So Much Art From the 2025 Monster Manual

Here's some preview art from the 2025 Monster Manual, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast's "Everything You Need to Know Video" on the new book.

A classic Faceless Stalker:

A demon of some kind:

Arch-Hags:

Some kobolds:

A Nalfeshnee, perhaps?

A revenant:

Blue dracolich:

Death Knight:

Death tyrant:

Chimera:

Githyanki (with the central warrior recreating a classic pose):

A mummy lord:

A marrow:

A balrog balor:

Mimics:

While I'm tempted to say a tressym, this actually might be a new sphinx design:

Bone fiend:

Sladd:

Rust monster:

Platinum(?) dragon:

Bronze dragon:

Hezrou, perhaps?

Fire giant, not Karlach:

Cloud giants:

Zombies:

Red dragon:

Hags (including a male hag):

Dryads (including a male dryad):

Horned devil:

Incubus and succubus:

Vampires:

Vampire:

Colossus:

Spirit naga:

Copper dragon:

White dragon:

Blue dragon:

Gold dragon:

Black dragon:

 

[dave2008]

Aww. Now I'm sad. That image made me think of the high end celestials of the Marvel Universe, and that stablock is... not that.

Oh well.

The new stat block does do the original art justice though!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Tangent, the name of Empyrean’s has confused me for a while. The Empyrean is a place, not a type of divine entity. A much more fitting name would be the Nephilim, because that’s basically what they are. Didn’t they used to be called Titans or something like that in previous editions?

 

[pukunui]

I think most of them are the best or close to the best D&D dragons we have ever had.

I am curious though, some of these are very similar to previous designs (red, black, silver, gold). Are the minor changes really so much to you that they boil into hate? What could drive you to hate a piece of art that much.

I mean I love dragons and am passionate about them (just look at me avatar), but even when I don't like a particular dragon design I can't imagine developing a hate. I am not particularly fond of most of the dragons in How to Train Your Dragons, but I don't hate them and they are much more an affront to dragon design then anything in the 2024 redesign IMO.

It is also odd you say hate it. What is it? The dragon designs are not monolithic, or does hating one design make you hate them all?

Mmm. I don't think I truly hate anything or anyone. Plenty of things and people I dislike, some even quite strongly (the new dragon art being among the latter), but nothing coming close to actual hatred.

Tangent, the name of Empyrean’s has confused me for a while. The Empyrean is a place, not a type of divine entity. A much more fitting name would be the Nephilim, because that’s basically what they are. Didn’t they used to be called Titans or something like that in previous editions?

Nephilim just makes me think of Diablo 3. As for Titans, that's now a creature category and includes krakens and the tarrasque and such. D&D has a long history of not using real world mythology and words quite right -- e.g. gorgons and medusae. Also, "erinyes" is the plural form of "erinys" yet D&D uses it as a singular noun.

 

[dave2008]

Tangent, the name of Empyrean’s has confused me for a while. The Empyrean is a place, not a type of divine entity. A much more fitting name would be the Nephilim, because that’s basically what they are. Didn’t they used to be called Titans or something like that in previous editions?

yes, they used to be titans

 

[dave2008]

Mmm. I don't think I truly hate anything or anyone. Plenty of things and people I dislike, some even quite strongly (the new dragon art being among the latter), but nothing coming close to actual hatred.

I'm the same. I feel like we throw around "hate" and "love" a little to freely IMO.

I know we have discussed this before and I agree to disagree; but what is it about the new designs that you dislike so much. To me, the look generally very much like the 3e-5e14 versions with relatively minor tweaks. There are some exceptions, but as a whole that don't seem all that different to me. So where are they generate the dislike for you. I am not going to argue with you about this, just curious what is triggering you, Also, please forgive me if we have covered this before and I have forgotten.

 

[Reynard]

yes, they used to be titans

That stat block makes sense for Titans at least.

 

[TravDoc42]

I like how the empyrean iota in the bottom right corner of the image looks like a d4

 

[pukunui]

I'm the same. I feel like we throw around "hate" and "love" a little to freely IMO.

I know we have discussed this before and I agree to disagree; but what is it about the new designs that you dislike so much. To me, the look generally very much like the 3e-5e14 versions with relatively minor tweaks. There are some exceptions, but as a whole that don't seem all that different to me. So where are they generate the dislike for you. I am not going to argue with you about this, just curious what is triggering you, Also, please forgive me if we have covered this before and I have forgotten.

For starters, I think a big part of it is just a kind of cognitive dissonance. I'm so used to WotC's previous dragon designs that even slight tweaks feel "wrong" somehow. If they had completely redesigned all the dragons, I might not feel that way. But because they are all familiar enough but with relatively minor differences, I think that's what irks me the most.

 

[dave2008]

For starters, I think a big part of it is just a kind of cognitive dissonance. I'm so used to WotC's previous dragon designs that even slight tweaks feel "wrong" somehow. If they had completely redesigned all the dragons, I might not feel that way. But because they are all familiar enough but with relatively minor differences, I think that's what irks me the most.

Thank you for taking the time to clarify!

 

[wizard71]

Gotta say, I quite like the succubi/incubi design. Sexy/sensual without being titillating. A hard task I am sure.

Well then you are playing the succubus/incubus wrong. They are supposed to inspire naughty thoughts.