What If Your World Only Had 10 Monsters?

[Grogg of the North]

It actually didn't take as long as I would have thought to come up with a list. I think I could definitely run a campaign sticking to only that list.

1. Elf
2. Dwarf
3. Orc
4. Goblin
5. Dragon (A giant flying fire breathing lizard that loves shinies. Not color coded for your convenience.)
6. Ghosts (To represent angry, vengeful spirits)
7. Zombie/Skeleton (Something to represent hordes of undead)
8. Fey, probably a pixie (To represents the spirits of nature)
9. Angels of some kind (To represent the forces of good)
10. Devils of some kind (To represent the forces of evil)

 

[Grimmjow]

not in any order:
1)Zombies
2)Skeletons
3)Ghouls
4)Elves
5)Orcs
6)Hill Giants
7)Cave Dragons
8)Imps (yes i'm using one for imps)
9)Basic Elementals (they count as one)
10)Red Dragons

NO HALFLINGS!

 

[am181d]

Maybe:
Dragon
Orc
Dire Wolf
Wight
Wizard
Elf
Ogre
Hag
Faerie
Unicorn

With the caveat that these are generic monsters and not necessarily the D&D versions. Still cutting it tight. I could very easily work off a list of 20-30.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Excellent question. As I tend to favour a small monster palette anyway...

1) Eldritch Giant
2) Thorn
3) Sylph
4) Shadow
5) Feral Yowler
6) Phoenix
7) Umber Hulk
8) Snow Goblin
9) Kraken
10) Erinyes

 

[Smoss]

Limiting monsters helped me a lot with my current setting (Sixth Age of Doulairen). I had always seen it as the human age - with the monsters as a dwindling threat (And humans being the real monsters etc, etc).

It also meant that I would CONSOLIDATE several monsters. My favorite example is my lizardfolk. They live in the Marsh of Vashim. A warm swamp that sits WAY too close to the arctic to be that warm. It is heated through volcanic vents - AKA sulfur fumeroles.

Thus we have stinky lizard people. (Rotten eggs, whew!) - The most local human culture calls them Troglodytes. Hmm...

It is a great exercise to take several related myths and draw them back into being one creature that has spawned all kinds of tales. Even for creatures that are now extinct. The weekly fiction I currently write has the last of one of these races - a race I call the Vodyanoi. But I liberally blended Bullywugs and Kappas into this creature's mythos.

Smoss
-----------------------
Read my weekly fiction Enzi's Irregulars!
Special Halloween story arc ending tomorrow (Oct 31)

 

[Li Shenron]

Example #1: randomly taken from 3e Monster Manual

- Ghouls
- Mummies
- Shocker Lizards
- Nymphs
- Grigs
- Dryads
- Fire elementals
- Invisible Stalkers
- Duergars
- Fiendish creatures

The dwarves in this setting are all duergars, and they're the dark counterpart of human civilization... Undead are either ghouls haunting the cemeteries, or old and dusty mummies in ancient tombs. Various feys inhabits the woods together with their shocker lizard pets and are generally friendly to humans but could still be very dangerous because of their unearthly uncontrollable powers. Outsiders seen in this world are either various fiendish beasts threatening human lands or fire elementals threatening the wilderness. Invisible stalkers, I couldn't figure out

Example #2: randomly taken from all 3e books

- Abyssal drakes
- Slaads
- Phthisic
- Githzerai
- Pack lizards
- Ooze paraelemental
- Umbral beasts
- Einherjar
- Ankylosaurus
- Vaporighu

Ok these are just... gross

 

[Hand of Evil]

1. Goblin - just all around trouble makers and pack monster
2. Hobgoblin - general bad guy footsoldier
3. Zombie - to provide "faith" and afterlife, also good herd monster
4. Frost Gaint - Like an ice age as a foe
5. Vampires - classic
6. Skaven - ratmen are cool
7. Mindflayers - evil
8. Hags - have a thing for the wicked witch
9. Dragons (red) - classic
10. Demons - sin is sin

 

[Corathon]

You sort of saw that in Conan. He'd pretty much either fight ape-men or snake based monsters. And I think a vampire.

There were many fewer varieties of monsters in the Conan stories than in D&D - but still more than 10 kinds.

I think that I'd be bored with only 10 varieties of monster; but I love monsters, so I may not be typical.

 

[Shades of Green]

1. Lizardfolk
2. Dinosaurs
3. Yuan-Ti
4. Green Dragons
5. Giant Snakes
6. Giant Lizards
7. Kobolds
8. Giant Vermin
9. Giant Frogs and Toads
10. Hydras

The world would be pre-historic, humid and swampy. Beware the reptile gods!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

1. Tinker Gnomes
2. Flumphs
3. Nilbogs
4. Carbuncles
5. Rust Monsters
6. Jabberwocks
7. Bandersnatch
8. Wolf-in-sheep's-clothing
9. Kender
10. Tarrasque