Monsters that have gotten more cool/less cool over the years

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

giant spiders (they used to have Low intelligence!)

Hmmm, how much would the stats change by making a magical beast race of Low intelligence giant spiders for those looking for "Hobbit"-style goodness?

 

[S'mon]

People who think drow were never cool obviously never started their RPG career with a 1e Monster Manual. "The black elves, or drow, are only legend..."

 

[demiurge1138]

Kobolds: They used to be described as "dog faced" but looking at their old 2e picture in the monstrous compendium http://cite.blanche.free.fr/cite/Creatures/KOBOLD.JPG I can't for the life of me figure out what dog they were supposed to look like. They were pictured as squat, rotund, stubby-fingered, flat faced, with big round bug eyes and voices that sound like "yapping dogs".

Actually, that looks kinda pug-ish. Ugly little dogs.

More Cool: Kobolds - I agree that the draconic makeover is the best thing to happen to kobolds in their history. I also love how Tucker's kobold tactics are now standard.

Illithids - They just keep getting cooler.

Aboleths - I could never figure out how to successfully use one of these in an adventure until Lords of Madness. LoM's stuff on their ancient history and associations with the Great Old Ones makes them so much cooler.

Krenshar, Chuuls - I thought these guys were pretty lame the first time I saw the 3e MM. Where were the hook horrors? The cave fishers? And we get what in exchange? Larry the Lobster and a face-peeling hyena. But then I actually used these guys, and both were lethal enough that I now respect them. And the Lords of Madness/ Dragon Magazine history of the chuul leaves me with newfound respect for 'em.

Less Cool: Elves - Elves have always been eh for me. This includes drow.

Derro - What? They're all insane now? No flavorful descriptions of their masterful tactics and exotic weaponry? So sad.

Yugoloths - Don't get me wrong, I love 'loths. But I hate their stats. It's a good thing that Pants has done some excellent conversions of them on these boards.

Demiurge out.

 

[MonsterMash]

Less cool: Drow, Elves

More cool: Hobgobs, ratmen

 

[Desdichado]

I guess Ratmen have got cooler, from their origins in obscure Fighting Fantasy gamebooks through the GW Skaven to S&S's Slitheren.

What's this? Which FFGB? I always thought the Skaven were the origin of ratmen specifically (although they were clearly based on existing were-rats).

 

[EricNoah]

Hmmm, how much would the stats change by making a magical beast race of Low intelligence giant spiders for those looking for "Hobbit"-style goodness?

Yum! And then let them advance by class (rogue would be a good choice)!

 

[diaglo]

Hmmm, how much would the stats change by making a magical beast race of Low intelligence giant spiders for those looking for "Hobbit"-style goodness?

almost like Shelob's children...

 

[Morpheus]

More cool: Vampires (WFRP to thank for this), Gnolls (DDM to thank), Beholders
Less Cool: Drow (overexposure)

 

[blargney the second]

I'm going to buck the anti-elf and anti-drow sentiment here:

I love them in Eberron.
-blarg

 

[Psion]

More cool: Mind flayers. In 1e, they were just nasty things you wanted to avoid, though the Fiend Folio started to make them cooler with the introduction of the Gith. Though 2e had some problem, the Illithiad made them seem so sinister and alien. 3e trashed many of the bad things about 2e (like the whole "two types of mind flayers" thing), and took them to a new level with the XPH (which made their abilities customizable) and re-examining and drawing together lots of great Illithid stuff in Lords of Madness.

A wash: Drow. Were one of the coolest villains of 1e, and some 2e treatment (like drow of the underdark) was interesting as well, be continuing FR-ification and Drizztification and general over exposure pulled them down a bit.
But Plot & Poison made them cool again.

Less cool: Yuan-ti. Yeah, I know lots of people are saying yuan-ti are cooler, but I thought they were cooled before baldurs gate when half your players had never heard of them before. They were the hidden treasure of evil monsters. Now, they are all over the place... and they got largely nerfed in 3.5, and lost their default psionics.