What are your fav monsters to pit against players in DnD?

[Dungeoneer]

The game I'm DMing the party just dinged level 2. I know theres like, hundreds if not thousands of creatures that could be listed here, and feel free, but ideally what are some mobs that I shouldn't miss including in a forgotten realms dalelands campaign? A list of your favs in the first 15 levels or so, and why would be pretty dope. Including stuff from the underdark and shadowfel would be totally fine/appreciated too, thx.

My faves are the monsters that do crazy stuff, like remove the PC from the battlemat (if they've been swallowed/dragged underground), throw the PC, or use a PC as a weapon against other PCs. Anything that makes the players sit up and take note.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Beholders. Definitely beholders.

Fun to run, and make players crap themselves (but don't make them annoyed).

 

[Ruzak]

Count me in as a sucker for big bugs and spiders and scorpions and such.

 

[The Human Target]

Displacer beasts, forgot about them.. I remember reading flavour text somewhere that thieves highly value their eyes, probably a quest line to be built right there..

Sure yeah, they're a good monster to send the heroes after for their bits.

A Displacer skin cloak is magical and fashionable.

 

[RMcCall]

My most evil moment as a DM was with a single Clay Scout homunculus from the Monster Manual. The barbarian bloodied two of the rest of the team before they realized the thing could redirect his attacks. They had an artifact that counted as the scout's Guarded Object, so it repeated dazed the only effective party member which allowed it to dodge their attacks with Limited Invisibility. Then it stole the artifact and ran away, subsequently leading to a skill challenge to chase it which they failed. The team decided, after spending several healing surges and a daily to a single creature, to just leave it and move on to another adventure.

 

[Argyle King]

Zombie Swarm w/ Wizard Template

I explained it by saying they ate the wizard and were using the residual magic.

(I'm away from books, the 'creature' might be called Zombie Throng or something like that... it's a group of zombies.)

 

[Ruxpin_exe]

Sure yeah, they're a good monster to send the heroes after for their bits.

A Displacer skin cloak is magical and fashionable.

I could almost post another thread completely on this and probably get piles of good responses, but just to not flood the forums, no reason not to keep it here..

Any really good suggestions for more things like this? Monsters that in some way can sort of become treasure in themselves, from their hides or other body parts, etc?

 

[The Human Target]

I could almost post another thread completely on this and probably get piles of good responses, but just to not flood the forums, no reason not to keep it here..

Any really good suggestions for more things like this? Monsters that in some way can sort of become treasure in themselves, from their hides or other body parts, etc?

I've done a rust monster hunt before in 3e that worked. The PCs had to switch to nonmetal armor and sub par wooden weapons. It was fun. They were after the rusties antenna, but in 4e you could also net a heap of residiuum.

They were hired by a gnome crafter/alchemist who was going to have a similar monster hunting mission for them every level or two.

Any of the overtly magical shtick beasties works.

Beholders for their eyes, the paralytic saliva/goo of ghouls, carrion crawler brain juice, the bodies of jellies and oozes, etc.

Oh a monster I really like I forgot= cave fishers.