Monsters that turn out very fun.

[Quasqueton]

What kinds of enemies have you found to be especially (or surprisingly) fun in a game?

In my game, when the PCs were 3rd-4th level, they were up against a covey of green hags (3 hags - but they fought no more than 2 at a time). The hags' special abilities (dancing lights, disguise self, ghost sound, invisibility, pass without trace) and Strength damage attack made for very interesting encounters. They had 4 encounters with the hags, and they always ended up having to drag a weakened PC or two in retreat (until the final encounter).

Later, when the PCs were 5th-9th level, they were up against fiendish and half-fiend treants. The treants' spell resistance and damage reduction kept the PCs from dropping them quickly. The treants' animate tree ability (plus a slew of twig blights) kept the party mindful of the back ranks. Nothing shuts down a mage (or even a frontline fighter sometimes) like getting grappled by a tree. In the course of 4 levels, the party went from a near TPK against one treant, to taking down two pairs of treants back to back in one hour. Their success was as much due to learned tactics as to increasing levels.

What opponents have proven to be particularly interesting or tough in your campaign?

Quasqueton

 

[reveal]

What kinds of enemies have you found to be especially (or surprisingly) fun in a game?

In my game, when the PCs were 3rd-4th level, they were up against a covey of green hags (3 hags - but they fought no more than 2 at a time). The hags' special abilities (dancing lights, disguise self, ghost sound, invisibility, pass without trace) and Strength damage attack made for very interesting encounters. They had 4 encounters with the hags, and they always ended up having to drag a weakened PC or two in retreat (until the final encounter).

Later, when the PCs were 5th-9th level, they were up against fiendish and half-fiend treants. The treants' spell resistance and damage reduction kept the PCs from dropping them quickly. The treants' animate tree ability (plus a slew of twig blights) kept the party mindful of the back ranks. Nothing shuts down a mage (or even a frontline fighter sometimes) like getting grappled by a tree. In the course of 4 levels, the party went from a near TPK against one treant, to taking down two pairs of treants back to back in one hour. Their success was as much due to learned tactics as to increasing levels.

What opponents have proven to be particularly interesting or tough in your campaign?

Quasqueton

Greater Shadows. I had 3 attack a group of 5 PCs and 1 PC was brought to 0 STR. In the same dungeon, they fought 7 more and 2 PCs dropped. Luckily, no one became a shadow themselves, although one PC was within 1 round of doing so.

They are fun because they have a very good hide check in dungeons, can just bowl through the party's "tank" since the tank usually has a low Touch AC, and have enough HD to make it difficult to turn more than 1 or 2 of them at a time, even at mid levels.

In this particular dungeon, the PCs retreated, regrouped, and prepped a bunch of undead killin' spells. They still had a tough time, but they did end up defeating the shadows.

 

[Rel]

A female Ogre Mage plagued the PC's for the entire second half of my last campaign. They were convinced that she was some kind of demoness and called her "The Blue Demoness" (or simply "The Bitch" in the case of the Wizard).

Flying plus Invisibility at will plus Regeneration plus Gaseous Form made her very nearly unkillable. She would pop into view and blast the entire party from above with a Cone of Cold on the Surprise Round. A couple of the PC's would beat her on initiative and let fly with weak missile attacks and she would turn Invisible again and move away while she regenerated any damage suffered on the opening round. Then she would wait for the group to spread out and swoop in above a straggler to attack with her large scythe and reach.

They hated her with a passion and danced with joy when they finally killed her.

 

[GlassJaw]

Fun for who? The players or the DM?

I enjoy any creatures that have special grappling abilities, mostly because my players hate being grappled. Grells and chokers quickly come to mind.

I can also tell you a monster that's not fun: hydras. I hate running them and I hate fighting them. They are just annoying and the mechanics are horrible as-written.

 

[reveal]

Fun for who? The players or the DM?

I would think both. In the examples, the monsters were very powerful and very effective. The PCs would get their butts handed to them but survive. Eventually, the PCs would come back and have a great time defeating the monter that had just kicked their butts.

 

[Henry]

Under 3E, (not 3.5), Darkmantles were some of the most fun monsters I've ever seen.

Why? Because in something like 3 encounters over 2 campaigns, my players NEVER carried magical light spells to counteract them. The amusement a DM feels over a flight of 5 or 6 Darkmantles taking on and nearly killing a 7th level party (thanks to blundering around in total darkness) is absolutely thrilling.

 

[Chaldfont]

Lots of low-level humanoids led by one big bad tough guy or spell caster (or both). I like lizardfolk because our ranger has them as a favored enemy.

My players love these encounters. They get to show off their power (area effect spells, multiple attacks, etc) while the villain taunts & buffs, then they get down-n-dirty with a really tough foe. The suspense of big power attacks, critical threats or vital saving throws is why we play the game.

 

[the Jester]

A while back I ran a fantastic epic fight with a group of classed giants- an 18th-level fomorian giant cleric and his bodyguards, two fomorian fighters with longspears and two fire giant hulking hurlers. The fight started at a distance, and it took long enough for the pcs to close the distance (hurlers and giants with longspears!) that the giant cleric got to use all his tricks and powerups!

You haven't lived until you have used a a full-buffed fomorian cleric with righteous might.

 

[derelictjay]

From the MM3 there is a little beasty called a Runehound. That things combination of excellent defense and offense, with DR 5/silver and Fast Healing 3, coupled with a 10 foot reach attack and a breath weapon, make it a very formidable opponent. My players really had difficulty taking the runehound out, and since it had decent enough intelligence to actually use tactics, I got plenty use of using them.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I've become a big fan of Vrocks. Lots of neat abilities(spores, screech, mirror image, telekinesis) to throw at the PCs, plus they're nasty melee combatants too. I particularly enjoy the Stunning Screech as a free action, though that might have something to do with the fact that I often attempt to duplicate the sound at the table. Really makes the combat hit home, in my opinion.