D&D: 10 Underused Monsters That Will Destroy Even The Toughest Party

The world of Dungeons and Dragons is built on nothing if not tropes. The high fantasy adventure setting lends itself nicely to a world of intimidating, albeit familiar monsters.

There is nothing wrong with using a dragon. The game wouldn't be named after them if they were not such incredible, iconic monsters. That being said, there are some mainstays in the game that tend to be used frequently.

If you've played D&D, chances are you started off with Goblins and Kobolds, worked your way up through Trolls, and then dealt with heavy hitters like Beholders. It's a formula that works, but it also does a disservice to players and Dungeon Masters alike.

With the Monster Manual, Volo's Guide to Monsters, and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, there are dozens of creatures with exciting new abilities that will promise to throw your players for a loop, encountering scenarios that they've yet to experience.

With that in mind, why not read ahead and find some creatures that might deserve a second shot at terrorizing some poor hapless adventurers?

Kicking off this list is an abhorrent dweller of the deep. These creatures started out as dwellers on the sea that sold their souls to some sort of underwater patron in exchange for continued life. As a minion, there are few more creatures that may fill a group with more dread than these beasts.

Deep Scions are formidable opponents, carrying battleaxes in one form, but can transform into a monstrous second form capable of a multitude of bites and claws.

Their trump card, however, comes in the form of a Psychic Screech. Crying out to an unprecedented 300-foot radius, this scream can stun an party members. An inconvenience, but nothing that a group cannot overcome. The real problem occurs when these amphibious villains scream while in the water.

Doing so transmits the memories of the Deep Scion for the last 24 hours to its master, with no concern as to the distance between the two. Suddenly, whatever unspeakable horror that lies 20,000 leagues beneath the seas knows of YOU. Your location, your actions, your movements, your powers, everything that creature has seen, it has seen. Everything the creature knows, it now knows. It knows, and it's coming.