Of the manyDungeons & Dragonsmonsters you are sure to fight on an adventure, some are definitely scarier than others. Whether it’s their abilities, lore, or just how they look, some are far darker than others.
Thankfully, though, these creatures (mostly) only exist in the fantasy worlds your DM sets up for your party. But, what if the monsters of D&D found themselves in the real world? Which would be the absolute worst monsters to come across? Would you have what it takes to survive a real-life run-in with these D&D creatures?
10Oblex
Beyond The Ooze
A more recent addition to the D&D roster when compared to some of the other monsters on this list, the Oblex is sort of an ooze, except sentient enough to create mimicries of people.
Coming across someone just to realize they aren’t acting right, and are in fact an oozy puppet would be quite horrifying. Not to mention it would surely be out to absorb you to be a puppet in its form as well. The Oblex is definitely a monster for a horror setting, and thankfully not real-life.
9Owlbear
Who?
Not the most striking creature in the Monster Manual, nor the deadliest in the grand scale of things, but Owlbears would still be quite a scary creature to run into.
They call nature home, which means if you run across them on a hike or picnic, they are sure to be unhappy about you intruding on them. As if being a bear wasn’t bad enough, the combined predatory instinct of a bear and an owl means they’re quite territorial and deadly. Even if they don’t have wings, we still wouldn’t want to meet one.
8Fiends
A Devilish Encounter
The fiends and similarly demonic entities of D&D are some of the most evil out there. Residing in the lower planes of existence, they are in a constant war with the devils of the hells.
Coming across a fiend, or even a devil, in real life would not only be bad due to their evil nature, but it would open up a world of powerful magic, hellish powers, and fiendish deals that we, as humans, are quite unprepared for. Even if the fiend just wanted to offer you a deal, you are sure to get far more than you bargained for with it.
7Mind Flayers
Brains Not Brawn
A classic D&D monster, Illithids,especially Mind Flayers, are some of the darkest creatures in the D&D Monster Manual. They are canonically evil, and want nothing more than the enslavement and destruction of all other sentient creatures.
Which means they aren’t going to be friendly when you run into them. If you don’t have your brain removed entirely, you can probably count on becoming a servant of the illithids, but more likely you’d just be brain food. Neither seem all that fun, but they like underground caves and caverns thankfully.
6Flesh Golem
Frankenstein’s Monster
All the golems in D&D are a bit creepy, but the Flesh Golem is above and beyond that. While most golems start with something like dirt or steel, Flesh Golems have a bit more of a gross start.
Whether a supernatural entity, or the result of a mad scientist, Flesh Golems are conglomerations of various humanoid corpses all acting as one entity. They are deadly, large, crazed, and probably pretty smelly once they get close to you. Running across one without magic spells or at least some powerful weaponry wouldn’t go well to say the least.
5Mimic
What Can You Trust?
Another classic go-to monster for DMs everywhere. Theoptions for a Mimicare seemingly endless, with classic iterations and some new clever ones too. They can easily turn a normal adventure in D&D into an anxiety-ridden look into paranoia.
Consider though, that that is just when you are playing as a fictional character. Finding out that a normal household item is something that wants to eat you would be devastating if you survived it. Would you ever trust an inanimate object again? Makes you wonder just how strong D&D characters are mentally.
4Arch Hag
Evil Beyond Comprehension
Many D&D creatures have their own reasoning for things. When it comes to the Arch Hag, the reason for why they do such terrible things is that they’rejust plain evil. Hags are bad enough, wielding spells and an unnatural longevity; Arch Hags are far worse.
They are the most evil, most profane, and most deadly Hags out there, and they only gain such power by being cruel at all levels. Like the witches and Baba Yagas from myth, coming across one in a dark forest would be not only deadly, but terribly cruel. Not to mention that they usually work as part of an evil coven.
3Any Fey
No Deal
It’s not usual that an entire group of creatures make a list like this, but the Fey are something else. They are the natural denizens of the Feywild, being attuned to the ways of nature and the usual flora and fauna of a place.
They’re not the usual fun embodiment of nature you may expect. Any dialogue with them can be deadly. A simple name can have power over you, and any suggestion of a deal can mean your soul or years of your life being beholden to them. Not to mention they have access to some pretty powerful spells too. Far deadlier than one may think for some pretty cute creatures.
2Boneless
Gross & Creepy
There are few creatures out there as horrifying, even in name, as the Boneless. Nothing more than sentient flayed skin, they attack their prey relentlessly by wrapping around their target flesh-ily.
They’re a go-to for darker game settings, especially horror ones, but they can stay there and far away from the real world. Thinking about seeing one of these creep up on you from somewhere dark is enough to wonder why any adventurer that saw one would continue to go out on their quest.
1Terrasque
A Big Problem
A classic high-level enemy in D&D, the Terrasque isn’t so much creepy as it is just downright deadly. They’re the size of large buildings, the type of creature found in kaiju movies.
Seeing one in real-life would be devastating, just like seeing Godzilla in real-life would, in a sense, you know your town or city would be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Sure, D&D has high-level adventurers to solve that problem. The real-world is sadly lacking in those withhigh-level magic spellsto take down a monster like this.
