D&D MONSTER RANKINGS - MONSTROSITIES (pt. 1)
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- Here prowl savage beasts more fantastical and strange than you ever imagined. Who is at the top of the monstrosity food chain?
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Huh. This Tier Zoo episode is pretty wild.
Outside must be glitched again, I did love playing as the roc tho.
Cant disagree on ya there mate these critters are pretty wild
Yep
I think it's tips for "Inside" DLC.
@@MrSimonmshannon I preferred the bulette I tunneled away a full city in a week causing a collapse
More rankings in general, not just monstrosities(but also monstrosities)
I'm planning on more for sure. Monstrosities part 2 is next.
@@esperthebard AWWWW YES, take your time because as far as I can tell the longer they take the better they are.
I agree with this human.... Unless they aren't human, if they aren't human then I become confused.
Mr Vry Dapper Ferret I still want Esper to rank the Hags.
Owlbears should have keen sight, keen hearing, spider climb, dark vision and move completely silently.
Plus a roar or screech ability. As is, they only have plain basic attacks.
@@esperthebard a fear induced screech.
you should see the Bearowls
I'm with you on everything but spider climb. What's the logic on that one?
@@howlingarmadillo well you see the bear is sort of like the spider of the ground and the owl is like the a spider of the sky
Owl bears are classics why would you say they are the lowest when their style is so high
Why would you say something so brave, yet so controversial.
I fell in love with the owlbear when I saw it for the first time.
Honestly I think Esper may like the owlbear from Pathfinder 2e. It is CR4 and includes a Bloodcurdling Screech that frightens creatures within 80 feet that hear it. The screech has a will DC of 20 and even a success on this causes adventurers to be frightened 1. A creature who gets a result of less than 10 on their save runs as far as possible from the source during their next round and has a frightened 3 status. It can even do this screech as it runs covering a huge area of its territory.
Note: Frightened causes all rolls to have a minus x where x is the number included with the status. It decreases by one after that characters turn
Not only this but as it attacks an adventurer with its claws the owlbear is capable of grabbing them and then attempting to disembowl them while striking with their beak causing 1d12 + 6 damage and sickening the poor soul in their grasp, that is in addition to the 1d10 + 6 from the claw attack when they grabbed the adventurer.
Honestly, they're my favourite monster in D&D
Hoot Growl!
I kinda actually like the Owlbear...I can't decide if it's because I genuinely think it looks kind of cool or whether it's just one of those things that are so stupid that I can't help but unconditionally love it.
I think there cute
owlbear kind of got stuffed in 5e there's nothing mentioning its fighting style of grapple, crush, then peck.
It’s really dumb and pointless in my opinion just another “let’s do it because we can” ideas.
a lot of the more recent artwork of the owlbear gives it some justice but the old art was just plain goofy.
owlbears are just really creative
If owlbears aren't stylish, I don't know what is.
I think he hasn't got owlbear right, being made via a magical experiment and despite looking freaking awesome, an obvious failure, therefore not having keen ears but having keen smell, is an example of that fact, then add in the fact that Elves tend to use Owlbears as guards, so they are trainable. An elven ranger whose companion is a freaking owlbear! Your telling me that roleplaying a derpy owlbear who would barely know what end of the beak to bite with wouldn't be funny and the history of the owlbear not being 100% clear and the experiment being claimed by a mad mage. I think he got it wrong.
Literally everything else. It's a bear with an owl head.
I have to agree that esper has a weird sense of style. According to him, the creature with the lowest style is the Giff, which is clearly one of the highest.
@@freefromnuts7889 I used owlbear in adventure, where he was created by maniacal mage as many others. He was first encounter simple, yet i put some details on twisted nature of monster, especially during autopsy. So it can be used well. But it is painfully limited.
I know. He lost me with entry 1.
*Sigh* He gives the Owlbear crap, then talks up the worm version of a Malboro. I don't get you sometimes, Esper.
@Cheryl Plom To be fair, esper is only talking about the MMe5 Owlbear but I agree, Owlbears are awesome
"The only good thing about owlbears is that the wizard who created them is probably dead."
-Xarshel Ravenshadow, gnome professor of transmutative science at Morgrave University
^from the D&D 5e Monster Manual
me to my DM: ok hear me out here... Owlbear cavalry charge
DM: ... go on
tell me more
So long story short we had to clear out a fortress full of yuan-ti and they had way too many to take on in a straight on fight not to mention the advantage of a well fortified position. Earlier on we had stumbled on a tribe of friendly(ish) werewolves who had (sort of) domesticated owlbears so I floated the idea of getting them to help us out. Problem was due to an earlier ... misunderstanding we were pretty sure they wouldn't be happy about seeing us so we started brainstorming ways on how to not get brutally eviscerated the second we showed our faces.
Then I had an idea: what we did was tie a message and a map to an arrow warning the yuan-ti of a "enraged werewolf clan out for yuan-ti blood over here", shooting it into their fortress and getting the hell out of there before they could react. After a couple of close calls and a lucky backstab from our rouge we managed to get away undetected so we got ourselves comfy and waited. Eventually we spotted a patrol leaving the fort headed directly toward the werewolf encampment. We followed at a discrete distance and when got close to their camp we snuck off downwind where we could still see the action. The werewolves saw the yuan-ti and the air suddenly became thick with anger and tension. A group of three broke off to confront the yuan-ti.
"What are you doing here snake-men" growled one. The leader of the yuan-ti ignored him.
"your tribe seems to have done quite well for itself, your numbers look to have doubled since the last time I was here"
"Our numbers are of no concern of yours snake man, now what are you doing here!" The yuan-ti ignored him again.
"One could almost believe you're preparing to attack us. But that would be preposterous, after all that would mean you're thinking of breaking the treaty between us". That did not make the wolves happy.
"You dare accuse us of treachery! How dare you!" the yuan-ti finally acknowledged the wolf.
"Of course, my apologies for implying such a thing. Of course wolf men are incapable of thought" he laughed. A collective growl rose from the camp and a few of the inhabitants looked like they were ready to transform. Their leader raised his hand for calm however.
"Provoke us all you like snake. We will not be the ones to break the treaty. Now leave" The yuan-ti looked almost disappointed.
"A pity. Very well we shall depart, but we shall be watching you"
At this point I whispered to our ranger "shoot one of the werewolves, don't kill him just hurt him". She grinned at me and let loose a shot... and the dice says headshot. A enraged roar came up from the camp and the yuan-ti leader turned to glare at us and yelled out "YOU FOOL!" before getting his throat ripped out by the werewolf alpha. We were confused at this for a second but then we stumbled onto a yuan-ti pureblood hiding nearby and then it made sense. A pitched battle erupts which the wolves win quite easily with us picking off purebloods on the flanks. After it was done we each picked up a yuan-ti corpse and marched into the camp. "I think that's all of them" our paladin said dumping his corpse at the werewolves feet. They were not happy to see us. One of the werewolves came up to us nose to nose and growled at us. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand" when our rouge (ever the smart arse) pointed out that we just helped them kill the yuan-ti who had attacked them unprovoked it actually did the opposite of help. "You lot were probably the ones who started this whole mess!" Not good. At this point I stepped in to save our collective bacon. "Listen, you have bigger problems at the moment. When this patrol doesn't return the yuan-ti will have all the excuse they need to attack in force as they've been planning to do all this time. We have a plan to take them all out in one swift brutal strike but we need your help to do it. Kill us if you want but ask yourselves how a war of attrition will end for your tribe"
For a moment it looked like I had royally screwed up and the wolves were going to pick option "kill the outsiders" but luckily the alpha had a cooler head and called for a council. Warning us not to "make our decision easy for us". So they talked and we sat there contemplating our seemingly rapidly declining lifespans when they finally reached a decision. "we do not trust you, but we trust the snake men even less. We shall help you, but afterwards if we so much as catch your scent in this forest again we will take great delight in sucking the marrow from your bones".
We waited for nightfall, snuck into the fortress, unbarred and opened the gate. Sadly the screaming of the rusty hinges alerted the yuan-ti who quickly started flooding into the courtyard only to see a whole pack of pissed off riders atop angry owlbears charging full pelt at them, spears aimed directly at their chests. The yuan-ti attempted to stop them with arrows but to no avail. The owlbears crashed into the first rank and started mauling them, the riders sunk their spears into the second rank using the momentum of the charge to pole vault behind the lines (transforming into their hybrid form in mid air). Avoiding the fubar of death we made our way through the fort to the leaders quarters and ended him. We briefly considered sticking around to help the werewolves/search for treasure but this was vetoed on the grounds of 1. getting in the middle of a pitched fight which involves multiple owlbears and werewolves is monumentally stupid and 2. the definition of "afterwards" the alpha gave us was disturbingly vague.
P.S. I suck at making long stories short
@@firestorm165 that is a great story
Alston Harris cheers, if there's enough interest I'll tell the story about how we found the werewolf tribe and the unfortunate incident that forced us to engineer the break in the non-aggression pact.
@@firestorm165 this was an excellent story!
Yikes,, you really hate the owlbear. I've always loved the flavour of it
me too
It adorable
Wtf owlbears rock
Yeah I love the owlbear. I wish I could ride one into battle.
@@ghostguardian1858 and deadly
You've cut a deep wound in me disrespecting the majestic and fierce Owlbear like that.
My Fighter has a history with monstrosities. After an Owlbear nearly ripped out party apart, he skinned it and got a coat that he kept until his death. Also was obsessed with Anhkegs, tried to raise one from an egg but our Rogue destroyed it in his sleep. Said Rogue was then chokeslammed through a three-story building. Never piss off the Gnoll Fighter when you're just a little Halfling.
When you mix an owl and a carebear, you get a monstrosity that will love you to death.
> We can't just put a cat head on a crocodile body.
Speak for yourself! I shall have my wizard create...THE CATOCROCK! BEHOLD!
Look upon that wonder, ye mighty, and DESPAIR!
a Lynenodile ?
@@enragedmang A Felinedile?
No, that sounds more like some variant pokemon. You're right: Lynenodile is better.
A Croat
Yes! A part 2 is needed!
Coming soon ;)
Esper the Bard while you're at it, how about a rankings vid for the different types of mounts players can ride into battle on?
No joke. I've always liked the Owelbear's look. I agree it could use more skills and some juicy law would be nice, but sometimes you do just want some monstrous creature to savage the party. Now I can see how some don't appreciate the look, but some of the art you showed was great. Then you have game appearances like those in Dragon's Crown the looked great... Although everything down to the food looked fantastic in that game. XD Then you also have appearances like the Shrike from Dauntless that has that freaky glowing eyed horror look to it. I'd say its a taste thing more then a bad combination design.
Honestly these rankings videos are my favorite videos. I'm not even a DM anymore and likely not for quite some time, but these always give me some great ideas!
A bard is most pleased to see the inspiration spreading
Imagine hating one of the most beloved monsters in D&D. It represents D&D so well with its fun and campy exterior yet fantastical/fantasy concept.
Imagine having an opinion that's not my own.
Which monster are you referring to? I'm guessing beholders?
Owlbear
@@yoboibeerus1387 Imagine Dragons
What I really dislike about the owlbear is its boring design. I made 2 new owlbears in my 5e book and quite enjoyed them, as they have unique features and interesting abilities.
Why no love for the Cat-o-Dile?
The head, tail and skin of a crocodile on a feline body make for a suitably terrifying and surprisingly real monster:
dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kaprosuchus
@@RokuroCarisu Ambulocetus my man
Because everyone knows the Catigator is more dangerous.... that and the feared Crocoduck for Kirk Cameron
Ah the displacer beasts, also known by a few dnd players as Kitty whippens.
2themax or, Bigcat
I have always loved the idea of Displacer beasts, and always thought they required... something extra... So when I am DM'ing they get something extra....
Little things like an INT of 10 (though no speech), dual claw and a bite attack as well as the tentacle attacks, they can split the tentacle attacks but the claw and bite attacks have to go into the same target. If both claws strike they get a rake attack (with their rear legs). Oh, they also get stealth, keen eyesight and keen hearing (so almost impossible to sneak up on), and Mirror Image three times a day (just because).... Oh, they lose the middle legs....
As I said, I have always loved the idea of those beasties, but as a Biologist the idea of six legged mammals offends me as they are so energy inefficient (biologically in animals with endoskeletons more than four limbs is an evolutionary downside due to the extra brain power and energy requierements for very little actual gain), in my games Displacer beasts get so many new toys to play with I am sure they do not mind losing one set of legs :D
Me: OH SWEET, OWLBEAR!
*Sees it's in F tier*
WAFFLES NOOOOO!!!
Owlbear is best monster ever 😻
Oh boy...
You should hug one.
giant hairy barf pellets
Just imagine finding a huge moist sticky ball of hair, bones, and partially digested bits of armor. That would be so fucking nasty.
I know, right? And they complain that that doesn't offer amazing role-playing possibilities.
Monstrosities or not, the ranking videos are some of my favorite D&D content on CZcams
i actualy made a campain with a quest that featured a giant owlbear that the players needed to run from,
this owlbear was around four times bigger than a normal owlbear (it also shot fireballs)
F-Fireballs? Somebody was doing something they shouldn't have been...
awsomesauceHD Sounds like a Crash Bandicoot level.
@@Im-Not-a-Dog it kind is
"kinda"
@@Im-Not-a-Dog woah
to be fair it makes sense for the chimera to have lower than expected speed do to the added bulk of dragon wings, 3 heads, and a draconic tail
This channel really has some of the most outlandish takes I’ve ever come across. Honestly I kinda wish someone else did a series similar to this that actually liked 5e at all because it gets increasingly obvious with every video I watch of this guy that he just doesn’t care for it. And like that’s fine but… I don’t know, I feel like sometimes he makes calls that are about as close as an opinion can get to just plain wrong.
I haven't played D&D since AD&D. Now that I have time I'm getting back into it and writing my own campaign.
The way you present things is really helping me write my story. I want my campaign to epic for my players.
Thanks for uploading this! A part 2 is definitely needed and I look forward to it like it's GoT!
Ah, the cavefisher. I remember playing a game where they popped up. We picked them out in the darkness with our lanterns and were going to avoid them but the minotaur in our party raised the important point that it had been a while since we had eaten in our explorations of these dark underground tunnels we were traveling through. So, after much inadvertent yo-yoing slapstick comedy and a few near deaths, we finally sat around a magically sustained fire feasting on crab meat coated in garlic butter and spices whilst an Otyugh sheepishly ate some crystals in the next room over, pointedly trying not to catch out attention. Good times, good times.
No one:
Literally no one:
Esper: I HATE owlbears!
(I love how many comments there are talking about their love of owlbears. Personally I love owlbears too, don't know why, just like their style I guess.)
Anyone else get really excited when Esper uploads a new tier list?
All my upvotes for the NIN tier nicknames. Your ranking videos are your best content IMO. Always entertaining, inspiring, and genuinely interesting.
Love it. Excellent elucidation and expository, Esper!
Also the NIN reference on the tier list itself caught me off guard but made me smile.
The absolute best D&D channel on CZcams.
I was a little shaken up by the Wichita footage, as i also live there and know exactly where that is.
Great video btw
Right on, cool to see another Wichitan here
I cant really express how much these videos amuse me. I dont even play RPG, but just seeing you describing and rating all these creatures is well worth the trip. Keep up the good work :)
(sorry for the bad english)
I just love those super silly first edition pictures of the monsters.
I love your rankings. As I have started with 5e it's nice to hear what the monsters where like in the previous editions. Keep up the good work you crazy minstrel.
Your videos really help me remember creatures that I forgot all about. These videos are invaluable for DM's everywhere.
Dnd's gorgon is likely much like colossus from the X-men's mutant power which allows him to cover his entire body in an organic metal
The justification for Owlbears sense of smell may come from the bears, some of the best smell-ers in the animal kingdom.
Yes, but bears smell with their head, and that is the part that is missing.
Please make more of these videos. I find them incredibly inspiring. I would also love to see you go in-depth on earlier edition monsters, especially 3.5
Hmmmm sounds to me like you've had some bad run-ins with Owlbears
Something you may find interesting, Esper: The new Mythic Odysseys of Theros book includes a whole little section about Chimerae, and making different combinations of them.
I LOVE the purple worm, there's just something really cool about a worm so massive it could eat a small town. It was the first miniature I ever got and it has a special place in my heart
More rankings please. I love these, especially as they give me a better understanding of the monsters that I use as a budding DM.
Here before 1000. I love all of your videos dude and am so happy that I found the channel. And you left out my parties age old low level mount, the hippogriff.
Thanks man! And yeah, I considered the hippogriff, but there are just so many monstrosities
Carrion Crawler was one of my favorite monsters and I had never even seen the previous art. This was a gift.
Oh please make a video with all of them, your videos are so insightful and are a delight to listen too.
Best Video so far, great resource of Mounts for a Character on an Rp
Give Owlbears wings and they’d be way more bad ass, and I feel like there needs to be an official Winged Owlbear. Give some new flavor to a classic creature.
but then they'd be Griffins... and Griffins need to STAY cool... :-P
Guus van Voorst It would be similar to a gryphon, only silent when flying and much larger.
As an enchanted creature it wouldn't be hard to include a single extra feature
In the D&D movie the owlbear that the druid Wild shapes in to has winged arms tbh. Yes I know druids can't technically wild shape in to an Owlbear, but it's cool as hell
I'm really loving the design of the Displacer Beast, might give it some tuning and much deserved love in my campaign...
"The only good thing about owlbears is the wizard who created them is already dead."
Part 2 please!!!!
Also I have a pair of Drow twins in a campaign. One brother is a Ranger. The other a Druid. The Druid managed to find and raise, essentially tame a litter of (pups?) (kittens?) young Displacer beasts. He trained like you train Dobermans and they guard our party while we travel
Me and my brother always do little combat things were we both play as monsters and do like “who would win in a fight?” Scenarios. This really helped me kick his butt!
I’ve never played d&d, but I found this very interesting.
Glad to listen to info about these interesting monsters.
Hey, Esper! Could you Rank the “Tome Of Beasts” and “Creature Codex” monsters by Kobold Press after you’re done with all the official D&D monsters by WOTC?
I do quite like Tome of Beasts (and I'm sure I'd like Creature Codex too).It has a ton of creatures, and many of them really rock. Someday, I just might have to do a video about those monsters.
Esper the Bard That would be amazing! I understand that cramming through all of the monsters will take a lot of work. So take all the time you need.
Your videos a great. Keep up the good work!
I'm excited to see more monstrocity ratings. Don't keep us waiting too long.
How dare you. Owlbears are MAGESTIC.
YES! I love this! Can we get more rankings of monstrosity’s?
Dude! I've been watching your videos for months now. Never even considered that you might live here in Wichita. Awesome to know we have such charismatic D&D fans as you.
I remember getting wrecked by Ankhegs playing Baldur's Gate 1. And using their shells to craft a pretty good armor. Sad to see them fall so low.
Hey, I'm also from Wichita! Great to see such quality D&D content coming from my hometown. Keep it up!
Hello fellow Wichitan! Many thanks
First time watching this channel, very excellent work! I deeply appreciate the effort in this content, many thanks!
I was just thinking about how great a monstrosity ranking would be, and here it is
You are going to love the Theros book Esper!
NIN Ranking makes this the best one yet!
Please do more like this! Great job as always!
Another critical success of a video good sir!
Love this series! I don’t play d&d but find it so interesting!
Thank you for the correction on the purple worm. I homebrewed a sandworm a la Dune based off the purple worm stat block, only with a breath weapon feature that triggers on the bite instead of the 2nd poison sting attack. Checked my MM and yeah I have a misprint there. More death!
Yes! My aarakokra-wereowlbear demands more monstrosities rankings!
You can tell this video predates BG3 because the Owlbear cub is the most wholesome character of all time.
More! I need all of the monstrosities to be recorded. Thank you.
Please keep going these videos are always interesting and entertaining
Just took Monstrosity as my second favored enemy with my Ranger. I NEED you to do part 2.
Perhaps you should make your own version of the monster manual? I'm sure a lot of people agree with you on those points.
that is a time-consuming logistic problem at best or a legal impossibility at the most likely
I could go for 2 or 3 more Monstroity vids.
2 if needed for this list and just 1 after show that covers F-A to show case some in each you had to leave behind.
These vids of yours always inspire me; thank you for making them.
I legitimately dont know where all the owlbear hate came from. I know your reasons, I just heard you but I've never seen it as bad. I like em.
with a little bit more fixing i think the owlbear could be realy great
Besides the dumb design I think my main issue is that they are useless. The only real purpose they serve is to establish the setting, which you can do with just about anything else that isn't just two animals squished together.
I love these types of videos
Esper does such a good job with these. :3
Your channel is awesome, Im just starting to play and I would enjoy to have more Monstrosities videos
Oh yeah I want more monster rankings. That’s the whole reason I subscribed to your channel.
I never ever played D&D sadly but I just love Esper's Ranking Videos, why is that?
More please, love it!!
I like the continual background lore we're getting about owl bears and his insistence that gnomes are the worst.
I want all of them! I'm a beginner DM and you inspire me to use different monstersin my campaing.
I love the Dark Mantle and the Cave Fisher ideas!
Wait, you're from Witchita, DUDE, I'm from Medicine Lodge about an hour SW from you.
Please give us a part 2 esper! Pretty please!
coming soon
Razor uploaded a king diamond metal mythos, Friday I’m going to visit my friends and now this. This week is sweeeeeeet
What a great Monday!
I'm in a Fantasy Age campaign and our GM homebrew a variation of the displacer beast. In FA we use 3 d6 for ability checks and attack rolls, and one of the dice must be of a different color, and this different dice is used for extra combat feats. Everytime we did an attack against the beast, the DM asked what number we had on our different dice before stating if we hit or missed.
It sparkled some doubt and fear at us, because sometimes an attack of 19 would miss and an attack of 15 would hit. And sometimes two sepparate attacks of 15 would hit and miss. It took us a few rounds to realize that odd numers on the different dice would always miss.
It was definitely one of the most memorable encounters in our early game.
>bulette low tier
How wrong can you be?
I think the best encounter I've had with a chimera was in Dragon's Dogma. I was walking through a forest at night, and a huge chimera lunged at me from the darkness. It took 20 minutes, 7 potions, and a few lucky strikes to bring it down. Climbing on it and slashing at its snake and goat heads was a thrilling challenge.
i got this idea from tumblr but I am going to call the monster guides waifu catalogs
I hope whatever milk you get from that fish is spoiled and laced with molten metal.
Second time I've run into this today...not sure if that says something about me, the D&D community, or both. Both probably.
Same
I don't even play d&d but your video was entertaining. You gained a new subscribers
Keep the list coming and monstrositys
I love these ranking videos, please could you do one on Fey next?
Your ratings are awesome! Please give us more
Love the ranking videos. More monstrosities and others to.