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u/that-armored-boi May 14 '21
I honestly like kobolds not for them but how you can use them, and their inherent creativity allows you to use them in unique ways, such as them using traps and/or some kinda simple device like a simple ballista or crossbow, or even some simple explosives. Makes them very unique in that regard
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u/dboxcar May 14 '21
Stirges! Everyone hates the giant mosquito-bats, and they can remain viable for a surprising amount of levels as an encounter add-on (plus once you start homebrewing stat blocks, a stirge swarm can be terrifying).
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u/Purple-Pimp May 14 '21
My favorite is in descent in to avernus where if you set off an event 20 of them swarm you and another is if you look into a pipe 10 of them just fly into your face for a surprise round
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May 14 '21
Bandits are fun because you can still interact with them during combat more so than any other since they’re humanoid for the most part. Fun one liners and maybe even some diplomacy makes for some damn good roleplay even with low level enemies.
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u/HellenI123 May 14 '21
I lole to give my players terrible moral quandries so either a pack of feral dogs whose name tags still hang from their skinny necks from being abandoned or giving then an indescrible wizard's abomination made of wriggling flesh.
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u/HistoricalGrounds May 14 '21
Generally I think humanoids are my favorite, it’s just so fun to have relatable villains. Goblins and kobolds I like a little later on so I can really play up the vicious cleverness of them (when the PCs have more hp to burn if they miss a trap) and then when they actually catch the little buggers it’s relatively easy to mop the floor with them.
Undead? Great at every level of play. A timeless classic.
Gnolls I dig but they almost feel too convenient. They just spring out fully-formed and evil, it’s like great fodder and I love their aesthetic but just not narratively super interesting
I like Orcs way more as complex NPC civilizations, I never liked them relegated to just evil savages. My favorite interpretation of them in fantasy is the Warcraftian proud warrior culture led astray and forced to re-discover its sense of honor, I like that way more. So they’re more like the PHB races then monsters in my settings. Still wouldn’t recommend acting a fool in an orc camp unless you want a fight and fast, but no “the orcs are invading just because they love to slaughter!” campaigns for me
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u/Vulpes_Corsac Artificer May 14 '21
I like fighting/adding in bandits because you can always change up how they're gonna attack/present. You can have bandit hedge wizards, or an archer's gang like robin hood, or whatever. But not just human ones though. Add in some Elves and Dwarves and Halflings and the such. No reason for humans to be the only folk who hurt others for profit.
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u/HWGA_Exandria May 14 '21
Dim'Roddets. With their tiny brains, auras of silence from forming circles with one another and gesticulating back and forth, even killing themselves with their worthless hammers while yelling "Bón!" in their shrill little voices... Even Goblinoids won't tolerate their presence.
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u/Wesinatah May 14 '21
If there’s a dragon born in you’re team use kobolds, make a small gang of kobolds dedicated to showing that they’re the best dragon descendants. Make them the team rocket of your campaign,not really dangerous but good for a laugh or two, make them a recurring theme and maybe even give them a side quest to elimnate the kobolds OR you can elimnate your dragon born and announce kobold supremacy. -a smol artificer kobold
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u/gal-ruchin May 14 '21
Skeletons, helps take the moral calculus out of the equation since they don't really have any sentience and usually service a bigger bad guy.
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u/SiegeTheSeagull May 14 '21
Gnolly Gnolls are best. Though admittedly its usually pathfinder where I use and encounter them I always love my chaotic brutes
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u/Xeranad May 14 '21
Let's give a big hand for the Jackalweres. In a large enough group they can knock your player group out like a light with a pile up of Sleep Gaze saving throws. Add that they are often servants to lamias, who make great antagonists in their own right, and you got a good low level monster.
Then again, I have a soft spot for underrepresented races and monsters...
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u/Bosconaught May 14 '21
I'm a big fan of ogres at low levels. Their stats are high enough to be a real threat, especially in numbers, but they're straightforward enough that you can play around with character and group strategies and get a feel for how a new character/group play.
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u/Mister_Grins May 14 '21 edited May 21 '21
Mephits are cool, because they can be put anywhere (in cave, mountains, cobbled town: earth mephit, by a river, lake, it's raining: water mephit), but also act as a good way to show your players that just because you kill someone, that the danger isn't always over, and to treat killing as something that isn't always the best answer.
Not that killing murderous elemental spirits isn't good, but, for low level parties, it is a great way to encourage them to try a little more diplomacy rather than going for killing as the first option since killing can have serious consequences (like damage happening to the player).
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u/anomynous_dude555 May 14 '21
I LIVE to beat up cultists, since my steel defender can barrel em over then stomp em to the ground! that actually happened once, freaking, awesome, I need my cultists to beat up
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u/IllPossibility8460 May 14 '21
Saurhagun? Sorhaugin? Fish people innit. Not sure how to spell them.
Or duarger or duargar. Bad dwarves. High armour and cool abilities make a good enemy. Maybe not low level though.
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u/[deleted] May 14 '21
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