Any system, any game, any time.

What is your favourite, or most feared, monster and why? Could be that you prefer one as a GM and fear one particularly as a player. Post both, if that's the case.

One from me: Aboleths. They creep me out big time. Primordial fish/amphibian thingy with mind powers and servitors! :eek:

there's a few, really.  

in general:  
the balrog.  BADASS!!

as DM, tie:
aboleths, as you've said.  speaks to the cthulhu in me
beast of malar/vulture lions (as listed in the original DDG).  great combat creatures, from what i remember.  lotsa hp, great claw/claw/bite damage.  

"creep me out" winner:
the pennaggalan (or however you spell it).  hot chick who's head flies off, trailing intestines?!  :eyepop:

lotsa russ nicholson fiend folio drawings were great for that, too

Rolemaster's Black Reaver is the nastiest monster I've ever seen. It had enough hit points and defense that you weren't going to kill it, and enough offense that it wasn't going to miss you. The x4 (x5?) damage it does is the icing on the cake.

Also, despite mostly a melee machine it's got a cool back story and can be used in any level campaign because of its status of gaurdian. Basically, if you steal what it gaurds, it will get it back. You can hand it over easily and save yourself some serious pain, or you can watch your daydreams of your own badassitude hurtle out the window when it chooses "the hard way."

In D&D my favorite monster is the dragon. There are so many different types and ages that you never know what you'll get when you face one.

that reaver sounds awesome!  do you have some simple stats for it?  i have MERP at home, so i understand some RM-ese

dragons definitely improved with 3.x.  as much as i enjoy basic/expert and ad&d 1, dragons never really moved me as the iconic monsters they should.  i remember the first time i opened the 3.0 MM

:respect:

now, that's a dragon.  

then again, for straight up terror, there's always :fhtagn:

There's a VERY nasty living dungeon of sorts in the old Role-Aids Arch Magic box set. I'll have to dig out the specifics when I get home tonight.

I'm pretty fond of Bloodletters and those other buddies of Khorne from Warhammer Fantasy.

Geese.

They're vicious, territorial, ubiquitous, cooperative and they go for the eyes.  Their wings are strong enough to break a man's arm in a single blow.

Nothing deflates a twentieth level character's ego faster than getting goosed.

The Gibbering Mouther from D&D.

Awesome name. Introduced in an awesome module (C1: Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan). Awesome illustration by Erol Otus. And awesome effects (confusion, paralyzing drool, death by hundreds of bites).

Quote from: HaffrungThe Gibbering Mouther from D&D.

Awesome name. Introduced in an awesome module (C1: Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan). Awesome illustration by Erol Otus. And awesome effects (confusion, paralyzing drool, death by hundreds of bites).

Ooh yeah. My 12th level elf magic user got run over by one of them. He got better though.

Hands down, the Tarrasque.
Not much else i can think of that requires a freakin' WISH to kill. :eek:

Man. Still the scariest beast.

But yeah, kinda a cop-out. So I'd probably nominate some of the Kult critters.
From the Monster Manual(s), I' probably nominate the Mind Flayers.

Quote from: One Horse TownAny system, any game, any time.

What is your favourite, or most feared, monster and why? Could be that you prefer one as a GM and fear one particularly as a player. Post both, if that's the case.

One from me: Aboleths. They creep me out big time. Primordial fish/amphibian thingy with mind powers and servitors! :eek:

While I have not yet seen these creatures played in any RPG to date (ie - by 'any time' I am supposing 'in the future' when I get around to throwing these horrors at my Players ... which will possibly be somewhere in the 22nd Century when their characters are high enough level to handle them), I will go with The Eddorians of the Lensmen Series.  They are the quintessential Enemy Race.  Inimical to all of Civilization, Ruthless, Cold, Calculating, with a complete mastery of Super-Advanced Science (making Star Trek and Babylon 5 look like kiddie toy tech), and personally invulnerable to all physical attacks and mental attacks short of what the Lensmen actually did in conjunction with the Super-Race of Arisians.  This is an Enemy you do NOT want in your Universe.  Believe me.



- Mark

The only monster that ever made my blood run cold while I was reading its description was...

...the devil rat from Shadowrun.

Small enough to crawl around in your walls, but not so small that they can't bite your ears off while you sleep. Intelligence on par with an average human being. Extremely prolific breeders. Ugly little things, hairless like those creepy hairless cats. And if they can't make your life miserable by themselves, they can magically control swarms of normal rats. :eek:

Ho-lee crap. If those things invade your apartment complex, just move out, seriously. Because you're completely boned. I don't get why they don't already control several districts of Seattle.

"I appreciate the offer, Mr. J, but there's not enough nuyen in all of your banks to get us to set foot in Rat-Town."

Giant Frogs are among the best "swarm you" opponents, and perfectly encapsulate the kind of weirdness I like in my games. Creepy-crawlies (slimes, oozes, mold and plant stuff) are also very good.

Umber Hulk.  

Always the umber hulk.  They just look cool.  And they're big badass bug things.  

Umber hulks win.