Avoid the Bog Standard with these Five Unique Low-Level Monsters in D&D 5e!

[@tosteson1]

Low Level Monsters + "The Monsters Know What They're Doing" = High Level Threat. Love your stuff!

[@cattrucker8257]

The classic Tactical Kobolds.

[@eran5005]

I love "Monsters know" too, it's an awesome blog that shows you how every monster can be a challenge

[@cfoscoop]

One of my favorite resources as a DM!

[@SSB_Master_Hand]

Oh yeah! An Ancient Dragon is scary, sure, but watch players sweat when a group of low-level monsters start using tactics. I can speak from experience. *Story time!* My group was in a cave and fighting a bunch of kobolds. Early on in the fight, the Druid used Moonbeam to take out a good number of them, and the rest seemed to be cornered by the spell. That's when the DM said the kobolds all don't move. When it got back to the Druid's turn, as she began moving the Moonbeam forward, the DM said the kobolds all used their Ready action to dash through the opening just created and surround the Druid while also separating us from her. Thus, our unfortunate Druid was soon downed in a single round _and_ the kobolds then forced the rest of us to surrender or else she'd be killed.

[@MajorHickE]

I love The Monsters Know. Unfortunately, my players routinely fail to fight at any level above "bar brawl," so I've yet to need more than 3 or 4 marksmen to start picking off the weaker ones. Fighting with advanced tactics (read: with any intelligence at all) has started to feel cruel.

[@OrangeyChocolate]

Blights don’t even need to appear in forests. Needle Blights could theoretically appear in a desert setting, if you reskinned them as animated cacti.

[@MrPFMneto]

Nice approach!!

[@OrangeyChocolate]

@@MrPFMneto Thanks. I’ve been thinking about these kinds of things lately because I’m planning a desert-themed campaign.

[@link090909]

Genius

[@jaketionary2543]

This just gave me the idea for aquatic blights, like seaweed/kelp blights, or an anemone blight that paralyzes. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@andrewshaughnessy5828]

Great suggestion, thanks for sharing!😃

[@TheoJay615]

Homunculus are a favorite of mine. Basically a goblin replacement, but the fact that *they are created by something* hints a bigger force playing with taboo magic.

[@jeepersmcgee3466]

I'm currently showing both DnD and Fullmetal Alchemist to my roommates for their first time, so I'll definitely have to throw some homonculi at them

[@robinthrush9672]

Homunculi is the plural.

[@starbird3939]

Speaking of Tinkerbell Remember that in the movie, she tried to get Wendy killed by the Lost Boys and sold her out to Captain Hook. Even in Return to Neverland, she was still acting like a mean girl to Jane.

[@robinthrush9672]

Yeah, Tink's a jealous ass in the book.

[@shadowlord1418]

She was hella cute though

[@thomasowen3678]

You say me-fits, I say meff-its, let's call the whole thing off

[@716monk]

I wonder if it's a Canadian thing, like pronouncing "pass-ta" vs "pahs-tah"

[@joeldomenichini5038]

@@716monk I think it is cause these guys say Tash-uh and most from the US would say Tawsh-uh for the newest book.

[@robinthrush9672]

It's meff-it on the D&D Beyond pronunciation guide. Also that way in Baldur's Gate 2.

[@thomasowen3678]

@@joeldomenichini5038 being British we say Tash-ah like Nat-Ash-Ah

[@asatowne5234]

I was going to ask if that's also why they're pronouncing Plaguing as "Plagging" instead of "Play-ging"

[@waywardrolls8379]

Dungeon Dudes: Goblins are more of a playable race these days, Faeries are more interesting. WOTC, same day: Here's a UA where Faeries are now a playable race.

[@Leubast]

D&D 6e: Player Handbook, DM Guide, Playable Race Manual.

[@ArmoredChocoboLPs]

@@Leubast I'd imagine they'd have a whole chapter dedicated to just homebrew races they liked on D&D Beyond.

[@ixioxp119]

@@Leubast you joking but in starfinder every other monster stat block ends in a small racial section on how to play them

[@rogerwilco2]

Pixies have always been a playable race.

[@Tristan_Shuler]

Our DM started our campaign with Kobolds and Skraelings attacking a village. We just finished off a Wizard who instead of necromancy focused on undead, decided to go for constructs made of sand and clay.

[@dakotacouch5642]

Mephits are my absolute favorite low level enemies. I gave one of my players a smoking pipe that let's him cast summon lesser elemental but it's always ash mephits.

[@katybechnikova2821]

Cool idea, thanks. I'm stealing that.

[@eruditecaptain3117]

Stealing this and placing it literally in the next encounter my players are gonna have. They're gonna face a space pirate and I wanted him to have a magic pipe. This is perfect.

[@joshdavid9256]

I am a strong proponent of Bulywugs. In the before time I always used to have a bag of Haribo gummy frogs on hand as minis in case they showed up.

[@justinguyer7474]

I once used Bullywugs That set up ambushes near patches of Vampiric Moss. The Bullywugs would wait until the moss affected a couple of PCs and then attack!

[@randomimpulser]

The text for Blights at the start just says “B”

[@emophobe]

🅱️

[@Varizen87]

Que Nick Cage from the Wicker Man screaming OH GOD NOT THE B's!! NOT THE B's AHHHAGAHGHAHAHGHGH!

[@LilJay935000]

I think I saw something similar in the top 5 defence spells video for mage armour, and my mind immediately went to the Markiplier 'E' meme.

[@DungeonDudes]

Foiled again!!! But seriously. I write the whole title, I double check it. Then somewhere in the process, this happens. No idea what’s causing it. Been trying to figure it out for months. If anyone has any idea what would cause an editing program to remove all but the first letter of a title for no reason, I’d love to hear it.

[@Cooperman93]

Guess it's just time to swarm my low level party with buzzing B's...

[@highdie84]

Dungeon Dudes: The most Unqiue low-level Monsters, lets start off with *B*

[@TheAurgelmir]

Ref the sponsor part and "small critters that follow you" My campaign's Wizard captured a tiny mimic that was disguised as a jewelry box. i gave him the option to use it as his familiar, so now we have "Jewelry Box" running around as their trusted familiar :D

[@jessy5241]

My chaotic good life cleric befriended a quasit during a trip to Helheim to retrieve our sorcerer’s soul (long story, but we use the Norse pantheon for that campaign). The party was shocked that I allowed a telepathic bond with it because they can be pretty evil. It’s probably a good thing that it got killed two sessions later by an oni but still the funniest thing to happen to my cleric.

[@SasamiTM]

Heh i like that my warlock in our buddy’s first campaign ended up getting followed around by a baby mimic that at the very end bonded with him and now hangs out disguised as his top hat

[@piens51]

@@SasamiTM How many times has it gotten mind controled to start gnawing at their head?

[@SasamiTM]

@@piens51 well none but thats only because it was the very end of rise of the dragon queen and he was “retired” to be his Alice in wonderland fey queens primary agent and train the few hundred kobolds they um “converted”

[@NessOnett8]

I absolutely love Lizardfolk. They have a really unique dynamic, potential for a lot of good roleplaying if you want, a very different style of fighting, and are very easily scalable(pun intended) to higher levels. I ran a whole months-long lizardfolk arc recently.

[@Gauldame]

Avoid the bog standard... *Sad lonely wetland noises intensifies*

[@rcschmidt668]

Behold Swamp Thing! 🤓

[@cattrucker8257]

avoid the bog standard, acknowledge the mountainside supremacy

[@Sp4rt4nSl4ya]

*sad bullywug noises*

[@Gauldame]

@@cattrucker8257 mountains always bullying wetlands...

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

Used blights in a hedge maze outside a cemetery around level 3. Meant to keep people out during times when the "veil" is thin.

[@dynamicworlds1]

Oooh, I like it!

[@sophieirisviel4100]

you could say they were used to hedge people out of there i’m not funny i apologize

[@AM-hf9kk]

I like the idea of Pixies and other Fey critters as low level encounters. I've sicced them on a level 3 Party of 3 in the past and they were a lot of fun. Their abilities are more about mischief rather than outright damage, which invites Players to come up with creative, non-violent, solutions. In an already dangerous location, a handful of Pixies COULD kill the entire Party, or they can be used as a nuisance and comic relief in a safer environment. Given their capricious nature, something as simple as a mirror or a song can flip the entire encounter from antagonistic to benign. A few Fairy Dragons can be a major headache for even a mid-level Party.

[@captmutt6939]

Good point about Disney Fairies, don't forget that Tinkerbell sent Wendy to the Mermaids so they would kill her and that was after she tried to get her killed by the lost boys.

[@marcosmiotti7399]

I often use Xvarts against first-level parties, specially if I have first-time players. Xvarts are CR 1/8, goblin-like humanoids that are spawned by a hideous demigod across the multiverse. They tame bats and rats and are fanatically devoted to their creator. There is a wonderful lore behind their existence, which DMs out there can exploit in their campaigns.

[@ArcanoSilverwind]

thank you, exactly what i needed to get the gears turning. running a game for a buch of first timers at level 1. you just gave me a neat starter questline that i wouldve never thought of before.

[@ancientswordrage]

I still have strong memories of Mephits in Irenicus's dungeon. Great choice of monsters for players to face down

[@splergemellon1405]

I love how all the DnD channels just keep sponsoring each other as they release new content. On week it's nerarchy, the next something from runesmith with a bit of world anvil and heroforge sprinkled in throughout. Plus the hundreds of dice companies and what not.

[@skullytheskully]

Another great option for those somehow finding my comment 2 years later: A classic monster hunt for a nothic! Nothic's are creepy humanoid monsters with claws and a BIG green eye. Imagine your party going into a cave, or some abandoned ruins, or the catacombs of a wizard's guild/school/etc, wandering around in the dark, only to see a single glowing eye peering out at them from the darkness. Nothic's are scary for two reasons: they have a rotting gaze that does 5-10 damage as well as a claw multiattack, but more importantly, they can speak common AND peer into your soul, learning a secret about you on a failed save. Great for when one of your party members wants to be haunted by their past, but also wants to skip the "i'm dark and brooding and no one should know anything about me" cliche. Maybe it works for your BBEG, stealing secrets about local adventurers to take back to its boss, or maybe its hoarding ancient magical knowledge?

[@beowulfodinson9230]

Yooooo I've never made it to a video so early. I literally just started a 3rd level campaign yesterday, how'd you guys know? My players won't thank you, but I certainly will. After watching the video, I gotta say, I absolutely adore the idea of using Kruthics in a similar vein to Xenomorphs. There's definitely something there to explore.

[@DungeonDudes]

Yes, there totally is. Been toying with this idea myself.

[@asatowne5234]

"This is a Bug hunt man, a BUG HUNT!!!" Actually they're Reptiles. *"BUG HUNT!!!!"*

[@calebvandenburg1400]

Dolgrim. In Eberron, these are aberrations that are essentially two goblins stitched together by the daelkyr and their fleshwarping magics. Three attacks and advantage on a lot of saving throws with decent AC can take down a lot of PCs before their turn starts.

[@EruditeGayming]

I love mephits, the concept is so interesting to me, so thanks for spotlighting it.

[@technoraptor7778]

"I'll do it...I'll murder humans! Won't even be hard look...pffft..he died in many pieces..and now he's food...I don't get the problem" said my lizardfolk character.

[@Treblaine]

Jackalwere is a great early level enemy to introduce damage immunity as all weapon attack do no damage unless silvered. Scarecrow is another fun enemy to face before magical weapons as it resists non-magical attacks but is vulnerable to fire. Hoards of Skeletons are great fun against a party that spec'd too much into slashing/piercing weapons and reward them swapping out a rapier for sling stones. Cackler can perfectly mimic sounds and can lure your heroes into a trap Flameskull: it feels like fighting a mini-Demi-Lich (Quasi-lich?) and as it's tiny and undead it can be found locked insider an iron chest for centuries them comes out mad as hell. Resistances are fun, flame based magical ranged attacks won't work, piercing based arrows won't won't be effective Gazer/Spectator: want a beholder fight but not quite so deadly? These are great for that.

[@DDCRExposed]

Funny enough, I used Mephits against my new, 2nd campaign I'm running for my level 1 players. There were some close calls by they've made it to level 3 now and enjoying their characters. I also had a combination of skeletons and blights in an alt night for my main campaign players (I have two groups right now) via a 1-page quest I ran about one month ago. It was fun using the blights and them basically having them act as the Grunts from Halo.

[@joshuaarnaud993]

In my sea faring campaign I've used Koa toa, Saguian, as goblin and kobold substitutes , with sea hags/harpies and others being the other harder enemies

[@lowestoftmattyhere]

I used kua toa and some really cool abilities but found I had to reduce their hp. They weren't that hard to kill, just took forever so instead would reduce them all by 10 hp and have an extra couple join the battle half way.

[@SearingLumber]

I'm waiting for the third part to the sorcerer subclass ranking because I want to hear what they have to say about the clockwork soul

[@TheTotalripoff]

Truuueee.

[@michaelhumphreys6678]

Yeah literally been checking to see when it was on

[@asatowne5234]

I want to know if they can talk about Psi Warrior without making any Star Wars comments.

[@abadidea5984]

I'll never understand how anyone thought the Catoblepas is a CR5 monster. I've had the misfortune of having a brand new player invited to an ongoing game, encountering a Catoblepas, and then failing a single CON save and dying to its death ray.

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

Catoblepas is great for a half orc party.

[@charger1369]

Did they keep playing?

[@abadidea5984]

@@charger1369 Sadly no. It was pretty awful. They spent time working out their character with the GM and tying them into the story only to die within minutes of the game starting.

[@ArmoredChocoboLPs]

Well I mean CR is a good basic idea of a monster, but if something's got a death ray, maybe don't put it against a party with low CON. Unless you're a Murder DM.

[@donniejefferson9554]

@@abadidea5984 Honestly seems like a situation where the dm might want to just avoid shooting death rays at a new player. Really begging for them to not want to play

[@susanwalls3580]

Fun D&D fact of the day - (The Great Modron March, is actually quite similar to the Hyakki Yagyõ or Night Parade of 100 Demons from Japanese folklore.)

[@angekfire]

I definitely get the whole "We don't want to kill humans" thing, and expanding on that, to intelligent creatures in general. Like, goblins are still for all intents and purposes, a humanoid race, and they are intelligent. And especially with WotC deciding to removing alignments, rather than "oh, the players don't want to kill goblins" being a hinderance for my campaigns, I found it opened up more options to the players. Do the players want to try to negotiate with them? Or bribe them? Or maybe they want to deal with them in non-lethal ways while still removing them as an obstacle. Or, depending on the group, maybe they just want to kill some goblins. But giving them the opportunity to reason with them, even if it's difficult or challenging, has made my low-level adventures more interesting and engaging, and sometimes that early game interaction leads to later game interactions that are similar. Maybe the lich CAN be reasoned or bargained with. Sure, they're evil, but maybe they're willing to terrorizing the city, but in exchange the players have to do something for them that is against their own moral code, so you set them up having to choose between the morality like the trolley problem, or do they just "kill the bad guy"? I wrote a 1st-level one off campaign to introduce my new players to the game where they're hired by a local duke to save his daughter who was kidnapped by goblins. And they can find the goblins, barge in, and slay them all and save the girl. Or if they talk to the goblins, they can discover that the duke had hired them to burn down his neighbours crops, so that he would be able to buy the land for a pittance, and then refused to pay them, so they took his daughter as payment until he paid. They haven't harmed the daughter, they just want their money. So, do the players kill the goblins anyway? Try intimidation? Do they offer to pay the goblins to save the girl and then deal with the duke? Do they offer to do something for the goblins to get her back (they have had a problem with a wolf pack nearby)? Do they just walk away from the whole thing? Do they go back to the duke and get the goblin's money, and theirs, to ensure her safety? Do they take the goblins back to the duke and let them loot his manor as repayment for a broken promise? Do they think of some other interesting way to resolve the issue? They have a lot of options for how they can deal with the problem and it gives them agency, and it can make what would be a basic "kill 5 goblins and save the girl" quest into something much more interesting. The same can obviously be true for some of the options you've provided, too, I just think that it shouldn't necessarily be a hinderance.

[@tinkerer3399]

I definitely like how you guys couched the presentation as these being low level enemies that you can base your campaign around rather than 1 off encounters which most unusual monster highlight videos do. I think I may go through my monster selections and divy them up by theme rather than my usual methods.

[@karlniarb]

I almost TPKed a level 5 party using just kruthics. They went in and just started unloading on them without thinking about positioning or funneling them. Worse part is that no one was really sure why they were having their asses kicked until we had a break. Even I didn't fully realize it until they were forced to retreat. Even with just a +5, having advantage and an AC of 18 is gonna wreck your day even if you're level 5 or higher.

[@Armphid]

This is full of good ideas. A note on the fey is that not only are they mischievous trouble makers in traditional tales but they're often outright villainous and cruel. From the modern perspective they could be boring or "one dimensional" because a fey being evil is literally just being evil for evil's sake or because they feel like it, but that gets into the idea of non-human psychology.

[@StackingLimit]

I’m definitely going to use mephits in my next campaign. I have a great idea for them already now. Love your channel. Fantastic work guys. You have turned DM'ing from a chore to a joy again.

[@bayardmartins]

In my homebrew world Orcs and Goblinoids are part of society. The most common low level monsters are Gnolls, Sahuagin, Bullywugs and a lot of lizard-folk type of creatures, from small lizardman to big crocodileman. Looking foward to add blights and mephits, they fit with my world, ty. (But my blights are alien carnivorous plant)

[@S0nyb1ack]

An interesting "random" encounter in any kind of facility that has(/had) access to some magic (this is stolen from an module, but I really loved it) - a metal contraption that supplies the facility with water. Players see this metal globe, connected with pipes that go into the ground beneath it, try to move it they hear slushing sounds. If they open it two mephits burst forward - a steam and a cold mephit (they were bound into the contraption to be an infinite supply of water -> the steam mephits steam breath melting the ice mephits cold breath). They attack whoever open their prison (thinking they are acting on behalf of whoever bound the mephits to the place), but won't fight to their death, ultimately they just want out. As a reward the party can find a handful of precious gems inside the contraption, which were used as a material component for the binding (though if the facility is still in use monsters/enemies might notice the sudden lack of fresh water)

[@Gordyan_Knot]

I wanted to thank you guys, I recently had to jump into my homebrew setting quite a bit earlier than I intended because reasons. This video helped me amp up 1 encounter that I thought was kind of boring, and gave me some good direction for another that I only had a setting for. Keep up the good work.

[@ryanhale6339]

This is especially helpful for worlds like Eberron where many of the “monstrous” races are people with intelligence, feelings and civilization. Not all problems should be solved with a sword.

[@fortunatus1]

I've used goblins, kobolds, kruthiks, blights, and skeletons. I've never tried Modrons or Mephits. I usually throw in the fey a little later. I tend to gear the starting baddies to illustrate the campaign type. If we're in the realms of dread or Barovia, then skeletons. I've I'm going monstrosities or aberrations, kruthiks are perfect. The campaign involves the corruption of nature and you have to save nature to save civilization, then blights are key. Next time I use The Temple of Elemental Evil / Princes of the Apocalypse, Mephits will rise.

[@mathieu7921]

Somehow I imagine the modrons as Minions from Despicable Me

[@mkay6915]

Me too. Every time I see a picture of them I immediately hear them speak in the same language the Minions speak ^^

[@asatowne5234]

I can't remember the videogame they were in, but one of the ones the player could talk to was voiced by Homer Simpson.

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

I imagine them as the turrets from Portal.

[@MsKeylas]

@@tuomasronnberg5244 why not both?

[@CallenExile]

I think you just put the reason I hate them into words.

[@DnDandVideoGames]

Blights, otherwise known as "B"

[@matthewparker9276]

Someone turned off the lights.

[@ddfordummies5099]

I love modrons but I like your homebrew interpretation of what happens when one breaks. Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought from the description text (at least in 5e) for modrons is that they level up to fill the gap. Aka if a pentadrone is killed then a singular quadradrone becomes a pentadrone and so forth...

[@tinkerer3399]

That is definitely true on a societal level but they don't really say if that occurs on a squadron level. I am tempted both ways there, on the one hand doing that leads to a very strategic combat where the order of engagement is vital, on the other hand it kinda seems like a pain. On the whole I am inclined to think they do not do it since if that occurred the ability would most likely be listed under the combat abilities rather than under the general fluff.

[@ddfordummies5099]

@@tinkerer3399 however seeing how the MM was written in general, the descriptions are where most of the strategy and tactics and variant options are listed rather than in the stat blocks themselves. This is especially true for lair actions and regional effects for bigger badder creatures. I blame WotC for not including it as part of the Disintegration trait. Still, the argument could be made that the promotion is made anywhere in the various Planes of Existence however that makes me feel that the promotions happen with less Order and more Chaos or maybe it is by seniority and the “individual badge numbers” of the modrons.

[@siamath9954]

Funny enough, my newest campaign starts off with a bunch of pixies and sprites that are pressured by a mad quickling to kidnap humans. And since the quickling can easily flee, players will encounter it later, accompanied by 2 meenlocks and a lampad. Also quicklings are really deadly for low level characters, able to deal 30 damage a round

[@kayfimt7769]

Great idea for a video! There’s nothing worse than DMing a new adventure and seeing everyone yawn when you pit them against goblins AGAIN.

[@Mary_Studios]

The way I plan of starting my campaign is a giant lobster monster who kidnapped a girl while two of them were on watch in their big traveling group.

[@TheAlmightyPillock]

My campaign starts with Hyenas, Mephits, Blights and finaly Scarcrows. THey have to deal with an ancient burial site where some young kids have stolen the bones of a great warrior. Poor kids are now trapped as the spirits are pissed. Starts with Hyenas attacking travelers. Mephits then spawn from thier fire when they make camp latter. Then when they arive at the burrial site there are Blights in the undergrowth. Burrial totems stand guard over the graves, so when they hopefully try to return the body (or try to flee with it) a scarcrow can try to kill them. (it can only chase them so far, and can be persuaded to stop if they can show they are obviously putting the bones away.

[@DHTheAlaskan]

That's actually pretty neat.

[@goblincleric4130]

I used pixies as a sort of temperture gauge in my homebrew. They had to travel through an enchanted forest in distress without knowing they were headed towards the path of that distress. As time passed and they marched further on the pixies went from playful and sweet to downright malevolent. I didn't even concider blights since they entered the forest at level 8 but now I'm kicking myself because it could have added to the tone of "somethings not right here"

[@overwatchfnatic9094]

I honestly love content like this! I think my favorite part of D&D is learning about cool, unique creatures like this and working them into games. One of your previous videos was actually my inspiration to start a homebrew game so that I could use the catoblepas (which you talked about) because of how interesting it seemed. Having a crazed alchemist tame one and use its necrotic stench as the base for his most potent poison ever was such a fun idea to play through.

[@schemage2210]

BE CAREFUL with quicklings. Dropped them into an encounter once not fully reading their stat block and got to the table and realised that they have something like a +7 to hit. Totally not what you would expect for their CR which makes them far more dangerous then expected.

[@codenameera3709]

It has been out for eight minutes and it already has a dislike. Who watches for the video just to dislike it immedietly?!?!

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

It's because the 1 dislike is a goblin that's about to be replaced.

[@BlueTressym]

People with nothing better to do than be gratuitously spiteful.

[@alanschaub147]

You know the solution for trolls! 🔥

[@joshualinley4417]

I have disliked a video once, and I felt compelled to write in the comments why I did as politely as possible. Having the option to "dislike" anything without providing constructive criticism helps no one.

[@MsKeylas]

@@shiranuiprestonsaga8867 then he actually should have liked because if he is replaced,it means he won't die to heroes(as much as it is possible)

[@robertvanark1800]

"Law can become so Byzantine, it is essentially chaos." As a software developer several projects worked on by multiple people, I can attest to this.

[@purble1987]

Learning about mephits helps a ton with the campaign im currently working on

[@tiatrips]

This opens up some possibilities for me. I've typically just reflavored bandits and veterans with an opposing race, so if a small fishing village is irritating a sea elf, the little warband the elves send are sea elf variants. Thanks for the tips, gentlemen.

[@josephogaz4754]

Montey’s explanation of fey psychology is fantastic. Nicely done, both of you are awesome, but that description was “chefs kiss” 🙏.

[@nightflame69]

I’ve had a character surrounded by mephits. He managed to take most of them out. And then they blew up and returned the favor. Taking him out

[@richardrahl1001]

Loved all of the wonderful ideas!!! I enjoyed naga’s and yuan ti myself creating a whole invasion of naga civilization as a campaign. They were advancing to get resources to fight the dragon civilization and cohorts. Players had to choose: help naga, help dragons, fight against both for the humans, or become a 3rd global power by exceeding lvl 20. -it also allowed for a high level of poisons to hit the table which rarely get used if ever in most campaigns I’d seen or ran myself.

[@thomaspetrucka9173]

Honestly, I feel like the bog-standard happens at the top of a campaign curve, not at the bottom. I haven’t played a game or watched a stream that doesn’t have a dragon/necromancer/devil big bad…with a couple exceptions.

[@luukvh8943]

I'm starting to think that the subtitles only showing a single letter is part of an elaborate dungeon dudes ARG

[@Llamadangles]

Mephits are super cool too in that in much of the lore, they are known as living messages and that each type of mephit are bound to an emotional aspects like envy, trickery, sluggishness etc.

[@queen_nat4586]

I changed up Kobolds to give them an additional variant that allows them to have a breath weapon. I also give them Basilisks to ride. And I use these as the go to encounters for my party instead of orcs and goblins

[@bobert2999]

yes! more info for my lower level one shots!

[@VelaOtaku]

The Kruthick, I just watched it and I'm kinda sad that my plan for them was basically in this video lol. I was gonna have a merchant take them to the Arctic mountains as an "invasive species" to build tunnels for a mining operation.

[@toadthewise885]

Thank you so much for making this video! I was writing my campaign and was thinking of monsters to use but I didn’t want to use the bog standard because I find them boring. This is exactly what I needed

[@cattrucker8257]

But what if monsters from bogs ARE my standard?

[@daniellins4114]

Avoid the standart! Embrace the B_

[@samw5924]

goblins and cultists go brrrrrr

[@Vorusen]

Making my first campaign and stumbled upon a "Slaad Tadpole" and its essentially a chest burster from aliens. Going to have them bust out of my cultists when they die I think and maybe even have some hiding around in the shadows since they have a bonus to stealth

[@Mary_Studios]

Another clever way of dealing with those basic monsters at low-level of where they were sent their by other monsters of higher level and tie them into that sort of what you said about some of the things you mentioned tying into a bigger part of the plot.

[@evank1246]

I love that you guys pair up with a menagerie of sponsors as its very helpful in pointing me out in the direction of dnd resources and goodies. I just really wish you'd pair with more Canadian brands....

[@RiotKurhein]

In my homebrew setting the Elves went to war against Humanity (drawing upon Hellboy 2 and Warhammer Fantasy for inspiration) and whereas Humans advanced technology to counter the Elve's magics, the Elves used said magic to create Monstrosities to serve as bioweapons. They also turned to summoning Fey creatures to fight for them and formed pacts Archfey and Hag covens to garner more power. In their desperation they accidentally unleashed the Curse of Undeath upon the world.

[@FalcnPWNCH]

I've just dove into the world of D&D early 2021 and started my first campaign as a Tiefling Druid - I must say I feel spoiled because our DM is such a madman that he has created and written his own world and continent from scratch for us to venture on our friend groups very first campaign, and our first string of missions and tasks in included things like *_a Meenlock, a curious Nothic we befriended and some of us revealed our secrets to, a giant pet Phase Spider_* - as soon as we finally embarked on the actual journey, we were ambushed by a swarm of *_Stirges_* and *_almost crossed paths with a supposed Owlbear_* - it's been an absolute action packed blast so far for the last year

[@pattyofurniture694]

What a cool video concept! Thanks for this.

[@dimgaard7056]

I've built short low level campaigns (4 or so sessions) around Xvarts. Volo's presents the kernel of a quite interesting marginal culture for them. Also, bullywugs make a good low level campaign in a swampy environment which can provide some good environmental challenges for low level PCs to go with the creatures that (again) have a non-traditional culture.

[@bigmarty6670]

"The moral complications of killing humans" meanwhile in my campaign my guys are already plotting to kill the mayor they JUST met. Because they don't trust his smile.

[@alphaxtitania5597]

So here's an idea, take goblins and turn them back into fey. Return them to their roots as tricksters.

[@lordzaboem]

That might get weird for the Goblin player-character who gets suddenly vulnerable to fey-focusing magics. In D&D at least, the fae have usually been reserved as an otherworldly and mysterious force, alien to the PCs. I like the idea, but it would just have to be implemented with some care.

[@alphaxtitania5597]

@@lordzaboem It's simple, just don't allow goblin PCs for that particular campaign. Any player that isn't a whiny baby will understand and save their PC for another campaign.

[@donniejefferson9554]

@@lordzaboemMaybe just a particular part of the world where the goblins are still fey. A goblin entering from somewhere else could still be normal

[@andresmarrero8666]

Fey goblins are even good around the house as long as you don't anger them. Then there is the Goblin King, a source of many Korean dramas.

[@justinwhite8203]

I'm just beginning a campaign with my 8 year old daughter playing for the first time and this was a very inspirational episode. I'm really excited to implement some of these ideas. Thanks, guys.

[@geoffchurchill5492]

I've got a potential topic for you, monsters that have become less deadly as the game has evolved, e.g gelatinous cubes, use to be party killers when dungeon geomorphs made every coridor 10 by 10, or rust monsters when the front line fighter in full plate was king, the rust monster was a killer, but now with classes using unarmoured defense, becoming prevalent in monks and barbaarian, the barbarian just borrows the wizards staff for a combat and saves his great axe for the kobolds to come. Mimics, now dark souls has made them a meme, no one is surprised by the chest with teeth anymore

[@ddfordummies5099]

In a homebrew campaign, I had a desert mining town on the surface but some of the buildings in fell in to areas that had been burrowed out below by kruthiks. The town blamed the nearby kobolds but the deceased corpses where brutally dragged into the hive so when the adventures came in they investigated the situation from both sides. Yes there were kobolds nearby in the mines and that was memorable too: Traps and kobolds with flying mounts (giant bats) near rope bridges and tunnels. Still it was a lot of fun having crazy new monsters on one side and dive-bombing kobolds dropping bombs on the rope bridge over the chasm on the other.

[@kylewilloughby1983]

Tad Williams' portrayal of Fey and elves in his Memory Sorrow and Thorn series, and his Shadowmarch series is my inspiration for Fey and the Feywild in my game. So scary, so alien.

[@dynamicworlds1]

I'm very big on even Seelie fey having a dangerously alien understanding of the thinking and morality of humans. When done just right, you can hit an uncanny valley in mindset and ethics that makes even "benevolent" fey unforgettably unsettling.

[@lostdrewid]

Other than the sponsor link issue, I really love this episode. My players don't like killing sentient species in general. So things like this, especially when some of them might be summoned in the first place, really helps.

[@jjustapple]

Thank you so much for this! I'm preparing for my first ever campaign and struggling with a) the first quest and b) the villain's (who is an Archfey) ultimate motivation. Twigs + a circle of druids are a great idea, and I even prepared the former as an encounter in my session zero but didn't end up using. And you're right, I really don't have to think it through that thoroughly - if a fey embodies ambition, then that's enough on its own.

[@serenarussell6031]

I've used mephits before and they work really well as support monsters to some other elementals. I used a Galvanice Weird from the Ravnica book with an Ice mephit filling the role of Shoulder Parrot and firing ice attacks, and I've used them as a go-to for a lot of other elemental shenanigans too. They work well as the kind of fodder enemy that can be part of an environment to provide atmosphere but are more something to avoid than a threat in and of themselves, like zombies nearby a necromancer's lair. That being said, I'm pretty fond of supplementing my more traditional low-level enemies like goblins with some magic items or buffs to give them extra oomph. I remember one of my earliest campaigns had an encounter with a group of 4 goblins causing trouble, but they could match a party of third levels with some magical gear they had stolen and were using to rob people. Fun times.

[@viktore8]

Just wanted to say thank you for uploading Dungeons of Drakenheim on Spotify. Been listening to it while at work.

[@Maninawig]

Hmm when you mentioned the kobalds in your speach about the kruthiks, it got me to thinking of when you told the story of Tucker's Kobolds, about your constant use of ratlings (not keeping them as starting enemies), and worgs. The dastardly idea I had was to have a nest of Kobolds control a colony of Kruthiks in a similar way Goblins use Worgs: given the Kruthik's hive mind, it would only take a Kobold Sorcerer to kill and reanimate the Kruthik Hive Lord, then the Youg Kruthiks can be used as guards when not used as burrowers and the adults can be used as mounts, allowing Kobolds more escape routes and means to set traps.

[@MajorHickE]

I've had great success with Blights and Kruthics. Blights are great fun because they're so flimsy that it's easy to swarm the players and be reasonably confident that they'll be fine. The Kruthic Hive Lord's 20AC really caught my players off guard, though they landed a series of crits that took it down in no time. Other low level monsters I had some fun with were the vegepygmies and bullywugs. Bullywugs have some great mobility options, especially near water, and their tendency to use giant toads as mounts lends their hunting parties a bit of durability that can make them dangerous for mid-level players. The pygmies were fun to have capture a mining camp, at which point the miners were infected with the fungal spores the species uses to reproduce. Made for a gruesome chest burster homage as their spawn exploded out of commoner rib cages to join the fight, and the fact they have a creature they use as mounts helped to make them even more dangerous.

[@TheAmazingBoogeyMan]

Currently doing my first homebrew campaign, and this was really good info! My party might just come across the hive of kruthics in an upcoming session, I love the idea of an invasive species.

[@MajorHickE]

I put Kruthics in a cave that turned out to be a kobold den before said kruthics had moved in. Made it easy to set up some basic traps & loot without having to explain why Zerglings had armories and treasure rooms.

[@asatowne5234]

: "I don't want to kill this Bandit; he's a human, full of hopes and dreams." : "Counterpoint, he's also full of MEAT." Speaking of planetary invasions, did they ever bring the Clockwork Horrors to 5E?

[@LordPiddlington1912]

My best fun as a DM was when my party of mostly very players was in a rural town (their starting town in fact). They spent ages looking for wolves, bears etc. that could be responsible for all these killings that were taking place. I could barely hide my smirk when they decided to enter the farmer's fields at night - total surprise and panic ensued as the scarecrows came to life before their eyes and picked off two members of the six man party after having split up.

[@duckdictator6531]

They might be bog standard, but I love Shadows. They are so fun, great to keep a party on their toes when being followed, and genuinely dangerous.

[@Gerendiell]

Late to the party, but: Kruthiks, gooo! Had a group at level 5, used Mat Colville's rules for Minions on the small ones and changed the hive lord a bit with Colvilles villain actions (all are one time only: Summoning a bunch of kruthiks from eggs, making a stunning screech und finally making a souped up version of the acid spray) and it was a blast. The party fought through more then a hundred kruthiks, all going smoothly thanks to the minion rules, rescued a desperate scouting party from a somewhat rival faction from being overrun in the nest and finally took down the hive lord in its lair. All of it had really neat Alien/Zerg/Tyranid-vibes with the characteres fighting for every step forward through a sea of bodies in near total darkness. They were never in real danger (at least before the lord), but for them it felt tense all the way as I shoved them batches of 20 kruthiks repeatedly. And they were really freaked out when they closed in on the final lair and suddenly the pressure on them relented, all kruthiks suddenly, for the first time, disengaging to form a last line around the hive lord just out of their range of vision. And then came the angry roar and charge of the big monster.

[@syrupchugger421]

So many great monster ideas!! Definitely using these! Thank you!!

[@aaronclift]

I’ve used Mephits, Blights, and Sprites, and they’re all fun. I would also recommend Nilbogs as a fun low level creature challenge.

[@BlackShadow1991]

Yes, variety is the spice of life and going for a non-standard choice is cool :D Thanks, Dudes!

[@dutch6857]

"They have problems killing humans..." I can only imagine the look of utter bewilderment on the face of my (long past) twelve year old self. More importantly, what's the punch line of Kelly's shirt?

[@rodrigonoffs1369]

Nat one?

[@enelson39]

Great vid guys! Definitely using Kruthiks next campaign!

[@mikecarson7769]

yay - was hoping to learn your ideas of exactly this topic! nice to include creatures who enrich the setting, environment, and lore. - personally, not yet found suitable settings for including the modrons or kruthik, but your review is so encouraging!

[@HinderYourGeneral]

Kruthiks have long been one of my favorite low level monsters. I used them as like a low level Xenomorph hive in several games and my players have always loved it.

[@EMTwombly]

Dig out a old Ravenloft/Fiend Folio critter, the Cave Tick... they’re not just in caves.

[@cdfreester]

You've given me some good ideas for using Kruthiks in a future adventure. I am getting an Aliens vibe. Thanks!

[@WolfiePH]

Ah yes, the mephits. I remember that one lava pit spawning them by 3 and everytime one is killed, they damage the other mephits. To put it simply, *Stackable Chain reaction sticky bombs.*

[@prkr07]

I thought magma mephits were immune to fire

[@tasleboutealair1890]

@@prkr07 they are

[@LeChaosRampant]

I had a lot of fun having my players (lvl. 4) clearing a mine infested with kruthiks to help a small mining town. It involved capturing one to understand their strengths and weaknesses, having the miners prop up palissades to close passages and of course… lots of explosives! Really cool monsters!