D&D 5E (2014) Monster Manual - What pictures really stood out, or changed your view on a monster?

[GX.Sigma]

I like that the MM has a picture of a halfling druid (346), and it's better than any halfling and/or druid art in the entire PHB.

 

[Nebulous]

The problem (maybe that's not the right word) with the 4e troll, if i'm remembering the miniatures correctly anyway, is that most of them were hill-giant sized, which never matched the tall, lanky image of the troll I've always imagined. The 1e troll with the black, soulless shark's eyes is still my fav. the 5e one is good too.

 

[Scorpio616]

Definitely. The old ones looked... trolly and evil. The new ones look, well, like a bad racial caricature.

Some nose designs are best avoided unless one is specifically alluding to Jimmy Durante ( ha-chachacha ) like the early imps were.

1E MM


2E MC


Now those 1E MM hobgoblins.... those kinda remind me of the wartime cartoons they don't show anymore.


It was 'kinda' amusing they decided to refer back to that with the 5E Hobgoblin leader's armor.

 

[Beleriphon]

I just noticed the thug on pg350 has a familiar.

 

[Zaukrie]

What stood out to me today was that all the humanoids were make, except those thatare traditionally female. Guants,angels, etc. Even the drow. Inclusiveness must not apply to those things we fight against.

 

[Reynard]

I very much dislike the Kraken illustration. It is not only ugly, but looks nothing like the Kraken in my head, which is far more squid and far less dragon.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Like many of you, I just got my Monster Manual today. I skimmed through it for about ten minutes and was pleasantly surprised - I knew reviews were good, but it was even better than expected. Anyhow, one thing that struck me is that the art was not only very good, but also very dynamic. I feel that many pieces were exemplary of the monster, and a few actually changed my view on a creature, brought it to new life. Two that come to mind are the cockatrice and merrow. I mean, damn. The cockatrice is so...visceral, and the merrow so damn cool. There are others, but those two stood out in particular.

What about you? What monster pictures stand out, even changed your view on that monster?

Three pics struck me.

1. The Death Knight. This really stood out to me, not only as great art, but also as an example of how WotC is incorporating the iconic aspects of all of D&D in the core. Bravo, WotC, for using Lord Soth.

2. The Displacer Beast. I loved this monster in 1e and 2e. In 3e, they starved the poor thing. In 4e, I didn't recognize it. Finally, it's come back full circle and looks like the sleek, panther-like creature it was meant to be.

3. Bronze Dragon. I've always had trouble telling the metallic dragons apart just by looking at them (beyond the silver). For the first time, the bronze dragon stands out to me as having its own identity.

 

[Ravenheart87]

I want to highlight the merrow too. It's nice to see him become a full-fledged monster instead of an aquatic ogre variant. And that illustration is very cool too.

 

[fuindordm]

The otyugh sketch in the Index -- now there's an adventure seed!

 

[Quickleaf]

The gnoll stood out to me. It evokes the idea of racial madness, jittery savage monsters, and for some reason of the hyenas from Lion King...