D&D (2024) D&D Monster Manual (2025)

[MerricB]

Wouldn't work for fiends since "Devil ice Devil" is redundant

You don't need to do that, because it just stays Ice Devil.

See the Fungus entry:

Gas Spore Fungus
Shrieker Fungus
Violet Fungus
Violet Fungus Necrohulk

Two of those changed names and got "Fungus" added.

And, in case you thought it had to be consistent about where the group word was, here's the cultists!
Cultist
Cultist Fanatic
Cultist Hierophant
Aberrant Cultist
Death Cultist
Elemental Cultist
Fiend Cultist

Cheers!

 

[Parmandur]

You don't need to do that, because it just stays Ice Devil.

See the Fungus entry:

Gas Spore Fungus
Shrieker Fungus
Violet Fungus
Violet Fungus Necrohulk

Two of those changed names and got "Fungus" added.

And, in case you thought it had to be consistent about where the group word was, here's the cultists!
Cultist
Cultist Fanatic
Cultist Hierophant
Aberrant Cultist
Death Cultist
Elemental Cultist
Fiend Cultist

Cheers!

The logic is pretty clear between micro-groupings that will be used together in prep, and more nebulous world building maco-groups or "families" that do not necessarily relate during individual encounter prep.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

More 2014 to 2025 lore comparisons, from Blue Dragon to Bullywug:

Blue Dragon
Both MM2014 and MM2025 describe Blue Dragons as hunting over deserts and other bare terrain and collecting talented humanoids to cow into service. Whereas MM2014 emphasizes them as a threat to desert-dwelling civilizations, MM2025 talks about them seeking lairs near sites of symbolic power, and Ancient Blues even seek to seize control of world-spanning empires or facets of reality like storms.

Bone Devil
MM2014 simply describes bone devils as the taskmasters of the Hells. MM2025 replaces this with bone devils being the slayers of creatures who don't follow through on infernal deals, executors of diabolical orders throughout the multiverse, and ally to mortal tyrants.

Bone Naga
The MM2014 describes nagas in general as immortal guardians of knowledge and treasure created by a vanished humanoid species; they are also said to be enemies of the yuan-ti, and bone nagas in particular are created by yuan-ti to desecrate defeated nagas. MM2025 expands this by saying that bone nagas have gaps in their memories, most are created from spirit nagas, and that those made from guardian nagas can still be good but have addled minds.

Brass Dragon
MM2014 describes brass dragons as accumulating information via conversation (and being pushy about it) and living in hot climates. MM2025 retains this but adds that they are travelers who build world-spanning information networks between allies over their lives.

Bronze Dragon
The Bronze Dragon of the 2014 Monster Manual inhabits coasts, sneaks onto ships under magical disguise, and is interested in warfare and helping armies fighting for just causes. The 2025 Monster Manual drops the interest in warfare and replaces it with an interest in helping good individuals and civilizations develop and solve problems. Ancient Bronze Dragons seek to protect whole regions or even planets as well as solving multiversal threats.

Bugbear
In 2014 Bugbears serve as scouts, worship the god Hruggek of Acheron, and function as mercenaries. In MM 2025 the Bugbear is another creature with a very short entry, so all of this is replaced with Bugbears being fey embodiments of the fear of nature and very stealthy.

Bulette
The 2014 bulette dislikes elf and dwarf flesh, favors eating halflings, has a hunting territory thirty miles wide, are solitary, have a mating ritual that ends with the male dead and eaten, are possibly the fusion of snapping turtle and armadillo infused with demon ichor, and have young that are almost never seen. None of this is present in the much shorter MM 2025 entry, and young bulette pups are present as pack hunters (the presence of the pup's statblock ate up the space for the information from 2014).

Bullywug
Another creature who gets a lore-ectomy in 2025 because of an extra statblock. In MM 2014 the bullywugs are “thoroughly evil”, have a civilization that rewards cleverly murdering rivals with advancement, and serve petty lords. 2025 eschews all of this, making them Neutral and calling them fey embodiments of swamplands who train giant frogs.

 

[Chaltab]

Bugbear
In 2014 Bugbears serve as scouts, worship the god Hruggek of Acheron, and function as mercenaries. In MM 2025 the Bugbear is another creature with a very short entry, so all of this is replaced with Bugbears being fey embodiments of the fear of nature and very stealthy.

May be an unpopular opinion but I think that's a good change. Like my take is 'who the heck is Hruggek'? That's not a deity with so much as a cult in my homebrew setting. But the fey embodiment of the fear of nature is something I can work with as an enemy.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Based on what I've seen so far, the dragon entries have all been improvements over the 2014 Monster Manual as they give these notoriously powerful and proud creatures appropriately grandiose goals, individual kinds of devils have become more interesting, several entries get across most of the same information in fewer words, and getting an extra statblock in an entry means getting your lore majorly reduced. With this last point I can't help but wonder if the lore was cut to make room for a statblock or if the statblock was made to fill in for lore that was removed. I can believe the former for aaracokra and azer and suspect the latter for bugbears and bullywugs; dunno about the bulette.

 

[MerricB]

Based on what I've seen so far, the dragon entries have all been improvements over the 2014 Monster Manual as they give these notoriously powerful and proud creatures appropriately grandiose goals, individual kinds of devils have become more interesting, several entries get across most of the same information in fewer words, and getting an extra statblock in an entry means getting your lore majorly reduced. With this last point I can't help but wonder if the lore was cut to make room for a statblock or if the statblock was made to fill in for lore that was removed. I can believe the former for aaracokra and azer and suspect the latter for bugbears and bullywugs; dunno about the bulette.

Font size was also a MAJOR component of this. It increased, and so they didn't have as much more room as you'd think. (Also Art).

 

[Parmandur]

Based on what I've seen so far, the dragon entries have all been improvements over the 2014 Monster Manual as they give these notoriously powerful and proud creatures appropriately grandiose goals, individual kinds of devils have become more interesting, several entries get across most of the same information in fewer words, and getting an extra statblock in an entry means getting your lore majorly reduced. With this last point I can't help but wonder if the lore was cut to make room for a statblock or if the statblock was made to fill in for lore that was removed. I can believe the former for aaracokra and azer and suspect the latter for bugbears and bullywugs; dunno about the bulette.

I think for a lot of those lower CR Monsters, the answer lies in Crawford's recent comment son how Setting books will provide more detailed NPC and such stat blocks (so we will get Menzoberranzan Drow in the upcoming FR book): that means that a given Setting can use the MM as a basis and build out info about, say, Goblinoids fresh for that world.

 

[Gorck]

I’m still scratching my head as to why they reorganized the MM in the first place. The 2014 listing was perfectly fine. Jeremy mentioned how people didn’t know to look in Oozes for a Gelatinous Cube? Well flip to pages 351-352 and there’s a handy little Index of Stat Blocks which is listed in alphabetical order. I’ve always found it useful for finding creatures in the past; I’m not sure why they couldn’t have used that format again for 2024/5.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

One benefit is that, while the group overview sections are gone, individual creatures have more room on their respective pages for lore. All three devils I've covered so far have more going on than in 2014, especially the barbed devil.

 

[Parmandur]

One benefit is that, while the group overview sections are gone, individual creatures have more room on their respective pages for lore. All three devils I've covered so far have more going on than in 2014, especially the barbed devil.

Keep in mind, some of that group lore stuff migrated to the DMG, too.