What Monsters Do you Use?

[Kast]

Although I don't use them exclusively, I voted humans/humanoids with class levels.

I like to use primarily humans/humanoids with class levels for several reasons. They are the most interesting and difficult opponents. Also it's very difficult for the PCs to know what their power level is. The beggar who accosts them on the street couuld be a Com1 or a Monk15. Also I like city adventures and they're mostly human/humanoids of course.

Other than that I like undead (with class levels), dragons and outsiders.

 

[Epametheus]

I voted "everything," since this probably should've been a "you can select multiple options" poll.

The undead were common in my campaign until a few months ago, when a major plot event destroyed most of them. Humans (often druids) have been the most common enemy, along with a monster we came up with just for that campaign. Demons and Devils would be the next most frequent antagonists, after that. But we've had orcs, heiracosphinxes, mind flayers (mind flayers will probably become more common as the campaign progresses), slaadi, and the occasional dragon.

A solid group of foes is good, but so's variety.

 

[dren]

Depends on where in the world they are...each type of category you listed has an area that they are dominant in, but overall, everything will get used at least in one corner of the world/game.

 

[DMH]

I prefer abberations, magical beasts and plants for Oathbound.

 

[demiurge1138]

I use a little of everything, depending on what I need for the adventure or the location. Encounters in a city, for example, will be predominately humanoid, with a few appropriate animals and the other occasional creature appropriate, whereas a forest will be more animals, magical beasts and fey, and a horrible magical wastelands will be filled with undead and aberrations. I'm all for diversity, but within the bounds of common sense (I try to combat humanoid-bloat, for example).

Demiurge out.

 

[Pants]

Really depends upon the situation, but I tend to gravitate towards classed NPCS (buckets o' humans), undead (ran a large bit of a campaign with undead as the primary enemies), fiends (loves the fiends), and giants (usually ogres but I have a very soft and easy to hurt spot for hill giants). I really like to use Hobgoblins and Gnolls as well.

I don't really use aberrations that much, I've only used Mind Flayers and Beholders once in all of my campaigns. Plant creatures and fey are very rarely encountered. Constructs are pretty limited, but I usually stick at least two or three in some old ruins.

 

[Gez]

So in your world, when you pitch monsters at your foes

What exactly do you mean here?

Anyway, as a DM, for monsters and NPCs, I definitely don't use everything from the MM, but I use every kind of creatures -- mundane (crocodiles, wolves), mythical (griffons, leucrottae) magical (dragons, sphinxes), weird (gelatinous cubes), very weird (beholders, illithids), and LSD-trip weird (flumph). I use monsters from each of the creature type -- from Aberration to Vermin.

And of course humanoids.

NPCs are not necessarily humanoids, by the way. The PCs have already met a dragonne sorcerer and a gynosphinx druid, for example. And weirder beings are waiting for them... (Can you say "dragon turtle archmage"? )

 

[Remathilis]

What exactly do you mean here?

I'm looking for a theme.

1.) You potentially use anything in the MM/monster books and don't really exclude much of anything.
2.) You stick to the fantasy archtypes/Classic D&D monsters; but rarely stray from them.
3.) You keep to basically one type of creature and ignore others (for example, lots of undead, but no fey or giants).
4.) You mostly use classes NPCs, not stat-block monsters.
5.) You do something truly alien and ignore the staples for the truly bizzare (like a far-realms themed game).
6.) You keep a specific world's theme (like only Dragonlance monsters, or no orcs in Ravenloft).
7.) Nothing magical, just real things.
8.) You keep to a specific earth-based myth (like only greek based monsters) and ignore those not of that mythic origin.

Basically, how do you limit the monster population in your game, if you do it at all.

 

[IronWolf]

I use a little of everything... Evil human NPC's, skeletons, orcs, beholder kin, etc, etc, etc. I try to make sure they fit the story, but I prefer to draw from a wide range of creatures and opponents.

 

[Buttercup]

I wish your poll had allowed me to select multiple options.

As others have said, it depends on the situation. I do tend to use a limited palatte of monsters at any given time though. For instance, I use either goblinoids, or orcs, or kobolds or lizardmen, or possibly two of these, but never all of them in the same campaign. I use undead by the boatload, but only in certain locales. I use dire animals in other locales. I might end up using demons in the near future, but have not often done so in the past. I agree with Eric that dragons should be reserved for special occasions. :evil: