What is too silly for D&D?

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Nothing is too silly for D&D, but some things are too silly for me.

 

[Betote]

I find Paizo's Golarion deity Cayden Cailean to be too silly for D&D for me. He's a former alcoholic adventurer who became a god as a result of a drunken bet. Stranger things exist in real world mythology, sure, but the tongue-in-cheek silliness of this god singlehandedly ruins Golarion for me. I can't be sure of whatever other silly gamer jokes might also be inserted into the setting.

OTOH, when I was briefing my players about their possible deity choices, the most common reaction was something along the lines of "He's the coolest god ever!" And, if you think about it, it makes much more sense than the myriad of "I'm the god of illness, icky things and bad stuff and, somehow, I get people who revere me"

As for silliness in D&D, well it all depends on how you describe things. A gelatinous cube can be described as a semi-transparent ooze that slowly crawls while carrying with it half-eaten corpses or as a jell-o with people instead of fruits.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I view it like this each setting has monsters that don't fit in that setting and would be "silly", but no monster is universally silly. Somewhere out there is a setting/campaign where those monsters work.

 

[RainOfSteel]

All strictly IMO:

I am in the group that thinks defining silly is difficult.

Humor is one thing, camp is another, and outright stupidity is something else again.

Some monsters weren't meant to be taken seriously, or at least I thought so when I originally read about many of those that have been mentioned so far or that were referred to by links.

I think that the Flumph, Flail Snail, Giant Space Hamster, and their many cousins were just there to laugh at. I never used any of them. They did cause some irritation on my part, as I felt they cut into the overall value of the products i was buying, but it was only minor. I wished at the time that they would assemble that sort of thing into specialized products for those who liked and would use them, but I never have been able to cast wish.

Did anybody actually use the Iridium Dragon? Bigger than worlds, it flew around attracted to Monty Haul worlds, where it would eat them unless all the world's artifacts were sacrificed to it. I laughed when I read it, and it was certainly silly. It was definitely a joke.

I can imagine a game based on humor, camp, or over-the-top ideas could make great use of things I think are silly.

Perhaps the topic should have been titled: What is too silly for serious D&D?

However, beyond just simply monsters, I didn't like what I felt was too much camp being injected into Spelljammer and Planescape. It was difficult for me to swallow at the time of their release, although I like both settings more now than I did in the past. (So age and current world-view/outlook can influence what is, "Too silly.")

I'm not sure many would agree with me, but I felt Cyric, Kelemvor, and the other girl (I think her name was Midnight, I can't remember) who all became greater gods definitely fit into the stupidly silly category.

 

[Lacyon]

Nothing is too silly for D&D, but some things are too silly for me.

Sounds about right

 

[CleverNickName]

Which monsters do I think are 'too silly for D&D,' you ask? Well. Let's start at the front, and work towards the back. From the D&D Rules Cyclopedia:

Actaeon
Blackball
Devilfish
Ferret, giant
Gelatinous cube
Green slime
Hsiao
Hydrax
Kryst
Malfera
Mek
Owl bear
Shrew, giant
Shrieker
Slug, giant
Spider, planar
Spider, tarantella
Undine
Weasel, giant

And from the 3.5E Monster Manual:

Aboleth
Achaierai
Archon, lantern
Arrowhawk
Blink dog
Delver
Demon, dretch
Destrachan
Devil, lemure
Digester
Ethereal filcher
Ethereal marauder
Gibbering mouther
Girallon
Githyanki
Githzerai
Inevitable, all
Ooze, gelatinous cube
Otyugh
Owlbear
Phantom fungus
Phase spider
Phasm
Rast
Ravid
Roper
Tojanida
Umber hulk
Vargouille
Xill
Xorn
Yeth hound
Yrthak

And for the 3.5E Monster Manual II:

Asperi
Automaton, all
Avolakia
Braxat
Clockwork horror, all
Cloud ray
Demon, abyssal maw
Ether scarab
Ethereal doppleganger
Ethereal slayer
Fihyr
Glimmerskin
Golem, stained glass
Gravorg
Grell
Hook horror
Ixitxachiti
Jahl
Jujajimus
Marrash
Megapede
Moonbeast
Mooncalf
Morkoth
Needlefolk
Neogi
Nethersight Mastiff
Ormyrr
Psurlon
Reason stealer
Red sundew
Rukarazyll
Spell weaver
Spellgaunt
Swamplight lynx
Tempest
Teratomorph
Thri-kreen
Twig Blight
Vaporighu
Windghost
Wyste
Yak folk
Template: chimeric creature
Template: half-golem
Template: tauric

That's all of the monster books that I own. Feel free to disagree with me; like you said earlier...one man's meat is another man's poison.

 

[Oni]

Enjoy

I kept finding myself thinking as I read this and its sequal, how could I use all these wonderful monsters in one game.

 

[Fifth Element]

Enjoy

He loses me at Lolth. You gotta love Lolth.

Also, anything based on real-world mythology gets a pass in my book, regardless of how "silly" you might think it is now. If it's mythological, it fits in D&D. Senmurv is a variant of simurgh, and I believe the vargouille is based on something from Malaysian myth, yes? Pennangalan I think.

 

[Shroomy]

I don't see anything inherently wrong or silly about the raggamoffyn. Maybe its just me.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Githyanki
Githzerai
Umber hulk
Xorn
Thri-kreen

I don't disagree, in fact, this list proves that even some of D&D's most iconic and popular monsters can be viewed as silly.