Preferred hordes: What's your favorite evil humanoid?

Which of the following do you like to use for recurring evil troops?

  • Orcs! Nothing like a bunch of beastly berserkers!

    Votes: 42 22.7%
  • Goblinoids! Can't pass up those Uruk-Hair like hobgoblins!

    Votes: 68 36.8%
  • Kobolds! They're just so sneaky & eeeevviiiill!

    Votes: 47 25.4%
  • Gnolls! Can't pass up those intimidating hyena-laughs!

    Votes: 43 23.2%
  • Subterranean races (troglodytes, drow, duergar, kuo-toa)! Love the menaces of the Underdark!

    Votes: 21 11.4%
  • Aquatic foes (ala sahuagin)! Drown them with foes!

    Votes: 2 1.1%
  • Reptilian foes (lizardfolk, draconians, yuan-ti, etc.)! Cold-blooded actions from cold-blooded foes

    Votes: 22 11.9%
  • Humans! The worst monsters are within us all!

    Votes: 56 30.3%
  • I use a homebrewed idea! Nothing can beat my dark imaginings! Nyah!

    Votes: 9 4.9%
  • Other! Something else enitrely than what's listed above, & it works great for me! Nyah!

    Votes: 16 8.6%

AFGNCAAP

First Post
Hello!

This is just a friendly little poll that asks you what your favorite en-masse bad guys are. Do you like to throw hordes of orcs at the PCs? Legions of hobgoblins? Packs of gnolls? Companies of human mercenaries? Who is your favorite (or rather, are your favorites)? Which kind of creatures is your campaign's "stormtroopers" (or "AIM Bucketheads" for you Marvle fans out there)?

Vote away! Enjoy!
 
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I listed a homebrew not so much for the races, but for the way I handle them.

You see, my Orcs are generally smarter than the orcs of the MM, and less primitive in some of their tribes. My own version of Bluffside is threatened not by lizardy-people but by a Grey Orc Empire, equipped with flying ships, well-trained marines and a hellish army of sappers (orcs being good miners).

But my favourite force is probably a mix of my own versions of Goblins, Hobgoblins and Bugbears. The Goblins have very slight magical prowess, but their Hobgoblin leaders are very much innately magical, with their favoured class being Sorcerer. Add in some Barbarian Bugbears, known usually as Great Goblins, and that Goblin troop packs a powerful magical punch, backed up by lethal goblin sneak attacks, and berserking Great Goblins.

It's fortunate for humanity that in my Shatterd World campaign, the Orcs hate the Goblins as much as they do Humans, and of course, the same with the Goblins! :)
 

Cool! Keep those votes (& responses) coming!

As for me, well, I've abstained from voting (for now), but I have a few preferences (which mainly depend on what campaign I'm running).

For my homebrew campaign, I'd have to say the goblinoids are my favorites. What really got me working with these guys is the Blues from the PsiHB (great for the secret, mysterious leaders of the Goblinoid Armies), as well as Claudio Pozas's illustration of the Roman legionnaire-like hobgoblins.

A bit of campaign history: originally, there were no great groups of goblinoids--just goblins. However, an evil man gathered together all of the goblins that he could find, and started to build an army. While the average goblin proved ideal for quick, stealthy scouts or ambush parties, they proved poor front-line soldiers. With a bit of selective breeding & cross-breeding, the evil man created a new goblin race--the hobgoblins. Stronger than the average goblin, and more apt to accept discipline & follow orders, the hoblgoblins proved to be the ideal front-line troops. Shortly afterward, more selective breeding & cross-breeding produced the bugbear--the ideal shock trooper, able to weaken the enemy front lines and allow the hobgolbin regulars to annihilate the opposing forces.

By-products of this "creation" process were the bakemono (OA goblins) and the Blues. Originally deemed valueless, the blues eventually proved their worth, and "freed" the goblinoids, by using their psychic powers to overthrow the evil man's authority & hold over the goblinoids. Now, the evil man long dead, the Six Great Goblin Armies remain, all of them under the command of a single, mysterious Blue who holds control over each Blue commander-in-chief in charge over one of the 6 armies.

Basically, the Blues are the elite/aristocratic/high-ranking brass of the goblinod armies. Hobgoblins are the regular forces/infantry. Bugbears (esp. bugbear barbarians) are shock troops (kinda like the Uruk-Hai berserkers) used to cause great amounts of damage. Goblins serve as scouts, spies, messengers, light cavalry, & any other sort of duty that either utilities their strengths, shields them from their weaknesses, or is deemed too low/dirty of a job for the other goblinoids to perform. The bakemono are the only goblinoids not a part of the army--they live in the wild, following the basic, primal, tribal lifestyle that the goblins once knew.

However, I'm saving this idea for my main campaign. For other D&D games that I run, I typically like to use some other race regularly instead. Kobolds make great foes for low-level parties, & orcs are tried & true, but I'm really considering making my regular en-masse foes be gnolls instead. They're rather unique (I think a D&D creation, rather than borrowed from fantasy or myth), & I just can't pass up that hyena look & sound.

But, that's just me. What about the rest of you? What's in your campaign? Be heard! Vote!
 

Ever since I read the Dragon editorial about Tucker's Kobolds they've been my favorite. With 3e, many of my kobolds have sorcerer levels now. They've been loads of fun for me and a source of fustration for my players. :D
 
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Humans, with the subterranean races as an honourable mention.

Generally, though, I dislike humanoids (other than humans) - I've always considered them to be quite boring.
 


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