D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
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billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Lots of great ideas for monsters - it's obvious that the design team spent a lot of time pouring over the surveys WotC conducted. But the book as a whole suffers a bit in the presentation of some information. There's no challenge rating index for the monsters, and that info is a bit more buried in the stat block than in 3e/4e. It's not clear why some creatures in the book sort in the main body and others among the animals and that makes some creatures like the blink dog harder to find than they should be.Good content - room to improve on usability.
Lots of great ideas for monsters - it's obvious that the design team spent a lot of time pouring over the surveys WotC conducted. But the book as a whole suffers a bit in the presentation of some information. There's no challenge rating index for the monsters, and that info is a bit more buried in the stat block than in 3e/4e. It's not clear why some creatures in the book sort in the main body and others among the animals and that makes some creatures like the blink dog harder to find than they should be.Good content - room to improve on usability.
gnarm gimblegear
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
This edition of Dungeons & Dragons brought me back into the fold after a 25+ year absence. It is more compelling than any edition since 1st edition AD&D. This Monster Manual is likely the best ever in art and layout. There should have been an index of monsters by CR included in the print version and not as a supplemental PDF, but its isn't a huge issue.
This edition of Dungeons & Dragons brought me back into the fold after a 25+ year absence. It is more compelling than any edition since 1st edition AD&D. This Monster Manual is likely the best ever in art and layout. There should have been an index of monsters by CR included in the print version and not as a supplemental PDF, but its isn't a huge issue.
Merifluous
Explorer
5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Great art and look, huge selection of monsters for an initial MM, and great accompanying fluff makes this the best monster manual for D&D since at least 2e.
Great art and look, huge selection of monsters for an initial MM, and great accompanying fluff makes this the best monster manual for D&D since at least 2e.
bragarfull
First Post
4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
A good job for the new edition. The binding on this book has held up better than the PH.
A good job for the new edition. The binding on this book has held up better than the PH.
5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Better art than the 2e Monster Manual but lacking 2e's awesome ecology sections. The book is pretty and easy to use. The monster abilities are well presented. Most monsters get enough space to have the dry statistical run down and enough flavor text to bring them to life.
Better art than the 2e Monster Manual but lacking 2e's awesome ecology sections. The book is pretty and easy to use. The monster abilities are well presented. Most monsters get enough space to have the dry statistical run down and enough flavor text to bring them to life.
Pensquiggle
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Very thorough book. I quite like the artwork, I am a real fan of older versions, all the major entries have art. The stats are very clear and precise and the descriptions give plenty of adventure hooks as well as tactics. I love the little quotes scattered through the pages too.
Very thorough book. I quite like the artwork, I am a real fan of older versions, all the major entries have art. The stats are very clear and precise and the descriptions give plenty of adventure hooks as well as tactics. I love the little quotes scattered through the pages too.
Ravenheart87
Explorer
5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual
Tome of Horrors might have more monsters and Hacklopedia might look better, but neither of them is as well balanced as the new Monster Manual. The book has everything that you need for a D&D campaign, and even more: there are some rare, weird and strange stuff, that you probably never used before. It seems the writers were running out of space, the animals and many of their bestial cousins were compressed in a single appendix at the end, with short descriptions. It's okay for the mammoth and the smilodon, but maybe the blink dog or the phase spider deserved as much space as the displacer beast. Still, it's a very nice selection of creatures.The descriptions are well done. Not unnecessarily verbose and quite evocative. The key elements are even emphasized at the beginning of each paragraph. There might be some lore changes that you won't like, but the opposite is possible too. For example I don't know what to think about the aboleths reincarnating on the elemental plane of water, but on the other hand the merrow becoming more than a simple aquatic ogre is something I tottaly dig. The stat blocks are useful and clear, even if a bit bigger than I would prefer. Many creatures have variants that give them more power, usually without changing the CR - the summoning ability of demons and devils, and dragon magic is handled this way.The art is usually good, even if there are some mediocre pieces. Some creatures were redesigned or have unusual visuals, but I found these nice and interesting. The archmage with the corpse paint in the NPC appendix made me chuckle quite a bit.Summa summarum, the 5e Monster Manual has a balanced selection of monsters, the right amount of information, and completely satisfying art and layout. It's a must-have for 5e DMs.
Tome of Horrors might have more monsters and Hacklopedia might look better, but neither of them is as well balanced as the new Monster Manual. The book has everything that you need for a D&D campaign, and even more: there are some rare, weird and strange stuff, that you probably never used before. It seems the writers were running out of space, the animals and many of their bestial cousins were compressed in a single appendix at the end, with short descriptions. It's okay for the mammoth and the smilodon, but maybe the blink dog or the phase spider deserved as much space as the displacer beast. Still, it's a very nice selection of creatures.The descriptions are well done. Not unnecessarily verbose and quite evocative. The key elements are even emphasized at the beginning of each paragraph. There might be some lore changes that you won't like, but the opposite is possible too. For example I don't know what to think about the aboleths reincarnating on the elemental plane of water, but on the other hand the merrow becoming more than a simple aquatic ogre is something I tottaly dig. The stat blocks are useful and clear, even if a bit bigger than I would prefer. Many creatures have variants that give them more power, usually without changing the CR - the summoning ability of demons and devils, and dragon magic is handled this way.The art is usually good, even if there are some mediocre pieces. Some creatures were redesigned or have unusual visuals, but I found these nice and interesting. The archmage with the corpse paint in the NPC appendix made me chuckle quite a bit.Summa summarum, the 5e Monster Manual has a balanced selection of monsters, the right amount of information, and completely satisfying art and layout. It's a must-have for 5e DMs.
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