First Look at 5E D&D Monster Manual

Hello fellow gamers, Nerdarchist Ted here. Today I want to talk about the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. I have been playing D&D since second edition AD&D. There have been many changes in style layout and information contained in each edition’s Monster Manual. The art styles of each edition of course change as styles, techniques and tools to create art change with the times. The rules for all the monsters of course change to take into account the actual flow and dynamics of the new rules.

The Xanathar ambushes explorers in the darkest depths of Undermountain, proving the beholder crime lord’s interests run deep beneath the city of Waterdeep on the cover of the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. [Art by Raymond Swan]

5E D&D Monster Manual

The part of the book that flows from one edition to the next generally includes things like behavior, ecology and religious and organizational behaviors. Pulling out the old 2E AD&D Monster Manual you see far more in depth entries for each monster. Some feel this extra material was created or written just to fill the pages. Third and fourth editions progressively left this type of extra material out when they wrote their Monster Manuals. By 4E if it was not combat related it was not necessarily in the book.

With 5E D&D bringing the best of all previous editions into one super edition, the Monster Manual brings back all that wonderful information. We get specific writeups of monstrous deities, not statted out or anything — that would be crazy for Monster Manual core book. But we do get information to make them more useful in a game or campaign.  We get to revel in the social structure of all giantkind.

And let us not over look the obvious fact we get over 350 pages jam packed with monsters. In previous editions we would be inundated with loads of variants of the same monster over and over again. Here it is just the opposite. Many creatures get a single listing and we are asked to make do with it. As a lover of 3E D&D I loved the concept of templates and getting to alter things to fit my design or flavor. Here is where the 5E Monster Manual lacks. There are only 4 templates in the whole book and three of them relate to dragons. You get Half-Dragon, Shadow Dragon, Dracolich and Myconid Spore Servant.

I am not saying I need to have more as many things can be extrapolated from the entries there. Compare a commoner to a skeleton or zombie and it is easy enough to make a skeletal or zombie creature. I have a few fun things I want to create to hopefully terrify the players. But when you have the legit template right out of the book no one can call you to task for a misinterpretation. That’s is why I prefer the template.

I will say the most noteworthy parts of the book are the little blips and blurbs that seem to come from journal entries and books and such. They add so much extra enjoyment and flavor to the book. I also love the variant flare that appears here and there. Especially the troll.

The troll has options for dismemberment, like they had in previous editions, as well a single sentence stating they can have special abilities if they have been feasting on a diet of creatures with a special ability. So if a troll starts eating loads of fey creatures you can give it spell like abilities. This will be fun to use. [NERDITOR’S NOTE: How much fun? Nerdarchist Ted’s trolls have mutated a few ways over the years since this was written, including the one whose steady diet of rust monsters produced some unusual developments.]

Overall you get loads of monsters full of options, variant rules and plenty of source material to inspire sessions or even full campaigns. I loved reading the 5E D&D Monster Manual. I am sure you will as well. This is Nerdarchist Ted saying thanks for reading and until next time stay nerdy my friend!