D&D General {Worldbuilding} Quest vs immersive fantasy and a non-zoo approach to D&D monsters

[cbwjm]

I did create a rough setting idea a long time ago that I never got around to running so I never thought about monsters that would be in it. It was a tribal society of humans, limiting the player race choice to human only. As they venture out from their homeland they'd likely find a few more races, halflings were already known and traded with.

I only know for sure that beasts would be in the game, but I'd also keep at the very least wyverns (I like them as a low to mid level threat, don't know why) and other monstrous creatures might also exist, perhaps as unique creatures like the hydra or Nemean lion. It might not be a setting for high level play so I'm not sure what else I'd really throw in, probably beastmen (orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, etc) as some sort of opposition.

Another setting I created had humans migrating in from the south, invading the lands of the elves who retreated to their forests while leaving the plains for the humans. In the northern mountains, dwarves started to expand and ran into a burgeoning goblin/hobgoblin empire (hobgoblins being an evolved version of goblins altered by a shaman who found a source of power). Dragons were individuals and ancient, you would be unlikely to find anything other than an ancient dragon.

This limited the player races to elves, dwarves, half-elves, and humans. Goblins and hobgoblins were an enemy empire trying to expand into the territory of the humans kingdoms. There were no orcs (and therefore, no half-orcs), gnomes, halflings, or dragonborn available in the setting as they flat-out didn't exist. Still no idea of what creatures I'd have in the game though.

Normally, I come up with what's in a setting as I need them. My current game I know there was a great war between giants, dragons, and elementals so I've kept in any creatures/races that are related to the three of them.

 

[Tonguez]

Otyugh are a must have

While I don’t outright limit my pallette I do like the Birthright approach of Monsters being unique creatures and not part of a species - ie in Birthright there is only one Gorgon, one Kraken, one Hag etc. Moreover the Gorgon was a human who was changed by Divine magic or in 3.5e terms he acquired the Awnshegh Template and lots of Fighter levels to create a unique challenge.

Personally I tend to limit my races to Gnomes, Fae, Goblins, Humans, Variant Humans* and Half-Giants/Goliaths

*Half-Elfs are fae-touched Human variants and Half-Orcs are a human variant too (even if the setting has no Orcs). I’d also allow a unique tiefling if the player gave me a good story.

Using Fae and Spirits allows for extra unique monsters and I also use elemental traits freely.

I also tend to use a lot of pallette swaps so for instance the Gryffon and the Owlbear are both the same species but described as Raptors (Deinonychus)