Beginners' Monster List

[Sammael]

Only fifty? Alright, here's my list:

1. Ankheg
2. Balor
3. Basilisk
4. Beholder
5. Bulette
6. Chimera
7. Cornugon
8. Death knight
9. Doppelganger
10. Drider
11. Drow
12. Ettin
13. Fire giant
14. Frost giant
15. Gargoyle
16. Giant spider
17. Hill giant
18. Hydra
19. Gelatinous cube
20. Ghoul
21. Githyanki
22. Goblin
23. Imp
24. Iron golem
25. Lich
26. Lizardfolk
27. Kobold
28. Kyton
29. Manticore
30. Mimic
31. Mind Flayer
32. Minotaur
33. Ogre
34. Orc
35. Otyugh
36. Owlbear
37. Pit Fiend
38. Purple worm
39. Red Dragon
40. Rust Monster
41. Skeleton
42. Stirge
43. Stone golem
44. Succubus
45. Tarrasque
46. Vrock
47. Will'o'wisp
48. Winter wolf
49. Worg
50. Zombie

#51 is Quadrone Modron

 

[Lanefan]

Yeah [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION] but like you said this is a "starter set" so these are mostly lower level type encounters, so in order to "expand" a bit you may want to put out more splat books for NPCs/monsters/beasts (especially if it's a business, you need to keep your fan base happy with new stuff). This could be for advanced players with more powerful monsters (i.e. MM3 in 4E).

You're right in that I'm arguing against myself a bit here, but I've come to really dislike splat books - particularly when their content should have been released with the main game.

Alright, here's my list:
...
45. Tarrasque
...

In the starter set? Man, you wear your Viking hat well!

Lanefan

 

[Sammael]

It all depends on the level at which you start

 

[Wik]

I'm going to approach this from a different angle - I'm going to presume I'm making a monster list for beginner GMs who are not at all familiar with D&D or even roleplaying. Ie, this is a list for BEGINNERS.

So goodbye D&Disms.

My animal list is going to be limited to statblocks of things that PCs are going to fight. So, let's say Tiger, Bear, War Dog, Wolf, Lion, Elephant, Horse, Alligator, Eagle, Giant Rat, Giant Insect, Viper, Shark, Wolverine, Dinosaur (various), Rhino, Komodo Dragon, Giant Snapping Turtle, Cougar/Jaguar, and Owl.

As for monsters, I want them to mostly be Beginner-esque, meaning relatively low-level. And I don't want too much overlapping, so I don't need a bajillion varieties of orc/goblin/whatever. But I also want it to handle as many plots as possible. So, with only 20 slots, let's say Orc, Skeleton, Zombie, Dragon (small ones, and a bigger one that is still killable by lower-level PCs), Elemental, Goblin, Vampire, Ooze, Werewolf, Invisible Stalker-ish type monster, Demon (one or two types, maybe with a random features table), Treant, Ghost, Centaur, Fairy, Golem (iron, but aimed towards lower levels, maybe with a "weak spot"), Giant, ghoul, medusa, and doppleganger.

I think that list would handle a lot of low-level adventuring. Especially if the connected game had a system that easily let the GM modify those monsters as he saw fit (3e did this rather well, and 4e has had some pretty good success with this, too).

 

[Anselyn]

So goodbye D&Disms.

My animal list is going to be limited to statblocks of things that PCs are going to fight. So, let's say Tiger, Bear, War Dog, Wolf, Lion, Elephant, Horse, Alligator, Eagle, Giant Rat, Giant Insect, Viper, Shark, Wolverine, Dinosaur (various), Rhino, Komodo Dragon, Giant Snapping Turtle, Cougar/Jaguar, and Owl.

Isn't it a D&Dism that when you go for a walk in the woods that tigers and bears rush out to attack you? Kobolds, yes. Owls, really?

 

[Mark CMG]

Golem (iron, but aimed towards lower levels, maybe with a "weak spot")

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdgY9vgRcRw]The death of Talos - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Wik]

Isn't it a D&Dism that when you go for a walk in the woods that tigers and bears rush out to attack you? Kobolds, yes. Owls, really?

Ah, but you haven't read sword and sorcery, then. Wolves and tigers and whatnot are the big baddies of those settings. How many conan stories start with him running and hiding from wolves... only to fight bigger and badder monsters?

My real point is, though, that if you're going to stat up monsters at all, you should really only focus on monsters that are going to necessarily need statting. I have never seen my game suffer from a lack of house cat stats.

As for owls being in my list... have you SEEN an owl? I saw one when I went camping, and those guys are huge. I think I might actually prefer to be attacked by a kobold.

 

[Shades of Green]

I'd say:

1) Aboleth
2) Ankheg
3) Ant
4) Bear
5) Boar
6) Brain Lasher
7) Bugbear
8) Bullywag
9) Cat
10) Centipede
11) Cockroach
12) Crocodile
13) Demon
14) Dog
15) Dragon
16) Dryad
17) Dwarf
18) Elephant
19) Elemental
20) Elf
21) Faerie
22) Ghost
23) Ghoul
24) Giant
25) Goblin
26) Golem
27) Lich
28) Lizard
29) Lizardfolk
30) Octopus
31) Ogre
32) Orc
33) Owl
34) Owlbear
35) Rusalka (AKA Siren)
36) Shark
37) Skeleton
38) Scorpion
39) Snake
40) Spider
41) Toad
42) Troll
43) Vampire
44) Unicorn
45) Wolf
46) Wraith
47) Zombie

 

[Anselyn]

Ah, but you haven't read sword and sorcery, then. Wolves and tigers and whatnot are the big baddies of those settings. How many conan stories start with him running and hiding from wolves... only to fight bigger and badder monsters?

Fair point

As for owls being in my list... have you SEEN an owl? I saw one when I went camping, and those guys are huge. I think I might actually prefer to be attacked by a kobold.

But it's basically a ball of fluff with some sharp bits. It they were heavy they couldn't fly. You can stand with an Eagle Owl on your arm - I can't imagine the same for a kobold.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You can stand with an Eagle Owl on your arm - I can't imagine the same for a kobold.

The kobold just cuts off your arm first.