D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

Scottius

Adventurer

• Nov 24, 2014

• #61

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

This may well be the finest Monster Manual released to date for Dungeons & Dragons. As one of the trio of core books for 5th Edition D&D if you're looking to run the new edition you're most likely going to be picking this book anyways but I still can't recommend it highly enough. Overall the art is wonderful and the writeups for the numerous creatures found within are packed full of ideas to build adventures & even campaigns around including the new Regional Effects some creatures possess. Mechanically the addition of Legendary & Lair actions make certain monsters stand out for especially memorable encounters.

 

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Wolvercote

First Post

• Nov 24, 2014

• #62

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

Surpasses Pathfinder's Bestiary in quality or presentation and writing. The king is back.

 

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dd.stevenson

Super KY

• Nov 25, 2014

• #63

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

This book is jammed with good stuff, but I think they left enough money on the table that I can't in good conscience give five stars. The art, writing style, monster abilities (some of which are fluff only!!!!) and approach to world building make this a worthwhile purchase. But there are some stinkers--the book's organization leaves a lot to be desired. And I can't help but notice that a lot of the monsters don't have built-in plot hooks or adventure building material, which is a shame.

 

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Umbrathys

Explorer

• Nov 25, 2014

• #64

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

Overall, this Monster Manual is of exceptional quality. The art, presentation, and monster fluff make for a very entertaining read. I would have scored this 5 out of 5 had the CR list been included and more game-appropriate monsters been presented (such as high level Fey, which are required for Player's Handbook spells). All-in-all, the quality and content are excellent and make me long for the MMII

 

smiteworks

Explorer

• Nov 25, 2014

• #65

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

The art, trade dressing and layout is all top notch. It's chalk full of monsters from throughout the history of D&D and is an excellent MM #1 for a new edition. It's a little strange at first that the monsters by region and by CR lists are not included, but those are to be found in the DMG. The tactics section is not provided for each monster, but this seems to fit more with the feel of the new edition. Some groups may not like as much focus on tactics.

 

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Bugleyman

First Post

• Nov 25, 2014

• #66

4 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

Dungeons and Dragons comes surging back looking much more like the game I've always wanted.

Pros:

• Huge book jam-packed full of monsters.
• Most of the art is fantastic.
• Consists largely of compact, easy-to-use stat-blocks.

Cons:

• No "monsters by Challenge" index. Huh?
• Some monsters are buried -- seemingly arbitrarily so -- in an appendix.
• Zero PDF/eBook availability (at least at the time of this writing) is a MAJOR disappointment.

(****-)

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2014

PinkRose

Explorer

• Nov 26, 2014

• #67

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

The 5e Monster Manual is more than a Monster Manual.With the great back stories, the integrated fluff and crunch and the fabulous art, this book is one of the best RPG books to look at.Oh, and there's great monsters in there for your D&D needs, too.

 

C

Critical Hits

First Post

• Nov 29, 2014

• #68

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

Overall the Monster Manual holds a strong place on the shelf for this new edition of D&D. Though we’ve had almost two years to playtest this version of the game, opening the book surprises us with such a huge range of monsters we can use over the years. The book looks great, has some fantastic inspiring descriptions, beautiful artwork, and well-designed monsters to help our PCs look awesome. I cannot recommend it enough.

 

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The Escapist

First Post

• Nov 29, 2014

• #69

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

A trove of fascinating creatures and fun reading, the Monster Manual makes D&D 5th feel like a complete game and game world. Those who doubted the system based on the Player's Handbook alone may just be convinced by the Monster Manual's charms.

 

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Stormrazor2000

Explorer

• Nov 30, 2014

• #70

5 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

The 5E monster manual is gorgeous, fun to read, and clearly a lot of thought went into making monsters interesting and exciting to run. Even trash mobs like kobolds and goblins have quirky abilities that make them feel like more than just little sacks of HP. They also feel different from each other. Kobolds are clearly foes that love to gang up, using pack tactics on prey, where goblins are hit and run specialists that can disengage or hide as a bonus action. Almost every monster has a personality or quirk about them that as a DM I appreciate as it leads to ideas on how a monster can be part of an adventure, rather than being simply filler. The only downside was the missing monster by CR and terrain type, but that has been remedied by the DMG.