D&D 5E Zooming In On Monsters of the Multiverse [UPDATED!]

Earlier, WotC announced Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse, a new D&D compilation of monster material from previous products updated to a new format. These screen grabs are as good as I could get them. They're not terribly clear, but you can make more out than in the original images.

The screenshots show the original entry in Volo's Guide to Monsters next to the new entry in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.

"The Future of D&D" (New Core Books in 2024!)

The online D&D Celebration event, which has been running all weekend, comes to a close with The Future of D&D, a panel featuring WotC's Ray Winninger, Liz Schuh, Chris Perkins, and Jeremy Crawford, hosted by Elle Osili-Wood. D&D is exploring the multiverse Revisiting classic settings. 1st of...

www.enworld.org

---

UPDATE -- a cleaned up version of the War Priest has appeared on imgur.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Isn't this the way 4E set up its monsters?

Shhhhhh! You're going to scare away a big chunk of the fanbase by mentioning that 5e's doing something like 4e!

 

[Parmandur]

MPMotM was also supposed to be a 2021 release.

How many books did they do this year?

In the end, 5.

 

[pukunui]

Isn't this the way 4E set up its monsters?

Similar, yes, which is a good thing. The way monsters were set up in 4e is one of the few things I've missed about it.

 

[Weird Dave]

This certainly is going to change the value of counterspell as a player! And I don't think that's a bad thing. And, unless it's part of the monster/NPC's core features, they probably won't have counterspell either.

 

[Shiroiken]

Yes? It's too hard to read the fine print. But Jeremy did talk about how the Spellcasting action would focus more on utility spells. It sounds like combat-oriented stuff will all be fully-spelled out actions/bonus actions.

I hope they keep the fact that they're still spells, otherwise counterspell will becomes nigh useless. I'm not a fan of the change myself, since I like to upcast spells and vary spells up to keep players on their toes. However, I accept that I'm weird in this regard (I plan out spellcasters strategy beforehand, so I already know what spell does what).

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Similar, yes, which is a good thing. The way monsters were set up in 4e is one of the few things I've missed about it.

For sure. There were other aspects I appreciated as well, but the monster streamlining was one of 4E's biggest selling points.

 

[ad_hoc]

I hope they keep the fact that they're still spells, otherwise counterspell will becomes nigh useless. I'm not a fan of the change myself, since I like to upcast spells and vary spells up to keep players on their toes. However, I accept that I'm weird in this regard (I plan out spellcasters strategy beforehand, so I already know what spell does what).

Looks like they still get some spells.

I think monsters with "cast spells 1/day" will remain largely unchanged. This looks like a change from the monsters/NPCs with PC-like spell lists and slots.

I'm okay with counterspell not being as widely applicable.

 

[Azzy]

Similar, yes, which is a good thing. The way monsters were set up in 4e is one of the few things I've missed about it.

I wonder if the DMG will resent simpler monster creation guidelinf, like 4e, in the revised version.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I wonder if the DMG will resent simpler monster creation guidelinf, like 4e, in the revised version.

I sure hope so. The DMG's current monster creation guideline doesn't match up with CR at all.

 

[Parmandur]

Interesting, they are using a lot of the Magic: the Gathering card art for previously unillustrated stat blocks.