Monster Manual (Dungeons Dragons, 5th Edition) by Mike Mearls

Monster Manual (Dungeons Dragons, 5th Edition) Reviews

• 
  Mike

  So on its face this is sort of an odd book to review for Goodreads. It is effectively a rule book for a game. you wouldn't see people review the rules to Risk or Parcheesi here, why should this one be any different?
  
  Well, first off, it is associated with a game that is intimately tied to the fantasy genre,
  Dungeons and Dragons. Many a fantasy writer and reader has cut their teeth on this decades old role playing game and it spawned the immensely popular Dragonlance series. It has allowed countless people across the world to tell their own fantasy story and allow their friends to live in it and explore it, accomplishing legendary deeds or flailing around miserably and
  Attacking The Darkness. D&D is as much a part of the fantasy canon as Lord of the Rings or Wheel of Time.
  
  Also this is a long book, clocking in at over 300 pages stuffed to the brim with monsters and other creatures adventurers might come across; quite a bit longer than most games' rule books. This book offers both a comprehensive and straightforward description of a wide variety of creatures, from the humblest goblin to the mightiest dragon with some many things in between. This menageries is more than sufficient to populate any world players could come up with.
  
  While this is a reference book for the game, it tells stories in its own ways. Some of the entries get a detailed history of their existence, making them much more than simple stat blocks for the heroes to convert into experience points. The book offers context and explanations for why creatures are the way the are (could be due to centuries of being slaves to psionic overlords or because they were forced to live underground) and how to properly portray their culture and behavior patterns. By reading it you really get a sense of the politics of specific setting (the Nine Hells, the Underdark, etc) operate and how that can be incorporated into an adventure.
  
  I would also like to commend the book for just some fantastic page layouts. Each creature entry fills an entire page or several pages, but never runs into another creature's page. It is very clear where one entry stops and another starts. And this didn't feel forced either in terms of spacing. Whoever designed this book kept a great balance between the text passage sizes and the art work for the creatures (which ever creature helpfully has) without generating any empty spaces. That page design made the book very easy to read through and deserves the highest of plaudits.
  
  In terms of the game mechanics I liked changes that were made. The most noteworthy is the Lair mechanic. Basically in previous versions creatures were pretty standalone entities. A silver dragon in its home operated in the same way as a silver dragon on a campaign or in a foreign dungeon. What the new lair mechanic allows for a creature (like a dragon) to have added powers within their lair and have environmental effects within a few miles of its locations. I thought this was pretty nifty and makes venturing into a dangerous foe's home turf that much more dangerous and unique. It also gives DMs (the people running the game) more flexibility in designing challenges and describing the area around these lairs. All great additions in my estimation.
  
  The illustrations were gorgeous and really gave you a sense of what these fantastical creatures looked like:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Finally the book took time to offer some flavor texts to accentuate some aspect of the creatures. Here were some of my favorites:
  
  Basilisk: "No one carves statues of frightened warriors. If you see one, keep your eyes closed and your ears open." - X the Mystics 4th Rule of Dungeon Survival (X the Mystic makes many appearances)
  
  Centaurs: "I hear centaurs make excellent mounts!" -Batley Summerfoot, a halfling adventurer who never read Hooves of Fury by Irvil Grayborn of Sundown
  
  Clay Golem: "The more rigid its physical form, the less likely the golem is to lose its sense of purpose. The clay ones can be a bit twitchy." - Words of warning in the Manual of Clay Golems
  
  Kraken: "A Kraken dreams of casting its tentacles into the heavens and strangling that which birthed it, and when its dream exceeds its reach, it settles for the occasional passing ship." -From Night of the Kraken Cult by Malfeore Serrang, PirateMage of Tethyr
  
  Manticores: "Manticores love the taste of human flesh. that's why, on trips through the mountains, I always travel with human guards." -Marthok Uldarr, dwarf copper merchant
  
  Mummy: "Before opening a sarcophagus, light a torch." -X the Mystic, 7th Rule of Dungeon Survival (mummies are vulnerable to fire based attacks)
  
  Ogres "Worst. Dancers. Ever." -Riddlefiddle the Satyr, on Ogres
  
  I was very pleased by this addition to the D&D universe and could not have asked for a better Monster Manual. Everything was clear, straightforward, useful, and there were some great changes and innovations that I think will enhance gameplay in the 5th edition of the rules.
• 
  Dannii Elle

  This book collects together descriptions and illustrations of the various monsters that could potentially appear, during a D&D game. It contained a mixture of well-known monsters and entirely new creature creations.
  
  This remained interesting, with the abundance of information it imparted, but the artwork is what ensured this a true joy to flip through. Each beautifully adorned page was vivid in colour and unique in design, and I would return to this book for that aspect alone. Also, like with all the non-fiction guides that accompany this game, I worked through this book cover-to-cover but it is undoubtedly one I will go back and reread sections of, on many an occasion, as I am still very new to this world and could not absorb the wealth of information, in one reading.
• 
  Dan Schwent

  This is a collection of monsters for 5e D&D. As with the other 5e books I've skimmed, the organization and presentation are great. It was odd seeing Modrons and Ultroloths in the main monster book alongside orcs, hobgoblins, and old favorites like the Bulette and the Tarasque. I was disappointed that the aurumforax, the six legged gold eating badger, wasn't included but I assume it was in later supplement. Good shit. I stopped to show my wife a few monsters and she pretended to be interested. I'm simmering up an adventure that won't be played for four months and I think I have everything I need now.
• 
  Diz

  This is a review of the Fifth Edition of the Monster Manual. I've read the Monster Manuals since Second Edition, and I have to say this is the best version of it that I've read. Each monster gets about a page with lots of information about the characteristics, culture, and habits of each creature. Reading through these descriptions can inspire you to create some interesting scenarios. The stat blocks are pretty easy to read and use as well. If you've been away from Dungeons & Dragons for a while, Fifth Edition is the time to come back.
• 
  Henrix

  Perhaps this deserves five stars.
  
  Some of my disappointment stems from the fact that it was supposed to have extensive descriptions of all the monsters.
  
  However, the descriptions, though at times evocative, are much shorter and less interesting than in the 2e, and often less than in the 3e, Monster Manual.
• 
  Marc

  I was really impressed with this monster manual, I think it's my favourite of all the editions, the artwork, descriptions and especially the lair powers really seemed fresh to me. Even if you're not into 5th edition (I've only just started playing this edition), this is a worth while purchase, it's kept me engaged through many a poop.
• 
  Mirto Oikonomopoulou

  Το αγαπημένο βιβλίο του Dungeon Master!
• 
  Becky

  Essential for running D&D games.
• 
  Ray

  Having intimate familiarity with the AD&D and 2nd Edition versions of the Monster Manual, I felt no need to read this cover to cover, but nearly did so anyway just out of nostalgia and the sheer pleasure of reading.
  
  Overall this rulebook is great - it's easy to use and well written, with beautiful illustrations throughout. The monsters are laid out alphabetically and are easy to find...gone are the days of Baatezu, now creatures are listed as Demons and Devils again. Similar types of creatures are all lumped together, such as dragons. All the simple animals (cats, dogs, bears, horses, hawks, etc.) are all located in the back of the book with very simplified statistics and minimal text - this preserves the majority of the book for the fantastic creatures that populate the D&D worlds.
  
  Following the table of contents, where the monsters are listed, there are 8 pages of helpful information about the monster write ups, how to use the book, and what the stats mean. All the way in the back, after the listing for Zombies, are two appendixes:
  
  Appendix A: Miscellaneous Creatures - These are all the normal animals as well as some that could be considered fantastic, such as Blink Dogs, Dire Wolves, and Phase Spiders. Also all the Giant varieties of animals are listed here.
  
  Appendix B: Nonplayer Characters - Need a quick Archmage or Assassin? There are a number of quick write ups that, while not as good as the AD&D Rogues Gallery, could serve a DM in a pinch.
  
  The meat of this book, the monsters, each have a nice color illustration and a full page write up at a minimum. Each has a wonderful description about how the monster thinks and acts, as well as other data specific to each one such as origin, where it lairs, or how rare they are. The statistics for each are all presented in a colored box, much like a player character with the 6 ability scores, armor class, hit points, speed, senses, languages, and challenge rating. If the monster gets special resistances, immunities, or special attacks, these are all listed clearly.
  
  Everything you expect to see is here: metallic and chromatic Dragons, Beholders, Rust Monsters, Gelatinous Cubes, Demons and Devils, Efreetis and their elemental cousins (listed under Genies, of course), Grell, Githyanki & Githzerai, Goblins, Orcs, Liches, Hags. Some creatures have variants or, in the case of Zombies, a couple examples of monster Zombies, aiding the DM in further customization.
  
  There are very few disappointments in this book, though one deserves notice - The Kenku. I remember from back in the AD&D Fiend Folio days, the Kenku was a creature that would rob others, had wings, could disguise itself and turn invisible, and was even known to impersonate a god in order to fool others into giving over their gold. The Kenku here has no wings and has absolutely no magical abilities, they are simply thieves and beggars that can mimic any sound they hear. I was going to complain about this creature being strangely singled out, but it turns out that ever since the Field Folio write up in the original edition, every subsequent version of the game has presented this creature as a watered down version of the original. So while I understand why the trend continues, it seems like a waste of a good classic creature.
• 
  Chuck

  Really like the art, and it's a nice mix of classics and newer monsters. I like the way they have reimagined certain classic monsters (the goblin, a classic wimp, has been sexed up/souped up). However, as with other 5e books I have seen, this doesn't seem to be organized very well. There's no supplementary material like a table of monsters by type or challenge rating, or rules for making your own monsters and assigning challenge ratings, etc. I get the feeling, as with other 5e books, that later releases are going to provide some of the stuff I expected to find in the core books, which is disappointing. The core books feel more like a starter set.
  
  Another interesting thing I noticed is that there has been some more movement toward gender neutrality. I'll admit, as an old school grognard I had mixed feelings about some of the changes from 2e to 3.0, like the classic lizardman becoming "lizardfolk" (which is a grammatical headache, too). I just don't feel it's necessary to make fantasy RPGs PC. In fact, I have often thought that part of the appeal of them for many is that they are a refuge from the puritanism of political correctness, which many experience as oppressive. We like mustiness. Besides, even if ogres, mummies, centaurs, medusas, dryads, and others were nearly always portrayed and described exclusively as male or female, there was never a rule saying you couldn't make them anything you wanted (I realize also that I am being all binary and un-PC here myself, not mentioning trans or intersex) Even if the legendary or archetypal monster was male or female, if it was a natural monster you could use your imagination (baby giants come from somewhere). If it wasn't natural, well, there was no reason a cleric or wizard couldn't make a female zombie or golem which was exactly as unpleasant as a male one (I always thought D&D was kind of forward-thinking in that male and female characters were the same. It wasn't obvious that the original designers would make it so.). Though I imagine that designers and developers have been leery of depicting semi-clothed female monsters, understandably.
  
  So, though a few monsters are still portrayed as exclusively male or female, there are some, like medusas, which are now described or depicted non-traditionally (frankly, I am not too comfortable with the idea of a male medusa. I wouldn't want to meet one, nor would I want one in my campaign.). But curiously, there are still some monsters, like satyrs and dryads, which are described as exclusively male or female.
• 
  Travis

  It's a manual of monsters - does what it says on the tin. Personally, I'm more narrative-focused than game-focused in my RPGing, so I would have liked to have seen more on ecology, culture, and how to integrate these beasts into the game world or scenario organically and plausibly, whereas the book retains the "what you find in the next 10' x 10' room" flavour that has been a feature since 1st ed. Still, that's a niggle rather than a deal breaker.
• 
  Max

  This is a pretty good volume of monsters. I do feel like the selection suffers a bit, as there's a few too many low challenge humanoids (seriously, why would I use a quaggoth instead of the more recognizable orc?) and some iconic "boss monsters" feel overpowered - I'd like to have a lich that I can use prior to everyone being at max level. Plus, I kinda miss 4E's monster lore thing, and I would have preferred blink dogs and worgs to get full write-ups rather than being consigned to the appendix. Still, there is a lot to like here. Seeing the Flumph and Modrons make appearances alongside more iconic and serious monsters is fun, and I like the stated mission of presenting the best stuff from prior editions. The idea of monsters with special legendary and lair actions is cool - it's an elegant way of making an encounter with a single dragon more threatening to compensate for the fact that the party will otherwise out action it 4 to 1. The idea of powerful monsters effecting their environment is cool and gives the PCs a neat way of watching out for what sort of encounter they're walking into. I like that recharge powers have returned from 4E, as they're a good way of handling stuff like dragon breath. Another new trick I really like is the simplification of shapeshifting monsters. Now they use the same statblock regardless of form, with only their size and one or two attacks changing. That really simplifies bookkeeping on the DM's part. The art is pretty fun, and I enjoyed having quotes sprinkled throughout, especially because they reference various parts of old D&D lore. All in all, this is a good first Monster Manual - I just wish that there were as many monster books for this edition as for those in the past, because I feel like there isn't enough variety or esoteric material here.
• 
  Keith Davis

  This is the fifth edition of the Monster Manual, the compendium of monsters used in Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of all pen and paper role-playing games. All the old favorites are here: Beholders, Owlbears, Gelatinous Cubes, Mindflayers, Bulettes and Displacer Beasts. The subspecies of Giants and Dragons are exactly the same as the appeared in the first edition back in 1977, but Trolls continue their never ending mutation. Trolls in D&D and Trolls in World of Warcraft are very different creatures, but the dreadlocks on the new Troll illustration suggest a nod to the oddly rasta Trolls of WoW. The design of Orcs also bears a stronger resemblance to WoW Orcs than to the pig faced creatures of older D&D reference works.
  
  The art of the new edition may be the best so far. All the illustrations are detailed and richly colored. The Myconids look almost psychadelic and the Slaadi have never looked more repulsive. One surprising omission is the player character races. Past editions have included Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, and Halfings which are not technically monsters, but their articles did add additional details not covered in the Player's Handbook. The most surprising inclusion is a four page section on Yugoloths, which I believe were introduced in the second edition, the oddly named Monstrous Manual, and never mentioned since.
• 
  Marcus Gilfert

  No more than I expected.
• 
  Tiara

  Pretty informative for a new player like me.
• 
  Adam Wolf

  I don't get nearly as inspired by the Monster Manual as the PHB or DMG, but it is what it is. I like the style of 5e.
• 
  Andrew Obrigewitsch

  There’s a lot of great inspiration in this book for DMs.
• 
  Jonathan Hicks

  I quite like monster manuals. I like the fact that you can have, at your fingertips, everything you need to challenge players with some pretty nifty encounters. It’s good if you’ve got something planned, great if you need a quick off-the-cuff monster to have a bit of a fight with, and excellent when the monsters slot neatly into the campaign and you don’t have to do too much work on their stats or abilities. Yes, monster manuals take a lot of work out of the Dungeon Master’s design process and games are lot better off with them involved.
  
  I like my lists of beasties to be concise, easy to use, adaptable to the campaign I’m running and illustrated. Thankfully, the D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual ticks all those boxes for me.
  
  THE BOOK
  
  This hardback book uses the same cover layout of the other books – which, and I hate to say it, I’m not a fan of – but it’s the interior where it shines. The front cover illustration of a somewhat anti-social Beholder is a great piece of art and quite dynamic but, once again, I don’t think it’s the best image to help sell a book like this. Once again, as I did with the Player’s Handbook, I’m looking to the interior illustrations and I find a cracking picture of a dragon on the first glossy page that would have looked great. I’m fully aware that this is personal preference and doesn’t really make an impact on the contents of the manual, but – and I hate to use the phrase – where books like this are concerned beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, and the cover doesn’t really strike me as an inspirational choice.
  
  The book gets to the meat of the manual pretty much straight away. The introduction is short and sweet and gives you everything you need to get stuck in with just a few pages of pointers and advice on how to use the book and what all the statistics mean. It talks about monsters, where they dwell, which ones to use and when, the different types of adversary and how things like alignment, armour class, skills and special traits work, and anything else pertinent to the stat block including actions and equipment. Old hands with manuals will pretty much know what to expect from this book and will no doubt dive in with a cruel smile, but newcomers will find this introduction very helpful. It’s not that much of a chore to get through, either, as it’s just six pages of text and is easy to understand.
  
  Then the book begins in earnest. The monsters are laid out in alphabetical order from the get-go, so there’s no sections of creature types and if you want it, you can just page-flip for it without having to go to a certain section beforehand. Not only this, but there’s a really handy alphabetical index at the back so you can get to your chosen beastie in seconds. The new D&D 5th Edition game plays much quicker than the previous editions so this doesn’t slow down the action at all, especially if you suddenly need to get hold of a creature you didn’t prepare for. That makes referencing the book easy and quick, which is something I like in my games as I tend to strip back a bit on rules so that I can keep the action fast and flowing. This book allows me to keep that speed going.
  
  After the long list of monsters we get to three appendices; a collection of miscellaneous creatures, again all in alphabetical order, so that you can get hold of some more mundane, and not so mundane, smaller creatures. Then there’s a pretty good NPC appendix which, I’ll be honest, I wish was a bit more detailed and longer as there are some good characters in here, from an acolyte to a gladiator to a spy and people in between. They’re very handy if you need a quick NPC and you can use the stat blocks for a variety of different characters, not just the ones listed. In some of my games, my players sometimes take an interest in NPCs that I had no intention of lasting more than a few moments or minutes in my adventure, so if they do take an interest for whatever reason it’s great to have stat blocks like this handy in case the NPC ends up doing much more than even I bargained for. Players are unpredictable like that. The final appendix is the full index that, of course, is invaluable in a book such as this.
  
  CONCLUSION
  
  This is an impressive book; it’s easy to use, quick to reference, has some cracking creatures in there, some new ones as well the old favourites, and – most importantly for me – it’s fully illustrated throughout. This is important for me because I’m the kind of DM, as I mentioned earlier, who likes to keep the action flowing. Unless I’ve prepared a creature and I have a definite idea of how it looks and acts, I much prefer to be able to hold the book up and point at the monsters and say ‘This is it’. Depending on the monster you’ve chosen you get a much better reaction from the players when they actually see the adversary than when you try to describe it to them, and just saying ‘it’s a Manticore’ is a little flat. The illustrations, all of high quality and full colour on glossy pages, do for you what a page of written description can’t. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
  
  The D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual is easy to use, doesn’t beat around the bush and is designed to be as user friendly as possible. The stat blocks are clear and concise, special abilities are well described and there’s enough background information for you to flesh out a variant or two. There are longer entries for the more dynamic monsters, such as Beholders and Dragons, but ever monster gets a fair crack at the Balor’s whip. In fact, on top of everything else, this book is also a great read. There’s some good stuff in here that’ll help you come up with your own adventures based around the creatures themselves.
  
  I’ve been impressed by D&D 5th up to yet and this book only enforces my opinion of this new edition. It’s invaluable as you really will need it to get the most out of the Player’s Handbook and the game at large, but it’s a solid product on it’s own merits.
  
  Now… let me see… page 100… oh, yes – he’ll do for my next encounter. Mu-hahahahah!!
• 
  Horrorsage

  Good evening and welcome fellow Children of Chaos.
  
  This says it's filled with monsters for the world's greatest Role Playing Game. And I guess with some tweaking you could use these monsters in your Mutants and Masterminds game.
  
  I skimmed a lot of this, honestly, while I do apricate the streamlined monsters they come off as really boring. Yeah yeah this monster gets 2 attacks. +5 to hit 10 (2D6+3) damage. Oh this one has a DC10 poison. ZZZ
  
  This feels like it could have been truncated and placed into the back half of the DMG, that is also filled to the brim with filler. because D&D has three books. I mean how can you play a game if you don't spend 120 bucks on it first.
  
  I do appreciate them just cutting spells to what they would reasonably use. 3E and PRPG has this habit of telling us this monster can use Leomond's Tiny Hut. Like what fucking fight am I having with a grey sylph or whatever where THAT spell is going to come up.
  
  While I like 5E, this book was not bad but kind of a bore.
• 
  Redsteve

  While I have to admit that I didn't focus on the stats/specific numbers in this book (I'm currently playing IN a 5e game and don't want to accidently soak up anything that might spoil it for me, but am reading to improve my world building skills for future endeavors.), but I was favorably impressed by the 5e Monster Manual. My previous experience has been with the AD&D Monster Manuals I-II, Fiend Folio, et al, and I found things much improved. I liked the arrangement (grouping creatures into categories rather than just listing them in alphabetical order), descriptions (diving much deeper into origins, motivations, and relationships with other species), and plot ideas (variants, tactics, lairs, non-combat effects, and adventure suggestions). The authors did a decent job of eliminating many redundant or just plain ridiculous monsters from previous editions - although they did keep the Flumph, which, even with expanded explanation, is still a psionic cross between a jellyfish and a coffee table. Generally liked the illustrations as well. 3.5 stars.
• 
  Alfonso Junquera perez

  Una muy buena mejora respecto a los manuales de monstruos de las dos ediciones anteriores que no eran mas que párrafos y mas párrafos de estadísticas. En este por lo menos se nos cuenta un poco de los hábitos, creencias y origen de cada monstruo. Pero a pesar de las buenas intenciones y del soplo de aire fresco que supone sigue quedando muy lejos de los míticos compendios del AD&D (pero eso si es mucho mas bonitos que aquellos)
• 
  Bilbo Swaggins

  A perfect field guide for any Halfling not wanting to get eaten alive by an irate Troll. Next time I’ll make sure to bring along my trusty shovel. He won’t know what hit him.
• 
  Jasmine

  Hehehehehehehehe.
• 
  Patrick McG

  I think at this point I have read enough of this book to say that I have read it.
  So there we go, I guess.
  Lotta monsters.
• 
  Tori Forte

  Idk what happened, picked up the book, started reading and got sucked in and read it cover to cover in one sitting.
• 
  Allie

  Straightforward, easy manual! Every DM must have!