D&D (2024) D&D Monster Manual (2025)

[dave2008]

Got rid of trait again, not sure whether it's clearer because now we have to be careful to read the entire attack block text.

In general, they have moved traits that knocked prone or cause damage to the actual attack. So it is not gone, just moved to a different location. I am undecided about this choice, but it does allow the statblock to be more compact.

Traits are still a thing, you will see many in my second group of comparisons.

 

[dave2008]

I actually preferred knocking prone, but this is less powerful.

IDT, thematically a bit knocking something prone doesn't make sense to me. I prefer the new version myself.

 

[dave2008]

One of the few monsters I've seen that they reduced HP. Also, have they gotten rid of Traits altogether? I don't remember seeing any, looks like they just give a flat bonus to perception now.

I think we will see quite a few low level monsters reduced in power, either less HP or less DPR. Some 2014 low level monsters easily hit beyond their range. just the opposite at the high end.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

In general, they have moved traits that knocked prone or cause damage to the actual attack. So it is not gone, just moved to a different location. I am undecided about this choice, but it does allow the statblock to be more compact.

Traits are still a thing, you will see many in my second group of comparisons.

I personally like moving the features that add damage or effects to the actual attacks and stating there which conditions trigger the extra stuff like the Warhorse's Hooves attack. It easy to forget those traits before in the middle of combat because they were elsewhere on the stat block until it's too late to get any good use out of them.

 

[abirdcall]

Thanks for posting those.

I prefer the updated versions across the board.

Not every single decision is one I would make but in general they're much easier to read, easier to manage their abilities in combat, and should make for more interesting combats.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I have mixed reactions to this.

The blink dog: Dislike the removal of keen hearing and smell. This change really seems to me to be one of many that are basically designed for VTT play at the expense of flavor and world building elements.

Moving the teleport to a bonus action, I really like.

The bugbear: I HATE changing goblinoids to Fey. This is a change for no reason that I can see. It is one of the only places where WotC is actually inserting lore, but it's intrusive in that it changes long established lore in a way that has mechanical consequences. Yuck.

Removing Brute and Surprise Attack are changes I don't see the purpose in- the poster of the video theorizes that it's to remove passive, always on abilities, but I don't see the point of this. Adding the Abductor trait is... okay, again, why? What does that have to do with bugbears and their traditional depiction? Feels like another change for the sake of change to me. The weird damage on the hammer is just weird, and seems very arbitrary.

The bullywug: I like moving its ability to jump to a bonus action. I don't like the removal of swamp camouflage; again, loss of flavor for the sake of VTT integration is not something I care for.

Also, I am not a fan of giving them a rapier in place of a spear. That, again, removes traditional flavor in place of a weapon that is, in my opinion, kind of advanced technology for a bullywug.

The mage: Medium or Small is good. Improved hps seems misguided to me; mages should be squishy. Arcane Burst is... God damn do I hate this ability. It removes any tactical advantage from closing in on the mage, is an ability that pcs can't get, and is an example of the overuse of force damage in the new rules.

I'm okay with the changes to the spell list, given the inclusion of Arcane Burst, but I'd rather have the old version of the mage. I think the notion that we wouldn't see Greater Invisibility cast in combat is pretty wild; with no other real concentration options for the mage, it seems like an obvious choice to me for round 1.

I do love that they include Counterspell and Shield in the reactions section; I've been doing that for years.

The sprite went from a "not great in combat" creature to a "gonna hit and gonna hurt" type of creature. I think we need more stat blocks for things that aren't great in combat. I also definitely prefer the old sprite's sleep poison for the sake of tradition.

The worg: Not a fan of the changes. Again, removing the keen senses is... I don't see how it's an improvement.

The change to the bite from maybe proning you to granting advantage on the next attack against you seems weird. I mean, wolves (etc) taking creatures to the ground is a real thing, and I think it's a shame to lose it. Again, there is a subtraction of flavor in favor of simplicity. I don't need that, but I dunno, maybe the majority of dms do.

The warhorse: I'm glad that Trampling Charge moved to the Hooves action; it makes it harder to miss how it works when running it. The reducing of the damage, I like less so, but you know.

The bullywug bog sage is cool, though I do wish it still had the Swamp Camouflage ability.

FInally, he talks about the shambling mound without having access to the new stat block. I like everything he said here except for the addition of lightning damage. On a variant version of the SM? Absolutely, very cool. But for the baseline creature, which hasn't ever had such an ability? Meh.

I guess maybe a big thing for me is that changing stat blocks so much really effects the tactical setup of encounters from older adventures. I fondly remember a bullywug and titanic toad adventure I wrote where the bullywugs' swamp camouflage was a key element in, well, probably at least four encounters. I know you can arbitrarily throw in the equivalent of it with advantage based on the terrain or whatnot, but having it explicitly in the monsters' stat blocks is (I feel) far better.

Anyway, those are my thoughts... I continue to be not really impressed with the overall direction of the new rules, even if they seem mechanically sound.

Grabbing a few random thoughts from this.

Worgs are not wolves, so I don't care that wolves knock people prone and worgs don't. Wolves from the PHB still knock prone. I kind of like that a Worg is being shown as a different type of thing, a monstrous beast whose attack is so vicious that if you are hit, your defenses crumble.

I think considering it a rapier and advanced tech is kind of weird. It is an "Insectile Rapier", which tells me it is more like the probiscus of a Mosqitoe. Ripping a thin, sharp piece off a giant bug isn't advanced technology.

The mage needed more hp and a way to fight in melee. Closing with a mage (with the right spells) didn't do crap anyways. You don't deal double damage in melee after all, and any mage who swapped fire bolt for Toll of the Dead or another saving throw spell was already able to cast a ranged attack in melee.

The Shambling Mound has always been connected with lighting (born of lightning and healing when they take lightning damage) so them dealing lightning damage on a hit is less giving them a new ability, and more being consistent with what they are. These aren't plant monsters, these are plant monsters charged with the power of lightning

 

[Chaosmancer]

I just want to clarify that you need to pause a little bit on the analysis because it may not be comparing apples to apples. The 2014 MM bugbear is listed as a "Bugbear." However, the bugbear in Uni is listed as a "Bugbear Warrior." The video could be comparing apples to oranges. We don't know until the 2025 MM is available.

Traditional WotC uses modifiers (like "warrior" or "chief") to denote a different type of monster with a different statblock. It is possible the bugbear warrior is not meant as a direct replacement for the bugbear. It is interesting that the 2024 Green Dragon preview list it simple as "Ancient Green Dragon." So it is clearly a replacment.

Similarly, the Blink Dog in Uni and the MM share the same name. This seems like a direct replacement. Also, you noted the removal of Keen Hearing and Smell, but you (or perhaps the video) didn't note that it was replaced with expertise in perception (going from a +3 in 2014 to at +5 in 2024). This has been a trend in WotC monster design for the past few years.

All this leads me to believe that the monsters in Uni, while providing insight into the new MM, are not necessarily all same monsters / updates to 2014 monsters.

I think this change is actually different. I'm thinking there are no longer going to be "bugbear" or "bullywug" entries.

See, there was always this weird thing. Commoner NPC statblocks exist for the civilized species. A human or halfling commoner is very different from a human or halfling guard or sage or what have you. But a Goblin was a Goblin was a Goblin. All goblins were presented with the same statblock, like a default form.

With this, you are no longer seeing a "this is what all Bugbears are" you are seeing "This is a Bugbear Warrior who is trained to fight." Which sends a very different worldbuilding message

 

[Chaosmancer]

That seems to be the main change in all of these stat blocks, simplification (at the cost of flavor) and some tweaks. To a degree that helps hitting the CR more accurately / predictably and it certainly makes the creature easier to run, I do not like the removal of flavor though, starting with having a generic Rend vs Bite & Claw attacks

Eh, I don't really see the Keen Hearing and Smell thing as a flavor loss. It is just as "flavorful" to give them expertise instead of advantage, so the only difference now is that it doesn't say "dogs smell things good and have sharp ears" which... they are a dog.

And they basically always applied, so making it a more passive boost just makes sense.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Man, I feel like a stodgy old fogy who is all critical all the time in this thread. But I really feel like they're reducing the impact of tactical choices for pcs. Again, "I remember this one adventure..." time.... I remember a 1e adventure I ran where low-level pcs had to deal with a stone golem by evading it, keeping their distance, and cleverly leading it around its lair while one pc accomplished their actual goal instead of fighting it. That's just not possible when it can do ranged attacks at 90'. I like encounters where you have to think outside the box.

For me though, that wasn't out of the box. It was a basic tactic that has been used for decades. Against EVERYTHING

Here's a question. Has there EVER been a Ranged Brute? Kiting and avoiding melee was the preferred tactic against all oozes, all golems, bugbears, orcs, gnolls, hobgoblins, ogres, half the plants, most of the Fiends, large portions of the undead...

"Lead it around the room and shoot it from range" wasn't some clever out of the box tactic. It was the single most effective tactic against the majority of enemies and ESPECIALLY against Boss style enemies. The only enemies getting into melee was effective against were the "Squishies" that have few hp... and you rarely had ranged characters who did significantly more damage when they were in melee, meaning those squishes could just as easily be squished by an action surge with a bow as they could with a sword.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I wish they had changed more too, and slapped a "New Edition!" Sticker on it in the process. Then they could have actually made the D&D the designers wanted to make.

Yes, I am sure your good personal friend Jeremy Crawford who you have had deep personal conversations with on this topic has admitted to you that he cries bitter tears every night because he was denied the chance to make the game he actually wanted to make. Maybe one day you'll convince him to be brave enough to tell the world this instead of just you in the privacy of your home.