Top 8 Monsters and Spells!

[GMMichael]

Looking for iconic stuff here: what are your top 8 favorite monsters by CR/level, and your top 8 favorite spells by level?

Very likely that my personal choices will run along Final Fantasy lines...but the forums always hide a surprise or two!

Your input will go toward a good cause: the roleplaying game I'm designing here.

 

[GMMichael]

Well, here's a stab at the spells. They're averaging 11 spells per level, which is high, but not bad. What did I miss?

[TABLE="width: 512"] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Mini - Reduce Person[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD]Cure2[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Stun - improved hold[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Armor - increase protection[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD]Harm2[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Ice3[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Charm - make friends[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD]Fire2[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Death - death countdown[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Shell - raise saving throws/spell resistance[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Hold - character gets no actions[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Stone - petrify[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD]Cure[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Lightning2[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Heal - recover from status ailments[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Harm - undead damage[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Lock2 - reduce all enemy parry[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Soft[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Fog - protection[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Anti-Mute[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Anti-Rub[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD]Fire[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD]Sleep2[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Sabre - spellcaster fight bonus[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD]Sleep[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Fast - more attacks[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Wall - protection from all magic-antimagic[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Lock - reduces parry[/TD] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD]Fog2[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]6[/TD] [TD]Heal2[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Lightning - P and M damage?[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Berserk - gain attack bonus, can only attack[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Wall - reflect spells[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD]Lamp[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Venom - cause poison damage[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Rub - insta-kill (planar teleport?)[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Temper - increase damage[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD]Pure[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Cure4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]1[/TD] [TD]Fear[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Confuse - enemies attack each other[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Harm4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Float - levitate[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD]Ice2 -[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Life2 - raise, full HP[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD]Status[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Piggy - polymorph into pig[/TD] [TD="align: right"]7[/TD] [TD]Quake - quake[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Ruse - parry[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Warp - intra-dungeon warp[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Break - multi insta-kill[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD]Mute[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Invisibility2[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Fade - lots of damage[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Anti-Lightning[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Heal - group cure[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Xfer - reduces resistances - disenchanter[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Invisibility - parry[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Psych - drain MP, gain opponent's spellcasting ability[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Stop - improved stun[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Ice - cold and movement penalty?[/TD] [TD="align: right"]4[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Flare - weak Nuke (non elemental attack)[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Zap - insta-kill[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD]Dark[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Toad - Polymorph into toad[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]XXXX - imrpoved rub[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD]Anti-Fire[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Wind - whirlwind attack[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Meteor - non/multi elemental damage[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD]Anti-Ice[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Bio - "earth" attack[/TD] [TD="align: right"]8[/TD] [TD]Heal3[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]2[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Blind - Darkness all enemies?[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Cure3[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Blink - blink[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Life - raise[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Dispel - dispel[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Harm3[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Drain - steal HP[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Fire3[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Haste - haste[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 3"]Bane - insta-kill by deathgas[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Holy - holy light attack-searing light[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 3"]Slow2 - improved slow[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Slow - reduce speed[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD]Exit[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: right"]3[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Sight - get bird's eye view of landscape[/TD] [TD="align: right"]5[/TD] [TD="colspan: 2"]Lightning3[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

 

[Meatboy]

I didn't know if you just wanted 8 or 8 PER level. 8 per level seemed like a lot so I just went with 8. Dnd themed.

For iconic monsters. (monsters I drawn to more often than not)

Lvl 1 - Goblin, Skeleton
Lvl 3 - Ogre, Dire Wolf
Lvl 4 - Gargoyle
Lvl 5 - Basilisk
Lvl 8 - Mind Flayer
Lvl Awesome Dragon or Demon

Spells

Lvl 1 - Magic missile (cast at darkness), Sleep, Cure light wounds
Lvl 2 - Silence, hold person
Lvl 3 - Fireball, Invisibility, fly
Bonus Spell lvl 6 - Disintegrate

 

[Argyle King]

Is the question only about D&D or rpgs in general?

 

[GMMichael]

[MENTION=58416]Johnny3D3D[/MENTION]: RPGs in general. Because I'm using the inspiration to create a brand-new RPG.

For iconic monsters. (monsters I drawn to more often than not)

Lvl 1 - Goblin, Skeleton
Lvl 3 - Ogre, Dire Wolf
Lvl 4 - Gargoyle
Lvl 5 - Basilisk
Lvl 8 - Mind Flayer
Lvl Awesome Dragon or Demon

Spells

Lvl 1 - Magic missile (cast at darkness), Sleep, Cure light wounds
Lvl 2 - Silence, hold person
Lvl 3 - Fireball, Invisibility, fly
Bonus Spell lvl 6 - Disintegrate

Monsters: Good choices, except:
Basilisk: I think petrification is more iconic than the basilisk. What about the medusa or cockatrice instead?
Mind Flayer: cool monster. Can't use 'em (pretty sure they're owned by WotC).

Spells:
Magic missile: shooting spells are iconic - but I think of the typical stuff as element-aligned. That said, I think the "wizard" that I'll be designing for Intermediate Modos is very likely to use magic missiles!
Sleep, CLW, silence, hold, fireball, invis...got 'em. I agree.
Fly: important, yes. Do you see a spell in the list I posted that you would replace with fly?
Disintegrate: I might use this as "fade."

 

[Argyle King]

Looking for iconic stuff here: what are your top 8 favorite monsters by CR/level, and your top 8 favorite spells by level?

Very likely that my personal choices will run along Final Fantasy lines...but the forums always hide a surprise or two!

Your input will go toward a good cause: the roleplaying game I'm designing here.

Monsters

1) Demon From Between The Stars from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters. To me, this creature has the right balance of fantasy and horror to create a challenge that is cerebral and not just hack & slash; it also has a very Sword & Sorcery feel to it. http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasymonsters1/ I won't list a CR for this one because GURPS doesn't measure things by CR.

2) Gray Render; D&D 3rd Edition Monster Manual; CR 8. I wouldn't say Gray Renders are iconic, but they are one of my favorite creatures. They are a favorite because they propose something different to the players. At first glance, you see a big hulking brute, but there are some interesting social and non-combat paths of play opened up due to the mindset of the creature. Why I choose them is for that reason, and because I think they can add a lot more to a game than simply just being a bag of hitpoints or a challenge to hack through. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/grayRender.htm

3) Vampire; various games; various challenge ratings. If you're looking for iconic monsters, it's hard to ignore the Vampire.

4) Lizardfolk; various games; various challenge ratings. You need creatures which are on the same general power level as humans and PCs. Orcs and goblins have been done to death; I've always felt that Lizardfolk could be used to fill that niche while also feeling more distinctly different from the humans and demi-humans. They can also pull double duty as the token playable monster race.

5) Mindless Animated Dead. Both skeletons and zombies fall into this category. It's nice to have a creature which has no mind, emotion, or morals; something the PCs can beat on without needing to think about it too much.

6) Slime/Ooze. A classic monster type.

7) Chocobo. You mentioned Final Fantasy. If FF is one of your influences, I find it hard to not include some sort of large bird.

8) Humans. Because sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones who have familiar faces.

 

[Cadence]

8 of each... although 2 of the monsters and 2 of the spells are just favorites and not iconic...

Bugbear
Flock of carnivorous butterflies
Kobold
Gelatinous Cube
Ghoul
Lich
Quasar Dragon - http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?43138-Quasar-Dragon
Rot Grub


Creeping Doom
Eradication - http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?331179-The-Tome-of-Mighty-Magic-(1982-flashback)
Hey Bartender - http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?mforum=trolllordgames&p=79473 - 2nd post down
Prismatic Spray
Rope Trick
Silence
Spectral Force
Wall of Force


If forced to I could sub-out the favorite-but-not-iconics for Green Slime, Piercer, Entangle, and Tenser's Floating Disc.

 

[Jhaelen]

CR1 Kenku
CR2 Kuo-Toa
CR3 Doppelganger
CR4 Gargoyle
CR5 Werebear
CR6 Will o' Wisp
CR7 Aboleth
CR8 Mind Flayer

 

[Meatboy]

@Johnny3D3D: RPGs in general. Because I'm using the inspiration to create a brand-new RPG.



Monsters: Good choices, except:
Basilisk: I think petrification is more iconic than the basilisk. What about the medusa or cockatrice instead?
Mind Flayer: cool monster. Can't use 'em (pretty sure they're owned by WotC).

Spells:
Magic missile: shooting spells are iconic - but I think of the typical stuff as element-aligned. That said, I think the "wizard" that I'll be designing for Intermediate Modos is very likely to use magic missiles!
Sleep, CLW, silence, hold, fireball, invis...got 'em. I agree.
Fly: important, yes. Do you see a spell in the list I posted that you would replace with fly?
Disintegrate: I might use this as "fade."

Well as iconic as petrification is I don't feel the cockatrice is particularly iconic, medusa is but we could make an entire thing about iconic mythological monsters.

Instead of basilisk and mindflayer then I'd add the following which are more generic.

Beast men - really any human/animal cross lizardmen, minotaurs, werewolf this seems to be a very common trope.

The faceless foot soldier - This one is so iconic I didn't think it needed to be mentioned but seriously anywhere an evil empire tromps around on flowers there are these guys. They always obey and never seem to have any moral quandaries about their job. They are the Cardinals guards, Stormtoopers, thugs of all stripes, they are expert marksmen and terrible shots (depending on the scene), they span genres. They are the many, the faceless, the mooks.

as for spells you could probably get away with taking out the duplicate spells you have and just make the lower level ones scale then it would be easy to sneak in fly or you could do away with levitate and just make that spell fly.

 

[GMMichael]

Monsters so far:

Minotaurs, werewolves, CR1 Kenku, CR2 Kuo-Toa, CR3 Doppelganger, CR4 Gargoyle, CR5 Werebear, CR6 Will o' Wisp, CR7 Aboleth, CR8 Mind Flayer,Bugbear,Flock of carnivorous butterflies,Kobold,Gelatinous Cube, Ghoul,Lich

Quasar Dragon, Rot Grub, 1) Demon From Between The Stars, 2) Gray Render, 3) Vampire, 4) Lizardfolk, 5) Mindless Animated Dead, 6) Slime/Ooze, 7) Chocobo, 8) Humans, Lvl 1 - Goblin, Skeleton, Lvl 3 - Ogre, Dire Wolf, Lvl 5 - Basilisk, Lvl 8 - Mind Flayer, Lvl Awesome Dragon or Demon

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So far so good! I like the ideas of having monsters that provide more than combat - they provide roleplaying opportunities. And I think some other systems are doing this too: provide an iconic monster, but put an interesting spin on it. For example, you're not just fighting a lizard man, you're fighting a Wreathhollow lizardman, where they have extra-long tails that they use to trip their opponents whenever possible. Something like that.

Chocobo: the big-bird idea is good, but I want to do an '80s throwback: the flying ostrich!

Slimes: they worked in Dragon Warrior I. But it's so hard to justify why the lovely meadow has little green and red slimes scooting around.