Greyscott
First Post
Just something for fun...I was writing a blog piece (excerpted below) about some monsters I consider iconic, which also happens to include some creatures I think probably have accounted for more Player Character deaths than any other. Although maybe "undead" as a "type" hold that distinction, what "Most Wanted" have you come across, and which monsters do you feel have an unfair reputation - that, like some species of sharks, the actual number of verified deaths is far fewer than what is attributed to them?
TROLLS: As a DM, I’ve had a Troll kill at least one PC in every edition of D&D since I was 11 years old; most recently, in our 4th Edition campaign, I decapitated and then devoured an 11th Warlock with a “homebrew” Cudgel Troll (the name was lifted from M:TG), stitched together in the DDI Monster Builder. Hard to put down, and even harder to keep there, Trolls are the consummate predatory adversary. “King of the Trollhaunt Warrens” is an excellent “Troll-centric” module (I’m currently running a heavily modified version of it), and I was thrilled in a recent battle when the group’s Barbarian was able to keep a dying troll down by utilizing one of his Daily exploits that did acid damage (cutting off the beast’s regeneration). Not all my Trolls have been adversaries, however. In a 2nd Edition campaign, I created a Troll NPC known as “Staggerbones”, who (natch) lived beneath a bridge. His skin was pockmarked with arcane, ever burning candles, and he was both intelligent and literate. The PCs in that campaign often used him as a resource, as he was something of a sage and a historian. He was easy to deal with, as long as you kept him fed…
BEHOLDERS: Another creature that has racked up an impressive number of PC deaths, Beholders come in about every style imaginable – although in the end they are all just really variations on a theme: arcane Gatling guns firing off a myriad of eyebeams at desperately dodging PCs, each one trying to guess what was just aimed at them (was that the Death Ray, or the Petrification Ray?). Some people prefer the highly intelligent Beholder – the master manipulator who floats in his lair, moving his minions like chess pieces (I think such a beast was in the Undermountain boxed set). I prefer mind crafty but crazy, so that when you look in that central eye, you see nothing but unknowable alien madness.
MIND FLAYERS: And speaking of alien madness, nothing captures it better than the Mind Flayer. And is anything more disheartening as a Player than watching your favorite PC have his brain eaten? Mind Flayers (or Illithids) have been a significant presence in a couple of my campaigns, serving a similar role both. In a Third Edition game, they were the absent progenitors of my Greyhawk world – they had come from the stars and Humankind represented the descendants of their thralls and slaves. My campaign world was still littered with their empty ziggurats, defunct breeding pits/flesh-shaping vats (which had given rise to things such as Nagas, Yuan Ti, etc. As an aside, the players released one of these original Nagas from stasis, and she described watching the Illithids returning to the stars in their ships all those millennia ago….just before she tried to eat the whole party), and their hidden caches of arcanotech items. This campaign cross-fertilized with a later Dragonstar game I ran, and it was a lot of fun. In my current 4th Edition game, Humankind (and Halflings) also represent the bloodlines of former Illithid slaves, although these tentacled horrors are from the Far Realm (not so much “space”). The PCs have already met one such creature during the course of a heavily-modified “Madness” series of Dragon modules we completed a couple of months back. They took a beating but the Mind Flayer escaped into the Shadowfell…where (per script), he plots his revenge.
LICHES: “Tomb of Horrors” – enough said! Generally, however, in my campaigns Liches have most often been off-stage; it’s hard for me to recall an actual PC vs. Lich confrontation, although the latter have still caused a lot of trouble. An edition or two ago I was particularly enamored with the “elvish lich”, and kept looking for ways to wrap an adventure around that concept. The mere mention of the presence of a Lich will often cause Players to decide that the current adventure “just isn’t really worth it…” In the end, Liches may be more “bark than bite”, victims of their own bad reputations, who have had more deaths laid at their feet than can really be proved.
DRAGONS: They are in the game’s name, after all – the ultimate TPK, and probably one of the hardest monsters to DM, in terms of accurately and creatively conveying their size, speed, intelligence, and overall impressiveness. They are D&D’s Heavy Metal creature, and their appearance should be accompanied by an impressive display of “fireworks”. I try to manage my Dragons as creatures of infinite cunning, who have survived by predicting every possible outcome of any conceivable choice. They hear heartbeats, smell blood in veins, and can taste a character’s fear. I liked how Dragons were treated in the Privateer Press “Iron Kingdoms” campaign setting (3rd Edition), and believe that t4th Edition Dragons are mechanically (and mercifully) easier to deploy yet just as ferocious. In our campaign (The Bannerlands) the PCs recently observed a “hunting” dragon. It blotted out stars as it circled their encampment, and its presence was heralded by fleeing creatures: deer, rabbits, etc. It landed some distance from where the PCs huddled (requisite rocks and dirt rattling upward even at the camp’s distance), and sat crouched in the far darkness, just watching. The PCs could smell the metallic weight of it and could feel its huge heartbeat in their own chests. When it took to the air again, it swept boulders and trees skyward with the downbeat of its wings. The players have no idea why it didn’t attack them, and they’ve debated – half-heartedly- about searching for its lair…
These are my five iconics, but a list wouldn’t be complete without a couple of extras that probably also deserve mention:
DROW: As villains (and good-aligned “anti-heroes”) they are almost far too cliched now, but “Vault of the Drow” is still a module that resonates with me. As a young DM it seemed far too big and almost far too complex to actually run well (Good Lord, this is a whole city!), and from a Player’s perspective, it seemed far too difficult to actually attempt (Okay, you want us to do what?!). Nevertheless, the scope of their dark underground cities, their struggles with their own capricious Goddess Lolth, the poisonous machinations of their own noble Houses, and – of course, Driders – made Drow a perfect foil in early D&D. They gave those early DMs an epic and intelligent “holistic threat”, and not just the random monster in the random cave. I tried to run “Queen of the Demonweb Pits” several times, and all I ended up with were dead PCs – although everyone wanted that big mechanical spider/palace! I own the “Demon Queen's Enclave” (which has one of the best cover’s of any D&D module, ever), but haven’t really read it closely. For whatever it’s worth, when I had the opportunity to play some 4th Edition (rather than DM it), I couldn’t resist creating a Drow Dark Pact Warlock.
GIANTS: For us “older” D&D players, any discussion of the Drow dove-tails with Giants, based on our experiences with the G1-G3 series of modules (spoilers avoided). And is there anything better than rolling to see what’s in a Giant’s sack? As a DM I’ve never really used the more exotic Giant types, but have always found a place in my games for some Hill, Stone, and Fire Giants, although not often as “primary villains”. In my last 3rd Edition campaign, the party ran across a Hill Giant in a sparsely wooded area (while it was busily crucifying some Fey). What started as a simple “side trek” encounter, escalated into a savage, running battle through the pine barrens. Two PCs died, but the party – those that survived, anyway - had a great time. I’m curious to see what 4th Edition’s “Revenge of the Giants” is like, although I am disappointed that it isn’t a boxed set, and that it doesn’t come with giant tokens/counters. I have approximately one Giant miniature…
TROLLS: As a DM, I’ve had a Troll kill at least one PC in every edition of D&D since I was 11 years old; most recently, in our 4th Edition campaign, I decapitated and then devoured an 11th Warlock with a “homebrew” Cudgel Troll (the name was lifted from M:TG), stitched together in the DDI Monster Builder. Hard to put down, and even harder to keep there, Trolls are the consummate predatory adversary. “King of the Trollhaunt Warrens” is an excellent “Troll-centric” module (I’m currently running a heavily modified version of it), and I was thrilled in a recent battle when the group’s Barbarian was able to keep a dying troll down by utilizing one of his Daily exploits that did acid damage (cutting off the beast’s regeneration). Not all my Trolls have been adversaries, however. In a 2nd Edition campaign, I created a Troll NPC known as “Staggerbones”, who (natch) lived beneath a bridge. His skin was pockmarked with arcane, ever burning candles, and he was both intelligent and literate. The PCs in that campaign often used him as a resource, as he was something of a sage and a historian. He was easy to deal with, as long as you kept him fed…
BEHOLDERS: Another creature that has racked up an impressive number of PC deaths, Beholders come in about every style imaginable – although in the end they are all just really variations on a theme: arcane Gatling guns firing off a myriad of eyebeams at desperately dodging PCs, each one trying to guess what was just aimed at them (was that the Death Ray, or the Petrification Ray?). Some people prefer the highly intelligent Beholder – the master manipulator who floats in his lair, moving his minions like chess pieces (I think such a beast was in the Undermountain boxed set). I prefer mind crafty but crazy, so that when you look in that central eye, you see nothing but unknowable alien madness.
MIND FLAYERS: And speaking of alien madness, nothing captures it better than the Mind Flayer. And is anything more disheartening as a Player than watching your favorite PC have his brain eaten? Mind Flayers (or Illithids) have been a significant presence in a couple of my campaigns, serving a similar role both. In a Third Edition game, they were the absent progenitors of my Greyhawk world – they had come from the stars and Humankind represented the descendants of their thralls and slaves. My campaign world was still littered with their empty ziggurats, defunct breeding pits/flesh-shaping vats (which had given rise to things such as Nagas, Yuan Ti, etc. As an aside, the players released one of these original Nagas from stasis, and she described watching the Illithids returning to the stars in their ships all those millennia ago….just before she tried to eat the whole party), and their hidden caches of arcanotech items. This campaign cross-fertilized with a later Dragonstar game I ran, and it was a lot of fun. In my current 4th Edition game, Humankind (and Halflings) also represent the bloodlines of former Illithid slaves, although these tentacled horrors are from the Far Realm (not so much “space”). The PCs have already met one such creature during the course of a heavily-modified “Madness” series of Dragon modules we completed a couple of months back. They took a beating but the Mind Flayer escaped into the Shadowfell…where (per script), he plots his revenge.
LICHES: “Tomb of Horrors” – enough said! Generally, however, in my campaigns Liches have most often been off-stage; it’s hard for me to recall an actual PC vs. Lich confrontation, although the latter have still caused a lot of trouble. An edition or two ago I was particularly enamored with the “elvish lich”, and kept looking for ways to wrap an adventure around that concept. The mere mention of the presence of a Lich will often cause Players to decide that the current adventure “just isn’t really worth it…” In the end, Liches may be more “bark than bite”, victims of their own bad reputations, who have had more deaths laid at their feet than can really be proved.
DRAGONS: They are in the game’s name, after all – the ultimate TPK, and probably one of the hardest monsters to DM, in terms of accurately and creatively conveying their size, speed, intelligence, and overall impressiveness. They are D&D’s Heavy Metal creature, and their appearance should be accompanied by an impressive display of “fireworks”. I try to manage my Dragons as creatures of infinite cunning, who have survived by predicting every possible outcome of any conceivable choice. They hear heartbeats, smell blood in veins, and can taste a character’s fear. I liked how Dragons were treated in the Privateer Press “Iron Kingdoms” campaign setting (3rd Edition), and believe that t4th Edition Dragons are mechanically (and mercifully) easier to deploy yet just as ferocious. In our campaign (The Bannerlands) the PCs recently observed a “hunting” dragon. It blotted out stars as it circled their encampment, and its presence was heralded by fleeing creatures: deer, rabbits, etc. It landed some distance from where the PCs huddled (requisite rocks and dirt rattling upward even at the camp’s distance), and sat crouched in the far darkness, just watching. The PCs could smell the metallic weight of it and could feel its huge heartbeat in their own chests. When it took to the air again, it swept boulders and trees skyward with the downbeat of its wings. The players have no idea why it didn’t attack them, and they’ve debated – half-heartedly- about searching for its lair…
These are my five iconics, but a list wouldn’t be complete without a couple of extras that probably also deserve mention:
DROW: As villains (and good-aligned “anti-heroes”) they are almost far too cliched now, but “Vault of the Drow” is still a module that resonates with me. As a young DM it seemed far too big and almost far too complex to actually run well (Good Lord, this is a whole city!), and from a Player’s perspective, it seemed far too difficult to actually attempt (Okay, you want us to do what?!). Nevertheless, the scope of their dark underground cities, their struggles with their own capricious Goddess Lolth, the poisonous machinations of their own noble Houses, and – of course, Driders – made Drow a perfect foil in early D&D. They gave those early DMs an epic and intelligent “holistic threat”, and not just the random monster in the random cave. I tried to run “Queen of the Demonweb Pits” several times, and all I ended up with were dead PCs – although everyone wanted that big mechanical spider/palace! I own the “Demon Queen's Enclave” (which has one of the best cover’s of any D&D module, ever), but haven’t really read it closely. For whatever it’s worth, when I had the opportunity to play some 4th Edition (rather than DM it), I couldn’t resist creating a Drow Dark Pact Warlock.
GIANTS: For us “older” D&D players, any discussion of the Drow dove-tails with Giants, based on our experiences with the G1-G3 series of modules (spoilers avoided). And is there anything better than rolling to see what’s in a Giant’s sack? As a DM I’ve never really used the more exotic Giant types, but have always found a place in my games for some Hill, Stone, and Fire Giants, although not often as “primary villains”. In my last 3rd Edition campaign, the party ran across a Hill Giant in a sparsely wooded area (while it was busily crucifying some Fey). What started as a simple “side trek” encounter, escalated into a savage, running battle through the pine barrens. Two PCs died, but the party – those that survived, anyway - had a great time. I’m curious to see what 4th Edition’s “Revenge of the Giants” is like, although I am disappointed that it isn’t a boxed set, and that it doesn’t come with giant tokens/counters. I have approximately one Giant miniature…
