Your favorite templates

[Matrix Sorcica]

If anyone else has any cool undead, homebrewed, I'd love to see them, and use them if it's cool...

The guys over at dicefreaks have some very cool elder vampire templates. (Plus templates for elder liches and death knights. Cool stuff).

 

[DMH]

I got the Advanced Bestiary today and, though it didn't have as many templates that sparked my imagination like the BOT (DE) did, there are a bunch of cool ones.

To add to my list:

Flesh Plant for CoC and other horror games

Jotunblood Giant for Grimm and Oathbound

Monsterous Lycanthrope for making all kinds of new werecreatures

Muck Creature because I like 1st ed mudmen and their use in horror games

Seasonal Creature for plants and fey

Clockwork Creature and War Machine for IK

Stone Idol for primitive societies that have a special protector

 

[Jdvn1]

I like the Draconic template from the Draconomicon; I think it gives a lot of bang for your buck (only +1 LA). Plus, I used it for neat roleplaying opportunities.

 

[DMH]

I picked up the two Template Troves and have to add:

TT1

Chemdrake is an alchemically created minor dragon

Couatlan to expand the forces of good serpents

Lenkag to expand the forces of exil serpents (uses an dark naga/lillend cross as a parent)

Skoth as aboleth need more engineered servants

TT2

Blasphemous Terror makes good creatures evil*

Guardscale/spiritscale/waterscale are naga hybrids

Filth ooze and pus ooze are affected by diseases

Starborne are radiation affected mutants caused by meteor impacts

Thorneskin are animals affected by lower planes' energies and reminds me of Warcraft 3

But out of both books, there are two I don't like- the rotscale is a primitive lizardman and the Hobart's greyman is a zombie with an ooze controller.

* The Avatar's Handbook from Green Ronin has a template for making evil creatures good. It would be an interesting encounter with both types.

And from Visions- Stitches

Awakened Man is Frankenstein's creation (the book)

The Unstoppable Killer has real potential for CoC. I think many of the creatures in it should have it.

 

[Psion]

I got advanced bestiary since this zombie of a thread started, so I'll add my selections form it:

Amalgam - very versatile

Creature Swarm - you see this swarm of gecko-like creatures. With little wings. They look almost dragonlike...

Four Horsemen - Great feel, a whole campaign concept in one template

Lunatic

Quickling

Gigantean

Manimal - furries

Poltergeist

Psychic (though I would have preferred XPH be the standard instead of Psychics Handbook)

Seelie/Unseelie - more detailed treatment of fey ahoy

 

[VirgilCaine]

Skitterhaunt is from a Far Corners of the World article. The Hidden Depths Below: Monsters of the Deep Underdark.

Entomanothrope is from the What's Bugging You? Random Encounter.

Never heard of the other two, and Google turns up nothing on the WotC website.

Bloodstained is from an FR feature, which also has some other neat-o templates in it--along with what I meant to say instead of "Corpsewraith"--Swordwraith. Sorry about that. Don't know what I was thinking then.

Heres the FR feature link: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/pg20011205a

 

[Jolly Giant]

I just loved the Living Spell template in MM3! And the Evloved Undead from LM is great for giving undeads just that little extra something. But the most allround useful ones are the ones from MM, IMHO. They are the "classics"; staples of the fantasy gnre. Some are actually classic creature types in their own right (lich, vampire, lychantrope)! Then there's the "breeds"; half-celestials/dragons/fiends, along with the celestial/fiendish (and also draconic, from Draconomicon), all of which says Classic Fantasy to me!

Edit: Almost forget about Savage Species! It's not a very good book, IMHO, but there are some very cool templates in it. Only two days ago I had loads of fun making a feral, two-headed lizardfolk barbarian...

 

[Woas]

How do Living Spells work? Someone was explaining them to me and they seemed pretty neat.

Back on track: I love Spellstitched. Really throws players off when they run into zombies and stuff casting spells at them. Hehehe

And actually I'm a big fan of the Half-Celestial/Dragon/Fiend in the normal MM 3.5. They are basic enough to add just the right about of twist to the situation.

 

[Stone Angel]

I like the following

Spellstitched
Death Knight
Gelatinous
Saint (as overpowered as it may be)
Taurian
and my favorite the Half Elemental


The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I go off on a template kick every now and again, as a result I have a binder full of templated stuff....

Current favorites (not including the Monster Manual):
Half Fey (Fiend Folio)
Fallen Angel (Book of Templates DE)
War Angel (ditto)
Elder Beast (ditto)
Enchanted (ditto)
Fey Kissed (ditto)
Redeemed Fiend (ditto)
Ghoul (diito)
Gigantic (ditto)
Half Sidhe (ditto)
Paleo-Skeleton (ditto)
Mechanized (Steam & Steel)
Steamwork Liche (ditto)
Iron Liche (Monsternomicon)
Fae (At the Edge of Dreams)
Greater Fey (The Pumpkin Patch)

Mind you these are the ones currently living in my 'Nasty Things to Inflict on the PCs' binder, which is to say creatures with the templates waiting for use in game. If I bothered applying the template then it is fair to say that I liked it!

The Auld Grump