[Week 5] Which is the Playground's favorite monster?! (2.0) - Yes, a "monster."

[Yael]

Welcome to week 5 of us finding out popularity on monsters by direct vote!

You may vote freely for any number of monsters of the selected theme, and at the end of each day for a whole week, we'll see which one was the favoirte 7 days later.
This isn't a competition, just a game, and as a game, everyone is entitled to their opinion of which monster is the best for them, so no arguments please, be good bois. Feel free to say why you love your picks, to help us expand on our viewpoint of that particular creature.
Any vote cast as a reply will be added or counted, so if your monster isn't named yet, vote for it and it will appear and compete~!

This week's theme is:


Monstrosity type
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/d/df/Monster_Manual_5e_-_Tarrasque_-_Cory_Trego-Erdner_-_p287.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/350?cb=20200506174611

Official Artwork from the Monster Manual.

The end date will be next Wednesday, July 22th.
Any source in 5e is fine, as there isn't that much to pick from (yet), and for those obscure 3rd parties, just point out where are they located for the sake of reference~

My vote: Fifth week, huh. Well, I am kinda confused how the monstrosity type works, as it seems it merges monstrous humanoids and magical beasts (I am from 3.5e so those were the types I was familiar with). Anyway, this week's vote is going towards the Minotaur. They are pretty interesting to use, and I'm kinda biased for this pick because they look so cool~



Creature
Creature Type [Tag]
Source

Votes

Chimera
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p39

1

Demogorgon (ST)
Monstrosity
D&D Starter Set - Stranger Things, p223

2

Displacer Beast
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p81

5

Gray Render
Monstrosity
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, p209

1

Grick
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p173

1

Kraken
Monstrosity (Titan)
Monster Manual, p197

2

Manticore
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p213

2

Medusa
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p214

1

Mimic
Monstrosity (Shapechanger)
Monster Manual, p220

6

Minotaur
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p223

1

Owlbear
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p249

3

Phase Spider
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p334

4

Yuan-Ti
Monstrosity
Monster Manual, p307

1



Week
Type/Subtype

Most voted!

[Week 1] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?359801-Week-1-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster&p=17712990#post17712990)
Aberration Type

Aboleth.

[Week 2] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?361173-Week-2-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-Dungeons-and-_______&p=17748761#post17748761)
Dragon Type

Pseudodragon.

[Week 3] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?362428-Week-3-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-Obey-the-Law(ful)!&p=17787914#post17787914)
Lawful Subtype.

Inevitable, Marut.

[Week 4] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?363934-Week-4-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-Vote-from-the-grave&p=17834771#post17834771)
Undead Type.

Lich.

[Week 5] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364977-Week-5-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-Mom!-I-want-some-Jell-o!&p=17874220#post17874220)
Ooze Type.

Living Spell.

[Week 6] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?366161-Week-6-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-Rock-solid!&p=17913634#post17913634)
Earth Subtype.

Earth Elemental.

[Week 7] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?370897-Week-7-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-Thinking-outside-the-box&p=18079460#post18079460)
Outsider Type.

Asmodeus, Lord of the Ninth

Week
Theme

Most voted!

[Week 1] (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?614330-Week-1-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-(2-0)-A-for-Aberration)
Aberration Type

Aboleth

[Week 2] (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?614701-Week-2-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-(2-0)-Normal-is-best)
Humanoid Type

Kobold

[Week 3] (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?615091-Week-3-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-(2-0)-Dungeons-amp-_______!)
Dragon Type

Pseudodragon

[Week 4] (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?615506-Week-4-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-(2-0)-Brains)
Undead Type

Shadow

[Week 5]
Monstrosity Type

Mimic

Disclaimer: I am not sure where this thread should be located, as is D&D 5e specific, but isn't addressing any rules, so feel free to move it to the appropiate forum if neccesary. Thanks.

[MrStabby]

Monstrosity is a bit... miscelanious.

Going to go for Medusa though. And Kraken.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Yeah, monstrosities seem to be things that look like they could be real animals, but aren't. A lot of classic Ancient Greek and old school D&D monsters here. Difficult to just pick one! Which I am going to do because hedging your bets is for the weak.

I'm gonna vote for the displacer beast.

[Aett_Thorn]

First vote is for Chimera, since the DM can, and should, make use of it to replace any heads as it sees fit, making it a very modular monster. Plus, just the base Chimera from the MM can be fun to use against your party since it can do a bit of everything.

Runner up for me is the Grey Render, because who doesn't want a large puppy that will go on a random murder streak for you?

[ScoutTrooper]

Vote / Elect : Grick Monster Manual pg.173

The ability to look like stone outcropping to let the unsuspecting party to walk by, only to be suddenly surrounded by hungry wurm like creatures (I use to play Green mana decks heavily in MtG) A CR2 monster with multiattacks, raises the stakes quick on low-mid level characters. Their AC isn't so high, but some of their ability scores give +2 on STR, DEX & WIS saves.

I can confirm that 4 of them will wipe a 3x lvl.3 player party (Bard, EK, Paladin)

[elyktsorb]

I vote for Mimic

[Tanarii]

Displacer Beast

They're what every little cat wishes to grow up into.

[Lupine]

I vote for Mimic

Can’t not join here. It’s such a classic monster.

[Imbalance]

I may get tarred and feathered for this, but give the show credit at least. Without the adventure within the adventure of Stranger Things (among a host of other contemporary indoctrinations) I might have never tried D&D. But what drew me to the show, of course, was the star monster. As a long time Alien fan, I have to say that ST's Demogorgon, while having almost nothing to do with the classic demon of the same name, is one of the most fantastic and horrible screen creations of the last 20 years. While I have no idea what its stats look like from that weird splat tie-in they released, I do know they made it a monstrosity.

[Luccan]

I'll vote Gray Render. Been fascinated with them since 3rd. Their schtick is fun and an easy way to lend a helpful NPC or an enemy bruiser to any sort of encounter

[Dragonsonthemap]

This caused me to realize that I hardly ever use monstrosities, for some reason. I'll go with Manticore.

[Civis Mundi]

It might seem like my vote is for the Displacer Beast, partly for the sheer style of a Cloak of Displacement. But nope, turns out it was a Mimic in disguise. The Mimic is just too iconic not to vote for.

[Yael]

Yeah, even in 3e I didn't go all the way in using magical beasts that much. They are fun though, and because not all players expect them, they can be difficult to meta over.

Edit:

I may get tarred and feathered for this, but give the show credit at least. Without the adventure within the adventure of Stranger Things (among a host of other contemporary indoctrinations) I might have never tried D&D. But what drew me to the show, of course, was the star monster. As a long time Alien fan, I have to say that ST's Demogorgon, while having almost nothing to do with the classic demon of the same name, is one of the most fantastic and horrible screen creations of the last 20 years. While I have no idea what its stats look like from that weird splat tie-in they released, I do know they made it a monstrosity.
For what I could find, ST's Demogorgon is typed as an aberration. Unless of course, I got the wrong splatbook.https://ia802805.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/31/items/ddstrangerthings/Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_jp2.zip&file=Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_jp2/Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_0000.jp2&scale=11.683185840707965&rotate=0

[Avonar]

How can I not say mimic? It's probably the most iconic monster in all of D&D, nevermind your beholders or mindflayers, the little angry chest is the thing that most people know.

[P. G. Macer]

For the sheer ironic mixed with the iconic, I have to go with the Owlbear.

[TigerT20]

Displacer beasts. They just seem... right.

[Witty Username]

Phase Spider, the blinking monster that ambushes while rocking a sickly white-green body and packing paralyzing poison. great random monster.

[TigerT20]

Phase Spider, the blinking monster that ambushes while rocking a sickly white-green body and packing paralyzing poison. great random monster.

Aww, I forgot about them.

An excellent way to get players used to the Facing variant rule.

[Millstone85]

Well, I am kinda confused how the monstrosity type works, as it seems it merges monstrous humanoids and magical beasts (I am from 3.5e so those were the types I was familiar with).The monstrosity type is "a catch-all category for creatures that don't fit into any other type" (MM p6). It doesn't truly have an identity, which makes choosing your favourites feel a bit odd.

And I am left scratching my head as to why certain creatures ended up as monstrosities. Like, why is the blink dog a fey but not the displacer beast? And the Shadowfell seems to be full of monstrosities, because 5e forgot to include a "shadow" or "umbral" creature type.

Anyhow, here are my votes.

Mimic
Yes, I agree, mimics are awesome. They even have a few decent jokes about them:

The barkeeper asked why we carried weapons on us in the bar. I said "mimics". The barkeeper laughed. The party laughed. The table laughed. We killed the table. It was a good time.
"You see a well-groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you see a gazebo." "Haha, okay, I go sit down in the dread gazebo." "It is a large mimic." "Fffffuu..."
Nowadays, a mimic would take the form of an Amazon delivery box sitting on the front porch of an abandoned house. It would get larger as it eats more people, attracting more people because it is a larger box.
A hope of mine is that 5e will eventually reintroduce the impersonator, an intelligent mimic that has essentially become the alien from The Thing.

Owlbear
For sure, owlbears and flumphs share a special place in our hearts.

Yuan-ti
I fell in love with them sneeple after I found out about the shulassakar of Eberron. Now I am working on a creation myth that revolves around salamanders, nagas, couatls and mariliths, each with their own yuan-ti followers.

[Imbalance]

Yeah, even in 3e I didn't go all the way in using magical beasts that much. They are fun though, and because not all players expect them, they can be difficult to meta over.

Edit:

For what I could find, ST's Demogorgon is typed as an aberration. Unless of course, I got the wrong splatbook.https://ia802805.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/31/items/ddstrangerthings/Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_jp2.zip&file=Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_jp2/Character%20Sheet%20-%20Demogorgon_0000.jp2&scale=11.683185840707965&rotate=0

I dunno, is that official? I'm going by ample promotional pictures of the inside of the book showing a sketch of ol' petalhead under the heading Demogorgon, where the first line reads "A Demogorgon is a monstrosity the size and shape of an adult human..." but maybe the stat block says otherwise. If it turns out he's disqualified on a technicality, put me down for a phase spider instead.

[Yael]

I dunno, is that official? I'm going by ample promotional pictures of the inside of the book showing a sketch of ol' petalhead under the heading Demogorgon, where the first line reads "A Demogorgon is a monstrosity the size and shape of an adult human..." but maybe the stat block says otherwise. If it turns out he's disqualified on a technicality, put me down for a phase spider instead.

Don't quote me on that one, that's the one I managed to find outside of our beloved two-headed prince of the abyss. If you could point out a source we could add him no problem~

[Euclidodese]

I'm voting Kraken
I love the idea of a great abyssal monster lurking in the dark, untouched depths.

[Imbalance]

Don't quote me on that one, that's the one I managed to find outside of our beloved two-headed prince of the abyss. If you could point out a source we could add him no problem~

Nothing definitive, but without spending money I found the image (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0169/6995/7440/products/E3702_Stranger_Things_Dungeons_Dragons_Roleplaying _Game_Starter_Set_6_2000x.jpg?v=1568738371) I was thinking of on Hasbro's shop and search results (https://www.dndbeyond.com/search?q=Demogorgon&f=monsters&c=monsters) from dndbeyond.com. That's all the research I care to do, not really something I'll argue about either way.

[Wizard_Lizard]

Put me down under Owlbear. They adorable.

[Yael]

Nothing definitive, but without spending money I found the image (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0169/6995/7440/products/E3702_Stranger_Things_Dungeons_Dragons_Roleplaying _Game_Starter_Set_6_2000x.jpg?v=1568738371) I was thinking of on Hasbro's shop and search results (https://www.dndbeyond.com/search?q=Demogorgon&f=monsters&c=monsters) from dndbeyond.com. That's all the research I care to do, not really something I'll argue about either way.

That seems enough for me, I'll even throw a vote myself now that it's available~

[Lyracian]

Displaced beast
Owlbear came close to getting my vote; it was a tough choice.

[MrStabby]

These threads are a reminder that at it's best d&d really has a lot of awesome content. So many great monsters with great backgrounds.

[Ganryu]

Man, why I can't I hold all these Monstrosities? 4 get my vote

Mimic
Manticore
Displacer Beast
Phase Spider

All great monsters. Mimic's iconic in EVERY Fantasy Genre, Manticore is terrifying, and both Displacer beast and Phase Spider just keep warping around. I like'em!

[Yael]

This week was full of interesting opinions, which is great! I love these threads attract more people to vote~

Anyway, that door over there won.

Ho? You thought it was a door but it was I, a mimic!

Also, new thread is up (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?616326-Week-6-Which-is-the-Playground-s-favorite-monster-!-(2-0)&p=24627568).