The essential Monster Manual of an RPG.

[Maxie]

Clean the genre from pseudo-steampunkese Ancient/Dwarven automata

 

[Ninjerk]

The propaganda is going strong all according to the plan, i hope you have prepared my salary in gold and in a classy leather bag Rat King.

Rats are not known for keeping promises.

 

[Eastwood]

Speaking of monster manuals, I really hate how useless the bestiary in Kingmaker was. Full of useless fluff about monsters, but nothing on their strengths, weaknesses, stats or general behavior.
Was fighting a Linnorm the other day and was wondering why I could not kill it. Had to google that they are weak to cold iron.

I think bestiaries should contain vital information that helps you overcome these monsters. I really like how the first Witcher did it. You could buy books about monsters and then prepare according to their weaknesses.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Speaking of monster manuals, I really hate how useless the bestiary in Kingmaker was. Full of useless fluff about monsters, but nothing on their strengths, weaknesses, stats or general behavior.
Was fighting a Linnorm the other day and was wondering why I could not kill it. Had to google that they are weak to cold iron.

I think bestiaries should contain vital information that helps you overcome these monsters. I really like how the first Witcher did it. You could buy books about monsters and then prepare according to their weaknesses.

In Kingmaker you need to use the inspect button instead to going to the bestiary to see the information you want. If you passed enough knowledge checks you'll get every information you would need: HP, saving throws, weaknesses etc.
As for Linnorm itself you got super-unlucky since a common loading screen tip tells you that it's valuable to cold iron.

 

[Eastwood]

Speaking of monster manuals, I really hate how useless the bestiary in Kingmaker was. Full of useless fluff about monsters, but nothing on their strengths, weaknesses, stats or general behavior.
Was fighting a Linnorm the other day and was wondering why I could not kill it. Had to google that they are weak to cold iron.

I think bestiaries should contain vital information that helps you overcome these monsters. I really like how the first Witcher did it. You could buy books about monsters and then prepare according to their weaknesses.

In Kingmaker you need to use the inspect button instead to going to the bestiary button to see the information you want. If you passed enough knowledge checks you'll get every information you would need: HP, saving throws, weaknesses etc.
As for Linnorm itself you got super-unlucky since a common loading screen tip tells you that it's valuable to cold iron.

Curious, I actually did not know that. Would be cool if the information you get from those inspects would be written into your bestiary then.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Speaking of monster manuals, I really hate how useless the bestiary in Kingmaker was. Full of useless fluff about monsters, but nothing on their strengths, weaknesses, stats or general behavior.
Was fighting a Linnorm the other day and was wondering why I could not kill it. Had to google that they are weak to cold iron.

I think bestiaries should contain vital information that helps you overcome these monsters. I really like how the first Witcher did it. You could buy books about monsters and then prepare according to their weaknesses.

In Kingmaker you need to use the inspect button instead to going to the bestiary button to see the information you want. If you passed enough knowledge checks you'll get every information you would need: HP, saving throws, weaknesses etc.
As for Linnorm itself you got super-unlucky since a common loading screen tip tells you that it's valuable to cold iron.

Curious, I actually did not know that. Would be cool if the information you get from those inspects would be written into your bestiary then.

Yes! That way you could go through the foes you already defeated when leveling up. You know "hmmm, the hardest monsters so far have pretty weak will saving throws so I'll get some spells that exploit it". Or something like that.

 

[Silly Germans]

Golems and Constructs

Nothing shows your status as mage as well as your own personal adamantite golem army. Only second rate mages soil their reputation by using iron golems or worse.

I really like the diversity of constructs that DND offer, its a shame that most games use very uninspired forms of constructs. They have pretty much the potential to be anything.

 

[DraQ]

Humans
No matter the setting, human enemies is where it's at. They can wield the same weapons as you, use the same skills as you, have diverse classes just like your party. Melee fighters? Yup. Archers? Yup. Gun-slinging special forces? Yup. Wizards? Yup.

Human(oids)/playable races usually make for very interesting and diverse opponents that are also easier to balance.

Hot chicks in chainmail bikinis? Yup.

Son, I am dissapoint.
Relevant (the comic is actually pretty good gag-of-the week style murderhobo RPG comic)

Humans can be anything you want them to be and they'll always offer a good challenge, but they're never overpowered. They're not slow and dumb like boring zombies

Corporeal undead are just based on the living stuff, so they are a template rather than their own type, but few games do anything interesting with them - off the top of my head I can only name Draugr with Requiem where they really feel like you're fighting a bunch of dead guys - they are not as fluid or adaptive in combat (though not necessarily slow), hard to kill and outright ignore arrows.
Undead should really feel dreadful to fight - in a "how do I kill that which is already dead?" way.
You sneak-attack human with a dagger or thrusting sword? They gurgle and die. You sneak attack undead? They stare indifferently at a blade that just sprouted from their chest for a moment, then cave your skull in or grab you and slowly rip you apart.

but neither are they 10 meter tall flying creatures immune to half your spell pool.

They're the most flexible enemy type you can imagine.

Hey!

I can never get bored of fighting humans.

Neither do I.

 

[King Crispy]

The lich is the quintessential monster of any RPG.

Liches literally start off in life as the most powerful examples of who they were before transforming themselves. Whether they were powerful archmages, or radically unpredictable and dangerous sorcerers, they were wreaking havoc long before considering the long and impossibly difficult task of preserving themselves for all time in further pursuit of their quests for power. Nothing exceeds the unnaturally unstoppable sheer will that a man needs to possess to cheat death, to rise again with all his previous power intact, and to reach heights unheard of in arcane circles.

Liches appear to be weak physically, and they typically are, but their magical skills have risen to such great heights that they are quite literally often untouchable. Any group of adventurers who would dare deign to trespass into a lich's lair is likely to face an opponent who has been preparing for such an event potentially for hundreds of years. It will typically have a complete chain of spells ready in sequence to protect itself, it will assault a party of interlopers with a small army of its most powerful undead allies and creations, and it will sit back gleefully in its crypt launching spells of such wicked force and deadly intent as to typically laugh off the pitiful screams of those who had the temerity to think they could rob it of its knowledge and treasures.

The next time you think about assaulting a lich, you'd better come with the best you've got, and lots of it. You'll likely not survive and will become yet another corpse for which a lich will casually add to its cadre of cadavers.

FOOLISH MORTALS!​

 

[Ghulgothas]

No Monster Manual is complete without a menagerie of half-man half-beast monstrosities to grace its pages, combining the cruel intelligence of man with the brutal ferocity of beast. But while savage gnolls, putrid ratmen and vicious lizardfolk are all well and good, one species stands above them all.

That of the Yuan-Ti, or Serpentfolk or Naga or whatever cool and unique name for them your setting has.

Behold, scaly apex predators from before the age of man. Their serpentile cunning matched only by their cold-blooded cruelty, desiring nothing but to reestablish their dominion over the world at large and to subjugate the lesser races who dare oppose them.

Look at them, the resplendent luster of their scales, the finery of their garb and the glint in their eyes. So above the crude barbarism of the other rightfully dubbed beast-folk.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Gelatinous Cubes and Owlbears are the two greatest RPG monsters ever invented.

Spoiler

Combat against a Giant Icecube? Gelatinous Cube in Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

The Owlbear Menace treasure art from Dragon's Crown

Jim Holloway artwork of a Gelatinous Cube for the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Compendium

Tony DiTerlizzi artwork of an Owlbear for the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Manual

 

[Lilura]

Gelatinous Cubes and Owlbears are the two greatest RPG monsters ever invented.

Maybe if you're talking ToEE and Swordflight:

Greater Doppelgangers would in the first-rank:

 

[Ninjerk]

Gods, how I hate Greater Dopplegangers. It felt so satisfying blocking one in a corner in Durlag's Tower with invisible party members and murdering it with arrows.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Gelatinous Cubes and Owlbears are the two greatest RPG monsters ever invented.

Spoiler

Combat against a Giant Icecube? Gelatinous Cube in Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

The Owlbear Menace treasure art from Dragon's Crown

Jim Holloway artwork of a Gelatinous Cube for the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Compendium

Tony DiTerlizzi artwork of an Owlbear for the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Manual

Gelatinous cubes in DDO fuck my shit up. Never really thought about them before.
Basically invisible(unless you pass the spot check) until you run smack into them and get paralyzed and digested.

 

[Ol' Willy]

The lich is the quintessential monster of any RPG.

And of real life as well:

 

[oldmanpaco]

Ogres:

Ogres are the perfect mid/low level enemy. Stronger than your orc/Kobold but weaker than trolls/giants. They come in a variety of flavors from shamans to wizards to various types of warriors. No game is complete without an ogre tribe raping and pillaging through the countryside.

 

[Daemongar]

Eh - no game would be complete without:

• Poisonous Snakes. One hitting folks who miss their save. That's it. It bites, you die. Sure you may get Neutralize Poison in a few levels, but these here snakes always show up a few levels early.
• Kobolds. One hit kills, but what they lack in resilience, they make up for in number. I get it, they need a 20 to hit you, but when you are facing 60 of them, well...
• Some kind of Hot Chick Enemy exposing her breasts. Kill me, don't kill me. I can always reload. But them breasts man. Even if I win this fight, I may reload anyways.
• Enemy Clerics. I have one that dominates, they have 6. Dammit.
• Some kind of invisible thing. No, I didn't take detect invisible - everyone knows it's only useful for this battle, dammit. I'll just slog through this and work through the rest of the game.

 

[Agesilaus]

I enjoy Interdimensional Beings when they're done well. Specifically, the Orz from SC2 and the Void-Dwellers from AoD. There's a mysterious wall that separates the player from these beings, who seem to be very unusual and powerful. Limited communication/discovery is allowed (places where the Orz have poked their/its fingers through; the tech in AoD and old records), but you also know that if your worlds/dimensions fully connect then some cataclysmic event will occur and destroy/radically change everything. Very ominous but also very intriguing.


* does the new SC game reintroduce the Orz and do anything interesting with them? I played it but did not complete the extra content. I'm assuming the angry red thing at the end is supposed to be some sort of orz knockoff or herald for their coming, if memory serves.

Edit: i dislike the ariloulaleelay, they're just smug retards with bad ships. Even if they do share a few details about the Orz.

 

[Bony Hands]

Bandits. They fit into many settings, from fantasy to sci-fi to the post apocalypse. They can be called many things. bandits, raiders, thieves, pirates, or thugs. They're great for early game enemies when the player is done killing rats and spiders. They have a reason to be poorly equipped and trained so they're not that big of a threat. They don't have to have much of a personality beyond being hostile and unlikable so they can be killed without remorse. Most don't have too much impact on the main plot if at all, so you don't have to worry about consequences down the line.

 

[Lilura]

Icewind Dale and IWD2 did yuan-ti best:

Storm of Zehir also:

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Speaking of monster manuals, I really hate how useless the bestiary in Kingmaker was. Full of useless fluff about monsters, but nothing on their strengths, weaknesses, stats or general behavior.
Was fighting a Linnorm the other day and was wondering why I could not kill it. Had to google that they are weak to cold iron.

I think bestiaries should contain vital information that helps you overcome these monsters. I really like how the first Witcher did it. You could buy books about monsters and then prepare according to their weaknesses.

This was the cucksucker that gave me the most trouble in Kingmaker too... until I met those soul devourerer wraith-like thingies (forget what they're called) which also required special knowledge to beat otherwise you found yourself beating your own pork sword indefinitely like I was. Luckily, I had the Codex to tell me what i needed to do but I love the idea that a successful high skill check in-game could have done it more satisfyingly.