Hello All and welcome to another Freestyle Friday. I’m off to a convention this weekend and in honor of some of the people I hope to meet and greet, I figured we’d cover super-monsters today.
The whole superhero genre is filled with exceptional individuals in the midst of ordinary people, which gives them great potential to do evil or good. Today I present you with 20 options for super-monster or super-npc options. (note: these options are most appropriate for highly intelligent or humanoid monsters (of which things like many demons, devils, giants, and fey also qualify.))
So without further delay here are my little nuggets for you.
Superpower.
- regeneration: The monster regenerates health and can regrow lost body parts.
- extra damage resistances: the monster has additional damage resistances that the species as a whole doesn’t.
- additional damage immunities: the monster has immunities to damage types it normally doesn’t.
- extendible limbs: the monster’s melee reach is 40 feet or greater. And it can step over a gap as large as its melee reach without having to make any sort of check.
- healed by damage type: a damage type normally heals it even though this isn’t normal for the race or monster in question.
- Willpower: immune to charms or any enchantment spells.
- Willpower reversal: when subjected to charm or other effects, the charmer is then the target of the ability and if they fail a saving throw, the monster is considered the charmer.
- condition immunity: the monster is immune to a condition it normally is not.
- frightening: The monster exudes a 10-foot aura of fear.
- flight: a non-flying monster can fly.
- super-speed: a monster either has a vastly increased movement rate or can dash as a free action once per round with accompanying disengage.
- Spider climb: the Monster has spider-climb
- mind-reader: the monster has detect thoughts on as well as detect good and evil and detect lie at all times.
- aquatic: The creature has water breathing and a swimming speed equal to the highest of its movement rates.
- creature affinity: the monster can cast a charm spell on all creatures of a certain variety within a certain area of itself (preferably not its own species.)
- Mind control specialist: The monster has a natural charm ability that inflicts the dominate monster spell and can have a very large number of creatures controlled at once. Furthermore, when it uses the ability, it is an area of effect spell and damage to the servants does not provoke a saving throw on the creature’s part.
- Earth glide: The creature has earth glide.
- innate spellcasting (elemental): The creature has thematic spell-like powers that are all focused on a single element.
- master of nature: the creature has innate spells related to plants and animals.
- magic resistance: The creature has magic resistance if it normally wouldn’t have it and if it would, it is immune to spells below the spells a player would have at its challenge rating.
Those are the superpowers I’ve created for monsters you might want to use. Handle with caution as some of these can make even a goblin a nightmare. So use sparingly, after all, superheroes are rare.
About the Author:
Zachary Is one of the DMs for “Companions of the Perception Check.” He loves classic lit, bad sci-fi and horror flicks, and the company of his pet rats and dogs. He loves superheroes too and his favorites include The Flash, The Green Arrow, and Zatanna.
