D&D General Nominate your favourite D&D monster and why

[Sacrosanct]

IIRC, when we did our monster survival thread, the owlbear won.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Seramus]

Beholder.

No monster is more iconic to D&D except the Dragon itself, and those were famous long before D&D came along. The Beholder is different. It’s famous BECAUSE of D&D, with countless copycats showing up in other games, an image that is so iconic that people who have never even played D&D recognize it, and parties continue to be absolutely terrified of them even when they keep pet goldfish.

 

[Voadam]

Blue Dragon

Intelligent and powerful lawful evil dragons. They have control and ambitions. Plus their early depiction is fantastic, the horns and long bat like fanged face really works. The lightning breath is a clean power, unlike the corruption of poison gas or acid. You can really see them as the Dragons of War in D&D.

 

[Draegn]

Chasme

The first fiend I had to face alone. Alone due to playing an elf who was the only character immune to it's sleep drone. No one knows how I beat it off while they slept, for, no corpse was to be found.

 

[PabloM]

Blue Dragon

Nice pic! Classic

 

[Legatus Legionis]

The Death Knight, or more specifically Lord Soth, Knight of the Black Rose.

A fallen Knight of Solamnia, (DragonLance/Krynn) who ended up becoming trapped in Ravenloft.

His story predates that of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader of a good guy turning evil. His story (along with The Black Knight of King Arthur lore) shows that not all monsters have claws, or fur, or scales to bring dread and death to all that crosses it's path. From it's aura of fear, to its natural fighting skills, to its magic resistance and magic skills. It's charisma and leadership skills over other creatures (undead and other monsters) makes this one big bad-As-S.

 

[Leatherhead]

Well I'm going to (possibly) Second the nomination of the Kobold.

Though I also started taking a shine to them in Second Edition (who doesn't love the idea of someone attacking the adventures with something as incredulous as a Scorpion-on-a-Stick?), I have to admit that my adoration of them didn't fully come into being until 3rd Edition. When the ancient tales of Tucker's Kobolds, and the newfound flavor of being a "dragon" that even a normal human commoner could overpower, fully intersected to make an unmistakably iconic monster that is distinct from most other games, complete with quirky rules mechanics, and an aesthetic that that been honed over time to the current edition's trash-wearing lizard-dogs. From that point on, what set them apart from their cannon fodder piers was one key factor: To a Kobold, the Adventurers are the invading monsters. Their warrens are their home that they shed blood, sweat, and tears for, and despite their craven natures, they will do anything to defend it. The end result is a charming creature that I gleefully throw at my groups, and especially brand new players, in order to illustrate that swinging a sword or casting a spell isn't the only way to win an encounter.

 

[Leatherhead]

Beholder just edged out Owlbear.

To be fair, those threads are less "Which you do like more?", and more "Which do you hate the least?" thanks to the nature of the voting system.

 

[Charlaquin]

For “favorite image depicting it,” does the image have to depict the creature as it appears in D&D? For example, if I nominate goblin, would an image of a Pathfinder goblin, or a magic card art, or a Brian Froud picture disqualify it?