Dungeons & Dragons' newMonster Manualprovides Dungeon Masters with revamped statblocks for many of the game’s classic monsters, although the more focused book sacrifices one of the most engaging parts of the game - its deep lore. The newMonster Manual, set for release this month, providesover 500 statblocksforD&D’s revised 5th edition. All the monsters from the 2014Monster Manualhave been rebalanced to address concerns about non-optimal use, with the result of the monsters hitting much harder than before.
As with the other new core rulebooks, theMonster Manualalso includes tons of new artwork, including some that showcase new visual designs for creatures. The book’s layout is also substantially improved, allowing for easier practical use at the table. Coupled with how creature statblocks have naturally evolved over the past 10 years of Fifth Edition design,the newMonster Manualwill provide new challenges forD&Dplayers of every character level.The only major flaw in the book is its approach toD&D’s lore, with the book scrubbing most setting-specific lore from its description.
The Monsters Of Dungeons & Dragons Are More Powerful Than Ever
Monsters Now Hit At Their Intended Threat Level More Often
A goal of the 2025Monster Manualis to refine the monster statblocks for “ease of use” and “game balance.” Designers approached these goals mainly by fixing some of the underlying math that goes into how the game determines a monster’s Challenge Rating, as well as stripping unnecessary and unoptimized features from monster statblocks. While the creatures themselves haven’t changed per se,their attacks often deal more damage or have multiple damage typesto bypass common player character defenses. Rarely used features were also replaced or removed, which help better direct how a monster should be used in combat.
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Many of these changes are subtle but quickly make a difference in combat. For instance, the Adult Black Dragon no longer has separate claw and bite attacks, but a more general rend attack with a 10-foot reach. While the rend attack’s damage is identical to the bite attack in 2014’s version, the Adult Black Dragon now deals 4 more points of damage per multi-attack action and all three of its attacks have a longer reach. The new Adult Black Dragon’s multi-attack also gives the option of swapping out a rend attack with a ranged casting of Melf’s Acid Arrow, which means thatthe dragon can threaten players at a distance every turn.
While 4 points of additional damage might not seem like a big difference on its own, the longer reach and ranged options mean that the Adult Black Dragon can threaten more players during its turn. Because the dragon’s new rend attack deals acid damage on a hit, the black dragon is also dealing 12 points of acid damage per turn instead of four, which meansthere’s more incentive for the players to invest in items or abilities with acid damage resistance. This is just one example of the many ways that a “classic” monster has been tweaked to become more effective without compromising its core nature.
The New Monster Manual Streamlines Combat Without Sacrificing Variety
Optimizing The Game For Speed Succeeds Thanks To Several Subtle But Significant Changes
Another subtle innovation in the newMonster Manualis that almost all monster abilities and attacks resolve with one D20 roll instead of two. Many Fifth Edition monsters had attacks that required both a successful attack roll by the monster and a failed saving throw by its target to maximize its effect. The newMonster Manualscraps this system by requiring either a successful attack roll or a failed saving throw. While this might not seem like a major change, it functionally halves the number of rolls made during a turn,which speeds up combat and makes a monster’s damage output more consistent.
These changes speed up combat withDungeons & Dragonswithout any real tradeoff of flavor or strategy. In fact,combat with these new statblocks is more flavorfulbecause there’s a higher likelihood that players will see a monster at its most threatening. This also makes a player’s decisions during character creation feel more important. A player can’t always rely on having a high AC to shrug off attacks, nor can they lean on optimizing certain saving throws. Likewise, a DM no longer needs to focus on bullying the one PC with the right combination of poor AC and poor saving throws.
High-Level Monsters Receive A Major Spotlight In The New Monster Manual
Some Of The Most Interesting Monsters Have New Mechanics That Should Be Expanded Upon In The Future
Although theMonster Manualdoesn’t have any huge innovations or mechanicaldeviations from traditional 5E play,some of the high-CR monsters do have some intriguing new abilities that are mechanically unique within the game. For instance, the Empyrean has a Sacred Weapon attack that deals damage and Stuns a target. However, the target can choose to instead take additional damage instead of being stunned as an alternative. The Arch-Hag can inflict curses on its targets with various effects, and can also damage any creature that it had cursed as a bonus action on its turn.
While there aren’t too many monsters with “new” mechanics, these represent a possible future forDungeons & Dragons. I’d love to see more monsters with “pick your poison” effects or creatures with abilities that stack on each other to increase pressure on players. Not only do these new mechanics add more meaningful choices in combat,they can also make combat much more memorable.I understand why these types are mechanically rare in theMonster Manual,but I hope they become a feature in more “boss level” threats in the future.
Stripping The Lore Out Of The Monster Manual
One Weakness Of The Monster Manual Is A Decreased Emphasis On The Lore
One weakness of the newMonster Manualis that it hassignificantly less lore than its predecessor. Many monster entries have descriptions that are half the size of its 2014 predecessor. For instance, the Ankheg’s 2014 description was 223 words, while the 2024Monster Manualonly contains 109 words. While some of this downsizing is just eliminating wordiness,the book also de-emphasizes lore specific toDungeons & Dragons.While I understand that not everyD&Dcampaign uses “official"D&Dlore, removing so much of the flavor from theMonster Manualdecreases its ability to inspire new campaigns or adventures.
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Similarly, I disagree with the book’s handling of species-agnostic NPC statblocks. Instead of having statblocks specific to orcs, drow, elves, or any other playable species, the newMonster Manualhas an expanded set of humanoid NPC statblocks. However, playable species do have some abilities specific to them andI would have liked to see some mechanical guidance on how to make an Orc Assassin differ from a Dwarf Assassin.These changes might be minor and inconsequential in a combat that lasts three rounds, but they’d be especially useful if said Orc Assassin becomes a recurring element in my campaign.
Ultimately,these weaknesses don’t prevent theMonster Manualfrom being a must-have resource for any DMwho plans to run a game ofDungeons & Dragonsusing the revised Fifth Edition. As withtheDungeon Master’s Guide, the book accomplishes its goals of providing DMs that are easier to run and actually challenge players. I can’t wait to actually put some of these monsters on the table as I feel that combat will be a lot more exciting than it was using Fifth Edition’s previous statblocks.
