What Monsters Do you Use?

[Remathilis]

So in your world, when you pitch monsters at your foes, what kind(s) do you tend to use and why?

 

[Sammael]

Er... the kind appropriate to the environment and logically viable in that particular spot?

I rarely, if ever, create random encounters.

 

[Crothian]

Possessors were a good monster in the early half of the campaign, but now I'm more using legendary creatures. I use dragons and some monster races but not an over abundance of monsters sprinkled over the world.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Orcs
Some random monster of the right CR that has a nifty looking picture. This is how I started my love of Krenshar.
Human NPCs - to make the monsters stand out as monsterous
Disposable Dragons - I use a DD about once every five levels, sue me.
Medusa
Trolls
animals with wacky templates
various outsiders
More orcs

 

[Desdichado]

A little of all of that, plus you ignore all the 3rd party monster books. I use a lot of classed NPCs, and I like to focus in on a type (my current campaign uses a lot of strange and alien-like animals, Undead and fiends). I picked the first option, but that's not really true. There's a ton of stuff in the MM that I'd never use, and conversely I get the most use out of the Monsternomicon, the Book of Fiends, and whatever book has lots of unusual animals, beasts, vermin, etc.

 

[Remathilis]

Hmmm... Didn't think of 3rd party books (actually, didn't think alot of the other WotC monster books).

I guess if you use lots of different types of monster with no real theme other than continuity, pick the first one.

 

[Falldog]

I voted for 'keeping to one type', because it was the nearest to what I actually do - which is to work out who will be the main villains in a campaign or string of adventures, and figure out what type - or types - of monsters would best fit what I want.

But, then again, this will change from one minicampaign where the big bads are outsiders, to one where it's the fey... But I tend to go for some sort of cohesive believability - my players just lose it if they're dazzled with too many monsters or too many types, and I find it hard to take it seriously.

 

[The_Universe]

I use lots of different kinds of monsters, but try to keep the main "bad guys" in a couple of types. This game has had a lot of Yuan-Ti (their backstory altered to make them more draconic), Dragons (and half-dragons), and Undead (of all varieties).

I also use a significant number of classed characters as villains, but those tend to be BBEG-types, rather than the more mundane monsters that the PCs typically encounter.

I don't use random encounters.

Every once in a while I'll pull something else out of the book(s), but most of the stuff I use is in a fairly sensible category.

 

[MetalBard]

I typically go with one type or sub-type of monsters for an adventure and then switch up depending on the adventures. I'll usually stick with fiends for a while, mixed in with some servitor monsters and then some classed and/or templated NPCs/Monsters, then switch the type for the next adventure to undead or creepy aberrations, or something like that. That's the only way I can justify a lot of monsters working together and having the same goal. I have a hard time swallowing some settings/adventures where the antagonists or bad guys resemble the U.N. of evil.

 

[der_kluge]

If you think about it, I mean really ponder it, the only monster you really need is the Flumph. It's so obvious to me now.

Seriously, there are just a ton of critters that I've never used, nor would I ever plan on using. Probably I'm just bitter because my players bypassed two gargantuan toads of chaos which burped up Slaadi in my last campaign.


I've decided that I'm tired of humanoids. They're just so overdone. Orcs, goblins, kobolds. Give me some bullywugs, or something at least a little more interesting.