Troll Lord Games

I've been looking through the MM and M&T and I'm wanting to find a good monster to get my group scared and running away. They have done well against a nice variety of monsters, but I'm looking to shake things up.

They seen dragons and cloud giants, but what else will surely scare a brash party of 6 PCs at 2nd to 3rd level and get them to run away fast?

Thanks,

Rhu.
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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Lets see, a litch always scares the sh!t out of player. But then again why not have a kobold that is also a 10thlvl wizrds, have em blast the party with a fireball, they will be shell shocked from it for so long that they will be forever afriad of kobolds.

Seriously though, trolls should send a 2-3rd level party running for the hills. How about a mummy or other powerful undead that can cause level drain, such as a wroath?
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CK the CK
"My goddess touched me at an early age."

-Grikis Valmorgen, Paladin

The beginnings of my homebrew campaign world and info for my play by chat game:
http://kbdekker.googlepages.com/home

There are a lot of things you can use, from lycanthropes such as wererats to a 5-6 HD barghest, or any kind of potent undead, like wraiths, shadows, and ghasts. Driders would be fearsome, as would a troll, but so would anything of enormous power, like a prysmal eye. Sometimes, its not even the creature that does it, as much as the way its presented, such as having... oh, an infestation of fleshcrawlers.

I've always found the unexpected combined with a mixture of interesting monsters makes players duck and cover faster than anything else.

So you can either come up with something they've never seen before, such as a monster modification or a beastie of your own, or you can find ways to use a couple monsters together in new and interesting ways.

Take the troll and the fleshcrawler (one of the best baddies in any rpg if you're counting my vote) for example. Have the party encounter a shambling troll (moving a bit odd for one of its kind perhaps) who's isn't at full strength (lower hit dice, less regeneration, etc). If the party overcomes said troll the real threat is revealed, an enraged fleshcrawler which bursts from the troll's stomach.

That doesn't follow the rules of said creatures 100% but it can easily be accounted for (if you even care) by the odd mixture of a fleshcrawler trying to "digest" a regenerating troll and only able to take limited controll of the troll's movement, etc. If nothing else, it'll be a big shock.

Quote:
an infestation of fleshcrawlers

That is a cruel and unusual encounter...I love it.
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CK the CK
"My goddess touched me at an early age."

-Grikis Valmorgen, Paladin

The beginnings of my homebrew campaign world and info for my play by chat game:
http://kbdekker.googlepages.com/home

Combat_Kyle wrote:
Lets see, a litch always scares the sh!t out of player. But then again why not have a kobold that is also a 10thlvl wizrds, have em blast the party with a fireball, they will be shell shocked from it for so long that they will be forever afriad of kobolds.

Haha, good idea, the lich. My guys do know that one.

Hehe, in Sieg's SoHH, I used his kobold sorcerer against the group and it was great. They will be hesitant against kobolds going forward!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

serleran wrote:
There are a lot of things you can use, from lycanthropes such as wererats to a 5-6 HD barghest, or any kind of potent undead, like wraiths, shadows, and ghasts. Driders would be fearsome, as would a troll, but so would anything of enormous power, like a prysmal eye. Sometimes, its not even the creature that does it, as much as the way its presented, such as having... oh, an infestation of fleshcrawlers.

Driders!!! Haha, yes!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

I'd go with a "motor bike gang" of 15 to 20 bugbears riding very large worgs. Numbers are a fearsome thing.

The Terrasque always made me run away! Even when I was above 15th level. The one time I was convinced to fight my poor Paladin lost his left arm and right leg (1E sword of sharpness bite of the Terrasque). You want me to fight a Terrasque? Only at the max range of my compound longbow or spell, because I ain't getting any closer!

serleran wrote:
Sometimes, its not even the creature that does it, as much as the way its presented, such as having... oh, an infestation of fleshcrawlers.

I'm with ya all the way on this one.

Swarms of anything are scary.

Here's an example...a high level fighter takes on a band of orcs. The first couple orcs grab the fighter's favorite sword and pull it away from him. Another cuts a potion from his belt. The next one comes from behind, jumps on the fighter's back and peels off his helmet. Then three more take the helmet, potion and sword (one each) from the other orcs and run off in different directions, never to return...That'll scare any fighter!

Unorthadox hit-n-run tactics are ugly when used by large numbers. In a few rounds, they could strip the fighter clean!

Or...10 orcs monkey pile a fighter and keep piling on more till they crush the air out of him. Easy enough. Dead fighter.

Brian Miller

"And worst of all...a swarm of rust monsters and disenchanters!"

But if you want something that's more "scary" in lesser numbers, pick anything with two or more attacks...then haste it, while slowing the opponent. The monster strikes 8 times for each swing the opponent makes. Ugly!

Brian Miller

My favorite creation for scaring high level players is "vorpal trogs"...vorpal teeth and sharpness claws...Yeesh...

The characters catch one glimpse of 'em... ...and run the other way.

Brian Miller

"Medic!" (sternum with a head)

If you play any 1st edition, another one that works good is a psionic grey ooze (with vorpal body weaponry, energy control and teleport) superheated and glowing red hot in a glass or masonry kiln.

You'd need to do conversions for C&C though.

Very ugly.

Brian Miller

Treebore wrote:
The Terrasque always made me run away! Even when I was above 15th level. The one time I was convinced to fight my poor Paladin lost his left arm and right leg (1E sword of sharpness bite of the Terrasque). You want me to fight a Terrasque? Only at the max range of my compound longbow or spell, because I ain't getting any closer!

Wow, tough creature. I couldn't find him in the 1E MM or FF, so is he in the MM II? I only have the 2E Monstrous Manual version, but he looks ferocious!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

The undead mother-in-law who seeks to find a bride for her corpse of a daughter. We're talking can of crushed ass ugly here.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley

Rhuvein wrote:
Wow, tough creature. I couldn't find him in the 1E MM or FF, so is he in the MM II? I only have the 2E Monstrous Manual version, but he looks ferocious!

Yeah, he's in the MMII. Classic creature. Once per real year or two I bring it out to play in my campaign.

Brian Miller

The tarrasque is a punk, compared to some of the baddies from elsewhere.
Seriously, though, he's a fun creature... if used sparingly, and as part of a truly heroic, epic battle, and not some random encounter to add "spice."

serleran wrote:
The tarrasque is a punk, compared to some of the baddies from elsewhere.
Seriously, though, he's a fun creature... if used sparingly, and as part of a truly heroic, epic battle, and not some random encounter to add "spice."

Yes, make the party track it down by following its miles long path of destruction before they get to face it. And along the way, let them notice how it changes the face of the very terrain itself. In short, spice it up to something truly epic.

Brian Miller

Dragon "strike forces" are pretty scary.

i.e. The Dragon Council sends out a group of 5 dragons - a white, a blue, a red, a green and a black - as an aerial hit and run team which blasts some town's major building or two as punishment for not paying enough taxes to beef up the dragon hordes.

Brian Miller

Jackal wrote:
Take the troll and the fleshcrawler (one of the best baddies in any rpg if you're counting my vote) for example. Have the party encounter a shambling troll (moving a bit odd for one of its kind perhaps) who's isn't at full strength (lower hit dice, less regeneration, etc). If the party overcomes said troll the real threat is revealed, an enraged fleshcrawler which bursts from the troll's stomach.

Well Serleran, thanks for the drider and fleshcrawler. I have a real nice drider mini, so I'm going to use him. But I like Jackal's idea here. That's very creepy that the fleshcrawler can animate the shell of their victims!
Haha, but here's the thing I really like. If you kill the SOB, he then explodes covering PCs within 10 feet with "foul smelling ichor and a horde of tiny maggots" - requiring Dex checks or take 1d3 damage from the blast!!! And other PCs farther away watching have to make a Con save or they will gag, retch or vomit - losing their turn! Yeaaaa!!!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Thread necro!

Rhuvein wrote:
They seen dragons and cloud giants, but what else will surely scare a brash party of 6 PCs at 2nd to 3rd level and get them to run away fast?

You could do it vs. 90% of 2nd/3rd level types with Orcs played as intelligent military tacticians. The PC's may die before they decide to run though.

A spell resistant Rust Monster.

M

moriarty777 wrote:A spell resistant Rust Monster.

M

That's why it's good to have a PC who is good with a lasso!

6 2nd to 3rd level PCs should be running from half the stuff in the MM. A dragon or giant should slaughter them.. Plague Ridden Orcs... show the bodies of many dead and bloated, town destroyed... small band of orcs with a priest (shamin) who prays to the orcan disease demi-god... a second the idea already noted "its the presentation AND the unexpected".. Kobold's who make glass balls, hollow glass balls, very thin.. filled with green slime.. "play ball"...

I concur - the thing that usually gets the character's in my game running away is the unexpected. When they see a creature do something they haven't seen before, something that is obviously dangerous, that was not what they thought... that makes them do a double take and flee until they can figure out a way to neutralize the threat.

I love the hollow glass balls filled with green slime - very nice touch.

Since this thread originally started I had a 12th level party running from a Prysmal Eye.

I am using a dracolisk in my game and it is working wonders! It has a party of six 5th to 7th level PCs and two NPCs on the run! Well, five of the PCs are on the run: one is currently posing as a nice statue!

A funny way is to create some nasty, armored monster that is blasting some ray that makes 20' holes/craters (with molten rock from the blast heat) in everything it blasts. All illusion of course.

I find the best monster to use is the one that the DM understands the most. The one that lets you play them tactically well and "get" on a deep level... like its part of you. That can take reading them a lot or just getting some "connection" like that a-ha moment, but that's what I strive for. At least when creating a monster... trying to make something someone will say "wow" too.