Hello everyone! Last week, I shared a collection of cute and creepy monsters in in the beloved roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons! This time, I’m dong a Part Two of that blog, which is also going to be filled with cute and terrifying monsters! Let’s get started!
5. Couatls Are The Only Snakes That Aren’t Evil
In Dungeons & Dragons, there are MANY evil snake-like monsters. From nagas, yuan-tis, fire snakes, salamanders, mariliths, the list goes on! And also almost NONE of them are good aligned and good looking (I’m looking at you, guardian nagas). But, there is one monster that is good-aligned and good-looking, and that is the couatl. Couatls are celestial, winged serpents that are full of intelligence and insight. With their shielded mind (which prevents their mind from being read) and their shapeshifting skills, these benevolent beasts (again, they are actually celestials) have to be one of the cutest and wisest monsters you will ever meet in a campaign. Like arcanaloths, they know all languages and can see through disguises and illusions. Unlike arcanaloths however, they can outfly even the fastest of dragons, similar to how another celestial (the pegasus) can as well. They also will not be affected by physical or psychic damage. So sorry, bards: your Vicious Mockery won’t work on these snek bois n gals.
4. Succubi and Incubi Are So Attractive, They’ll Literally Kill You
I have talked about many fiends in D&D that are my favorites. But in the “almost at the top three but there are better ones” is the succubus/incubus. These fiends are clawed, winged and short-horned “humanoids” with forked tails and vicious souls. Succubi resemble girls while incubi resemble boys. One can change into the other, so that’s why the two are separated with a slash when written about (like this blog!!). No matter what species name they go by, both of these fiends have a clever and dark way of collecting and eating souls. First, the fiend goes into the Ethereal Plane (which is the same as the Material Plane but cannot be altered while you are there) and goes over to a sleeping humanoid, when it then whispers pleasures that tempt the sleeping victim to give into their darkest desires. Then, the fiend goes back into the Material Plane and transforms into a person who had been shown in one of the victim’s previous dreams and seduces/befriends the latter. This makes the victim in control of the fiend, and once the victim’s heart does enough corrupt deeds via the fiend’s control, the succubus/incubus kills the victim with their draining kiss spell and eats their soul. Kinda reminds you of two certain villains, huh? (Hint: One of the villains is from The Powerpuff Girls and the other is from Batman!) Yikes!
Now, time for the top three!
3. Homunculi Are The Literal Definition of “Tiny but Mighty”
If there has to be one monster category that can be made by someone and in probably unstoppable, then it HAS to be constructs. I have to be honest though, constructs are one of my least favorite monster categories (with my second least favorite being undead and overall least favorite being aberrations). But, the reason why constructs aren’t my very least favorite is because of one creature: the homunculus. It is a bat-like construct that serves its master until the very end of its master’s life (in which the homunculus will die too). As constructs, homunculi are made by making a mixture of clay, ash, mandrake roots and spring water (along with a pint of blood from the creator) and then tainting it to create the everlasting companion. They also function in occupations from spy to familiar and are made with a bite that can poison foes. Their only downside is that they only have five hit points and therefore are easy to defeat.
2. Faerie Dragons Are Everything that Kobolds Aren’t
Many people know and love the reptilian kobolds, the latter being aloof, lizard bipeds that hate pranks and worship (usually chromatic) dragons as gods, and have the default alignment “lawful evil”. The faerie dragons, on the other hand, can be considered as the opposite of kobolds. Faerie dragons are cat-sized dragons with butterfly wings. They also change color as they get older. They are very playful and mischievous, but they would never serve the evil, making their default alignment “chaotic good”. The cutest part of these dragons is their personality and attempts to be like true dragons. For example, faerie dragons will usually ask for treasure, but their definition of the latter usually mean sweets or pastries. So if you are stuck in a faerie dragon’s lair and it asks you for “treasure”, just give the wee dragon a lemon cupcake and be on your way!
1. Jackalweres Are Long Forgotten and Too Underrated
At the last part of this list, I have one last monster who I have to say tops off my list is a monster that has been here since the start of D&D (like many other monsters) and that is the JACKALWERE!! This monster is just a normal jackal…or is it? These humanoids are servants to lamias, a lion/human-like hybrid that serve evil gods. Jackalweres are the opposite of lycanthropes; instead of humans turning into animals, jackalweres are jackals that can turn into humans! What’s even more unique about them is that they can put a person into a deep slumber just by looking at them! The most comedicpart about them is that they hate telling the truth so much, they wince pain when they say it! I love their charm, wit and nothing can change my mind on these-
Wait.
oops.
I forgot about one monster on my list! At least, I started liking this monster. I’ll just count this one as an honorable mention…
Honorable Mention: Doppelgangers Might Know You Better Than You Can
The one monster that I have now started to love is the doppelganger. They are monstrosities that can shapeshift into any person/humanoid that is living or dead. They usually stalk people, so that they know how the humaniod they are trying to pose as behaves so they can behave like them. They also can read a person’s thoughts, so they know some basic things about the person they are spying on and trying to impersonate. However, no matter what form a doppelganger will choose to take, they have a true form that has full metallic blue-gray skin and a long tongue hidden in their unseen mouths (if you have read/watched One Punch Man and see Monster Princess Super S, she has the same tongue as doppelgangers do) and have no pupils. Having an identity crisis yet?
That’s all! See ya’ll later next week!
– Nova S