I'm writing a campaign that takes place near a desert and I thought I should ask here if anyone knows of any desert dwelling monster, I know about the Tlincalli, so anything else?
Desert environments can be vast and varied and can change drastically based on the time of year. If your campaign enters the rainy season, especially near a major river, then the sorts of creatures will change drastically for awhile. Also consider what might be around an oasis, or rivers, or other bodies of water. Consider, too, what sorts of creatures people may have tried to bring in (a la drug overlords buying bears and tigers and keeping them as pets), smuggled, or have somehow migrated.
There are different types of desert environments, too. Not all deserts are just sand dunes. There are badlands, arid plains of low-lying shrubs and dry vegetation, cold tundras, and more.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
There is a lot of types of dragons in the desert. The players could be running through the middle of a battle between dragons that is causing the local wildlife to flee and be a little more defensive then normal or just burrowing monsters coming for carrion like a carrion crawlers or ankheg.
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I'm writing a campaign that takes place near a desert and I thought I should ask here if anyone knows of any desert dwelling monster, I know about the Tlincalli, so anything else?
From the crypt...
you can filter monster by environment.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters?filter-type=0&filter-search=&filter-cr-min=&filter-cr-max=&filter-environment=3&filter-armor-class-min=&filter-armor-class-max=&filter-average-hp-min=&filter-average-hp-max=&filter-is-legendary=&filter-has-lair=
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
oh... thanks. I feel dumb.
From the crypt...
Don't be afraid to vary stuff up as well.
Desert environments can be vast and varied and can change drastically based on the time of year. If your campaign enters the rainy season, especially near a major river, then the sorts of creatures will change drastically for awhile. Also consider what might be around an oasis, or rivers, or other bodies of water. Consider, too, what sorts of creatures people may have tried to bring in (a la drug overlords buying bears and tigers and keeping them as pets), smuggled, or have somehow migrated.
There are different types of desert environments, too. Not all deserts are just sand dunes. There are badlands, arid plains of low-lying shrubs and dry vegetation, cold tundras, and more.
But as for stereotypical sandy dunes... One of my favorites is Griffon Saddlebag's Ant Lions. Here's the link to the free map and PDF with three antlion creatures. I've used this myself against my party.
Of course, you could just make up a giant version of most desert monsters (animals) you can learn about on the Internet.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
A Giant Giant Millipede! (Archispirostreptus gigas)
Impressive, but harmless. Probably useful as a caravan... one as the entire caravan.
A Giant Whip Spider/Scorpion! (tail-less - Acanthophrynus coronatus)
Horrible to see. Mostly harmless. Great pets for sultans and tzars that like fierce-looking exotic animals that pose no danger to them.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
There is a lot of types of dragons in the desert. The players could be running through the middle of a battle between dragons that is causing the local wildlife to flee and be a little more defensive then normal or just burrowing monsters coming for carrion like a carrion crawlers or ankheg.