Day 20-Favorite Monster (Humanoid/Natural/Fey)

Well, I will definitely find myself choosing a Fey from the given options, but my off-hand choices are torn between two options at the moment. Given that I do indeed have to choose, I think I will have to settle once more with the one I find personally to be more interestingly dynamic.

The Fey in question is the Zeitgeist, an embodiment of a the spirit of a large metropolitan area. Unlike most fey, these are bound to a civilized location of city size or larger and are inactive for the majority of the time. They only stir during times of great stress within the population and then rise to activity in a variety of forms. They can be seen as merely a large cloud of smoke, breezing through the city and otherwise unnoticed for what it truly is or to remain invisible entirely. Other times they appear as a massive vaguely humanoid figure composed entirely of buildings and pieces of the city as they rise to the occasion. These creatures are, in a sense, protectors of the city. If the city is under attack, they will sometimes band together with the citizens to fight the enemy. In times of a natural disaster, when the people are panicked and scared, they act irrationally and seem sometimes to save people from danger and other times to cause danger of their own. They mimic the very spirit of the inhabitants of the city they embody.

In combat, they have a variety of mechanical interests, but it is the idea of a massive fey creature attuned not to the “natural” world, but to the cityscape of developed society that catches my interest. It can serve as exalted guardian, frighteningly dangerous threat, or mystical beast that needs calming all in the same monster. I have personally only used these in the novelization of one of my campaigns, but they have been implemented into my campaign worlds whenever appropriate as I find them to be a truly fascinating and multipurpose creature.

Day 19-Favorite Monster (Elemental/Plant)

I only ever got to use my favorite from this particular category the one time ever, but there is always an occasion that I might manage to do so again some time in the distant future. While most plants seem to be somewhat similar in the vein of “I grab you, then I deal damage” through trapping, tentacles, or simply bowling people over, it is a highly intelligent plant that eventually catches my eye for this category and it is essentially two monsters in one, which I will describe together for the purposes of this post. What about the elementals? They’re all pretty much the same and I don’t find them particularly interesting overall, even with the myriad additions of elementals through splat books and the things that are rather unique creatures simply with elemental subtypes do not count for this post in my eyes.

The particular plant I most enjoy is essentially a massive tree, but unlike the ever popular Ent/Treant this one actually does not uproot itself and move around to chase its foes. It is a stationary creature, uprooting itself and moving very slowly only when the local food supply has run out completely. The massive tree plants itself near some kind of civilized area and sits there, growing pods over a long period of time. These pods then fall to the ground and small, human shaped plants emerge. At the behest of the mind link with the mother tree, they set about killing humans and bringing them back to the woods, throwing their bodies into the gaping maw of teeth the tree opens upon their arrival.

The little plant people are not terribly dangerous overall, but they have a wonderful ability that I have adapted to many other monsters in my games called swarming. It allows many of them to be in a single square at one time, crawling over and about one another and granting bonuses to their attacks and grapples for each additional adjacent swarming creature. They come in numbers and though they are not very dangerous in their own right, they are not sent out until there is a small army of them. The tree itself is exceptionally more dangerous if encountered, and is a challenge worthy of only the mightiest heroes. The rest are recommended to simply save the townsfolk and flee while they still can.

This massive tree, called an Orcwort, is my favorite plant monster for the flavor and its mechanics. The little plant people, the Wortlings, are really one and the same creature in my eyes and thus, also my favorite plant monster. Maybe one day I will be able to use them again. Until then, I will gladly make use of the swarming mechanic it has inspired.

Day 18-Favorite Monster (Immortal/Outsider)

Back to the classics for me here. I definitely have one archetype of Outsider on my list of those that I like more than any of the others and those are the Inevitables. They are the embodiment of various forces of nature forged on the plane of Mechanus to ensure that certain things hold fast in the universe. Their jobs range from ensuring that contracts of great significance remain in force, bearing down on those who would try to escape their binding agreements, through ensuring that everyone eventually dies and those powerful beings that spurn death find their comeuppance some day in a might display of the inevitability of death itself.

Of course their roles are not limited merely to these things. Technically speaking, there are a near infinite number of different kinds of inevitables for various purposes the universe holds. There is an inevitable entirely dedicated to ensuring that the desert exists, even going so far as to exterminate bands of nomads who would attempt to irrigate the desert and make the land more palatable to their tastes. That’s right, the Inevitables even go so far as to take on the role of nature’s protector in many roles.

They range in power to be sure, but do not be deceived into thinking that you can simply overpower an Inevitable and be free of their judgment. The factories in Mechanus will construct a more powerful iteration of the being you just defeated within a month or two, complete with all the memories of the former model, ready to enact that judgment upon you once more. They never ever stop. They never ever tire. There will always be another.

Day 17-Favorite Monster (Animal/Vermin)

I know most people would probably swing towards the dinosaurs on this one, but I have honestly never been terribly fond of them. If I wanted dinosaurs in my game, it would be a setting specific kind of thing. I don’t need dinosaurs running around in my fantasy setting ruining the atmosphere because of the baggage that comes with players recognizing them as real prehistoric creatures. Like always, I tend to enjoy the somewhat more unique critters and in this case my answer slides into the category of vermin.

For its ability to function as a wonderful living trap, I very much like the Giant Ant Lion. Like a typical ant lion, it digs itself a pit of sand and waits for prey to happen by. In this case, it’s a 20 ft. deep pit of sand and the ant lion is not above hurling gouts of sand at you while you struggle to try and knock you in. This creature puts the climb skill to use as the primary method to escape the pit and has a paralyzing bite should you ever happen to reach the bottom where it waits. If the players manage to escape the pit, you can always engage the creature’s burrow speed to ambush them from below if you deem it necessary.

It is not very often that a monster lurking in a trap ever feels like a part of the trap itself, but the nature of the Giant Ant Lion and the imagery that most players will bring to the table from exposure to the concept before makes it a wonderfully effective addition to a campaign that takes place in the arid regions of the world. Always a fun time when you pop open Sandstorm for a quick read.

Day 16-Favorite Monster (Aberration)

This one was a touch on the difficult side just because I am not terribly big on using aberrations at all, generally. I try to implement them every now and then when appropriate, but all too often my campaigns just find no reason for them to be interacted with in any meaningful sense. Because of this, my favorite Aberration is pulled from about half the list of aberrations, as I simply don’t use them all.

I honestly find the appeal of the Choker as a low level creature to be rather nice. It lurks in the shadows and hides until the party moves through the passage and then snatches up the last person in line. A few successful grapple checks and it can silence them with a pin, possibly even evading the notice of the rest of the party for a short time. They are capable of scaling walls and they move exceptionally fast as well as possessing an extended reach. They move so fast, in fact, that they get an extra action every turn.

While these are typically nothing but ambush monsters, they can be used in lots of different scenarios. Myself, I’ve only used them to ambush players in dark tunnels and pick off a member of the rear. The real reason I love them, though, is because they are among the few monsters that truly feel like they possess some order of uniqueness to them, however small, and are suitable challenges for low level parties. You can even throw them out in groups for mid level challenges if need be. They are versatile and it is rare to see a monster whose special ability is primarily based on speed, but still useful in a combat scenario when melee range has been reached.

Day 15-Favorite Monster (Undead)

There’s quite a lot to choose from in this category, but I can narrow it down rather quickly to a short list. While many undead are creepy and/or unique in a lot of ways I think the ones that far and away comes off as my favorite is definitely under the category of unique. Most undead will sneak up on you and use special attacks or boldly (or mindlessly) putz in your direction and beat your face in with a more generic style, but every once in a while you get something truly different in the way the creature seeks to do harm to you. My favorite undead creature actually ignores this facet of combat altogether. It definitely has stats for combat, but intends to never ever use them. At least not with you.

It is a creature that blends into humanity perfectly well whenever it feels like it. It looks much like an ordinary human until you come into contact with it and realize it is not solid in the least or perhaps notice that its feet drift an inch or so off the ground at all times. While it may drift through social scenes it never truly takes part in them, depressingly undead and soaking in its own tortured existence as it is. If you try to speak with it or engage it in combat, or even just happen to resemble someone it knew when alive, however, it might grow resentful towards you which is where the real danger comes. Oh, don’t worry. It won’t hurt you.

This creature is extremely vicious for a tortured soul. It has suffered great loss in its own life and seeks to see that same sense of loss in those that anger it. The moment it grows resentful towards someone, it disappears from their sight as it travels elsewhere. See, this creature has a frightening special ability regarding living creatures. The moment it sees a living creature, it knows the exact location of every living relative and loved one that the creature has. That’s right, this undead monster simply leaves and slaughters your entire family and everyone you ever knew and loved the moment you give it the slightest reason to do so. This is the Bane Wraith.

Day 14-Favorite NPC

Well, not that I don’t have millions of NPCs to choose from or anything, but I think this narrows down rather easily in this case. The NPC in question was actually once a PC for a player who was only around for a few sessions with his girlfriend before both of them basically just dropped the game. As I generally do, I took these characters and re purposed them for my own use, maintaining the continuity of who they were, but developing them in a direction that seemed appropriate. Often times this leads to the character doing something very small and retiring or simply getting themselves killed rather quickly based on the actions of the player and my knowledge as a DM. Sometimes, this leads to a character that is totally ingrained within the campaign, though, in very unexpected ways.

This character was originally a bit of a sneak and got into things way over his head for the couple sessions he was around. I took this and ran with it, knowing that eventually this character would stumble directly into the plot regardless. As an NPC he saw things no mortal person should ever see and knew things about all sides of the emerging conflicts that nobody else should ever know. He spent his days constantly on the move and constantly trying to evade notice of those who would see him dead, but trying to give information about who he saw to be the enemy to those he thought might do good in the world. His constant exposure to otherworldly evils left him mentally damaged and scarred in ways that nearly made it impossible for him to engage in his tasks as his body and mind became tainted beyond reason over time.

Captured and tortured on more than a single occasion, he eventually found himself with but one arm and a sickly complexion that would never fade. In fact, it eventually became the case that it was only the constant surging of pure taint through his veins and the pressing of his own will that he was alive at all. A twisted creature, but no less wily and capable for it, he encountered the party time and time again with cryptic information that he seemed barely capable of forming into coherent sentences. The party would find him, decipher the information, and realize he had already disappeared time and time again without ever finding out how it was that he knew the things he knew. He has appeared in each and every one of my novelizations to one degree or another and is something of a known character in the group by those who have been playing in it for any length of time. Though his current state is unknown, given the length of time that has passed and the collapse of the plane he once called home, it is worth remembering that Zafthan was scarcely what could be called alive by the time his world came crashing down in the first place and though death has sought him for years it had never quite caught up with him before.

Day 13-Favorite Trap/Puzzle

I’ve done many a creative trap over the years, not all of which had gone quite as planned. Personally, I think my favorite was a very simple one that managed to actually kill a character around level 15 or so in a trap dungeon. The party finds what appears to be an elevator shaft, tying a rope to facilitate climbing up and down. While most of the party explores the bottom of the shaft, one member decides to explore to top of the shaft. This is cool since the rest of the party is stuck on a riddle at the moment anyway. Moments later, large quantities of blood begin dripping down the elevator shaft and the party goes to investigate what happened to their rogue. One member grabs dramatically for her hand, which is reaching desperately for the elevator shaft only to find it is no longer attached to the body.

Discovering the room itself, they find what looks like a nondescript square room with a gate on the other side separating you from the treasure. Like any good adventurer, one expects a trap somewhere. In the center of the room is a large bloody smear that extends all the way to the walls on both sides. A quick detect magic details the cause for their friend’s death: A Hold Monster spell.

The treasure is obviously the draw here, but it’s real treasure to be sure. The gate is the decoy, obviously. When one enters the center of the room they are targeted by a simple paralysis spell. Then the walls begin to close in excruciatingly slowly, leaving whoever was unfortunate enough to enter the room to be crushed between the walls, slowly, but surely. They have about 15-30 seconds to watch the walls closing in on them, knowing full well that the door behind them is still open.

Very simple twist on a classic. Instead of slamming the door shut, simply removing the ability to leave via another method works just as well. Not terribly creative, I know, but I do have a thing for the classics.

Day 12-Favorite Dungeon Type/Location

I have to admit that my favorite type of dungeon still rests in the classic underground variety. It may be overused as a whole, but I am not speaking of the Underdark or the elemental plane of earth, but the simple and basic underground dungeon. Whether it be a network of caves or a man-made series of hallways and room built into the ground, I find some of the most exciting dungeon scenes to be the underground ones, assuming we are speaking here of “dungeon” in the loose sense of “place the DM planned an adventure in” of course.

From the perspective of a DM, it seals off the environment and allows for a degree of control with what the party is capable of doing and where they are capable of going. This is actually not a restrictive thing for the players or for the DM, really. The DM can prepare each section of their dungeon in depth without worrying that it will somehow be circumnavigated or avoided entirely by simply making certain paths necessary for progress. The fact that the dungeon is underground does not limit size or scope for the dungeon, but excludes travel outside the prepared sections assuming you party does not have burrowing capabilities. You can prepare most anything to your heart’s creative capability, safe in the knowledge that your characters will likely encounter it as planned.

From the perspective of a player, the underground dungeon is unbelievably liberating. You have the sense of the unexpected, as the location is foreign to most surface dwellers combined with the knowledge that the sky disappears further behind you with each step you take downwards. The monsters can range in astonishing degree in the underground environment from cave goblins to carnivorous plants and demons to deep dragons, giving you a sense that most anything could happen (assuming you aren’t already aware of the contents of the dungeon before entering). Even if you already know what’s there, the underground dungeon is so generically adaptable that you can see it again and again without it necessarily becoming old immediately. Most important that I have found, though it is often not appreciated, as a player I am more free in a closed underground dungeon than an open surface one. I can explore anything and everything to my heart’s content because I know that I will not step beyond the things the DM already has knowledge of. I can take every side tunnel and chase every idea I have to the fullest underground because the DM prepped it. On the surface, the DM has no way of prepping everything for the environment is near infinite. If I decide to walk out into the yard of the creepy mansion and explore the surrounding woods, the DM finds themselves rolling random encounters and wishing we got back on track, but if I explore that side passage in the underground tunnel that was barely noticeable the DM smiles as I step into a piece of the dungeon he was hoping against hope we would notice and has planned for already.

An underground dungeon allows for near infinite variety, but keeps things restrained entirely to what is prepared in such a way that benefits both sides of the screen. It can be a terrifying haunted mine or a surprising lush forested cave by an underground river. It can be a mundane trek through goblin caves or the exploration of an ancient demon’s underground lair, sealed for centuries. It is for these reasons that I have to say the underground dungeons are likely my favorite.

Day 11-Favorite Adventure You Have Ran

Having run a ton of adventures it’s difficult to pick out one, but I can narrow it down fairly easily when I simply consider the few adventures where things seemed to go relatively as planned and the party seemed to fully receive the impact of the session intended for them. From the grand adventures to the small ones, it’s rare for a party to truly feel the impact of what the DM intends, whether it be because they are distracted or take courses you did not foresee. Some of the most adventures to run, however, are those where the party seems to genuinely experience the emotions and encounters that you intended for them and it comes together as a beautiful whole.

With those guidelines I have very few examples left to look at, making it very easy to select a favorite. Apparently much of my skill in these regards comes when I make an adventure that resembles the survivor horror genre and my favorite adventure arc certainly falls into that category. In the campaign before last, when I was still developing the proto-world that became my current campaign world, a low-level party encountered a coastal town with an eerie situation. A lighthouse that none had visited for centuries sat in the bay and though it functioned, it smelled like adventure for the island was rumored to be haunted and exploration of the island was being funded by the Order of Ancient Mysteries.

Hiring a drunken old sailor, the only one crazy enough to brave the rocks, the party arrived on the island. They spotted a pair of ogres by the lighthouse and set to ambush them, but only served to force them back inside the now barricaded lighthouse. The day passed as they tried to manage some kind of entrance to the lighthouse, but when night fell things began to change. Just beneath the dirt, the clawing hands of the dead began to rise to the surface. The party managed to barely escape as they scaled to the top of the lighthouse for safety. The island was literally covered with the shambling dead through the course of the night, though they returned to the dirt when the sun rose.

Through the course of their exploration and terror, the party eventually discovered that the lighthouse was part of a set of mystical locks scattered across the world to seal some great evil. The souls of some ancient beings were used to power this lock, which shed light each night as the barrier stayed strong. Unfortunately, the souls of every being who had ever died on the island had also been sealed there as well. The party was eventually forced to spend a night on the island again, but inside the tower. The spirits passing constantly through the walls and the undead clawing at the door made for a memorable night to say the least.

The party had fun and learned a lot of information through the terrifying adventure arc that lasted four sessions between their two trips to the island on different occasions. It was an introduction to what would be the greater plot of the entire campaign and it went perfectly according to plan. Every necessary thing took place and the party saw everything that was prepared. The mood was tense and fear-filled, but fun was had by all. My favorite adventure, but not far ahead of a few others I could recall for this post.