D&D 5E Check Out The Full Monsters of the Multiverse Cover Art

The wraparound cover art for January's Monsters of the Multiverse -- an updated compilation of existing D&D monsters -- has been revealed. The cover features an astral dreadnaught, the same monsters which adorned AD&D's Manual of the Planes in 1987.

The front cover had been revealed previously, but this is the clearest picture yet of the full art piece by Greg Rutkowski. Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse is part of the 3-book gift set which also includes Xanathar's Guide to Everything and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, all together in a slipcase.

"The Future of D&D" (New Core Books in 2024!)

The online D&D Celebration event, which has been running all weekend, comes to a close with The Future of D&D, a panel featuring WotC's Ray Winninger, Liz Schuh, Chris Perkins, and Jeremy Crawford, hosted by Elle Osili-Wood. D&D is exploring the multiverse Revisiting classic settings. 1st of...

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Monsters of the Multiverse is "a treasure trove of creature related material from previous products compiled into one book and updated." Improvements are based on feedback, rebalancing monsters with new and old art.

The book contains over 250 monsters, and 30 playable races, including all of the setting agnostic races that have been published outside the Player's Handbook.

Some content from Witchlight, Fizban's, and Strixhaven was influenced by Monsters of the Multiverse.

The books is available first in the gift set, but will also be available separately later in the year.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

How will they be useless?

Because some of the info/mechanics/etc for every entry will no longer match with all future versions of the core books. The only thing they will be good for is the fluff, since I don't think any of that is being reprinted in the new book, since it has the page count of a normal book and not the page count of those two added together, plus pages for the 30 races.

 

[humble minion]

Silver lining to the extraordinary bout of package constipation currently suffered by the international shipping industry (seriously, forget about a January release date for this book, here in Aust we'll be lucky to get Strixhaven by the end of the month...) is that by the time I'm able to buy the book, everyone in the US/Canada and probably Europe will have already had it for months, so there'll be lots of detail on what it does and doesn't include or update, so I'll be able to make an informed decision...

 

[Doctor Futurity]

For those buying this that already own the other books, can I ask why? I am not judging, curious....

1. I love the alt art covers and collect them
2. I will take any books I already own, assuming their utility is no longer needed, and donate them to my fellow gamers at the table who can't afford all the books
3. I would like to have access to the rebalanced new stat blocks, updated races and other cool content, and am crossing my fingers in hopes that "rebalanced" meets my hoped-for definition of such (but also bracing for disappointment); I do know that the revision to how stat blocks work, with all necessary info up front for the GM, will make my life as GM a lot easier and I really want that so looking forward to the new format for that reason alone.

If the rebalancing includes "making things hit harder but also reducing hit point bloat" I'll be happy but I don't really expect this.

Content that is not carrying over from the revamped books that are now folded into the Monsters of the Multiverse will not impact me as I do not run games in the Forgotten Realms or other published settings, and found most of that lore at best mildly interesting.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

This is partially speculation, but I'm beginning to think MMoM isn't just going to be VGoM + MToF, but stuff from the various modules and setting books as well. There was a tweet not too long ago where WotC made the Centaur for Disease Control joke referring to a centaur cleric, and the only centaur race published so far has been in Ravnica/Theros, which were both MTG crossover books. Now, I don't expect much in the way of MTG monsters and races in this book, but I wouldn't be shocked if a few other races (like minotaur or tortle) and monsters from modules (like tree blights or Xithaliliccalalala.. uh. devil mantra ray thingies) don't appear as well.

I think you're going to be right on this. Volos' has like 13 or so stat blocks for monster species you can play, so that means they need to draw from other sources to fill out the 30 or so revamped PC species they are saying will appear in revised format. I don't expect any new options, either, as none of the press releases suggest anything other than we will see revisions to existing options.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

More art;

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

More art;

Is that a Star Spawn Grue? Because that's not at all how I pictured it (or described it to my players in my Spelljammer campaign). I had them be more slimy, with green scales and a split jaw to really show their alien-ness. That just looks like Darth Maul, but as a homeless teenager with leprosy.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Is that a Star Spawn Grue? Because that's not at all how I pictured it (or described it to my players in my Spelljammer campaign). I had them be more slimy, with green scales and a split jaw to really show their alien-ness. That just looks like Darth Maul, but as a homeless teenager with leprosy.

Yep, it's a Star Spawn Grue. Not sure with the design choice either, but I've never sued them myself...

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Is that a Star Spawn Grue? Because that's not at all how I pictured it (or described it to my players in my Spelljammer campaign). I had them be more slimy, with green scales and a split jaw to really show their alien-ness. That just looks like Darth Maul, but as a homeless teenager with leprosy.

It look like an elven health campaign advertisement against crystal meth!

I mean, its a corrupted alien thingy from a lovecraftesque nightmare, why the hell did they gave him a mostly humanoid form with 2 legs and arms, 5 fingers & toes, 2 eyes, 2 %$?@#%%#?* pointy ears like 90% of the damned races!

 

[Zaukrie]

Isn't that how grue have always looked? Pretty sure the mini and art look that way....

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Yeah that's how the Grue always kinda looked.

matches the description too.

Fanged and lipless, the ever-grinning, madly staring grue lopes about on spindly legs and long arms. Bristles and spines project from odd patches of its pallid skin, and its long fingers end in broken and dirty nails. Grues are the weakest of the star spawn. A host of writhing, scrambling grues typically accompanies more powerful star spawn. Their constant chittering and shrieking produces discordant psychic energy that disrupts thought patterns in other creatures. Intelligent creatures experience flashing colors, hallucinations, disorientation, and waves of hopelessness when they find themselves near a group of star spawn grues.