DMs! what is your Favorite monster?

[Vrel]

Out of curiousity.. what is everyones favorite monster to use against their players?

Is the Bard a Sucker for Succubus?
Does the fighter have a thing for Killing Trolls?

Do you have a Dragon heavy campaign? Undead? Fey?

Post your favorite Flavor of Baddie here!

[Oeryn]

Human with class levels. :smallbiggrin:

[ALOR]

Great Question

I love dragons myself. All colors all varieties. The more the better

[Fax Celestis]

I consistently find myself turning to PC races with class levels.

[Vrel]

My DM prior to me starting up my own game was a dragon fanatic. I didnt know that he was until i had already created my character... A gunslinger who specialized in taking down dragons. Dragons bane Glock and Desert Eagle, two dancing Desert eagles, quick draw, heroic surge, a belt of battle, and lots of gunslinger levels. I think in my one round i dealth 200 pts of damage to the poor adult Red dragon... at least i didnt load my guns with Dragonslaying ammo.

Then he started putting us up against constructs.. Hooray. My dragon slaying abilities..they do nothing.

by the way, Hi Fax! Now if i can just get the vorpal tribble in here, i have my two most read posters involved in my topic :P

[Lord Tataraus]

I consistently find myself turning to PC races with class levels.

Ditto. They make the best enemies because I can make them exactly the way i want to and I can always add templates. Other than that, a few hand picked things from the MMs. Though I like Dragons, I have yet to have the party fight one.

[Fako]

Core: Hydra (my players usually don't worry about AC until I throw them against a hydra...)

Non-Core: Ephemeral Hangman (From ToM)

[Saph]

Ooh, fun question.

It depends what I want to do. If I want something to challenge the PCs, a Greater Barghest (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/barghest.htm#greaterBarghest) makes for a really tough fight for a CR 5 encounter.

For 'Do not fight unless you want to die' encounters, I use dragons.

Oozes are great to annoy party members, since they're deadly, eat your gear, and are immune to practically everything except being hit repeatedly with a blunt object.

And if I want to really frustrate PCs, but not put them in serious danger, a Will O' Wisp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/willOWisp.htm) is good. Untouchable, but can't do much damage.

I try to avoid using higher-level NPCs unless the NPCs are going to fight with hit-and-run tactics and escape when threatened. Higher-level NPCs carry lots and lots of valuable gear, which can quickly throw off the WBL of the party if the PCs make a habit of killing NPCs and taking their stuff. So I only bring them out for special opponents.

- Saph

[Maryring]

Everything. I use everything from undead to PC races to monstrous races to outsiders. The only thing I rarely use as opponents are true animals. Everyone else have a chance to appear to try to kill, eat, maim, and otherwise hamper my players.

[kamikasei]

I agree with those saying humanoids with class levels, but to be honest, I'm itching to reach the game level where I can throw a Half-Fiend Troll at them.

[The Great Skenardo]

My favorite? Powerful and impressive magical beasts. Then, after you've hit the final blow that sinks the muscle-bound behemoth, your players really feel like they've done something. Plus, you can swat them around something fierce.

Aside from that, I also like vermin, just because they have a nice creep-out factor, and are immune to many conventional tactics.

[Green Bean]

Rather than humanoids with class levels, I like to give non-humanoids with class levels. It has always been a dream of mine to make an allusion to Monty Python like that.

NPC: There he is! The creature that has been tormenting our town!

PC: Where, behind that Kobold?

Then they discover the Kobold is a 20th level barbarian. :smallamused:

[Fax Celestis]

My favorite? Powerful and impressive magical beasts. Then, after you've hit the final blow that sinks the muscle-bound behemoth, your players really feel like they've done something. Plus, you can swat them around something fierce.

Aside from that, I also like vermin, just because they have a nice creep-out factor, and are immune to many conventional tactics.

Akin to that, I am partial to the PPDC, but it would take a special kind of game for me to actually use one.

[Vrel]

Akin to that, I am partial to the PPDC, but it would take a special kind of game for me to actually use one.



i say again.. that thing is scary.

My personal Favorite seems to be Golems. Golems of any sort really make my day for some reason. Maybe its that whole immunity to magic thing... The sad thing is that all my players are physical combatants. Not much magic going on there.

Aside from golems, i think i am a big fan of Vampires.

The theme of my game: "Make a will save"

[bignate]

classed humanoids are definitly my favorites but a few mobs i really like as BBEG's are:

barghest
ogre magi
protean scourge

they are all very nice.

[slexlollar89]

Fax, the crab is awesome, and I have to say, whomever kills the thing will get one helluva nice dinner (although it doensn't come with butter... give t a unique divine ability!).

Secondly, my favorite enemy to throw are teiflings, lots of them, usually with crossbows. Seriosly, right from the MM, just throw em in there.

[Thanatos 51-50]

The city guard.

Or, more appropriately, the city guardsmen with spellcasting levels. Becuase spellcasting is outlawed unless you register with the evil and corrupt government which the PCs are trying to take down.

[CrazedGoblin]

Skeletons imbued with the power of the elements!

[Kyeudo]

I happen to like Tomb Spiders, but so far I haven't gotten a chance to use these fun arachnids.

Other things I have enjoyed using have been Dolgaunts, Dolgrims, and Chokers. I think I had a player seriously considering taking Aberration Banemagic.

[Vrel]

has anyone actively used any of the creatuers from the MitP Threads?

[Fax Celestis]

has anyone actively used any of the creatuers from the MitP Threads?

Yes. Which ones in particular are you looking at?

[Vrel]

they are all just so awesome. I am not looking at any in particular, but i have already used the Moss Golems, the WickerThralls, and am about to use Darkwomb Mother and the Ghost wolf that haunts your dreams... cant remember what it is called.. Too bad they arent organized by CR :P

I was just curious if anyone had a strong liking of any one in particular, i was going to look it over and see about implementing it. I just got three new PCs in my campaign, so i can add some tough stuff, now (Phew, someone played a cleric).

[Jerthanis]

Troglodytes appeal to me in some unreasonable fashion. They're like every other "ugly green humanoid with humanoid weapons" but they have that stinking cloud attack that forces humans to engage in intelligent ways lest they be overwhelmed.

also, any Aberration. They're all good. From Carrion Crawlers to Mind Flayers to Chokers to Beholders.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Abberrations*. Easily my favorite monster to throw at my players but only cause they're not tactics-savvy enough to go up against my true favorites...devils. :smallamused:

Nothing says bow down and accept defeat like telling your players that your version of Asmodeus has a +89 modifier to Perform (Dance).

*They perhaps have some of the only abilities that PC's can't easily replicate, if they can at all!

[Eela6]

The Hydra. Nothing more quickly demonstrates to players the need for effective tactics than a Hydra, which is the most ruthlessly unfair monster in close quarters a PC will likely ever encounter.

But only as a demonstration.

[horseboy]

Gnashers. They're big, they're scarry, they're stupid. But if you just rush them, they will chew you out of existence. The perfect PC stupidity test.

My players love espagra. I don't know what it is about those blue, giant, flying iguanas that they love so much.

[Eighth_Seraph]

Nothing says bow down and accept defeat like telling your players that your version of Asmodeus has a +89 modifier to Perform (Dance).

SIGGED!

Anyway, I definitely prefer to use any intelligent creature, particularly non-humanoids, because my players seem incapable of doing anything strategic other than "Bash whichever one's closest, zap the one that's further away." I enjoy making them think "Zap the one crushing the sneaky guy's ribs, bash the glowy thing in that weird blob's tentacles, charm the guy that looks like he can eat our mounts in three bites apiece."

[PlatinumJester]

Gelatinous Cube because it's a cube made of jelly. It's coolness factor is through the roof.

Balck Dragon because it's the nightrider of dragons.

Salt Mummy - Hey GUYS, I'M ALL SALTY. WADDUP WID DAT? It resembles a person in my group alot and we have had loads of fun with it.

Alfryd -the human with one intelligence, a vorpal spork and a loin clothe. Homebrewed but so funky.

[kamikasei]

Rather than humanoids with class levels, I like to give non-humanoids with class levels. It has always been a dream of mine to make an allusion to Monty Python like that.

NPC: There he is! The creature that has been tormenting our town!

PC: Where, behind that Kobold?

Then they discover the Kobold is a 20th level barbarian. :smallamused:

Kobolds... are humanoids. Kobolds, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, lizardfolk...

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I've had great fun with Splinterwaifs (MM III) and Tsochar (LoM).

The first because you can practically stick them anywhere as a nuisance and they just got some really fun abilities.

Tsochar are just plain vicious and can seriously mess with players. Everything from being small with a 15-foot reach to slithering into bodies and taking them over.

Great fun :smallamused:

[PlatinumJester]

Rust Monsters.
Tarrasque = easy.
Balor = nothing
Rust Monster = run for your lives (especially Warforged).

[Vrel]

Huzzah! mission accomplished! Vorpal tribble and Fax in the same thread.

Splinter wolves appear to be interesting, but would they require conversion to 3.5 rules? if i recall correctly, isnt MM II a 3.0 rulebook?

[TheOOB]

I acually have a lot of fun using Yuan-Ti, but perhaps thats just my love for the Conan novels showing through.

[Crazy_Uncle_Doug]

I love Dragons. Especially in Dungeons.

[Kyeudo]

I have to agree with Tribble. Tsochar are truly awesome. I plan to use them as spies for the Daelkyr in my Eberron game, should they ever get involved with the Kyber.

[AslanCross]

I consistently find myself turning to PC races with class levels.

As do I. Although my campaign hasn't really gotten that far yet, a rather large amount of my encounters are against PC races. With the ton of feats available, it's rather easy to customize them as much as one wants.

For non-PC races, I really like goblinoids. Want an intelligent, straightforward fighter-type? Hobgoblin. Want a sneaky one? Goblin. Big and mean? Bugbear. They have pretty good ability score adjustments, though arguably their level adjustment is rather silly (especially in the case of hobgoblins).

For some reason I really like the Ogre Mage. I thought the original RAW Ogre Mage was cool, but then I saw the recalibrated Ogre Mage (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060721a) that WOTC did. More HD, less weird abilities, more synergy, lower CR. Sign me up.

[Swooper]

Let's see...

I like Ogre Magi (like the previous poster), Trolls, Dragons, anything that's just a *beast* - animals, dire animals, weird things like owlbears and griffons - without spell-like abilities and whatnot... On the other hand, I like aberrations like Beholders and Illithid too. And githyanki, I've long had a fondness for them. Hmm, and humanoids* with class levels, like a lot of people. Also, I'm itching to try a tribute to Tucker's kobolds some day.

*Fun fact for y'all: Back before 3rd Edition, humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes and half-elves were, in fact, not considered 'Humanoids'. Humans were just Humans, and the rest of the standard races were considered Demi-Humans. Guess the distinction was there to rationalize the butchering of the more monstrous races, or something.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Anything in Lords of Madness makes my day. I also love Kuo-toa. Anything Lovecraftian, I suppose. I'm also a big Gnoll fan.

[Collin152]

Nothing says "abandon hope" quite like a lich with vampire lieutenants. :smallbiggrin:

[Cogwheel]

hmm, tough choice... I use a lot of NPCs with class levels... such as Kathris Terall, a CE thri-kreen Shadow hand/Tiger Claw swordsage of mine, or Sarruth Chillwind, a bard lich. And yes, he's scary as hell too, bards aren't jokes :smallsmile:.


As for regular monsters... I have to say water elementals. This, at the risk of tooting my own horn, is why. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3178933&postcount=75)

Oh, and kobolds. I'm a major fan of kobolds, both as PCs and NPCs.

[Nakun]

The monster that has won a special place in my heart is the Lolth-touched Bebeilith. In my first ever run I mistook a CR 9 monster for one that a single 9th level PC could take on and through it in cause they were both lvl 9 and it's CR 11. It has scarred them for life.

The other particularly fun thing I've done is teifling gangs. Lots of rouges and the sorcerer leader. Makes for fun, especially when the sorcerer pc picks a fight with the teifling sorcerer.

[rankrath]

purple worm, hands down. Such an awesome monster, the first time I ran it vs. my players, they figured it was just some random encounter. It proceded to gobble up the party fighter and cleric, leaving the wizard and utility to stand around.

[adanedhel9]

I generally use humanoids with class levels. When I'm not, I'm typically using no- or low-magic creatures - animals, ankhegs, shocker lizards, that sort of thing. Probably my favorite Monster is the Aurumvorax (http://www.vanhiel.com/daniel/creatures.php?monstername=Aurumvorax), though I haven't used one since my 2e days.


Ditto. They make the best enemies because I can make them exactly the way i want to and I can always add templates.

Of course, you can make monsters that are really exactly the way you want with a little more effort.:smalltongue:

[dyslexicfaser]

And if I want to really frustrate PCs, but not put them in serious danger, a Will O' Wisp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/willOWisp.htm) is good. Untouchable, but can't do much damage.

Ooh, Wisps are fun. Reminds me of the druid PrC I keep swearing I'm going to get into one of these days, the Corpselight Whisperer, that can summon and wildshape into Will-O'-Wisps.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Demons, the more powerful the better.

[Volug]

I usually have some Were-Creatures.

they help me identify the parties strengths, thanks to their damage reduction
:smallmad: :smallfurious: :smallfrown: :smallyuk: :smallcool: :smalleek: :smallconfused: :smallwink: :smallbiggrin: :smallsmile: :smallannoyed: :smalltongue: :smallamused: :smallsigh: :smallredface: (that was because of the dare thread in the SMBG, just 3 more posts to go!)

[Yeygresh]

Hobgoblins with class levels. Hobgoblins are my favorite because
A: They're organized(Fighters in front, Mages/Archers in back)
B: You don't need to create a complicated backstory with them.
C:They can team up with other races for added variety/difficulty. Hobbos team up with Orcs and Giants for a raid, or maybe they captured some ogres. You can't tell me that an army of 5,000 Hobgoblins, 2,000 Orcs, 300 Frost Giants, and an Epic Wizard riding a chariot of pure platinum and gold pulled by a Dominated elder dragon of every color is not impressive.

Edit: Witness their glory (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0148.html).

[Neon Knight]

Golems, Devils, Hobgoblins, Kuo-Ta, and the occasional Barghest. With or without class levels, they are all awesome.

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

A gaggle of Beholders with swarm traits. Or would that be similar to a bunch of crows... calling it a Murder? muwaahaha

[Leon]

Inteligent Undead
Devils
Goblinoids (Hobgoblins over ranking the others)
Animated Statues

[Shas aia Toriia]

Level 5 kobolds! :smallbiggrin:

[Paragon Badger]

Badgers.

...Death from below.

[Shas aia Toriia]

Has anybody mentioned those DAMNED crabs yet?

[kpenguin]

Humans. Very versatile and easy to surprise the PCs with. You never know what those damn humans are going to do next.

[Shas aia Toriia]

That would be insulting to the human members of this board. I am, of course, Elven, and feel no need to feel bad for them.

[Toliudar]

Because my PC's are usually of the hack and blast variety, and our sessions fairly short: giants, dragons and other "one big thing to take on the group" seems to be very satisfying for them. Masses of mooks with class levels tend to bog down as I work out WHICH kobold sorcerer has shield active...

Having said that, a bunch of low level kobold rogues helped introduce the concept of flat-footedness in 3.0 to my group, and they haven't yet forgotten them. Kobolds FTW.

[Muffin_Man]

I also like purple worms, and I always find a way to insert them in my campaign.

I found out in the last campaign a ran that a group of Frost Worms (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/frostWorm.htm) are really nice, especially when they start to blow themselves in a chain reaction, with the PCs in the middle.

And Dragons, they are always challenging and different, and with all the feats and spells for them (draconomicon), the players never know what's coming next.

[Kompera]

Illithids. Best party foil ever with some class levels.

[black wagner]

I personally love dragons, but an anti-party seems to always give the group the biggest challenge.

[wowy319]

Well, I'm pretty much obsessed with statting humanoids, so anything with a template and a cool PrC is right up my alley.

for instance... half-elf/half fiend bard 14/rogue 4/dirgesinger 5 that wielded the wand of orcus. Yeah, I actually had that go against my PCs as the BBEG.

[InkEyes]

Krenshar- A cat/hyena/thing that can pull the skin back from its face? Awesome!

Inevitables- Nothing says "I told you X was a bad idea" like sending a planes-crossing enforcer of a fundamental principle down on your PCs.

Dragons- (Of course)

Ethereal Filchers- They pop in, steal your stuff, and pop out. A different kind of challenge for PCs who want to keep their valuables. (This is assuming the Filcher is used in moderation and the PCs have the opportunity to track it down and get their stuff back.)

Doppleganger- Find out who in the royal court is really a shapeshifting assassin!

Assassin Vines- Get your butt kicked by what you thought was a harmless vine-covered trellis.

[TheAlmightyOne]

Dire rats. At least one has always appeared in ever dungeon we do. Its now a running joke that hes the reccuring villan.

[Leon]

Non Standard Dragons are fun to use

[BardicDuelist]

Devils and cultists with nasty class levels.

Mind Flayers are fun too. When your group is happy that they still have brains and are not slaves, you send them to the negative energy plane with a touch attack, similar to the one that almost got the fighter's brains eaten.

Aboleths can become the most terrifying things your players have ever had to interact with. Especially if you make the party try to seek information from them, rather than just fight and kill.

Basically, with these, I like intelligent LE things, because my epitome of good is a witty freedom fighter.

Rustmonsters are my favorite things to have as pets. I find them cute.

[AslanCross]

Basically, with these, I like intelligent LE things, because my epitome of good is a witty freedom fighter.

Same here. Hobgoblins, devils, tyrannical humanoids, ogre mages and certain undead types. Oh, and blue dragons. Blue dragons are my favorite dragon color.

[Orzel]

Trolls, constructs, and the wizards who ride (on top or inside of) them.

"hey, that mount's got an axe hand"

[Fax Celestis]

Has anybody mentioned those DAMNED crabs yet?

Yup. I linked it earlier. Also, see my sig.

[my_evil_twin]

I've found myself using the half-fiend template quite a bit. It lets me use humanoids with class levels, but keeps them decidedly monstrous. Right now there are a lot of half-fiend hobgoblins running around my world. Templated humanoids get more powerful attacks but usually have low HD for their CR, so I like to use them as mooks, to give my PCs a satisfying enemy body count.

[Enzario]

I once DMed a game to give my normal DM a break. Nothing ingrains itself in your players' minds quite like kobold sorcerers, secret tunnels, and animated armoires. :smallamused:

[Zeal]

Elementals of all kinds.

I also love Ogres and Trolls but haven't had much of a chance to run encounters against them.

[John Campbell]

Humans. Everything gets so much fuzzier when the bad guys are human. Players have to start thinking and making moral choices, instead of just hitting anything that looks different.

[Raistlin1040]

Rust Monsters. 'Nuff said. :smallwink:

[LesterLester]

everything faster, smarter, more intelligent and powerful than my group, vampires, fiends, celestials gone crazy,(homebrewn) high-elves (having mastered technology and magic to a incredible level, comparison between them and us is like between homo sapiens and homo neanderthalensis). enemies that are better in any way...enemies my players get inferiority complexes from.(...i guess that is one of my problems...my campaigns are often quite depressing. Noone cares about the characters, they are out of money, there's treason behind every corner, and half of them die every 2 levels rescuing people starving to death some weeks later(farmers) or people who get killed by some badass-army(the rest) or people later dying from torture for having contact to the group ).

[Alveanerle]

One word - Hex! As in "hex dragon".

[Krelon]

Do humanoids qualify as monsters?

I like hobgoblins, you can start bringing them at level 1.
In groups with warriors levels, accompanied by an shaman adept and one or two fighter/rougue/barbarian chiefs they are still challenging at higher levels. You can add trolls, ogres and giants to the mix and the typical evil sorcerer or cleric.

Also, undead and all sorts of home brewed devils and demons. If you take only from the MM, the players will know exactly what to do.