Monsters of the Wild Imaginary West: Sorted and Ranked

In the alternate history of the Wild Imaginary West RPG, everything west of the Mississippi River is monster territory. Monsters are oversized, ruthless animals and cryptids. They are either bloodthirsty or territorial and vary in size from as small as a dog to as large as Delicate Arch. So whether you're the Warden (game master) or player, you best be familiar with what predators might hunt you down in which territories and how to defend yourself if you are caught without a kitbashed weapon or trusty Forstall.

The Wild Imaginary West Official Guidebook, East Portal Setting Guide, and Campaign “Judgment on the Iron Road” document all 70 monsters in detail; however, they’re only listed in alphabetical order. So to help you plan your gaming sessions trekking across the frontier, we’ve sorted the known threats into four helpful categories: 

• Size
• Type
• Biome
• Difficulty

Monster Size From Tiny To Titan

The farther west you venture, the bigger the monsters will get. Monster sizes range from Tiny to Titan and are determined by the monster’s overall mass, not just its height or length. Human beings are considered the biggest of the Small category on this monster scale. Try that out for size, cowboy!

Tiny (4)

• Bone-Carver Ant
• Latcher
• Lightning Bug
• Lumberjack Mouse

Small (15)

• Bark Watcher
• Bloodsucker
• Burrowing Mudbugs
• Chupacabra
• Firefox
• Glowing Cave Worm
• Hodag
• Invasive Woodpecker
• Prairie Wolf
• Red Mine Spider
• Red-Striped Skunk
• Road Runner
• Vampire Bat
• Vampire Trout
• Yellowjacket Swarm

Medium (22)

• Badlands Sasquatch
• Black Widow and Spawn
• Dire Wolf Pack
• Dusting Moth
• Feral Hog Cyclops
• Giant Centipede
• Golden Eagle
• Great Horned Owl
• Livewire Mudcat
• Lurking Moss
• Opal Beetle
• Opossum
• Ozark Howler
• Pondweed Peril
• Quill Archer
• Red Horned Devil
• Sabertooth Mountain Lion
• Spotted Whiptail
• Terror Bird
• Tunneling Grub
• Twin Diamondback
• Western Hellbender

Large (18)

• Alpine Bigfoot
• American Bullfrog
• American Mastodon
• Antlion
• Bull Jackalope
• Canadian Beaver Bear
• Carnivorous Pine
• Desert Scorpion
• Golden Bear
• Great Golden Elk
• Horned Lizard
• Lake Guardian Moose
• North American Anaconda
• Plains Shepherd Bison
• Range Troll
• Trapdoor Spider
• Vasthorn Ram
• Winter Wolverine

Huge (7)

• Alligator Snapping Turtle
• Grand Canyon Tarantula
• King Cottonmouth
• Mississippi Lobster
• Queen Condor
• Silver-Ringed Octopus
• Southern Death Worm

Titan (4)

• Hundred-Year Hydra
• Shasta Skullface
• Slide Rock Bolter
• Sun Warden

Monsters Sorted By Type

As a Warden, it’s beneficial to know what types of monsters would best fit your story. Do you want them to be found at the edge of a riverbank, burn red-hot with untamed fury, or blend in perfectly with the forest environment? To save you the trouble, here’s a compiled list of monsters sorted by type. 

Amphibious (3)

• American Bullfrog
• Burrowing Mudbugs
• Western Hellbender

Aquatic (7)

• Alligator Snapping Turtle
• Bloodsucker
• Livewire Mudcat
• Mississippi Lobster
• Pondweed Peril
• Silver-Ringed Octopus
• Vampire Trout

Arachnid (5)

• Black Widow and Spawn
• Desert Scorpion
• Grand Canyon Tarantula
• Red Mine Spider
• Trapdoor Spider

Cryptid (7)

• Alpine Bigfoot
• Badlands Sasquatch
• Bark Watcher
• Chupacabra
• Hodag
• Ozark Howler
• Range Troll

Flying (9)

• Golden Eagle
• Great Horned Owl
• Invasive Woodpecker
• Queen Condor
• Red Horned Devil
• Road Runner
• Sun Warden
• Terror Bird
• Vampire Bat

Insect (9)

• Antlion
• Bone-Carver Ant
• Dusting Moth
• Giant Centipede
• Glowing Cave Worm
• Latcher
• Lightning Bug
• Opal Beetle
• Yellowjacket Swarm

Land Mammal (20)

• American Mastodon
• Bull Jackalope
• Canadian Beaver Bear
• Dire Wolf Pack
• Feral Hog Cyclops
• Firefox
• Golden Bear
• Great Golden Elk
• Lake Guardian Moose
• Lumberjack Mouse
• Opossum
• Plains Shepherd Bison
• Prairie Wolf
• Quill Archer
• Red-Striped Skunk
• Sabertooth Mountain Lion
• Shasta Skullface
• Slide Rock Bolter
• Vasthorn Ram
• Winter Wolverine

Plant (2)

• Carnivorous Pine
• Lurking Moss

Reptile (6)

• Horned Lizard
• Hundred-Year Hydra
• King Cottonmouth
• North American Anaconda
• Spotted Whiptail
• Twin Diamondback

Subterranean (2)

• Southern Death Worm
• Tunneling Grub

Primary Monster Biomes

Monsters can attack from anywhere below your boots in the ground to above your gaze in the skies. Their dominion is without end. You can download seven monster STL files from the WIW Monster Miniatures Bundle (coming soon!) or purchase them separately. Certain monsters may not be limited to one specific biome but many as you’ll discover in the lists below.

Caves (7)

• Glowing Cave Worm
• Opal Beetle
• Red Horned Devil
• Red Mine Spider
• Silver-Ringed Octopus
• Trapdoor Spider
• Tunneling Grub

Desert (10)

• Antlion
• Chupacabra
• Desert Scorpion
• Grand Canyon Tarantula
• Horned Lizard
• Queen Condor
• Road Runner
• Southern Death Worm
• Sun Warden
• Twin Diamondback

Forest (13)

• Bark Watcher
• Bone-Carver Ant
• Carnivorous Pine
• Dire Wolf Pack
• Feral Hog Cyclops
• Great Golden Elk
• Great Horned Owl
• Lumberjack Mouse
• Lurking Moss
• North American Anaconda
• Ozark Howler
• Shasta Skullface
• Trapdoor Spider

Mountains (15)

• Alpine Bigfoot
• Badlands Sasquatch
• Dire Wolf Pack
• Golden Bear
• Great Golden Elk
• Invasive Woodpecker
• Lake Guardian Moose
• Lurking Moss
• Pondweed Peril
• Red-Striped Skunk
• Sabertooth Mountain Lion
• Slide Rock Bolter
• Spotted Whiptail
• Vampire Bat
• Vasthorn Ram

Plains (19)

• Bull Jackalope
• Chupacabra
• Feral Hog Cyclops
• Firefox
  
• Great Horned Owl
• Invasive Woodpecker
• Lightning Bug
• Lumberjack Mouse
• Opossum
• Ozark Howler
• Plains Shepherd Bison
• Prairie Wolf
• Queen Condor
• Range Troll
• Red-Striped Skunk
• Sun Warden
• Terror Bird
• Twin Diamondback
• Vampire Bat
  

Tundra (2)

• American Mastodon
• Winter Wolverine

Wetlands (16)

• Alligator Snapping Turtle
• American Bullfrog
• Bloodsucker
• Burrowing Mudbugs
• Canadian Beaver Bear
• Hundred-Year Hydra
• King Cottonmouth
• Lake Guardian Moose
• Lightning Bug
• Livewire Mudcat
• Lurking Moss
• Mississippi Lobster
• North American Anaconda
• Opossum
• Pondweed Peril
• Western Hellbender

Almost Anywhere (9)

• Black Widow and Spawn
• Dusting Moth
• Giant Centipede
• Golden Eagle
• Hodag
• Latcher
• Quill Archer
• Vampire Trout
• Yellowjacket Swarm

Monster Difficulty Ranked

Every monster is intimidating and deadly in its own way, but generally speaking, the bigger the beast, the harder the challenge. Each one has unique behaviors, features, and stats that require different tactics and weapons to bring down. But the thing that sets WIW monsters apart from the rest is their dangerous survival instincts, called a “Frenzy”. You can learn more about Frenzies in the Wild Imaginary West RPG, but for now, here are all the monsters ranked from easiest (#70) to hardest (#1).

70. Latcher (Tiny)
69. Lumberjack Mouse (Tiny)
68. Bone-Carver Ant (Tiny)
67. Bloodsucker (Small)
66. Lightning Bug (Tiny)
65. Prairie Wolf (Small)
64. Glowing Cave Worm (Small)
63. Red-Striped Skunk (Small)
62. Burrowing Mudbugs (Small)
61. Firefox (Small)
60. Invasive Woodpecker (Small)
59. Bark Watcher (Small)
58. Lurking Moss (Medium)
57. Chupacabra (Small)
56. Hodag (Small)
55. Red Mine Spider (Small)
54. Dusting Moth (Medium)
53. Yellowjacket Swarm (Small)
52. Vampire Bat (Small)
51. Vampire Trout (Small)
50. Road Runner (Small)
49. Western Hellbender (Medium)
48. Giant Centipede (Medium)
47. Quill Archer (Medium)
46. Opossum (Medium)
45. Pondweed Peril (Medium)
44. Livewire Mudcat (Medium)
43. Golden Eagle (Medium)
42. Terror Bird (Medium)
41. Tunneling Grub (Medium)
40. Great Horned Owl (Medium)
39. Opal Beetle (Medium)
38. Twin Diamondback (Medium)
37. Ozark Howler (Medium)
36. Feral Hog Cyclops (Medium)
35. Black Widow and Spawn (Medium)
34. Dire Wolf Pack (Medium)
33. Red Horned Devil (Medium)
32. Bull Jackalope (Large)
31. Badlands Sasquatch (Medium)
30. Spotted Whiptail (Medium)
29. Antlion (Large)
28. Sabertooth Mountain Lion (Medium)
27. Range Troll (Large)
26. Lake Guardian Moose (Large)
25. Desert Scorpion (Large)
24. Carnivorous Pine (Large)
23. Horned Lizard (Large)
22. Trapdoor Spider (Large)
21. Canadian Beaver Bear (Large)
20. Golden Bear (Large)
19. American Mastodon (Large)
18. American Bullfrog (Large)
17. Vasthorn Ram (Large)
16. Alpine Bigfoot (Large)
15. Plains Shepherd Bison (Large)
14. Great Golden Elk (Large)
13. Grand Canyon Tarantula (Huge)
12. Winter Wolverine (Large)
11. North American Anaconda (Large)
10. Silver-Ringed Octopus (Huge)
9. Queen Condor (Huge)
8. Alligator Snapping Turtle (Huge)
7. Shasta Skullface (Titan)
6. Southern Death Worm (Huge)
5. King Cottonmouth (Huge)
4. Mississippi Lobster (Huge)
3. Sun Warden (Titan)
2. Slide Rock Bolter (Titan)
1. Hundred-Year Hydra (Titan)

Best of Luck, Partner

Now that you’ve got a bead on the beasts, you’re better equipped to handle the untamed dangers of the Wild Imaginary West. Whether you’re a Warden curating the perfect encounter to test your posse’s grit, or a traveler hoping to avoid triggering a Titan’s frenzy, keep this guide handy. The frontier is unforgiving and teeming with teeth, claws, and stingers, so check your ammo, polish your gear, and tread lightly. Out here, knowledge is just as distinct an advantage as a loaded six-shooter, and you’re gonna need both to survive.

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