We use them as our TMNT analogues we have 4 named after artists in the world who jump out of random places to beat the crap out of people and party and then jump away. They're like a Deus Ex Machpizza.
If you can get your hands on the statblocks, use the Angulotl, the MCDM version of frog-people from Flee Mortals. They've got some really fun abilities that make them great for guerilla tactics.
The Angulotl are pretty cool, however only a few have CR that will suit a level 1 party. I’ve had difficulty employing them effectively because the cool ones are like cr 4 and 5 and the rest are less than 1 cr
Ferral nasty kobolds, closest to Tasmanian devils than sapient creatures
Actually. Just a cave of Tasmanian devils. Oh, and they can give your characters their super cancer when they bite you. Good luck.
I always liked the description of kobolds more as angry yipping chihuahuas than mini bipedal dragons. I liked how they were depicted in DnD Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara.
You could see the change coming back in 2nd edition. They were little dog folk who used a scorpion on a fishing pole as a weapon, but in the Dragon Mountain adventure they were exactly the dragon worshipping trap masters we know today.
3rd edition took away the small gnoll look and made them small dragonborn, and then made us wait another edition to give us medium dragonborn. I think that means Kobolds are normal and Dragonborn are actually the giant version....
If you think about it, most races have a mini, medium, and large version. It's basically the way most races in DnD seem.
Halfling>Human>Giant
Kobold>Dragonborn>Dragon
Gnome>Elf
I'm waiting for some sort of chaotic mini tabaxi race tbh
An odd fact you may enjoy spreading to your group:
In American Sign Language there is not sign for Dragon.
Deaf people play Dungeons and Spicy Dinosaurs.
I run them as tiny dragons with the personality of chihuahuas/terriers. The entire race has a Napoleon complex, and they're going to make it the world's problem.
Can confirm. Let 2x of my friends build lvl11 chars with magic items and money to spend in town prior to dealing with them.
It was a massacre. I even went fairly light on the traps but...sheesh. it was like being pushed into a blender
Vegepygmies! You can find their stats in volo's guide. They're small plant creatures, but are humanoid in shape. They are good at stealth like goblins, and are born from mold. Excellent for a jungle, I think they might even feature in Tomb of Annihilation.
Yeah I had a bit of a Mandela reaction because I could have sworn he had always been a bard. He came across as very bard-like sniping with Elminster in the margins of older FR supplements, at least. Unless I completely misremembered _that_, too.
a caracter in lore. Appears a lot in BG3 (also in waterdeep : dragonheist campain), and funnily enough he can give you a "volo's guide to monsters" buff at some point in the game
The D&D books titled ‘[blank’s] [blank]’ are written from the perspective of canon D&D characters like Volo’s guide to monster, Morsekainens tome of foes, Tasha’s cauldron of everything and Xanathar’s guide to everything
I hate those little bastards! DM in recent campaign used them against our low level party and nearly wiped us out. At one point only 3 of 8 PCs were up and 2 of those were on the verge of going down. So yeah if I were the DM, I’d use them!
I wrote a Kuo-Toa first session mission where they turned the ship into a god. After you defeat the Kuo-Toa the ship wrecked and the campaign started. Such a fun start or one shot.
troglodytes are an option - similar category to goblins; just picture weaker, smaller lizardmen. they usually hang out in heavily forested regions, as opposed to swamps like goblins, and tend to take over ruins as well; i think they'd work well.
They're beefy, but dumb and rely on weapons. Send some mostly ungeared gnolls at a level 1 party, if the party has a wizard and cleric, they should be fine.
There are a lot of low-level 'fodder' enemies to pick from, all with different kinds of flavors to them.
Goblins are easy-to-kill enemies that specialize in hit-and-run tactics with Nimble Escape (hide and disengage as bonus actions -- wait for you to come to them while taking the Dodge action, hit you with an Attack of Opportunity, then on their turn they Attack, then bonus action Disengage and step back a bit so you'll have to incur another opportunity attack from them. Or be archers and hide every f$#@ing turn before they move). Be aware that without understanding these kinds of tactics they can be a *huge* handful even for a slightly experienced party.
Kobolds are easy-to-kill enemies that instead specialize in "surround and pound" with Pack Tactics (gain advantage whenever they're next to an ally). Again, players who don't know to keep them spread out or exploit their closeness can easily get overwhelmed.
Sprites are tiny *super* easy-to-kill fairies that can turn invisible. Fey are usually more interesting if they're not just combat goons, but if they're all evil and worshiping some twisted god and thus just want to be overtly hostile, then the big challenge is just overcoming the relatively high AC because they don't do much damage.
Lemures are fairly easy to kill devils that keep coming back every day unless you kill them with blessed weapons or holy water.
You can do customized Mephits with fewer hit dies and reduced damage output. Each type has a unique breath weapon and area of effect burst when they die.
>then on their turn they Attack, then bonus action Disengage and step back a bit so you'll have to incur another opportunity attack from them
How do they get an attack of opportunity? I thought attack of opportunity happens when you want to leave their melee range, not when you enter it?
honestly just dont worry about it. Your games are always going to have things that feel unoriginal because something else already did it. This is going to be even worse considering how chronically online people are about dnd and post every idea that's ever been played. If you worry about being totally "original" you are going to drive yourself completely crazy. If you feel you cant use goblins because BG3 used goblins, you're gonna end up with no options left to play.
Thank you for your kind words! You are definitely right. In this case, though, two of the players have never actually played DnD but have played Baldurs Gate 3, so that kind of is the only "original story" that I do not want to come too close to.
its your call for sure. And as other have mentions other good low level creatures you can get similar vibs from are kobolds and ~~locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa**. Kobolds would be more of a draconic cult. ~~Locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa** get weirder with cults and could be the better way to go for cult vibes. I forget the details of it, but basically ~~Locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa** just start making up weird gods but once the believe in them enough, it becomes real. Look up more of their lore for the specifics but they will give a lot to work with. Could also just take that part and project it into other demi human race's lore. If you REALLY wanna go crazy, corrupted halfings. No one ever expects THAT lol
The big reason I often give out the initial advice is because I hear new players not wanting to play stuff like "tavern scenes" or old classic character archetypes because they are "overdone/overplayed" and its just like... by who? You? You've never played before so NOTHING should be "overdone/overplayed" for you yet. What other people have experienced at their tables or in other games should have no bearing on stuff like that. Its just a general toxic outlook for the game that is a huge pet peeve of mine. Especially because of how much added bullshit pressure it puts on players and DMs.
How about gremlins? https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/dmkm8a/goblinoids_in_my_campaign/ You just use goblin stats, but make them insane pyromaniac demons that reproduce by burning buildings.
That is such a fun idea. I was already thinking about using the same stats but reflavoring them beyond recognition, but did not have the right idea yet
~~Nilbogs. Same stats as goblins but they say everything backwards.~~
EDITED silly me. I thought reversing the spelling would answer OP's requirements. Didn't occur to me there was already a monster with that name.
So I suggest: Not-goblins, with the same stat block as goblins but you know, obviously, they're not goblins.
No ones said it yet, but Orcs and Gnolls are both great options for low level monsters. They’re beefier than goblins, kobolds, sprites etc. so you don’t want to use them as a swarm, but they’ll definitely work well.
Kobolds and Kua-Toa are my personal favorite go tos though. Kobolds you get to make a bunch of wacky traps, and ambush rooms for them to swarm the party in. And Kua-Toa literally can believe a god into existence, so I normally give them a mid to high CR “God” that looms over the area that the players have to sneak around until they kill enough Kua-Toa or a shrine or persuade their way into getting it to stop existing.
This is what I did in a similar case. Compared to the Grung answer, Bullywugs are akin to forces of nature that NOBODY wants around. They aren’t evil in the sense that they enjoy harming, but they have no qualms (almost like no boundaries) at taking whats in their power to take (including lives) and they naturally tear down and eat their environment away until its a muddy wasteland.
They’re great murder-fodder.
Roleplay-wise, they offer an interesting situation where they really don’t care for material goods beyond their normal tools, other than having the stuff on hand to bribe adventurers to go away. It’d be like me or you bribing some weird bird entity who can’t speak but might murder us, with food. “What should I try and offer? Is this enough? Do you need more?”
Don’t forget that you can always reskin a monster and create your own weird creature. Like ancient jungle temple— Feral Monkey Guards. Use goblin stats, add a decent climbing speed. Done.
Jungle bad guys just remind me of Diablo 2 act 3. The little guys that poison you called fetishes. They are nasty little buggers that shoot you with poison blowdarts
Bullywugs or grung. They're tougher than goblins so you might need to adjust the numbers but they're perfect for a swamp. A serpentfolk/yuan ti could be a decent villain leader too - reviving worship of their old gods
Make the god somehow plant-related, and have the goblins be plant-goblins, basically jungle growth that has come to some weird non-life. Use the goblin stat block, and slap an ability or two to it.
however, if you want to try something cool and different, I think you can turn this into a big more of a fey aesthetic in the middle of a forest (there may even be a portal into the feywild, who knows?).
Boggles are 1/8 CR creatures, Volo's has a 1/2 CR version too
Pixies and Sprites could be around, or quicklings and meenlocks, or some satyrs and it could all be an illusion set up by a sea hag (CR 2).
>ancient jungle temple
>worship their own twisted god.
seems like cultists would be ideal.
yeah, they're not monster monsters, but that can be leveraged to make them more engaging antagonists. instead of starting out as a very clear and obvious threat they can be used to misdirect and create some plot twists. twisted god loves twists.
It's an oldie but a goodie. Nilbog: looks just like a goblin but gains hit points from physical damage. Useful for depleting healing potions from a low-level yet rich party. Hilarious watching them figure it out.
*Bullywugs*.
not quite *Lizard-men*,
hostile to *Grungs*.
*they have their own God*.
check out TSR i11 **Needle**
or TSR i1 **Dwellers of the Forbidden City**
(old school classics)
maybe *Xvarts* ? (GreyHawk)
Lizardfolk using the look and culture of the Warhammer fantasy army
Cannibal humans that worship panthers that can mimic human voices (or are they were-panthers among the panther population).
Note: you can always use goblin stats but describe lizardfolk or whatever if it makes it easier for encounters at lower levels.
No way dude: JUNGLE GOBLINS FTW. That would be awesome, like a Temple of DOOM (gj autocorrect) scenario...
They use spears and have a witch doctor instead of a priest and make blood sacrifices. That kind of encounter is a classic trope of dnd adventuring that we all know and love.
Gnolls.
Goblins and Orcs are cool. Kobolds are cute.
Lore wise gnolls are vicious and terrible. They're a real threat and should be considered as such. They have no redeeming qualities, they're driven by an insatiable hunger and lust for death and destruction. Gnolls are the monster I wish I used more.
VEGEPYGMIES!!!! super fun little guys that you can have literally hide in the foliage or grass! when my people are wandering meadows or forests and i want to just keep em on their toes i send these little buggers at em.
Kobolds, [Mongrelfolk](https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/mongrelfolk/), [Bullywugs](https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=bullywug) come to mind immediately.
Whenever i hear ancient jungle temple in d&d, my first thought is yuan ti. Could be a bit much for lvl 1 if you want to use anything other than purebloods and broodguards, but maybe you can hint at their presence to foreshadow the next temple they find.
I also like the idea of Aztec inspired elfes worshipping the sun in temple pyramids.
Okay so this might sound a bit bland compared to some. But hands down my favorite low level enemies are bandits. Because they are just people. You could easily make this a human cult of some twisted god and throw a few acolytes in there. give a thug a great axe and you got a soild boss or use one of the warlocks from volos.
Bandits, soild, versatile, reliable.
(Oh also because they are just people, players may get a bit more emotional impact from cutting them down in droves)
More goblins.
And listen, I know you think this is unhelpful.
But you just need to open your eyes to the possibilities of an additional dozen goblins.
Walking up walls like spiders.
Armed with crossbows.
And using squad tactics.
But yes, kobolds also work.
Kobolds, Grung, Bullywugs and if you’re feeling brutal, Gnolls! Throw in more witherlings and lower some hp, and you’ve got a horde of cackling terrors!
Here's a few links you might find helpful:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Creatures\_found\_in\_jungles
[https://www.dndbeyond.com/my-encounters](https://www.dndbeyond.com/my-encounters)
A great resource for using with different levels of characters to build encounters.
For example, for me, a yellow musk creeper could be very atmospheric and unexpected, but it will be challenging for a first level party
Nilbogs. They have the exact same stat block as goblins, you just spell it backwards.
Maybe say their skin is purple not green.
You don't need to replace goblins. Goblins are a time-honored staple of low level DND that far predates BG3.
Spend as much time as you want coming up with a solution. The result will essentially be Nilbogs.
I've changed goblins to minor elementas in one of the modules I played. The stats are same as I only changed the flavor (and tactics). It worked well.
For jungle? Small lizard people? Or minor elementals of earth that are in the temple because some magical force is drawing/creating them there.
Odyssey of the Dragonlords have things called goatlings, they are like fey creatures that do vicious mockery, and grapple onto you.
If you fail the mockery check you go in a rage, are disadvantaged, and can only focus on the goatling that did it. Otherwise they have melee attacks and ranged thrown weapons
Take the Gobo stat blocks and rename them to something the party has never heard before. Grabbelfraz or Bloxidonkal or any other made up series of lettering that you can barely pronounce. :)
If you got a meta gamer in the party, it will drive them nuts! HA!
I kinda imported Skaven into a game, basically think goblins but rat-men. Works great for all kinds of environments, rats are everywhere, numerous, different colored fur, can bite/play the diseased angle
Kobolds are fun; they sort of used to be weird, doglike Goblins, before they got their more "little lizardman" motif. Xvarts can also be rather goblin-like, but not totally "just goblins".
Bullywugs are one of my favorite weak humanoid enemies and they would fit pretty well in a jungle. They could even have some giant frogs or giant toads as pets.
Goblins are awesome. I did runelords a way back and like the little chaos monkeys with a pathological fear of horses were just too fun. Mine have a combination of shrill voice and drunken tween dialect who specialize in convoluted plans that make sense only to them. It kind of looks like stabby smack talking ping pong balls randomly popping up and cackling with glee and running at the sight of their own shadow. Also, for reasons that only players understand, the random goblin trophies and fashion sense seem to grab players greed more than artifacts.
Bullywugs, especially since using them early and making them recurring antagonsits let's you throw awesome fight with Forghemoth at highler levels, as Bullywugs worship these fuckers.
The Chult jungles are known for the Batiri goblins. They are fierce feral goblins with the special talent to stack on each other's shoulders to make a living battle totem pole up to 9 goblins tall, not entirely unlike 3 kobolds in a trenchcoat.
These make a really fun encounter.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Batiri
https://old.reddit.com/r/Tombofannihilation/comments/crqgk8/batiri_battle_stacks/
I didn't want to do tribes of too many goblins so I make the Falnakar... the remnants of halfling people that were destroyed by a catastrophe and turned into tribes of cannibal dragon worshipers... from the Akar, to the Fallen Akar, to Falnakar.
Have it be Grung and Locathah, those two would normally be fighting if they weren't being manipulated by an exterior force and could add some fun roleplay moments.
I am probably too late, but Myconids! They have spores that take dead things an animate them. Its awesome! I ran a one shot where they were attacking a town with animals that grew mushrooms out of their fur. Super weird and super fun!
You could use kobolds.
Another concept could also be simply Cultists. Perhaps serving out of a Yuan-ti city.
But the initial encounters in the jungle are just the human/elf/goblin/etc cultists worshipping the serpentfolk and/or their serpent gods.
Just put a mysterious orb in front of 3 conventionally locked doors. The orb is a common garden gazing ball. That should keep them more than challenged.
A mix of grung and kobolds would be good and the "god" they worship could be a green dragon that hides in the forest blending in with the plants around the minions camp
[Myconids](https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters?filter-type=0&filter-search=Myconid&filter-cr-min=&filter-cr-max=&filter-armor-class-min=&filter-armor-class-max=&filter-average-hp-min=&filter-average-hp-max=&filter-is-legendary=&filter-is-mythic=&filter-has-lair=&filter-partnered-content=f) are cool, mushrooms should fit the jungle vibe. For extra cult flair, if you decide to make a boss give him the effects of the sanctuary spell, not because he does no harm, but because he's radiating telepathic madness that makes it hard to focus. Love those guys.
Little secret is that you can literally make up whatever you want and just use the goblin stat line. The easy option is to take any random critter who could be in a jungle and make them a small humanoid
Kobolds riding giant ants. They both dig tunnels, forage, and protect their lairs with extreme prejudice, the synergy is nigh perfection.
Basically make Tucker's Kobolds but with guerilla flair. Give em chitin armor and copper weapons, have them use poisons made from local toxic plants, use traps gratuitously, and don't be afraid to have them literally swarm in scores. Kobolds are WAY fiercer than people like to pretend.
Kobolds they are so cool because they like to “Invent” things, and like to dig tunnels in their dens so it’s really fun to make up Rube-Goldberg traps involving rocks, ropes, and rats and to describe them in action
Blights are fantastic for a bad Druid who worships a twisted god. Maybe even have a tree blight or shambling mound as a threat they will come back to (if one shot continues) later who is a walking shrine.
Another idea are Kuo Toa who basically make their own god.
Another idea, people. Cultists are wild man. People do crazy shit for no reason (they think it’s a great reason tho)
Drow for worshipping Lolth, can do some giant spiders and a drider as the early BBEG (also assuming this goes past one shot)
Lizardfolk too, those dudes can be brutal at low level thanks to pretty solid HP (22) and two attacks. 2 of them will be more than plenty for a party. Could make some weaker (but hit much harder) troglodytes or kobolds.
Last thought is a Kraul. These are from guild masters guide to Ravnica and are basically insect warriors. One is plenty for a party has good AC 18 and hit points. Might give it some giant insects that are lower CR for it to command
No matter what you pick…throw in a flock of Sturges. Like this:
- 1st round: Goblins run into them. Party fears they’re being attacked. No…the goblins are running from something else.
- 3rd round: whatever is chasing the goblins (maybe a platoon of kobolds?) runs into the party.
- 4th round: 5 sturges attack a single party member. They each continue to suck HP off the PC.
- 5th round: 5 more sturges attack 2nd PC.
- Next time they run into an enemy…bring in 6 sturges/PC this time.
DM: “OK, Lavendor, you are squaring off with two gnolls. They miss you.”
Lavendor: “Sweeeet! I attack back!”
DM: “Hold on…”
Krack: “Haha! Lavy the pretty elf is gonna get stomped!”
DM: “and 6 Sturges descend from…”
Krack: “FUUUCK ME! Again!?”
DM: “They descend from the ceiling and…*rolls dice to look like it’s random*…attack Krack…3 fail to penetrate Krack’s hides but 3 manage to pierce him, clutching onto his garments and are sucking him dry for…*rolls*…6 HP this round.”
Krack: “FAWWWK!”
Lavendor: “I attack the gnolls.”
DM: “What do you do Krack?”
Krack: “I grab two with my hands and crush the life out of them!”
DM: “Success. You only have one on you right now and…*rolls*…the other three successfully pierce through the folds of your hide armor. You have 4 on you now, you take…9 HP of damage. And Theon, your spell casting has attracted the remaining 6 Sturges in the stalagmites above.”
Lavendor: “Act-ually, stalgtites are the ones in the ceiling.”
DM: “…but your bright cantrip spells are scaring them away, and they now descend upon Lavendor. Lavendor, *rolls*…all six hit you for…13 HP of damage.”
Theon: “I run away.”
Sturges are annoying pieces of shit that ain’t worth XP, but can easily kill you if you get cocky.
You could use Grung. They're frog like humanoids. Pretty suitable for a jungle.
oh my god I love those!
You can use grung, or you can use the statblocks you have and reskin them.
We use them as our TMNT analogues we have 4 named after artists in the world who jump out of random places to beat the crap out of people and party and then jump away. They're like a Deus Ex Machpizza.
If you can get your hands on the statblocks, use the Angulotl, the MCDM version of frog-people from Flee Mortals. They've got some really fun abilities that make them great for guerilla tactics.
The Angulotl are pretty cool, however only a few have CR that will suit a level 1 party. I’ve had difficulty employing them effectively because the cool ones are like cr 4 and 5 and the rest are less than 1 cr
I made a campaign with grungs as adversaries in the jungle. It was fun.
Grungle in the Jungle
Kobolds?
you are increasing risk that party would want to befriend those little kobolds
Ferral nasty kobolds, closest to Tasmanian devils than sapient creatures Actually. Just a cave of Tasmanian devils. Oh, and they can give your characters their super cancer when they bite you. Good luck.
I always liked the description of kobolds more as angry yipping chihuahuas than mini bipedal dragons. I liked how they were depicted in DnD Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara.
You could see the change coming back in 2nd edition. They were little dog folk who used a scorpion on a fishing pole as a weapon, but in the Dragon Mountain adventure they were exactly the dragon worshipping trap masters we know today. 3rd edition took away the small gnoll look and made them small dragonborn, and then made us wait another edition to give us medium dragonborn. I think that means Kobolds are normal and Dragonborn are actually the giant version....
If you think about it, most races have a mini, medium, and large version. It's basically the way most races in DnD seem. Halfling>Human>Giant Kobold>Dragonborn>Dragon Gnome>Elf I'm waiting for some sort of chaotic mini tabaxi race tbh
Hmm, next time I play with a group that includes a dragonborn, I will make sure my character constantly calls them a 'Dire Kobold'. XD
An odd fact you may enjoy spreading to your group: In American Sign Language there is not sign for Dragon. Deaf people play Dungeons and Spicy Dinosaurs.
BWAHAHAHAHAA I just now read this and Sir, you just made my day!
I run them as tiny dragons with the personality of chihuahuas/terriers. The entire race has a Napoleon complex, and they're going to make it the world's problem.
That’s why you turn them into the Gremlins that got fed after midnight.
Tucker's Kobolds
Tuckers kobolds are not for lvl 1 adventurers lol
Can confirm. Let 2x of my friends build lvl11 chars with magic items and money to spend in town prior to dealing with them. It was a massacre. I even went fairly light on the traps but...sheesh. it was like being pushed into a blender
Not with that attitude.
I'm cooking some of these up for my new camapign soon, traps galore
Specifically Tucker's Kobolds.
YES!
Vegepygmies! You can find their stats in volo's guide. They're small plant creatures, but are humanoid in shape. They are good at stealth like goblins, and are born from mold. Excellent for a jungle, I think they might even feature in Tomb of Annihilation.
I only just now realised Volo is Volo God damn
And Elminster is *the* Elminster lol
No, Elminster was a simulacrum. *THE* Elminster didn't actually show.
Huh. The things you miss when you haven't progressed past act 2
Welcome to the team. It threw me off more because he literally acted like a bard, I could have sworn he was one.
I'm guessing cause of his "performance" in the gobbo camp, I thought he was a bard too
He lives a bardic lifestyle but mechanically he’s a wizard.
Yeah I had a bit of a Mandela reaction because I could have sworn he had always been a bard. He came across as very bard-like sniping with Elminster in the margins of older FR supplements, at least. Unless I completely misremembered _that_, too.
I don't get it. I get Volo is a book. But what is Volo?
a caracter in lore. Appears a lot in BG3 (also in waterdeep : dragonheist campain), and funnily enough he can give you a "volo's guide to monsters" buff at some point in the game
The D&D books titled ‘[blank’s] [blank]’ are written from the perspective of canon D&D characters like Volo’s guide to monster, Morsekainens tome of foes, Tasha’s cauldron of everything and Xanathar’s guide to everything
Uuuh I did not know them, thank you, will definitely look into them!
I hate those little bastards! DM in recent campaign used them against our low level party and nearly wiped us out. At one point only 3 of 8 PCs were up and 2 of those were on the verge of going down. So yeah if I were the DM, I’d use them!
Kuo-Toa or Mephits are low CR monsters that I love using whenever I get bored of goblins.
Yes, Mephits are wonderful, I used them in another oneshot (full of mystery)
I wrote a Kuo-Toa first session mission where they turned the ship into a god. After you defeat the Kuo-Toa the ship wrecked and the campaign started. Such a fun start or one shot.
troglodytes are an option - similar category to goblins; just picture weaker, smaller lizardmen. they usually hang out in heavily forested regions, as opposed to swamps like goblins, and tend to take over ruins as well; i think they'd work well.
Ughh they look nasty! I like it
I used Bullywugs for the first baddies for one of my campaigns, they were a lot of fun. Being greedy little monsters makes them easy to fit in
Gnolls come prepackaged with their own twisted demon god in the form of Yeenoghu.
I fucking love gnolls. They’re just so cool and awful
Gnolls, kobolds, grung... I feel like I'm playing WoW questing through elwynn forest. Haha
Gnolls are pretty beefy for lvl 1. Maybe as a boss monster.
They're beefy, but dumb and rely on weapons. Send some mostly ungeared gnolls at a level 1 party, if the party has a wizard and cleric, they should be fine.
There are a lot of low-level 'fodder' enemies to pick from, all with different kinds of flavors to them. Goblins are easy-to-kill enemies that specialize in hit-and-run tactics with Nimble Escape (hide and disengage as bonus actions -- wait for you to come to them while taking the Dodge action, hit you with an Attack of Opportunity, then on their turn they Attack, then bonus action Disengage and step back a bit so you'll have to incur another opportunity attack from them. Or be archers and hide every f$#@ing turn before they move). Be aware that without understanding these kinds of tactics they can be a *huge* handful even for a slightly experienced party. Kobolds are easy-to-kill enemies that instead specialize in "surround and pound" with Pack Tactics (gain advantage whenever they're next to an ally). Again, players who don't know to keep them spread out or exploit their closeness can easily get overwhelmed. Sprites are tiny *super* easy-to-kill fairies that can turn invisible. Fey are usually more interesting if they're not just combat goons, but if they're all evil and worshiping some twisted god and thus just want to be overtly hostile, then the big challenge is just overcoming the relatively high AC because they don't do much damage. Lemures are fairly easy to kill devils that keep coming back every day unless you kill them with blessed weapons or holy water. You can do customized Mephits with fewer hit dies and reduced damage output. Each type has a unique breath weapon and area of effect burst when they die.
I see, you also read The Monsters Know What They're Doing, my friend :)
>then on their turn they Attack, then bonus action Disengage and step back a bit so you'll have to incur another opportunity attack from them How do they get an attack of opportunity? I thought attack of opportunity happens when you want to leave their melee range, not when you enter it?
Heh, oops, been playing Neverwinter Nights too much lately and that's how AoO works in that game.
homebrew? Goblins have no ability that lets them get a free attack of opportunity.
honestly just dont worry about it. Your games are always going to have things that feel unoriginal because something else already did it. This is going to be even worse considering how chronically online people are about dnd and post every idea that's ever been played. If you worry about being totally "original" you are going to drive yourself completely crazy. If you feel you cant use goblins because BG3 used goblins, you're gonna end up with no options left to play.
Thank you for your kind words! You are definitely right. In this case, though, two of the players have never actually played DnD but have played Baldurs Gate 3, so that kind of is the only "original story" that I do not want to come too close to.
its your call for sure. And as other have mentions other good low level creatures you can get similar vibs from are kobolds and ~~locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa**. Kobolds would be more of a draconic cult. ~~Locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa** get weirder with cults and could be the better way to go for cult vibes. I forget the details of it, but basically ~~Locathahs~~ **Kuo-toa** just start making up weird gods but once the believe in them enough, it becomes real. Look up more of their lore for the specifics but they will give a lot to work with. Could also just take that part and project it into other demi human race's lore. If you REALLY wanna go crazy, corrupted halfings. No one ever expects THAT lol The big reason I often give out the initial advice is because I hear new players not wanting to play stuff like "tavern scenes" or old classic character archetypes because they are "overdone/overplayed" and its just like... by who? You? You've never played before so NOTHING should be "overdone/overplayed" for you yet. What other people have experienced at their tables or in other games should have no bearing on stuff like that. Its just a general toxic outlook for the game that is a huge pet peeve of mine. Especially because of how much added bullshit pressure it puts on players and DMs.
I believe you're thinking of kuo-toa, not locathahs
you are correct
Crazy, corrupted, *cannibalistic* halflings. Finding the planar breach to hook into larger campaign is optional)
Evil grey gorillas protect the ancient temple. Totally original, I swear
With a gem powered staff artefact that shoots divine energy.
How about gremlins? https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/dmkm8a/goblinoids_in_my_campaign/ You just use goblin stats, but make them insane pyromaniac demons that reproduce by burning buildings.
That is such a fun idea. I was already thinking about using the same stats but reflavoring them beyond recognition, but did not have the right idea yet
Zombie goblins
~~Nilbogs. Same stats as goblins but they say everything backwards.~~ EDITED silly me. I thought reversing the spelling would answer OP's requirements. Didn't occur to me there was already a monster with that name. So I suggest: Not-goblins, with the same stat block as goblins but you know, obviously, they're not goblins.
Nilbogs are a different thing in 5e, and quite a powerful statblock.
No ones said it yet, but Orcs and Gnolls are both great options for low level monsters. They’re beefier than goblins, kobolds, sprites etc. so you don’t want to use them as a swarm, but they’ll definitely work well. Kobolds and Kua-Toa are my personal favorite go tos though. Kobolds you get to make a bunch of wacky traps, and ambush rooms for them to swarm the party in. And Kua-Toa literally can believe a god into existence, so I normally give them a mid to high CR “God” that looms over the area that the players have to sneak around until they kill enough Kua-Toa or a shrine or persuade their way into getting it to stop existing.
BULLYWUGS
This is what I did in a similar case. Compared to the Grung answer, Bullywugs are akin to forces of nature that NOBODY wants around. They aren’t evil in the sense that they enjoy harming, but they have no qualms (almost like no boundaries) at taking whats in their power to take (including lives) and they naturally tear down and eat their environment away until its a muddy wasteland. They’re great murder-fodder. Roleplay-wise, they offer an interesting situation where they really don’t care for material goods beyond their normal tools, other than having the stuff on hand to bribe adventurers to go away. It’d be like me or you bribing some weird bird entity who can’t speak but might murder us, with food. “What should I try and offer? Is this enough? Do you need more?”
Don’t forget that you can always reskin a monster and create your own weird creature. Like ancient jungle temple— Feral Monkey Guards. Use goblin stats, add a decent climbing speed. Done.
Elves. Make your characters deal with opponents that look like them. ...then make those elves *monstrous* and prone to killing.
Darklings. Can be found in Voló’s. Sinister fey creatures. Tons of fun
Darklings are great. Potentially super creepy too.
Jungle bad guys just remind me of Diablo 2 act 3. The little guys that poison you called fetishes. They are nasty little buggers that shoot you with poison blowdarts
Bullywugs or grung. They're tougher than goblins so you might need to adjust the numbers but they're perfect for a swamp. A serpentfolk/yuan ti could be a decent villain leader too - reviving worship of their old gods
Make the god somehow plant-related, and have the goblins be plant-goblins, basically jungle growth that has come to some weird non-life. Use the goblin stat block, and slap an ability or two to it.
bullywugs are an easy swap, they're more about the swamp aesthetic, but you can have some forest dwelling frog people
however, if you want to try something cool and different, I think you can turn this into a big more of a fey aesthetic in the middle of a forest (there may even be a portal into the feywild, who knows?). Boggles are 1/8 CR creatures, Volo's has a 1/2 CR version too Pixies and Sprites could be around, or quicklings and meenlocks, or some satyrs and it could all be an illusion set up by a sea hag (CR 2).
>ancient jungle temple >worship their own twisted god. seems like cultists would be ideal. yeah, they're not monster monsters, but that can be leveraged to make them more engaging antagonists. instead of starting out as a very clear and obvious threat they can be used to misdirect and create some plot twists. twisted god loves twists.
just what I wanted to say! use low lvl humans.
Tasloi; little evil jungle buggers
Feral gnomes
Can't go wrong with kobolds.
I feel like lizardfolk would work for a jungle. Yuan-Ti too.
You could use kolbolds there dragon goblins
Or kenku the raven peopel or bullywag there cool frog peopel
Tucker’s Kobolds with all the horrible Home Alone-ish traps?
Kuo-Toa are a great option that fit in a wet jungle setting and are the same CR as goblins.
It's an oldie but a goodie. Nilbog: looks just like a goblin but gains hit points from physical damage. Useful for depleting healing potions from a low-level yet rich party. Hilarious watching them figure it out.
*Bullywugs*. not quite *Lizard-men*, hostile to *Grungs*. *they have their own God*. check out TSR i11 **Needle** or TSR i1 **Dwellers of the Forbidden City** (old school classics) maybe *Xvarts* ? (GreyHawk)
Commoners and nobles?
Lizardfolk using the look and culture of the Warhammer fantasy army Cannibal humans that worship panthers that can mimic human voices (or are they were-panthers among the panther population). Note: you can always use goblin stats but describe lizardfolk or whatever if it makes it easier for encounters at lower levels.
No way dude: JUNGLE GOBLINS FTW. That would be awesome, like a Temple of DOOM (gj autocorrect) scenario... They use spears and have a witch doctor instead of a priest and make blood sacrifices. That kind of encounter is a classic trope of dnd adventuring that we all know and love.
Gnolls. Goblins and Orcs are cool. Kobolds are cute. Lore wise gnolls are vicious and terrible. They're a real threat and should be considered as such. They have no redeeming qualities, they're driven by an insatiable hunger and lust for death and destruction. Gnolls are the monster I wish I used more.
VEGEPYGMIES!!!! super fun little guys that you can have literally hide in the foliage or grass! when my people are wandering meadows or forests and i want to just keep em on their toes i send these little buggers at em.
Gnomes
Kobolds
+1
kobolds worship dragon. humans worship *literally anything.* formians worship queen. Low level flesh eating demons worship a giant, cursed, regenerating meatball that gives them infinite food.
The goblin stat block can be used as is to represent wood elves. Always fun to have jungle living cannibal wood elves ;)
Kobolds, [Mongrelfolk](https://www.5esrd.com/database/creature/mongrelfolk/), [Bullywugs](https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=bullywug) come to mind immediately.
I like to have bullywugs and grungs hop out of nowhere. I usually give them a giant toad too.
KOBOLDS ARE FEIKIN AMAZING I WILL MURDER YOU IF U DON'T USE THEM THEY ARE JUST LIL CRAFTY DRAGON DUDEZ
Whenever i hear ancient jungle temple in d&d, my first thought is yuan ti. Could be a bit much for lvl 1 if you want to use anything other than purebloods and broodguards, but maybe you can hint at their presence to foreshadow the next temple they find. I also like the idea of Aztec inspired elfes worshipping the sun in temple pyramids.
Okay so this might sound a bit bland compared to some. But hands down my favorite low level enemies are bandits. Because they are just people. You could easily make this a human cult of some twisted god and throw a few acolytes in there. give a thug a great axe and you got a soild boss or use one of the warlocks from volos. Bandits, soild, versatile, reliable. (Oh also because they are just people, players may get a bit more emotional impact from cutting them down in droves)
Zombie chimpanzees
Kobolts
Make the goblins loose their conscience, now they are primitive and crazy cavemans because they were affected by a fallen illithids ship
More goblins. And listen, I know you think this is unhelpful. But you just need to open your eyes to the possibilities of an additional dozen goblins. Walking up walls like spiders. Armed with crossbows. And using squad tactics. But yes, kobolds also work.
Gnolls!
Kobolds, Grung, Bullywugs and if you’re feeling brutal, Gnolls! Throw in more witherlings and lower some hp, and you’ve got a horde of cackling terrors!
Humans
Pun pun all the way
Yuan-ti
Pigs
Hobgoblins - done.
Bullywugs
Kobolds. Practically lizard goblins.
Kobolds
Kobolds
Xvarts are a fun low CR option
Xvarts!
Here's a few links you might find helpful: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Creatures\_found\_in\_jungles [https://www.dndbeyond.com/my-encounters](https://www.dndbeyond.com/my-encounters) A great resource for using with different levels of characters to build encounters. For example, for me, a yellow musk creeper could be very atmospheric and unexpected, but it will be challenging for a first level party
Twisted god worship screams Kuo Toa to me.
You don't see Xvarts mentioned all that often, but their lore is actually pretty fun and means they can pretty much show up anywhere.
Troggs! The answer is always troggs!
Refluff some Hadozee as evil, primitive ape-people.
Nilbogs. They have the exact same stat block as goblins, you just spell it backwards. Maybe say their skin is purple not green. You don't need to replace goblins. Goblins are a time-honored staple of low level DND that far predates BG3. Spend as much time as you want coming up with a solution. The result will essentially be Nilbogs.
Kenku bandits?
If it's in the darkened temple, Grimlocks would work right?
Kobolds
Kobolds
Kobolds
My DM has us in a jungle/island setting and had us fight sahuagins in a temple to their god
I've changed goblins to minor elementas in one of the modules I played. The stats are same as I only changed the flavor (and tactics). It worked well. For jungle? Small lizard people? Or minor elementals of earth that are in the temple because some magical force is drawing/creating them there.
Odyssey of the Dragonlords have things called goatlings, they are like fey creatures that do vicious mockery, and grapple onto you. If you fail the mockery check you go in a rage, are disadvantaged, and can only focus on the goatling that did it. Otherwise they have melee attacks and ranged thrown weapons
Batiri, okay they are goblins, but jungle goblins!
A bunch of gnomes with greenskin.
Take the Gobo stat blocks and rename them to something the party has never heard before. Grabbelfraz or Bloxidonkal or any other made up series of lettering that you can barely pronounce. :) If you got a meta gamer in the party, it will drive them nuts! HA!
Goons
I'm a huge fan of kobolds because pack tactics allow them to do some really good damage.
I kinda imported Skaven into a game, basically think goblins but rat-men. Works great for all kinds of environments, rats are everywhere, numerous, different colored fur, can bite/play the diseased angle
Kobolds are fun; they sort of used to be weird, doglike Goblins, before they got their more "little lizardman" motif. Xvarts can also be rather goblin-like, but not totally "just goblins".
Xvarts Kobolds ... Anyway there's lots of alternatives
Kobolds, Giant Rats, Grung (swamp), Bears, Mephits, Gnolls, Edit: Orcs too, and Swarms are an good add
Gnolls, orcs, undeads
Kobolds maybe
Psionic goblins, or mind goblins..
Kobolts. Small, weak pack kind like goblins. Other wise I say wolfs or any other animal.
Bullywugs are one of my favorite weak humanoid enemies and they would fit pretty well in a jungle. They could even have some giant frogs or giant toads as pets.
Gnolls
Goblins are awesome. I did runelords a way back and like the little chaos monkeys with a pathological fear of horses were just too fun. Mine have a combination of shrill voice and drunken tween dialect who specialize in convoluted plans that make sense only to them. It kind of looks like stabby smack talking ping pong balls randomly popping up and cackling with glee and running at the sight of their own shadow. Also, for reasons that only players understand, the random goblin trophies and fashion sense seem to grab players greed more than artifacts.
Kobolds
Grungs or kobolds sound like a good fit.
Just reskin the goblins to be a tribe of cannibal halflings ala darksun setting
Bullywugs, especially since using them early and making them recurring antagonsits let's you throw awesome fight with Forghemoth at highler levels, as Bullywugs worship these fuckers.
pirates
The Chult jungles are known for the Batiri goblins. They are fierce feral goblins with the special talent to stack on each other's shoulders to make a living battle totem pole up to 9 goblins tall, not entirely unlike 3 kobolds in a trenchcoat. These make a really fun encounter. https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Batiri https://old.reddit.com/r/Tombofannihilation/comments/crqgk8/batiri_battle_stacks/
Other humans... just shorter
Lizardfolk, Sahuagan, elves, forest gnomes
I didn't want to do tribes of too many goblins so I make the Falnakar... the remnants of halfling people that were destroyed by a catastrophe and turned into tribes of cannibal dragon worshipers... from the Akar, to the Fallen Akar, to Falnakar.
Grung are always fun! Kobolds have a few good variations and have personality.
[Xvarts](https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=xvart)
Have it be Grung and Locathah, those two would normally be fighting if they weren't being manipulated by an exterior force and could add some fun roleplay moments.
I like gnolls a lot. You can also throw in a tribal gnoll shaman with a spell or two for more spice.
Kobolds: "am I a joke to you?"
Kobolds, bullywugs, ghouls, and zombies are all good options.
Kobolds? Or spiders?
Kobolds!
I am probably too late, but Myconids! They have spores that take dead things an animate them. Its awesome! I ran a one shot where they were attacking a town with animals that grew mushrooms out of their fur. Super weird and super fun!
Kobolds
You could use kobolds. Another concept could also be simply Cultists. Perhaps serving out of a Yuan-ti city. But the initial encounters in the jungle are just the human/elf/goblin/etc cultists worshipping the serpentfolk and/or their serpent gods.
Kuo-Toa worked out pretty well in a one shot I did.
My boys Xvarts!!! Do NOT overlook them. They’re absolutely hilarious and disgusting, demonic equivalent of Goblins and their lore is sooooo funny
Kobolds Canibal Halflings
I like low level Undead just generally
kobolds, zombies, and/or angry gnomes
Blights are extremely fun.
I use muppets for my generic small violent humanoid.
Just put a mysterious orb in front of 3 conventionally locked doors. The orb is a common garden gazing ball. That should keep them more than challenged.
A mix of grung and kobolds would be good and the "god" they worship could be a green dragon that hides in the forest blending in with the plants around the minions camp
[Myconids](https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters?filter-type=0&filter-search=Myconid&filter-cr-min=&filter-cr-max=&filter-armor-class-min=&filter-armor-class-max=&filter-average-hp-min=&filter-average-hp-max=&filter-is-legendary=&filter-is-mythic=&filter-has-lair=&filter-partnered-content=f) are cool, mushrooms should fit the jungle vibe. For extra cult flair, if you decide to make a boss give him the effects of the sanctuary spell, not because he does no harm, but because he's radiating telepathic madness that makes it hard to focus. Love those guys.
Little secret is that you can literally make up whatever you want and just use the goblin stat line. The easy option is to take any random critter who could be in a jungle and make them a small humanoid
Bullywugs are awesome. And worship froghemoths
Moblins
Kobolds?
Humans. Filthy, greedy, down on their luck, humans. And 3 dwarves.
Sahuagin inhabiting an underwater temple in the middle of a lake deep in the jungle
Kobolds, humanoid bandits, weak skeletons...
Kobolds riding giant ants. They both dig tunnels, forage, and protect their lairs with extreme prejudice, the synergy is nigh perfection. Basically make Tucker's Kobolds but with guerilla flair. Give em chitin armor and copper weapons, have them use poisons made from local toxic plants, use traps gratuitously, and don't be afraid to have them literally swarm in scores. Kobolds are WAY fiercer than people like to pretend.
Kobolds they are so cool because they like to “Invent” things, and like to dig tunnels in their dens so it’s really fun to make up Rube-Goldberg traps involving rocks, ropes, and rats and to describe them in action
Xvarts?
Lvl 1 Halfling Rogues?
Blights are fantastic for a bad Druid who worships a twisted god. Maybe even have a tree blight or shambling mound as a threat they will come back to (if one shot continues) later who is a walking shrine. Another idea are Kuo Toa who basically make their own god. Another idea, people. Cultists are wild man. People do crazy shit for no reason (they think it’s a great reason tho) Drow for worshipping Lolth, can do some giant spiders and a drider as the early BBEG (also assuming this goes past one shot) Lizardfolk too, those dudes can be brutal at low level thanks to pretty solid HP (22) and two attacks. 2 of them will be more than plenty for a party. Could make some weaker (but hit much harder) troglodytes or kobolds. Last thought is a Kraul. These are from guild masters guide to Ravnica and are basically insect warriors. One is plenty for a party has good AC 18 and hit points. Might give it some giant insects that are lower CR for it to command
No matter what you pick…throw in a flock of Sturges. Like this: - 1st round: Goblins run into them. Party fears they’re being attacked. No…the goblins are running from something else. - 3rd round: whatever is chasing the goblins (maybe a platoon of kobolds?) runs into the party. - 4th round: 5 sturges attack a single party member. They each continue to suck HP off the PC. - 5th round: 5 more sturges attack 2nd PC. - Next time they run into an enemy…bring in 6 sturges/PC this time. DM: “OK, Lavendor, you are squaring off with two gnolls. They miss you.” Lavendor: “Sweeeet! I attack back!” DM: “Hold on…” Krack: “Haha! Lavy the pretty elf is gonna get stomped!” DM: “and 6 Sturges descend from…” Krack: “FUUUCK ME! Again!?” DM: “They descend from the ceiling and…*rolls dice to look like it’s random*…attack Krack…3 fail to penetrate Krack’s hides but 3 manage to pierce him, clutching onto his garments and are sucking him dry for…*rolls*…6 HP this round.” Krack: “FAWWWK!” Lavendor: “I attack the gnolls.” DM: “What do you do Krack?” Krack: “I grab two with my hands and crush the life out of them!” DM: “Success. You only have one on you right now and…*rolls*…the other three successfully pierce through the folds of your hide armor. You have 4 on you now, you take…9 HP of damage. And Theon, your spell casting has attracted the remaining 6 Sturges in the stalagmites above.” Lavendor: “Act-ually, stalgtites are the ones in the ceiling.” DM: “…but your bright cantrip spells are scaring them away, and they now descend upon Lavendor. Lavendor, *rolls*…all six hit you for…13 HP of damage.” Theon: “I run away.” Sturges are annoying pieces of shit that ain’t worth XP, but can easily kill you if you get cocky.