Last week I took a poll to determine which D&D monsters were the most loved, and which languished unliked in the back of the cupboard. The poll was limited to the D&D 5E Monster Manual, specifically the main monsters section (so not the NPCs or animals).
Aboleth from Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition, by Kim Van Deun
Let's start with the monsters that nobody liked. Well, to be accurate, there were none that scored 0 votes, but the poor empyrean only squeezed in with a single vote. If there's any monster in need of some love, the empyrean is it. It's the least-liked monster in the Monster Manual.
Joining it at the bottom, though, are some other unpopular critters -- the magmin (spellchecker PLEASE let me type that word - even my OS doesn't like the magma .. err.. magma ... umm .. magmin!), darkmantle, sprite, satyr, quaggoth, and merrow.
The top of the chart was a little more predictable. The iconic mind flayer led the pack, followed closely by dragons and beholders. A little way behind those three, we had some other D&D staples in the form of skeletons, the lich, goblins, and the troll.
Demons are more popular than devils. Liches are loved more than vampires. Death knights are in the middle of the pack, neither loved nor disliked. The 'iconic' D&D monsters (i.e. the mind flayers and beholders, which D&D created) are very well loved.
Anyway, I should stop talking about it and just show you it. Here's the full list, in descending order.
Aboleth from Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition, by Kim Van Deun
Let's start with the monsters that nobody liked. Well, to be accurate, there were none that scored 0 votes, but the poor empyrean only squeezed in with a single vote. If there's any monster in need of some love, the empyrean is it. It's the least-liked monster in the Monster Manual.
Joining it at the bottom, though, are some other unpopular critters -- the magmin (spellchecker PLEASE let me type that word - even my OS doesn't like the magma .. err.. magma ... umm .. magmin!), darkmantle, sprite, satyr, quaggoth, and merrow.
The top of the chart was a little more predictable. The iconic mind flayer led the pack, followed closely by dragons and beholders. A little way behind those three, we had some other D&D staples in the form of skeletons, the lich, goblins, and the troll.
Demons are more popular than devils. Liches are loved more than vampires. Death knights are in the middle of the pack, neither loved nor disliked. The 'iconic' D&D monsters (i.e. the mind flayers and beholders, which D&D created) are very well loved.
Anyway, I should stop talking about it and just show you it. Here's the full list, in descending order.
- Mind Flayer
- Dragons
- Beholders
- Skeletons
- Lich
- Goblins
- Troll
- Demons
- Ghouls
- Giants
- Owlbear
- Ogres
- Zombies
- Vampires
- Devils
- Displacer Beast
- Kobolds
- Wraith
- Rust Monster
- Gnolls
- Orcs
- Elementals
- Hags
- Umber Hulk
- Carrion Crawler
- Golems
- Wight
- Death Knight
- Hobgoblins
- Lycanthropes
- Mummies
- Minotaur
- Lizardfolk
- Rakshasa
- Bugbears
- Bulette
- Manticore
- Wyvern
- Shambling Mound
- Yuan-Ti
- Elves (Inc. Drow)
- Gargoyle
- Shadow
- Hydra
- Mimic
- Oozes
- Dracolich
- Griffon
- Modrons
- Aboleth
- Chimera
- Flameskull
- Hell Hound
- Purple Worm
- Medusa
- Oni
- Roper
- Basilisk
- Otyugh
- Stirge
- Intellect Devourer
- Ankheg
- Dinosaurs
- Ghost
- Hook Horror
- Doppelganger
- Genies
- Harpy
- Pseudodragon
- Demilich
- Drider
- Gibbering Mouther
- Animated Objects
- Grell
- Nightmare
- Thri-Kreen
- Banshee
- Behir
- Bullywug
- Nagas
- Revenant
- Will-O'-Wisp
- Dragon Turtle
- Faerie Dragon
- Flumph
- Gith
- Mephits
- Sahuagin
- Slaadi
- Tarrasque
- Treant
- Cockatrice
- Kuo-Toa
- Myconids
- Scarecrow
- Specter
- Sphinxes
- Ettin
- Nothic
- Remorhazes
- Succubus/Incubus
- Water Weird
- Gorgon
- Roc
- Troglodyte
- Unicorn
- Angels
- Couatl
- Kraken
- Peryton
- Crawling Claw
- Helmed Horror
- Salamanders
- Yugoloths
- Centaur
- Dryad
- Duergar
- Grick
- Kenku
- Lamia
- Shield Guardian
- Xorn
- Cambion
- Cloaker
- Cyclops
- Fomorian
- Gnome (Inc Svirfneblin)
- Hippogriff
- Invisible Stalker
- Yetis
- Ettercap
- Fungi
- Jackalwere
- Grimlock
- Half-Dragon
- Homunculus
- Azer
- Chuul
- Merfolk
- Pegasus
- Pixie
- Aarakocra
- Blights
- Galeb Duhr
- Piercer
- Merrow
- Quaggoth
- Satyr
- Sprite
- Darkmantle
- Magmin
- Empyrean
