Post your favorite Monster(s) and tell us why

[crimhthanthegreat]

Everyone please post your favorite Monster or Monsters to this thread and tell us why they are your favorite.

I really like all of the humanoid monsters, goblins, orcs, ogres etc, because they are intelligent to one degree or another and they talk which means you can do almost anything with them. Everything from combat to trade to temporary alliances to long term alliances to double crosses to unexpected aid to anything you can think of. From the macro of armies clashing to the micro of individual interactions.

[Finarvyn]

This is going to sound strange, but my favorite monsters are also monsters I almost never use. They're too powerful.
1. Dragon
2. Nazgul
3. Balrog

(I'm not really certain of the order of the above; I like all three.) All have a distinct Tolkien feel, but also have the ability to wipe out a party who doesn't know how to run from them.

I also love Mind Flayers, but seldom use them for similar reasons.

As far as monsters I use a lot, basic Orcs are the biggies in my world, with Ogres ready to jump in when the party gets too smug. Again, my campaigns tend to have that Tolkien feel to them....

[foster1941]

By Nazgul do you mean D&D spectres (the spectre monster description in Vol. II mentions that Nazgul count as spectres) or did you create a new specifically-Nazgul monster? I ask because, while spectres are fairly tough, they're not all that bad -- certainly vampires are every bit as bad, or worse.

Dragons are my favorite monster as well, because I love all the special extra rules attached to them -- the fact that they're intelligent (and probably speak and possibly use spells), the chance that they'll be asleep, the rules for subduing them (including market value for selling them), the age rules, the saving throw bonuses and penalties, and so on. I love how dragons in D&D have all this extra detail that makes them almost more like characters than monsters.

[calithena]

I have to go through M&T again to make sure, but my superficial reaction to the question is...(drumroll)...

the Invisible Stalker.

Creepy, weird, different, scary, tough, magic users can summon them. Stay invisible while they're beating on you. Uniquely D&D as well.

[Melan]

1) Giant Frogs, of course: good low level "swarm you" creatures with a cool weird fantasy vibe
2) Type VI. Demons: although they are derived from Tolkien's Balrog, they have become their own distinct D&D archetype - the demon who roosts in ruined high-tech cities (as per City of the Gods).
3) Gelatinous Cubes, Green Slime, Black Puddings and so on: more fun weirdness and very D&Dish

I have removed Tolkien and most of the other "mediaeval bestiary" creatures from my game (e.g. ogres, unicorns, etc.), but these three will always stay.

[Finarvyn]

foster1941 said:

By Nazgul do you mean D&D spectres (the spectre monster description in Vol. II mentions that Nazgul count as spectres) or did you create a new specifically-Nazgul monster? I ask because, while spectres are fairly tough, they're not all that bad -- certainly vampires are every bit as bad, or worse.

Essentially I use the Spectre from M&T, but I bump up the hit dice from 6 to 10 for Nazgul. (Uber-Spectres!)

[murquhart72]

I've always had a thing for lizardmen. Not sure why but I think there's just something aesthetically pleasing about their overall shape, especially with a head comb leading down through the end of the tail. Just kewl I guess.
I also always liked The Blob, so the "cleaning crew" perks my interest too.
Plus, who can forget their first succubus

[meepo]

Another vote for the lizardmen.

Also Gnolls, Bugbears, Umber Hulks, and Ogres. All because they were some of the earliest miniatures I ever owned and used to just stare at their pics in the Monster Manual for hours. Well, those and the plethora of boobies, of course.

[Rhuvein]

Well, this is the first booklet/supplement that I'm really plowing into. Just like I did with my Holmes rulebook. Immediately to the monsters!!

I'm just enjoying all the original descriptions, and so far most are what I remember from Holmes (and why wouldn't they be, heh?).

First impression, a tad more detail or elaboration in Holmes' descriptions compared to OD&D.

But I just love the pudding, jelly and mold types.

Oh and so far, my favorite is the djinn and efreet descriptions. 1001 days, the efreet will serve. City of Brass. Efreet bottle. Arabian nights, no?

Never paid too much attention to these, as my campaigns weren't a desert type atmosphere.

Just excellent reading. ;D

[Deleted]

My favorite monsters are dragons because they are powerful, dangerous, sometimes intelligent, and they have lots of treasure! Actually, make that gnolls because they are half gnome, half troll!

[mauricio]

The gelatinous cube, since I first saw it on a AD&D First Quest book. It's just different from the rest.
Second is the beholder, for the same reason.

[makofan]

As a DM, I love kobolds. I can slaughter parties of up to 6th level using just kobolds alone. They have so many nasty tricks.

As a player, my favourite monsters were elementals, as they were so different.

[coffee]

I like Giants.

With their spectrum of hit dice, you can tailor encounters to the party's level (if you choose).

They talk, so you can interact with the party instead of just kill them.

They throw rocks!

They have lots of treasure; if the party survives, they are well rewarded.

Also, a lot of giants are pretty dumb, so a clever party can avoid combat and steal the treasure, which usually makes for a great game (and it's pretty funny for the DM when they miscalculate...)

In second place would be Sahuagin, from Blackmoor. They're just dangerous.

[doc]

My favorite has got to be the Balrog, especially since everybody now has the visual from the LotR films in their minds. Heh, if Gandalf barely survived against one, think of what the players feel when THEY have to fight one. Plus it is intelligent enough to manipulate others into servitude and powerfel enough so that one is quite a match for a good level party.

That being said, you gotta love kobolds. It is so easy to underestimate them. Nobody seems to catch on that where you see one kobold, there can be 50 more just beyond the characters' sight, lurking in the shadows and ready to pounce. I have a kobold NPC called Dwarf-Slayer who has been responsible for eleven character deaths over the years due to trickery and subterfuge. And at all of four hit dice is likely the most powerful kobold in the world!

Ogres are always fun too, because I run 'em more like how they are presented in folklore than the traditional giant neanderthal seen in the rulesbook. In folklore, many ogres were actually very bright. Some appeared to be normal humans and completely harmless (Baba Yaga is often presented as a small, grandmotherly old woman, until she smiles to reveal rows of sharp jagged teeth).

Were-Rats are another favorite of mine. They can be anybody and you would never know it until too late. I like how they are an evil race that can work well with each other (better than most PC groups) to obtain a goal. In may games, the were rats control a vast underground kingdom (yeah, kinda like that Lankhmar book) that is secretly pulling the strings of a very prominant human city-state. They make great planners and manipulators.

If we start to move into 1st edition, the Githyanki have got to be one of my all-time favorite races in D&D. But as this is an OD&D post, I shall say only that I like 'em a LOT and leave it at that.

And on a final side note, while the Drow ARE kinda cool, they are VASTLY overrated.

Doc

[crimhthanthegreat]

doc said:

Ogres are always fun too, because I run 'em more like how they are presented in folklore than the traditional giant neanderthal seen in the rulesbook. In folklore, many ogres were actually very bright. Some appeared to be normal humans and completely harmless (Baba Yaga is often presented as a small, grandmotherly old woman, until she smiles to reveal rows of sharp jagged teeth).

If we start to move into 1st edition, the Githyanki have got to be one of my all-time favorite races in D&D. But as this is an OD&D post, I shall say only that I like 'em a LOT and leave it at that.

Doc

I like your take on ogres, sounds like fun to me. If you really like Githyanki, then do a port of them over to OD&D.

[Deleted]

Although not strictly OD&D, I guess my top 5 (in no particular order) would be:

1. Thouls (d**n their nasty!).
2. Invisible Stalkers (they ARE creepy)
3. Mongrelmen (just for the weird factor alone)
4. Kobolds (sure to cause near fist-fights at the gaming table)
5. Medusae ("Clash of the Titans" sealed the deal on that one ;D)

[geoffrey]

My favorite OD&D monsters from the rulebooks are:

black pudding
green slime
gray ooze
ochre jelly

I can't get enough of the sloppy, gloppy monsters.

My favorite OD&D monsters (regardless of source) are J. Eric Holmes' Cthulhu Mythos gods and monsters from an issue of The Dragon in 1978.

[James Maliszewski]

doc said:

Ogres are always fun too, because I run 'em more like how they are presented in folklore than the traditional giant neanderthal seen in the rulesbook. In folklore, many ogres were actually very bright. Some appeared to be normal humans and completely harmless (Baba Yaga is often presented as a small, grandmotherly old woman, until she smiles to reveal rows of sharp jagged teeth).

This is an interesting take on ogres and one I like. I once made ogres the result of a divine curse that affected those who engaged in cannibalism. As the curse progressed through the continued habit of eating intelligent beings, the ogres grew more bestial until they eventually resembled the big, brutish things we typically call ogres. Despite their appearance, they weren't necessarily unintelligent, though, which sometimes threw off my players. ;D

[raithe]

Undead, any undead.
I like them because they got flair and they're so easy to underestimate. They all tend to look alike till you get too close.

[Deleted]

1. Godzilla.
2. Balrog from Lord of the Rings movies.
3. Vampires (Underworld)
4. Zombies (Resident Evil)

[korgoth]

I like weird monsters:

1. Beholders (perhaps my favorite)
2. Mind Flayers (especially with sci-fi elements)
3. Big frogs or toads (just cool)

Some of the more fearsome undead, like liches and spectres, are cool because they give that "nazgul" feel.

And flumphs, but only if they're paladins.

[serendipity]

I would have to list my fellow PCs as my favorite monsters. I have been half-gutted with a warhammer thrown by a dwarf, fried by a mage's fireball, and skewered in the patootie by the arrow of a fighter. And they were all theoretically on my side. At least when a monster does it, you know to expect it.

[simrion]

From M&T the Bugbear has always been my favorite (especially due the pumpkin head illo ) My all time favorite monster has to be the Beholder - again the illo from the cover of Greyhawk. That critter just spells doom in all it's gristly glory...

[carjack]

1: Balrog. Mostly because of the look on players faces when one shows up.

2:Giant Hog: This is my favorite listing in the encounter charts. Also for the look on the players faces when they show up.

3: The Thoul: Not OD&D strictly, but I just like them for some odd reason. What exactly was the wizard who made them trying to accomplish?

4: Gnolls: I like them as half-troll/half-gnome much better than the giant hyena men of later editions. Much more folkloreish in flavor.

5: Bandits: Any dungeon worth it's salt has bandits hiding out in it somewhere.

[casey777]

Ghouls - I like my talking undead Weird Tales goodness. That and a Poppy Z. Brite story on them. @_@ I give them a very dry sense of humor and unique perspective on the human condition.
minor humonoids - gnolls, gnomes (& their lairs), goblins, kobolds, lizardmen, and the like; fun and nasty to roll over a party with these little fellas
humans - nothing can be quite so evil or challenging!

Honorable Mention - Empire Petal Throne's mix of inimical races; learn to run away from the smell of stale cinnamon and the sound of chimes!

[Zulgyan]

There's always a place for the MANTICORE in my heart.

[Falconer]

admin said:

1. Dragon
2. Nazgul
3. Balrog

Spot on. Dragons less so because anyone playing Dungons & Dragons is looking forward to being a dragon-slayer from day one. But I can’t think of anything that makes the players say oh, shirt!! more than Balrogs and Nazgûl.

[ragnorakk]

I am still paralyzed by the carrion crawler from B1...
anyone wanna help me yet...(?)

[ant]

Possibly a bit boring but I've always loved the staple of orcs and goblins. Great armies of brutish/cowardly/sniveling humanoids have always done it for me.

Followed by zombies and skeletons. Ah, my rotting brethren ...

[gloriousbattle]

Manticores. Why?

1. VERY tough (potential 6d6 missile damage).
2. I have a really nice manticore mini.