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What are the Ten Most Important monsters for a GM to have stats for?
- Thread starter Raven Crowking
- Start date
Nellisir
Hero
I think you mean, "These are not the monsters you are looking for."
I think nnms has a good list.
I'd include...goblin, skeleton, orc/caveman/beastman; ghoul, ghost/spectre, lich; red dragon, manticore, ogre, elemental, dire beast/giant animal. And a few iconic fey - brownies, pixies & dryads. I'd stay away from stuff with complex rules like vampires, and go for simple, adaptable, multi-use monsters.
I'm glad to see so many suggestions for manticores & chimera. I love them.
Y'know, I've actually never used brownies in a game, but the more I think about them, the more I think they should have a bigger role fantasy/D&D. They're about as folkloric-iconic as you can get.
Bandits (and/or Urban Thieves)
Basic Marauding Humanoids (such as Orcs, Hobgoblins, etc)
Wolves (or other basic wilderness predators)
Semi-Dangerous Herd Animals (Wild Cattle, etc.)
Scheming Wizards
Mad Cultists
Basic Sea Monsters (stats could represent gigantic fish, monstrous eels, sea-serpents, etc)
Common, Flesh-Eating Corporeal Undead
Generic Demons
Archetypal Dragons
Just have those generic stats ready, and you could run an entire campaign just by mixing, matching, and re-skinning them.
Basic Marauding Humanoids (such as Orcs, Hobgoblins, etc)
Wolves (or other basic wilderness predators)
Semi-Dangerous Herd Animals (Wild Cattle, etc.)
Scheming Wizards
Mad Cultists
Basic Sea Monsters (stats could represent gigantic fish, monstrous eels, sea-serpents, etc)
Common, Flesh-Eating Corporeal Undead
Generic Demons
Archetypal Dragons
Just have those generic stats ready, and you could run an entire campaign just by mixing, matching, and re-skinning them.
Klaus
First Post
Common creatures that cover a lot of roles and levels:
1 - Dragon
2 - Orc/Hobgoblin/Gnoll
3 - Goblin/Kobold
4 - Skeleton/Zombie
5 - Ogre/Giant
6 - Horse
7 - Wolf/Dog
8 - Ghost/Wraith/Shadow
9 - Devil/Demon
10 - Ghoul/Zombie
If needed:
11 - Human Guard/Mercenary/Bandit
12 - Elf Archer
13 - Dwarf Warrior
14 - Necromancer/lich
1 - Dragon
2 - Orc/Hobgoblin/Gnoll
3 - Goblin/Kobold
4 - Skeleton/Zombie
5 - Ogre/Giant
6 - Horse
7 - Wolf/Dog
8 - Ghost/Wraith/Shadow
9 - Devil/Demon
10 - Ghoul/Zombie
If needed:
11 - Human Guard/Mercenary/Bandit
12 - Elf Archer
13 - Dwarf Warrior
14 - Necromancer/lich
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
That just about covers the top 10 I should think - except that Vampires are not on the list and they should be, even if something else gets bumped off it.
I'd say that orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, goblins, kobolds can all be lumped together as basic humanoids. I've never drawn a great distinction among them, although for ogres and giants I do.
Really, 10 is too small a list.
Consider the following 10 suggestions as exemplifying 10 "roles" usually found in RPG's.
1. Human -- "Ordinary" bandits, knights, wizards, etc.
2. Goblin -- A small, sneaky, malevolent, possibly fey humanoid.
3. Giant -- A big, smashy, brute.
4. Wolf -- A common animal threat. It fights in packs.
5. Dragon -- Self explanatory. If I were starting from scratch, I'd 86 the color wheel and divide them into 2 types -- Fire Breathing and Poisonous.
6. Demon -- An evil brute with supernatural powers.
7. Ghoul -- A corporeal, flesh eating undead being.
8. Ghost -- An incorporeal, soul stealing undead being.
9. Grell -- An unnatural, tentacled horror from beyond. More Howard than Lovecraft.
10. Golem -- A mindless automaton that neither breathes nor sleeps.
Special Bonus 11 - 15!
11. Bear -- A big scary animal that fights alone.
12. Panther -- A sneaky animal that hunts by stalking.
13. Giant Spider -- An enormous poisonous insect (yes, yes, I know).
14. Lizardman -- An inhuman, but natural intelligent creature. Survivor from a fallen empire.
15. Succubus -- An evil being that uses magic and temptation instead of brute force.
1. Human -- "Ordinary" bandits, knights, wizards, etc.
2. Goblin -- A small, sneaky, malevolent, possibly fey humanoid.
3. Giant -- A big, smashy, brute.
4. Wolf -- A common animal threat. It fights in packs.
5. Dragon -- Self explanatory. If I were starting from scratch, I'd 86 the color wheel and divide them into 2 types -- Fire Breathing and Poisonous.
6. Demon -- An evil brute with supernatural powers.
7. Ghoul -- A corporeal, flesh eating undead being.
8. Ghost -- An incorporeal, soul stealing undead being.
9. Grell -- An unnatural, tentacled horror from beyond. More Howard than Lovecraft.
10. Golem -- A mindless automaton that neither breathes nor sleeps.
Special Bonus 11 - 15!
11. Bear -- A big scary animal that fights alone.
12. Panther -- A sneaky animal that hunts by stalking.
13. Giant Spider -- An enormous poisonous insect (yes, yes, I know).
14. Lizardman -- An inhuman, but natural intelligent creature. Survivor from a fallen empire.
15. Succubus -- An evil being that uses magic and temptation instead of brute force.
Since this is a basic list, I would go with a "starter" set (mostly low level), that the decsription can be changed to accomadate other named monsters:
kobold
orc
ogre
rat
wolf
bear
dire template
skeleton template
were- template
small dragon
kobold
orc
ogre
rat
wolf
bear
dire template
skeleton template
were- template
small dragon
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
1. Goblin or Kobold - a lowish monster that can appear in groups, typically cowardly, stealthy and using traps.
2. Orc or Hobgobin - a tougher monster with weapons and willpower to fight to the bitter end if required (either due to discipline or sheer bloodlust)
3. Ogre, Troll or some other Giant - a large, brutish monster that is intimidating, yet simple.
4. Bear or Wolf - some kind of animal for wilderness encounters.
5. Spellcaster - someone that uses magic. Might be an elf.
6. Archer - someone that uses ranged weapons, might be an elf or a crossbow wielding city guard.
7. Warrior - similar to Orc or Hobgoblin, but decidedly humanoid - can be ally or enemy.
8. Sneak - a thief, untrustworthy, stealthy, backstabber. Or just your average contact.
9. Skeleton or Zombie - you need some kind of undead, of course!
10. Dragon. Iconic monster. Tough, destructive, manipulative, an enemy to fear.
2. Orc or Hobgobin - a tougher monster with weapons and willpower to fight to the bitter end if required (either due to discipline or sheer bloodlust)
3. Ogre, Troll or some other Giant - a large, brutish monster that is intimidating, yet simple.
4. Bear or Wolf - some kind of animal for wilderness encounters.
5. Spellcaster - someone that uses magic. Might be an elf.
6. Archer - someone that uses ranged weapons, might be an elf or a crossbow wielding city guard.
7. Warrior - similar to Orc or Hobgoblin, but decidedly humanoid - can be ally or enemy.
8. Sneak - a thief, untrustworthy, stealthy, backstabber. Or just your average contact.
9. Skeleton or Zombie - you need some kind of undead, of course!
10. Dragon. Iconic monster. Tough, destructive, manipulative, an enemy to fear.
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