Hey everyone! Last week I started my Dungeons & Dragons sessions. While I was running the meet, I told and ran my campaign through an orc battle, it occured to me that the orc is one of the most common monsters in D&D, with dragons, owlbears, mimics, and gelatinous cubes following along and close behind them. However, Dungeons & Dragons is a game with a lot of diverse and therefore, has a lot of underrated monsters. So today, I’ll be telling you about all of my favorite monsters in this beloved RPG.
10. Weretigers Get Barely Any Attention
The lycanthropes in D&D have a lot of attention on them, mostly the werewolf in general. The classic “bitten by an animal during a full moon and getting powers for that” is very familiar by others. Dungeons and Dragons have also added more monsters like the werewolf. Werebears, wereboars and wererats are part of that mix. Weretigers, on the other hand, are also part of the mix, but I feel like that they get less attention than their other shapeshifting cousins. Weretigers are solitary creatures by nature. They rarely spread their curse, because other weretigers mean competition over prey, which they do not want. They usually have a neutral alignment, but like other lycanthropes, they can be evil as black dragons or as good as a silver one.
9. Yochlols are Terrifying Demons/Shapeshifters
Demons are a very popular group of monster in D&D. They might have been the reason that the RPG was considered “satanic” in the olden days. But to this day, demons are still very popular in D&D, and many of them are very powerful (the quasit is an exception, with the dretch) to be feared by players. One of these demons, however is feared a good amount but is ignored by players and fans. Yochlols are demons that serve the spider goddess Lolth (why is every evil deity always a girl?). They are shapeshifters that usually that the form of a giant spider or (to make matters worse or creepier) a female human or (more commonly) an elf (which is usually a drow). But their true form is a human sized pillar of yellow goo with a single red eye. These demons are a challenge to battle, are very good at deception, and are bad to the bone. That’s a demon for you!
8. Tarrasques are Hilariously Overpowered
When a person asks a D&D fan the question “What is the worst monster in D&D?”, many people think about various monsters and beasts. However, no matter how wise a gold dragon is, no matter how many spells a lich learns during his/her lifetime, no monster alive in the Material Plane can top off the leaderboard like the tarrasque. Tarrasques are larger than life monsters that live in a deep slumber underground. Even though empyreans are the children of the gods and have strength that give it a Challenge Rating of 23, tarrasques are officially the toughest monster to beat with a Challenge Rating of 30! It doesn’t stop there though, they have a very high Constitution stat and have a very strong… well, Strength stat! Many DMs and players alike make fun of (while also fearing) the tarrasque’s strength and overpowered godlikeness. They aren’t the smartest of all monsters though…
7. Medusae Are A Favorite in D&D and Greek Mythology
Out of the many things in D&D that has bases from mythology (like harpies and frost giants (I’m looking at you, Loki fans!), medusas are loosely based on the Medusa from Greek Mythology, who (in the myth) was a gorgon. In D&D, however, medusae and gorgons are two different species. Like the original Medusa, medusas in D&D are cursed humans. But these ones wanted eternal beauty. Their wish did come true, but with a price, which was after a few years they would grow snake hair and get a petrifying gaze. This version of Medusa also can be both male and female. This monster is very popular among fans and people really want medusae to be playable characters someday!
6. Arcanaloths Are What Every Wizard Wishes to Be
There are many skilled magic users in D&D, including Mordenkainen and others. But one of the most skilled magic users in this role playing game isn’t even a humanoid. In fact, it is a fiend called an arcanaloth. These monsters are from a larger branch of monsters called yugoloths. They live in the lower planes of Acheron, Gehenna, Hades and Carceri. They usually work as mercenaries, but their alignment is neutral evil by default. Arcanaloths are jackal-like bipeds that dress in cloaks. Don’t let their fiendishness fool you though, these magic-users know every language and (as their name kinda gives away), can learn many arcane magic. Another thing that is a bit hypocritical about these furry fiends is that they can disguise themselves to look lie other humanoids, but also can see through disguises (in expert words: they have truesight). Lastly, despite their lack of wings, arcanaloths can fly! But their flying speed is slower than a stirge’s flying speed… and that’s saying a lot.
PHEW. That was a long one! See you guys next week for part 2!
– Nova Subedi