I was paging through the Monster Manual the other day and I realized that there are some creatures that I really love and use at every appropriate opportunity. I was wondering if other DMs had these favored monsters as well and if so what they were.
The ones that I can think of at the moment are Kobolds, Wolverines, Pit Fiends, Erinyes and Mind Flayers.
Please post lists of what your favorite monsters are.
stirges!
Always liked wererats for some reason. And Derro. And Goblins.
In every campaign, I try to use stirges at least once in the story.
I like using kobolds too. I use them to the best of their advantage... Usually starting off with a trap; A PC (one or some of them) falling into a covered pit in the woods, then getting showered with arrows and finally the kobolds make their charge 'en-masse' on the remaining PCs.
Ultradan
I use Gelatinous Cubes all the time. I also love Beholders but rarely get to use them.
Rust Monster I don't now why...Oh yeah nothing sends the party on edge like a rust monster and nothing takes the fight out of heavy armor wearing paladins, cleric, and fighters.
Fizz
Well, undead feature prominently. Sooner or later the adventurers will come across skeletons, zombies and ghouls...
Satyrs and pixies are also always fun...well, all fey are but those are the most iconic ones. Maybe a combination is in order...how does pixie ghoul sound to you? "If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise..."
Monstrous humanoids like giants and minotaurs are also interesting.
I seem to follow through with Orcs Ogres and Giants, oh my. Start with the Orcs then as the party levels up Ogres followed by Giants. I also like using the really intellegent "monsters" like Drow and Liches. Though I don't use Dragons that much. Heh.
...how does pixie ghoul sound to you? "If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise..."
lol, sounds like something I might do. I recently had them encounter a wolverine that exploded when they killed it. Its remains were acidic too.I love that apalled look on their faces.
I recently had them encounter a wolverine that exploded when they killed it. Its remains were acidic too.I love that apalled look on their faces.
Sounds like someone has been watching a little to much of the Alien movies.
But I do agree with the whole changing how a monster operates. It usually throughs the players for a much needed loop.
*DM to players "What, just because you expected it to follow what the book says a _______ should do doesn't mean I have to it that way. I changed deliberately for those silly looks of "WTF" that are on your faces right now. So besides standing there in amazement what do you do?"
Player 1 "I uhh I umm I attack it with ..."
Player 2 "Thats not fair ______ shouldn't be able to do that"
Greater Barghests.
Especially when you make a feat substitute, giving the creature the ability to Dimension Door three times a day instead of one. Am running a campaign where the players have had numerous run ins with the same Barghest which has now advanaced from CR5 to CR9 (also ruled that it could consume the souls of those that are killed by others -namely the PCs- rather than those killed by itself, but with a very strict time limit).
Undead of almost any kind, but particulary non-corporeal...most especially Spectres. In 2e,that 2 level life drain is hideous and the requirement for magic to hit can make them very dealy to lower level parties that don't have everyone buffed up to uber-heroes yet.
Tasty....
adding the multi-headed template from savage species makes anything more fun, but for sheer evil you cant beat black puddings inside an anti-magic feild.
Undead are a main feature in the campaign I'm running now. I also really love abberations of any kind, but mostly mind flayers, gibbering mouthers, and eye tyrants.
Also, my current campaign features Feinds of all varieties, and the players are just getting to the levels where they get to experience such things. Any suggestions? What are a DM's favorite fiends?
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Ever since The Keep on the Borderlands I have been quite partial to Minotaurs. That picture was the first one in a module that I ever colored, at the tender age of seven.
I also like Ogre Magi quite a bit, but I think that's just because of the awesome picture in the 3.5 Monster Manual. I always thought they were kinda lame (at least in appearance) before.
Illithid. :P
C'mon you guys,
Its d&d
And dragons are cool , strafe their enemies breathing fire, high AC and spells to boot.
demons and devils are uber bad guys they have so many abilities but players fear them.
Undead especially level draining undead strike fear into players.
But the coolest has to be the beholder,
a weird alien floating eye that can blast the party with all manner of spell effects.
and how can a rogue sneak up and backstab?
The thing is covered in eyes! and zap you with something if you sneak up behind me you pesky ~~@###ing rogue.
Beholders are the coolest and UNDEAD beholders even cooler!
Kobolds, Drow, Undead, Demons and Devils (can we say "Blood War, Children? I knew we could!), rouge outsiders (~WEG~ Have fun Fakey!), and the ever fun evil NPC Party of similar level to the PCs!!!
Gotta love Kobolds :)
Half-Dragon Kobolds even more. My party was quite terrified when the pesky little critters unleashed fiery hell upon them. Even with a DC 10 save for half damage, it's a scary thing to witness.
Also, various undead, especially the Wraith (for some reason) and the Ghouls.
And Trolls in all their varieties. Somehow, I love using those...
And last: Golems. But with my low-level games I hardly use those, and if I do they are usually not meant to be smashed.
Humans. Just plain humans. Gnomes come a close second.
As for monsters, bears! Yes just bears, black, brown, dire awakened, fiendish I don't care I'll throw it at my party! My party knows NOT to screw with a bear should it pass their camp at night and to keep their food stored away safely...
For me its all about the Dragons. I love Dragons and pride myself on playing nasty dangerous dragons designed to kill the players - though its been a bit hit and miss this campaign.
And last: Golems. But with my low-level games I hardly use those, and if I do they are usually not meant to be smashed.
In a Dragon magazine from last spring there is an article that presents several lesser golems, all with a CR of 1-4. Some of them are pretty cool. I used the Tin Golem in my game last week. It killed one of them but that was becuase the player in question was helpless.
And last: Golems. But with my low-level games I hardly use those, and if I do they are usually not meant to be smashed.
In a Dragon magazine from last spring there is an article that presents several lesser golems, all with a CR of 1-4. Some of them are pretty cool. I used the Tin Golem in my game last week. It killed one of them but that was becuase the player in question was helpless.
Ouch...thats a tough way to go - killed by a Tin Golem. I mean how are you supposed to hold your head up with pride after that?
I seem to use devils (all kinds), goblinoids, orcs, ogres, trolls, giants, and dragons a lot. I also use beholders, aboleths, and other aberrations whenever I get the chance.
The BBEG of a long campaign is usually a human, devil, or dragon. Looking at my next one... a lich... that was a human.
Gnolls, gnolls and more gnolls; all my gnolls have a base move of 60 too so track star gnolls :) I tend to use a lot of zombies and skellys at lower levels and then ghouls too; at higher levels I tend to use quite a few vampires, but it really depends on where peeps are playing in my world; in the southern area your going to fight a lot of snakemen, lizardmen, dinos and the lot; in the north a lot of ogrillion, giants; trolls and such; most peeps tend to stay in the middle of the world so is mostly gnolls and undead as main enemies until you start exploring the really ichy places of aberations and other tentacled things.
I tend to get a lot of milage out of gnolls; start with base gnolls; then as you need; start giving them barbarian levels; then add a couple ghouls to the pack; add class levels to gnolls and ghouls as needed; add a hyena or three. Just a good all around brute squad; heh then throw in a flind; poor guys who try to get gnolls organized; hopeless pretty much; but sometimes can get them all going the same direction and stop some cowards from fleeing.
still; non player character parties are the scariest monsters and hardest for a gm to run; if your character party meets another character party anything can happen and way to many skills, feats, items keep track of easily; if this was easier; this would be by favorite monster
Humans, Kobolds, Undead feature massively in my games No idea why, just seems to roll that way!
I somehow have a habit of getting a lot of ability damaging creatures too, at one point it was a running joke that there wasn't any point in having High stats, they would just be sapped away for most of the adventure anyway!