Your favourite monster? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Jon_Dahl

2013-09-14, 07:15 AM

Arcane_Snowman

2013-09-14, 07:24 AM

Personally, I am extremely fond of Illithids, or mind flayers. "Civilized" abberants like the Daelkyr also get a mention.

Norin

2013-09-14, 07:30 AM

For some reason i like the different giants.

Om also fond of mind flayers, scheming drow Wizards, shades, liches and creative use of goblins.

the_david

2013-09-14, 07:34 AM

I like the Gray Render, mostly because I like to really challenge the players. Here are my favorite ways of using the Gray Render:

3. The BBEG has a new bodyguard, and he doesn't take prisoners. If the BBEG escapes, he returns with a Gray Render Zombie.
2. Farmer Bob has been looking for his missing cattle and you declined his plea for help. Now as you are searching for adventure, you find your way blocked by Bob's herd and the Gray Render that is herding them. (Prepare to be trampled)
1. A Gray Render starts to follow you and bring daily offerings of rendered meat. When you're in trouble he comes to the rescue and aids you against the bandits/monsters/whatever. The next day, he offers you the carcass of a young goatherder.

Glimbur

2013-09-14, 07:41 AM

Krenshar! They're low level, and they peel the skin off of their faces. What more do you need?

Yuki Akuma

2013-09-14, 08:27 AM

Coure Eladrins and Petals. They're adorable.

...What?

Uhtred

2013-09-14, 08:30 AM

Xefas

2013-09-14, 08:34 AM

Unfortunately, they took them out of the Monster Manual for 3rd edition, but my favorite is still Humans. Their monstrosity hits close to home.

Crake

2013-09-14, 08:38 AM

Humble Master

2013-09-14, 08:40 AM

When Pathfinder released Bestiary 3, I gained a new favourite...THE JABBERWOCKY. Made especially awesome because the monster designers took Lewis Carroll's poem really literally and came up with a monster that had a powerful confusion/sonic attack, a wing buffet, claws/bite, AND LASER EYES. Slap on a cartload of HP, some fancy DR, call him a dragon, and watch the adventurers start to cry. I need to get that book, if only for the Jabberwocky.

Illithids and Beholders are gems
Yellow Musk Creeper, because plant zombies
Warforged are always cool
Ragewalkers are the most bad A fairies around

But in truth, the best monsters are the ones you homebrew yourself.

Ninjaxenomorph

2013-09-14, 08:47 AM

When Pathfinder released Bestiary 3, I gained a new favourite...THE JABBERWOCKY. Made especially awesome because the monster designers took Lewis Carroll's poem really literally and came up with a monster that had a powerful confusion/sonic attack, a wing buffet, claws/bite, AND LASER EYES. Slap on a cartload of HP, some fancy DR, call him a dragon, and watch the adventurers start to cry.

It's actually in Bestiary 2, where a lot of my favorites are come int. I'm quite fond of Akatas, blue lion-things that are inspired by Alien. They are low level, create some pretty nasty fast zombies, they are Space Beasts, and they reproduce in an awesome way through said zombies.

Other creatures I like are Ineivetables and Daemons from the same book, and Serpentfolk.

Humble Master

2013-09-14, 08:50 AM

It's actually in Bestiary 2, where a lot of my favorites are come int. I'm quite fond of Akatas, blue lion-things that are inspired by Alien. They are low level, create some pretty nasty fast zombies, they are Space Beasts, and they reproduce in an awesome way through said zombies.

Other creatures I like are Ineivetables and Daemons from the same book, and Serpentfolk. Darn it, I forgot Inevitables! How could I forget Inevitables!

Ansem

2013-09-14, 08:51 AM

Harsaffs, they are durable and have shenanigans.
Made great grunts when I played a Necromancer :P

Jon_Dahl

2013-09-14, 09:00 AM

Succubi. They're so much fun to play as a DM, and they're never an easy enemy to deal with. Also on the occasion that you end up getting a (probably temporary) succubus ally, it can make for some great inter-party conflict

You certainly hit the nail on the head with that one! I've only had one succubus in my game and the resulting chaos was beyond sweet :)

Ninjaxenomorph

2013-09-14, 09:02 AM

Oh, I forgot Soulbound Dolls. My favorite construct. Besides Cannon Golems. I'm also partial to Tieflings, at least as a player race.

EdokTheTwitch

2013-09-14, 09:02 AM

My favorite, as a DM, is the Drowned from MM#. It left the party standing just out of it's aura, frightened to even move, as they had no clue what was going on, for about 3 hours :smallbiggrin:

KoboldCleric

2013-09-14, 10:25 AM

Aside from Kobolds (who can hardly be considered monsters--they're just misunderstood!), I'd have to go with Aboleths. As interesing mechanically as they are fluffwise.

atomicwaffle

2013-09-14, 10:28 AM

if it's groups of things, shocker lizards or blink dogs. Need to teach a party some humility? they stumble across a colony of 2 dozen shocker lizards.

Displacer beasts, chaos beasts, dopplegangers are also favorites.

Fax Celestis

2013-09-14, 11:24 AM

I am huge fan of the spawn of Tiamat and elemental archons (mm-iv), phantoms and frost wind virago (mm-v), and spellwarped (mm-iii) creatures.

Tvtyrant

2013-09-14, 11:27 AM

Aboleths are my number 1. I love the idea of a civilization that existed before time and is constantly struggling to adapt to the new world it finds itself in (I usually picture their time like a pitch-black Ordovician period.)

Sir_Thaddeus

2013-09-14, 11:32 AM

I kind of like minotaurs. I've always wanted to play one, but haven't gotten a chance. When I DM, there's usually a minotaur or something similar that the PCs have to encounter.

Aside from that, I like aberrations in general. Especially illithids, beholders, and aboleths (although I'm starting to take a liking to grell). Lords of Madness was one of my favorite books.

Urpriest

2013-09-14, 11:35 AM

What is your favourite monster? You can answer from the DM side, player point of view, or both :)

As a DM, I think that my personal masterpiece was slapping phrenic template (SRD) on a giant pike (Tome of Horrors II, page 189). It created a memorable boating trip.

(I found one similar thread, but feared necromancy)

That...is a really cool idea. It's harder to do first party, since Dire Barracudas have Cha 2. That said, I didn't remember that Phrenic can be applied to animals...a Phrenic Wolverine would be pretty interesting.

CockroachTeaParty

2013-09-14, 11:37 AM

Give'em the old rukarazyll.
Rukarazyll'em.

(Also, I have a fondness for glabrezu.)

Krobar

2013-09-14, 11:51 AM

I too like the Succubus. I only ever threw one at the party, years ago, and to this day they panic whenever they run into a hot chick.

inuyasha

2013-09-14, 11:53 AM

Kobolds...Tuckers kobolds

Tvtyrant

2013-09-14, 03:58 PM

Kobolds...Tuckers kobolds

I don't understand the love for Kobolds. They are little reptile folk with traps; lots of species use traps.

In fact why is there never any love for Delvers or Nyctars? Those guys have some cool abilities.

Chester

2013-09-14, 04:05 PM

Displacer beasts, chaos beasts, dopplegangers are also favorites.

I'll second the displacer beast!

Me as DM: You could have sworn you hit it dead center with your arrow, but the arrow just sails on by.
Player: Of course it did, because the damn thing isn't really there!

gurgleflep

2013-09-14, 04:06 PM

As both a player and a DM, anything that closely resembles the mind flayer. Ulitharids, illithids, the Yaggol from Dragonlance, half-illithids... All of them are so awesome! I've only played a mind flayer once (using their savage progressions) and I had plans to go into barbarian, it was quite enjoyable! :smallbiggrin:

BWR

2013-09-14, 04:20 PM

Kazyan

2013-09-14, 04:27 PM

I really like Runehounds for some reason. They scale well.

Another vote for Petals, too. They're great for a newbie's first encounter, since you don't die if you lose; you just fall asleep. They're cute, service the 'fairy' concept, and are extremely optimizable.

bekeleven

2013-09-14, 04:28 PM

The first and best encounter I ever had in D&D. The Gelatinous Cube.

gurgleflep

2013-09-14, 04:35 PM

Another thread like this came up a few months ago, and I will answer now like I answered then (and I am in good company): illithids.

I just love the powers, the background, the history, the alienness. Cordell did an amazing job making them fun.

If I remember correctly, I was a part of that one! Everybody went with mind flayer or variants thereof - I went Yaggol from Dragonlance because they're barbaric.

the_david

2013-09-15, 02:16 PM

Okay, illithid are also pretty cool. To be honest, there are a lot of interesting monsters I still have to use in encounters. Marruspawn come to mind, as well as the gray render I mentioned earlier.

VariSami

2013-09-15, 02:34 PM

I would have to go with Maugs (FF), the Tirbana (MM5) and Kythons (BoVD). Maugs are just somehow so cool and random, being mercenary golems from the Plane of WAR, and entering through portals just to enlist themselves for material to make more of themselves. The Tirbana are a nice take on an insectile enemy with a nest hierarchy at low levels. They are quite weak (although their sleep effects could easily wreck havoc against non-elves, non-warforged), though. Kythons are the same kind of a thing but at higher levels for the most part. Also, their physiology is cool. I also like the other insect monsters from books like Miniatures Handbook and Lords of Madness.

And then there are these (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/eberron-expeditionforged/characters/gluttonid) little guys... I have not even managed to use them yet but I am looking forward to it. Just imagine it: a bunch of semi-intelligent spider wolverines these drop down on you, attempting to catch you with a deadly bite. If hit, they go in an uncontrollable frenzy. And after the initial onslaught, they start hacking away with six limbs, probably forcing you to retreat. I really like the visualization of an ambush scenario inside a dungeon when this happens. (P.S. - They start raging from the fall damage.)

Beige Dragon

2013-09-15, 02:42 PM

Illithids! All variants, of course. You like dragons, you like illithids? No problem! Stick some tadpoles in its brain, bam, brainstealer dragon, the best of both worlds. You like beholders, you like illithids? Stick some tadpoles in its brain, bam, mindwitness, the best of both worlds. Of course, special mention to the gelatinous cube, for some how managing to be both horrifying, funny, and adorable.

Vinyl Scratch

2013-09-15, 02:48 PM

I always liked the modrons. I like the clockwork cyborg style they have and how obscure they are these days.

The major aberrations are cool too. Lords of Madness was my favorite source book

Darkprophet232

2013-09-15, 02:50 PM

As a DM, I have to say Rakshasas. They make perfect behind-the-scenes BBEGs and, of course, I play them like Shere Khan from TaleSpin.

As a player, I always liked hobgoblins, especially when DMs give them class levels. They're extremely versatile and I also like goblin society as a whole. A close second are Drow, I really love their back story.

Brookshw

2013-09-15, 02:58 PM

Devils. LE can be very interesting in its own right.

Tetsubo 57

2013-09-15, 03:08 PM

Flumphs. My answer to this question is always flumphs.

Fates

2013-09-15, 03:11 PM

I have to admit, I've always had a soft spot for goblins. Few things anger players more than being beaten by goblins. I always love coming up with the social structure in goblin societies too. In the campaign I'm currently DMing, the players always have a difficult time fighting them, as they have been enslaved by hobgoblins for generations and do there's some moral questionability in that regard.

And say what you want, but the Slaadi and Inevitables have both always fascinated me. They're just so weird and original, and their powers are really interesting. The ick-factor that slaad egg-injection always carries can be a bundle of laughs for all.

Threadnaught

2013-09-15, 03:56 PM

I have to admit, I've always had a soft spot for goblins.

Ahh I've been the same ever since I started reading Tarol Hunt's work.

Few things anger players more than being beaten by goblins.

Indeed, that ******* Druid hated it when his Bard kept getting one shotted by a Goblin Barbarian rival NPC, whenever he decided to get between the Goblin and it's target. He wasn't to know I wouldn't play the Goblin as a complete derp, the first time, completely his fault the second time it happened though. Good thing it was a Merciful Greataxe.

Kobolds aren't monsters, they're a Race. My players have never fought them, ever, but they fear the entire Kobold race.

My favourite Type is Undead, Liches rock. My players did tire of them a while ago though, I overused them and will do so again at a later date.

The Tarrasque is big and threatening, it's fluffed to be a world destroyer and everyone here hates it because optimization trick/CR system is broken/Monks suck/I was bullied by a Tarrasque-Monk when I was a kid. It's underappreciated, it's a pretty cool monster to send against a bunch of archers defending a city. :smallamused:

Xixecal, because screw you. :smallbiggrin: