D&D General The Revised Monster Manual was released 1 year ago today! How have you liked facing down and using the new monsters?

[Cergorach]

Drow don't exist in Dragonlance, Dark Sun or Mystara. They are very different in Eberron. Orcs don't exist in Dragonlance, Dark Sun and until recently, Ravenloft. Duergar have no known existence on Mystara, Dark Sun, and I don't think Dragonlance.

Dragonlance:

Drow

Drow are a race of elves that dwell primarily in the underdark. They earned a reputation as evil people, although some with a neutral disposition do exist. On Krynn, "Drow" is merely an elven word describing a Dark Elf. You can see a dark elf in the The Soulforge (Super Endless Quest) game book...

dragonlance.fandom.com

Orc (Ok, half-orc)

Daergar Dwarf

The Daergar (Deepest) are one of the Clans of Dwarves who live in the underground kingdom of Thorbardin. They are closely related to the Theiwar clan and are considered “Dark Dwarves”, some clans even refer to them as “Dewar” due to inter-marriages between them. Their numbers are plentiful, and...

dragonlance.fandom.com

I specifically didn't mention Dark Sun.

Different in Eberron, maybe, but they're there.

For Mystera, you're right about Drow and Daegar. I thought of some similar things that aren't the same at all.

I don't care about a generic human statblock, I care about a (human) Bandit, a Mage, Cultist, etc. And while there was a generic statblock for "Drow" in the MM 2014, there were also Drow Elite Warriors, Drow Mages, and Drown Priestesses of Loth. Specific NPCs. For the MM 2024 Drow could be easily renamed to Drow Warrior. Humans is also a PC species, and the Mage is still there and the image of that one is definitely human... And if they wanted to just not use the word 'Drow', Warrior of Loth, Elite Warrior of Loth, Mage of Loth, and Priestess of Loth. But they kept those names in Adventures in Faerun (Drow).

 

[mamba]

Dragonlance

that Drow entry contradicts your point, rather than supporting it. The Drow summary is for worlds other than DL. The DL specific part begins with

“On Krynn, ‘Drow’ is merely a word describing a Dark Elf”

which is just a regular elf, race wise, but one that is evil (see Dalamar)

“By the time 2nd edition AD&D came out, there were formal rules. No Drow on Krynn (Drow being the dark skinned elves that are only in Forgotten Realms) despite the history. However, to preserve the canonicity of Dragons of Autumn Twilight, "Drow" is a term used by Krynnish elves to describe an elf kicked out of elven society.”

 

[aco175]

I find overall that they are easier to handle, especially at higher CR/level. An example would be casters with simplified spells and bundled basic attacks doing larger amounts of damage.

I have not used of needed the gear line and can just make up things they have or need if asked. If the players ask if the bandit has a tinderbox or something that might lead them to the bad guys. This can be an adventure placeholder where I insert a clue such as a map, but also most of these people would have something common and not only look at the line and see they only have a spear or such.

 

[OB1]

I've noticed a large uptick in the number of tense combats around my table since the release of the '24 MM, both as a DM and as a player. Not sure there can be higher praise than that.

 

[BenjaminPey]

I love the new MM and use it exclusively since this summer. Fast and easy to use monsters, at last! No more crazy tactics you have to come by by yourself in order to get them to be the least bit frightening. They're all straightforward, now. The directly-applied conditions are a must, too, they're making combats more diverse and interesting. All in all, an unmitigated upgrade in my view, without question.

 

[mamba]

I've noticed a large uptick in the number of tense combats around my table since the release of the '24 MM, both as a DM and as a player. Not sure there can be higher praise than that.

is that due to the monsters or the new encounter rules?

 

[Remathilis]

Dragonlance:

Drow

Drow are a race of elves that dwell primarily in the underdark. They earned a reputation as evil people, although some with a neutral disposition do exist. On Krynn, "Drow" is merely an elven word describing a Dark Elf. You can see a dark elf in the The Soulforge (Super Endless Quest) game book...

dragonlance.fandom.com

Orc (Ok, half-orc)

Daergar Dwarf

The Daergar (Deepest) are one of the Clans of Dwarves who live in the underground kingdom of Thorbardin. They are closely related to the Theiwar clan and are considered “Dark Dwarves”, some clans even refer to them as “Dewar” due to inter-marriages between them. Their numbers are plentiful, and...

dragonlance.fandom.com

Both are very different than the base standard version. Dalamar and Drizzt are almost nothing alike in terms of species, save for being elves.

I specifically didn't mention Dark Sun.

Different in Eberron, maybe, but they're there.

For Mystera, you're right about Drow and Daegar. I thought of some similar things that aren't the same at all.

Mystara is missing a lot of AD&Disms due to being the Basic world for so long.

My point is that a generic "Drow Priestess of Lolth" statblock in the MM is useless in half the D&D published settings. (Ignoring the MTG ones for charity sake). It's relevant to Greyhawk, Realms, Exandria, and Spelljammer, Ravenloft and Planescape via their transitive nature. Two official settings and a guest setting.

And as I said, human hasn't been in the MM since 2e. Elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, aasimar and tieflings since 3.5. I'm fine with orcs leaving and joining the PC species in the PHB. Especially if we're not supposed to view them as canon fodder anymore.

 

[aco175]

My point is that a generic "Drow Priestess of Lolth" statblock in the MM is useless in half the D&D published settings. (Ignoring the MTG ones for charity sake). It's relevant to Greyhawk, Realms, Exandria, and Spelljammer, Ravenloft and Planescape via their transitive nature. Two official settings and a guest setting.

I would think having a few generic racial statblocks better for me and my games over having other monsters that I never need such as the Tarrasque, which I never run or encountered in 40 years. I can skip over statblocks not needed in my world.

I did like 4e where they have a few basic blocks for each race and a halfling slinger was different than a goblin archer. It has more flavor than just throwing the basic bandit block and calling it a day. I just have to make these now which is not that hard, but just putting them in the book would have been preferable.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I like a lot of 2024 MM material and use it. I also still like a lot of 2014 MM material and still use that too. I also like a lot of material from MCDM's Flee Mortals and use that when it works for what I want. I also occasionally pull out an A5E statblock from their SRD and use that too.

Basically, there is no need or necessity to only use a singular book for your monsters. They all work and you can mix and match to your heart's content. Want a drow statblock for your 5E24 game? Just use one of the 5E14 ones.

 

[Stormonu]

I bought the 2024 manual, but after viewing the changes to Lycanthropes and how they handled "humanoids", the book has gone on the shelf and not been used. I have not found a change - including the sorting order - that I have not liked.