K Monsters at the Opera

A B C D Demon Dragon E F G1 G2 G3 H I Jackalwere K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Credit: Richard Whitters

K monsters are all plundered from various cultures around the world, perhaps outside the "default" medieval England / France milieu popular high fantasy normally anchors itself within. Anywhere from Japan and China to Germany and Norway to... uh, Atlantis?

Kenku

Out of all the "secondary races" this is a big winner. It has a lot of traction for a reason. I think the fact that it's specifically a raven race, not merely a bird race, helps a lot. And let's also applaud the accomplishment of somehow making a "bird race" that doesn't fly yet is still somehow super appealing even without that.

"Society of thieves" is a worldbuilding concept that often ends up being weirdly racist, but I think it has a lot of potential. Kenku probably work as well as they do because they're inspired by the Japanese tengu, and I think D&D could stand to lean into that even more.

Credit: John Cayea, from the cover of Stephen King's The Stand. Always thought this guy was a perfect-looking kenku.

Ki-rin

I want more Chinese monsters. This one is fantastic but it really is only just the beginning. It's often described as a "unicorn dragon" which... is surprisingly accurate? But also consider: maybe this is a good enough monster on its own that we should be describing other things in reference to this, not the other way around. Also add it to the list of good "non-Angel celestials."

Kobold

So obviously we all know that this is the true source of the schism between old school and new school. While I definitely prefer TSR's "rat-dog-lizard" kobolds over WotC's "tiny dragon humanoid" kobolds, I honestly would prefer a pure ratfolk race. Of the many animal-humanoids you find in fantasy, rat people are a favorite for both Ben and myself. You could call them something unique, like Skaven in Warhammer, or Skritt in Guild Wars, or Radenwights in Draw Steel... but why not simply just call them "kobolds"?

We now know kobolds as being the trap-focused monster. But funnily enough, I'm pretty sure that originates entirely with "Tucker's Kobolds." That article was published in Dragon issue 127, during the 1st edition era, in which the kobold entry of the Monster Manual doesn't even once mention traps. By 2nd edition, the new MM description emphasizes this aspect of their tactics quite a bit. Man, what a legacy for one GM.

My own personal contribution is to design the bulk of their traps around cobalt-based poison. This is a cute nod to the origin of the kobold's name as well as giving them a unique iconic feature to their traps. Each one has the signature tell of a blue-ish residue giving it away. A detail just subtle enough to require extra scrutiny, but just specific enough to be memorable.

Kraken

Hey props to 5E for having a weird kraken design. Actually pretty rare to not just go for a squid or octopus.

Credit: Chris Burdett (left) and Brynn Metheney (right)

Still not quite as weird as the humanoid kraken from Clash of the Titans. Wonder where that came from.

Ben was very specifically hooked by the 3E MM description which says that the Kraken is highly intelligent, and that they "rule entire undersea regions." Funny that the aboleth has to rely on psychic powers to bring others under its control. The kraken is merely enormous, which is threatening enough to compel others to follow it.

I really like that the 5E kraken has electricity powers. It's probably overkill, but an epic boss fight against tentacles, lightning bolts, and ink clouds sounds really cool to me.

Kuo-Toa

Why are lizardfolk called lizardfolk yet fishfolk are called "kuo-toa?" Who makes these judgment calls?

Obviously D&D is horribly bloated with various evil-ish humanoids that exist only to populate dungeons. But if I were to start streamlining the list, the insane religious fish people would be a late cut. Just the basic description of "swarming, babbling fish cultists" already has way more juice than gnolls, troglodytes, lizardfolk, bugbears, or even the kobolds further up this post. But they probably have too much conceptual overlap with bullywugs to justify including both, and I admittedly like frogs way more than fish.

5E added the fun idea that kuo-toa religion follows Discworld rules. They actually will their gods into existence through sheer belief, kind of like Orks in Warhammer. Pair that with their scrambled brains and you've given your more manipulative players a very potent and dangerous toy to have fun with.

Credit: Darkest Dungeon

-Dwiz