D&D General How To Weaponize Monsters In Fiction

[Reynard]

Spinning out of the rust monsters thread: In a D&D world with the many weird and dangerous monsters that exist, how could nations, factions or powerful NPCS weaponize a given monster?

The only rule is that you have to treat the monster (including its stats and lore) as if it is real in the context of D&D. So you really can't say "army of tarrasques" because no one could do that.

But what about displacer beasts or beholder or behirs?

 

[Len]

Ankheg armour (Baldur's Gate)

 

[DinoInDisguise]

I envision suspending basilisks in the air at around eye level behind the front lines of a battle. You would both prevent deserters and probably catch a few enemies as well.

 

[Reynard]

You could rain troll parts down on the enemy via catapults and watch them grow into full (very hungry) trolls.

 

[Tonguez]

A swarm of Shadows gets the stealth takeover of a city

 

[Theory of Games]

That little girl did it.

 

[Reynard]

If mimics can be anything of appropriate size (as opposed to their being chest-mimics and barrel-mimics and toilet-mimics etc...) then it stands to reason that a converted selective breeding program could be effectively weaponized.

Imagine selling the enemy armor-mimics.

 

[Chaltab]

There's a firbolg war criminal in my campaign that engineered diseased gelantinous cubes that broke into smaller cubes when they died and then launched them via trebuchet behind enemy lines. So they would proliferate and spread disease.

 

[InkTide]

I envision suspending basilisks in the air at around eye level behind the front lines of a battle. You would both prevent deserters and probably catch a few enemies as well.

Why risk your troops? Have basilisks on swiveling platforms and replace your main forces with smaller numbers of animated armor. Combine the advantages.

On second thought, maybe you don't even need the basilisks anymore - you no longer need to feed or provide lodging for your troops. The logistical advantage alone is enormous - there are basically no supply lines to cut. Though the basilisks would probably help one animated armor go a lot further than a single soldier to make up for the costs of making them in the first place.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Bulette and Umber Hulks to work as sappers to collapse castle walls.

Fire elementals to start fires in towns under siege.
Water elementals to sink ships.

All of these would require magic to control, though. Except, maybe the Bulettes.