The popularity of monsters

[der_kluge]

In looking at the results, it seems to me that one could build a sort of useful "Frequency" chart for all the monsters in the MM.

Phasm; Frequency "Very Rare".

 

[paradox42]

Since nobody else has mentioned it, I'll note that there is in fact a Thoqqua in The Sunless Citadel. It's in an out-of-the-way place, so it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of parties that go through that module never see it, but it's in there nevertheless.

 

[Monte At Home]

My votes likely were meaningless because I've used them all.

That said, if we hadn't used them all (and in fact, pretty much every MM monster) at some point in playtesting of 3E, you'd have every right to be upset with me, I think.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Of that list I have only used the Will O Wisp and that was before 3E.

 

[Wik]

Love Aranea... I think I even used them in an old-school D&D campaign... I know I used 'em in the Isle of Dread. I really want to run that recent Dungeon adventure that features them, too - Aranea are a lot of fun.

I ran a stone Animated Object in a fight in the "Ghoul City" the PCs were investigating. Strangely enough, that encounter wound up being tougher than most of the ghoul packs the group had been fighting, but I think this was due to the fact that they were prepared for ghouls... they weren't prepared for a construct with damage reduction. It was really good, because the group *still* thinks they had come up against a gargoyle....

Allips are a fun undead to use, but like a few others, I get rid of their permanent energy drain and just make it temporary (upping it by a die code in the process) and drop their CR to compensate. I prefer shadows, though...

Finally, Unicorns are a fantasy staple. I tend to bring them out when the group has at least one female in it, because women seem to respond well to Unicorns. Fiendish unicorns are great, but they're even better as a plot hook (you'd be surprised at how readily most of my female Players jump at the opportunity to save a unicorn from a demon of some sort).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Allips are a fun undead to use, but like a few others, I get rid of their permanent energy drain and just make it temporary (upping it by a die code in the process) and drop their CR to compensate. I prefer shadows, though...

Yeesh, I never noticed that. Yeah, Wisdom damage instead of drain makes a lot more sense at CR 3, IMO. I'm not fond of "ha ha, reroll your Wis 2 cleric" for level 3 characters.

 

[Evilhalfling]

What I have and haven't used:

Achaierai - No,
Allip - Yes (RtToEE) + once
Animated objects - Yes - many times
Aranea - Yes (as player)
Athach - no
Delver - No
Destrachan - No
Devourer - maybe - but from 2nd ed PS
Giant Squid - Yes
Girallon - No
Gorgon - Yes, on Elemental Earth Plane
Nightshade (any) - Yes, there is only 1 crawler, and it has a Dune like relationship with magic trees
Phasm - No
Rast - yes, but in 2nd ed PS
Tarrasque - No, NEVER !
Thoqqua - yes
Tojanida - Yes, unfortunatly, 3.0 PC used as favored polymorph form for ocean game
Unicorn - Yes, Free adventure from WotC
Will o'wisp - No
Yrthak - No

 

[RichGreen]

My votes likely were meaningless because I've used them all.

That said, if we hadn't used them all (and in fact, pretty much every MM monster) at some point in playtesting of 3E, you'd have every right to be upset with me, I think.

It seems like quite a few monsters I hadn't used before turn up in The Banewarrens! In fact, isn't there a phasm?

IIRC, the delver and the tojanida both appear in the Freeport series.

Cheers


Richard

 

[Nifft]

My PC's home world has a restricted monster palette, but every other world they vist has its own, different palette. Hopefully we'll get through most critters in the course of their travels.

-- N

 

[Robert Ranting]

Achaierai- As a DM, I had one in an Exotic Animal Dealer's shop. It was let loose and used against an invading army to great affect (confusion and gunpowder weapons do not agree with each other). IMC, they have the Native Subtype, but most people consider them simply a strange magical beast (it's a closed cosmology).

Delver- Ran one in a pre-gen adventure from WotC's site.

Tojanida- Encountered as a player. The pet of a Water Mephit merchant, oddly enough.

Unicorn- One of the PCs in a summer game I DMed was an Elven maiden with a Unicorn cohort.