D&D 5E The Next Big Book of Monsters

[Bad Fox]

If the positive reception for Volo’s Guide to Monsters leads to another "Big Book of Monsters" getting published at some point, what theme and format would you like to see for it?

For VGtM, we got the Volo/Elminster thing to tie the book together thematically. Then, in terms of format, it was broken down into lore, player races and monster entries. Would you want something similar or different?

As much as I enjoyed Volo’s Guide, next I’d like them to change things up a bit.

I’d love to see “Monsters of the Multiverse.” Essentially, a monster manual that’s broken down into separate chapters for different classic D&D settings.

For me, that would be a great product. You'd get 5e versions of the most iconic monsters from Dragonlance, Eberron, Dark Sun, Mystara, etcetera. Not only would it be a godsend for anyone currently thinking of running campaigns in these settings, but almost any of these monsters could be dropped into other games. It'd be something usable by all DMs, despite being a book about specific D&D worlds.

 

[Parmandur]

I see two big possibilities:

1. Something like a combo of Volos Guide and a Manual of the Planes: DM info, player toys and monsters themed around the Planes.

2. Volos Guide to Dragons: like Volos, but all Dragons and draconic things.

Sent from my BLU LIFE XL using EN World mobile app

 

[Bad Fox]

I see two big possibilities:

1. Something like a combo of Volos Guide and a Manual of the Planes: DM info, player toys and monsters themed around the Planes.

2. Volos Guide to Dragons: like Volos, but all Dragons and draconic things.

Sent from my BLU LIFE XL using EN World mobile app

Option one would be awesome; option two would be terrible.

Could you do a full 5e hardcover on dragons? Sure, easy. But we've already got 32 pages of essential lore and ecology in the MM. I think that 248 pages focused on dragons would be way more detail than a lot of people have an appetite for.

But a new version of the Manual of the Planes, kind of drawing from VGtM for format inspiration... that would be amazing. So much great material that could be dropped in there. I mean - yes, there is already 25 pages written about the planes in the DMG, but you could maybe have a chapter on Sigil and its factions instead. And there are a lot more planar monsters that deserve 5e monster entries. Sign me up for this one!

 

[Tormyr]

Option one would be awesome; option two would be terrible.

Could you do a full 5e hardcover on dragons? Sure, easy. But we've already got 32 pages of essential lore and ecology in the MM. I think that 248 pages focused on dragons would be way more detail than a lot of people have an appetite for.

But a new version of the Manual of the Planes, kind of drawing from VGtM for format inspiration... that would be amazing. So much great material that could be dropped in there. I mean - yes, there is already 25 pages written about the planes in the DMG, but you could maybe have a chapter on Sigil and its factions instead. And there are a lot more planar monsters that deserve 5e monster entries. Sign me up for this one!

For a monster book, I would want more different types of monsters rather than new versions of the same monster. Volo's Yuan-Ti sort of worked as the parts on each type were somewhat different, but a bunch of different types of orcs and gnolls are needed a little less. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Spawn of Kyuss and Froghemoth in Volo's as those were two creatures I had to remake for my 5e Age of Worms campaign. It was also interesting to see how much had changed and how much had stayed the same for those monsters. The froghemoth was almost exactly like the one I made, but the worms that the Spawn of Kyuss launches changed from doing intelligence damage to necrotic damage. This changes how it works a lot but makes it the "5e" version much better than me bringing over the intelligence damage did.

Monsters that cause grief through means other than straight damage would be nice. Legendary / Epic monsters would be cool.

The main thing I want from upcoming books are source books that compile things in one place that haven't been compiled before (don't know if a manual of the planes with Sigil has been done on its own before, and settings that would benefit from 5e versions of mechanics (Eberron, Dark Sun, SPELLJAMMER).

 

[guachi]

I think a Manual of the Planes would be fun. I'd never buy it. But it would be a great reference to have all in one place. It would even be great to tie into it with an AP so you could have an adventure to go with your supplement. Having an AP to go along with a Manual of the Planes would add to the longevity of both books.

 

[Lancelot]

I'd like to see a similarly-themed series of books using other well-known scribes and experts...

1) "Van Richten's Guide to Horrors" (undead, were-creatures, golems). Rudolph van Richten is the primary expert in monster-kind from the Ravenloft setting.
2) "Xanxost's Guide to Planar Perils" (fiends, celestials, elementals). Xanxost is one of several recurring commentators from later books in the 2e Planescape line. His shtick (crazed slaad, whose chaotic ramblings veer from implied violence to insatiable hunger) would get a little old if it filled the entire book. But, as seen from VGTM, the actual Volo content is limited to an introduction and a few choice quotes. Xanxost would be perfect (and hilarious) for this.
3) "Silvara's Guide to Dragonkind" (dragons, draconians). Silvara is the most prominent good (silver) dragon from the original Dragonlance trilogy, and one of the few dragons that is more notable for her humanoid (elven) shape. She'd be an excellent mouthpiece for speaking on the nature of dragons.

In terms of format, don't fix what ain't broke. I loved VGTM. Keep it to the format of 30% lore on the most notable races, 20% new player content (races, items, spells), and 50% new monsters. Automatic purchase for me.

 

[Lancelot]

...and, what the heck, just because I know it will trigger some people:

4) "Drizzt's Guide to the Underdark" (oozes, subterranean humanoids, aberrations).

 

[ccs]

I'm not too picky. However they want to dress it up, as long as the majority of the book is monster entries.

What I'd like to see eventually are all the monsters that are detailed in the various modules put into one convenient book. Tiamat, Demogorgon, etc....
I'll spend money on that.
What I won't do is spend $ on a module just for access to 6 pages or so.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I would think they would start out by covering the monster types mentioned at the start of VGtM as likely candidates for their own books, and then branch out from there. And, of those, dragons are the pretty obvious starting point - not only are they popular, they do make up half of the game's title after all! Given even the reduced number of age categories for dragons in 5e, stat blocks will take up substantial room, especially for major groups like the gem dragons, which will likely take up 15 pages or so alone. Of course there will be ecology notes, lair maps, likely unique examples of each major type of dragon, and stat blocks for draconic creatures (such as draconians). The question becomes whether dragons alone can support a book on their own, or if they would have to bundled thematically with some other kind(s) of creature to fill out a page count, and, if the latter, which creature type(s) would work best?

 

[Ath-kethin]

I'm totally in with the "Creatures of the Multiverse" angle, or a book full of monsters unique to various campaign settings. I'm not and never have been a Planescape fan, so I'd prefer the book not to be focused around that. I could be convinced, though, especially if the "Planescapiness" of it was limited to the same degree the "Voloness" was in VGtM.

I wouldn't buy a book dedicated to dragons, or fey, or whatever. I don't feel it would add enough value to be worthwhile.

Though I'd also be down for supplements that kind of work in the reverse of the current APs. A book with a shorter adventure set in, say, Dark Sun, that is mostly monsters and world/cultural notes. So you get new monsters, new goodies, an adventure to try it all out with, and guidelines on developing it into a full campaign.

So basically a larger version of the "Plane Shift" articles with an adventure included, really.