Underused/Underappreciated monsters [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Kol Korran

2016-08-03, 12:46 AM

Some years ago, a bit after I joined the GiTP forums, I made a small project just about that: The Monster Compendium for the maligned and misunderstood monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?81051-Monster-Compedium-for-the-maligned-forgotten-amp-misunderstood-monsters&highlight=maligned+monsters).

The idea was to find such unused/ bad reputation monsters, and reflavour/ rebuild them. It was for 3.5 at the time, and has some grammar/ spelling mistakes (English is not my native language, and It took me time to improve). it focuses mostly on changes that gives them a more thorough place in the world, not just as a single encounter monster, but also on the adventure level, and even the campaign level. Most of it is my own work, but there are some other contributors. It ended up with but 12 monsters so far, though good work mostly, I think? :smallsmile:

However, I slowly turned to other projects, and haven't touched it in quite a long while. Some people liked it, some not, do with it as you may.

EDIT: Damn! I miss that. I'll need to go over it and fix the grammar and spelling though...

DrStubbsberg

2016-08-03, 11:47 AM

I can't remember the specifics of how it works, but we once had an interesting encounter with a Flail Snail

daremetoidareyo

2016-08-03, 02:53 PM

brain in a jar from libris mortis. It's a paladin detect evil abuse choke chain.

Bohandas

2016-08-03, 07:47 PM

The Rilmani and the Demodands are underused.

Intelligent items are also underused, though I don't know if that counts.

Esprit15

2016-08-04, 02:58 AM

Ah, Brain in a Jar... That was a fun time in the Tomb of Horrors. Bard goes off to check a side room, fails a will save, and I get to talk to the player in private about how he's going to try and kill the rest of the party. Talked two guys into walking into an empty room that had a floor trap leading to lava, and only broke free when the sorcerer, rather than kill his friend, risked death to snap him out of the brain's control.

Also, supporting inevitables as underusued enemies.

Anything aquatic. Never seen a party panic until they had to fight a pair of Drowned, after the boat was already attacked by an advanced HD mosasaur.

icefractal

2016-08-04, 02:59 AM

I think Ethergaunts would make good campaign-villains. I've come up with a couple plots for that, but haven't gotten a chance to use them so far.

Segev

2016-08-04, 10:57 AM

wookietek

2016-08-04, 11:20 AM

Gullintanni

2016-08-04, 03:36 PM

Underused, although not underappreciated, in my experience are dragons. I've played the different versions of D&D since ~1983, and I have faced 1 dragon ever. I find it odd that dragons show up so infrequently when their name is part of the product. I'm running a 1-off this weekend, and it will feature dragons prominently to be sure.

Interesting. I have exactly the opposite experience. Nearly every adventure I've ever played has, at one point or another, included at least one dragon.

My characters are personally responsible for the deaths of seven of the creatures.

Esprit15

2016-08-04, 04:59 PM

Part of the problem is that a well built or run dragon will rip through your average party. Not your average high op, GitP party, but your average group of friends getting together for game night is generally not prepared to deal with a CR appropriate dragon.

Zombimode

2016-08-04, 05:53 PM

The Rilmani and the Demodands are underused.

Well, at least Gereleths (thats Demodands for you young ones) are featured prominently the Shackled City campaign.

Big Fau

2016-08-04, 06:16 PM

Intelligent items are also underused, though I don't know if that counts.

Funny you mention that, because the Forgotten Realms setting is literally flooded with the damn things. Seriously, open up a 3.X FR book and just count how many there are. Practically one for every goblin...

IME, Rakshasas are very seldomly used over the likes of Mind Flayers or Dopplegangers. Mind Flayers are 2 CRs lower, but significantly more threatening, and Dopplegangers don't have a tell to them.

Willie the Duck

2016-08-04, 08:03 PM

Despite being iconic since nearly the beginning of the game, gnolls don't seem to see a lot of play. Flinds even less so.

Fiend Folio was neat, but hit near the end of 3.0 and thus had obsolescence issues almost immediately. Too bad because:
Kaorti are an awesome concept, but I've never heard of them used except when a min-maxer wants their resin weapons.
Shadar-kai are just awesome, but no one uses them

Honest Tiefling

2016-08-04, 08:13 PM

Despite being iconic since nearly the beginning of the game, gnolls don't seem to see a lot of play. Flinds even less so.

I don't know about you people, but I sometimes avoid gnolls because I am worried about an hour long tangential discussion of pseudophalluses.

Tanuki Tales

2016-08-04, 10:18 PM

IME, Rakshasas are very seldomly used over the likes of Mind Flayers or Dopplegangers. Mind Flayers are 2 CRs lower, but significantly more threatening, and Dopplegangers don't have a tell to them.

Unless you're running Eberron, where the Lords of Dust are one of the major power players.

Big Fau

2016-08-04, 10:27 PM

Unless you're running Eberron, where the Lords of Dust are one of the major power players.

They themselves are still rarely seen. There's only about 6 Rakshasas even printed, and the only truly unique type is in the Bo9S. The rest are glorified Changeling Sorcerers.

Arbane

2016-08-04, 10:33 PM

There's a dog-like creature in Sandstorm that I think is called a "Sand Hunter." They have a language of yips and barks that actually connects any 3+ of them in a hive mind; I think they'd be pretty cool as hunting animals for a desert nomad, perhaps a gnoll or something.

I wonder if they got the idea from Vernor Vinge's a Fire Upon The Deep? There's a dog-like species there that does the same thing.

Flumphs? :) My party ran into a friendly Flumph Cleric one time. That was an odd adventure.

Inevitability

2016-08-05, 04:55 AM

I don't know about you people, but I sometimes avoid gnolls because I am worried about an hour long tangential discussion of pseudophalluses.

To anyone who reads this, do not google 'pseudophallus'. I cannot stress this enough.

Willie the Duck

2016-08-05, 06:13 AM

I don't know about you people, but I sometimes avoid gnolls because I am worried about an hour long tangential discussion of pseudophalluses.

Let me think. Hyenas: pseudophalluses, dolphins and otters: rape, bonobos: homosexuality, dogs: fecalphagia... I'm guessing that anthropomorphics aren't a good idea in your group? :smallbiggrin:

kellbyb

2016-08-05, 07:22 AM

Bohandas

2016-08-05, 10:46 AM

I don't know about you people, but I sometimes avoid gnolls because I am worried about an hour long tangential discussion of pseudophalluses.

But that's the most interesting part

squiggit

2016-08-05, 12:07 PM

Despite being iconic since nearly the beginning of the game, gnolls don't seem to see a lot of play. Flinds even less so.

The trouble with Gnolls is that Orcs are more popular and they basically fit the same niche.

Also gnolls are weird. Why hyena-people-monsters? How did that become a semi-mainstream fantasy creature?

Though I guess people have a lot o trouble making goblins and kobolds stand out too but people still use both.

PraxisVetli

2016-08-05, 12:15 PM

I rather like the flavor of the Ruins Chanter, which is a fey focused on decay that inhabits ruins.
I've used those! With Ruin Elementals too! Terrified my group.

Anything aquatic. Never seen a party panic until they had to fight a pair of Drowned, after the boat was already attacked by an advanced HD mosasaur.
I actually used 2 Drowned the other day..
Mage died on the surprise round and by round 3 half the group was unconcious or dead from the aura.
Don't try Drowned at home kids! They really are as under CR'd as they say.

On a side, I feel gibbering Mouthers never see play.

Fitz10019

2016-08-05, 01:22 PM

Also gnolls are weird. Why hyena-people-monsters? How did that become a semi-mainstream fantasy creature?

Because people love dogs, and hyenas are close to being dogs without being loved.

Tanuki Tales

2016-08-05, 01:27 PM

Because people love dogs, and hyenas are close to being dogs without being loved.

Which amuses me, because they're not canines and are closer to cats.

Arbane

2016-08-05, 01:30 PM

On a side, I feel gibbering Mouthers never see play.

My group ran into those a while ago - rather an annoying fight.

Worrisome thing about them: If they engulf someone, their DR/Bludgeoning pretty much guarantees anyone but the monk is screwed. ("How do I CUT my way out with a mace?!")

Willie the Duck

2016-08-05, 02:34 PM

Which amuses me, because they're not canines and are closer to cats.

Although phylogenetically they are closer to felines and viverrids, hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canines in several aspects.
Most people don't go around consulting evolutionary cladograms. They use morphology.

The trouble with Gnolls is that Orcs are more popular and they basically fit the same niche.

Also gnolls are weird. Why hyena-people-monsters? How did that become a semi-mainstream fantasy creature?

Though I guess people have a lot o trouble making goblins and kobolds stand out too but people still use both.

How did they? Well, according to the legend at least, after the name came up as a portmanteau of gnome and troll, Gygax decided that that wasn't actually interesting, so he made something else to give that name to. Makes as much sense as owlbears and rust monsters because of the specific malformed plastic dinosaurs/monsters his kids had as toys.

Agreed on the differing niche as goblins and orcs and kobolds. It was so much easier to give each their due when each one was 1/4 hd, 1/2 hd, 1hd and 2 hd respectively and didn't change. Now you have to find reasons to use one over the other. :smallbiggrin:

rgrekejin

2016-08-05, 03:57 PM

Personally I love the Grey Jester from Heroes of Horror. If you can't find horrifying and creative usages for the Bleak Ones (especially at an early level when the PCs are unlikely to be able to do much about the mind control), you're just not having enough fun.

Tanuki Tales

2016-08-05, 05:03 PM

Most people don't go around consulting evolutionary cladograms. They use morphology.

I'm not most people, which is why it provides me with the little amusement life is capable of giving me these days.

squiggit

2016-08-05, 05:21 PM

How did they? Well, according to the legend at least, after the name came up as a portmanteau of gnome and troll, Gygax decided that that wasn't actually interesting, so he made something else to give that name to. Makes as much sense as owlbears and rust monsters because of the specific malformed plastic dinosaurs/monsters his kids had as toys.
Yeah. I know the stories behind it. I just find it strange of all the things that somehow we get anthropomorphized demon worshipping hyenas. Not that I mind, I like them.

Honest Tiefling

2016-08-05, 06:09 PM

Let me think. Hyenas: pseudophalluses, dolphins and otters: rape, bonobos: homosexuality, dogs: fecalphagia... I'm guessing that anthropomorphics aren't a good idea in your group? :smallbiggrin:

...Yes and no. I have played with furries and people who find them adorable, but many people I play with look up strange biology articles for funsies, hence the issue.

But that's the most interesting part

NOT IN COMBAT. Focus, people, focus!

Which amuses me, because they're not canines and are closer to cats.

Does anyone know off hand where they were put when Gnolls were first made? I get the feeling that they're one of those creatures that has been shifting around clades now that we have genetic studies.

Because people love dogs, and hyenas are close to being dogs without being loved.

Fun fact, the Lion King nearly got boycotted by the scientists helping them out with Hyena life studies because they portrayed the things in a negative light. (They are also surprisingly cute when you see them in person.)

I'm actually going to try to be on topic for once and throw out another monster I have never seen be used: Yakfolk. I have no idea what it is about them, but I sorta like them and have heard of them even featuring in a module.

ExLibrisMortis

2016-08-05, 06:15 PM

I'm actually going to try to be on topic for once and throw out another monster I have never seen be used: Yakfolk. I have no idea what it is about them, but I sorta like them and have heard of them even featuring in a module.
Seconded, I have the same with equiceph (think [minotaur - bull] + horse). Somehow, all these big anthropromorphised domesticated herbivores are evil.

AnimeTheCat

2016-08-05, 07:20 PM

Because people love dogs, and hyenas are close to being dogs without being loved.

*Sigh* I remember when Kobolds were dog creatures... 2e... "the THACO days"... *Sigh*... I'm old lmao

Bohandas

2016-08-05, 07:53 PM

AslanCross

2016-08-05, 08:22 PM

The Manananggal (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/undead/manananggal).

It's an undead vampiric creature that takes the form of a human woman by day, but at sunset splits its upper torso off its legs and takes off. It then hunts for pregnant women and uses its proboscis to suck the fetus from her womb!

It's a staple in Filipino horror, and I was surprised to see it in a Pathfinder bestiary.
The name literally means "remover," as it removes its upper torso from its legs when it hunts, but a horror writer friend of mine translated the name as "body splitter."
Either way it's a great monster for a horror campaign. :D

http://img04.deviantart.net/5820/i/2013/087/7/8/manananggal__filipino_folklore_creature__by_renzze ro-d5zn1zz.jpg

Honest Tiefling

2016-08-05, 08:33 PM

The Manananggal (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/undead/manananggal).

I'm going on a limb and say that one is probably rare because the picture you posted is the only time I have seen the thing where it didn't look giggle-worthy. Where did you find the picture, by the way? I really like it.

Also, targeting pregnant women is running headlong into 'NOPE' territory for a lot of folks, but well, it is a horror-themed creature so that's pretty much coming with the territory.

hamishspence

2016-08-05, 08:33 PM

The Manananggal (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/undead/manananggal).

It's an undead vampiric creature that takes the form of a human woman by day, but at sunset splits its upper torso off its legs and takes off. It then hunts for pregnant women and uses its proboscis to suck the fetus from her womb!

It's a staple in Filipino horror, and I was surprised to see it in a Pathfinder bestiary.
The name literally means "remover," as it removes its upper torso from its legs when it hunts, but a horror writer friend of mine translated the name as "body splitter."
Either way it's a great monster for a horror campaign. :D

D&D did the Penanggalan before that - in Oriental Adventures, in 3rd ed and older editions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanggalan

they may be originally the same myth.

AslanCross

2016-08-06, 12:43 AM

I'm going on a limb and say that one is probably rare because the picture you posted is the only time I have seen the thing where it didn't look giggle-worthy. Where did you find the picture, by the way? I really like it.

Also, targeting pregnant women is running headlong into 'NOPE' territory for a lot of folks, but well, it is a horror-themed creature so that's pretty much coming with the territory.

Tbh it took a while for me to find a decently creepy artwork of it. :)) This one is from deviantart.

Local mythology here is grievously underrepresented in art, for some reason, and most of them appear in grade school textbooks. A textbook I used in class had an adaptation of Indarapatra and Sulayman, an epic about monster-slaying BFFs. They once slew a mountain-dwelling, many-armed monster. One would think it would look like an asura of some kind, but the textbook illustrator used a cartoony clip-art of an octopus.

Dwelling on a mountain. <_<

D&D did the Penanggalan before that - in Oriental Adventures, in 3rd ed and older editions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanggalan

they may be originally the same myth.

Yep, it's related (Malaysian, I think). Even the names are likely etymologically similar. There's a slight difference in that the penanggalan uses a vat of vinegar to shrink its swollen organs to fit back in its body, while the manananggal's lower half, if I'm not mistaken, is vulnerable to vinegar among other things.

Honest Tiefling

2016-08-06, 12:49 AM

Local mythology here is grievously underrepresented in art, for some reason, and most of them appear in grade school textbooks. A textbook I used in class had an adaptation of Indarapatra and Sulayman, an epic about monster-slaying BFFs. They once slew a mountain-dwelling, many-armed monster. One would think it would look like an asura of some kind, but the textbook illustrator used a cartoony clip-art of an octopus.

Dwelling on a mountain. <_<

Until you got to the mountain dwelling octopus, I didn't know if I should be confused why you teach about fetus eating monsters to grade school children, or in awe that your people decided that students should learn about monster hunters. But I hope that the mountain octopus has illustrated why it is sometimes difficult for a DM to introduce monsters from different regions into a game.

Through now I wonder, is there any DnD material that has ACTUAL kobolds that act like the myths?

Zombimode

2016-08-06, 06:00 AM

I'm actually going to try to be on topic for once and throw out another monster I have never seen be used: Yakfolk. I have no idea what it is about them, but I sorta like them and have heard of them even featuring in a module.

Yakfolk are featured in the three part Dungeon Mag series Seeds of Sehan. The module itself it so-so. But I will incorporate it into a larger campaign where the player characters will take over as lords of the province the modules main city Exag is located in (not in Greyhawk though; I will transplant Exag and its surroundings into the current DM's own setting). The campaign should culminate in a conflict between the player's province and the Yakfolk empire. So Yakfolk will have a big appearance :smallsmile:

TerrickTerran

2016-08-06, 06:34 AM

Modrons, Brain in the Jar and Gray Jesters are all favorites of mine. I have used dragons before though rarely as a direct opponent, more the power behind the throne. I have also had fun using otyughs against parties....they always hate that.:smallbiggrin:

Calthropstu

2016-08-06, 07:50 AM

I have never seen centaurs used in d&d or pathfinder, but they seem to be in a lot of stories.

Marlowe

2016-08-06, 08:28 AM

I'm quite interested by the potential of Spikers both as allies and as enemies, but I can see why they're underused. Somebody REALLY made a pig's breakfast of their special rules.

SimonMoon6

2016-08-06, 09:34 AM

I have never seen centaurs used in d&d or pathfinder, but they seem to be in a lot of stories.

This I agree with. Centaurs are a creature that everybody's heard of. They're famous creatures.

But they're neutral and they're intelligent. They're not just going to attack you for no reason, nor do you have reason to wipe them all out. So what good are they? (Rhetorical question... I think they're awesome.)

Well, you could always have a few renegade centaurs acting as bandits or whatever, but if you need bandits of an intelligent race, there are only eighty gazillion intelligent races, many of whom are "evil" so the PCs don't have any moral qualms about killing them on sight.

Bohandas

2016-08-06, 05:30 PM

I don't think I've ever seen a cerebrilith used in a published adventure

nedz

2016-08-06, 07:18 PM

Intelligent items are also underused, though I don't know if that counts.
I use these quite a lot.

Despite being iconic since nearly the beginning of the game, gnolls don't seem to see a lot of play. Flinds even less so.
I'm using Gnolls as a major race in a campaign I'm running at the moment - I have deleted Orcs though. Flinds not so much.
Also - played with a LARP group who were all Gnolls.

Flumphs? :) My party ran into a friendly Flumph Cleric one time. That was an odd adventure.
Had a PC with a Flumph familiar once.

I'm actually going to try to be on topic for once and throw out another monster I have never seen be used: Yakfolk. I have no idea what it is about them, but I sorta like them and have heard of them even featuring in a module.
Saw these used in one campaign I played in quite a lot.

I have never seen centaurs used in d&d or pathfinder, but they seem to be in a lot of stories.
I've used these a lot - had Centaur PCs several times.

I guess it depends on the game - I don't run full kitchen sink, just the subset I want. It's good to have a variety of monsters to choose from.

The ones which get used rarely are the trick, or joke, monsters. These only ever get used the once.