D&D 5E (2024) 2025 Monster Manual All You Need to Know video link is up.

[Parmandur]

There is the "conversion" section that may also give a hint to the math changes. I haven't hear much about that yet, just that there is one.

I am curious what the "conversion guide is, for sure.

The most interesting part of the video IMO was Vrwwford saying they changed the paradigm of CR away from "this is how hard this Monster is if plaued optimaly" towards "this is how hard this Monster is even when played suboptimally". Wonder if they explain that math in the book anywwhere...

 

[SteveC]

That appears to be the case.

This is something we don't know for certain yet, but it really appears to be the case. And if it's true, it really is a poor decision (in my opinion, of course). The basic rules used to design a creature are a couple of pages, and tell us so much about what the expectation is for monster stats in 5.5E. I suspect there will be a number of videos made telling us, once people crunch the numbers, but WotC has already crunched them

 

[dave2008]

This is something we don't know for certain yet, but it really appears to be the case. And if it's true, it really is a poor decision (in my opinion, of course). The basic rules used to design a creature are a couple of pages, and tell us so much about what the expectation is for monster stats in 5.5E. I suspect there will be a number of videos made telling us, once people crunch the numbers, but WotC has already crunched them

People who have the book say they are not in there. There is a "conversion" section that we haven't heard much about, so maybe there is something useful there?

I know I now plan to reverse engineer them once I get the 2024 MM in my hands. I will use the 2014 DMG and LevelUp monster builders as my guideline and chart how the monsters have changed from 2014 - 2024 (it is helpful that the have the same CR). Then check my accuracy against the new monsters in the book. With 85 new monsters I think I should be able to get the guidelines pretty close.

 

[Parmandur]

Regarding lore and gear, here is what the Beyond article has to say:

Habitat and Treasure​

Most monster listings now provide new information about a creature's habitat and treasure to help you plan your encounters. For example, the section on centaurs provides a list of environments where centaurs could typically be found and the potential treasures that could be acquired from them.

Gear​

There is also a new Gear section that appears on the stat block of creatures who possess equipment suitable for use or retrieval. This allows Dungeon Masters to easily determine what items a defeated creature might leave behind in addition to the treasure mentioned above.

Thanks to this new addition, if your Fighter wants to upgrade to Plate armor, you can pit them against a monster with this item listed in their Gear section, like the hobgoblin warlord. This ensures they’ll walk away with the gear they seek after a hard-fought victory!

And just to clarify, since I don't think the Beyond article makes this clear, the Treasure section is keyed to the random magic item tables in the DMG

 

[Parmandur]

No mention of monster building rules or NPC features table - that is disappointing.

EDIT: The DnD Beyond article does mention this:

"The stat blocks of monsters with the Humanoid creature type have been redesigned to represent any Humanoid species. Now, these stat blocks include distinct mechanics aligned with a certain role or profession. So, whether you're introducing your player characters to a charismatic drow performer or a questing goliath knight, you can find inspiration for your NPCs."

This may cover the NPC features table from the 2014 DMG that wasn't in the 2024 DMG. Still no mention of the monster building rules.

Yeah, that does seem to suggest that they will have advice in some form on how to customize NPCs by Speciew, and that some of the "new NPCs" might be stuff like the Drow Priestess repurposed into general archetypes.

 

[Zaukrie]

And just to clarify, since I don't think the Beyond article makes this clear, the Treasure section is keyed to the random magic item tables in the DMG

So not gold or trinkets or anything other than magic items? That seems really odd.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Creature type shifts, for mechanical and/or narrative reasons.

Goblins - fae
Gnolls - fiends

To each their own, obviously, but as an Eberron fan, this shift towards gnolls being defined as ravenous fiends rather than a "people" and goblins as being magical fey tricksters causes some frustrations.

What of the gnolls of the Znir Pact? Why are the Dhakaani goblins, an infamously martial-focused culture, now more inherently fey than the Tairnadal elves they spent millennia warring with?

I know it'll be easier to find certain types of Devils as most won't be under "D" anymore, but as a PS fan I tend to think of them under their more formal names like "Gelugon", "Barbazu" or "Hamatula" instead of "Ice Devil", "Bearded Devil" or "Barbed Devil".

Same... :/

 

[dave2008]

To each their own, obviously, but as an Eberron fan, this shift towards gnolls being defined as ravenous fiends rather than a "people" and goblins as being magical fey tricksters causes some frustrations.

What of the gnolls of the Znir Pact? Why are the Dhakaani goblins, an infamously martial-focused culture, now more inherently fey than the Tairnadal elves they spent millennia warring with?


Same... :/

I think it is OK to say Eberron gnolls and goblins and just about anything else are different. I mean isn't the kind of the point of settings?

 

[Parmandur]

So not gold or trinkets or anything other than magic items? That seems really odd.

Specifically, the Treasure segment in the MM will key to the 16 random tables on pp. 326-331, divided into four categories (Arcane, Armaments, Implements, and Relics) of four rarities each:

Earlier, on page 213, they do briefly suggest non-magical loot tied to those themes, if desired:

 

[Parmandur]

To each their own, obviously, but as an Eberron fan, this shift towards gnolls being defined as ravenous fiends rather than a "people" and goblins as being magical fey tricksters causes some frustrations.

What of the gnolls of the Znir Pact? Why are the Dhakaani goblins, an infamously martial-focused culture, now more inherently fey than the Tairnadal elves they spent millennia warring with?


Same... :/

I mean, I hope they address that: thru could address that even with Gnolls being Fiends. Shades of grey, etc.