Coming in May: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes! [UPDATED!]

So they just gave the title and showed the cover mock-ups; no specific info till Monday?

 

[pukunui]

Monsters will be cool, but I'm for one hoping for a handful of races, even if I'm expecting it to be relatively small.

It looks like we'll be getting the stuff they previewed in UA late last year: the githyanki and githzerai, along with the various tiefling and elf subraces.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Jeremy Crawford just confirmed it has 130+ pages of monsters!

That's hugely awesome. After the original blurb said "dozens" of new monsters, I was a bit let down (granted that's not bad or anything), but 130 pages is pretty incredible really. I have my fingers crossed that the "good vs evil" in the Outer Planes will be one of the conflicts discussed and we'll get a wide selection of celestials updated. I created a list of 100 monsters I wanted to see updated to 5e when rumors of Volo's began to appear (and a substantial number of them, about 25% if I remember right, were updated in Volo's) , so hopefully this book will cross a large number of them off the list!

 

[Quickleaf]

Rogue modrons as a race, please?

 

[darjr]

View attachment 93785

It's at 75 on Amazon for preorder.

 

[EthanSental]

View attachment 93785

It's at 75 on Amazon for preorder.

I'm more amazed and impressed by the PHB being top 40. That thing is still selling like hot cakes!!

 

[Parmandur]

That's hugely awesome. After the original blurb said "dozens" of new monsters, I was a bit let down (granted that's not bad or anything), but 130 pages is pretty incredible really. I have my fingers crossed that the "good vs evil" in the Outer Planes will be one of the conflicts discussed and we'll get a wide selection of celestials updated. I created a list of 100 monsters I wanted to see updated to 5e when rumors of Volo's began to appear (and a substantial number of them, about 25% if I remember right, were updated in Volo's) , so hopefully this book will cross a large number of them off the list!

While I would think they can fit a few Celestials in 130 pages, Mearls in the Beyond interview stated that Celestials are not getting much attention in this book.

 

[dave2008]

• At least half the monsters are CR 10 or above

• Advice on running high CR monsters

Maybe WotC has been listening to [MENTION=12731]CapnZapp[/MENTION] after all

 

[TheSwartz]

As I explore the alternatives more, the more I get exceedingly bored with what WoTC is releasing.

I'll buy it. And read it. But I'm starting to feel like it's a waste of my time and money and starting to regret giving them the sales.

 

[Demetrios1453]

While I would think they can fit a few Celestials in 130 pages, Mearls in the Beyond interview stated that Celestials are not getting much attention in this book.

I just watched it again (after watching at lunch near a busy street where I periodically might have missed something), and I didn't see him touch on celestials at all. He mentions deities aren't a focus right at the very end, so the entire question of celestials is left completely in the air at this point from what I've seen so far.

But as for what we do know, 130+ pages of monsters, with over half of them being CR 10+, means that we'll likely see 50 - 60 creatures within that CR range. The Demon Lord entries from OotA clock in at about 2 pages each, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see them repeated here (it is a bit unfair to make a new DM have to buy OotA just for them), with maybe 1 - 3 more new ones thrown in for variety (Kostchtchie and Pazuzu are definite candidates here, in fact the bird-headed creature on the far left of the special edition might very well be Pazuzu). I imagine something similar for the Archdukes of the Hells as well, which will give us at least 10 more (as Phlegethos has co-rulers, at least as of our last update) and maybe some previous archdukes such as Geryon. With all this focus on the Blood War, I imagine we'll get most if not all of the remaining Yugoloths updated, and hopefully we'll get the General of Gehenna statted out.

Modrons haven't been mentioned yet specifically, but this would seem to be a good place to get the Hierarchs in...

As for non-planar higher CR creatures, well, this book is just crying out for a high-level Priestess of Lolth as the ultimate drow foe. And one thing that annoyed me in Volo's is that it lacked higher CR beholder foes, so it would be nice to see an Elder Orb and/or Hive Mother here (I'm less hopeful for some sort of higher level mind flayer and yuan-ti foes, as I thought the Elder Brain and Yuan-ti Anathema were tuned a bit too low, and these have always been portrayed as the ultimate forms for each race respectively).

As for the lower-level stuff, no doubt we'll see some of the duergar varieties from OotA (and hopefully the derro as well), and likely a few more types of low-to-mid level drow. I also imagine we'll see several varieties of mid-to-high-level gith as well. And we'll probably get some random stuff that doesn't quite fit any of these, if Volo's is anything to go on...

 

[GarrettKP]

I just watched it again (after watching at lunch near a busy street where I periodically might have missed something), and I didn't see him touch on celestials at all. He mentions deities aren't a focus right at the very end, so the entire question of celestials is left completely in the air at this point from what I've seen so far.

But as for what we do know, 130+ pages of monsters, with over half of them being CR 10+, means that we'll likely see 50 - 60 creatures within that CR range. The Demon Lord entries from OotA clock in at about 2 pages each, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see them repeated here (it is a bit unfair to make a new DM have to buy OotA just for them), with maybe 1 - 3 more new ones thrown in for variety (Kostchtchie and Pazuzu are definite candidates here, in fact the bird-headed creature on the far left of the special edition might very well be Pazuzu). I imagine something similar for the Archdukes of the Hells as well, which will give us at least 10 more (as Phlegethos has co-rulers, at least as of our last update) and maybe some previous archdukes such as Geryon. With all this focus on the Blood War, I imagine we'll get most if not all of the remaining Yugoloths updated, and hopefully we'll get the General of Gehenna statted out.

Modrons haven't been mentioned yet specifically, but this would seem to be a good place to get the Hierarchs in...

As for non-planar higher CR creatures, well, this book is just crying out for a high-level Priestess of Lolth as the ultimate drow foe. And one thing that annoyed me in Volo's is that it lacked higher CR beholder foes, so it would be nice to see an Elder Orb and/or Hive Mother here (I'm less hopeful for some sort of higher level mind flayer and yuan-ti foes, as I thought the Elder Brain and Yuan-ti Anathema were tuned a bit too low, and these have always been portrayed as the ultimate forms for each race respectively).

As for the lower-level stuff, no doubt we'll see some of the duergar varieties from OotA (and hopefully the derro as well), and likely a few more types of low-to-mid level drow. I also imagine we'll see several varieties of mid-to-high-level gith as well. And we'll probably get some random stuff that doesn't quite fit any of these, if Volo's is anything to go on...

I'm also hoping for some of the Arch Fey (to go with the Elf and Eladrin stuff) and maybe some Great Old Ones or lords of the Shadowfell (Raven Queen comes to mind)? Don't forget they also mentioned "Elder Elemental Beings."