Between the five main editions, each with additional supplemental books, and homebrew material, it can be an overwhelming task sifting through them all, to pick the perfect monsters for each encounter. With D&D only a few years shy of its 50th anniversary, there is a vast range of fantastical beasts to pick from. On the flipside, a terrifying encounter with a dragon can teach the party that, even with all their victories, they are still just mortals. Monster mobs can evoke feelings of power and superiority, such as when higher-level characters effortlessly dispatch a group of skeletons or goblins. But even more, it comes from the cruel and cunning enemies faced along the way.
Some of this undoubtedly comes from the elaborate underground caverns, dungeons, and other locations that are visited during a campaign. A good quest requires a certain amount of danger, and a proper balance of risk versus reward. What would Dungeons & Dragons be without the malevolent menagerie of ghastly foes you encounter during your adventure? It would be rather dull, we think.
