D&D 5E Which common monsters/creature types do you exclude from your campaigns?

[aco175]

I tend to clump monsters in certain regions, so the PCs may never encounter some of the monsters even though I do not specifically exclude any by choice. For example, I tend to have either orcs or hobgoblins, along with goblins as a low-level monsters in the home base. I never though that many monsters living in in certain areas would get along like the 'good' races. I cold have a Keep on the Borderlands thing where all these monsters live in one cave system, but I find that less realistic than one wiping out the others.

I cannot remember ever using a flumph

 

[grimslade]

I don't exclude much but I heavily modify. I stole the idea of goblinoids all being the same creature just different stages of life.

 

[Thomas Rainsborough]

I think you're confusing "beautifully written" with super-racist.

I mean like super-duper-ultra-KKK-type racist.

Because the description of Orcs in Volos, which you're calling "beautifully written", is basically identical to the description of non-white races in older school textbooks, written by super-racist dudes.

OMG YES.

This makes sense to me. I think it's really one or the other that most people use. I'm a big Hobgoblin guy, having them as sort of even-more-Evil Romans (as Ancient History and Archaeology student I already regard the Roman Empire as wildly Evil in a D&D sense). But I don't think one really needs both. They have different styles, but not different enough.

Are you calling me a racist?

 

[Vaalingrade]

Are you calling me a racist?

No, but Volo is. To an uncomfortable degree.

 

[Tonguez]

Technically I dont exclude anything but I do make use od strongly themed palettes which often means adapting creatures to fit My story or banning certain creatures that dont fit the theme.

For instance Elfs imc are creatures of ethereal mist that must steal the substance of mortal creatures in order to manifest physical bodies. Thus not suitable for PCs. in that same campaign I dropped dwarfs too because they didnt fit my ideal

I often use Sahuagin, Bullywugs etc instead of Orcs (though I still allow half-orc PCs)

on the unique story side one of my campaigns villains was a abberation born as a bloodclot that grew into a Gulguthydra.

I like unique monsters so everything is allowed but it may be the only one in existence or do unique by adding unexpected abilities or looks to various individuals eg Nifoafi is a red skinned Ogre mage that lives in a volcano and breaths out a cloud of sulfurous poison gas (he also gets lair actions and is attended by magmin)

oh and dracons arent a thing either - Id need a good backstory for why I should let a PC play a dragon instead of a lizardman. Same for Tieflings and Aasimars too, there are no such races but individuals with a good backstory might justify being a unique Demon/Celestal-tainted human

 

[Vaalingrade]

Also Giants who aren't Hill or Stone giants. I'm just not into these like, "IM A RED VIKING WHO IS 14' TALL AND ON FIRE LOLOLOLZ!!!!!"-type giants, they're so... tacky! So kitsch! So like, ugh... no. No. Just no. They're like something out of a bad videogame, and I've felt that since the '80s! We might as well be fighting sports mascots, but at least that would be kind of funny.

So I wanted to came back to this because I had the same problem and solved it thusly:

Giants are extinct. There's a big setpiece at a museum with a complete giant skeleton and everything.

Except...

Turns out when the world ended the first time, the giants saw it coming and skedaddled. They went to another world, pushed out the locals and started terraforming for Giantish optimization. The displaced locals are trying to escape what is essentially an environmental apocalypse... but coming to the original world.

The giants, fearing rebellion, are now sending scouts back to the world to try and convince everyone here that the people arriving from terrifying red portals and speaking a language no one understands is a demonic invasion and everyone here should kill them, actually. Don't try and understand them. just kill. Because they're evil monsters.

Says who? Oh... We're nature spirits. Totally not giants. What are those? Now go kill those different guys. Hmm... looks like this placed apocalypses real nice. Maybe we should come back...

Imagine 20ft tall Age of Discovery Gentlemen with Steampunk weaponry and a Scooby-Doo Villain plan for dual world domination.

 

[Tonguez]

This makes sense to me. I think it's really one or the other that most people use. I'm a big Hobgoblin guy, having them as sort of even-more-Evil Romans (as Ancient History and Archaeology student I already regard the Roman Empire as wildly Evil in a D&D sense). But I don't think one really needs both. They have different styles, but not different enough.

I dont want to continue that debate again, but I have been thinking about Neanderthals and Denosovans and other types of Homonids recently and thus Orcs and Hobs

and really I think the issue is Orcs/Hobs are really just Humans, they are given all the worst traits of Humanity but really have nothing else to define them - gnolls are beastial, giants are Giant, goblins are fey-ish, but Orcs are just people

 

[DND_Reborn]

And Volo's has presented a beautifully written section expanding on Orcs well beyond the MM.

Which Volo's are you referring to??? (Honestly curious...)

 

[RuinousPowers]

Never was a fan of aberrations- I don't think I ever used illithids or beholders.

Not a huge fan of the Underdark, don't think I used any of those races, other than gibberlings.

In previous campaigns I combined goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears together as "goblins". No orcs. Big fan of Tasloi and Troglodytes though.

Never had much use for fairies in most campaigns.

In my last 3e game, I used monsters exclusively from Monsternomicon I and II, Nyambe: African Adventures, and the WoT d20.

 

[Thomas Rainsborough]

Which Volo's are you referring to??? (Honestly curious...)

The one that came out 6 years ago.