What Monsters from Past Editions Would You Like to See in 5E?

[Hexmage-EN]

I was a big fan of 4E's elemental archons and was glad to seem them return for 5E as the elemental myrmidons. I know WotC's designers usually focus on creatures with widespread popularity (or "traction", as they call it), but there are a good many more obscure monstrous menaces I'd like to see in the latest edition in some form. This thread is for talking about your favorite monsters and explaining why they are worthy of challenging 5E adventurers.

One of my absolute favorite monsters from 4E was the writhing crag. This huge earth elemental is equipped with four tentacles tipped with claws that enable a very interesting ability. When the crag has a creature grabbed it can slam the creature into a stone surface and attempt to meld its victim with the surface (basically a combination of Flesh to Stone and Meld into Stone). Any creature melded into stone this way remains in stasis with only a faint indication on the surface where it is. Fortunately, a severed writhing crag tentacle retains its magic and reflexively opens and closes it claws for a time, so any creature that has been forcibly melded can be fished out and returned to normal with the claw. Writhing crags are also as smart as humans, so it wouldn't be a surprise for a crag to use its powers to hide treasure by melding it to the walls of its lair. The crag might even meld allies into the walls temporarily to hide them and draw them out again to help it fight. Don't forget that a creature melded into stone by the crag remains in stasis; it's entirely possible the party could use a crag claw to free someone who had been in the elemental's walls for hundreds of years.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I'd love to see 2e style thri-kreen that actually look like big bugs instead of like guys in cheap Halloween costumes. Does that count?

Other than that, I could go with an updated aranea. The one in Fifth Edition Foes rubbed me the wrong way for some reason, but it's an interesting enough monster that I would love to see it get a new workout.

 

[CleverNickName]

All of them!

But the ones I would most like to see right now are: rhagodessa, bhut, vapour ghoul, aranea, vampire rose, archer bush, velya, and the hivebrood. In fact, if they could do the entire AC9: Creature Catalog, I would practically throw money at them.

 

[Prakriti]

Gibberlings

 

[oreofox]

All of them. Well, the vast majority anyway. Going through old monster books, adventures, and such of previous editions (including Pathfinder), I get some ideas pop into my head of how to include them in my world. I have been attempting to do such myself, though very slowly, and in bite sizes. I started up a conversion of various plant creatures from previous editions, and trying to incorporate the different capabilities of the various iterations into a single creature. Like one of them, can't remember the name of the monster, but it appeared in 2nd, 3rd, and Pathfinder. So, I look at each of them and try to convert a conglomeration of all 3 versions into a single one for 5th Edition.

I also have plans of doing the same for oozes, elementals, and constructs (4 of my favorite creature types), though I have to work up the motivation and desire to continue with the plants. So far, it's at 8 pages of two columns per page, with a total of... (counts what he's done so far) 13 plant creatures. I last worked on that back on May 7th 2018. I also have a document with all the monsters and their older stat blocks that I want to convert, and including the 13 monsters I already did, it has 112 pages (2 columns), but this includes all the various statblocks from those 3 editions I listed above. Maybe one day I will get it done, before 6th edition comes out.

 

[Jester David]

Between Tome of Foes, Tome of Beasts, Creature Catalogue, and Guide to Monsters, I'm kinda good for monsters. Just a few iconic odds and ends in adventures will do me.

 

[Seramus]

This adorable little guy.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The only monsters that I really miss are the aurumvorax and the fhorge. Other than that, I'm fine with what's in the Monster Manual. If I need a unique monster for some reason, it's easier for me to just work out the stats myself, rather than digging through different books.

Really, though, the biggest omission from 5E is the monster which is capable of inflicting any sort of lasting injury. I miss the ogre who could hit you so hard that you would still feel it the next day. The current rendition is a pale joke, in comparison.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'd like to see the bronze golem from BECMI again, the one which sprayed molten fire when wounded.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Three from Third I just remembered:

Arrowhawk - Air elemental that looks like the backs of two birds put together. Four eyes and four wings, no feet. Spits lightning!
Tojanida - Bizarre shelled water elementals with seven appendages and eight holes in its armor. It can rearrange its appendages at-will. It uses its one claw to pull enemies into the shell before launching them out the one empty hole with a pressurized jet of water.
Yrthak - Roughly pteranadon-looking beasts. They have no eyes, but instead use a horn both for echolocation and to fire focused sonic beams. According to an issue of Dragon magazine there is also a giant yrthak trapped within a mountain known as "He Who Hums".