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.

 

[Hussar]

At the end of the day, this is just a reflection of the shift in player demographics. In the early days of DnD, we had all female temptress monsters because most of the player base was guys.

That’s not true anymore. What’s the point of a traditional nymph encounter when four out of the five players at a table are straight women? I certainly don’t want to dm that encounter. “Hey, look at the sexy lady! Anyone want to have a pillow fight?”

No thanks. Yikes.

So we have tempter monsters that run the spectrum. Great. Makes them easier to use in an adventure.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Technically, they had male hags before. Except they were usually referred to as Hag spawn before. And male Medusae have been a thing since 2nd edition IIRC. (although, I can't remember if they ever went beyond 2nd edition. If not then they are back).

Yes, the male medusa was the maedar, although they had somewhat different powers.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Not to mention that "old women cackling over cauldrons and granting prophetic clues" is a really, really classic trope.

All the way back to Perseus and the Graeae (who were sisters of the three Gorgons, to tie together two strands of this thread)

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

This might alter the behaviour of the people in fantasy notably. Sure, their fears are more justified, but that mob assembly thing can turn out really bad for t hem. So, yeah, maybe that old woman is a hag. But let's not assemble a mob just yet. Hire some adventurers. They actually know how to fight such monsters, and they probably can even tell if she's a real monster. And the adventurers reputation will hurt if they keep killing old women, so they have to figure out how to identify the real monsters.

With bounded accuracy, mobs stand a greater chance against the witch than ever before.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Interesting. Wonder what the art will look like for a male nymph, if there is one.

There's artwork of the male and female nymph in one of the other MM threads.

 

[MGibster]

Mythical creatures often change over the centuries. Even Dracula doesn't much resemble vampires as described in most 18th century sources. It's just a given that how mythical creatures are viewed change as they are interpreted and reinterpreted for contemporary audiences. A witch is different to us today than they were in the 17th century because none of us are concerned about diabolism. Beliefs and social norms change and thus so do our mythological creatures. They're not just frozen in the past, but rather they're living parts of our culture.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

none of us are concerned about diabolism

Yeah, number four was a real disappointment.

 

[dave2008]

There's artwork of the male and female nymph in one of the other MM threads.

wasn't that for the dryads?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

wasn't that for the dryads?

Which is a type of nymph

 

[dave2008]

Which is a type of nymph

But dryads and nymphs are separate things in D&D, and we are talking about D&D in a D&D forum on a D&D thread. So, I was talking about the D&D dryads and nymphs.