Generic-Giant-Spider
Guest
Let's talk monsters.
Monsters are arguably the most important part of any journey. You need them, you love them, you hate them, you reload often because of them. Without the monsters serving as gatekeeper, the adventure is devoid of challenge and victory would be hollow and unearned.
While many RPGs have had a diverse set, some new spins on old creatures or original creations, there is no doubt that there are some monsters that for whatever reason are more important than others and you may not even know it at first glance. Here are two that spring to mind immediately.
Giant Spiders
I don't say this out of personal bias because I think spiders are rad or have been trapping them in jars since I was a kid, but the giant spider is in my honest opinion the best trash/throwaway mob in fantasy games. Why? Well analyze it like this... what is one effective way to make somebody feel like a hero? Like the ladies say, size matters. Whether you're a casual or a seasoned veteran, there is one persistent truth and that is when you run your sword through something of impressive physical size and topple it then chances are you feel some measure of immense satisfaction. This is where the giant spider excels. It's unreasonably huge, it looks terrifying, it makes one take pause before proceeding wondering how their little iron sword is going to fell something of such GIRTH. But the giant spider is rarely successful, it is the staple push-over, the glass jawed titan of high fantasy. Sometimes the giant spider will deliver home the importance of awareness of your surroundings by placing web traps or having some sort of trapdoor surprise attack, maybe it'll teach the player how poison can be annoying and to always pack antidotes, but the main takeaway is they build confidence in the hero. The giant spider represents when you are no longer slaying vermin mindlessly and are ready to graduate to a higher class of creature. Without the giant spider hiding in the forests, clinging to the ceilings in a cave or inhabiting forgotten catacombs, how would you feel the ascension of power but at the same time keeping a reasonable pace? You don't go from killing a few rats to uppercutting manticores and displacer beasts, no-no daddio. This is where the giant spider thrives: it is the bridge to greater glory, the ferryman to more promising lands.
Undead
The Undead are a monster manual classic because of how diverse they can be and all the variations that exist. You have your standard zombies, your skeletons, then you have wights, revenants and your top of the line "oh god, oh fuck, oh god" terrors like the lich or vampires. The reanimated dead are great because they can be nasty, they can be easy, they can end your game or put the fear of level drain into your soul. They can go from mooks to final bosses. Those old piles of bones are more versatile than they look and nothing makes a nigga wanna dungeon crawl into the bowels of crypts and tombs more to get the treasure guarded fiercely by the remains of the not so dearly departed. Plus they mix well with other monsters like the aforementioned giant spider, spooky ghosts and shadows, maybe some crazy necromancer or evil cult. They're the bros of the monster manual, getting along with nearly everything.
What say you, Codex? What goons would you deem irreplaceable in any given RPG?
Monsters are arguably the most important part of any journey. You need them, you love them, you hate them, you reload often because of them. Without the monsters serving as gatekeeper, the adventure is devoid of challenge and victory would be hollow and unearned.
While many RPGs have had a diverse set, some new spins on old creatures or original creations, there is no doubt that there are some monsters that for whatever reason are more important than others and you may not even know it at first glance. Here are two that spring to mind immediately.
Giant Spiders
I don't say this out of personal bias because I think spiders are rad or have been trapping them in jars since I was a kid, but the giant spider is in my honest opinion the best trash/throwaway mob in fantasy games. Why? Well analyze it like this... what is one effective way to make somebody feel like a hero? Like the ladies say, size matters. Whether you're a casual or a seasoned veteran, there is one persistent truth and that is when you run your sword through something of impressive physical size and topple it then chances are you feel some measure of immense satisfaction. This is where the giant spider excels. It's unreasonably huge, it looks terrifying, it makes one take pause before proceeding wondering how their little iron sword is going to fell something of such GIRTH. But the giant spider is rarely successful, it is the staple push-over, the glass jawed titan of high fantasy. Sometimes the giant spider will deliver home the importance of awareness of your surroundings by placing web traps or having some sort of trapdoor surprise attack, maybe it'll teach the player how poison can be annoying and to always pack antidotes, but the main takeaway is they build confidence in the hero. The giant spider represents when you are no longer slaying vermin mindlessly and are ready to graduate to a higher class of creature. Without the giant spider hiding in the forests, clinging to the ceilings in a cave or inhabiting forgotten catacombs, how would you feel the ascension of power but at the same time keeping a reasonable pace? You don't go from killing a few rats to uppercutting manticores and displacer beasts, no-no daddio. This is where the giant spider thrives: it is the bridge to greater glory, the ferryman to more promising lands.
Undead
The Undead are a monster manual classic because of how diverse they can be and all the variations that exist. You have your standard zombies, your skeletons, then you have wights, revenants and your top of the line "oh god, oh fuck, oh god" terrors like the lich or vampires. The reanimated dead are great because they can be nasty, they can be easy, they can end your game or put the fear of level drain into your soul. They can go from mooks to final bosses. Those old piles of bones are more versatile than they look and nothing makes a nigga wanna dungeon crawl into the bowels of crypts and tombs more to get the treasure guarded fiercely by the remains of the not so dearly departed. Plus they mix well with other monsters like the aforementioned giant spider, spooky ghosts and shadows, maybe some crazy necromancer or evil cult. They're the bros of the monster manual, getting along with nearly everything.
What say you, Codex? What goons would you deem irreplaceable in any given RPG?
