D&D General What is the Quintissential D&D Mascot Monster?

[CreamCloud0]

Typo, or intentional?

i'm fairly sure there was one of those early 2000s franchise parody novels that went by that name for their LotR one, so i think it might've been intentional

 

[ezo]

A Mad Tinker Gnome Artificer? One whose inventions actually work.

Oh, come on! I know it is a fantasy game... but let's be reasonable. Inventions working? What sort of game are you playing in...

 

[Corinnguard]

Oh, come on! I know it is a fantasy game... but let's be reasonable. Inventions working? What sort of game are you playing in...

A Steampunk setting? You know that Artificers rule in such settings. And the Mad Tinker Gnome is King....

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

If named monsters are allowed, Id go with either Demogorgon or Orcus.

As far as generic monsters goes, I think ropper or flaming skull are good choices.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'd say it's beholders or mimics, but both are extremely good and iconic critters. (Rust monsters are great, too, but suffer from the same awareness issue that kobolds do.)

Posh! Beholder is in the eye of the beholder. It might be a gas spore!

Mimics? Maybe it's just a treasure chest and you're convinced it's a mimic...

But rust monsters?

They're adorable. I gifted one for a friend's kid's bday. I did not send silverware for their next gift, just in case.

 

[Reynard]

i'm fairly sure there was one of those early 2000s franchise parody novels that went by that name for their LotR one, so i think it might've been intentional

It came out in 1969

 

[James Gasik]

It came out in 1969

By the Harvard Lampoon!

 

[Tonguez]

Thats a lobster, it would look good on the DnD Cookbook though

 

[CreamCloud0]

Posh! Beholder is in the eye of the beholder. It might be a gas spore!

Mimics? Maybe it's just a treasure chest and you're convinced it's a mimic...

But rust monsters?

They're adorable. I gifted one for a friend's kid's bday. I did not send silverware for their next gift, just in case.

You link rusty but not mimic or cube!? Unacceptable! I’ll have to do it myself

 

[EzekielRaiden]

While dragons are the (literally) emblematic monster, I think in order of precedence, D&D's quintessential monsters are...

1. Beholder
2. Owlbear (there's a reason the movie druid could turn into one)
3. Gelatinous Cube
4. Mimic
5. Displacer Beast
6. Rust Monster
7. Bulette
8. Mindflayer
9. Tarrasque
10. Kobold
11. Flail snail
12. Flumph

Dragons are just sort of a generically important fantasy monster, so they sort of take a 0th position here because of how much D&D has always been a fantasy kitchen sink to one degree or another.