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Question of the Week: What’s your favorite monster?

It's a tough choice for me.

As soon as I got my hands on D1-D2: Descent Into the Depths of the Earth and those mind flayers, I was hooked on those critters.

But my all-time favourite monster is the beholder. Maybe because I had to start wearing glasses when I was a kid. :)

Beholders could fly, were intelligent, could speak and roleplay, were smart, and had multiple killer attacks. It was like the best killer attack from other awesome creatures all rolled into one, pun intended.

This weekend I'm going to dust of D1-D2. I might add it to my Terror in the Badlands campaign. And, add a beholder. :)
 
I played in a game once with an intelligent gelatinous cube with telepathy. He became a wonderful ally, but his 10' move caused constant logistic problems.

The GM roleplayed him well as a friendly, good-hearted, kinda-dumb, always hungry critter. I wish I could remember his name.
 
Beholders are cool. They've always held a special place in my heart too. But there are so many other cool ones to choose from.

I am really fond of monsters that can operate behind the scenes, manipulating others. Staying out of sight, making part of the adventure unveiling them. Beholders, Mind Flayers, Vampires, Aboleths, Deepspawns

But one of my classic favorites is the rust monster. Not particularly deadly in itself, but wiping out half the players equipment before a more powerful battle is priceless.
I play by AD&D 2nd edition rules, not sure how this monster works in newer editions, but in old versions, even magic equipment had a huge chance of being destroyed.
 
Siege Crabs (no idea whether they exist in editions other than D&D 3.5). I've always been a fan of using giant animals instead of siege engines.
My only campaign that ever got to its planned end had the Big Bad pilot an experimental improved Mk.2 Siege Crab for the final battle, seeing as the PCs were a bit too advanced for the standard version (and who uses completely premade final bosses anyway?).
 
@Monsen I remember that now! Rust monsters were greatly feared. And so was their spiritual successor, the Disenchanter magic-eating monster. Was that Fiend Folio or MMII?
 
The Disenchanter is from the 1st edition Fiend Folio.
In second edition it appeared in Pages from the Mages and Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol 3.


The siege crab was an interesting idea. Think I need to try it too.
 
remember the "creature catalog" from regular DnD, it was a green book softcover. It had a juggernaught, a stone house on wheels with a ram and it just ran around running people over and the stone hut was filled with loot. That has always stayed with me, i dont have the creature catalogue anymore tho :(
 
Dr. Who (despite its limited production value) is an almost endless source of amazing creatures:
  • The Silence: Mindcontrolling, creepy creatures that you forget once they are out of sight. Turn your head away from them and you are scared but don't know why and feel like doing some very unusual things... (in my adaption I made them Demons called "Targoroth")
  • Vashta Nerada: Barely visible specs of dust that literally only live in shadows nd can strip off the flesh of careless wanderers piranha-style. The catch: Before they eat their prey, they follow it around for a while in the form of a perfect second shadow to your regular one. Makes players crazy paranoid. Also, they probably have one of the most beautiful names of any monster out there.
  • The weeping angels: Creatures with superhuman speed that can only move if you are not looking at them. Otherwise they are invincible stone statues. Don't blink...
 
Do you know the saying: „Tell me what monsters you like, and I will tell you what kind of game you run“?

I think your choice of monsters determines your style and tone of game.

Let‘s hear your most favorite monsters.
Here are mine (in no specific order and mostly linked to insightful videos by MrRhexx):

My Two Absolute Favorites:

Goblins & Thri-Kreens

My Other Favorites:

Those from Athas (Dark Sun setting)Ankheks, Otyughs (and Xorn), So-Ut (Rampagers), Sligs (like a mix between Slaads and Goblins), Dune Reapers (like giant mantis), Mastyrial (like giant Scorpions), Gaj (tentacled insects), Gith, Ssuran (like Lizardfolk), Dray (Dragonborn), Tari (like Skaven), Cloud Rays, Drakes, Id Fiend (like a gila monster), Megapede, the Nightmare Beast (like the Tarrasque), Psurlons (like a mix between alien and a siltworm), Silk wyrm, Crystal Spyder, Silt Horrors (like a giant tentacled maw below the sands), Clathrang (a predator in disguise as a bamboo grove), Sand Cactus, Silt Runners (like reptilian goblins), Tarek (like Orks), Zezir (like raptors), Crodlu (like a beaked raptor), and Kank (like giant ants)
The Cave DwellersTrolls, Bugbears, Umber Hulks, Bulettes, Purple Worms, Flail Snails, Flinds, Gnolls, Ettins
The Denizens of the UnderdarkDrow, Drider, Beholder (also Beholder-kin, and how to GM Beholders)
The AncientAboleths, Kraken, The Tarrasque
The TravelersIllithids (also known as Mind Flayers or Time travellers), Githyanki, Githzerai, Slaads
The UndeadSkeletons, Lichs, Zombies, Intellect Devourers
The Small and NumerousSkaven, Kobolds
The FormlessSlime, Gelatinous Cubes, Puddings, Mimics
The ScalyNaga, Yuan-ti, Lizardfolk, Sahuagin
The InsectoidKikimore
Among the CivilizedGreen Hags, Night Hags, Vampires
The ScalyBehirs


My non-D&D Favorites:

ShadowrunBarghests, Devil Rats, Ghouls, Hell Hounds, Vampires, Proteans (Slime), Spirits
 
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Xenomorphs from ALIEN, and Spectrals from Living Steel

EDIT: And yes, I have stats for the xenos in D&D as well. Need to spice up Expedition to the Barrier Peaks? Gotcha covered...
 
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As I printed a Land Shark (Bulette) recently: Land Shark :)

For Sci-Fi, I liked the spidery bugs of the Starship Troopers movie.
And sometimes, Dinosaurs are just cool, especially Raptors.
 
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