D&D 5E We need a Monster Manual II

[The Grassy Gnoll]

I haven't touched the sides of the MM yet... MMII would be wasted on me.

 

[dnoonan]

I wrote a couple monster books for DM's Guild (Monster Mausoleum and Tome of Templates) specifically because I needed more monsters than the 5e Monster Manual was giving me. For Monster Mausoleum, the entire creative brief was basically: "The MM has no undead between CR 5 and CR 13, so let's fix that."

While I see the need for more monsters, the hardest part of doing a full-fledged monster book on DM's Guild is the art. Specifically, it's hard to pay for cool monster art without having a price point that's probably too high for DM's Guild customers (at least at this point).

Don't get me wrong: I like making modular mini-books for DM's Guild and charging mini-prices for them! But I can't illustrate to anywhere near my design standards, and monster books need good art.

WotC has provided some art to DM's Guild creators--mostly 4e monsters that didn't make the cut for 5e. If you do anything else, you're on your own art-wise.

--David Noonan
co-founder, DASTOW Games

 

[avin]

I would buy an official MM2 asap. Never know when 3rd party monsters are balanced... It's probably something I miss from 4e: lots of monsters.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Well it is possible that a WotC MM2 book could only be a couple of months away from being produced.

Curse of Strahd was announced less than 2 months before its release date (announced in mid-January for a mid-March release date). So it's possible that a MM2 book could come out in the middle of the year.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Well it is possible that a WotC MM2 book could only be a couple of months away from being produced.

Curse of Strahd was announced less than 2 months before its release date (announced in mid-January for a mid-March release date). So it's possible that a MM2 book could come out in the middle of the year.

Mike Mearls or Chris Perkins stated they were working on converting some of the more esoteric classic monsters like vegepygmies and flail snails a few months ago, if I remember correctly. The consensus opinion at that time was that it was work for an upcoming AP, but I'm not sure how either of those would fit in Barovia. Perkins also posted a MM-like conversion of mongrelfolk as well last year. Given the quote from Mearls earlier in the thread about what NPC archetypes are missing from Appendix B of the MM, perhaps a MM2 is coming sooner rather than later...

 

[Sunseeker]

Well it is possible that a WotC MM2 book could only be a couple of months away from being produced.

Curse of Strahd was announced less than 2 months before its release date (announced in mid-January for a mid-March release date). So it's possible that a MM2 book could come out in the middle of the year.

Curse of Strahd would be a great excuse to produce a book full of various-CR variants of typical creatures one would expect to find in a vampire campaign. Giant this or that, Dire this or that, Vampiric this or that. Or at the very least, contain this information within the AP itsself.

 

[CapnZapp]

As for official monsters, I would not hold my breath for a MM2.

Instead, expect a trickle of new monster in each campaign book.

 

[delericho]

"Need" is too strong a word, but if WotC produced an MM2 (or FF, or whatever) of the same quality as the first, I would buy it. I probably wouldn't then buy an MM3, though - between MM, MM2, and 5eF I have enough general-use monsters, and so would be much more interested in themed books (whether Eberron or Dark Sun-specific, or based on a specific monster type, or whatever).

 

[spectacle]

As for official monsters, I would not hold my breath for a MM2.

Instead, expect a trickle of new monster in each campaign book.

I really hope you're wrong about that. Monsters spread out across a bunch of books might as well not exist.

 

[Jester David]

Mike Mearls or Chris Perkins stated they were working on converting some of the more esoteric classic monsters like vegepygmies and flail snails a few months ago, if I remember correctly. The consensus opinion at that time was that it was work for an upcoming AP, but I'm not sure how either of those would fit in Barovia. Perkins also posted a MM-like conversion of mongrelfolk as well last year. Given the quote from Mearls earlier in the thread about what NPC archetypes are missing from Appendix B of the MM, perhaps a MM2 is coming sooner rather than later...

It takes a long time to make a book. We got the teaser for the Mongolfolk from Perkins almost a year ago.
Teasing esoteric monsters would be the following AP at the earliest.