The Context: I'm working on some Kaiju for a homebrew world that's loosely based around the Faerun setting. In my world most of these creatures are leftovers from the Dawn War. They're titanic magical beasts that served as shock troops against the Primordials and many of them perished during the war itself. Other kaiju are planar horrors from places such as the Abyss or the Far Realm that either somehow traveled to the prime material plane for their own purpose or were so vile that even the overlords of these realms could not stand their presence and thus cast them out. All of these Kaiju are ancient, powerful and above all hidden in the world, slumbering away in subterranean caves, deep forests, ocean depths or even other planes. Most people would never know they exist and their existence in most places are quickly dismissed as local legends or tall tales by the tavern patrons.
The Question: I was heavily inspired by Dragon Magazine #289 (pgs. 67-75) and have spent a bit of time converting one of the creatures (Gareshona, A massive Bulette-like kaiju) into 5e. However, I was relatively unsatisfied with the other two examples from this magazine and I'm looking for a handful of classic/iconic D&D monsters are unique and would really be interesting candidates for "Kaijufication" ( for example, I already have an idea for an Owlbear that has plant/nature abilities and a Displacer Beast with Psionic Abilities). Unfortunately I'm finding a bit of struggle adding more creatures at the moment. So I'm asking the community for some help with brainstorming/spitballing some ideas for the following:
-A flying magical beast (that is not a dragon or a roc)
-an Abberation (like a Beholder or Elder Brain)
-a Fiend
-an Undead
What are some iconic D&D creatures that could fill this role? What would their origins be? What would their personalities be like? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated and I'd love to see what you guys can come up with!
Disclaimer: This is for personal use only, any ideas on here will not be published, advertised, or used for any monetary gain. Credit(s) will be given in the event anything is publicly released such as the publication of a statblock on DNDBeyond.com for free.
Well, if you're using older editions as sources in the first place, I recommend a Nightcrawler as an undead kaiju: it's basically an undead Purple Worm.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The mimic comes immediately to mind. There have been giant versions of mimics published here and there: I'm sure there's an article or two in the Dragon archive with some suggestions on running big ol' mimics. The one I vaguely recall focused on using the mimic as a building/trap, but you can have it be more active and stompy, smashing towns, capturing a bunch of innocents, transforming into a building or whatnot to digest, then moving on to another feeding.
Consider the poor flumph. A harmless, benevolent, and somewhat silly creature, but terrifying on a grand scale. It hangs over the city, blasts of hurricane-force winds roaring out from beneath it while every evil thought in the area is broadcast into all nearby minds, all at once. It's not malevolent, just lost, confused, and upset - but very difficult to approach.
A big enough elemental is basically a natural disaster the PCs can hit with a sword. This could be a young elemental, kicking over cities like anthills, or an animal-intelligence elemental with the magical equivalent of rabies, or perhaps just a guy with a grudge.
Want to go absolutely bonkers? What's the most iconic monster? That's right - I'm suggesting a kaiju dragon. A mountain-shaking roar in the distance. The wind picks up, buffeted by wings that could cover small towns, soon bending strong trees. The sun goes dark as a shadow spreads across the land. It comes.
If you are going classic D&D monsters, it is important to make sure you add some of the incredibly goofy monsters you’ll find throughout this game’s editions. A Babe the Big Blue Ox (from American folklore) sized Stench Kow. Flail Snails. Thought Eaters (which sound scary, but look like an emaciated platypus), etc. There’s a whole lot of incredibly silly, “how did this even get made”, and utterly delightful classic D&D monsters which would be exceptionally ridiculous at large scales. D&D is a campy game - lean into it!
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t plug the Gelatinous Cube - one of D&D’s most iconic monsters. A city block sized cube moving its acidic body at a snail’s pace through a city would be both amusing and horrifying at the same time.
for the classic unstoppable monster vibe, I think a Rust Monster would be a good Kaiju. Everywhere they go, nails rust and buildings collapse. Weapons crumble to nothing.
a Basilisk would be pretty cool too, as would a Frost Salamander.
I mean, you have a dragon turtle right there; it's practically already a kaiju. What CR are you looking to have them? Or are they less of a combat-met monster and more of a story driven thing?
An otyugh would be great for the classic alien tentacled monster. Aboleths or froghemoths could be scaled up to be massive water-dwelling kaiju too.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
I mean, you have a dragon turtle right there; it's practically already a kaiju. What CR are you looking to have them? Or are they less of a combat-met monster and more of a story driven thing?
An otyugh would be great for the classic alien tentacled monster. Aboleths or froghemoths could be scaled up to be massive water-dwelling kaiju too.
The highest is a CR 28. Each creature's CR is probably going to be different. Gareshona is the highest CR atm at CR 28 and is the strongest right now. Based on whatever happens in my world they can awaken from their slumber and become adversaries or even allies to a party.
I definitely think an Aboleth will be a great addition. I'm trying to avoid dragons in general since Fizban's has made Greatwyrms into massive powerful dragons and going by the art they seem very much Kaiju-Sized as they are. Most of these monsters are going to be anywhere from 30m to 50m tall.
I definitely think a Rust Monster would be cool. I also love the idea of a giant magical rust monster that was designed to eat magic weapons used by powerful beings. Seems like a devious weapon and a terrifying creature to have unleashed on the world since most conventional weapons wouldn't be able to harm it.
I definitely think a Rust Monster would be cool. I also love the idea of a giant magical rust monster that was designed to eat magic weapons used by powerful beings. Seems like a devious weapon and a terrifying creature to have unleashed on the world since most conventional weapons wouldn't be able to harm it.
Make a gigantic animated armor, over 60 ft tall, called the Walking Colossus. It's so huge that it cannot grapple or shove, and when it is knocked prone, it is stunned for a round before finally actually falling prone. It must use an action to stand up, not just movement. It is also immune to being grappled. Make it fail DEX saves and succeed on STR saves automatically.
Also, give it a colossal longsword that's so large it's not even counted as a melee attack. It creates an area of effect in the shape of a line, centered at the Walking Colossus' feet, 60 ft long and 20 ft wide. It forces creatures and objects caught in the line to make a DEX save or take a bunch of bludgeoning and thunder damage. Yes, bludgeoning damage. It's such a devastating attack that the sword itself is nowhere near as dangerous as the ground it rips up. Give that attack a cooldown, but don't give it any other attacks it can make in the meantime. Say that it is so sluggish it physically cannot reliably attack every round.
Is there a reason the Tarrasque hasn't entered the chat?
I remember AD&D, maybe one of the Monster Manuals, but it also might have been the Legend and Lore book (since that one was basically the book of appropriation), had an entry for gargantuans or something to that effect, and then a set of example stat blocks where they were basically talking about something like King Kong, something like Godzilla, and I forget the third.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you want some Dinosaurs then take a peek at Planeshift: Ixalan (pdf available here: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Plane_Shift) it hast a stat block for some Gargantuan sized beasts/monstisities based on some dinosaurs from the Magic the Gathering CCG.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
I'll second elemental, ooze, and construct. Elder elementals, made even stronger, would work, as would a massive version of any currently existing ooze. The massive construct might need to be stopped from the inside, and would act like a walking dungeon. A huge collection of telekinetic force, like a leveled up poltergeist, would also be fun.
I look forward to seeing the final choices. Good luck with your campaign.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
One of these isn't a classic, but I think it'll look good as a Kaiju.
flying beast - Cloaker (Resides in the center of a ginormous cave system shrouded in eternal magical darkness. Those who are able to Find it are granted ancient knowledge) *I'd use the 4e art*
Aberration - Dream Eater (Used to be a normal Dream Eater, until a super city was built on top of its burrow. It fed on the new residents nightmares and grew more and more powerful. It is not very aggressive, mostly creates illusions to protect itself, but if people see through them, it is willing to fight)
Fiend - Bone Devil (Rests hidden in a mountain of many battles, and deaths. Rumors have it that powerful warlocks gained their powers after exploring this mountain. Will try to persuade enemies to join it before commencing battle. If you survive a battle against them, it's because they wanted you to survive.) *I'd use the 5e art*
Undead - Wraith (A collection of Wraiths fused into one, which forever roams the eternal dark woods, unable to leave due to its vulnerability to light. It is completely willing to attack and kill anything that enters its domain, and will enjoy it.) *I'd use the 4e art*
The Context: I'm working on some Kaiju for a homebrew world that's loosely based around the Faerun setting. In my world most of these creatures are leftovers from the Dawn War. They're titanic magical beasts that served as shock troops against the Primordials and many of them perished during the war itself. Other kaiju are planar horrors from places such as the Abyss or the Far Realm that either somehow traveled to the prime material plane for their own purpose or were so vile that even the overlords of these realms could not stand their presence and thus cast them out. All of these Kaiju are ancient, powerful and above all hidden in the world, slumbering away in subterranean caves, deep forests, ocean depths or even other planes. Most people would never know they exist and their existence in most places are quickly dismissed as local legends or tall tales by the tavern patrons.
The Question: I was heavily inspired by Dragon Magazine #289 (pgs. 67-75) and have spent a bit of time converting one of the creatures (Gareshona, A massive Bulette-like kaiju) into 5e. However, I was relatively unsatisfied with the other two examples from this magazine and I'm looking for a handful of classic/iconic D&D monsters are unique and would really be interesting candidates for "Kaijufication" ( for example, I already have an idea for an Owlbear that has plant/nature abilities and a Displacer Beast with Psionic Abilities). Unfortunately I'm finding a bit of struggle adding more creatures at the moment. So I'm asking the community for some help with brainstorming/spitballing some ideas for the following:
-A flying magical beast (that is not a dragon or a roc)
-an Abberation (like a Beholder or Elder Brain)
-a Fiend
-an Undead
What are some iconic D&D creatures that could fill this role? What would their origins be? What would their personalities be like?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on these. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated and I'd love to see what you guys can come up with!
Disclaimer: This is for personal use only, any ideas on here will not be published, advertised, or used for any monetary gain. Credit(s) will be given in the event anything is publicly released such as the publication of a statblock on DNDBeyond.com for free.
Well, if you're using older editions as sources in the first place, I recommend a Nightcrawler as an undead kaiju: it's basically an undead Purple Worm.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The mimic comes immediately to mind. There have been giant versions of mimics published here and there: I'm sure there's an article or two in the Dragon archive with some suggestions on running big ol' mimics. The one I vaguely recall focused on using the mimic as a building/trap, but you can have it be more active and stompy, smashing towns, capturing a bunch of innocents, transforming into a building or whatnot to digest, then moving on to another feeding.
Consider the poor flumph. A harmless, benevolent, and somewhat silly creature, but terrifying on a grand scale. It hangs over the city, blasts of hurricane-force winds roaring out from beneath it while every evil thought in the area is broadcast into all nearby minds, all at once. It's not malevolent, just lost, confused, and upset - but very difficult to approach.
A big enough elemental is basically a natural disaster the PCs can hit with a sword. This could be a young elemental, kicking over cities like anthills, or an animal-intelligence elemental with the magical equivalent of rabies, or perhaps just a guy with a grudge.
Want to go absolutely bonkers? What's the most iconic monster? That's right - I'm suggesting a kaiju dragon. A mountain-shaking roar in the distance. The wind picks up, buffeted by wings that could cover small towns, soon bending strong trees. The sun goes dark as a shadow spreads across the land. It comes.
If you are going classic D&D monsters, it is important to make sure you add some of the incredibly goofy monsters you’ll find throughout this game’s editions. A Babe the Big Blue Ox (from American folklore) sized Stench Kow. Flail Snails. Thought Eaters (which sound scary, but look like an emaciated platypus), etc. There’s a whole lot of incredibly silly, “how did this even get made”, and utterly delightful classic D&D monsters which would be exceptionally ridiculous at large scales. D&D is a campy game - lean into it!
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t plug the Gelatinous Cube - one of D&D’s most iconic monsters. A city block sized cube moving its acidic body at a snail’s pace through a city would be both amusing and horrifying at the same time.
The 3e Epic Level Handbook had a number of uber-powerful monsters that could be kaiju if made colossal.
for the classic unstoppable monster vibe, I think a Rust Monster would be a good Kaiju. Everywhere they go, nails rust and buildings collapse. Weapons crumble to nothing.
a Basilisk would be pretty cool too, as would a Frost Salamander.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
I mean, you have a dragon turtle right there; it's practically already a kaiju. What CR are you looking to have them? Or are they less of a combat-met monster and more of a story driven thing?
An otyugh would be great for the classic alien tentacled monster. Aboleths or froghemoths could be scaled up to be massive water-dwelling kaiju too.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
The highest is a CR 28. Each creature's CR is probably going to be different. Gareshona is the highest CR atm at CR 28 and is the strongest right now. Based on whatever happens in my world they can awaken from their slumber and become adversaries or even allies to a party.
I definitely think an Aboleth will be a great addition. I'm trying to avoid dragons in general since Fizban's has made Greatwyrms into massive powerful dragons and going by the art they seem very much Kaiju-Sized as they are. Most of these monsters are going to be anywhere from 30m to 50m tall.
I definitely think a Rust Monster would be cool. I also love the idea of a giant magical rust monster that was designed to eat magic weapons used by powerful beings. Seems like a devious weapon and a terrifying creature to have unleashed on the world since most conventional weapons wouldn't be able to harm it.
Make a gigantic animated armor, over 60 ft tall, called the Walking Colossus. It's so huge that it cannot grapple or shove, and when it is knocked prone, it is stunned for a round before finally actually falling prone. It must use an action to stand up, not just movement. It is also immune to being grappled. Make it fail DEX saves and succeed on STR saves automatically.
Also, give it a colossal longsword that's so large it's not even counted as a melee attack. It creates an area of effect in the shape of a line, centered at the Walking Colossus' feet, 60 ft long and 20 ft wide. It forces creatures and objects caught in the line to make a DEX save or take a bunch of bludgeoning and thunder damage. Yes, bludgeoning damage. It's such a devastating attack that the sword itself is nowhere near as dangerous as the ground it rips up. Give that attack a cooldown, but don't give it any other attacks it can make in the meantime. Say that it is so sluggish it physically cannot reliably attack every round.
For a possibly hilarious option, consider a kaiju-Demilich. A floating skull the size of a house.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Now I'm thinking of the Regular Show episode "Just Set Up the Chairs" which featured The End of Days....
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
That sounds awesome! I definitely think I'll add that
Remorhaz, Crimson Death , Nightshades, I think in an urban setting Caryatid Columns
Is there a reason the Tarrasque hasn't entered the chat?
I remember AD&D, maybe one of the Monster Manuals, but it also might have been the Legend and Lore book (since that one was basically the book of appropriation), had an entry for gargantuans or something to that effect, and then a set of example stat blocks where they were basically talking about something like King Kong, something like Godzilla, and I forget the third.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Undead kaiju you say? Consider the Atropal! What’s worse that a giant undead god fetus? An even bigger undead god fetus, that’s what!
The pit fiend is a classic monster that would be awesome and terrifying to see at a kaiju scale.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16979-pit-fiend
If you want some Dinosaurs then take a peek at Planeshift: Ixalan (pdf available here: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Plane_Shift) it hast a stat block for some Gargantuan sized beasts/monstisities based on some dinosaurs from the Magic the Gathering CCG.
I'll second elemental, ooze, and construct. Elder elementals, made even stronger, would work, as would a massive version of any currently existing ooze. The massive construct might need to be stopped from the inside, and would act like a walking dungeon. A huge collection of telekinetic force, like a leveled up poltergeist, would also be fun.
I look forward to seeing the final choices. Good luck with your campaign.
Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote
One of these isn't a classic, but I think it'll look good as a Kaiju.
flying beast - Cloaker (Resides in the center of a ginormous cave system shrouded in eternal magical darkness. Those who are able to Find it are granted ancient knowledge) *I'd use the 4e art*
Aberration - Dream Eater (Used to be a normal Dream Eater, until a super city was built on top of its burrow. It fed on the new residents nightmares and grew more and more powerful. It is not very aggressive, mostly creates illusions to protect itself, but if people see through them, it is willing to fight)
Fiend - Bone Devil (Rests hidden in a mountain of many battles, and deaths. Rumors have it that powerful warlocks gained their powers after exploring this mountain. Will try to persuade enemies to join it before commencing battle. If you survive a battle against them, it's because they wanted you to survive.) *I'd use the 5e art*
Undead - Wraith (A collection of Wraiths fused into one, which forever roams the eternal dark woods, unable to leave due to its vulnerability to light. It is completely willing to attack and kill anything that enters its domain, and will enjoy it.) *I'd use the 4e art*
What do you think of this selection?
MY INFO