D&D General Most iconic (fantasy) enemy groups?

[Maenalis]

What are some of the most iconic monster groups, clans, races, organizations, etc. in fantasy rpgs?

I thought:

01. Goblinoids (Goblins & Hobgoblins)
02. Orcs / Orks
03. (Basic) Undead (zombies & ghouls) + necromancers
04. Vampires & Liches
05. Serpentfolk (Yuan-ti)
06. Dark Elves
07. Devils
08. Demons
09. Mushroomfolk (Myconids)
10. "Dark" Dwarves (Chaos Dwarves, Durgar)
11. Dragons
12. Elementals /Djinni
13. Giants
14. Kobolds / Gnolls
15. Lizardfolk
16. Trolls
17. Sahuagin / Fishmen
18. Beholder
19. Illithid
20. Dryads, nymphs, shambling mound, ent, etc.
21. Centaurs, Minotaurs, Werewolves, etc.

What do you think?

 

[Hriston]

The Nazgûl.

 

[Laurefindel]

Orcs for high-fantasy
(Human) barbarians for medieval fantasy
Zombies for modern fantasy

They can invoke sensitive stereotype issues but if you’re asking for iconic, these are the big 3.

 

[Dioltach]

Cults, pirates, tyrants, slavers, invaders.

 

[Scribe]

Goblinoids/Orcs
Cultists
Barbarians
Pirates
Undead
Demons/Devils

 

[aco175]

I think goblins first. Even non-players have heard of goblins, even if they are more Harry Potter or some sort of sprite. Most people know of a troll/giant as well.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Known to most humans
Goblins
Zombies
Skeletons
Vampires
Devil's/Demons
Dragons
Djinni
Giants
Trolls/Ogres
Centaur
Minotaur
Werewolf

Known to people who play/read fantasy stories
Necromancers
Liches
Serpentfolk
Dark Elves
Dark Dwarves
Elementals
Kobolds
Orcs
Lizardfolk
Dryad/Nymphs
Treants

Known to people who play/read D&D related things
Hobgoblins (not just another name for goblins)
Gnolls
Beholder
Mind Flayer

Known to GMs of DnD related things
Shambling Mound
Sahuagin

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

At the moment, the best known fantasy franchise is Lord of the Rings, which means orcs/goblins, dragons and undead.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

If we're speaking of the most iconic, as in genuinely understood by multiple different cultural groups to be A Thing, we're probably left with a fairly restricted list:

Dragons
Giants
Demons(/Devils, not all cultures separate these)
Undead/Ghosts
Fairies
Grotesquerie-type amalgamation monsters (chimaera, manticore, sphinx, etc.)
Elemental/natural spirits
Wild animals, especially big-cat predators
Winged beings ("angels," but going rather further afield than the now-traaditional version)
Cursed beings (werewolves are a common example, but curses can run a gamut; Tolkien orcs would be another example)

Arguably, the modern world has added "cosmic horror" creatures (which tend to have a lot more tentacles or fish-like stuff because of Lovecraft), and a greater emphasis on more "object-like" or minimally-creature-like entities such as mimics, oozes, and monstrous plants/fungi. Most of the work has been on embellishing the existing categories, adding new options to the existing lists thereof, splitting lists along more precise lines (e.g. "demon" and "devil" becoming distinct things), or looping in more cultures' perspectives, e.g. Japanese "youkai" can fit into any of the five categories after "dragons" and a number of them are sentient/sapient objects or ascended wild animals.

 

[Clint_L]

Cults, pirates, tyrants, slavers, invaders.

Yup - in my campaigns, these are often made up of a variety of species, though, so not sure if they count.