"The forty-odd year history of Dungeons and Dragons - and I use the term “DnD” as a catch-all for pretty much any pen-and-paper RPG set in a medieval fantasy world - has produced many hundreds of monsters to pick from, usually first level adventurers are oftentimes stuck fighting the same old somewhat-boring low-level monsters, never really being truly challenged until they reach higher levels.
So this is a quick list of five low-level monsters that you should add when creating your next DnD adventure. Accompanied by a couple of explanatory notes/suggestions for the budding DM. Some of these suggestions will work better in some editions of the game as opposed to others, but they can all work with a bit of DM tweaking. Keep in mind, the rules of the game being more of a guideline rather than unbreakable laws, the DM makes the laws.So without further ado, let’s begin with...
The Bugbear
Despite whatever mental image you might’ve already conjured of some weird bear-insect chimera, a bugbear isn’t that. Although I’m pretty sure there has to be some sort of spider-bear abomination in one of the many monster manuals out there.
Usually people will go with the classic kobolds, orcs, goblins or hobgoblins as their main cannon fodder. That is totally fine, those are classic staples of the game much like skeletons, zombies and Rodents Of Unusual Size but bugbears are an interesting spice to add to the mix.
They’re rather strong, travel in gangs or bands and really like to keep quiet. When they attack they prefer to ambush and can coordinate their attacks. A great challenge for a party in the beginning stages of learning how to work with each other.
The Carrion crawler
This one should be a staple for any sort of adventure that takes place under ground. And seeing how most dungeons tend to be subterranean in nature, adding one of these creepy crawly overgrown centipedes shouldn’t be a stretch for most settings. Keep in mind that even though they can put up quite a fight for a low level party, they’re not big on loot, so you’ll teach the party a solid lesson. They’ll learn that getting away with their characters still alive is reward in itself.
The Assassin vine
One of the more unassuming monsters you can add to your adventure for more than just a splash of “what the fuck?!” and potential strangling death. The assassin vine can be placed in pretty much any sort of forest/swamp/jungle setting and as it name entails, it kills motherfuckers. Not only kills them, but is also big into recycling so it uses their bodies as fertilizer. So in case you’re DMing a more foolish type of crazy risk-taking party, let them run into an assassin vine and then see them Spot check any plant in a 20-meter range from that moment onward.
The Mimic
Wonderfully devious and difficult enemy to take down, especially if you play it right. Find a way of making the players think that they might actually be dealing with a human until it’s too late and you can spring the mimic trap on them.
Due to the pervasiveness of Internet memes and jokes, the mimic disguised as a large chest could be, and should be, considered a cliche as far as adventure-writing goes. So think a bit outside the chest when creating a mimic encounter it’s going to be guaranteed fun.
The Rust monster
A great way of teaching your players about the precarious nature of material possessions within a fantasy world… by dissolving them while they wear them.
Not only will they learn to care for their current level gear and make them truly appreciate any masterwork or magic item but it’s also a great way of relieving them of some of their cash if you’ve fucked up in the first couple of adventures and gave them too much money so now they can make it rain ale in the tavern.
Besides the chance of acting as a bit of a reset for a foolhardy DM, the rust monster also poses a nice challenge to the party and should make for some interesting tactics in fighting it, especially if they rely a bit too much on plate armor to absorb damage, a rust monster encounter will make them change their entire playstyle from that moment onward."
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I uploaded the original article up on Rugged Gamers: http://ruggedgamers.com/top-5-dungeons-dragons-monsters-add-low-level-campaign/
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