Must-have monsters for a playtest?

[the Jester]

I've been working on a version of D&D that tries to capture what I like best about each version of D&D through the years. I'm almost at the point where I'm going to give a playtest document to a couple of dms in the hopes of having them do a little playtesting for me, but I have a couple things still to do.

First up: If you were running a playtest game, what monsters would you want to use? In other words, what monsters do I need to stat to have an adequate palette for a dm to draw on?

So far I've statted out:

Ant- giant worker
Ant- giant soldier
Ant- swarm
Carrion crawler
Dragon- white hatchling*
Ghoul- ghoul
Ghoul- ghast
Goblin- goblin
Goblin- goblin archer
Goblin- goblin warrior
Goblin- goblin chieftain
Kobold- kobold
Kobold- kobold scoundrel
Kobold- kobold assassin
Kobold- kobold wyrmpriest
Kobold- kobold chieftain
Ogre- ogre
Ogre- ogre berserker
Ooze- gray ooze
Ooze- gelatinous cube
Orc- orc
Orc- ogrillion (half-ogre, half-orc)
Orc Champion
Owlbear
Rat- giant rat
Rat- dire rat
Rat- rat swarm
Skeleton- decrepit skeleton
Skeleton- skeleton guard
Spider- spider swarm
Spider- giant gray spider
Spider- giant jumping spider
Spider- giant tarantella spider
Spider- giant black widow spider
Zombie- zombie
Zombie- zombie ogre

*This is to provide an absolute minimum toughness for dragons in the system.

If you were a prospective playtest dm, what would you say, "Oh, he left out that" about?

 

[kaomera]

Owlbear

You've got me covered.

 

[steeldragons]

Bats?
Harpies?
Giant or Dire Ravens/Hawks/Owls/etc...

In general, something that flies (or can float out of arm's reach) that the starting characters will need to have to think/get creative (or have ample ranged attacks) to deal with.

Not a necessity, certainly. You have PLENTY in there to generate a great starting dungeon, IMO.

Good luck with the new system!
--Steel Dragons

 

[Celebrim]

If your system is any good at all, a DM should be able to fill in the blanks quickly. However, notably missing IMO:

Green Slime*
Wild Boar
Wolf
Worg
Viper, Small
Yellow Mold*

(These test your systems ability to handle hazards.)

Also I agree on the missing flying creature (of some sort).

Also, at least one water creature.

 

[the Jester]

Awesome, you guys are pointing out some holes in my list! Thanks!

(Can someone xp steeldragons for me?)

 

[Neonchameleon]

Spider- giant tarantella spider

I've heard of having two left feet, but that's got four! (Tarantella!= Tarantula)

 

[the Jester]

Oh, I know. The tarantella is an old-school spider from the ol' Basic Set.

The pic.

Edit: the dance is actually named after a spider whose venom made its victims whirl around. Greek (? I think) lore said the only cure was fast, rhythmic music. Thus arose the tarantella, named after the spider Lycos tarantula. I assume that this was the inspiration for the monster (whose venom, natch, makes you dance.)

 

[Tonguez]

I didn't see any of the 'trap' monsters listed - Mimic, Darkmantle, Lurker, Wolf in Sheeps clothing

and every playtest needs a giant-floating-eyeball monster

also what are you using to test 'saving throws?

 

[Mark CMG]

Troll



No, no, not you. The monster is iconic and might be useful for playtests. I prefer to base mine on Three Hearts and Three Lions.

 

[LostSoul]

Yeah, trolls.

Also demons/devils, elementals, and different varieties of humans - bandits, soldiers, cultists, necromancers, priests, and generic wizards.