D&D General What are underused-but-iconic D&D elements?

[le grand fromage]

Large scale isometric maps of the under-dark (OK maybe a bit niche but ever since the dungeoneer's survival guide I've loved these & yes I am in on the Survivalist's Guide to Spelunking Kickstarter)....

 

[Tonguez]

Knights with keeps, doing courtly stuff
Jousting griffon riders
Rockfall traps and spiked pit traps

 

[Michael Mornard]

Spell research.

In OD&D, the spell research rules appear before the spell list. This was not an accident.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

(All of these monsters are so foundational, they go back to Chainmail)
Balrog Balor demon.
Elementals.
Roc. And not the Jungle Cruise one.
Meaningful md-tier undead (Wight, Ghoul, Wraith)
Stoners, dude. Basilisks and cockatrice.

 

[CleverNickName]

Castles and strongholds. Building them, defending them, laying siege to them, all that.

 

[GuyBoy]

Kobolds
10 foot poles
Underdark
Red Dragons
Mind Flayers
Beholders
Owlbears
Fighters with longswords
Fireball spell
Listening at Dungeon doors
The Keep on the Borderlands

All these (and more) say D&D to me.

 

[Tonguez]

Kobolds
10 foot poles
Underdark
Red Dragons
Mind Flayers
Beholders
Owlbears
Fighters with longswords
Fireball spell
Listening at Dungeon doors
The Keep on the Borderlands

All these (and more) say D&D to me.

Kobolds -> underused?????? I keep thinking the opposite

 

[MattW]

Bags of Holding
Familiars
Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Gelatinous Cubes
Giant Spiders
Hiding in Shadows
Implausibly attractive women who try and betray the (male) protagonists
Lamp Oil flasks that are really Molotov Cocktails
Skeletons that were animated by some long-dead necromancer
Trolls

All of the above remind me that it's a D&D adventure

I'd love to see more URBAN adventures. Especially at low level.

 

[LoganRan]

Dungeons with secret/concealed doors and devious traps that must be overcome by player skill.

 

[Marc_C]

Traps and puzzles. With sessions of only 3 hours I no longer use them. Takes too much gaming time to resolve.