Hello everyone! My group has been playing for many years and we've fought a lot of different enemies. I'm trying to keep it spicy and new by throwing monsters at my party that don't get used often. I don't have to worry about meta-gaming cause my players are awesome but I know it's fun for them to fight something new and unusual.
So any recommendations of an underrated/interesting monsters that often get overlooked? Nothing is off the table! Also if you're curious, in the past we've mainly fought against aberrations, monstrosities, and dragons. We've also used 3rd party monster manuals occasionally. Thanks in advance! :)
Basically a bunch of normal no level Kobolds carve out a cave into a death trap. Every room has several murder holes. Players start getting hit by poison darts. Takes a while to figure out it is not traps, but instead monsters that on their turn:
Pop from Total cover to 3/4 cover with Concealment
Make a single attack
Return to Total Cover
The only way to attack them is to ready an action to attack when you see someone. You need to make a perception check then attack.
Also kobolds, but in the past I've reskinned the ogre variants from MToF as huge, wooden mechs piloted by kobolds. Especially the ogre howdah, it's perfect for it. Just generally reskinning one thing as another is really fun. For example, an elemental as an animated spell(or just an animated spell as an animated spell, thanks eberron). Honestly any sort of celestial, they rarely get use. And blights/gulthias trees. Perhaps you could reskin a treant or animated tree as a gulthias tree. The list goes on, there's a lot of rarely used things in D&D which are really cool.
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"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
I will never not suggest Star Spawn as an enemy. They are strange, and use weird tactics that players might not expect. For example, Star Spawn Hulk absorbs psychic damage and reflects it onto enemies, so the star spawn can target it with psychic attacks and they turn into aoe's.
I have to say, commoners are supremely underrated. The sheer versatility and powerful attacks...their sturdy hit point maximum of 4....their often unexpected actions (such as throwing fish or cantaloupes at the enemy; who would of thought that could be effective, am I right?! )....
Yes, the commoner is a lethal threat, even for the most well read of players.
If your players enjoy investigation and social interaction as well as combat, a Rakshasa is always a good choice. They work best as a mastermind behind the scenes, subtly pulling the strings. Of course, they can't be affected by spells lower than 7th level, so you'll have to pull them out when your characters are at least 13th level, so your spellcasters don't feel left out.
Also, other than their limited spell immunity, Rakshasas are pretty weak in combat, so you'll probably want to give them some minions. If you don't want to do that, there's also the Greater Rakshasa from the Creature Codex (which also has some unique creatures you might be interested in, imho)
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My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!
One thing I did as a mental exercise was creating an alphabet of encounters: just one encounter for monsters A-Z, all at about the right difficulty for level 4-5 characters (if I ran it, I would have the PCs be trapped in a titan's learning tool, with three days to clear). Some of it will of course be ordinary, but it forces you to stretch your usuals. My alphabet was:
plants in general seem to be overlooked. gas spore
Yes. This. Plants, plants, plants. They are everywhere, normally benign, and easily overlooked. Any excursion into a forest, especially, as the "monster" plants can typically be so hidden among ordinary plants they are practically invisible. Some are planted stationary with 0 movement, some can actually move/walk. They are underrepresented in terms of numbers of official plant monster state blocks, but your own imagination can turn any plant into something wicked. Think shooting barbs or thorns (poison, stun, incapacitate), man eating giant venus traps, quick strangling vines, or even some sort of giant magical weeping willow type tree that is passive but if you sleep underneath it it is nearly impossible to wake up (super charmed) and if someone does manage to drag the perpetual sleeping Beauty outside the zone of the willow the willow can use a 4 limbed multiattack to slam the adventurers...
Plants are awesome, I've included them into encounters before, great success, and can be a big surprise for a party otherwise not expecting such predicaments.
FIRST OF ALL! I recommend that you read this blog. The author looks at the stat blocks and lore of each creature and determines ACTUAL tactics for the creature. Whether the monster IS a brainless oaf who just attacks anyone in sight, or hit and run or what name you. A GREAT read:
2nd, the above mentioned kobold tactic is actually referred as "Tucker's Kobolds". After the DM who started the tactic. Googling that term may give you actual examples to use.
Third, check out Tomb of Annihilation. Specifically just wandering in Chult. I had my group make a pit stop there for a specific dungeon but had them wander the jungles to get back and forth. OH EM GEE!! I don't say that EVER but holy cow. How expansive and stunning and magnificent Chult is. First off, the city, Port Naranzaryu is a stunning port city that has tons of exotic citizens, humans, minotaurs, orcs, etc you can take your players to exotic stalls with never before food, drink and merchandise and work dinosaurs!! How crazy it is to describe a merchant passing through and then a MASSIVE triceratops wheels the little gnome's cart. Not to mention DINOSAUR RACES!!! A very fun side activity that your group can either bet on or even participate in.
Now getting into the dangers of the jungles of Chult. Oh my. You can make an entire adventure on just WANDERING the jungles. You have evil Yuan-Ti cities, a small of town of 7 foot tal evil birds - Eblis, tribal goblins who wear masks and stack up on each other like they're trying to sneak into a movie, man-eating plants, zombie turning plants, little sprites called Chwingas that can either bless or curse your party depending on how they treat it, flail snails, grungs, firenewts. and this is only the tip of the iceberg of what is Chult.
You might also try to play your intelligent monsters differently from before. Noxx mentioned themonstersknow.com and it's a good starting point. Also look into the Volo's Guide to Monsters and consider scenarios were the monsters would be the doing to opposite of what the party expects. Another good website for inspiration on this kind of thing is the webcomic Rusty and Co. The writer knows how to give the monsters personality. Lastly, has your party ventured into any of the elemental planes yet?
"Mites are vexing fey creatures that delight in causing minor havoc and playing irritating pranks, making even the coolest, most experienced adventurers prone to outbursts of destructive frustration. When mites are about, even the simplest task can turn into a disaster, and a mild disagreement can quickly become a brawl."
Hello everyone! My group has been playing for many years and we've fought a lot of different enemies. I'm trying to keep it spicy and new by throwing monsters at my party that don't get used often. I don't have to worry about meta-gaming cause my players are awesome but I know it's fun for them to fight something new and unusual.
So any recommendations of an underrated/interesting monsters that often get overlooked? Nothing is off the table! Also if you're curious, in the past we've mainly fought against aberrations, monstrosities, and dragons. We've also used 3rd party monster manuals occasionally. Thanks in advance! :)
Have you ever done the Killer Kobold scenario?
Basically a bunch of normal no level Kobolds carve out a cave into a death trap. Every room has several murder holes. Players start getting hit by poison darts. Takes a while to figure out it is not traps, but instead monsters that on their turn:
The only way to attack them is to ready an action to attack when you see someone. You need to make a perception check then attack.
Also kobolds, but in the past I've reskinned the ogre variants from MToF as huge, wooden mechs piloted by kobolds. Especially the ogre howdah, it's perfect for it. Just generally reskinning one thing as another is really fun. For example, an elemental as an animated spell(or just an animated spell as an animated spell, thanks eberron). Honestly any sort of celestial, they rarely get use. And blights/gulthias trees. Perhaps you could reskin a treant or animated tree as a gulthias tree. The list goes on, there's a lot of rarely used things in D&D which are really cool.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
I will never not suggest Star Spawn as an enemy. They are strange, and use weird tactics that players might not expect. For example, Star Spawn Hulk absorbs psychic damage and reflects it onto enemies, so the star spawn can target it with psychic attacks and they turn into aoe's.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I have to say, commoners are supremely underrated. The sheer versatility and powerful attacks...their sturdy hit point maximum of 4....their often unexpected actions (such as throwing fish or cantaloupes at the enemy; who would of thought that could be effective, am I right?! )....
Yes, the commoner is a lethal threat, even for the most well read of players.
Hi there! I'm a Christian musician based in Canada :)
Not sure if these are overlooked or not but I like them.
Phase Spider
Eigeron’s Spirit
plants in general seem to be overlooked.
gas spore
If your players enjoy investigation and social interaction as well as combat, a Rakshasa is always a good choice. They work best as a mastermind behind the scenes, subtly pulling the strings. Of course, they can't be affected by spells lower than 7th level, so you'll have to pull them out when your characters are at least 13th level, so your spellcasters don't feel left out.
Also, other than their limited spell immunity, Rakshasas are pretty weak in combat, so you'll probably want to give them some minions. If you don't want to do that, there's also the Greater Rakshasa from the Creature Codex (which also has some unique creatures you might be interested in, imho)
My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!
- Smaug, The Hobbit
One thing I did as a mental exercise was creating an alphabet of encounters: just one encounter for monsters A-Z, all at about the right difficulty for level 4-5 characters (if I ran it, I would have the PCs be trapped in a titan's learning tool, with three days to clear). Some of it will of course be ordinary, but it forces you to stretch your usuals. My alphabet was:
Yes. This. Plants, plants, plants. They are everywhere, normally benign, and easily overlooked. Any excursion into a forest, especially, as the "monster" plants can typically be so hidden among ordinary plants they are practically invisible. Some are planted stationary with 0 movement, some can actually move/walk. They are underrepresented in terms of numbers of official plant monster state blocks, but your own imagination can turn any plant into something wicked. Think shooting barbs or thorns (poison, stun, incapacitate), man eating giant venus traps, quick strangling vines, or even some sort of giant magical weeping willow type tree that is passive but if you sleep underneath it it is nearly impossible to wake up (super charmed) and if someone does manage to drag the perpetual sleeping Beauty outside the zone of the willow the willow can use a 4 limbed multiattack to slam the adventurers...
Plants are awesome, I've included them into encounters before, great success, and can be a big surprise for a party otherwise not expecting such predicaments.
Boldly go
All such awesome ideas guys, thanks so much!!!
One of my favorite monsters is the Rot Grub. You can introduce them anywhere there are dead bodies, and they punch above their weight class...
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
Swarm of Rot Grubs; the easiest way to get to a twentieth-level character's heart.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
FIRST OF ALL! I recommend that you read this blog. The author looks at the stat blocks and lore of each creature and determines ACTUAL tactics for the creature. Whether the monster IS a brainless oaf who just attacks anyone in sight, or hit and run or what name you. A GREAT read:
https://www.themonstersknow.com/
2nd, the above mentioned kobold tactic is actually referred as "Tucker's Kobolds". After the DM who started the tactic. Googling that term may give you actual examples to use.
Third, check out Tomb of Annihilation. Specifically just wandering in Chult. I had my group make a pit stop there for a specific dungeon but had them wander the jungles to get back and forth. OH EM GEE!! I don't say that EVER but holy cow. How expansive and stunning and magnificent Chult is. First off, the city, Port Naranzaryu is a stunning port city that has tons of exotic citizens, humans, minotaurs, orcs, etc you can take your players to exotic stalls with never before food, drink and merchandise and work dinosaurs!! How crazy it is to describe a merchant passing through and then a MASSIVE triceratops wheels the little gnome's cart. Not to mention DINOSAUR RACES!!! A very fun side activity that your group can either bet on or even participate in.
Now getting into the dangers of the jungles of Chult. Oh my. You can make an entire adventure on just WANDERING the jungles. You have evil Yuan-Ti cities, a small of town of 7 foot tal evil birds - Eblis, tribal goblins who wear masks and stack up on each other like they're trying to sneak into a movie, man-eating plants, zombie turning plants, little sprites called Chwingas that can either bless or curse your party depending on how they treat it, flail snails, grungs, firenewts. and this is only the tip of the iceberg of what is Chult.
You might also try to play your intelligent monsters differently from before. Noxx mentioned themonstersknow.com and it's a good starting point. Also look into the Volo's Guide to Monsters and consider scenarios were the monsters would be the doing to opposite of what the party expects. Another good website for inspiration on this kind of thing is the webcomic Rusty and Co. The writer knows how to give the monsters personality. Lastly, has your party ventured into any of the elemental planes yet?
some of the ones in fiend folio like the mite.
"Mites are vexing fey creatures that delight in causing minor havoc and playing irritating pranks, making even the coolest, most experienced adventurers prone to outbursts of destructive frustration. When mites are about, even the simplest task can turn into a disaster, and a mild disagreement can quickly become a brawl."
assassin bug and jermlaine could be a couple other fun ones.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks