What MM monsters DON'T you use?

[Empirate]

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, question time:

I realized I never use some of the iconic monsters (iconic in the sense that they're in the first Monster Manual) in my 3.xx games. Why is that? I have an idea where some of them are regarded, but not others.


Gray Render: too generic. Big brute force monster. Meh.

Girallon: come on, a Gorilla, but spelled differently, and with 4 arms? Lame.

Gibbering Mouther: freakin' [male cow excretion] monster.

Will o'Wisp: never found an opportunity. Like it, though.

Beholder: lots of save-or-dies, on a monster that dies easily itself. Just too hard to use effectively as a DM, in my book.

Giants tougher than Frost: not the slightest idea why I haven't used them.

Achaierai: cool stuff, actually. Why don't I ever use this?

Mohrg: icky.

Flesh Golem: more icky.

Frost Worm: cool monster. Never got around to it.

Gorgon: AoE save-or-die. A little too frustrating for me... although I have used the Medusa. Hmm.

Chuul: always wanted to use this, never did. Not the foggiest why.

Devourer: now this is cool. Whyever haven't I used this dozens of times already?

Phase Spider: love the idea, but haven't used it. Why?

Nagas: all of them are great. I just never use them.

Ankheg: nice threat for the low levels. I still normally choose animals and NPCs over this. Why?


Etc. etc.
And so it goes. Lots of cool monsters that I haven't ever used in play, after years of DMing D&D. Which ones haven't seen play in your games? And why do you think that is?

 

[Jhaelen]

Girallon: come on, a Gorilla, but spelled differently, and with 4 arms? Lame.

Achaierai: cool stuff, actually. Why don't I ever use this?

Gorgon: AoE save-or-die. A little too frustrating for me... although I have used the Medusa. Hmm.

Devourer: now this is cool. Whyever haven't I used this dozens of times already?

Phase Spider: love the idea, but haven't used it. Why?

The above are the ones from your I haven't used either. I've used phase spiders in previous editions, though.

Girallon and Achaierai are not monsters I'd ever use - too ridiculous-looking for my taste. The gorgon I haven't used for the same reason - I've used a medusa but only in a diplomatic encounter. Regarding the devourer - I just never got around to use it.

I've used storm giants - but only as allies for the pcs.

All in all, there's plenty I haven't used (), mostly because even after playing a campaign for over six years there are so many monsters I couldn't possibly fit them all in:
The campaign was played from level 1 to 16. So even if I had never used the same monster twice, that's only about 16 x 13 monsters = 208 monsters.

I've also set the campaign in an arctic area, so monsters found only in tropical settings were definitely out.

Among the few iconic monsters I've never used in any edition of the game are gelatinous cubes and gnolls. The former are too silly for my taste, and the latter? No idea, why.

I did use some of the less well-liked monsters, though, e.g. Rast and Yrthak.

 

[Celebrim]

Girallon: come on, a Gorilla, but spelled differently, and with 4 arms? Lame.

The Girallon is the 'Great White Ape' of Barsoom given a different name. It would therefore make since in D&D on mars.

Gibbering Mouther: freakin' [male cow excretion] monster.

I love the creepiness of this monster. One of my favorites. You can never have enough excuses for using the gibbering mouther in your game.

Will o'Wisp: never found an opportunity. Like it, though.

Ditto. In 1e it was a quite hard opponent (one of the hardest in many ways). In 3e it just hasn't come up.

Beholder: lots of save-or-dies, on a monster that dies easily itself. Just too hard to use effectively as a DM, in my book.

Agreed. I've placed one, but never had one encounter in my game. I've fought one as a PC though.

Giants tougher than Frost: not the slightest idea why I haven't used them.

Oddly, me too, though I'm sure most of that problem is I've almost never played on either side of the table above 12th level. So the basic problem is usually one of lack of need. I've placed a Storm Giant in my current campaign, but don't anticipate it becoming an antagonist - it's more of a sand box thing.

Mohrg: icky.

But thats why I like it.

Flesh Golem: more icky.

Classic monster tropes always deserve a place in your game.

Phase Spider: love the idea, but haven't used it. Why?

No idea. Spiders are creepy and cool. Supernatural spiders that are always just behind you are even creepier and cooler.

Nagas: all of them are great. I just never use them.

I feel your pain. So many ideas, so little gaming time. I really need to use these more than I do. It seems half the time I use them, they are Bone Nagas which is almost cheating.

Which ones haven't seen play in your games? And why do you think that is?

Demons & Devils: I've only used any of these 2 or 3 times and on those occasions I'm pretty sure that the players never even knew what they were. Most have never appeared in my game and probably never will. From a fantasy perspective, I don't think that brutish monsters is nearly the most evocative implementation of the idea, and from a real world perspective I don't think occultism is a good focus of the game especially if well implemented. Combining the two thoughts, I'm glad that fiends are done badly in D&D but don't see that as a reason to make use of them in my game. There are plenty of cthulhuan aberrations, feys, genii, undead and other wierdness to fit the niches here that D&D puts them in and it helps keep my game PG-13. I find the templates in 3e make the official fiends even more pointless, as you can whip up a more evocative incarnation of evil by applying a template or two to a monster and reskinning them.

Angels & Archons: Likewise, I've only used any of these 2 or 3 times as well. Its difficult (though not impossible) to use them in an adversary role, and having them show up otherwise (sans a calling spell) tends toward deus ex machina.

Blue Dragon: I've got nothing against them, its just for some reason I've never had one turn up in the game I've run. I guess I need more deserts and grasslands.

Dire Lion/Dire Tiger: While I love dangerous animals as obstacles, after a while, 'big animal' not only gets a bit absurd but lacks the well rounded abilities necessary to challenge high level characters well. When I need a big animal, it seems I always go for a prehistoric version or 'bear'.

Magmin: No problem with the concept. Never came up, and I find Magma Mephits to be more well rounded foes. By the time 'lava' becomes a terrain hazard in my games, most monsters I challenge players with have spellcasting, missile weapons, or can fly, or all three.

Nightmare: For the life of me, I don't know why not. Lack of oppurtunity I guess. Also, many of my adventures are coastal, and so bad guys usually are known for their ships rather than their mounts. I guess I need to set a campaign in the continental interior.

Tarrasque: The thing speaks for itself.

 

[Ajax1979]

I started playing with the Mentzer Red & Blue Books and even after playing for 2/3 of my life I still gravitate toward those books. Even if I'm playing 3rd I use a very small set of monsters. I'm also pretty hidebound on wanting a Tolkien/Anderson/Leiber sort of game. Some of the oddballs just never found a home for me. Humans and demihumans are overwhelmingly the adversaries I use most.

What I def do use:

classic undead
lycanthropes
humanoids
giants (weaker end of the spectrum)
dragons
giant animals
weaker constructs (what the old books called 'living statues')


Tend not to use:

elementals
fey
outsiders
mobile plants
aquatic creatures
psuedo-Lovecraft stuff


Things I've never used and probably won't:

achaierai, beholder, belker, chuul, darkmantle, delver, destrachan, digester, ethereal anything, gibbering mouther, girallon, grick, rast, ravid, tendriculous, tojanida, xill, and yrthak.

In older editions any outsiders beyond devas/solar/planetar on one hand and demons/devils on the other has left me cold. Not a fan of modrons, slaad, and so on.

 

[Celebrim]

I'm also pretty hidebound on wanting a Tolkien/Anderson/Leiber sort of game. Some of the oddballs just never found a home for me.

This is going to sound like I'm jumping you, but how can you do Tolkien and especially Leiber without wierd?

Tolkien has fell beasts, and says that in the deep places of the earth strange things unknown to even the valar gnaw the bones of the mountains. What is the Watcher in the Water if not wierd? If you do Tolkien 'underdark', then you do 'wierd'. Shelob isn't merely a big spider, she is a monterous spider of nightmares whose webs suck up light and bind up shadows. And Leiber is heavily influenced by HP Lovecraft, to the point that the mentors of the protagonists of his 'Swords' books are robed lovecraftian monsters with faces that are masses of eye stalks.

achaierai, belker, gibbering mouther, grick, rast, ravid

You object to those. Ok, but do you object to BD&D standbys like carrion crawlers, green slime, and tarantellas? And if not, at least give a few of the wierder things a try in the dark wierd corners of your world.

 

[FEADIN]

In your list except the Girallon and the Grey render IIRC I used or met all the others, in fact in 30 years of gaming I met or used nearly all monsters except those who came in the last 8 years and most of those Good outsiders (guardinal and eladrin) but I agree that each DM often use the same ones adding a new for surprise from time to time.
So many monsters and so little time to use them all.....

 

[SuperJebba]

I have never used Inevitables. I would like to, but I have a difficult time coming up with a reason for them to be around since my players have never gone to Mechanus.

I have also never used Djinn. I get too stuck on Aladdin and just find the whole genie thing to be lame.

Sphinxes. They are too Egyptian and I don't particularly care for that feel.

 

[SuperJebba]

Things I've never used and probably won't:

achaierai, beholder, belker, chuul, darkmantle, delver, destrachan, digester, ethereal anything, gibbering mouther, girallon, grick, rast, ravid, tendriculous, tojanida, xill, and yrthak.

In older editions any outsiders beyond devas/solar/planetar on one hand and demons/devils on the other has left me cold. Not a fan of modrons, slaad, and so on.

Ajax, how can you not use darkmantles?! They have got to be some of the greatest monsters ever. I ran the WLD and killed like 6 players with em. My players never walk into a cavern in a cave now without saying, "I make my spot check and I look up." It's awesome.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't really keep track, so the best answer I can give is: "Most of them."

Sometimes, I have a particular monster in mind when I design a plot, so I do have favorites. I love using Drow, Dragons and all kinds of undead, for instance. I do have to avoid getting in a rut, though, especially since I've been playing in stable groups for so long.

Other times, I have a plot and I have to figure out how best to implement it. When I do so, I try to keep an open mind and not just go for my "go-to" foes, especially if I want to surprise the players. What may have the feel of a "Drow" storyline may instead be used for Shadar-Ki, Illithids, or something else entirely.

 

[Pergentile]

I use humanoids almost entirely for levels 1-5.
I use monstrous humanoids/fey almost entirely for levels 6-10.
I use magical beasts/outsiders almost entirely for levels 11-15.

Sprinkle in some undead to make the cleric happy, and a few other situationals, but other then that, it seems to be an enjoyed method so far. Its nice for players to get to fight some things they just massacre, and others they have to work their asses off to kill, with casualties.