What lurks in the dark? What eats children who stray into the woods? What has pointed teeth, sharp claws, and thirty slimy eyeballs? Why, your imagination, of course…. and MONSTERS!

Welcome to the magnificent monsters menu page. Monsters are incredible narrative characters, so here’s a collection of nasty varmints to throw at your other not-so-monstery characters. Or maybe you want a monster-v-monster story in which case this may be the only page you need!

There are links to some other pages and posts for more specific or focused monster ideas. Enjoy… at your own risk…

Monsters

• bridge troll, cave troll, gutter troll, sewer troll, back alley troll,
• ork/orc, goblin, hobgoblin, bugbear, 
• hippogriff, griffin, wyvern, hippocampus, manticore, sphinx,
• dragon, serpent, ancient dragon, giant red dragon, 
• leprechaun, kobold, imp,
• harpy, forest nymph, dryad, sylvan, siren,  nereid, naiad, oread, hamadryad, roanes, kelpie, lorelei, selkie,
• lycanthrope, werewolf, werebear, weretiger, wereworm, wereshark, shapeshifter, doppleganger, 

  

• hill giant, colossal hill worm, dreaded killer hill warbler
• mind feeder, brain sucker, cerebral leech,
• fomorian, mountain giant, stone titan, hill giant, colossal cliff beast, frost giant, 
• goliath,
• uroboros, hoopsnake,
• treekin, gutter troll
• doppleganger slime, ooze, mold, jelly, insect swarm, cyclops
• lizardkin, jotunn,
• djinni, genie, 
• chimera
• rock thing,
• great horse, great whale, great lion,
• bodach, cailleach,  churl, bogeyman,
• bugbear,
• spirit, harbinger, apocalyptic rider,
• kraken, leviathan, sea lion, 
• lizardman, merman, mermaid, merfolk, bunyip, 
• will-o-wisp, trickster, mirage, 
• gorgon,
• anka, roc, great bird, tengu, 
• unicorn, centaur,
• puca, satyr, faun,
• rakshasa, man-eater, kravyad,
• fang beast, great-toothed one, rhino-man, crow-hag,
• worm-maned man, wormbeast, giant worm, wormy mass, fleshworm,
• hydra, windigo, minotaur, triton, grendel, nemean lion, 
• medusa, basilisk, cockatrice, lamia, naga, siren, 
• creeper, freaker, spooker, shifter, slinker, stinger, stinker, blinker, watcher,
• devil, fiend, imp, fire faerie,
• giant wolf, fenrir,
• the seven whistlers, banshee, gremlin, pooka, night sister, 
• fiend, berserker,
  
• succubus, incubus, demon, hag, graeae, 
• cave monkey, 
• humonculus, golem,
• elemental beast,
• dust devil,
• phoenix, firebird, flame vulture, fiery eagle, thunderbird,
• dogmen, weredogs, adlet, oborot, cerberus,
• sasquatch, yeti, bigfoot, alma,
• kappa, jumby, loogaroo,
• nosferatu, vampire, hellhound,
• chupacabra, wendigo,
• jabberwock, jersey devil,
• giant bat, humongous rat, gargantuan snake, tiny yak,
• minotaur, medusa, kraken, harpy, cyclops,
• gargoyle, guardian beast, werewolf,
• giant vulture, dire eagle, massive horseshoe crab,

Giant Bugs and such…

• fiendish centipede crazed jumping spider huge poisonous ant giant cockroach
• enraged massive fire beetle gargantuan lightning bug massive praying mantis black widow queen
• hulking scorpion dire colossal maggot titanic mad hornet immense thousand-toothed worm
• ridiculous biting big flea monstrous burrowing scabies gross mite terrorizing titan moth
• mammoth mosquito slippery ear weevil mountainous zoraptera cyclops worm

  

• vast amoeba slimelord, jumbo biting lice, whale fly, elephant bug,
• humongous dragonfly towering glowbug thundering blood thrip mondo spider
• hefty hedge cricket, walloping stone bug, bull worm, fat feral fly,
• husky scorpionfly, two-inch bone termite, large cave spider, colossal dung beetle,
• immense stick bug (known also as a “tree bug” because of its size)
• vast ventricular mole mite (attempts to burrow to the heart through the chest with its corrosive saliva – even works on metal)
• herculean herpes virus (once it touches you, it never lets go!)
• terrifying super-sized leech – attaches to a characters face and SUCKS!
• gigantic butterfly – used by wood elves to get around the forest efficiently
• the great worm known as “The World Eater” who surfaces once a century to feed on cities
• check out the Amateur Entomologists’ Society site for some great BUG ideas… just add a really big adjective (colossal, mighty, gargantuan, etc.) and you have a monster!

Undead

Here’s a small sample of undead ideas that we’ve included under Monsters. Go to the UNDEAD page for even more ideas, if you like this kind of… um… dead stuff. [dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Anything dead can be UNDEAD![/dropshadowbox]

• ghost, phantom, phantasm, ghoul,
• wight, revenant, mummy, skeleton, skeleton warrior,
  
• zombie, corpsewalker, ghast, wraith,
• poltergeist spirit lost soul soulless wanderer
• ethereal creeper psychic devourer presence spectre
• shadow glimmer/shimmer ticker hellborn, darkborn,
• devil’s minion seed of hell mummy shade
• vampire, verkolaka, nosferatu, jaracaca
• dead pirate hoard, grim reaper,

Monster Adjectives

• menacing, baleful, threatening, hostile, dangerous, intense
• wicked, nasty, gnarly, horrific, horrible, terrible,
• terrifying, scary, frightening,
• malicious, malignant, sinister, evil, devilish,
• destructive, vindictive,
• hulking, looming, towering, imposing, intimidating, powerful, awesome, terrific, lofty, preeminent, supreme, great, unrivaled,
• electric, pulsating, throbbing, undulating, heaving, swelling, rippling, billowing, rising,

Monster Builder

Why not put together your own monsters? After all, that’s what all the stories do. The menus in this section are designed to help you leap into the creation of your own mythical fantastical legendary creatures. Use whatever you need to build the best fiends and foes ever!

Bodies

• humanoid insectoid (ant) crustacean (crabs) arachnid
• arthropod worm-like invertebrate thorax
• bear-like avian (bird) raptor-like (hawk, eagle) bovine (cow)
• centipede-ish sectioned, segmented telescopic squid, octopus, kraken
• aquatic (fish, eel, scaled)
• squishy, solid, flesh, hide,

Body coverings

• hair, fur, pelt scales metallic
• exoskeleton, bone, gristle, cartilage, hide skin bristles
• flesh, fibre, sinew
• weave, pattern,
• skin, dermis, derma, flesh,
• armour, shell,
• rind, peel, husk,
• membrane, film, layer,
• covering, casing, encasement,
• growth,
• bark, fibre,
• stone, earth, mud, clay,
• puss, ooze, gel, slime,

Eyes

• cyclops, single eye insect eye (fly) unblinking eye giant eyes
• eyes on stems see fine details, eagle eyes prism eye dark vision, cats’eyes
• no eyes pale eyes night vision blind
• glowing eyes eyes shoot rays/beams ultraviolet (bees) infrared (heat sensitive)
• ethereal spectrum (see ghosts) movement sensitive (T-rex) black and white vision color vision
• see through walls, stone, ice, water, x-ray vision echolocation “eyes”
• many tiny eyes one huge rotating eye eyes on tentacles false eyes, fake eyes
• daggers for eyes (literally)
• eyes that can be left somewhere and picked up later and transmit their sight to the owner the whole time

• Eyes can shoot laserbeams, fire or rays: heat, cold, lightning, energy (positive, negative, chaos),  
• The stare of a creature can turn people to stone (basilisk, cockatrice, meduse) or you could have the eyes turn someone to: gold, iron, dust, vapor, water, rice, butterflies, jelly, etc.
• visual sense doesn’t have to be through a typical round “eyeball” either. Try photosensitive: slats, screens, panels, fingertips, nostrils, hair, cones,. You might even try eyecubes (instead of eyballs) out for size.
• linked hive eyes allow all members of a monster’s colony to simultaneously see through their own and each other’s eyes; this is hard for humans to comprehend but it is a natural experience for this creature
• eyes can “see” a whole number of things and in any number of conditions; create eyes that can see beyond the human visual spectrum: fear, truth, magical auras, degrees of temperature, subconscious thought,

Head stuff

• ram’s horns, deer antlers, moose antlers, bone plate
• Horn (narwhal, rhino, bull, buffalo, ram,
• hard forehead (for ramming things),
• hair
• mandibles, proboscis, spikes, hooks, burrs, antennas
• telescopic neck
• snout,  beak, bill,  
• tentacle
• tusks (mammoth, elephant, walrus)
• Trumpet, resonating chamber,

Mutations

• extra arms three eyes mandibles lobster claw
• exoskeleton no eyes rows of shark teeth telescoping jaws
• tentacles regeneration super long prehensile tongue, tail, tentacle
• Stone skin, exoskeleton, bone protrusions, bumps, turtle shell, scales,
• laser eyes, six fingers, opposable toes,
• Super sense of smell, danger, sight, taste, hearing, touch, good & evil, truth, magical auras, divine presence, water detection, direction, life presence, gold or gems, metal
• skin molting

Stuff Monsters Spew or Spit or Hurl

Everyone knows about fire-breathing dragons, spitting cobras, and stinky-butt-spraying-skunks; however, there are lots of other great things that can come out of monsters. Surprise your friends when you’re narrating by giving one of these horror-tossing variants to a monster they encounter:

• grease, oil, muck spikes, barbs, quills mercury molten gold
• fire, embers, searing heat ice, frost, snow, hail water vapour, gas, noxious fumes
• dust, ash, mud moths, killer bees, hornets capsicum (hot pepper) vinegar, acid
• poison, venom viruses, bacterial colonies, pus blood, semen, sweat, saliva urine, feces, anal fluid, mucous,
• pungent liquid lava, molten mineral needles, pins, burrs n-butyl mercaptan (skunk gunk)
• molted skin, bark, shell, hair vomit, puke, barf, bile shards, crystals, energy, lightning, electricity
• stinger, harpoon tail stones, rocks, beads, pellets foul gas, obnoxious vapor hormones, pheromones, testosterone
• slime, ooze, goo, jelly, gunk, spunk, junk hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid eggs (rotten ones) charm gas, enchanted goop
• egg salad, mayonnaise rust dust, oxidation agents flesh boring worms, maggots fecal pellets
• belly button lint obsidian shards, rock chips webs, sticky fibrous material steel wire
• vines, briars, thorns, leaves bubbles, froth, foam, lather heavy mesh-like sheet snot, scum,
• gum, glue, adhesive, growth or sleep hormone rays, beams, smoke, soot
• Ectoplasm, astral goo, ethereal lint, etherdust, interplanar tinsel, wormhole fibre, 
• negative energy, wrath, envy, lust, hate

Crazy Monster Powers and Abilities

• magnetic attraction, forcefield
• flight, levitation, teleportation
• create a double (illusion effect)
• burrow, dig, tunnel
• sonic boom, flash of light (causes blindness)
• telekinesis,
• charm, beguile, seduce, dragonspeak, 
• corrupt, suggest, command, compel, enchant, repel, turn,
• vaporous form enraged growth
• forcefield of evil
• monsters can induce fear, terror, horror, panic, anxiety, depression, anger, rage, murderous thoughts and so forth; create a chart for the range of 3d6 effects that you think will create a good story with your gaming group; title it something cool like Molting Horror (where the face of the creature melts off causing all to recoil in despair)

Stuff Monsters Attack With

• teeth, jaws, mouths, mandibles, incisors, molars, canines, bicuspids,
• Claws, talons, hooks, toes, paws, nails, fingers, thumbs, hands,
• Knees, elbows,
• Horns, antlers, spikes, spines barbs, thorns, burrs, proboscis, lumps, bumps, bulges,
• shells, plates, bones, exoskeletons, protrusions
• Engulf, ensnare, absorb
• Web, net, cocoon, encasement,
• spells, magic powers, mutations, mind powers, super powers

Monster Environments

• cave, cavern, dungeon, underground world,
• the woods, haunted forest, The Darkwood, jungle, bayou, coastal rainforest,
• mountains, hills,
• frontier, borderland, edge of the city, wildlands, The Barrens,
• sewers, undercity, tunnels,
• the mall at night, museum, archive,
• ancient sites, relics, ruins,
• cemetery, grave yard, a lone grave of an unnamed traveler,
• strange planet, foreign land, alien star system,
• derelict ship, space ship in stasis, ghost ship, phantom galleon, smuggler’s hold,
• freak show, carnival, Uncle Jeb’s Caravan of the Bizarre,
• dusk, midnight, full moon, eve, evening, nightfall, newmoon, eclipse,