3 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Pros:
- Overall great art design. There are a few stinkers to be found here and there, but on the whole I found the artwork to be very evocative and inspiring.
- Good print quality. I've had no issue with smudging, tearing, or other damage, and my copy certainly sees some travel.
- High number of iconic monsters. While I'm sure everyone has a couple favorites of old that didn't make it, most of the infamous monsters are included here.
Cons:
-No monster by CR table. I have no idea whose idea it was to put this in the DMG, but this is a truly atrocious choice and I hope they're in the doghouse for it. It doesn't sound like much but this is a huge usability issue in my experience.
-Monsters frequently have spellcasting ability, but all of said spells are in the player's handbook. This means when planning and running sessions, you need to flip between all 3 books regularly, which again is a huge usability issue for me.
-Lore is heavily realms inspired, and places far too much importance on how the creatures fit in with the cosmology at large rather than other aspects of the monster. For example, the goblinoid entries spend too much time talking about their gods and not enough about things like their primary sources of food or technological level. Mabye Volo's fixes these, but as it stands in the MM the lore/ecology sections aren't what they could be.
- Boring monster abilities. This is the real downer here, there are a huge swath of creatures from low to high CR that have barely anything to separate them from the pack, save maybe the odd couple of resistances. What little diversity is to be had typically comes in the form of spellcasting ability, but ultimately a large number of the foes here are just auto-attackers with increased numbers as you progress. Things like auras, marks, and forced movement are all but nonexistent, and it's a real shame.
- In keeping with the above points, most of the monsters aim for the low end of the power spectrum, and savvy or well optimized players can frequently end up punching far above their assumed weight.
- Very few high CR opponents. If you're one of the few lucky ones who sees real high-end play, then be aware that the number of monsters with CRs in that range becomes very small, and you'll either have to homebrew some, check out 3rd party options, or simply go for volume of foes.
Overall the 5e MM is a workable entry to the genre for newcomers (which I suspect was the real goal at wizards) but for those of you that have been running D&D for years or even decades, you will likely need to do quite a bit of work to make them more interesting or more difficult. Those issues combined with faults in the layout stop this one from being a knockout, and with both Volo's and the excellent Tome of Beasts out now, I can't say it has aged well either.
