I will now have nightmares forever...

[SamTheCleric]

So, I was helping stat out some encounters for a friend... and flipped through Fiend Folio.

Cranium Rat Swarm.

300 diminutive rats with a hive-mind that can cast spells. So. Friggin. Scary. :smalleek:

What monster in all the books makes you cringe when you read it? Not from the statblock alone... but imagining it in the real world?

[Kyeudo]

Tsochar from Lords of Madness

Not the body snatching. More from the idea that you can feel the tentacles sliding around underneath your skin.

[bugsysservant]

Why was it that when I read the title of the thread I immediately thought the name "Collin152"?

[Bag_of_Holding]

Personally, I don't think I'll survive the very sight of many monsters. I have an innate dislike for anything non-humanoid that moves.

[TheThan]

So, I was helping stat out some encounters for a friend... and flipped through Fiend Folio.

Cranium Rat Swarm.

300 diminutive rats with a hive-mind that can cast spells. So. Friggin. Scary. :smalleek:

What monster in all the books makes you cringe when you read it? Not from the statblock alone... but imagining it in the real world?

yeah, cranium rats get me too. particularly since i hate rats as a matter of purpose. My first time experiencing them was in Planescape torment, I took the quest to clean them out of the sewers or whatever. i saw one and went "alright i can take on a rat". then i got hit by a bolt of lightening, killing my whole party in one shot... yeah that was nasty.

[Azerian Kelimon]

The Kython Slaughterking. Alien queen? Meh, D&D has something better. Kill THAT, Ellen Ripley!

Seriously. After having how the slaughterking killed and evoured a char in grisly detail, I'm scared of Kythons in general and slaughterkings in particular.

[bosssmiley]

I take it you haven't met Vorpal Tribble yet then? :smallwink:

[Dhavaer]

Roach Thralls, from Urban Arcana. The illustration counts for at least part of this.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m126/stoopidtallkid/Internet/96075.jpg

Just because.

[Solo]

Personally, I don't think I'll survive the very sight of many monsters. I have an innate dislike for anything non-humanoid that moves.

Kill the alien, burn the mutant, purge the unclean!

[Green Bean]

<image>

Just because.

*Cough*

:smallcool:

[Konig]

Just because.

That's not a creature I'd enjoy looking at from behind, to be honest.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

That's not a creature I'd enjoy looking at from behind, to be honest.The backside has...wait for it...ANOTHER FACE.

Yeah, I'm still trying to understand why.

[SamTheCleric]

I want to make a carriage with 4 of those serving as wheels.

[Draz74]

I want to make a carriage with 4 of those serving as wheels.

Or a chariot, with two serving as wheels and two pulling?

[SilentNight]

WHat the hell is it?:smallconfused:

If Cthullu counts then definitely it. If not then I'd have to go with the Kraken.

[hamishspence]

tomb of magic has vestiges, and afew monsters flavoured after vestiges. thats one.

[Worira]

Personally, I don't think I'll survive the very sight of many monsters. I have an innate dislike for anything non-humanoid that moves.

Umm... Well, that's a completely crippling phobia. Fish. Chickens. Cars. Spiders. Snakes. Crabs. Kittens.

[Maulrus]

Umm... Well, that's a completely crippling phobia. Fish. Chickens. Cars. Spiders. Snakes. Crabs. Kittens.

That could be pretty funny. He'd be walking down the street, thinking, "Hmm what should I eat for lunch today OH GOD A KITTEN AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH"

[Ascension]

Mockery Bug. Sooooo creeepy. It's how they repeat cheerful nonsense phrases over and over again while bursting out of someone's head... *shiver*

The illustration doesn't help.

[Staven]

One that I've always thought of in a fairly "what are we supposed to do about this" light is merely a Balor. One could plow through San Francisco without being stopped. No one would be able to do anything. Ever.

One of the most unsettling? Pretty much anything in LoM, with priority given to Mindflayers. They have made brain-sucking into entertainment, but otherwise, they all look like things from an HP Lovecraft book.

[Jayngfet]

to be honest the thing that makes me cringe isn't so much a monster, it's how they talk about it in cityscape, apparently dopplegangers who don't like polatics can be prostitutes...:eek:

[TRM]

Maybe I'm mentally weak, but:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ff_gallery/50103.jpg
That one disgusts me on many levels.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Wasn't that the point of that pic?

Also, on the Balor subject: Tank. Can you say PWN'ED? Really, a tank shell was statted and did 10d8 or something like that and autohitted. A few of those and the balor lies dead.

[Bag_of_Holding]

Umm... Well, that's a completely crippling phobia. Fish. Chickens. Cars. Spiders. Snakes. Crabs. Kittens.

I just don't like them. I don't fear them as long as they don't approach me with a purpose of... getting close. I'll freak out then. :smallfrown:

[Azerian Kelimon]

Something similar happens to me, but only with dogs. They just seem to make my senses go haywire, freaking me out.

[drengnikrafe]

Tarrasque.
The mere thought of something that tall, with it's imposing claws and bloodthristy teeth marching down the street, eating everything in it's path...
So many lives that could never be saved...

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I think it was teh Apocral thingy Scion. The idea of a dead baby killing is just...

[AslanCross]

I think it was teh Apocral thingy Scion. The idea of a dead baby killing is just...

Agreed. The Atropal and the Atropal Scion are among the freakiest monsters in the game. The twisted undead aborted fetus of a god is quite terrifying, to be honest.

The Kythons are also freaky, but mostly for the excessive gore they're drawn wallowing in.

[skywalker]

Wasn't that the point of that pic?

Also, on the Balor subject: Tank. Can you say PWN'ED? Really, a tank shell was statted and did 10d8 or something like that and autohitted. A few of those and the balor lies dead.

EDIT: A balor has 290 HP.

Well, according to the d20 Modern SRD, an Abrams tank(the only tank worth driving, it runs on jet fuel) gun shoots shells that do 10d12 damage, altho they don't auto-hit. Abrams tanks also have hardness 20 and 64 HP(along with a "defense" of six, basically an auto-hit for a balor).

A balor, if I've input the numbers into Dire Press' calculator correctly, will average 20 damage on each attack. Which means a balor vs. one tank is a pretty evenly matched battle, since I didn't take into account it's SLAs, or the fact that a standard soldier in a tank(not very high level) doesn't have a very good chance of hitting the balor.

However, I have completely missed the point. I mean, why would San Francisco own a tank? :smalltongue:

[bugsysservant]

However, I have completely missed the point. I mean, why would San Francisco own a tank? :smalltongue:

Well, to fight off Balors of course. You're kinda slow, ain't ya? :smalltongue:

I can see it now, a massive glass cube, twenty feet to a side holding a functional Abrams tank in some military complex somewhere... "In case of D&D break glass"

[GrandMasterMe]

Nothing is more scary then facing down a kobold in leather armor, even the most seasoned combatants get the shivers simply by speaking of the horror of the (pause for dramatic effect) KOBOLD!!! Du Du DU

[Collin152]

Why was it that when I read the title of the thread I immediately thought the name "Collin152"?

I don't know.
You tell me.

After all, if you're still able to fall asleep, it obviously wasn't me.

[Nonanonymous]

The xill. An evil race of bug people that can always see us, but we can never see them? *shudder* I'm not too sure on how it all works, but I believe there are ways to cast spells across planar boundaries, especially the coterminous ones.

[Kol Korran]

one monster that i like, mainly because it dsiturbs me personally, is the Gibbering Mouther- an oozing slithering mass of flesh, that keeps gibbering incomprehensebly, alters the ground it moves upon, has many eyes and mouths of different colors and shapes that keep sinking into and appearing from that oozing flesh, and then it bites, and bites again, and suddenly you're inside it], beaten by the numerous gibbering mouth, tearing your fleash away, bleeding you dry to the sound of maddening chatter...

<shivers and goes to wash himself....>

[Dark Knight Renee]

What monster in all the books makes you cringe when you read it? Not from the statblock alone... but imagining it in the real world?


Stirges. *shudder*

[bosssmiley]

Maybe I'm mentally weak, but:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ff_gallery/50103.jpg
That one disgusts me on many levels.

Don't worry, it's not just you. Ick! I mean... :smalleek: ...EUGH!!!

[hamishspence]

for D&D i might go with the Hagunemnon or Protean, an epic creature which is very, very like the 1980s version of The Thing. Nasty.

[Thane of Fife]

I'm unsure whether it was ever brought to 3.x (probably), but the Living Wall always creeped me out.

I mean, you're walking along, when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You grab it in surprise and get sucked into the wall, where you spend the rest of eternity going mad and sucking in more people!

[Arbitrarity]

I third the century worm.

I also don't like chaos beasts very much. It grabs you, and you fell all your organs, and the rest of your body shift in a horribly painful fashion. Your bones melt, you sprout appendages that shouldn't be there, and gradually go insane.

[Captain van der Decken]

Flesh ooze. Most undead. Quite a few aberrations. All the monstrous vermin.

Quite a lot of things, really.

[PhallicWarrior]

I don't think I'd like it very much if I encountered a Black ball, or any flesh-eating ooze. The black ball reminds me too much of black holes, my least favorite cosmic anomaly. I just wouldn't know what to do with the oozes, I mean in D&D you just keep hacking away until it becomes a bunch of Fine-size oozes and after that it dies. In real life I don't think I could win.

[Azerian Kelimon]

IRL, I'd throw a molotov cocktail and kick it's butt with a chainsaw. But then again, I see too much Rambo and Evil Dead.

[SamTheCleric]

I'd get a wet-dry vac. :P

[Illiterate Scribe]

Don't worry, it's not just you. Ick! I mean... :smalleek: ...EUGH!!!

It gets worse once you realise that their mode of attack is to implant their 'wriggling progeny' in you. :smallamused:

[Azerian Kelimon]

Couldn't get more direct than that, right?

[theMycon]

However, I have completely missed the point. I mean, why would San Francisco own a tank? :smalltongue:
You can bet, if Emperor Norton; First Emperor of These United States and Protector of Mexico; had any kids, San Francisco would be a military powerhouse capable snickering at The Tarrasque and making it run crying.

The DnD Tarrasque, not the French one.

[Serenity]

In d20 Modern, I've got to go with the Night Terror, a crazy fey that haunts children, feeding on their terror...ansd is illustrated as a grotesque clown with a teensy body and an enormously out of proportion head, with a rotten, gap-toothed grin, screaming a horrid laugh right in a little girl's face.

That and the vampire dressed as a clown, looking so very much like Pennywise.

In D&D? I'm gonna have to go with the Flesh Jelly. That thing is just wrong on so many levels...

[hippie_dwarf]

You've all forgotten the sheer monstrosity that is the Owlbear.

It's cry is heard for miles around "RRRRWWAAARRRRR twit twoo!"

[Devils_Advocate]

to be honest the thing that makes me cringe isn't so much a monster, it's how they talk about it in cityscape, apparently dopplegangers who don't like polatics can be prostitutes...:eek:
Wait, you're saying that you're adverse to shapeshifting hookers?

I mean, sure, it's a weird amoral alien being that regards humanoids as mere playthings and tools to be leveraged into power, wealth, and luxury, and rifles through your private thoughts like your mind was some sort of discount bin...

But, dude. Shapeshifting hooker. C'mon.

("It's 'politics'", he added, pedantically.)

[Jimp]

To be honest, if I was walking through the woods and came across an 8 foot tall creature standing on 2 legs that was built like a bear and had the head of an owl I would freak right on out.
And then it gets angry.
And then it charges.
:smallfrown:

[CthulhuM]

Gotta throw my lot in with the atropal people.

A picture for the as-yet un-horrified:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/EPIC_Gallery/Gallery5a/44165_C5_atropal.jpg

[GoC]

One that I've always thought of in a fairly "what are we supposed to do about this" light is merely a Balor. One could plow through San Francisco without being stopped. No one would be able to do anything. Ever.
One missile.

[Collin152]

One missile.

Remember, even if you kill the Balor, it takes out a hell of a lot of thigns with it, including civilians.
Also, telekinesis at will.

[FlyMolo]

Glooms (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/gloom.htm). Epic monsters. They just give me the creeps.

You'd always have to be turning around, looking for it, because you can't ever hear it.

[GoC]

Remember, even if you kill the Balor, it takes out a hell of a lot of thigns with it, including civilians.
Also, telekinesis at will.

Yeah but that telekenesis is too weak to harm a tank. i also think those tank stats are completely off. 4 inches of iron has more than 60hp let alone 6 inches of a material harder than steel.

[Mewtarthio]

Well, to fight off Balors of course. You're kinda slow, ain't ya? :smalltongue:

"They said I was mad when I bought these weapons! They said I was insane, scandalous, criminal! I tried to warn them, tried to tell them that we'd need them to fend off the demons, and they laughed me out of the city! They! Laughed! At! Me! Well, who's laughing now, you pathetic fools?! It sure as hell isn't you! Because the demons killed you! Ha, ha, ha!"

[Ascension]

We should create an online petition to show the good people of San Francisco all the reasons why they need an Abrams-equipped anti-Balor task force.

It's for their own good!

[ShadowSiege]

I'm definitely in agreement with the atropal. It is a truly disturbing image. The Beholder Overseer from LoM is pretty horrific as well. And of course, kuo-toa. "You have a bit of the Innsmouth look about you..."

[SamTheCleric]

Gotta love the Innsmouth look... :smallwink:

[NephandiMan]

I mean, why would San Francisco own a tank? :smalltongue:

I can think of two reasons.

1) Real life suddenly begins resembling Metal Wolf Chaos.

2) MythBusters, duh! :smallbiggrin:

[Rutee]

I can think of two reasons.

1) Real life suddenly begins resembling Metal Wolf Chaos.


I would approve of an engrish speaking president who was a mecha pilot.

[The_Werebear]

The Fiendish symbiotes from Fiend Folio and the Necrotic Cysts from Libris Mortis really freak me out. The thought of stuff like that growing inside me getting ready to go all chestburster on me at any second is quite terrifying.

[Igfig]

Meenlocks.

They hide just beyond the corners of your vision. When you turn to look, you see things. Impossible, horrible, mind-rending things.

If you run, you might survive. Maybe. Probably not.
If you stay, you break. You slide seamlessly into a world of nightmares, dreaming dreams filled with tiny, pathetic creatures with big eyes and pincers and bristles who scuttle mewling out of hidden corners and slacken every muscle in your body with a touch. They drag your unconscious body, trailing fluids from your loosened sphincter, into dirty, hand-dug burrows with roots trailing from the ceiling. They gather around your prone form, reach toward you, and—

Touch you.

That's all. They stand there, silently, and just pat you very lightly, all over. No pain, no torture, just the soft touch of tiny hands. You lie there for hours and days on end, unable to move, bereft of all senses but touch, and terribly aware of everything.

Then, just as it all becomes unbearable, you wake up. It's dark. You're lying on something soft. The creatures are gone. You're back at home. The nightmares have passed. You get up.

Everything seems... big. Much too big. You stumble as you step out of a bed that feels six feet high, and fall to the ground. You pick yourself up.

And that's when you see your pincers.



I think these guys qualify for scariest creatures in the whole damn game.

[Swooper]

#1: Yay, more forum necromancy! :smallfrown:

#2: You can delete your own posts, you know. Just go to edit and click delete post from there.

#3: I agree. Meenlocks are freakin' scary. :smalleek:

[chiasaur11]

I would approve of an engrish speaking president who was a mecha pilot.

Who wouldn't want Mike Wilson as President?

COMMIES that's who.

[Sholos]

Balors have Blasphemy at will, though....

[Hectonkhyres]

Wait, you're saying that you're adverse to shapeshifting hookers?

I mean, sure, it's a weird amoral alien being that regards humanoids as mere playthings and tools to be leveraged into power, wealth, and luxury, and rifles through your private thoughts like your mind was some sort of discount bin...
Some of us would pay extra for that sort of thing.
Anyway, I always figured that dopplegangers would be inherently healthy things for a society to have. They have expensive tastes and thus will take steps to make sure that the society they are in can support those tastes. War disrupts the sale of tea and fine spices, assassinations cause governmental crackdowns which are mightily inconvenient, riots might mean some of your stuff gets broken. We can't have that, now can we? Mentok the Mind-Stealer spends five minutes a week getting rid of potential headaches for good measure.

A doppleganger in one of the games that I partook in killed that world's Caligula-analog and took his place. He was a damn competent leader who ushered in a time of prosperity... even if he was sleeping with everything that moved and commissioning some of the freakiest pieces of artwork found outside of a temple to Slaanesh.

My nightmares come out of the Far Realms. Which isn't helped by the fact that this is a popular theme for my gaming circle.

[Igfig]

Also, in Balor vs. Tank the balor definitely wins. There are plenty of ways to do it:

Blasphemy
Power Attack at -20
Telekinesis of large, heavy objects
Teleport away and drop something on it
Summon another demon to do it for you (I like Nalfeshnees for Reverse Gravity).


Balor wins.

What I'd like to see is a balor fighting the Tarrasque in the ruins of New York.

[Xefas]

There was a weird psionic cockroach-panther looking thing in the Book of Vile Darkness.

Basically, it would grab onto someone and start eating them and then broadcast a psionic signal to everyone around it that transmitted both the taste of the person who they were eating and the feeling of pure ecstasy the creature was feeling as it ate them.

The effect resulted in wisdom damage for the target as they went insane from the feeling of eating their own entrails.

[Kyalid]

Just to think of it - a chaos beast, it's an instable mass, everfshanging and your personal horror, at least for some time, and if it hits you you'll become one too if not healed properly.
The Picture is also disgusting

[Norsesmithy]

Also, in Balor vs. Tank the balor definitely wins. There are plenty of ways to do it:

Blasphemy
Power Attack at -20
Telekinesis of large, heavy objects
Teleport away and drop something on it
Summon another demon to do it for you (I like Nalfeshnees for Reverse Gravity).


Balor wins.

What I'd like to see is a balor fighting the Tarrasque in the ruins of New York.The tank should open fire at 2 kilometers, and will probably hit, the fire control software is very good.

When the demon closes to SLA range, the Tankers load Beehive rounds, and really make a mess of him. The newer service pack Abrams can remote fire the .50 on the commanders cupola, adding to the damage output.

It is a close fight, and will ultimately depend on terrain, but in any fairly open terrain (IE not forest or MOUT), I think the math favors the tank.

IF I was the man charged with getting this thing out of a city, however, I would use a missile strike. Heat seekers should work well, he is wreathed in flame after all.

If heat seeking antitank weapons don't seem to put out enough damage fast enough, I switch to GBU-24 C/B Paveway III, with the BLU 116 AUP (which is programed to explode when it hits an air pocket, do you get a reflex save to avoid the damage of a 2000lb bomb going off in your chest cavity?).

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A Balor would die pretty fast at the hands of the military. Artillery, A-10s, Apaches, nothing on the ground would survive. The only limiting factor on our damage output is "Acceptable Collateral".

[lord_khaine]

and if there actualy was a freaking balor in a city, then im not sure i would put a limit on "Acceptable Collateral".

[Jimp]

Let's keep talking about horrific creatures instead of Balors in cities :smallwink:.

What book are Meenlocks from?

Living Phantasmal Killer would be pretty terrible. Everyone's personal greatest fear just walking around. *shudder*

[NephandiMan]

I just had the best idea ever: a Balor is stomping around GTA IV's Liberty City, and Mike Wilson shows up to fight it in his giant mecha (because he's the President of the great United States of America!) There is no possible way to justify it besides the Rule of Cool, but when has that ever stopped us?

"This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny..."

[Xefas]

The tank should open fire at 2 kilometers, and will probably hit, the fire control software is very good.

When the demon closes to SLA range, the Tankers load Beehive rounds, and really make a mess of him. The newer service pack Abrams can remote fire the .50 on the commanders cupola, adding to the damage output.

It is a close fight, and will ultimately depend on terrain, but in any fairly open terrain (IE not forest or MOUT), I think the math favors the tank.

IF I was the man charged with getting this thing out of a city, however, I would use a missile strike. Heat seekers should work well, he is wreathed in flame after all.

If heat seeking antitank weapons don't seem to put out enough damage fast enough, I switch to GBU-24 C/B Paveway III, with the BLU 116 AUP (which is programed to explode when it hits an air pocket, do you get a reflex save to avoid the damage of a 2000lb bomb going off in your chest cavity?).

I don't think you're giving the Balor much credit at all. For one, their intelligence and wisdom are both 24. If a Human with an 18 in ONE stat is a kind of legendary individual that represents the pinnacle our race has to offer, then I'm willing to bet this means it's pretty damn smart.

Couple this with its Greater Teleport at will ability, and you're basically asserting that someone who is so unfathomably intelligent that no one in the history of our own real universe has ever come even remotely close to reaching it and can move infinity feet every 3 seconds would not be an adequate opponent for a single tank crewed by mere mortals?

Here's how I see the fight going:

Step 1) The tank is deployed to fight the Balor.

Step 2) The Balor teleports directly into every major government center on the planet one after the other using its at will Dominate Monster to take control of the world in under an hour.

Step 3) All the world's leaders with access to weapons of mass destruction reduce the hemisphere the tank is in to uninhabitable slag.

[NephandiMan]

You forgot the most important consequence of all: all this real-life v. balor business just killed every catgirl in the Prime Material Plane.

Thanks a lot, people. Now I have to find a new imaginary girlfriend. :smalltongue:

[Laurellien]

What scares me? Well I would be afraid of demons, devils, angels and other such outsiders, but I would be terrified of undead or abberations.

[Leewei]

I would approve of an engrish speaking president who was a mecha pilot.

Ah, but could he pronounce "nuclear" ?

[Grommen]

Any monster. Cause if one is real...Then they all might be and I'm gonna need to fetch me sword and find a good healer.

Personally I don't like Mindflayers. Remind me too much of my first Girlfriend.

Gibbering Mouthers are real. Just talk to any 12 year old about Pokeymon, Yu-Gi-Yo, Naruto, or any PS3 game. That unintelligent babble they produce has the same mind numbing effect.

And I'm not too worried about a Baylor in San Fran. Now if it gets to around Detroit I'm gonna have to panic a bit. Then again it's Detroit, and they probably have enough gangs and small arms to take care of that problem in house. And they do have tanks in the "D".

If it gets to Flint I'll sick the clergy on him. I mean we have a church on like every corner, all that freeken holy water has to do something. :smallcool:

[Athaniar]

Anything (everything) from Elder Evils fits here. That book is scary.

[Destro_Yersul]

What book are Meenlocks from?


MM2. It's technically 3.0, but there's Errata and it's close enough that no-one really cares.

Second of all, my vote for creatures that give people nightmares:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/libris_gallery/84733.jpg

See? You looked, and now it's your problem too.

[FMArthur]

What is that?

[TheCountAlucard]

If I recall correctly, that's an Angel of Decay. Not sure, don't have Libris Mortis with me at the moment.

One monster that creeps me out? I'd say that some of the oozes are somewhat creepy; the bone ooze grabs ya and yanks your skeleton out.

[black dragoon]

I'm going with most abberations mindfalyers and their ilk especially. Think about they prey on people to increase in numbers...

[An Enemy Spy]

Hellwasps. (shudder!)

[dyslexicfaser]

As far as spells go... two words:

Avascular Mass.

Someone's blood and other important fluids burst from their very pores, and then the mass of disgusting stuff goes and entraps everyone within 20 feet. Blargh.

As for monsters... so many to choose from. Gelatinous Cube/Black Pudding, maybe?

[ashmanonar]

To be honest, if I was walking through the woods and came across an 8 foot tall creature standing on 2 legs that was built like a bear and had the head of an owl I would freak right on out.
And then it gets angry.
And then it charges.
:smallfrown:

That's why I'd have the .357 Mag.

I'd have a giant owl head mounted above my fireplace.

Hmm, I wonder what the hunting laws on mythical creatures are...

[ashmanonar]

I don't think you're giving the Balor much credit at all. For one, their intelligence and wisdom are both 24. If a Human with an 18 in ONE stat is a kind of legendary individual that represents the pinnacle our race has to offer, then I'm willing to bet this means it's pretty damn smart.

Couple this with its Greater Teleport at will ability, and you're basically asserting that someone who is so unfathomably intelligent that no one in the history of our own real universe has ever come even remotely close to reaching it and can move infinity feet every 3 seconds would not be an adequate opponent for a single tank crewed by mere mortals?

Here's how I see the fight going:

Step 1) The tank is deployed to fight the Balor.

Step 2) The Balor teleports directly into every major government center on the planet one after the other using its at will Dominate Monster to take control of the world in under an hour.

Step 3) All the world's leaders with access to weapons of mass destruction reduce the hemisphere the tank is in to uninhabitable slag.

Even if the Balor was stupid enough to engage in combat with the army, it would be a massacre. AC 35, DR 15/Cold Iron and Good, Immunity to fire, Flaming whip and Vorpal greatsword...All the spell-like abilities...

Nasty.

[chiasaur11]

Even if the Balor was stupid enough to engage in combat with the army, it would be a massacre. AC 35, DR 15/Cold Iron and Good, Immunity to fire, Flaming whip and Vorpal greatsword...All the spell-like abilities...

Nasty.

On the other hand, I think it was agreed in another thread nukes were force damage. Heh heh heh...

[Collin152]

So, if this thread has been conjured from the dead two tiems so far...
I should probably take the quote out of my signiature.

[RebelRogue]

Wasps the size of a horse??? :smalleek: :smalleek: :smalleek:

[Destro_Yersul]

As far as spells go... two words:

Avascular Mass.

Someone's blood and other important fluids burst from their very pores, and then the mass of disgusting stuff goes and entraps everyone within 20 feet. Blargh.

As for monsters... so many to choose from. Gelatinous Cube/Black Pudding, maybe?

I love that spell so much that Libris Mortis is required reading for my BBEG's.

[_Puppetmaster_]

Um...


Hellwasps,
Any Undead,
Any Giant Bugs or buglike things,
Krakens,
Elementals (emphasis on Water),
Balors and other assorted fiends,
Century Worm,
Any Ooze,
Nearly every Abberation,
Mind Flayers,
Nearly everything that has been mentioned in this thread,
Every BoVD monster, with emphasis on Kythons (with even more emphasis on the impaler),

and, last but definitly not least, Stirges.

[Recaiden]

Hellwasps aren't scary.

Illithids though...:smalleek:
Quanloses, stirges, Boneyards, Corpse rats are all a little creepy.

The only monster that i've ever been afraid of is meenocks. Drow, i've actually had nightmares about though, but they're not scary.

[shaddy_24]

I don't own Libris Mortis, but one of my players does. I don't remember the name, but that little child undead than increases the caster level of any necromancy spells nearby...

yeah, that scares me more than anything else in that book. The picture is just horrifying.

[JMobius]

I don't own Libris Mortis, but one of my players does. I don't remember the name, but that little child undead than increases the caster level of any necromancy spells nearby...

yeah, that scares me more than anything else in that book. The picture is just horrifying.

Slaymates? Me and my party encountered one of those recently... sort of. The GM had been playing too much Bioshock and decided she's just a very creepy little girl rather than an undead, which lead to me blowing my daily Sun Turning on the thing.

My vote has to go to the MMIV Blackspawn Stalker. A... half-dragon, half-spider? That's dangerously close enough to half snake to get two primal fears in there at once. One of those things could piss off my entire group of players. ;)

I found its picture to be more creepy than any other I'd ever seen, for some reason.

[Recaiden]

I don't own Libris Mortis, but one of my players does. I don't remember the name, but that little child undead than increases the caster level of any necromancy spells nearby...

yeah, that scares me more than anything else in that book. The picture is just horrifying.

The slaymate? Yeah, a little.

EDIT:Ninja'd The picture is pretty creepy, but the creature itself doesn't scare me at all.

[Silence]

Dude.... chaos beast freak me out.

Those things would SUCK to get attacked by.

[Levyathyn]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this already, but Ocularon's scare the hell out of me. I've always loved my eyes, and had a weird thing about them. Having them viciously ripped out so I was blind, and then mercilessly killed...let's just say it's not on my top 10 list of things to do.

[chiasaur11]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this already, but Ocularon's scare the hell out of me. I've always loved my eyes, and had a weird thing about them. Having them viciously ripped out so I was blind, and then mercilessly killed...let's just say it's not on my top 10 list of things to do.

So we're talking "Aagh! My eyes! They're my favorite sensory organ!" Followed by "Aagh, the parts other than my eyes! I use them for the functions my eyes couldn't do!"

I'll vote wrights as a minor scary thing. Zombie apocali? Not fun.

[Silence]

So we're talking "Aagh! My eyes! They're my favorite sensory organ!" Followed by "Aagh, the parts other than my eyes! I use them for the functions my eyes couldn't do!"

I'll vote wrights as a minor scary thing. Zombie apocali? Not fun.

Let me tell you one thing.

My eyes are not my favorite sensory organ.

*cough*

[Callos_DeTerran]

Atropus (You think the Atropal scion and Atropal are scary? What about the animated after birth of a friggen overdeity?)

Asmodeus...because he's going to win, it's merely a matter of time. Eventually the world-sized midnight black scales of the Serpent shall encircle the multiverse and crush all good, hope, and freedom from it to bring perfect despair and tyranny.

Demogorgon...The QUEEN OF DEMONS aborted him. You know something is messed up when a being constantly trying to, essentially, kill itself is a major threat.

For more so regular monsters, Vivsectors. They have this whole...Jeepers Creepers feel to them. Along that same line Devourers. Glooms, definitely Glooms. Those things are terrifying.

[Silence]

This is slipping off subject, but what I really am terrified of is being dominated. Seriously, not being in control of your own body? I would go into shock.

[axraelshelm]

It's hard to say one particlar thing because i do play wizards and instantly get away/blasting the situation. But I swarms of incest and vermin that get everywhere. sickening.

[Dhavaer]

It's hard to say one particlar thing because i do play wizards and instantly get away/blasting the situation. But I swarms of incest and vermin that get everywhere. sickening.

Yes... sickening.

[Skyserpent]

That one Vestige in tome of Magic made of teeth was pretty frickin messed up...

He had TEETH For EYES. And his Eyelids were jaws. Jaws that surrounded TEETH.

Tooth and Nail? try TOOTH FOR NAIL.

[JMobius]

He had TEETH For EYES. And his Eyelids were jaws. Jaws that surrounded TEETH.

That sounds a lot like Sandman's Corinthian... now there was a scary dude, in personality alone.

[ghost_warlock]

Hmm, I wonder what the hunting laws on mythical creatures are...

I don't know, but I know I can't be the only person who wants a Tigger-skin rug.

[Conners]

If you think about ANY monster in a realistic form, I'm sure it could make you shudder. Gnolls could probably take you head off in one good chomp as though it was taking a bite out of an apple (Hyenas have a greater bite strength than sharks...), Giants would swallow you whole, the dragon which just killed said giants could do the same--or burn you into a melted mass of flesh... then there are demons... *Mega-shudder*. The idea of something that wants to drag you into hell then torture you forever probably tops off most any death, considering death would be a pleasant release in comparison...
Swarms are also incredibly disturbing, the idea of lots of things crawling all over you and biting/stinging/whatever is not pleasant in any case.

Name most any monster, in fact, and I can probably an amount of you shudder by describing it or what it could do--assuming you think about what I type... Anyone want to take the dare?

[kamikasei]

Name most any monster, in fact, and I can probably an amount of you shudder by describing it or what it could do--assuming you think about what I type... Anyone want to take the dare?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/toad.htm

[Conners]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/toad.htm ..... That is a toad, an animal known as an amphibian--it is not a monster in any sense. I could tell you the horrors of being devoured by a giant toad monster, though, if you like.
So, yeah, only monsters and dangerous animals allowed :smalltongue:.

[Recaiden]

Name most any monster, in fact, and I can probably an amount of you shudder by describing it or what it could do--assuming you think about what I type... Anyone want to take the dare?

Centaurs, shriekers, unicorns, shocker lizards, or hellwasp swarms.

[Conners]

Centaurs, shriekers, unicorns, shocker lizards, or hellwasp swarms. The last one is easy, unless I understand it wrong. Note that I will refer to the victim as "you" to make it sound even creepier.

Hellwasp Swarm
It is a swarm of wasps... hundreds, thousands, who knows how many. The buzzing of their wings is deafening, angry, ready to kill as they fly quickly, at everyone around them. On lands on you, stinging you with a venom that makes your entire arm freeze up with intense pain... then it stings again, and again! You recall that wasps can sting as many times as they want to, unlike bees. Then, as you try to pull the first large wasp off of you, more swarm on! Within seconds, you are covers in at least fifty wasps, crawling over you, buzzing angrily, and stinging to kill... The pain is completely maddening, your whole body feels like its going to burst.
You scream, but your voice hardly carries over the loud buzzing of the wasps, in fact, they buzz louder, pleased and driven by your pain! More wasps climb onto you, some over your eyes and up your nostrils, in your ears. There is two thick layers of evil wasps covering you... You roll around, swatting like a madman, screaming out the wasps in your mouth! Then, suddenly, you writhe inhumanly, and keep writhing for several seconds. Then... you stop, then... you're dead. The wasps leave, and one can see that your body... A tortured, malformed wreck, so swollen your face is indistinct. In places, your skin tears and releases a steady jet of puss-like liquid.

That enough to make you shudder? If I think about it, I may very well get nightmares, so forgive me if I don't... I'd like to answer the others, but I don't have time, so I'll try to later.

Oh, yes. I wrote this up in about five minutes, so forgive any errors in my writing.

[AmberVael]

Oh, and then keep in mind that the hellwasp swarm will crawl into your dead body and violate it by turning it into a zombie-like shell under its control.

Yeah, I can see that causing nightmares.

[drengnikrafe]

Gargantuan Animated Object?
You approach your house as normal. As you place the key in the lock, and begin to turn it, it flips over and smashes you.
If you dream about this happening, I can tell you it's definantly not a rainbows and butterflies dream.

[Levyathyn]

Nymphs are terrifying. Things that can kill you when you look at them? In fact, pretty much all fey are creepy, disturbing, and murderous.

And yes, chiasaur, those would be my exact words.

[Destro_Yersul]

On a note totally unrelated to D&D, The Shrike from the Hyperion series.

it is a humanoid creature with glowing red eyes. It is made entirely out of blades. One of its favourite pastimes is killing people, and/or impaling them on a giant metal spike tree, where they are kept alive artificially.

http://www.seanparnell.com/Hyperion%20Cantos/Hyperion%20Cantos%20Images/Shrike.gif

[Ned the undead]

Worm that Walks.
Blecch, they make me want to throw up. Give demi-lichdom instead.

[Ralfarius]

Gargantuan Animated Object?
You approach your house as normal. As you place the key in the lock, and begin to turn it, it flips over and smashes you.
If you dream about this happening, I can tell you it's definantly not a rainbows and butterflies dream.
Hey. Hey! Nobody better come in here!

Also, the more I think about gelatinous cubes, the less I like them. I mean, a semitransparent gel that engulfs you? You'd still be conscious, unable to move, trapped as the digestive acids begin to sear away your skin. Either you're melted alive, or maybe you finally can't hold your breath any longer and try to gasp for air, only to receive a lungful of caustic ooze, then you're dissolving from the inside as well!

[hamishspence]

Not that different from any swallow whole, other than that you cannot move. Acid dissolving you- check.

Though the immobility does add some scare factor to the situation.

[Alleine]

On a note totally unrelated to D&D, The Shrike from the Hyperion series.

it is a humanoid creature with glowing red eyes. It is made entirely out of blades. One of its favourite pastimes is killing people, and/or impaling them on a giant metal spike tree, where they are kept alive artificially.

http://www.seanparnell.com/Hyperion%20Cantos/Hyperion%20Cantos%20Images/Shrike.gif


Is it anything like this?
http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=26&issue=11

[llamamushroom]

I find anything that is a slight perversion of anything I have seen disturbing. The Bloodthorn scares me a lot, for instance, especially as I instantly think of a huge blackberry bush on my Grandma's old house - you could almost get lost in there, and it hurt, but it had the most delicious fruit.

I would find a plant that had delicious fruit that sent you to sleep far more frightening. Especially as then it wouldn't have to do anything particularly unnatural. Actually, scratch sleep - a paralysis effect, so that you could feel the rootlets being struck into your body.

Finally, please tell me that there has never been a variant of those wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars in DnD.

[Destro_Yersul]

Finally, please tell me that there has never been a variant of those wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars in DnD.

Dunno about D&D, but a couple old MtG novels I read featured wasp-people that did that.

[Recaiden]

I would find a plant that had delicious fruit that sent you to sleep far more frightening. Especially as then it wouldn't have to do anything particularly unnatural. Actually, scratch sleep - a paralysis effect, so that you could feel the rootlets being struck into your body.

Finally, please tell me that there has never been a variant of those wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars in DnD.

They have that plant. I can't remember what it was called.

2nd edition giant wasps were exactly like that, except gigantic, and quanloses from the MM 4 mind control their prey instead of paralyzing and lay eggs in them.

[Silence]

I can't remember what it was, but there was some insect that laid their eggs in you. WHILE YOU WERE ALIVE. Then the little guys eat you from the inside. Pretty f***** up.

Reminds me of that time my dad came back from the Mexico with something living underneath his skin on his foot. He could feel it moving around, and the docters said that they couldn't remove it without him having to pay ridiculous fees for surgery. They gave him some pills, and it died.

[hamishspence]

Xill in 3rd ed, slaadi in 4th ed (and to some extent in 3rd) The introduction of the Slaad tadpole makes for a Alien-ish feel (which was, of course, based on the Ichnumen Wasp.)

[Realms of Chaos]

In the various (and vast number of) DnD books that I own, one creature stands out as particularly scary to me.

This creature isn't the type of scary that jumps out and says boo or that scares you to death on sight. This is the type of scary that can birth nightmares and cause psychotic breakdowns.

I speak now of the Bane Wraith, from Heroes of Horror.

The first thing to realize, fittingly enough, is that it should be dead but isn't. This alone should bring some cause for concern. Undead, if one were to encounter one some day, probably cause some degree of distress, if not fear. Even if the raw fact that something dead wants you to join it doesn't scare you, consider that 1) hiding in the darkness won't stop it from seeing you; 2) there are a whole lot fewer ways to kill it; 3) positive energy and turning, two of the only factors that balance the undead type, don't exist in real life; and 4) you can't outwait this thing. This thing can walk or fly after you forever without fatigue and never needs to eat or sleep. In fact, even if you run into the wilderness or move into a new town, this creature can track you via survival or gather information, respectively. However, in this particular case, you may never know that it is an undead (see below).

The next thing to realize is that this thing can kill you without you ever noticing. That's right. You may die without ever noticing that anything is wrong. When this thing touches you for wisdom drain and you are unaware of the attack, you need a DC 18 wisdom check to notice that anything is wrong. Running under the assumption that we are level 1-2 commoners/experts with no more than Wis 11 (as Wis 10 is average for us by definition), we only possess a 10% chance to notice the first attack, a 5% chance to notice the second attack, and no chance to notice anything at all after that (assuming an average of 2.5 drain per round).
In short, you have about 10 seconds to realize what's going on before its all over.

Even if you do notice, though, there's nothing you can do. The bane wraith, although it is nearly impossible to tell from looking at it, is incorporeal. As such, there is not a single weapon in this world that can hope to harm it (unlike the tank that could potentially take down a Balor). Furthermore, it moves faster than you. Your only saving grace is that, as an undead, it cannot run. While running, you do move faster than this thing. However, unless you find one hell of a good hiding spot, it will eventually catch up when you run out of breath.

Did I forget to mention this guy's temperament. First of all, bane wraiths are like africanized bees. They are normally CE and need little to no provocation to kill you. Furthermore, if you run away, they have no trouble biding their time. They won't kill you, no, not yet. Instead, they'll go after your loved ones and friends. Whenever a bane wraith gets close to you, even if they don't attack you, they automatically learn the names and appearance of all of your loved ones and friends. Furthermore, they learn where you suspect each and every one of them is. When you realize this, things only get worse.

Suddenly, it is your duty to save as many of your friends and loved ones as possible. At least, it is your job to try. However, the bane wraith isn't done with you, not by a long shot. The bane wraith can pop out of any object, steal a bit of your sanity or strength, and seep back into the ground. Using magical disguise, they can appear to be anyone at any time. The only warning of an attack is the feeling of dread that surrounds the bane wraith. Wait, is that the bane wraith? Is it him? Her? Is it even the bane wraith at all anymore, or is it merely your own growing dread?

You warn the first potential victim, your cousin from Arkansas, but he doesn't believe you. After all, he just made the down payment on his apartment. Why would he leave. As you head back into the hallway, you see your brother standing right outside of the nearest window, with the banewraith 30 feet behind him. You open your mouth to scream a warning...before you realize it's too late. After all, your cousin's apartment is on the third floor.

That's right. When a bane wraith kills you, you don't stay dead for long. In fact, a matter of seconds afterwards, you come back as a wraith of the normal variety, with one singular exception. The wraiths, to a greater or lesser extent, retain the appearance of the creature they once were, a perfect reminder of those that you couldn't protect.

At this point, you get frantic, you run to everyone and anyone who might listen to you, trying to get someone, anyone, to safety. A couple of people actually believe your story and try to leave. Every now and again, the bane wraith appears with its minions, a new doomed friend or family member with it each time. Only occassionally does the bane wraith actually attack you any more. The wraiths have yet to do anything at all.

Despite your best plans to help others escape, your friends keep finding their way into the banewraith's ranks. Suddenly, it hits you like a brick. The bane wraith has been reading your mind the entire time. Somewhat addled by your lowered wisdom score, on goes the lead-lined tinfoil hat.

Somewhere within your addled mind..a dim lightbulb goes on. You've forgotten your son. You dropped him off at school but you forgot to pick him up. You rush into your car and drive your way to his school. Although you barely possess the strength or pressence of mind to operate a vehicle, you manage to get there. In front of the school, standing on the pavement, is your little boy, backpack on his back, sobbing into his arm. You rush out of the car. You run to your son...to embrace him...but your hands pass right through him, lowering your wisdom to nearly nil. Laughing in a voice you've come to know as the bane wraith, the imposter floats beneath the cement.

Deprived of so much as two wisdom points to rub together, you start screaming up a storm. A few intermittent laughs or sobs permeate the screaming but the point is clear. You've cracked. You've finally cracked. Of course, the screaming individual wearing a tinfoil hat eventually earns some attention, getting you a one-way ticket to an Asylum. They've dismissed your wisdom drain as insanity, your strength drain as physical exhaustion.

Now, the endgame. There is nowhere left for you to run. There is no one left for you to try to save. There is no reason to keep you alive any longer. In the hallway beyond your padded room, you hear footsteps. Incorporeal creatures can choose to make sound if they desire, and the bane wraith is walking up to your room, building the tension in your mind until you feel as though your heart may stop on its own accord. The bane wraith, in the form you've come to recognize as its own, walks through the door. From the other walls of your room emerge the wraiths, wraiths that hover in the air right above you, waiting. Despite the incurably warped state of your mind, you knew this was coming. However, the bane wraith has one final trick up its sleeve for you.

The bane wraith dismisses its disguise. That's right. This entire time, the appearance that you took for its own was just one more disguise in its repertoire (in fact, both the italicized text and image of the banewraith are inaccurate if you read the text, one of the reasons that I did not search for this image). Before you stands a mass of dark mists and utter blackness, roughly human in size and shape. Walking towards you, the bane wraith extends one tendril of its inky form and places it over your neck, as if to strangle you. Your last point of strength now gone, you lay hopelessly limp on the ground, no muscle left to even close your eyelids. What happens next, you are free to witness. The banewraith lets out one final, deep laugh as the wraiths swarm about you.

Your con score does not last a single round. :smalleek:

And it is for reasons like this, ladies and gentlemen, that the bane wraith scares me to no end.

[chiasaur11]

That is why you make sure to stock up on holy water.

The pope's backwash is always a good choice.

[Renrik]

Man, there are so many.

The Tsochar. The mind-snatching and tentacles madness just creeps me out.

Sahuigan. Ever since I read dagon by HP Lovecraft, my fear of water and scaly water-men has increased a lot.

If I really actually think about it, skeletons and zombies are freaky. You just have to imaine them in the real world, and made out of people you know. People you know thatnow want to kill you.

Splinterwaifs. They just scare me. I hate getting splinters, and they chuck huge splinters at you. They also turn you into plants, and then eat you.

Wraiths. Incorporeal spirits that can suck the life out of you. Not good.

Grey Jester from Heros of Horror. Creepy.

there are amny others that scare me.the Drowned. Yellow Musk Zombies. Yeth Hounds and anything else I remember from creepy stories my grandmother told me.

[Collin152]

The wraiths wouldn't last long in our world.
They're harmed by positive energy.
The energy in our world only functions in positives.
There's energy all over the place.

[llamamushroom]

The Scary Post

Has it ever occurred to you that you should write novels? Seriously - pace that out a bit more, introduce me to the characters, and it would make for an interesting read. Much better than some of the other 'horror' out there.

Oh, and thanks, Silence. Now I'll never be able to go to Mexico!

[chiasaur11]

The wraiths wouldn't last long in our world.
They're harmed by positive energy.
The energy in our world only functions in positives.
There's energy all over the place.

And you can punch them if you sing the Ghost Busters theme while doing so. Dr. Mcninja wouldn't lie to me.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Surprisingly, I find the MMII has some of the creepiest stuff, or at least the most bizarre. I agree that meenlocks are creepy creepy creepy.

I think that coming across a giant spider would be downright horrifying. After watching Return of the King, the fight with Sheelob (sp?) was terrifying. Granted, the hobbits were three feet tall, but that would still make her the size of a mini cooper. No thanks.

Glooms sort of remind me of Silent Hill creatures, which always have freaked me out.

However, the reigning king of creepiness, H.P. Lovecraft, holds the most scary monsters under his influence. Aboleths, kuo-toa, skum... Black, nameless things in the lightless deep places of the world. These remain my favorite monsters to sick on my players. :smallamused:

[Recaiden]

Are there any almost unstoppable (by modern technology) creatures that are not incorporeal undead? Or even anything immune to bullets.

[Realms of Chaos]

Has it ever occurred to you that you should write novels? Seriously - pace that out a bit more, introduce me to the characters, and it would make for an interesting read. Much better than some of the other 'horror' out there.

Actually, I have written a couple of horror stories. :smalltongue:

This was made more to be a hypothetical "what may happen in real life scenario" than a story. Kind of evolved into a pseudostory by accident, though.

[Ralfarius]

Not that different from any swallow whole, other than that you cannot move. Acid dissolving you- check.

Though the immobility does add some scare factor to the situation.
That's exactly it. When you're swallowed whole you can't see what's happening, but you can move around and even cut yourself free. Inside the cube, you can see freedom jiggling a foot (maybe less) just out of your reach. Plus, instead of regular digestive acid, you're being melted by Jell-o. And that's just plain unwholesome, no matter how you slice it.

[Leliel]

For a 4E example...Sorrowsworn.

I mean, they won't bother you if you don't cheat death, but given the nessectiy of using Raise Dead in D&D...

And even if they're helping you, you still don't want to meet one unannounced. Somthing tells me the typical exchange would be:

*point* ARRRRGH! Oh wait, it's you.

Sorrowsworn: Ugh, somtimes that whole "Fear of death" thing gets a bit annoying.

[Blackfang108]

IRL, I'd throw a molotov cocktail and kick it's butt with a chainsaw. But then again, I see too much Rambo and Evil Dead.

Welcome to my world.

Personally, the monster that would frighten me the most, IRL...

Probably the Atropols and Atropol Scions.

[Xanamir]

I can't remember what it was, but there was some insect that laid their eggs in you. WHILE YOU WERE ALIVE. Then the little guys eat you from the inside. Pretty f***** up.

Reminds me of that time my dad came back from the Mexico with something living underneath his skin on his foot. He could feel it moving around, and the docters said that they couldn't remove it without him having to pay ridiculous fees for surgery. They gave him some pills, and it died.

Do you mean Bot Flies? There is a species that goes after humans.

I know it's not a D&D monster, but the single worst creature, in my opinion, is the Sarlacc from Star Wars. Not only are you trapped in agony, it takes you 1, 000 years to die. And you'll be bored the entire time.

That would suck so much.

[AlexanderRM]

One that I've always thought of in a fairly "what are we supposed to do about this" light is merely a Balor. One could plow through San Francisco without being stopped. No one would be able to do anything. Ever.
I honestly have no idea why you're so worried about Balors. Wouldn't the Tarrasque be better at it, since it not only is colossal size but it literally impossible to kill if you can't cast wish or miracle? (which don't exist in the real world). Even if you use a death effect, it's back up with 30 hit points already by next turn. I suppose a nuke could probably kill it, but that's pretty much all.
Yeah, seriously, if a tank couldn't defeat a balor, all you really need are some top-class military planes. The Tarrasque on the other hand...




One of the most unsettling? Pretty much anything in LoM, with priority given to Mindflayers. They have made brain-sucking into entertainment, but otherwise, they all look like things from an HP Lovecraft book.
You know, the 3.5 MM never actually says what mind flayers gain from eating brains. I mean, it's assumed that they do it for the same reasons humans eat, but... whatever.
Oh, and also, it would be interesting to see mind flayers packaging brains (whether or not they were synthetic), similar to the canned blood in Anti-heroes. I've theorized that the brain golem might actually be a way to preserve them.




I know it's not a D&D monster, but the single worst creature, in my opinion, is the Sarlacc from Star Wars. Not only are you trapped in agony, it takes you 1, 000 years to die. And you'll be bored the entire time.

That would suck so much.
How in the world does it take you 1,000 years to die? Unless you have magical (or technological or biological) immunity to aging, there's no way you could survive that long unless being trapped in a creature that's eating you alive (not to mention all those teeth on the way down) actually kept you alive somehow.
Though come to think of it, if it really was like that, that would be pretty horrible by D&D terms, because your friends can't bring you back from the dead- even with true resurrection, since you aren't actually dead. I suppose that a group that could cast true resurrection might be able to get you out of there somehow (Tim Taylor Magic, the solution to any problem is more power. You can do virtually anything if you can just research and cast a spell of a high enough level). Still, I think that's the closest thing you can be to being Deader than Dead without actually being that.
Oh, and on that note, I find the idea of anything that makes you Deader than Dead pretty horrible. I suppose that it means you can't suffer over anything that happened in life, and most of them kill you pretty quickly, but the thought of having your soul completely destroyed doesn't sound very fun.


Also, I just considered the ability to split yourself into a swarm magically, either as some kind of wild shape type thing or as a special ability you gain though unique means. (seriously, we need some magical implants. There just aren't enough ways to actually give yourself special powers of that sort, but if you could just integrate a wondrous item into yourself...)




Oh, and also... I've just got the idea of a monster so horrible that the sheer horror of it is a monster trait. It would have to be something really horrible that went well with causing wisdom damage from horror... Any suggestions? There are so many horrible monsters in D&D, it's hard to think of anything really horrible. I suppose having flies crawling all over you and burrowing into your insides in the most victim-unfriendly way imaginable, or something like that, might be sufficient to do damage in itself, but I think that a monster with two really separate archetypes should really be kept separate.
Something that devours your soul, especially if it does it in a certain specifically unpleasant way, might work.


Maybe something that devours your soul by driving you insane with images of previous victims being drivien insane and having their souls devoured? The paradox appeal of that is nice, maybe it could be justified by saying that only people who died really horrible deaths (I'm thinking of this as an undead, that just fits the image) and used that to start off. And maybe, if it doesn't kill someone for a while, it gradually disintegrates and loses it's ability.

And now people are going to have nightmares over my idea. :smallfrown:

[D_Lord]

Now I think I'm weird for not being afraid of any of the monsters. If they were real. Well that would be interesting. As in if they were real, It would be Lichdom here I come. That is what one has to think about. Also be greatful for humans getting arcane power fast.

[FoE]

How in the world does it take you 1,000 years to die? Unless you have magical (or technological or biological) immunity to aging, there's no way you could survive that long unless being trapped in a creature that's eating you alive (not to mention all those teeth on the way down) actually kept you alive somehow.

The Sarlaac's stomach acids are extremely slow-acting, so it takes a years to devour a corpse But even if your body is eventually consumed, the Sarlaac also absorbs the consciousness of its victims, who live in disembodied torment ...

[chiasaur11]

The Sarlaac's stomach acids are extremely slow-acting, so it takes a years to devour a corpse But even if your body is eventually consumed, the Sarlaac also absorbs the consciousness of its victims, who live in disembodied torment ...

On the other hand, your pals could still cut it open to save you for months. And someone might have a nice bar down there.

[Siegel]

Worm that Walks.
Blecch, they make me want to throw up. Give demi-lichdom instead.

That thing is creeping me out... (but i'm happy they are back in 4E MM)
in fact i'm really inscetophob so any kind of vermin/insect creeps me out. Also any kind of Monster that sneaks at me and than does horribyl thinks. And everything that looks like a good thing at first and then kills me.

Most other things in MMs that can kill me with one blow...

[hamishspence]

Lamia might fit: swarm of beetles that disguises itself as beautiful person. Imagine watching features melt away revealing hundreds of large, chittering beetles.

[SilentNight]

The kraken. I have a deep fear of tentacled things and the deep ocean stemming from an event when I was seven.

[hamishspence]

Dagon is pretty creepy. Especially when updated in dragon magazine.

[FoE]

On the other hand, your pals could still cut it open to save you for months. And someone might have a nice bar down there.

The Sarlaac buries itself deep beneath the desert and drugs its victims with hallucinogens that prevent them from escaping. The only person to ever escape the mighty Sarlaac is Boba Fett, using the power of sheer awesomeness. :smalltongue:

[SilentNight]

Dagon is pretty creepy. Especially when updated in dragon magazine.I think that goes for just about everything Lovecraft ever created. :smalleek:

[Knaight]

I can't remember what it was, but there was some insect that laid their eggs in you. WHILE YOU WERE ALIVE. Then the little guys eat you from the inside. Pretty f***** up.

I think that there is a spider(which is incidentally an arachnid) which does that.

Although the D&D slaad would be really scary once you consider this.

[Shazzbaa]

Tsochar from Lords of Madness

Not the body snatching. More from the idea that you can feel the tentacles sliding around underneath your skin.
Oh, this is the precise reason that it is my favourite monster EVER. :smallbiggrin:

But hamishspence, that's a fantastically horrifying mental image.

[chiasaur11]

The Sarlaac buries itself deep beneath the desert and drugs its victims with hallucinogens that prevent them from escaping. The only person to ever escape the mighty Sarlaac is Boba Fett, using the power of sheer awesomeness. :smalltongue:

Hey, he was knocked in accidentaly by a blind guy with a stick (Sure, it was Han Solo, but that does not excuse it).

Being more awesome than that is certainly possible.

[monty]

Hey, he was knocked in accidentaly by a blind guy with a stick (Sure, it was Han Solo, but that does not excuse it).

Being more awesome than that is certainly possible.

What are you talking about? Anything Harrison Ford does is excusable. Except the new Indy movie. There's no excuse for psychic alien communists.

[FoE]

Hey, he was knocked in accidentaly by a blind guy with a stick (Sure, it was Han Solo, but that does not excuse it).

I'm sorry, but are you disparaging the man who made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

You, sir, are quite mad, and I have nothing more to say to you. Good day!

[chiasaur11]

What are you talking about? Anything Harrison Ford does is excusable. Except the new Indy movie. There's no excuse for psychic alien communists.

See?

Indy is more awesome than Boba Fett. And if we ignore the 4th Indy movie, it'll slink away.

Also, Fett is cool. Just not in the prequels. (I once met Jeremy Bullock, the actor who played him at a comic store signing thing. He seemed like a nice guy.)

[monty]

I'm sorry, but are you disparaging the man who made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

You, sir, are quite mad, and I have nothing more to say to you. Good day!

Now, I don't know much about Star Wars, so I may be missing something obvious, but I always wondered about that comment - isn't a parsec a measure of distance, not time?

[chiasaur11]

I'm sorry, but are you disparaging the man who made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

You, sir, are quite mad, and I have nothing more to say to you. Good day!

I'd never disparage one of our best presidents.
I'm just saying that he's a bit more awesome than Boba Fett.

[Zaphrasz]

Yes, a Parsec is a measure of distance. It was later retconned, saying that because of some extradimensional rifts (or blackholes, or something (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run)) less distance becomes less time.

[tonberrian]

Now, I don't know much about Star Wars, so I may be missing something obvious, but I always wondered about that comment - isn't a parsec a measure of distance, not time?

Yes it is. I know I saw something about Lucas addressing that on the internet SOMEWHERE, but you know the internet. It's a big place.

EDIT: This article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessel_Run#Kessel_Run) claims that it's because the Falcon got closer to the Maw (a group of black holes in the Kessel system) shaving distance (and thus time) off of the trip.

[monty]

Yes, a Parsec is a measure of distance. It was later retconned, saying that because of some extradimensional rifts (or blackholes, or something (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run)) less distance becomes less time.

All right, that sounds more reasonable. Abusing gravitational force to travel a certain distance in less distance makes sense, somehow.

[hamishspence]

I was thinking more of the Fiendish Codex 2 Dragon (maybe because deep sea fish always look creepy, and a fish/shark/octopus is creepier yet.) But yes, WoTC Dagon drew heavily from Lovecraft rather than the diety of real-life mythology.

Buffy did its own version of the Worm that Walks: creepy. But it is true that Beetles that Walk might seem creepier.

[Siegel]

The Werespiders from Werewolf.

They can transform into hundrets of single Spiders to escape. If most of then are killed and the original body can't be restored they can seek a human, enter him (through the mouth or ears or whatever) and then burry to you brain. Then they bite your brain with a special venom so it melds and the spider connects with your nerv system and then your Body gets slowly transformed so it can support beeing a Werespider. It kills you and takes your form. And it is a freaking spider eating your brain transforming you into a freakin monstaaa.

Thats just sick.

[hamishspence]

Starship Troopers 2 Braineater bug was a shade on the creepy side: climbs into target's living skull and controls them.

[Cheesegear]

Zaratans are an old favourite of mine. Just thinking about them makes me shudder.

Dragon Turtles too.

[hamishspence]

Enormous turtles don't seem all that creepy. Being on one as "island" rocks and submerges: that would be more alarming.

I think Golden Axe computer game also did the Gigantic Turtle.
Arms and Equipment guide has stats for 3rd ed Zaratan (I wonder if a 4th ed one will occur?)

[Cheesegear]

Enormous turtles don't seem all that creepy. Being on one as "island" rocks and submerges: that would be more alarming.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was getting at.
And then "A Zaratan can try to swallow a grappled opponent of Gargantuan size or smaller..."
Unless I'm wrong...Zaratans eat whales. Whales!

And then just try to think of two Zaratans mating. I dare you.


I think Golden Axe computer game also did the Gigantic Turtle.

They sure did.

[hamishspence]

yes, it comes in the "its BIG" school of scary.
Alien aliens (xenomorphs) are hideous, armed with vicious natural weapons, and, with facehuggers added, can tap into the idea of "its INSIDE me"
Then there is the Controlled idea, or the "I'm changing into something...HORRIBLE idea. There are a lot of forms of horror.

Physical revulsion horror is slightly different from, say, the idea of something horrible happening To you.

[DigoDragon]

And then just try to think of two Zaratans mating. I dare you.

Fighter: "Well now we know how earthquakes happen."

As for D&D horrors that give me the jibblies, I'll vote for the Worm that Walks. A body of maggots that just... undulates in place... :smalleek:
--jibblies jibblies jibblies--


P.S.: I have to go against the grain and give thumbs up to Indy 4. I mean hey, surfing a nuclear shockwave in a fridge? It's so unbelievable that only Indy can do it. :smalltongue:

[hamishspence]

I find insect swarms slightly more repellant than maggots, so I favour 4th ed lamia over Worm that Walks. Also, tranformation from human to horror may add something to creepiness: shock factor (Larva mage, the 4th ed Worm, doesn't disguise itself)

On the insect front, wasps more than others: hellwasp animated body would rank pretty high: Cloaked figure, opens wrappings to reveal zombie with multiple huge wasps crawling on it, swarm pours out of everywhere it can: Yowch!

[Treguard]

My vote goes for the Bloodrot in Heroes of Horror for two a number of reasons:

Firstly, it's an ooze made out of congealed blood- victims of previous attacks- in the shape of a giant slug that infects its victims with Blood Fever. A small fact about me is that I'm unashamedly terrified of slugs so the thought of one engulfing me is horrifying.

Secondly, one of its abilities, Sanguinous Mount, reads as follows:

If a bloodrot is losing a battle, it might attempt to hide within the body of anyone already infected with blood fever. The bloodrot needs merely to touch someone it has already infected, and it can seep into his body.. ..it can remain for up to 24 hours before it must depart, gushing forth from the host's various orifices.
Ick. Seriously. Given the dimensions of 8' in diameter, 2-6" thick and weighing 400lbs that's a serious amount of disgusting blood to "seep" into the poor vessel. The thought of someone literally engorged with that much blood, only for it to come "gushing" out of them when it's done?? :eek:

Thirdly, the blood fever, which gets inflicted on touch, mind, is a nasty supernatural disease (sorry monks) that also comes with a curse that makes curing it exceedingly difficult; worse is that the disease continues to affect con and charisma until the victim dies; worse still is that when you die you turn into another of these things; even MORE worse is that during this time any other bloodrots can sense and track anyone infected with blood fever at a distance of miles no less!

Definitely a nightmare creature to me.

[hamishspence]

hmm: icky, yup, "its Inside me" yup, transforms victims, yup. Its not quite as hideous at some, but it does combine multiple factors, not just appearence.

Dragon Magazine also did a Huge slug with acid spray.

[chevalier]

one monster that i like, mainly because it dsiturbs me personally, is the Gibbering Mouther- an oozing slithering mass of flesh, that keeps gibbering incomprehensebly, alters the ground it moves upon, has many eyes and mouths of different colors and shapes that keep sinking into and appearing from that oozing flesh, and then it bites, and bites again, and suddenly you're inside it], beaten by the numerous gibbering mouth, tearing your fleash away, bleeding you dry to the sound of maddening chatter...

<shivers and goes to wash himself....>

As soon as I read the OP I thought "gibbering mouther". It is the combination of amorphous, vaguely fleshlike form combined with familiar parts, eyes and mouths, but in quantity...combine that with the gibbering nonsense it spews, and it does freak me out.

Similar, deadlier, but not as freaky: flesh ooze.

Also: dragon skeletons / dinosaur skeletons / giant skeletons. Somehow eerier and creepier than the living thing. Something about a giant pile of bones, mysteriously animated...heck, even if you think about a regular animated human skeleton that to me is creepier than an orc or goblin.

[AlexanderRM]

Starship Troopers 2 Braineater bug was a shade on the creepy side: climbs into target's living skull and controls them.

They had something like that in the 3.0 psionics handbook: big brain on four legs that eats your brain, takes its' place, and pretends to be you.

[NEO|Phyte]

They had something like that in the 3.0 psionics handbook: big brain on four legs that eats your brain, takes its' place, and pretends to be you.

They upgraded it to 3.5. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/intellectDevourer.htm)

[chiasaur11]

They had something like that in the 3.0 psionics handbook: big brain on four legs that eats your brain, takes its' place, and pretends to be you.

Okay, now I have a mental image of a brain on legs wearing the cardboard mask from Team Fortress 2 and saying "No, really, I'm your pal steve. I just have a... skin condition."

[Thurbane]

The Plague Walker kind of creeps me out (which undead normally don't do).

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mm4_gallery/98707.jpg

[Devin]

The Plague Walker kind of creeps me out (which undead normally don't do).

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mm4_gallery/98707.jpg

Whoah... that thing is hideous and awesome. I'm guessing it's in Heroes of Horror or Libris Mortis? Those really sound like the books to get.

[arguskos]

Nope, Plague Walker is MM5. :smallbiggrin:

-argus