What's your favorite Monster Race to have as villains?


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So I'm starting a new campaign, and I kind of want to do something a little different from what I've done in the past, so I'm looking for inspiration.

What's you favorite monster race to have as villains? (Aka Orcs, Undead, Lizardfolk, etc.)

If you're specifically trying to address the reason I'm making this thread, then the Spoiler below contains some info about two campaigns I've run fairly recently.

Previous Campaign Info:
I've done two campaigns where the players have generally expressed enjoyment of the game.

These two campaigns mainly used one type of monster as the "Main plot" villains, so the two I've used so far were:

1. Mind Flayers. In this campaign we were playing 3.5 and I pulled all the stops out for character creation. Many of the players were playing level adjusted monster class races. The basic story was that in that area of the world all the Dragons were sealed up by a group of druids into a forest, which if kept healthy imprisoned the Dragons in a Stone Form. The forest was being destroyed gradually by a blight however which was caused by series of artifacts that were used to seal a Mind Flayer God. The party gets a hold of one of these objects and thus caught the attention of a particular Mind Flayer Tribe interested in resurrecting their dark deity.

2. Incorporeal Beings, and eventually Giant Outsiders. In my most recent campaign using pathfinder the main villains were for most of the campaign incorporeal beings bent on corrupting and possessing humans. They animated objects and could only be killed by specific types of magical weapons, or by magic that was channeled through a special item bond. It turned out though that ultimate intention of these "phantoms" was to create a perfect society through this possession so that the world may remain in a state of peace hopefully preventing what the party was ultimately tricked into doing - and that was releasing the Great Old Ones from their tombs. At that point the campaign took a lovecraftian turn where the old ones were exerting their influence on the world from a limbo-like plane, only occasionally manifesting their physical form on the material plane. The party then had to work with the Phantom leader to learn how to make themselves immune to the mind melting influence of the old one and eventually become powerful enough to destroy them one by one.

I'm starting my players at level 10 in my current campaign. I'm leaning toward using more Abominations this time around, but I'm actually very heavily considering the idea of making one of the main villains they have to face be a coalition of evil Wizards adept at crafting constructs.

I'm not a big fan of undead scourges, since it's overused and in my opinion ruined by some poorly told stories. I'm okay with using them heavily in particular adventures though, for instance in the Mind Flayer campaign I had one or two scenarios where I used them pretty heavily.


Snakepeople.

They're sssssimply ssssinisssster.

Undead are always good too as long as they're interesting and varied.


Kobolds & Goblins under a powerful leader such as a Dragon, Anti-Paladin, or Cavalier.

Undead are also one of my favorite for throwaway enemies.

Grand Lodge

Aasimar, and Fey.


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Humans are another good foe I like fighting and using.


Fey. I love the duality, the chaos, the whimsical mixed with the deadly in an enemy. They're bright, colourful, inviting, and absolutely terrifying! Fey make great villains.

Aside from the fey, I like once-human monsters. Vampires are a classic.


That's a hard choice. Devils are really awesome, but I usually shy away from using them too much. Main problem is that if you're gonna play Devils in any capacity that lends the slightest credit to their description, the players usually cannot win.

Despite how much I love Devils however, I'm gonna go ahead and say personal favorites are Gnolls, Kobolds and Lizardfolk.

All 3 are usually associated with low to low-mid level games, but can easily present a threat to the players and the world well into the high levels. They are also notoriously clever and malicious opponents.

If you want an enemy where the players will not simply find themselves fighting progressively tougher and tougher baddies, but instead find their enemy adapting to fight them every step they take, change tactics to exploit every possible weakness, and generally make the players earn their victories, Gnolls, Lizardfolk and especially Kobolds are your best friends.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Humans. Expansionist, short-lived, cunning and reckless and numerous. A campaign against an evil human empire would be rad.


DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
Humans. Expansionist, short-lived, cunning and reckless and numerous. A campaign against an evil human empire would be rad.

Exactly what I had in mind. Might be my inner misanthrope talking now, though.

I actually prefer presenting some "monster races" in a less negative light myself.

My homebrew setting has some serpentfolk actually worship a version of Quetzalcoatl, and these ones are NOT Evil.
Of course, there are evil ones who are dedicated to more sinister deities, and the jungle hides other dangers in it as well.


OnO

Woe, I have disgusted Icyshadow :C Now my day shall be sad indeed.

I agree with the other mentions of humans. If anyone could threaten the world, any world really, it would usually be humans.

However with that being said, the OP asked for Monster Races and humans don't qualify :(

EDIT: Damn you Icyshadow! Editing posts on me like that! However will I appear a collected and coherent person?! You know what, nevermind :P


I rephrased, sorry about the earlier vitriol.

And humans are monsters in denial, seriously.


I deny your accusation!


Deny it all you want, our own world is enough proof of our monstrosity.

The only race I can think of who'd deliberately make other animals extinct in D&D would be orcs.

Maybe gnolls too, but they seem a bit more pragmatic despite being just as savage (if not more) as the orcs.


@Nearyn: You forgot Humans, Goblins & Orcs. They can fulfill those roles as well. Usually with a bit of humor as well. Especially with an Ogre in the Mix.

And yeah... you can tell I prefer hordes made up of the CR equal-to-or-less-than 10 monsters.

EDIT: Epicly Ninja'd

Grand Lodge

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Ogres.

Pathfinder made Ogres into giant, inbred, corpse-mutilating, rapist.

They are like massive Deliverance-style hillbillies turned up to 11.


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I dunno that I'd be comfortable telling one of my PCs to "Squeal like a pig" while an Ogre played Russian roulette with his anus.

Grand Lodge

Rynjin wrote:
I dunno that I'd be comfortable telling one of my PCs to "Squeal like a pig" while an Ogre played Russian roulette with his anus.

Your PC's corpse, or animal companion is fine too.


Eh, I usually go with classic 3.5e Ogres for that reason.

That, and they are still Chaotic Evil in the old games anyway.


Not all Ogres are that way. Just a Majority of them.


What way, being Chaotic Evil or...?


I have to agree with BBT. Ogres are nightmarish...Hills have Eyes without playing nice. Terror...absolute terror.

blackbloodtroll wrote:
Your PC's corpse, or animal companion is fine too.

Not to mention the corpses of the baker, milkman, and dog walker that have been in the shed for a month...absolute horror.


At the moment, Skums, lots of 'em.

Asmo


@Icyshadow: The Deliverance way.


Why I prefer different ogres.

1. I find it distasteful on a personal level.

2. At least one of my friends has traumas from being raped.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Rynjin wrote:
I dunno that I'd be comfortable telling one of my PCs to "Squeal like a pig" while an Ogre played Russian roulette with his anus.
Your PC's corpse, or animal companion is fine too.

Heh.

"A cat is fine too."


I love orcs. One of my fondest campaign ideas has always been a seemingly disjointed series of events that turns out to be the initial reactions to several orc tribes unifying and clashing with their own culture. Small little events that show no real commonality other than a weird shift in the status quo, and then suddenly...

Bam. Orc siege on a major capital city out of nowhere, complete with necromancers and suicide siege weapons. Not even Lord of the Rings style, just murder hobos turned up to eleven.


@Icyshadow: I normally use the stats and just add my own spin to most monsters. I use the fluff only as a basis.

My Ogres normally act like stupid humans. With the exception of a few tribes.

And I am the only guy most of my friends will have prolonged contact with simply out of PTSD. Apparently because I come off very effeminate.

Grand Lodge

That's why Half-Ogres exist.

Persistence.


I'd say that out of the "monster" races, goblinoids can become interesting along with orcs, depending on tribe.

Actually, a war between hobgoblin and orc armies would be an interesting addition for my own campaign world as well.


I actually made a Ogryn/Ogren/Ogrun (can't remember the exact name right now...) Race. They are the evolution of Ogres who found out the Power of Knowledge. Though they are still fairly stupid.

@Icyshadow: I actually have an adventure coming up for my Players that involves a Goblinoid/Orc/Grand Alliance(Most Core Races) war.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Bugbears are pretty scary now. Their ultimate achievement in life, is to kill someone, by scaring the sh*t out of them.


I liked bugbears better when they were evil ninja bears who knew how to wield weapons, as one friend put it.


Though Pathfinder's Bugbears are closer to the Mythological version.

NOTE: Bugbear is a mistranslation. Like Re-Fried Beans which is actually meant to be Well-Fried Beans. I don't remember what Bugbears are actually supposed to be called in English or in the original language off the top of my head though.


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

One of my favorite things to do is to use a monster race, like orcs or gnolls, and have another villain, anyone really, and then midway through the campaign, the villain will turn on his army, and the PCs go to the orcs or gnolls and enlist their help in fighting the big baddie.


@Algodor

Sounds like that Githyanki invasion campaign I saw in Dragon magazine once.

Grand Lodge

No, the 3.5 Bugbears were like Wookies with Down-Syndrome.

Freaking hated them.


Starfinder Superscriber

Kind of depends on my game. I've had great fun with mind flayers in the past, but I've also used gnolls (which are awesome as racial villians), and some of my favorite BBEG style mini-bosses or bosses are Ogre Magi (as I have a player who just hates them with a passion that goes beyond anything I've EVER done to him with them). Plus I like that ogre magi can look like nearly any humanoid or giant type. Makes it fun to have an ogre magi that looks like a halfling or gnome running around in a city, causing problems, then "hiring" adventures to try and find him to stop his rampage.


blackbloodtroll wrote:

No, the 3.5 Bugbears were like Wookies with Down-Syndrome.

Freaking hated them.

I wonder if the DM is at fault for that interpretation.

Grand Lodge

Fey are still top.

Why?

Muthaf*kin' Pugwampis, that's why.

Grand Lodge

Icyshadow wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:

No, the 3.5 Bugbears were like Wookies with Down-Syndrome.

Freaking hated them.

I wonder if the DM is at fault for that interpretation.

Well, they looked that way, and at least two DMs ran them like retarded Fozzies on PCP.


Fey are nice and varied, but I'm disappointed by the lack of Celtic equivalent humans (or elves) in Golarion.

That's why the Celts (with a different name) are going to probably be elves in my own campaign world and do stuff.

I originally planned for them to be a human ethnicity instead, but I don't want a humanocentric world again so I'm mixing it a bit.

Grand Lodge

I do miss the Daelkyr though.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
No, the 3.5 Bugbears were like Wookies with Down-Syndrome.

Thank you for that image!

Wait are we talking Scottish or Irish Celts?

Scottish Celts = Primal Dwarves.

Irish Celts = Primal Elves.

If you want you could make them a Dwarf/Elf Hybrid Society.


Hobgoblins under a military rule. Romanesque.

Rakshasa or Dopplegangers are my next favorite.


Icyshadow wrote:

Deny it all you want, our own world is enough proof of our monstrosity.

The only race I can think of who'd deliberately make other animals extinct in D&D would be orcs.

Maybe gnolls too, but they seem a bit more pragmatic despite being just as savage (if not more) as the orcs.

Except Goblins, they want to make dogs and horses extinct.


Xaaon of Korvosa wrote:
Icyshadow wrote:

Deny it all you want, our own world is enough proof of our monstrosity.

The only race I can think of who'd deliberately make other animals extinct in D&D would be orcs.

Maybe gnolls too, but they seem a bit more pragmatic despite being just as savage (if not more) as the orcs.

Except Goblins, they want to make dogs and horses extinct.

best part on playing a Goblin PC is for that RPing.


Azaelas Fayth wrote:
blackbloodtroll wrote:
No, the 3.5 Bugbears were like Wookies with Down-Syndrome.

Thank you for that image!

Wait are we talking Scottish or Irish Celts?

Scottish Celts = Primal Dwarves.

Irish Celts = Primal Elves.

If you want you could make them a Dwarf/Elf Hybrid Society.

No way, scottish celts are awesome! Dwarves are short and hairy.


I wonder if I should make Hobgoblins the mongols / huns of my campaign world. They'd certainly fit that role from how I see it.

Orcs have no cultural equivalent aside from cavemen, as do ogres, goblins and trolls. Bugbears are a bit of challenge here for me.


humans, for truly we are the greatest of monsters.

or, y'know, dragons.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Aasimar, and Fey.

I actually have a player who thinks this would be a good idea.

I'm not sure how I could base an entire campaign on Fey though. Guess I could pull up some Irish Myths about them. (Irish were the ones who were all about evil fairies and leprechauns right?)

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