D&D 5E Zooming In On Monsters of the Multiverse [UPDATED!]

Earlier, WotC announced Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse, a new D&D compilation of monster material from previous products updated to a new format. These screen grabs are as good as I could get them. They're not terribly clear, but you can make more out than in the original images.

The screenshots show the original entry in Volo's Guide to Monsters next to the new entry in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.

"The Future of D&D" (New Core Books in 2024!)

The online D&D Celebration event, which has been running all weekend, comes to a close with The Future of D&D, a panel featuring WotC's Ray Winninger, Liz Schuh, Chris Perkins, and Jeremy Crawford, hosted by Elle Osili-Wood. D&D is exploring the multiverse Revisiting classic settings. 1st of...

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UPDATE -- a cleaned up version of the War Priest has appeared on imgur.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Is that not exactly what is being presented in the updated books?

no idea but I have at best-seen guards and wizards, not the full range.

 

[pukunui]

We already have NPCs that can do things the PCs can’t. Look at the champion from Volo’s, for instance. They can do an extra 2d6 damage if they have more than half their hit points.

My Friday group made an alliance with one last night. When I pointed out this feature, one of my players said “I want that ability!”

It immediately made me think of this thread and the complaints about giving NPC spellcasters abilities the PCs can’t have.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I don’t think the Demon Lord and Archdevil statblocks will be removed, and I don’t get why people think they would. They are a big part of the multiverse after all.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I don’t think the Demon Lord and Archdevil statblocks will be removed, and I don’t get why people think they would. They are a big part of the multiverse after all.

They're not "monsters" as such, but individuals.

Removing them makes room for more general monsters that DMs will have more use for, monsters that have only appeared in adventures and not general monster books...

If we are getting a Planescape product in the near future, putting them there instead makes a lot of sense.


That's not to say they won't be there, but I would much rather see them moved over to a Planescape product and make room for more general creatures in this product.

 

[Charlaquin]

I don’t think the Demon Lord and Archdevil statblocks will be removed, and I don’t get why people think they would. They are a big part of the multiverse after all.

They’re not creatures you could encounter anywhere in the multiverse. They don’t, for example, exist in Ravnica.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

They’re not creatures you could encounter anywhere in the multiverse. They don’t, for example, exist in Ravnica.

Neither does the Astral Dreadnaught on the cover.
Fiends are common to the D&D multiverse and the Lords among them especially. They are also very useful in games as big major villains.
I am pretty sure they won’t be removed, but they might have redone stat locks.

 

[Charlaquin]

Neither does the Astral Dreadnaught on the cover.
Fiends are common to the D&D multiverse and the Lords among them especially. They are also very useful in games as big major villains.
I am pretty sure they won’t be removed, but they might have redone stat locks.

We’ll see, I guess, but I got the impression they were aiming for setting-agnostic monsters, which the demon princes and archdevils are not.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

We’ll see, I guess, but I got the impression they were aiming for setting-agnostic monsters, which the demon princes and archdevils are not.

No the Demon lords and Archdevils are pretty setting agnostic. More so then a lot of monsters.

 

[Charlaquin]

No the Demon lords and Archdevils are pretty setting agnostic. More so then a lot of monsters.

Like I said, we’ll see.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

No the Demon lords and Archdevils are pretty setting agnostic. More so then a lot of monsters.

I'm in agreement with others that the book is unlikely to include names characters. The original Monster Manual doesn't really, and this seems very much like a book meant for folks who want "Core Rules." Meaning, no named characters or anything setting-specific.