Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual (2024) Review

February 18 sees the release of what will be the third and final core manual for the revised fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The world's greatest role-playing game updated its 5E rules system last year with some important, but not defining changes for a sixth edition. But to distinguish what has been current from what is new, this revision will be unofficially referred to in this review as D&D 5.5E.

After the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide in 2024 we now get the Monster Manual (2024), a central piece for creating our role-playing adventures and also for getting to know all sorts of creatures that populate the Dungeons and Dragons universe (or universes). Since it has not yet been released, Wizards of the Coast has provided us with an advance digital copy of the Monster Manual, which will be accessible from D&D Beyond.

The great thing about this digital version is that it allows for quick reference of any creature and its data and stats for designing encounters. And it is not a minor modification, since of the 500 monsters that now appear in the manual, 75 of them are new, and there are also 9 new "super predators" such as arch-hags and the Blob of Annihilation, which only the highest level groups will be able to defeat. And regarding the physical edition that will be released tomorrow in English (in other languages, such as Spanish, it won't be released until October) we know that the definitions and stats of the monsters have changed, as well as the complete organisation compared to the 2014 edition.

This is a big improvement, because in previous versions of the Monster Manual you could find yourself in the situation of not being able to find a monster by name in the main index because it was a variation or subspecies of another monster. For that you had to consult the second index in the back pages of the 2014 edition. This is no longer the case: All creatures, humanoids and monsters are listed in alphabetical order in the initial index, and will be grouped by variation in the same group. For example, the zombie beholder will now not appear in the zombie category, but in the same group as normal beholders, spectators and grave tyrants. For a list of the previous version, refer to Appendix B.

It is important to understand these because one of the main changes in this D&D 5.5E is that a monster's challenge rating (CR) may have changed. Encounters that used to be good for high levels may now fall short, or vice versa. But fortunately, the other big addition to this Monster manual is that it establishes new rules for forming "Versatile Groups", in which different types of creatures (e.g., gnolls and goblins acting together) can appear. These rules serve to balance the encounter, the number of creatures and the experience points for defeating them. A welcome addition to enrich campaigns.

All in all, this Monster Manual 2024 (or 2025) is along the same lines as last year's 50th anniversary revisions of the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, polishing up what was already a refined and versatile version of the game and adding an expansion that keeps it consistent with the brand without looking for those new rules in other systems, as could happen before. It is the third pillar on which the game system is built, so we consider it a priority purchase for any Dungeon Master who is going to make the leap to the new revision of 5E. For players, it's an entertaining dossier to learn more about the universe and its inhabitants, and also to think about how to approach each encounter and combat. We can't wait to start developing encounters with this manual and see what threats we will face in the future.