looks really cool, can only be killed with a vorpal sword. Prismatic Golems are damn cool as well.
7. Fleshcrawlers (?). I think that's what they're called, the swarm vermin from dungeonscape. Such a neat idea. I also like the construct+insect swarm idea. And sentry oozes, and living spells, and I need a bigger list...
8. Draegloths. Half-Glabrezu drow. Neat looking and very powerful, have a second set of smaller arms. I can't wait to use these sometime.
9. Copper/song dragons. I like their shape, colors, temperament, and breath weapons. If I were a dragon...
Also, the purple dragon from Cormyr, never seen its' stats, but its' the best.
10. Siege crab/shimmerling swarm/shredstorm swarm/skullcrusher ogres/I seriously cannot choose. I like most of the MM3. Illithids. Gray linnorms for some reason...

Anyway that's most of my favorites.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-14, 11:47 PM
These aren't in order, and don't include humanoids, but:

1. Titans. Biggest, strongest giants who use even bigger adamantine warhammers and can throw chain-lightning bolts. CG, and from Arborea. Yes, please! In the same vein, I like Storm Giants.
2. Fang Dragons. They're just so cool and badass. No breath weapon, but con drain bite and increased damage.
3. Eladrin. Fey elf angels who have rainbow powers and can change shape.
4. Beholders. Just so monster-y and dangerous. I like the floating-head-with-no-body thing, the big mouth, the giant central antimagic eye, and the eye-tentacles that shoot out death spells.
5. Pegasi. CG winged flying intelligent horses with alertness and iron will. Best mounts ever.
6. Adamantine Golem. From the PF MM2. Invulnerable, unstoppable golem. Looks really cool, can only be killed with a vorpal sword. Prismatic Golems are damn cool as well.
7. Fleshcrawlers (?). I think that's what they're called, the swarm vermin from dungeonscape. Such a neat idea. I also like the construct+insect swarm idea. And sentry oozes, and living spells, and I need a bigger list...
8. Draegloths. Half-Glabrezu drow. Neat looking and very powerful, have a second set of smaller arms. I can't wait to use these sometime.
9. Copper/song dragons. I like their shape, colors, temperament, and breath weapons. If I were a dragon...
Also, the purple dragon from Cormyr, never seen its' stats, but its' the best.
10. Siege crab/shimmerling swarm/shredstorm swarm/skullcrusher ogres/I seriously cannot choose. I like most of the MM3. Illithids. Gray linnorms for some reason...

Anyway that's most of my favorites.

So pretty much big, flashy, powerful things that spot rainbows and breath lightning.

Malimar
2012-04-15, 12:11 AM
Mind Flayers of Thoon
Mind Flayers in general
Myconids
Grell
Devils
Driders and Draegloth Abominations
Oozes in general
Brains in Jars
Beholders
Half-X Ys, where X and Y are any two different creatures.

Rankar
2012-04-15, 12:34 AM
1. Demons. Some friends consider me a force of chaos and demons are chaos. What's not to love?
2. Goblins. Mostly because my goblins are insane, use explosives, and are deviously mean. And Hobgoblins are the Roman legions.
3. Pixies. Nothing is as scary as pixies with Rogue levels and the party lacking any means of seeing through invisibility.
4. Dragons. Its iconic and the embodiment of power.
5. Liches. I love spell casters and if I lived in a universe of magic, had the potential and means, I'd probably end up as a Lich.
7. Nymph... To go blind with the image of the most beautiful creature on earth as the last thing you'd ever see? Worth it!
8. Dire Badger... Dire Honey Badger don't care.
9. Any aberration. Too many B-movies to not love/fear them.
10. The Gazebo.

Eloel
2012-04-15, 01:50 AM
10. The Gazebo.
This. Everything else is secondary.

TARDIS
2012-04-15, 01:57 AM
Dragons - they are the embodiment of the game and, in my opinion, every good campaign should involve at least one
Humans - I know this is something of a copout, but I really do like putting the heroes against their darker mirrors and the embodiments of the worst of humanity - and these are one of the few monsters which you can beat without the killy-killy
Werewolves and Lycanthropes - much like humans, only this time you add in shapeshifting crazy alternate personality to the mix. Awesome - makes for great intrigue
Devils - the legions of hell, from the lowest imp to the highest pit fiend, are absolutely fantastic adversaries for players. Unlike the wreckingballs that are demons, devils feel more stealthy and prone to playing the long game versus players. Having devil cultists pop up in a town, or having a noble turn out to be a fiend is a fantastic turn of events in any campaign
Genies - I feel these guys are really underused in D&D, and so I try to rectify that in my game. The mythos around the jinn and their ilk is fantastic, and its a shame that more games don't exploit them...
Fey - fickle and mysterious, I think that a properly woven fey story has great potential - particularly if you draw off their mythos like genies above. Leprechauns and pixies can become adversaries worth remembering if you take a step back in time
Mind Flayers - classic D&D monsters. The icons of psionic power. The dark masters of the mind. Pure distilled awesomeness
Kobolds - 3E took the little buggers and ran with them, and they are definitely my favorite entry-level beasties. Draconic little trap loving sorcerer mutts - humorous and deadly, excellent for your starting adventure
Ghosts - A good ghost story can stick with you for years. D&D can turn good ghost stories great. DO IT!
Abolteth - in the dark oceans, the dread fish lords wait... :smallwink:

Seharvepernfan
2012-04-15, 02:08 AM
So pretty much big, flashy, powerful things that spot rainbows and breath lightning.

What, you don't like rainbows? What kind of twilight muse are you?

No, I don't necessarily prefer big to small. I do like rainbows/bright colors/prismatic things, and I love lightning. Mainly, I like CG the best, and CG tend to be rainbows and lightning.

There were small, drab, mundane things on that list.

Bastian Weaver
2012-04-15, 02:27 AM
Flail Snail!

Anderlith
2012-04-15, 05:44 AM
1.Goblins & Barghest, I love goblins so much, I don't think I run them like other people though
2.Undead, I prefer intellegent skeletons
3. Imps, Not as a combat encounter, but I usually throw one at characters that I want to slowly turn evil or as reverse psychology to turn them good. They go invisible & start telling them to do things, "The [insert party member] is done for, the goblins have it surrounded, just run away, no one will know..." is more challenging than having another wave of enemies
4.Fiendish Elves, cause evil devil worshiping imperialistic elves are awesome
5.Mind Flayers, I can haz bwainz?
6.Younger dragons, I once RP'd a preteen-esque bronze dragon named Sheepbiter, our group still takes about him
7.Oozes & Mimics, surprise Jell-O
8.Aberrations, fllugh rugh florgroth f'lanth
9.Golems, cause they hurt
10.Orcwort, a giant evil tree that grows orcfruit? YES PLEASE

NowhereMan583
2012-04-15, 08:58 AM
Fey -- Outside of combat, it's interesting to see the players try to negotiate with them. They're so polite and charismatic, and their agenda is just so utterly obscure. Inside of combat, I find something about Shimmerling Swarms to be inexplicably funny.
Mooncalves -- For when you need something more alien than the fey. Plus you can involve the Far Realm, which is always good.
Kaorti -- Sometimes the players aren't high enough level for mooncalves. Besides, something about kaorti is really creepy.
Humans -- Humanoids that have been corrupted in some way are among my favorite things to include in a game. Especially if it's implied that the PCs are in danger of the same corruption. (See "kaorti", above.)
Kobolds -- Traps are fun to plan. Tiny, malevolent lizard-things are fun in all situations. Kobolds with class levels make great BBEGs.
Devils -- It's fun to have the players converse with devils for the same reason it's fun to have them converse with fey, with the added wrinkle that it's very clear that "consorting with devils" is a very "deep end of the alignment pool" sort of thing. Players react differently to irredeemably evil beings than they do to fey, which I generally characterize as "Lawful Blue" -- interestingly, sometimes they're more cooperative with the devils.
Goblins -- They're smaller than pretty much everyone else, they live on the land nobody else wants, other humanoids have nothing good to say about them, and they're constantly being tricked into "evil henchman"-type roles. I enjoy portraying them as just simmering with resentment from all this.
Revenants -- If the PCs kill someone unjustly or gratuitously, "revenant" is the way to go. (Though I always forget which book the template is in.) I also have a soft spot for them because I had a revenant as a well-received mid-campaign threat once: he had been killed by a red dragon, and retained enough of his intelligence to be aware that it would be pointless to just shamble up to it and try to beat it to death. So he made deals with devils for power, took several levels of Alienist, and eventually tried to summon a monster from the Far Realm to kill the dragon... and, incidentally, lay waste to half the country. The players never realized what he was; he explained his appearance by claiming to have leprosy.
Elves -- If the players are used to having elves be people of ancient wisdom, with the world's best interests at heart, it's a good change-up to have them, say, declare war on the players' home country. Bonus points if it's for completely mundane political reasons.
The Legal System -- The PCs will cross the legal system if they spend any amount of time in civilized regions. Run with it. (See the thread "The Charges Shall Now Be Read..."; doing that in-game is priceless.) And, of course, if the PCs are arrested and decide to escape instead of proving their innocence, then they're wanted fugitives... with a price on their heads. Good times.

docnessuno
2012-04-17, 08:20 AM
Mind flayers
Beholders
Liches
Death knights (Lord Soth style, not WoW style)
Devils
Dragons
Brain Moles
Greater dopplegangers
Mariliths
Trolls

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-17, 11:16 AM
Mind flayers
Beholders
Liches
Death knights (Lord Soth style, not WoW style)
Devils
Dragons
Brain Moles
Greater dopplegangers
Mariliths
Trolls

A fellow fan of mind rape!

Tvtyrant
2012-04-17, 11:40 AM
1. Beholders
2. True Dragons
3. Modrons
4. Devils
5. Mimics
6. Will-O'-Wisp
7. Abolethes
8. Ethereal Marauder
9. Black Pudding
10. Ithiliads

SleepyShadow
2012-04-17, 11:55 AM
10. Gnolls: Quite literally the first monster I ever fought in D&D. A bit of nostalgia perhaps, but I've always loved gnolls.

9. Lizardmen: Good old-fashioned lizardmen, back before they became politically correct. In my mind lizardfolk were these wonderfully creepy Gothabilly deep south bayou folk. Or witch doctors shamans, but I did not know such things still walked the earth.

8. Orcs: Classic cannon fodder, and easily upgraded into actual threats.

7. Kobolds: Kobolds in all their glory likely would have ranked better in my list if it wasn't for Meepo :smallannoyed:

6. Drow: Real drow. Dark elves. Underground servants of Lolth allied with the giant kings in an effort to subjugate the Prime Material Plane in spidery glory! Not angsty rebellious Drzzt ripoffs. I hate Drzzt. I hate him alot.

5. Mind Flayers: I love the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Naturally, these mini-Cthulhu beasties have always been awesome. Lost my first character to one of these, if memory serves. Good times.

4. Beholders: These eye-ray spell slinging death machines could have easily been inspired by Lovecraft, and even if they weren't they are still that damned awesome. Killed my first batch of PCs with one of these, if memory serves. Good times.

3. Vampires: Back before these things sparkled, vampires could actually be taken pretty seriously. They were tough, had nasty built-in spells, and it was always fun to watch the barbarian get crushed regardless of how many hit points he had. Besides, vampires were a good excuse to throw my players' old characters at them :smallbiggrin:

2. Rakshasas: Shapeshifting tiger people with mighty spells and even mightier plans? I love the 'classy intelligent' villain type, so I've been a fan of these critters since I first read up on them.

1. Dragons: They are the titular monster and have been around forever. 'Nuff said.

Notreallyhere77
2012-04-17, 01:22 PM
Ah, good times here. So many memories.

As a player, I hate and fear all monsters equally.
As a DM:
10. Aboleths. I love to hate these terrible, terrible monsters, but I hardly ever use them. It's cool that they point to a drama that the PCs can never fully participate in, and that's the same reason they hardly ever see camera time. A good way to horrify players and PCs alike, but only if they talk to it.
9. Mind flayers. But not underground. I like the ones who decide to explore the surface world and influence events up there to their liking.
8. Yuan-ti. It's good to have a race so inherently evil and inimical to humanity that I don't have to worry about moral dillemmas when killing them.
7. Ghouls. All of my campaigns have featured ghouls at least once. I guess I just like the way they pop out of nowhere and surprise you.
6. Dragons. Not as brutes, but as schemers and powerbrokers. I try to use them sparingly, though.
5. Kobolds. Because traps need to come from somewhere, and I like the idea of tiny, weak humanoids winning through cunning and planning.
4. Liches. Beacuse liches have an identifiable motivation, power, and strange, long-term plans.
3. Rakshasas. Cool enough having fiends that live among mortals naturally, but after the pathfinder fluff about them having animal heads to match their personalities, that brought them to number 3.
2. Rival adventurers. Nothing like having the PCs' own tricks used against them, or, even better, personal interaction that strenghtens immersion. And, with themed parties, I get a chance to show off character design and teamwork like the players may never have.
1. Goblins. I play them as intelligent, devious creatures with a strong tradition and sense of honor, with a long past full of hardships overcome by The Goblin Way. Combined with a massive inferiority complex around hobgoblins and orcs. All of them have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove.

Anderlith
2012-04-17, 04:13 PM
Hmmm. I need to amend my list & add Moon Rats. Moon Rats are cool

RandomNPC
2012-04-17, 06:32 PM
Human
Bugbear
Mephit
Elf
Merfolk (any aquatic person/elf/whatever really)
Mindless constructs
Lich
Mindless undead

ok so not ten, but there they are.

Halberd
2012-04-18, 07:47 AM
Here are my favorites.

10: Mithral Dragon- Having an uberpowerful oracle dragon with a radiant breath weapon is very cool.
9: Rust Monster- I just like the idea of a monster that is more dangerous to the players' equipment than the players themselves.
8: Cloud Ray- The Dark Sun Creature Catalog had tons of awesome monsters, but this is one of my favorites. It's fun to have a monster that's so huge that the players can fight on its back.
7: Corruption Devil- Having a devil who can create minions based on the Seven Deadly Sins was an amazing idea.
6: Demilich- It's just so cool to have a main villain that's nothing but a tiny floating skull of death. The soul gems were also a nice touch.
5: Devourer- These things just creep me out so much. Having an opponent who can quite literally devour your soul is rather frightening.
4: Beholder- I love the way these guys look and the enormous variety of magic attacks they can conjure with their eye rays.
3: Abominations- Some of the game's most amazing late-game monsters are in here. I especially love the phane and the discord incarnate.
2: Balor- An absolutely classic demonic badass whose flaming whip will never go out of fashion.
1: Flumph- Enough said.

Ksheep
2012-04-18, 10:21 AM
Flumphs: Used in campaign I'm running, players loved it.
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: So bizarre, really tempted to throw it at them to see what they do
Clockwork Horrors: Fun little beasties
Formians: I think I spelled that right. The ant-people, not the giants.
Gazebo: It's a shame that all my players actually know what a gazebo is…
Bronze Dragon: Great tricksters, love talking, the Gnomes of the Dragon world.
Gnomes: Great tricksters, love talking, the Gnomes of the rest of the world.
For the remaining three, I'd probably throw in Drow, Gorgon, and Mindflayer, just cause. Honorable mention to Warforged.

bokodasu
2012-04-18, 10:25 AM
1. The Gelatinous Cube.

Honorable Mention: Giant Fire Beetles.

Those were the first two monsters I read about in the Basic D&D book that made me go, hey, this game sounds cool and I want to play it. I use them all the time - my players are in a ruined temple right now that includes both of these (and enlarged and templated and swarm versions of them too), which makes me happy. For some reason, the players do not seem quite as enchanted by this as I am. (Swarm of Baby Gelatinous Cubes followed by Enlarged Huge Gelatinous Cube is HIGHLY ENTERTAINING. I recommend you go out and use them right now.)

Phase
2012-04-18, 11:11 AM
10. Kobold (Monster Manual I) - Kobolds always hold a special place in my heart as the game's lovable underdogs. Sure, most of them spend their lives in servitude to evil Dragons, but you can't help but root for the little guy with Light Sensitivity and a net -4 to their ability scores.
9. Allip (Monster Manual I) - I am not exaggerating when I say that allips scare the living crap out of me. Hypnotism within 60 feet? Ability damage if you try to read its mind? 1d4 Wisdom drain? At level 10, sure, no problem. Your party probably has at the very least a scroll of Restoration lying around, and at least one Ghost Touch weapon for emergencies. But this thing's CR 3. At that level, this thing will TPK nine times out of ten.
8. Ambush Drake (Monster Manual III) - I love these little guys. They're great for tactical pack hunting, and one or two thrown into a Kobold Gnome-hunting expedition can be a lot more intimidating than a couple Worgs or Dire Weasels.
7. Barghest (Monster Manual I) - I've had a lot of fun with Barghests in my most recent campaign. It's fun to have an Evil Outsider that isn't a Devil, Demon, or Yugoloth. They're best when working in ambush or after tactical planning, their moderate intelligence really shines through.
6. Purple Worm (Monster Manual I) - Swallow Whole is one of my most favorite abilities. It's a shame so few creatures can swallow other creatures in entirety, but at least ol' Purple here can get the job done, with a burrow speed to boot. It's so tense and exhilarating not knowing where your foe is, and not knowing whether you'll be in its gullet next round.
5. Mind Flayer (Monster Manual I) - Mind Flayers are best on their own. Well, not alone persay, but separate from any other Mind Flayers at least. They make amazing schemers in the shadows, and their connection to things beyond mortal ken can drive what initially feels like a standard campaign into wild and crazy territory.
4. Boneyard (Libris Mortis) - Boneyards are what every skeleton wishes it could be. Undeniably tough with damage reduction and fast healing, spell resistance, and the usual undead immunities, the Boneyard is an intelligent enemy, and one that can kill you ten ways to sunday. It can liquify your bones, bite you to death, summon skeletons to beat you to death, rip your bones out of your body... It's just a dang cool monster. My favorite from Libris Mortis.
3. True Dragon (Monster Manual I) - Dragons. What else is there to say? They're badass and versatile, for one. Be it the big bad of a campaign or dungeon, a helpful ally, or simply an unstoppable force on the battlefield, a Dragon always makes an impact. If you have a dragon in a campaign that goes down without having made some impact on the story, you're doing them an injustice. Dragons are almost more forces of nature than monsters.
2. Quori (Eberron Campaign Setting) - I actually dislike the fact that Quori are even given stats in the Eberron Campaign Setting book. What that does is diminish their ability to stand alone as a fundamental force acting against Eberron, rather than as a collection of monsters with an armor class, Fortitude save, etc. It still can't make me think less of them, though. The conflict between Riedra and Adar, the rise of the Inspired, everything about the Quori and other Psionic aspects of Eberron helped to make me fall in love with the setting itself.
1. The Steel Predator (Fiend Folio) - It's a shame how little attention this creature has gotten over the years. It takes the best parts of Rust Monsters, Tigers, and the Destrachan to make what I think it an exceptionally cool creature. It's aesthetically a combination of a Xenomorph and a T-800. Just imagine this monster stalking your PCs through the ruins of an underground metropolis, waiting for the perfect time to deafen them before dashing in, prepared to rip one to shreds before eating his or her favorite magic weapon.

Malimar
2012-04-18, 12:51 PM
9. Allip (Monster Manual I) - I am not exaggerating when I say that allips scare the living crap out of me. Hypnotism within 60 feet? Ability damage if you try to read its mind? 1d4 Wisdom drain? At level 10, sure, no problem. Your party probably has at the very least a scroll of Restoration lying around, and at least one Ghost Touch weapon for emergencies. But this thing's CR 3. At that level, this thing will TPK nine times out of ten.

I've got a fighter in my stable of pregens (for anybody to pick up and play in my sandbox campaign for a session or two if they want) who's still drained down to 2 wisdom because of an unfortunate encounter with an allip once upon a time. (There are no level 7 clerics around to cast restoration for her; NPCs are basically playing E6, though PCs aren't.) I kind of wish people would play her more often; she has the potential for great hilarity.

prufock
2012-04-18, 01:34 PM
I can't come up with 10 off the top of my head, but my favourites have to be:

1. Human. Because Human.
2. Gnome/Halflings. I like having very deadly bands of a small race. The gnomes in my setting have an organization of wardens called the Red Squirrels. Beware the Red Squirrels.
3. When all else fails, Umber Hulks.

Pokonic
2012-04-18, 02:43 PM
Flumphs are pretty damn awesome. I actually used them in a serious game with players unfamiliar with the concept of a flumph once, and it worked.

I once had a wonderful little game that was (situationaly) based on the Mountiens of Madness. The party found the bodies of a few strangly-shaped beings, and what they first thought was a simple peak was actualy something far stranger. You see, a race of belevolent creatures in that place inslaved a race of more powerful abberients, but eventualy fell. The party eventualy took down the last speciman left ( They where Aboleths, actualy: I found the idea that they where uplifted rather interesting.) with the help of the only surviving creature. Note that they where utterly baffled by the things last words before it left: " The Great Race of the Flumphs thank you, mortals". They never knew that the powerful alien mage was a creature never usualy thought of as "cool"!

Bahamut Omega
2012-04-18, 03:12 PM
10 won't happen, but in no particular order:

Goblins, Nightshades, Pixies, Rakshasas, Werewolves, Displacer Beasts, Wolf packs, Hags.

HalfDragonCube
2012-04-18, 03:24 PM
Gelatinous Cubes: Why? Look at me. Look at the sig. Look back at me. TAKE A WILD FREAKIN' GUESS.
The Tarrasque: Because I just dropped one on my tenth-level party for kicks.
Aboleths: Dat mucus.
Illithids: 'Cause HP Lovecraft is great for quotes.
Gnomes: Gnometech - It either works, explodes, or both.
Half Dragons: Yup, hideously convoluted backstory is my middle name. Don't ask why.
Drow: Because you can never have too many scimitars.
Allips: We gotta deal with those spare Tarrasques somehow.
Corruption Eaters and other Abberations: Tentacle monsterrrrrrs.
Mimics: 'Dahdahda-AUGH'

Sutremaine
2012-04-18, 06:04 PM
I've got a fighter in my stable of pregens (for anybody to pick up and play in my sandbox campaign for a session or two if they want) who's still drained down to 2 wisdom because of an unfortunate encounter with an allip once upon a time.
I suppose a dip into Binder would spoil the fun?

Pink
2012-04-18, 07:31 PM
In no particular order

1. The Bulette A simple but fun monster, there is nothing quite like a party that has just realized, on an open field, something could jump out of the ground and devour them at any moment.
2. The Thoqqua A low-level terror, I like to use them because they're sorta obscure, and there's always that hint of surprise when a player hits it and I get to say "Your weapon is starting to melt"
3. Worgs Whether as intelligent Wolves, the mounts of Orcs and goblins, or just something of decent toughness, Worgs are something I enjoy using, feral and vicious yet still intelligent enough to be a RP encounter. A Tolkien Classic.
4. Inevitables Beings of pure law that can put up a decent fight. A good non-evil or monstrous creature that can be put into opposition with a party.
5. Hags Strong, cunning and yet somewhat magical beings, the ambitions of Hags should be more common, and yet they seem underrepresented. Good for minor BBEG or sub-bosses, especially as a group.
6. Elementals Opponents of Raw power and might, elementals can make strong opponents and aside from a few special abilities, tend to be a straight forward enemy I like to use.
7. Animated Objects A good surprise opponent, or even something more flavorful. Pull a sorcerer's apprentice and have animated brooms and mops in an abandoned wizard's keep that get angry and whack adventurers that drag mud all over the floor.
8. Medusas Just another classic creature that can be antagonistic or a RP encounter, something that has that automatic fear feeling.
9. Ettercaps I like the spider masters too.
10. Humans ...No Comment...

Tr011
2012-04-18, 09:12 PM
1. Fiendish Dire Wolf. Can you say "coolest summon ever?"

Dsurion
2012-04-18, 09:23 PM
10. Orcwort - Monstrous tree that grows living spawn, MM II
9. Moonrats - Rats with human intelligence under a full moon, MM II
8. Skiurids - Life-stealing Shadow Squirrels, MM IV
7. Myconids - Mushroom men, MM II
6. Dread Guards - Animated Guard Armor, MM II
5. Dragons - Dragons have fascinated me since loooong before playing D&D, since I read about Fafnir and Smaug.
4. Elementals/Mephits/Weirds - Because.
3. Goblins - I started out liking M:tG goblins, but hated their brunt-of-joke aspect, then I discovered Iron Kingdoms Gobbers and other sources. There's actually a lot one can do with Goblins.
2. Animals/Nature - The natural world is more entertaining since you usually can't solve the problems by stabbing at it without repercussions.
1. Mankind - The true monsters. Also tend to be able to be more diverse with them.

Ksheep
2012-04-18, 10:03 PM
1. Fiendish Dire Wolf. Can you say "coolest summon ever?"

Celestial bison gives you more bang for your buck.

NowhereMan583
2012-04-18, 11:36 PM
2. The Thoqqua A low-level terror, I like to use them because they're sorta obscure, and there's always that hint of surprise when a player hits it and I get to say "Your weapon is starting to melt".

That moment can be priceless... in a game I ran about a year ago, I got to have that particular exchange with the monk.

Yeah. She tried to punch the thoqqua, and almost died from the resulting fire damage.

Doorhandle
2012-04-19, 12:21 AM
*Redcaps. Love these little barstards. They’re angry old gnomes who wear steel-toed boots and use them to kick the living **** out of people! What’s not to like?
*Dunhallen: Similar reasons as above. No-one seems to show them using human spines as whips though, which is a crying shame.
* Vanara: I absolutely ADORE Sun Wukong, okay?
*Suli: Partially because I enjoy fantasy that is more foreign to the typical Europe setting, mostly like them because they have elemental punchings, and the right stat balance to make Kamina.
*Nightwaves: pretty ambivalent about all the pathfinder nightstalkers (think undead fiends) to be honest, but this one stands out. Giant, flying, shark made out of umbral HATE. Because Jaws alone isn’t enough to threaten lv20 characters.
*Goblins. Adore these guys in every incarnation, but I prefer the ones where they are absolutely maniac, like in pathfinder or in WoW before character development/decay.
*Gnomes in general, especially according to a certain Mr.Welch
*Akluhuts: the worst features of were beasts and orca whale in one monstrosity. Speaking of which…
*weresharks: One day, I had this idea of a wereshark that was Orge/GreatWhite, then I had the image of a shark-head ogre being the rule rather than the exception, and know I have trouble imagining them any other way.
*Deathknights: A lich is fine too, but I’ve always been more comfortable with the melee types and the idea of a warrior who comes back from the dead because they’re too arrogant to admit defeat holds some appeal/is really metal.
*I like the pathfinder reinterpitaion of Daemons too, but I’ll just pick a few to poke at
*Astradaemon: Basically bipeadal viperfish from space, with all the awesome that implies.
*Cacodaemon: I think it’s cute for some reason…
*Meladaemon: I can’t imagine these guys as anything other than courage/insanitywolf, and it’s a crying shame they don’t cause famine just by outright eating all the crops.
*Obcisidaemon: because it looks like it walked out of a heavy-metal album cover, or maybe Brutal Legend.*
*..I don’t think using a specific example of a demon counts, but I also like Treerazer for some reason. Maybe because all his powers revolve around killing plants, and then making not-plants into plants so he can kill them, as if he had figured out how to mini-max. Maybe because he has the highest possible C.R in the game thus far. possibly because like to screw over those pansy elves…
*Giants: they’re underused as villains, specially like the giants of the old days that had great magical powers in addition to great size. Despite this, it’s the Athatch that I like, probably because they’re the realistic result of pathfinder orges being giant hillybillies…

there are proably more I like, but this will do for now.

*"This massive fiend has thick claws like a lion’s, the broad wings of an eagle, and the legs of a massive canine. Its face is that of a three-eyed wolf with the jaws of a saber-toothed tiger. While two of the thing’s eye sockets are merely empty holes that trickle blood, the middle eye glows a sickly yellow. A cloud of globular soul-stuff cloaks the creature’s hulking body, bits dripping loosely from its barbwire-covered arms." I mean, really.

Pink
2012-04-19, 01:28 AM
That moment can be priceless... in a game I ran about a year ago, I got to have that particular exchange with the monk.

Yeah. She tried to punch the thoqqua, and almost died from the resulting fire damage.

Yes indeed, a perfect lesson that, some monsters you just don't want to touch.

bokodasu
2012-04-19, 11:11 AM
She tried to punch the thoqqua, and almost died from the resulting fire damage.

Rawr! I'm a Druidasaurus Rex! I bite the monster I do not recognize!

Yeah, my DM got to have that conversation with me too.

Jergmo
2012-04-19, 07:19 PM
In no particular order:

Beholder
Ghouls/Ghasts
Goblins
Liches
Aboleths
Illithids
Tsochar
Kobolds
Ogres
Yuan-ti

Omniplex
2012-04-19, 09:46 PM
Some favorites:
Mind Flayers
Beholders
Green-skins (orcs/goblins)
Liches
Elves who happen to be evil
Gnomes, evil or not
Kobolds, preferably of the Tucker variety
Dopplegangers
Succubi
and should I even have to say this? Dragons.

Bearpunch
2012-04-19, 10:01 PM
Remorhaz- Fire-Ice Centipede things? I'll take it.
Myconids- Mushroom men. Beautiful.
Goblins- A wonderful classic. I usually don't even use them in combat, just RP encounters, weird goblins doing weird things.
Orcs- Another classic.
Rust Monsters- "The strange, cockroach creature rubs your sword with its antennea." "What?" "Your weapons begins to rust and fall apart." "... s**t."
Plague Zombies- Love me some zombies.
Gelatinous Cube- Haven't actually been able to use one yet, as we don't play D&D too often, but the concept just makes me smile.
Skin Stealers- ew.
Forsaken Shells- Once again, ew. The first time I used one of these guys against the party, they nearly peed themselves.
Wendigos- the Pathfinder version is horrifying, and the art is disturbing. The concept of cannibalism/nature madness is awesome to me.

Doorhandle
2012-04-19, 10:27 PM
Remorhaz- Fire-Ice Centipede things? I'll take it.
Wendigos- the Pathfinder version is horrifying, and the art is disturbing. The concept of cannibalism/nature madness is awesome to me.


I forgot about those guys! Yeah. The tundra is a bad place to be on Golarion.

Tzevash
2012-04-20, 04:29 AM
1 - MODRONS: I just *love* their fluff, and... well... wrecking a party with a CUBE BATALLION while the players do not take them seriously is FUN. And... oh, well, look at my signature! :smallbiggrin:

2 - LICHES: Classy, fearful and highly customizable monsters... a lot better than over-used dragons. :smallwink:

3 - BEHOLDERS: Killing machines and tyrants with an alien mind... also, they remind me of Doom II's CacoDemons, so I like them. :smalltongue:

4 - ORCS: And with Orcs, I mean the greenskins without all that fluff about "Honor" and "Tradition" that you can find in some settings. Stay stupid, stay brutal. WAAAAAAAGH! :smallfurious:

5 - MIND FLAYERS: Almost everyone before me in this thread has explained what are the good reasons to love them. :smallsmile:

6 - PIT FIENDS: Ok, ok, ok, too much Diablo III hype. :smallsigh:

7 - DUERGARS: Because dying is better than serving as slaves in a STALINIAN FANTASY DICTATORSHIP RUN BY BLACK, MEAN DWARVES. Very underrated, but I like 'em.

8 - GHOSTS: I like Undead in general, but this one can offer, along with Liches, Vampires and Mummies, memorable roleplaying stories.

9 - IMPS & GOBLINS: You can't run a campaign without something that you can put under the "Small treacherous bastards" cathegory.

10 - THE GAZEBO: :smallbiggrin:

DigoDragon
2012-04-20, 07:53 AM
1. Dragons - The David Xanatos/Lex Luthors of my campaign world. Even the good dragons have grand plans for the world and freely hand out name badges to the PCs labeled "Pawn". :smallbiggrin:

2. Kobolds - Is there really any problem a dragon can't solve without a liberal application of these little minions? I think not. You can buy them in bulk and upgrade them with classes, skills and items. They're like LEGO!

3. Undead - How your BBEG "goes green" and recycles their minions. The common zombie/skeleton variety makes for cheap fodder, but an undead template on something big like a dragon or giant? Give those divine casters a workout by adding a few tricks from the Libris Mortis book.

4. Elves - I had an entire campaign arc dedicated to how these guys were building cheap mage guilds for all their non-elf neighbors while secretly using the guild towers as a transmitter array to suppress the local populations with enchantment magic... something elves are generally resistant to.

5. Worgs - Step 1: Attack a PC with a six-pack of worgs. Step 2: Five Worgs use aid-another on the sixth's attack action, giving a total bonus of +10 to hit. Step 3: ??? Step 4: Profit!

6. Golems - It takes a tough machine to make a tender PC. This is how I get my PCs to be "fork-tender" before a boss fight. Made tougher when they're properly disguised as background suits of armor, stained glass windows, trees, or abtract art.

7. Animated Objects - Maybe they're not that tough in the long run, but the look on Batman's face when he gets eaten by the couch he just sat on is priceless. Sprinkle liberally in an alchemist lab and you pretty much got a sadistic PeeWee's Playhouse come to life.

8. Drow - Elves with Spell Resistance, attitude, and scimitars. Okay, maybe not the last part, but with the right feats their SR and hand crossbows can make your PCs curse those long, lovely silver locks of hair.

9. Vampires - A subset of the undead, but respectable to be their own entry. How good can they be? Read Expedition to Castle Ravenloft and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Then get back to me. Sparkle in daylight? Please! When done right vampires can be so suave that when PCs are hit with their energy drain slam, the PCs have to make a Will save to resist the urge to thank them.

10. Aspect of X - From the Miniature's Handbook, these avatars of the gods are a fun way to shake up your game with a little "divine intervention". Best of all, there's no commitment on trying to figure out deity stats and powers. They come in many flavors like Orcus Meringue, Mint Chocolate Hexor, and (my personal favorite) Five-Scoop Tiamat Cookie-dough.

Jergmo
2012-04-20, 08:33 AM
There's love for the Gazebo - what about the Carriage?

potatocubed
2012-04-20, 10:47 AM
In no particular order, and leaving out things like 'NPCs' and 'the law':

Lizardfolk: I don't know why, I've just always liked them. Like, from my earliest Fighting Fantasy experiences.

Winter Wolves: I never, ever get to use winter wolves in games. I either have to shoehorn level 6-7 characters into a snow environment - where they've all got protection from cold up anyway - or have the winter wolf show up somewhere totally unexpected. Ho hum.

Erinyes: I like all ba'atezu - the whole fiendish "I'll make you a deal" thing keeps popping up again and again in my games - but the erinyes hold a special place in my heart because, while they're often mistaken for succubus-equivalents, they're actually warrior devils. They're hot, they're fiendish, and they can kick your ass. What's not to like?

Goblins: Capering maniacs with a propensity for evil cunning? Yes please!

Mephits: Capering maniacs with a propensity for evil cunning who are also flying elemental outsiders? Yes please! (I often season mephits with class levels, for extra fun.)

Mimics: No mimic worth the name will disguise itself as a chest. As a bed, maybe. As the floor. As a crudely-carved idol or a stone column. As a snowbank, logpile, or small hut. While the adventurers are poking the chest with swords, the mimic's at the back, happily munching on the wizard. Bear in mind that they also have a perfect adhesive: for extra lulz, have a mimic glue two adventurers together and push them into a river. Or an oven.

Black Puddings: My favourite ooze. It's huge, it's mindless, and it can really dish out the pain if it catches you by surprise.

Skeletons: They're just so versatile! And they don't smell as bad as zombies.

Rakshasas: Virtually immune to all harm, powerful illusionists, and elbow-deep in every scheme going. I love scheming and subtlety in my games, and rakshasas are a good enemy for mid-high level PCs when the intrigue hits the fan.

Jergmo
2012-04-20, 06:20 PM
Erinyes: I like all ba'atezu - the whole fiendish "I'll make you a deal" thing keeps popping up again and again in my games - but the erinyes hold a special place in my heart because, while they're often mistaken for succubus-equivalents, they're actually warrior devils. They're hot, they're fiendish, and they can kick your ass. What's not to like?

A Cornugon showed up in my last campaign with Erinyes minions, and they'd made a deal with the party. I had fun messing with them with the Erinyes. They're still definitely sexual beings from their general purpose (they often serve as concubines for greater devils), but much different from a succubus.

The short, handsome but shy/quiet male mage in the party had a well-built six foot tall she-devil leering at him and it became a bit of a running gag with tall warrior women wanting to dominate him.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-20, 06:47 PM
Some honourable mentions that didn't make my list: orcwort, moonrat, flesh golem, goblin, kobold, flumph, moonrat, thought eater, otyugh, dire corby, adherer, carrion crawler, bugbear (especially the kind from Pathfinder), fetchling, hordeling demon, succubus, dretch, Allabar, Orcus, zombie, gnoll, orc, giant spider, giant snake, serpentfolk, kenku.

Doorhandle
2012-04-20, 11:19 PM
There's love for the Gazebo - what about the Carriage?

Is that another tale of legend that we have yet to hear about? (http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/98/Jul/gazebo.html)

Jergmo
2012-04-21, 02:54 AM
Gah. I can't seem to find the videos, but there's a similar thing that they ended up animating. One of the players thought an ordinary traveling carriage was a monster, and they pronounced it car-aj.

Doorhandle
2012-04-21, 03:18 AM
Gah. I can't seem to find the videos, but there's a similar thing that they ended up animating. One of the players thought an ordinary traveling carriage was a monster, and they pronounced it car-aj.

Reminds me of my pathfinder group, who had never heard of the "Kubla Khan" poem and were disturbed by my mentioning of a "plesure dome.":smalltongue:

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-04-21, 09:51 AM
Gah. I can't seem to find the videos, but there's a similar thing that they ended up animating. One of the players thought an ordinary traveling carriage was a monster, and they pronounced it car-aj.

I think you refer to the sadly discontinued Unforgotten Realms. It was a good show, save for the fact that it was inaccurate, and got a bit stale near the end.

Jergmo
2012-04-21, 05:17 PM
I think you refer to the sadly discontinued Unforgotten Realms. It was a good show, save for the fact that it was inaccurate, and got a bit stale near the end.

That does sound right.

_Zoot_
2012-04-21, 09:05 PM
Goblins: These are my favourite creature, I love to play them and use them on my players, though I tend to be more sympathetic to them than most people.
Liches: The hight of evil and spell casting in one person? I think so! So many abilities and plots to be used.
Ghouls and Wights: I love to use these as evil foot soldiers, they are perfect troops for the lich to throw about.
Humans: Because really, what can you not use Humans for?
Spiders of any sort: This I have no explanation for, I just love seeing the look of peoples faces as I describe a spider the size of a horse come crawling over the top of the house.
Devils and Demons: In particular I love Imps, but any of them will do, as a villain in their own write or as the foot soldiers for some other evil.


That's all I can think of at the moment.



The Legal System -- The PCs will cross the legal system if they spend any amount of time in civilized regions. Run with it. (See the thread "The Charges Shall Now Be Read..."; doing that in-game is priceless.) And, of course, if the PCs are arrested and decide to escape instead of proving their innocence, then they're wanted fugitives... with a price on their heads. Good times.


I so totally agree, the legal system is one enemy that they can't just fight, they need to think their way through it.

Jergmo
2012-04-22, 01:08 AM
[LIST=1] Goblins: These are my favourite creature, I love to play them and use them on my players, though I tend to be more sympathetic to them than most people.

My party encountered some goblins that the locals were afraid were encroaching on the town to raid them. Turns out they had been driven out of their lands and were just trying to scrape a living together. They found the women and children gathering water and guppies in clay pots and the men hunting a badger.

They wound up forming an alliance with the tribe after the tribe's champion and the party fighter had a duel.

Elfinor
2012-04-22, 05:37 AM
-snip-
I so totally agree, the legal system is one enemy that they can't just fight-snip- Not for lack of trying though. The stuff they come up with...1
It was a little difficult to makes this list, I usually use humanoids as enemies. Tried to stay away from player-intended stuff for this though.

10. Zombies. Shuffling never goes out of style.

9. Bullette. It has been described above. Classic.

8. Gray Render. There's barely a campaign that goes by without one of them making an appearance attached to a villain, ally or even PC. They are absolutely adorable.

7. Draegloth. Also described above. Never been able to use one to my satisfaction, unfortunately.

6. Children. Yes.

5. Small birds. Nothing says, 'Something is not right!' like a sparrow trying to tear out your eyes out of their sockets.

4. Keepers. Brilliant mystery fodder.

3. Vampire. Common favorite. A memorable one, thanks to anti-divination precautions, kept coming back to try to take revenge on the PCs again and again. Although originally sane and cultured, her string of defeats eventually reduced her to what could charitably be called 'Team Rocket on crack'.

2. Verdant Prince. Nice set of SLAs and the Oath Bond ability makes them good villains and even better questionable allies. Fey are pretty cool in general.

1. Mockery Bugs (MM5). Bugs that eat people and steal their faces, very creepy. Lots of fun to act out too: shuffle around in your seat like you need to do a wee, grin insanely and talk in a high-pitched, gurgly voice. Doppelgangers and Rokuro-Kubi (Oriental Adventures) deserve an honorable mention for filling a similar capacity.

Winter_Wolf
2012-04-24, 10:19 AM
Thri-kreen. The 2e/Dark Sun ones that actually looked like bugs and not the 3.x bipedal ones.
Lycanthropes. Werewolves in particular, but also werebears.
Dragons, because dragons. Blues in particular.
Succubi. The 1e version.
Wraiths.
Osquips, because it's fun to say "osquip".
Charonodaemon: the lesser cousins of the Boatman itself.
Sivak draconians.
Trolls. Nasty buggers, and you literally have to burn it! Burn it with Fire! to kill it.

And drawing a blank. Nothing else really memorable comes to mind.

inexorabletruth
2012-04-24, 04:15 PM
I love the classics:
1. Goblins
2. Gnolls
3. Bugbears
4. Orcs
5. Giants

Call me cliche, but they're great for RP, appropriate in almost any climate, as fun to fight (if you're a PC) as they are to play (if you're a DM). I hosted an evil campaign with a Goblin, a Gnoll, and a Bugbear in it. It was great. :smallbiggrin:

But I also like creepy undead stuff:
6. Zombie
7. Bonedrinker
8. Drowned
9. Necrosis Carnex
10. Slaymate

I love the mythology behind the slaymate. God they are creepy. There's another undead-doll girl character that's even scarier, but I've never used her, and her backstory isn't as haunting (she's more of a Chucky rip-off), so I can't really put her in the top 10. But she could easily earn the 11 slot.

Malachei
2012-05-02, 09:34 AM
Mind Flayers Aboleths Ghosts Tsochari Crimson Death Sons of Kyuss Spellweavers Morghs Trolls The Tarrasque

Callos_DeTerran
2012-05-05, 01:49 AM
My top ten monsters...Well, some may be setting specific, but here we go! In no particular order because I can't grade these lovely beasties!

Devils: This should come as a surprise to no one considering I started a project called the Gates of Hell. They're methodical, intelligent beings of pure malevolence...but why do I like them more then demons (and I do like demons)? Because they're the less obvious evil to PCs. They can even seem helpful, giving out favors, earnign their trust, offering to help them in their darkest hours, so long as they sign on the dotted line...

Grindylow: A race of diabolical fish-men from China Mieville's Bas-Lag setting. Think the unholy fusion of aboleths and sahugain. Eel-people who hold their territory with such ferocity that no sane being willingly crosses it withot their direct permission. What's worse? They don't kill if they can avoid it, and practice a horrible alien magic. Two words that'll make you wonder just what the hell is wrong with the grindylow: Limb-farms. No, I don't know what their purpose is either, but I don't want to find out.

Ethergaunts: Oh great heavens the ethergaunts. A highly advanced (even technologically) species of aberrations that were forced from the material plane to the Etheral millenia ago, but have finally returned to claim what is rightfully their's...and to genocide the usurper races that think to lay claim to it. That's right, this spindly looking abominations want nothing more then the death and destruction of you, your family, your friends, and anyone else with your genetic make-up and they are more then smart enough to have a master-plan to do it. What's worse...they're mastery of arcane magic is outstanding. The weakest 'soldier' caste casts as a 14th-level sorcerer/wizard...at CR 8. And your own magic? Good luck getting it through, they've studied our magic, they've out-thought it. Basic magic quite simply won't affect them unless it comes from a divine source...but if it does, be prepared to bear the full brunt of their fury because they despise the gods...and will commit deicide if the chance ever presents itself.

The Tarrasque: I love giant monsters that are more akin to forces of nature then creatures, and you can't get better at that then the tarrasque. It's regeneration requires an arch-mage or head-cleric of an entire religion to defeat (and even then, depending on the setting, such a high level character might very well not exist if not for the PCs), it's pounce attack can rip apart the heartiest fighter like they were tissue paper and if it doesn't, they're getting stuffed into it's gullet. This is a creature who has a perfect digestion system, there is no waste. Buildings, animals, people, trees, artifacts, and everything else is so much food to a tarrasque. Want to tick one off? Stay out of it's reach so it can't eat you. The digestive fluids of it's third stomach is liquid disjunction. I don't care who or what you are, that's damn impressive.

Lunar Dragons: Anyone who has played Dragonmech likely has a few horror stories about these beasties, and for good reason. We're talking an alien dragon. Normal dragons are cat-like or lizard-like, a lunar dragon is built like an elephant or a gorilla, it's head can't be seen past the mass of fangs/tusks that surround it. Reason with it? That's impossible, literally. Dominate it? Pffffttt, ahahahahahahahahahahahahaa AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Resist it's breath weapon? Good luck, you need blanket resistance to all energy types before you can begin to reduce damage from a lunar dragon's breath weapon. And I know what you're saying, that's not bad but it can't be worse then regular dragons in power...right? Wrong. Pound for pound, a lunar dragon is more formidable then a gold dragon at every stage of it's life. It gets access to 9th level spells faster, it's natural armor is better, it's breath weapon does more damage, it's stats are better. These creatures were one of the driving reasons why regular dragons on Highpoint (of all colors) are an endangered species. And oh yeah, they don't keep hoards. So no reward for you PCs who hunt them! To give you an idea of scale...lunar dragons are considered as bad as nightly meteor showers that can wear down mountains.

Tsochari: Invasion of the Body Snatchers just got worse. Their motives are alien enough beyond 'study arcane magic', and their method of 'possession' would give anyone nightmares...if how they condition their hosts doesn't keep them up all night screaming that is. I...actually don't have much else to say about them. If you don't know them, look them up in Lords of Madness. If you do, then you should be able to figure out why a DM loves to use them.

Kaorti: I've always liked bio-tech and the kaorti have it down to a fine, disturbing science. They create giant cyst-cities that look like Xenomorph hives, breed monstrosities to fight in their armies, and come from the Far Realm. Actually, if any being exemplifies mortal arrogance gone wrong, it's the kaorti considering their origin (plus it happened to elves...and I hate elves). Did I mention that they replenish their numbers by turning you into one of them? No? I probably should have mentioend that before you went off to fight a kaorti cyst. Oh well, they're always looking for new members...Also, something I find oddly disturbing about them...they aren't cruel about what they do. It adds a whole new layer of creepy when your kidnappers treat you perfectly well...until they've gotten all the information they want from you, then it's time to change.

Thoon: Not specifically the Mind-Flayers of Thoon, but all their creations and the idea of Thoon itself. This is a...something that drove mind-flayers insane and taught them a thing or two about breedign their own soldiers to continue their hunt for liquid time.

Dwarves: I don't run them as normal, beer-swilling dwarves though. Imagine a militarized state built on the back of the dead, conquered, and slave labor. They'll work you until you die...then animate your dead body and put it back to work. Their expansion is a threat to every nearby kingdom because their war machine is ruthless and efficient, caring not one whit for the individuals, just the winning of the war. Their 'lucky' slaves will be given the dubious honor of running ahead of the actual dwarven warriors to soften up the opposition, who will need to survive that wild attack before facing down well armored and armed dwarven fighters who pride themselves on their merit in combat and want to add more notches to their weapons by killing you....If you hadn't guessed, I don't adhere to Tolkein's vision of dwarves at all.

Hmmm...I do have a number ten, but I can't think of a good choice right now. I guess I'll just fill this section in later.

Doorhandle
2012-05-05, 06:02 PM
The Tarrasque: I love giant monsters that are more akin to forces of nature then creatures, and you can't get better at that then the tarrasque. It's regeneration requires an arch-mage or head-cleric of an entire religion to defeat (and even then, depending on the setting, such a high level character might very well not exist if not for the PCs), it's pounce attack can rip apart the heartiest fighter like they were tissue paper and if it doesn't, they're getting stuffed into it's gullet. This is a creature who has a perfect digestion system, there is no waste. Buildings, animals, people, trees, artifacts, and everything else is so much food to a tarrasque. Want to tick one off? Stay out of it's reach so it can't eat you. The digestive fluids of it's third stomach is liquid disjunction. I don't care who or what you are, that's damn impressive.



It gets better. The pathfinder version is not only faster, but can suddenly unleash a burst of speed or a WICKEDSICK jump once every minute, and can launch spines as a standard action, meaning that it's two main weaknesses (flying and being outrun) are now accounted for.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2012-05-05, 07:45 PM
It gets better. The pathfinder version is not only faster, but can suddenly unleash a burst of speed or a WICKEDSICK jump once every minute, and can launch spines, meaning that it's two main weaknesses (flying and being outrun) are now accounted for.

Yeah. Now it can really f**k up a high-op party.

joe
2012-05-06, 01:33 AM
10: Gnolls - They're terrifying to low level PCs, though I usually don't use them after the PCs are level 2+.

9: Dopplegangers - Always adding loads of confusion to the party.

8: Aasimar - I like them as both good guys and as villains.

7: Golems - Magical machines are fun.

6: Inevitables - Magical machines designed to enforce the laws of the universe are even more fun.

5: Chaos Beasts, Gibbering Mouthers, Shoggoths, etc: I like large scary Lovecraftian things

4: Orcs - Big, dumb, powerful, perfect mooks at any level.

3: Undead - I like a good skeleton apocalypse.

2: Demons - Vicious, evil, genuinely threatening. When the PCs encounter them they know the stakes are high because there is some kind of hell portal.

1: Humans - I tend to use humans as often as I do actual monsters in my campaigns.

Illithilich
2012-05-06, 09:52 AM
Mine (in no particular order):
1. Illithids (I don't know why, they just appeal to me in really weird ways).
2. Fang Dragons (I love them, its something different than the normal dragon, they look awesome, and once ive put the Xorvintaal template on them..... I just love them).
3. Lich (An immortal spell-caster, legions of undead, and a fetch quest? Sold.)
4. Anything to do with Kyuss (I just like Kyuss in general, and his monsters are just so cool. If I couldn't be a lich a worm tht wlaks would be my other choice).
5. Vitreous Drinker (A undead that serves Vecna? Yes. I can think of so many uses for it, its spectral ravens alone can be a spy network. I give them levels in archivest to make the forrbiden knowledge aspect come out even more. Throw in a Vanisher Cloak and you have an awesome recurring villian).
6. Obyrith Demons (I love ever one of these. The whole madness thing is cool, and I just like all of the monsters).
7. Yugoloth (I find them interesting, plus I read a bunch of fan-fiction on the Baernaloth that I loved).
8. Etherguants (Do I need to explain?)
9. Blue Dragons (Other than the Fang dragons this type interests me the most. I always had the idea of a Blue Dragon ruling a desert from a desert mountain that is always surronded by sandstorms (lair wards). And I liked the electricity theme).
10. Quori (I know they are from eberron, but I love the quori so much. The Dreaming Dark, their control of Sarlona, their creation of the warforged, even the Kalashtar rebels, I just love the concept).

willpell
2012-05-06, 12:04 PM
Thoon: Not specifically the Mind-Flayers of Thoon, but all their creations and the idea of Thoon itself. This is a...something that drove mind-flayers insane and taught them a thing or two about breedign their own soldiers to continue their hunt for liquid time.

I didn't read the MFOT very carefully, but I don't recall seeing any indication that their Quintessence was the same as the substance of that name in the EPH. It was described more in terms of being some vague mental essence.

Venom3053000
2012-05-06, 12:18 PM
giant crab

Oko and Qailee
2014-07-14, 06:48 PM
1) Zezir's. I don't know, they're cool.
2) Joystealers. "Behold you are cursed with apathy!"
3) Inevitables. I just really like these guys.
4) Earth Elementals. They just feel so bread and butter ya know?
5) Human Sorcerers. Yes, they're monsters.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2014-07-15, 02:58 AM
Oh no! This thread! I would like people to not remember that I wrote like this.

Synar
2014-07-18, 04:51 AM
I prefer necromancers myself. But apparently this a common taste.

sktarq
2014-07-19, 12:44 PM
What are your ten favorite monsters from any edition of the game?

Honorable Mention: Kobolds: comedy gold, and trapmasters, and tacticians, and instantly can take the parties ego down a peg.

10: Dragons-nothing gets a player reaction like the Title character
9: Doppelgangers - turns the brains and social skills into the key factors of the game
8: Undead/Living Wall - Can so mess with the characters
7: Skeletons - oldie but a goodie
6: Glippi - cute little tree frogs that talk or ruthless guerrilla fighters.
5: Flumphs - the comedy, the intro to Cthulu style monsters, the alien-ness
4: Remorhaz - fire, cold, everyone runs like hell.
3: Hobgoblins - For being able to mess with the party when they think that tactics are for wimps
2: Yuan Ti - forever twistable into new shapes, concepts, and campaign roles yet always creepy
1: Displacer Beasts- just too cool

veti
2014-07-20, 07:06 PM
1. The Gelatinous Cube.

Yeah, how can anyone not love gelatinous cubes? The thing is genetically evolved to live on graph paper!

In the same vein, I love the Lurker, Piercer, Mimic... basically, monsters that are designed specifically to prey on adventurers, and have some pretty serious survival flaws when dealing with anything other than a very specialised artificial environment.

Rust monster - the funniest-looking critter that makes a paladin run screaming in terror.

And blink dogs. Just - so much pointless. I love the idea of putting a lead on one of these and taking it for a walk. Does the collar stay attached when it blinks?

Dawgmoah
2014-07-21, 01:42 PM
Anyone remember, "Blast Puppies" from a 1st edition 3rd party, I think called, "All the World's Monsters?" Cute, wet-nosed little puppies that come along wagging their tails just to explode when you least expect them to? Who expects a puppy to explode anyway?

I agree with many of the lists in this two year old zombie posting. And in that regard undead are a nice feature to play with under the Liber Mortis rules. Gives many undead a new "lease on unlife." Make a few subtle changes and those tired old skeletons and zombies are new and improved enough to keep the party guessing.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2014-07-23, 12:19 PM
Still? I wish a mod would take this thread down or something, it being years old.

Ksheep
2014-07-23, 12:45 PM
Still? I wish a mod would take this thread down or something, it being years old.

The age of the thread shouldn't be cause for the thread to be closed. If you somehow have a thread that continues at a decent pace for 2+ years without reaching the 50 page mark, then let it keep going. However, the fact that the thread was completely inactive for 2 years before someone brought it back falls in the realm of "thread necromancy", which IS a valid reason for it to be locked.