Best Monsters For A Wild West Setting In DnD

Old Western settings in Dungeons & Dragons leave so much room for you to explore, whether you’re in a party or you’re the Dungeon Master. You can explore abandoned ghost towns, haunted manors, mines, steam trains, and even the open and endless expanse that composes most of the Wild West.

Of course, that endless expanse and empty towns aren’t exactly as abandoned as they may seem; monsters are lurking in wait. Even in the towns filled with life and people, there are things beyond imagining just lingering below the surface, waiting to be unveiled by passersby.

Updated February 10, 2025, by Tallis Spalding: With the release of the 2025 Monster Manual and 85 brand new monsters, it was worth re-examining which creatures and beasts would fit best in a Wild West-type campaign. Whether your party is a bunch of outlaws, ganged up to try and get the greatest haul before fleeing, or a bunch of law-keepers chasing down those who want to do the developing west harm, you’ll need monsters and dastardly NPCs to carry you along the way. It’s worth remembering that you can always homebrew appearance changes and stat changes to suit your needs, so what the Monster Manual says doesn’t necessarily have to be the unchangeable truth. Mold and manipulate these monsters to your heart’s content!

14

Jackalwere

Challenge Rating 1/2

The Jackalwere is an interesting monster because they aren’t all that malicious if your party is aware of their presence since they can give them an offering for passing through their territory. However, if your party opts not to provide a gift or treasure for passing through, they can pull any number of tricks.

Those tricks include purposefully getting the party lost, sending them straight into a monster’s lair, stealing their supplies, and more. Given that these shape shifters can take the form of coyotes and would make for great encounters, they fit perfectly into a Wild West themed campaign.

13

Cultists

Challenge Rating 1/8 to 10

If you look at the history of the Wild West, it was often accompanied by religious revivals that swept through the nation. This often led to people coming to “bring religion” to the less developed parts of the West.

As such, it would only make sense that you’d have some cultist and cultist fanatics who arrive to spread the word of their new god through any means necessary. Perhaps they’re causing more trouble than they ought to, or perhaps, they’re a bit more malicious than appearances belie.

12

Revenants

Challenge Rating 5

When the world is wild and unforgiving, revenge runs rampant – and perhaps it does so even after death. As such, the occasional Revenant might come back to haunt your party. Or, perhaps, a Revenant that your party needs to aid in the search for their revenge so that they, for once, may rest peacefully.

You probably aren’t going to see a Graveyard Revenant, given that it requires far more mass casualties than the Wild West would likely see, but your standard Revenant could prove to be a vicious foe. It helps that this is one of the best undead monsters you can put your party up against, as either friend or foe.

11

Sprites

Challenge Rating 1/4

The Wild West no doubt sees a lot of prospective settlers and hopeful people wandering through, so why not have some tiny fey creatures to make their lives just that little bit harder? Sprites are guardian creatures, protecting places of magic and natural beauty from settlers and monsters.

Perhaps, if a settlement is to their likely and works cohesively with nature – rather than taking from it with little regard – the sprites may even function as the protectors of that settlement. Either way, these little fey can help to spice up your campaign by introducing sprinklings of magic into the Wild West.

10

Werewolf

Challenge Rating 3

Lycanthropes, or Werewolves, are the perfect monster in disguise for an Old Western campaign. Whether it’s the sheriff who keeps their town safe by any means necessary or the old widow whose spouse died under mysterious circumstances, playing around with a Lycanthrope can be extremely fun.

This “monster” will encourage the party to investigate and make them wonder just how much they can trust the world around them to be taken at face value. Just know that you can reflavor Lycanthropes so they fit in better with the setting and not just within the context of traditional forest wolves.

9

Yuan-Ti

Challenge Rating 1 to 7

Yuan-Ti can be found anywhere from rainforest and forest-like environments to deserts and hidden temples. Although they aren’t typically designed with a Wild West campaign in mind, nobody is saying you can’t turn them into cowboys and outlaws.

You can even model them after snakes that are more commonly found in the wild West, like Copperheads, Rattlesnakes, and Cottonmouths. The rattle of a tail could either mean you’re coming across a dangerous animal, or that you’re about to get robbed by a posse of dangerous Yuan-Ti outlaws.

8

Bandits

Challenge Rating 1/8 to 11

What kind of Old Western campaign wouldn’t dabble into bandits and rogue groups of cowboys? They dominate the media landscape and while they may generally be expected in an Old Western campaign that doesn’t make their presence any less fun and enjoyable.

When your party is trying to protect a town to curry their favor, protecting them from bandits and establishing the town as a safe space could be the perfect route to take. Bandits are also a great option for a random encounter when traveling and trying to keep things interesting.

7

Banshees And Ghosts

Challenge Rating 4

Take the term “Ghost Town” literally by creating a town of Ghosts and Banshees. The Banshees themselves might prove more of a threat than the Ghosts, but it could still be something fun and a little bit spooky for your party to come across.

They don’t necessarily have to hold ill intent to your party, but you could very easily incorporate a plot where your party has to figure out a way to get out of town less they risk becoming part of the town too. Part of being a great Dungeon Master is rolling with the punches and if this is the kind of adventure your party is searching for (rather than a friendly ghost town) it is easily accomplished in an Old Western setting.

6

Earth Elementals And Dust Imps

Challenge Rating 1/2 to 5

Dust Imps, also known as Dust Mephits and Earth Elementals are a great way to fill the rocky and dusty expanses of an Old Western world. They can settle close to civilizations or live on the outskirts, often causing a bit of an issue for travelers beyond the usual banditry that awaits.

It’s worth noting that Mephits aren’t technically imps and are extraplanar, but who cares? Homebrew it and call it homebrew so your players don’t question you and your authority. Earth Elementals on the other hand, would be great to find on the flat expanses of desert and tucked way into the canyons that have ripped their way through the landscape.

5

Carrion Crawler

Challenge Rating 2

The Carrion Crawler would be more of a threat near dusk and at night than during the hot days. Burrowing underground it lies in wait for its prey, and the stink of death and rot that follows it would be more dispersed in a more open setting.

Even aesthetically, these aberrations are a great option for an Old Western campaign and can be easily implemented without many questions. They may lurk around ranches, killing off the cows and livestock of unsuspecting ranchers, or perhaps linger along commonly trodden paths, taking out messengers and travelers when they settle for the night.

4

Ankheg

Challenge Rating 2

Ankhegs are bug-like creatures that wait underground, waiting for their prey to get close enough that they can lunge up and strike. Although the rocky expanse and desert plains don’t offer much hiding space up top, thanks to the fact that you can’t duck underneath trees, hiding underground is a perfectly viable option.

Plus the 5e design for Ankhegs makes them perfect for blending in with the landscape, leaving prey often unsuspecting and easily ambushed. These creatures would like to be found around small towns or mines, lying in wait for the next thing to wander just slightly too close.

3

Roc

Challenge Rating 11

Rocs are gargantuan birds that roam the sky and with keen eyes, they can pick out their prey from exceedingly far away. Although they don’t have any official environment, the Old West offers roots on cliffsides and in mountain nooks and very few spots for their prey to hide.

It makes the desert and rocky mountains that adorn your campaign’s environment the perfect hunting ground for this monstrous predator. If the Roc is too colorful for you, you can also re-flavor it to fit in with the environment more and make it look more similar to a hawk or even a vulture.

2

Gnolls

Challenge Rating 1/2 to 8

More often than not, Gnolls are found on the outskirts of society and at the edges of frontiers, where they can take advantage of areas that are usually the least heavily guarded. They are raiders and bandits and will make out with as much as they can to support their own groups, which are often nomadic.

You can keep Gnolls the same way they are in the Monster Manual, but you can also re-flavor them to mimic more native wildlife, such as coyotes and mountain lions. Given that they’re also not incredibly challenging, they make really satisfying enemies and fodder in a one-shot or smaller encounter.

1

Blue Dragon

Challenge Rating 16

Now you might not expect to see a dragon out in the Wild West, especially because they tend to find their way into caves, swaps, and heavily forested areas. The Blue Dragons, however, like barren places to make their lairs.

You can find them nestled into a canyon or the rocky mountainous expanses, often devoid of significant plant life.

Of course, against the brown and red of the desert, they might be a bit easy to spot, but who’s going to challenge a blue dragon? Your party might, but most rational creatures will keep far, far away from these exceedingly dangerous monsters.