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One would think that air elementals are invisible, but the gusts and breezes that make up their bodies often take tangible shape just from moisture and impurities in the air.
The Runelord Karzoug has a gigantic statue in his own likeness, but it isn't just for show - he can control it as an animated stone golem, and often wills it to serve as the last line of defense in his lair.
Illithids are known for enthralling weak-minded beings to do their dirty work, and the slow, savage Quaggoths are perfect for this.
As much as people like to rag on H. P. Lovecraft for being racist, the only group he actually called "The Great Race" were these weirdos!
Kind of similar in concept to the Elder Things, the Great Race of Yith was a pre-human sentient species that ruled earth millions and millions of years ago.
So, what makes them so "great?" The Yithians are the only creatures to have mastered time travel, of a sort. They could transport their minds throughout history, swapping with the bodies of anything else with sufficient intelligence. In fact, when the time came for their species to finally go extinct (at the hands of the Flying Polyps), the Great Race of Yith simply projected themselves billions of years into the future, swapping with the bodies of the beetle-like Coleopterous race, which will dominate the earth after humanity is gone.
The Yithians appeared most prominently in The Shadow Out of Time, in which they swapped with a professor for a period of several years, simply to learn more about human culture. He, in turn, learned about the Great Race of Yith.
In the 1600s, Jewish persecution was at its height, particularly the infamous Blood Libel (claiming that the jEws mix the blood of young boys in their food. wtf?!?!). Rabbi Lowe of Prague wanted to protect his people, and so he created a man of clay, wrote a holy word on its forehead, and sent it out to do battle. Unfortunately, it eventually went out of control, forcing the rabbi to erase its magical words and kill his beloved creation.
Actually, this is from a 1909 novel that purported to be based on 1600s legend. Crazy, eh?
Oh yeah, uh, co-opted by D&D, blah blah blah, etc.
Although usually identified as a creation of August Derleth, the byakhees first appeared in Lovecraft's story, "The Festival," though they were unnamed. Freakish, semi-insectile gargoyles, they serve the Yellow King Hastur and can fly in space, often offering hapless travellers transport beyond the realms of sanity.
Many giants are themed according to element, and based on the particular D&D edition, this may or may not mean much. Fire Giants are a famous old sgtandbye, as basically huge dwarves that can live in a volcano. You'll notice that this fellow has shoulder armor made from hardened lava, though it's the same color as his skin.
Who knows what kind of creature they were trying to bring into the world...
A typical scene from anything based on H. P. Lovecraft's work, but not at all from anything he actually wrote.
Ever since the first movie to introduce the idea of mummies as monsters, they have (almost) always been depicted as intelligent, mystical priests. Quite different frmo your average zombie, a mummy priest works the magic of the dark curses protecting his tomb.
Despite its appearance, this guy isn't REALLY a demon of gluttony! He is obese, though. Obese with SOULS! Solamiths devour people's souls, which they can then digest for nutrients or use as weapons... by tearing out parts of their tummies and tossing 'em. Yes, I said tummy. Yes, they use exploding tummy bombs. BABOOM!
The Draconians were created by an evil dragon god, and tend to explode, melt, or petrify when they die. Aurak Draconians are spellcasters, able to conjure flames in their hands... or worse.
There are a few kinds of larger-than-usual Umber Hulks, including the Truly Horrid umber Hulks, and the darker-colored Shadow Hulks. Either way, it's a burrowing bug the size of an elephant!
When three Vrocks get together, they can perform a dance ritual - it takes a few rounds to complete, but once it's pulled off, it pretty much blows up every non-demon in the area.
I confess, I stopped reading Dragonlance after the first book. But even I recognize that Raistlin is an awesome character.
A wizard by choice, training, and fate, when we first meet Raistlin, he had already gone through a special sorcerous trial that has changed him forever - giving him gold skin, hourglass-shaped pupils, frail health, but incredible magical potential. He also has a unique outlook on life, far more cynical than any of his travelling companions (and especially his knight-in-shining-armor brother, Caramon). In fact, some people comment that he is probably evil, but at least he's helping the group. Through his hourglass eyes, Raistlin sees time in its entirety - when he looks at someone, he can see their past, present, and future state as a corpse (though not events, of course). All of this, the sacrifices made in his test, his new perspective, and the power coursing in his veins have given him one true goal, that of gaining the power of Fistandantilus the Archmage. But at least his brother, Caramon, can function as his conscience, for now...
In old english, "Lich" simply meant "corpse." In fact, cemetary gates are also known as lichgates.
In D&D, partly drawn from legends such as Koschei the Deathless, a Lich is a sorcerer who made himself undead and stored his soul in a separate object known as a phylactery. Yes, yes, I know Voldemort did the same thing, but he did it like twenty years later.
Liches are some of the ultimate D&D villains for many reasons, the most immediately obvious one being that you can't permanently kill them unless you find that phylactery, which could be anything. but there's a bigger one, too. Most baddies are confronted at the end of their very own dungeon or fortress or traphouse or what-have-you. A Lich is no different. But see, a Lich is the kind of guy who is so desperate to cling to life that he will kill himself and tear out his soul just to fend off the reaper a little longer. And you are storming his fortress, with the type of protection he thinks is adequate.
You are so doomed.
It doesn't quite show in this picture, but this guy is easily twice the size of the other Earth Elemental. He's big, he's bad, and he's not gonna budge!
Gnolls are a type of hyena-esque humanoid. Often savage and vicious, this is less an issue of their canid nature than it is their culture - they mostly worship Yeenoghu, a demon lord.
Green slaads (slaadi) are known for something very specific (aside from looking like KErmit or Godzilla). They are the most prodigious spellcasters of the species, only their magic is not entirely consistent. A slaad might TRY to cast a fireball, but instead fill the place with poison gas and then reverse gravity! Well, they are chaos monsters.
He kills because he believes he is already dead...
Introduced in 3rd edition's Red Hand of Doom super-adventure (Which was awesome. It involved whole armies!), Blood Ghost Berserkers are a special sub-faction of bugbears who are even more vicious than their ordinary brethren - they are berserkers in the true viking sense of the term, meaning that they are quite bloodthirsty and man. In fact, they even dye their fur white to symbolize that they believe themselves to be already dead, or as good as. They hit very, very, very hard, and they never give up until they are dead.
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This piece is taken from Mansions of Madness, an Arkham Horror adaptation - and it represents a more surreal view of the Hounds of Tindalos. They are called "hounds" not because of their appearance, but instead due to their implacable, vicious nature. When one of these creatures springs from the Angles of Time, it means that it has your scent. You will never be safe.
No one knows how giants got that far underground in the first place, but they somehow make do with their cramped living arrangements.
So you wanna make your skeleton warirors more intimidating? Set them on fire! Teach them the power of HADOKEN! And make it purple flames. Gotta be purple. Won't work if it's not purple.
Professor Albert N. Wilmarth once scoffed at the supernatural, especially when people began to panic about strange supposed alien sightings. But then one day, a local named Henry Akeley sent Wilmarth a letter, claiming to have absolute proof of the supernatural - and why Wilmarth should stop discussing it. When Wilmarth finds Akeley, the old man explains the ecistence of the Mi-Go, insectoid fungi creatures from the depths of space. The Mi-Go, he says, have been on earth since the beginning of time, and wish to take humans with them to explore the cosmos - preserving their lives by removing their brains and placing them into jars before the journey. Akeley even showed a jar meant for his brain, and his upcoming trip. He assured WIlmarth that not only was this real, but the Mi-Go were benevolent aliens.
That night, Akeley investigated further after hearing strange, strange whispers. And then he made a discovery that not only proved the existence of the Mi-Go, but also scared him enough to flee, run home, and never speak of it again - he found a mask and fake hands, resembling Akeley. By the time WIlmarth had arrived, Akeley had already been replaced by a Mi-Go!
So, monster scorpions in Dungeons 7 Dragons's 4th Edition can also shock you with electricity. Did somebody play Golden Axe 2?
D&D's answer to the Frankenstein Monster, Flesh Golems are brutish constructs made from pieces of corpses, and typically twice the size of a normal human. You do not want to get on the its maker's bad side.
Beholders go way back in D&D, and have become so tied with the game that you can't even rip them off and get away with it! They also have many, many variahnts, from crablike Eyes of the Deep to Overseers, which resemble fleshy trees. The Eye of FLame and Eye of Frost are pretty vanilla variations, but they make sense - rather than the massive variety of spell effects usually offered bya beholder's eyestalks, these ones stick with various elemental themes. They are indeed quite nasty even with those limitations, though.
Shy, reclusive giants, Stone Giants are more willing to camouflage themselves in the mountains than rampage, but they can attack when they need to be. Also, some of them look a lot like Dhalsim.
(actually, yes - that RUnecarver way in the back row was nicknamed "Aspect of Dhalsim")
Pathfinder took Stone Giants and kept them as-is, so those minis can fit in with D&D ones juuuuust fine.
Automatons of rusted metal powered by steam, Cannon Golems pack a hefty wallop with their apparently inexhaustible ammunition supplies.
Because Pathfinder is really clearly Dungeons & Dragons with the file numbers shaved off, it's no surprise that they have not only their own demiliches, but a very clear Acererak ripoff named Mesmalatu. Funny thing is, this makes him the first "official" demilich mini.
This version of a D&D wraith is very, veyr clearly based ona certain someone (or nine someones) from The Lord of the Rings. Can YOU tell who?
The biggest of the big, baddest of the bad, and ultimate D&D villain: VECNA! But he wasn't always like that - in fact, for the longest time, Vecna couldn't do anything!
It's really too bad that his miniature has such a poor paint job. Bear with me, here. in fact, look up artwork of Vecna on-line. Got it now? Okay!
Vecna is a lich - a human sorcerer who stored his soul in another object (called a phylactery) and made himself undead so he could cheat death. Yeah, he came before Voldemort. And some older artwork of him LOOKS like Voldemort... before Harry Potter was popular.
Way back during his normal tenure as a lich, Vecna was betrayed by his right-hand man, Kas the Betrayer (he really should've seen that one coming), and was thought destroyed - all that remained of him were his left eye and hand! But actually, Vecna had plans, and this was a part of it. The Eye of Vecna and Hand of Vecna went on to become major artifacts - in fact, long before Vecna himself ever showed up in D&D, his eye and hand were there. Each one gives you massive powers if you replace your body part with it (eye for an eye, hand for a hand). Of course, it also slowly corrupts you. But that's to be expected. But then Vecna returned, using his vast knowledge and experience to ascent to godhood, gaining the domains of magic and secrets. He later threatened all the planes in a scheme that actually CAUSED THE SHIFT FROM SECOND TO THIRD EDITION (well, it's the in-universe explanation). He now resides merrily as a god, still plotting in the background.
Vecna is one of the more personable D&D supervillains, in that maybe you can prove useful, or maybe you can give him more secrets, so he isn't necessarily going to go berserk on you - but his influence is slow-acting, long-lasting, and highly-corrupting. He really has become the greatest D&D villain, and I kinda wish they made a better mini of him. Hey, he fits Halloween, though!
This is the Large Water Elemental from D&D miniatures, in 2006 or so. I love how it's easy to take it off its base and just stick it on some water terrain!
These were originally monsters specific to Eberron who pre-existed Foulspawn, but soon got rolled into the category.
Dolgaunts are mutated hobgoblins, transformed into blind, tentacled creatures covered in cilia. They live underground, and often practice meditative martial arts - what better to do when you have so many limbs?
I assume that most of you are familiar with Medusa's mythical origin (it wasn't QUITE the same as in Clash of the Titans), so I'll just focus on the D&D aspect instead.
In Dungeons & Dragons, there is a whole race of medusae. Depending on the edition, they could look just like pretty women (with snakes for hair), or scaly monsters, like this gal here. Also depending on the edition, there might be males or not. In 2nd edition, maedar (male medusae) could turn stone to flesh by punching it, and thus feed a family. In 4th edition, they had a hypnotic venom gaze attack, and thus were poison-based rather than stony. In Eberron, plenty of medusae are valuable members of society, and rather careful with those (voluntary, at-will) gaze attacks.
In this one RPG, I played a D&D-style medusa. The main issue with her was that she had kind of grown up alone in a dungeon, so people had to civilize her. She acted like a puppy. Man, it was FUN.
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Forest-dwelling Green Dragons are known for their clever-yet-devious natures and poisonous chlorine breath. When they're young, they are about the size of a small horse, but still quite formidable.
A Scanderig's stomach is filled with fire hot enough to melt any metal.
See, the miniature has a cool translucent stomach, but it's kind of hard to light it properly.
Yeenoghu, foul Demon Lord of Cruelty, god of the savage Gnolls, wielder of a vicious triple flail... and he looks like Goofy.
When most people betray the heroic party, they gain a little bit of power and then die. Raistlin became a god.
With the power (and tutelage) of the archmage Fistandantilus, Raistlin's power increased exponentially. He donned his new black robes to evidence his irrevocable turn to evil, and his quest to usurp not only his old master, but all the world by becoming the god of magic (and evil). And in fact, he would have destroyed Takhisis and all of the other gods... but then Raistlin learned that if he were to continue his path, he would destroy the entire universe, and become the only living being left. Unwilling to do that, and having enough of a change of heart to want to protect his (former) loved ones, Raistlin bravely sacrifices himself to stop Takhisis.
The last photo was of Raistlin with his friends and allies. This one is of him alone, standing in the same terrain as before, only now desolate and uprooted.
Very clearly based on the chicken-legged mutants in Tremors 2 (no, seriously), Ethereal Marauders can plane shift with ease. Their usual tactic is to suddenly appear, grab someone, and then disappear with it again. So, if I remember correctly (I don't have it near me), the card that came with this miniature included a quote:
"Hey... where did Lidda go?"
Awwww, it's a cute widdle brain! Just look at it-AUUUUUUUUUGH!
Intellect Devourers are a particularly nasty kind of monster from the very early beginnings of D&D. They feed off mental energy, and are quite capable of leaping inside somebody's head, eating their brains, and becoming that person's new brains. They are smart, too. So smart, that somebody YOU know might be an intellect Devourer in disguise! Yes, really. And it could be in your house, too. Just waiting. For you to let down your guard. Any...second...now...
The evil queen of the dragon gods, Tiamat is especially villainous because there is no good angle to photograph this mini if you want a good look at all of her heads! She has five heads, one for each type of Chromatic Dragon, representing her dominance over each breed. Tiamat is not only one of the strongest of the D&D archvillains (hello, she's a god), she even appeared in the old cartoon!
In ancient Babylonian mythology, Tiamat was the giant monster slain to produce the earth. She also probably wasn't a dragon, as her description made her sound like a cow, udders and all.
And you thought the Warforged Sorcerer was crazy!
When a robot goes native, he goes NATIVE. Severed heads, crab claws, bones... and I guess something to counteract the rust. This is actually one of the most-detailed warforged sculpts out there, even when you realize how awesome the other warforged miniatures are. So hey, cool beans!