Daily Monster Art- Axe Beak

 

This art series is more like the monsters I've never actually used in a game series. I think the axe beak is pretty cool, I mean, it is weird dumb creature- the ostrich just fantasized up a bit. I could see goblin tribes riding them across dusty badlands. A nice exotic animal to hunt. I bet they taste delicious. Tomorrow- Aarakocra.

Daily Monster Art- Ant

I've never really used giant ants. I always think of them as car sized, but I think they are only supposed to be about 2 feet long. An ant cave dungeon sounds really cool on paper but it just hasn't really ever felt like a thematic choice in my campaigns. I could see it in an open savanna or a cool dungeon under a rainforest. Maybe have a war being fought between red ants and black ants. Maybe the ant queen is telepathic and sentient and has a quest for the heroes. Tomorrow- Axe Beak!!!

 

Daily Monster Art- Ape

I've written about apes before here, but the upshot is I think they are great additions to any game. I think they really add a  lot. Killing a gang of apes is just different somehow to killing a tribe of orcs for example. We can empathize with them more, even if they are animals, players can see themselves in the apes. Ape reaction and goals are "humanish", and so if they are just being simple hunter gatherers- harming no one, OR working as minion / slaves for an evil wizard, they are a recognizable reflection of the "civilized" humans the players are used to, and the DM should play that up. Also go watch the new junglebook movie if you haven't seen it.- Christopher Walken plays an amazing King of the Apes. Tomorrow- Ant. 

Daily Monster Art- Anhkheg

Again, I don`t think I`ve ever used these in a game.They are pretty gross gribbly beasts. Spitting acid and chomping and such. They kind of make me think of that great bug scene from the King Kong movie. I could see them as maybe something in the Underdark or in the rainforest underbrush. They make a pretty good random nonspecific bug type monster that isn`t a spider or beetle or ant. Ape tomorrow.

Daily Monster Art- Aerial Servant

 

Never had much use for these in my games. There are criminally few elementals to summon in 5th edition though. So I'd let "Summon Aerial Servant" be a new spell, scale down the stats of a air elemental, and say it can only really go on fetch missions. Give it a chance to succeed on a mission on a case by case basis. If it fails it comes back to try to kill the summoner as a full strength air elemental due to rage. Boom! Ahnkeg tommorow.