D&D 5E Looking for cool evil grunts

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't know TRHoD- if you tell us more about what you want, we can give you more options.

For instance, AD&D's original Deities & Demigods had some interesting foes that they...errrr...didn't have the licensing rights to include, so were absent from subsequent versions of the book, like Nehwon Ghouls. Essentially, they were carnivorous normal humanoids with translucent flesh, so that their bones showed. This led people to think they were skeletons until they got in close.

The looks of surprise on players of divinely-linked PCs as they burned Turning attempts and Protection from Undead spells to no avail...

(I reused that concept in a 3.5Ed homebrew, except with goblinoids.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Looked up TRHoD...

Kobolds spring to mind.

Awakened scavenger animals, like crows, vultures, hyenas, etc., or their anthropomorphic equivalent. A cultish group of animal-men a la The Island of Dr. Moreau could be fun.

Rip off M:tG- use Thallids and Saprolings as the grunts for some group trying to return plant life to the top of the good chain...

 

[Viking Bastard]

Headcrab zombies!

 

[was]

Lizard men
Gnolls
Druids with armies of giant insects

 

[Prickly]

What about warhammer beastmen?

just refluff the orc and goblins, maybe give them some bestial ablities.

 

[PnPgamer]

I once was inspired by some video games/libris mortis book back in 3.5, and created things, parasites if iremember correctly, that make hosts mutate, granting them various abilities. These included bugbears that after beaten to uncosciousness or death, they would grow tentacles to attack with, or suicidal kobolds that would explode onto the faces of adventurers (but didnt make any damage, only made them filthy with kobold guts and blood), giving thus birth to chokers. Also the slain wizard controlling the parasites ended up devouring a pc and became the unholiest monstrosity, inconsistent fusion of various creatures.
The thoughts behind this was kobolds were first test subjects, and thus not so much of a success at first. Bugbears were later ones. I might have had some other monsters as well but i dont remember too well.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Awakened scavenger animals, like crows, vultures, hyenas, etc., or their anthropomorphic equivalent. A cultish group of animal-men a la The Island of Dr. Moreau could be fun.

I like this. It would take some work to create monsters at multiple levels, but it would be novel.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

If I was going to reboot my campaign, I'd have druids be the bad guys.

There's a great CR spread there too - blights and charmed animals savagely attacking you as you trek through druid territory, savage wildmen (Tribal Warriors and Bersekers) that the druids have taken in as their own after obliterating their home cities roaming the countryside, CR 2 Druids themselves and a CR 12 Archdruid that's an Archmage re-flavored with nature themed spells from the druid spell list, not to mention as many fey and treants as your party can handle while they try to preserve civilization itself.

Ah, man I run to run that campaign some day.

 

[MasterTrancer]

Black Circle Druids (IIRC from AD&D's Complete Druid) would make tough enemies; basically they are druids bent on returning Nature where Civilization now is...