D&D has lastly accomplished its preliminary wave of revamps with the 2024 Monster Guide—confusingly launched in 2025, however I do not make the principles—and, after a learn via, I am downright conflicted.
Being a current PF2e convert, I have been fairly grumpy about these new books (the Participant’s Handbook particularly). As a degree of private opinion, I believe the train of revamping the 2014 ruleset as a substitute of doing one thing new is a mistake. Nonetheless, it is what WoTC is doing, and I have been assessing these books on their advantage. I even discovered a good quantity to love within the Dungeon Grasp’s Information, which had extra boons than banes between its pages.
This led me to being cautiously optimistic in regards to the Monster Guide, since all the pieces I’ve heard about it has felt geared in the direction of empowering DMs to make their very own adventures. So, does it try this? The reply is sure, and in addition no, and in addition possibly. You are actually invited to image me crawling right into a gap and yelling on the filth.
Hey, are you okay?
Sure, I believe so, however I have to have a little bit of a moan. Earlier than that, although, I might wish to get the great out of the best way, as a result of this Monster Guide does have genuinely rather a lot going for it. The artwork, as an example, is attractive, plentiful, and well-appointed, usually displaying monsters of their pure habitat or doing one thing fascinating, which is nice, as a result of it immediately offers fledgeling DMs an concept of how they could be used.
WoTC actually went ham on getting some very gifted individuals as an instance the pages of this factor, and that artistic spark carries into the textual content itself. The flavour is downright wealthy right here, particularly when in comparison with its 2014 counterpart. Many monsters have their very own customized random tables, that are potent sufficient to get the homebrew juices flowing.
For instance, the Aboleth comes with a brief desk of schemes—like elevating a cult, opening a portal to the previous or future, or rousing sea monsters to flood a coastal metropolis. Lamia, that are sort of desert centaurs, include potential pacts to entice your get together with—possibly they need you to go get a Purple Worm’s gizzard, or map out a dungeon. Not each monster comes with this type of prompting, however naked minimal, there’s sometimes a paragraph or two set cogs a-whirring.
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The widening of CR (Problem Score) scale can be only a straight-up plus. Not solely are there the promised legendary monsters, however there is a ton of mid-tier fodder to assist flesh out your campaigns, too. For instance, your commonplace bandit now has a CR11 crime boss variant. I am particularly a fan of all of the skeletons on provide—sufficient to really run a good encounter with bones alone.
I additionally actually like the broader financial institution of NPCs right here—it is one of many ebook’s largest highlights. You have received batches of differently-flavoured and levelled Knights, Cultists, Toughs, Berserkers, Guards, Nobles, Performers, Pirates, Clergymen, Mages, and Warriors to be getting on with. It’s good and proper that WoTC has actually centered on giving gamers casts of humanoids to fiddle with.
Solely, therein lies the issue—as a result of you are going to want them, for the reason that guidelines for creating customized monsters and NPCs of your personal (save for simply utilizing a participant character’s sheet) are, for essentially the most half, bizarrely absent. Which, regardless of realizing this may occasionally very nicely be the case, nonetheless has me scratching my head.
The place’s the mathematics?
Sure, the newer 2024 Dungeon Grasp’s Information had some very restricted guidelines for creating monsters of your personal. Nevertheless it’s largely an inventory of issues you’ll be able to fiddle with that do not affect the mathematics. There is a record of elective traits, certain, however as for the query of ‘how a lot HP ought to a CR14 creature have?’ or ‘what’s a superb quantity of spells for my customized wizard NPC?’ Sorry, you may must both crib the 2014 pointers, otherwise you’re by yourself.
I am about to make a whole lot of noise about this one absent function, however I wish to reiterate that an enormous portion of D&D is, inevitably, homebrew. Many potential DMs will wish to drum up their very own NPCs, creatures, and encounters—they usually’re actually simply not geared up to take action by this ebook or the Dungeon Grasp’s Information.
I hoped towards hope that the Monster Guide might need some additional pointers for constructing critters from the bottom up. Statements from the sport’s designers instructed that the 2024 DMG would have the solutions, however given how skinny its directions are, I used to be praying for a gear-shift behind the scenes—crossing my fingers that the Monster Guide would really provide the instruments to construct a BBEG your self. It doesn’t.
I am making an attempt to cease myself from making a mountain out of a molehill, but it surely’s arduous to not, as a result of it is truthfully a baffling backwards step that runs immediately counter to the revamp’s design missions, each implied and said. They’re making an attempt to make D&D much less of a ache to get into for brand spanking new DMs. And up to now, that has principally panned out.
This complete ebook screams ‘here is inspiration to your personal adventures!’ But it is leaving much more work on the foot of the DM.”
However having no creature creation pointers butts up towards that philosophy so arduous it dangers breaking it totally. This complete ebook screams “here is inspiration to your personal adventures!” But it is leaving much more work on the foot of the DM. It is not possible to make sufficient pre-baked statblocks to cowl each concept or NPC a DM may wish to make—so why is WoTC making an attempt to try this as a substitute of simply giving us the mathematics, too?
The rationale I am so irritated—maybe unfairly so—is as a result of this has been a deep-rooted situation with the system since 2014. New DMs are confronted with tons of holes that they should fill in with non-core rulebooks, or go surfing to unravel—and I solely hear about complications from my extra homebrew-averse DMs on how a lot busywork your common marketing campaign module requires. To see the identical flaws play out right here makes me really feel like WoTC’s priorities are utterly scattershot.
It would not assist that there are precise mechanical points with these monsters. I’ve all the time been of the opinion that creatures ought to work on completely different guidelines to gamers within the curiosity of simplicity and ease of use. However, guidelines as written, you’ll be able to’t Counterspell a mage’s primary Arcane Burst as a result of it isn’t technically a spell. I can see the YouTube shorts skits coming from a mile away.
One other oversight consists of an abundance of assaults with free grapples hooked up, or situations that do not enable a saving throw, which mucks about with pre-established recreation steadiness. Nearly each creature that may snag you, seize you, crush you in its jaws, or shove you about mechanically grapples on a profitable assault—which means that your common Barbarian is now far more prone to get snagged, in direct battle with their class fantasy of being an unstoppable and cruel warrior.
In isolation, none of those foibles damage something, however they’re additionally typical of 5e at this level—to the purpose of frustration. I really feel the identical exacerbated grouchiness I did when certainly one of D&D’s designers determined to alter some spells within the 2024 revamp after enjoying Baldur’s Gate 3. Whereas it is an uncharitable learn on an offhand interview remark, it actually should not take a decade and a AAA videogame to make you realise Produce Flame is unhealthy.
Usual warts, new coat of paint
I wish to emphasise that this ebook is principally good—I simply do not know if it is adequate to justify its personal existence. The Monster Guide is an expanded and vibrant bestiary with higher NPCs, oodles of hooks, artwork that is virtually well worth the worth of admission by itself, and flavour pound over pound. The lore fats has been trimmed, getting rid of setting-specific ramblings and specializing in the stuff that DMs can really use to construct their very own campaigns.
And but, it yaws into a few of 5e’s oldest unhealthy habits. DMs are extra impressed to make their very own encounters, however are left floundering at sea in relation to creating their very own monsters and NPCs. It makes a ebook that feels confused and someway skinny, when it might be instructive—one which assumes we aren’t within the nuts and bolts.
I wish to emphasise that this ebook is principally good—I simply do not know if it is adequate to justify its personal existence.”
So, here is my large evaluation: Should you’re completely happy utilizing a recreation with the identical bones as they had been in 2014, with some minor enhancements (and acquainted issues) in 2025? The extra energy to you. Go and have enjoyable, the brand new Monster Guide will serve you simply nice.
In the meantime, I am left banging the identical drum I used to be again when the PHB dropped: I am not satisfied any of this was higher than simply making a brand new version. Perhaps I hoped that the third ebook within the revamped trilogy would trigger some invisible puzzle piece to click on into place, sparking a eureka second in my head the place I lastly understood why we’re even right here. Not so. Some potholes have been paved over, just for leaks to spring from the pipes elsewhere.
If 5e’s blind spots have been gnawing away at you, for those who’ve been pissed off by what number of issues it merely leaves the DM to unravel, then we have not actually moved on to greener pastures. Perhaps D&D 2024 will repair my gripes in future sourcebooks—simply, uh, just like the 2014 books had been majorly improved by future guidelines releases. Hm. I am beginning to sense a sample.
