D&D Monsters...

[jdrakeh]

I'm in the process of putting the finishing touches on my own d20-ish version of Basic D&D, and one of the last things that I have to do is add the Bestiary in an appendix. Now, while I'm primarily creating this game for me, on the off chance that other people download it and play it, I though that it might be good to ask folks what creatures from the SRD that they'd like to see make an appearance.

Here's the deal - I only want to include about 30 creatures in the initial bestiary (conversion to my system from other versions of D&D/AD&D is really dead simple, so there is no reason to go overboard). Dragons (both bestial and the standard Sean Connery types) are going in for certain, but beyond that, I'd like to base my choices upon informed public opinion. So, what creatures from the SRD would you like to see crammed into my admittedly slim bestiary?

Remember - think Basic D&D. What creatures do you consider to be a staple of light-hearted, nostalgic, fantasy in that vein?

[Note: Yeah, I would have posted this as a poll, but it would have been rediculously long.]

 

[Zzyzx]

My favorites from my early years of D&D:

goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear, orc

skeleton, zombie, wraith

displacer beast, blink dog, unicorn, pegasus, griffon, roc

giant spider, giant scorpion

purple worm

animated statue, flesh golem, stone golem, iron golem

 

[wuyanei]

'People': Humans, elves, dwarves, [optional -- halflings, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs etc].

Common animals: Horses, dogs, cows, wolves (all big dogs can use these stats), tiger/lion/panther (all big cats can use these stats), bears, snakes, ravens (eagles, owls and hawks can use these stats).

Magical creatures for the Good Guys to befriend: dryads, nymphs, treants, sprites, centaurs, mermen, griffon etc.

Angelic being/railroad agent: medium-strength celestial (suggest ghael, but let it be Any Good)

Nasty (and usually stupid) things for the Forces of Good to attack: Orcs, goblins, giants, trolls, ettins, monstrous spiders, monsterous scorpions and few other vermin, skeletons, zombies, ghouls, mummies.

Nasty (but not so stupid) things to attack the Forces of Good: Hag, vampire, werewolf, ghost/specter/wraith (only need one -- meld them together),

Demonic being/ultimate foil/source of all evil: strong demon/devil (suggest a glabrezu, but Any Evil), weak devil/demon/comic relief (suggest imp, but Any Evil),

With these, plus generous use of class levels and anthromorphic traits (the talking cat etc.), most classical fantasy literature can be covered well enough, I think.

Just my opinion. Hope I've been of help!

 

[the Jester]

The Thoul!!!

 

[Brasswatchman]

Undead. Def at least one form of the undead.

 

[jdrakeh]

My favorites from my early years of D&D:

goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear, orc

skeleton, zombie, wraith

displacer beast, blink dog, unicorn, pegasus, griffon, roc

giant spider, giant scorpion

purple worm

animated statue, flesh golem, stone golem, iron golem

That looks like a pretty good list to start off with - the only thing that I might drop is 'living statue' as the various golem types mimic nearly all qualities of the creature in question.

 

[jdrakeh]

'People': Humans, elves, dwarves, [optional -- halflings, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs etc].

Common animals: Horses, dogs, cows, wolves (all big dogs can use these stats), tiger/lion/panther (all big cats can use these stats), bears, snakes, ravens (eagles, owls and hawks can use these stats).

Magical creatures for the Good Guys to befriend: dryads, nymphs, treants, sprites, centaurs, mermen, griffon etc.

Angelic being/railroad agent: medium-strength celestial (suggest ghael, but let it be Any Good)

Nasty (and usually stupid) things for the Forces of Good to attack: Orcs, goblins, giants, trolls, ettins, monstrous spiders, monsterous scorpions and few other vermin, skeletons, zombies, ghouls, mummies.

Nasty (but not so stupid) things to attack the Forces of Good: Hag, vampire, werewolf, ghost/specter/wraith (only need one -- meld them together),

Demonic being/ultimate foil/source of all evil: strong demon/devil (suggest a glabrezu, but Any Evil), weak devil/demon/comic relief (suggest imp, but Any Evil),

With these, plus generous use of class levels and anthromorphic traits (the talking cat etc.), most classical fantasy literature can be covered well enough, I think.

Just my opinion. Hope I've been of help!

This seems a bit more like an AD&D bestiary, but you definitely have some good suggestions in there - espcially 'people' I love quick and easy, pre-defined NPCs for use as 'mooks' or other incidental characters and definitely plan on including some. Thanks!

 

[jdrakeh]

Undead. Def at least one form of the undead.

Plenty of undead - low level undead were a common staple of my own Basic D&D days (expect zombies, skeletons, and probably a wight).

 

[jdrakeh]

The Thoul!!!

I have no idea what a Thoul is, ashamedly - but I do know that it isn't in the SRD, so I can't use it

 

[Particle_Man]

I have no idea what a Thoul is, ashamedly - but I do know that it isn't in the SRD, so I can't use it

A cross between a troll, a hobgoblin and a ghoul, IIRC.