2025 Monster Manual to Introduce Male Versions of Hags, Medusas, and Dryads

The upcoming Monster Manual will feature artwork depicting some creatures like hags and medusas in both genders, a first for Dungeons & Dragons. In the "Everything You Need to Know" video for the upcoming Monster Manual, designers Jeremy Crawford and Wesley Schneider revealed that the new book would feature artwork portraying both male and female versions of creatures like hags, dryads, satyrs, and medusas. While there was a male medusa named Marlos Urnrayle in Princes of the Apocalypse (who had a portrait in the book) and players could make satyr PCs of either gender, this marks the first time that D&D has explicitly shown off several of these creatures as being of both male and female within a rulebook. There is no mechanical difference between male creatures and female creatures, so this is solely a change in how some monsters are presented.

In other news that actually does impact D&D mechanics, goblins are now classified as fey creatures (similar to how hobgoblins were portrayed as fey creatures in Monsters of the Multiverse) and gnolls are now classified as fiends.

Additionally, monster statblocks include potential treasure and gear options, so that DMs can reward loot when a player character inevitably searches the dead body of a creature.

The new Monster Manual will be released on February 18th, 2025.

 

[Charlaquin]

They had a demonic origin in 4e as well. So just because they are fiends now doesn't mean the couldn't be PCs.

Well, if they were being presented as fiends that had nuance and could be played as non-evil PCs, that would be fine. But that’s not at all what was expressed in the video. They talked pretty explicitly about doubling down on the idea that they’re slavering monsters hopped up on Yeenoghu blood. Which again, is perfectly fine as an option, but can we please just get some gnolls who are just cool hyena people too?

 

[Micah Sweet]

That’s 3rd party. And yeah, I know I can get 3rd party playable gnolls if I want them, I was specifically expressing frustration with WotC’s aversion to playable gnolls, which seems to have manifested with 5e.

With so many other options available, why bother getting frustrated with any of WotC's choices anymore?

 

[Charlaquin]

I would like to add the Flind to the sicussion about Gnolls. Perhaps they could be used as an alternative? Don´t know it they are represented in 5e.

Generally I use flinds as the demonic ones and gnolls as the humanoids. In my own spin on the lore, gnolls tell the origin story about hyenas following Yeenoghu eating demon-tainted meat and being transformed into demons as a cautionary story about the dangers of scavenging, and Flinds are kind of like the Wendigo of Gnoll folklore - gnolls who resorted to scavenging and got possessed by demonic spirits that transformed them into monsters.

 

[dave2008]

Well, if they were being presented as fiends that had nuance and could be played as non-evil PCs, that would be fine. But that’s not at all what was expressed in the video. They talked pretty explicitly about doubling down on the idea that they’re slavering monsters hopped up on Yeenoghu blood. Which again, is perfectly fine as an option, but can we please just get some gnolls who are just cool hyena people too?

Here is the gnoll lore from 4e. looks very similar to the 2014 lore. So until the introduced a PC version, it was pretty much the same as 5e.

 

[Charlaquin]

With so many other options available, why bother getting frustrated with any of WotC's choices anymore?

Why does anyone critique things they like? I enjoy it generally and see an opportunity for it to be better.

 

[Charlaquin]

Here is the gnoll lore from 4e. looks very similar to the 2014 lore.
View attachment 391630
View attachment 391629

Yeah, and the 2014 lore is fine. They didn’t need to be changed to fiends and their demonic nature doubled down on to justify WotC’s stubborn refusal to provide a PC playable version. They just needed a PC playable version.

 

[Hussar]

Who has ever said no one can have fiendish hyenas? My first post in this thread literally said, “fiendish gnolls are fine as an option, but give us playable humanoid versions too”

It is not the people who want fiendish gnolls who are being denied an option here.

But…. Playable gnolls have never been an option. So, sure I guess?

They tried to give us anthro-species and got shouted down. It’s not like WotC is opposed to anthro species.

 

[dave2008]

Generally I use flinds as the demonic ones and gnolls as the humanoids. In my own spin on the lore, gnolls tell the origin story about hyenas following Yeenoghu eating demon-tainted meat and being transformed into demons as a cautionary story about the dangers of scavenging, and Flinds are kind of like the Wendigo of Gnoll folklore - gnolls who resorted to scavenging and got possessed by demonic spirits that transformed them into monsters.

That is pretty cool. I personally prefer gnolls as "mortal demons" bent on destruction and carnage. One of Yeenoghu's greatest successes (who is one of my favorite demon lords).

Now, that doesn't mean all are evil and demonic destroyers. However, a gnoll, or group of gnolls, that is anything but destructive marauder is the exception. A

Do you have the same concerns about Yuan-ti? I mean yaun-ti are pretty much universally evil aren't they (they are monstrosities in 5e). I had a good aligned yaun-ti PC in my 4e campaign (I had to custom make the species for them) because they were not a PC option.

 

[dave2008]

Yeah, and the 2014 lore is fine. They didn’t need to be changed to fiends and their demonic nature doubled down on to justify WotC’s stubborn refusal to provide a PC playable version. They just needed a PC playable version.

Couldn't they do both? Make them fiends and PC playable. I don't see why not. Would you have a problem with that?

 

[dave2008]

But…. Playable gnolls have never been an option. So, sure I guess?

They tried to give us anthro-species and got shouted down. It’s not like WotC is opposed to anthro species.

They were playable in 4e, see below. @Charlaquin, that article has them being crafted by Yeenoghu but with some clans rejecting their demonic heritage and embracing their hyena side. Seems like that would work just fine for 5e.