What are the best designed monsters in D&D3e/PF ?

wotmaniac · Post by **wotmaniac** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:22 am

@ OP:
Some (not-yet-mentioned) that I've had remarkable experience with:
- Bulette
- Greenvise (3.x MM2) (despite the picture provoking images of Little Shop of Horrors)
-- hell, for that matter, I've had surprising success with all manner of Plant creatures .... I sometimes don't really get it, but I'm not gonna argue with it.
- all manner of Swarms (to include the Mob template from DMG2, especially if used with creatures that have some sort of special attack)

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:01 am

There was an MS-DOS D&D game I played, I went the wrong way and everyone was eaten by bulettes. I have a fear of those

... Dex 15? Dang, I didn't know bulettes were AS AGILE AS HOUSE CATS

... and they don't eat elves. They only attack to eat things so... an elf community could just have bulettes wandering around no? Or maybe Drow can tame 'em.

Yeah, all monster manuals should use that format that you linked, it's lovable.

wotmaniac · Post by **wotmaniac** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:07 am

OgreBattle wrote: Yeah, all monster manuals should use that format that you linked, it's lovable.

agreed.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:56 am

I really like Kytons. The chains (and Dancing Chains)...I dunno. It just works for me.

I also once found this thing called a Black Stag...let's see if I can find it...

Black Stag

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:13 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Never found a DM wanting to let me play that though.

I'd allow it. I allowed Lassie the Hellhound before. Mostly it was looking for a Wizard with ImpFamiliar in order to become a Familiar and thus be allowed to spend all time lying in front of the fire.

Fuchs · Post by **Fuchs** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:30 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:I had a similar idea of playing an awakened warhorse paladin with leadership and a cohort paladin riding me around. Never found a DM wanting to let me play that though.

In one of our campaigns where we had a paladin with low intelligence and a bonded mount with rising intelligence (thanks to leveling up), we used to joke about "telling the paladin to call her mount for the planning session" and "to not bother the horse when it was thinking and just do her smite thing when it told her to". Good times.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:42 pm

A friend of mine once played an awakened baby alligator (used lizard stats) wizard who had a commoner as his familiar (who thought he was the wizard.)

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:09 pm

man, I want to play an Awakened Animal campaign now.

How do levels work with awakened animals? Do they use CR as LA?
Or just say fuck it and not care like it's RIFTS

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/baboon.htm

As a baboon with CR1/2 I am stronger than an orc, more agile than an elf, as tough as a dwarf, and wiser than them all, faster too

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/octopus.htm
Damn, Octopus are AWESOME ROGUES as expected. All of its powers like jetting 200ft or ink cloud also dont require water to function
...he just needs some way to breath on land

codeGlaze · Post by **codeGlaze** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:46 pm

wotmaniac wrote:@ OP:
Some (not-yet-mentioned) that I've had remarkable experience with:
- Bulette

I second the Bulette.
I also second that the write-up you linked is awesome!

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:42 pm

When I run Bulettes, I give them the ability to speak common and re-enact the Jaws 2 skit from SNL in 1974.

Also, that leap ability they have? It's pretty brutal actually.

Edit: Maxus, I have always like the Kytons because of these guys:

Ghremdal · Post by **Ghremdal** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:21 am

I really like the Babau('s). Some outsiders are meh, but these little bastards are fun, easy to use and very very effective. Advance them a bit for even more fun.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:51 pm

Maxus wrote:I really like Kytons. The chains (and Dancing Chains)...I dunno. It just works for me.

I also once found this thing called a Black Stag...let's see if I can find it...

Black Stag

If you're interested, pathfinder expanded them into their own fiendish faction.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monste ... ders/kyton

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:53 pm

codeGlaze wrote: I also second that the write-up you linked is awesome!

Agreed. Did that guy make any similar write-ups of other monsters?

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:09 pm

White dragon
Bloodseeker
Lurking Lizard

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:49 pm

Koumei wrote:
Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Never found a DM wanting to let me play that though.
I'd allow it.

You'd probably regret it. Most DMs don't like it when I play paladins. Also, I get threatened constantly with falling by the DMs I play for.

It seems that most DMs consider offering to parley with random monsters/minions to be disruptive. They also get mad when I offer terms of surrender to overmatched foes. They get REAL mad when I physically stop the other players from slaughtering non-combatants. Most DMs consider my actions to be "fraternizing with evil" and threaten to strip my abilities. Hell, I started an hour long argument when I said I wouldn't start smiting people on the street that pinged on evil-dar if they weren't doing anything evil at the time.

Almaz · Post by **Almaz** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 7:59 pm

I actually have had one occasion of someone fucking up the party by assuming that position. They drew us out to parley, costing us the advantage of surprise, and putting us in a further disadvantageous position, and then lost interest and didn't follow up with the negotiations. I've never been as fond of people who want to negotiate with the enemy after that. Terms of surrender to defeated foes instead of killing them outright is common, though, in my groups, though it is almost jokingly called the "yuri clause" because it is 10 times more likely to be invoked if the enemy is vaguely female. Even if it's really a mimic that happens to imitate girlish attributes.

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:07 pm

See, I always assume a female in D&D is likely to kill/enslave me, because that's what 99% of female monsters do.

Almaz · Post by **Almaz** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:10 pm

Well, the enslavement option can work out pretty OK. If you were a leather-wearing rogue anyways, you don't even have to change your outfit!

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:00 pm

codeGlaze wrote:
wotmaniac wrote:@ OP:
Some (not-yet-mentioned) that I've had remarkable experience with:
- Bulette
I second the Bulette.
I also second that the write-up you linked is awesome!

Very awesome, though I wonder where she got the "don't eat elves" thing, as it's not mentioned in the MM.

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:See, I always assume a female in D&D is likely to kill/enslave me, because that's what 99% of female monsters do (to me).

Fixed that for you, Count.

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:45 pm

Not true. Before I relocated I was a hag to a lesbian couple. They were pretty good to me.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:50 pm

Huh.

Well you never talk about them, only the various terrible people you've dated.

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:39 pm

I associate with many people in real life that I don't talk about here.

Emerald · Post by **Emerald** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:45 am

Prak_Anima wrote:Very awesome, though I wonder where she got the "don't eat elves" thing, as it's not mentioned in the MM.

Actually, it is, first paragraph under Combat:

MM p.30 wrote:A bulette attacks anything it regards as edible, choosing the easiest or closest prey first. The only creatures it refuses to eat are elves (and it dislikes the taste of dwarves).

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 5:32 am

Oh, huh. I missed that.

wotmaniac · Post by **wotmaniac** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 3:44 pm

RobbyPants wrote:
codeGlaze wrote: I also second that the write-up you linked is awesome!
Agreed. Did that guy make any similar write-ups of other monsters?

not that I've been able to find, sadly.

though, I'll make sure to let y'all know if I ever run across anything.