D&D 5E Volo's Guide to Monsters: General Discussion.

Corpsetaker · Nov 2, 2016

Well it looks like the Volo's Guide to Monsters will be here soon and every preview I see makes me want it more, except for the part about Gnoll's not being a playable race.

I figured I would create a general discussion thread that can be used now and after the book has come out.

One thing I am hoping to actually get from this books is some Forgotten Realms lore with regards to the monsters and what their place is in the Realms. I would like to know the specific areas where you might them, their history in the Realms, as well as their ecology. I mean the book has reference to Volo(who's name is in the title), and he has had detailed guides about locations before in the past, so it has to be tied in with the Realms in some way.

I just hope this book isn't a disappointment because with such a thin release schedule I don't want to have to wait a year or longer to get something I actually like.

MonkeezOnFire · Nov 2, 2016

Overall, I'm really excited about this release (and I've preorderd a copy from amazon). The MM was my favourite of the core 3 to read casually because of the lore and stories behind the monster so I like that this book seems to be doubling down on that aspect. As someone who hasn't been playing D&D for very long, I'm looking forward to reading up on some of the old creatures that they're bringing back. It really feels like I'm tapping into this shared mythology and it's always nice to feel a part of something bigger.

I've also been impressed by the mechanical side of things we've seen. It's nice to see some creatures under CR 5 get some spell casting for out of combat roleplaying opportunities as well as vary the combat. It makes a lot of sense to give orcs, goblins and giants some backup support since in the MM they are very straightforward creatures that just attack every turn.

The one thing that I do want to see that we haven't seen from the previews are more creatures available for the conjuring spells. As is stands there isn't a lot for Conjure Fey and Conjure Celestial to really do at the moment. But this is a secondary concern, and I'm sure it's also not at the forefront of the designer's minds. It's more important to focus on monsters that are usable as story elements.

flametitan · Nov 2, 2016

MonkeezOnFire said:
Overall, I'm really excited about this release (and I've preorderd a copy from amazon). The MM was my favourite of the core 3 to read casually because of the lore and stories behind the monster so I like that this book seems to be doubling down on that aspect. As someone who hasn't been playing D&D for very long, I'm looking forward to reading up on some of the old creatures that they're bringing back. It really feels like I'm tapping into this shared mythology and it's always nice to feel a part of something bigger.

I've also been impressed by the mechanical side of things we've seen. It's nice to see some creatures under CR 5 get some spell casting for out of combat roleplaying opportunities as well as vary the combat. It makes a lot of sense to give orcs, goblins and giants some backup support since in the MM they are very straightforward creatures that just attack every turn.

The one thing that I do want to see that we haven't seen from the previews are more creatures available for the conjuring spells. As is stands there isn't a lot for Conjure Fey and Conjure Celestial to really do at the moment. But this is a secondary concern, and I'm sure it's also not at the forefront of the designer's minds. It's more important to focus on monsters that are usable as story elements.

If I recall the Annis hag is at a CR appropriate for Conjure Fey, so we at least have that going for us.

MonsterEnvy · Nov 2, 2016

I saw the leaked table of contents. Lots of fey.

Morrus · Nov 2, 2016

MonsterEnvy said:
I saw the leaked table of contents. Lots of fey.

Where's that?

MonsterEnvy · Nov 2, 2016

Morrus said:
Where's that?

From the Reddit page. The guy who made put it up took it down however. Appearntly on the grounds WotC asked him to. I saw it before it was taken down.