The most POWERFUL classic monsters! (Read intro before voting!!!)

[The Serge]

I've been thinking... Which mosters put the most dread in the minds of players, and simultaneously draw out the most imagination of the DM.

Furthermore, which monster/monster type can carry a campaign for more than three game sessions. Which monsters can not only keep up with the PCs, but can be terrible antagonists on their own.

Please, indulge me and vote. If possible, let me know why you voted as you did. I already have a suspicion which will be the most popular vote, but we'll see.

Remember, you're not voting strictly on sheer power, but on power and campaign longevity/impact!

 

[The Forsaken One]

Drow, nasty for ever.

 

[Ravellion]

Mindflayers cq. Illithids! How could you forget them? They are far superior over Aboleths! They just have far more style.

Rav

 

[kengar]

I voted lich. Ya kill 'em and the pop up somewhere else! You're never sure they're gone.

Not to mention they're spooky as all get out.

 

[DM with a vengence]

So... Very... Hard...
Must... Choose... Toughest Monster!

I voted for Devils, because they can plan like hell (Pun intended) and many of them get Teleport and Blasphemy at will.

A couple of devils could cause an insane amount of havoc, just killing people and raising their corpses as the undead then teleporting away before the PCs and assorted paladins hit them like a brink in a sock.

 

[TiQuinn]

Good question! I got to go with Dragons. Maybe not the most original answer, but oh well! Players squirm when they realize they are going to fight a dragon. More than anything, in their minds, it's the uber enemy. Besides their breath weapons, special abilities, spells, and tough ACs, probably the most dangerous and powerful thing about dragons is their mobility. A dragon with room to fly and make snatch attacks, fly-bys, and the like is an absolute terror and almost unstoppable, IMO.

 

[Voadam]

lich, they run things from behind the scenes, you fight their minions, then you fight them, you think you win and then they are back again.

Drow are a close second, they can be good antagonists from low to ultra high level and they have demons working for them at the higher levels.

vampires are too all or nothing to make great sustained campaign villains (two level slam energy drain).

dragons are usually a single opponent or a single adventure's challenge.

Demons and devils are not natives here so they are either summoned lackeys or a special circumstance in the world or a hell unleashed or raiding hell scenario.

 

[drothgery]

Humans!

If my PCs have learned anything over the years, they know that bad guys created from the Player's Handbook will give them far, far more trouble than anything from the Monster Manual. When a small group of PC-race humanoids doesn't run away from a group of obviously hostile high-level adventurers, the PCs are definitely in trouble .

Admittedly human NPCs are usually indifferent or helpful to the PCs (who are, after all, trying to save the world). But those that aren't... they're the real danger.

 

[Khan the Warlord]

I voted for the lich.

I was tempted to go the Dragon route, but I've found that most players get giddy like school-girls whenever I toss a dragon their way. Even if it means their doom and they know it, they're still damn happy to confront it.

I was also tempted to vote for the Devils, as they have the power to be tough for just about any level of play, and are also evil enough to worry my players, but typical they're only one-shot encounters and if they survive, they wait *years* to get their revenge, which doesn't quite fit the back-to-back encounter billing.

So, lich it is: Evil, undead, powerful, minions, and can easily become a recurring villain.

 

[Pielorinho]

I went with Illithids as well. Humans are scary, and all the others are badasses, but illithids are the coolest scary guys in D&D, IMHO. All tentacly and brain-suckingy and slimy -- they shiver me timbers!

Daniel