A Review of the 2024 Monster Manual

    

Wizards of the Coast has been on my naughty list for the better part of the last 5 years, and while their newer entries have, for the most part, been a net positive at best; I’ve been keeping a grave, scrutinous eye on them ever since they abandoned their core audience in favor of their target one. Their rulebooks, modules, and commentary which pander to the typical “MoDeRn AuDiEnCe” are replete with the deconstruction of lore, removing inconvenient tidbits the more sensitive “fans” might find uncomfortable, making races (excuse me: “AnCeStRiEs”) cosmetic rather than the basis of your character’s entire arc, WotC’s CEO outright saying that he cannot wait for all the white males to leave the company (darers go first, Chris Cocks!), and even so far as to besmirch the good names of Gary Gygax and other creators by incorrectly calling them racist and sexist in their newest art book. To say the least, Wizards of the Coast is a brand that now caters to cringe theater kids and the socially-outcast (I suppose it’s always been considered to cater to the latter, but that’s neither here nor there). My thoughts on the 2024 rendition of Dungeons & Dragons’ 5^th iteration of the world’s greatest roleplaying game have been mixed at best.

    Enter the Monster Manual (2024). After reading some reviews online and listening to the podcasters I trust, I was convinced to at least add the book to my large repertoire of 5^th Edition books. This morning I received it in the mail, and poured through as much as I could within an hour or so. I’ll be doing a more in-depth dive on my own later to really familiarize myself with these new monsters, but this initial reading was mainly to soak in and study the ones I found interesting, with entries both new and returning. Here, I’ll discuss my interpretations and verdicts on the following categories: Art, Content, Difficulty, and Organization. Let’s dungeon-dive, shall we?

ART
    One of the best things about buying a core rulebook, as is tradition among the 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons, is the beautiful artwork that accompanies the entries of rules and statblocks. I’ve thoroughly-enjoyed sparking my imagination over the years by looking at the inspiring artwork that brings the game to life. And the Monster Manual is no exception. Everything is as crisp and well-produced as expected. And while the 2014 MM is fairly well-produced, I found that the artwork of the 2024 edition appeals to me quite more. I think a part of this is due to me seeing the same artwork for the past 10 years, but more importantly I think that the art entries actually illustrate what a monster is supposed to do rather than just show off what they are. A great example of this is in the Behir entry. I was able to figure out how to run this monster just by looking at it: it likes to swallow creatures and breathe lightning. It was also walking over the skeletal remains of an unfortunate adventurer, adding flavor to the already-informative artwork. The same can be said of the Scarecrow, which really spoke to me. I could tell that this monster is one that lurks until it is ready to strike with a terrifying presence. Its flair and tone-setting was also chilling for me. I need to find a picture of this and make it one of my computer backgrounds, because I love this one.
    I find that the greatest stories are great because of their environmental storytelling. Other than the opening dialogue, Super Metroid does all of its expository heavylifting through the visual spectrum. We can glean the story and imagine what happened before. We can see the intentions of others through our encounters with them. We can infer the story beats intended by the developers as we make our way through the uninviting depths of Zebes. The same is true for any kind of artwork in a book—especially one so modular as a roleplaying game’s rulebook.
    Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t have any bad things to say about this part. And remiss I shall be! I don’t really have any negatives to add to this. Every so often there’s a character that looks very… “MoDeRn”, let’s call it. But I believe that is a matter of taste and does not really take away from the great form of the art that matters: the monsters. I give the artwork in this book a 10 and a thumbs-up!

CONTENT
    The book is twice as thick as 2014’s MM, which is excellent! Especially given that there are over 500 entries, 50+ of them being brand-new monsters, this is a book you need to have. Every returning monster has been reworked to maintain the balance of the new rules, clarify or fix old rules or make these monsters more engaging to fight, and streamlining the process of running these monsters for DM’s.
    There’s… a lot of content here, sports fans. This alone makes it worth the $50 investment, as it is replete with creatures to make every dungeon, every exploration, and every story beat unique and fun. One of my favorites is the Arch-Hag. She’s a CR 20 creature who has an anathema (an item that she hates most). They give you examples of what these anathemas can be, from silly things like the multiverse’s worst pun, to agonizingly-difficult items to obtain such as a strand from the robe of the Lady of Pain. If you kill the hag, she curses you and respawns instantly in a demiplane and can’t come back to the plane she died on for 2d6 days. But she knows the exact location of cursed creatures even if she’s not on the same plane, and she will come back pissed. The only way to permanently kill her is to kill her within 30 feet of her anathema. This allows for some amazing roleplay mechanics and gives a very easy recurring endgame villain the party has to destroy.
    Some entries have been reworked in terms of names and purpose as well. For instance, the very first entry involves the Aracokra. There are two monsters in this entry, each with well-defined roles. Rather than make them generic, the Aracokra are used specifically for the DM to make easier use of and to create more engaging and diverse encounters using them. The content within statblocks have been much more streamlined to make reading them easier. One complaint I have that has not been changed is where the CR of a monster has been placed. I personally think it should be near the top so I don’t have to try and search for it every time. Even after 10 years, I have a hard time finding it in the same exact spot it’s always been. Maybe that’s just a “me” thing, but I find that the CR should at least be above the statblock, or close to the top. Not below things like languages, immunities, resistances, etc.

    One of the things I really appreciate is the static initiative. For instance, a creature might have an initiative entry that looks like this: +6 (16). I realized very quickly that I could use this to make things a little easier for me and something more standardized for players when it comes to determining initiative. I can just place the monsters on the initiative list with their static initiative; however, I will be taking it a step further! If monsters are surprised or some other factor is in play (such as monsters starting combat stuck in mud or something), then we remove the base 10 that all the monsters (at least from what I could see) would get. So a monster with a static initiative of 16 would now be 6. This will encourage players to try and surprise them. And if the monsters do the surprising, I will be rolling initiative for them and they will take the roll or the static initiative (whichever is higher).
    One thing I found particularly annoying was near the beginning of the MM, which showcases a new enemy called the Animal Lord. I will bet somebody my copy of Volo’s Guide to Monsters that a furry at the dev team decided to self-insert and make a monster that appealed to them specifically. Why do I think this? Because for no reason whatsoever, these protectors of an animal they represent (DM’s choice, but they have a humanoid shape) are a CR 20. They retain many cosmetic and mechanical qualities that furries love, and every time I look at this picture I want to become a Black Templar to remove this furry filth from my existence.
    All-in-all, the content of this book is thick, rich, and full-bodied. Each monster seems distinct, rather than just a cosmetic change from another monster. No, “Yeah, it’s an ooze, but this one’s yellow!” Even the humanoid monsters all have different stats to make them more unique in gameplay. Now, this has always been the case, but just because it says “bandit” doesn’t mean you can’t group them into an NPC faction of other types; it just feels like it’s intended to be that way more in this iteration of the Monster Manual.

DIFFICULTY
    Now here’s one that’s going to be hard to gauge until we actually put these pages into practice. As I mentioned, the Monster Manual (2024) has reworked every returning creature to make for a better balance with the reworked PHB (2024). I’ll echo my voice into the sea of throngs reverberated by many other reviewers by saying that this version of the game makes both players and monsters stronger by significant degrees. Back in the 2014 5e days, encounters were difficult to get right, and even deadly encounters were survivable at the worst of times. I have rarely ever heard of TPK’s in 5e unless the DM was actually trying to run a game intended to Rogue One the party. Even then, it was a herculean effort. For instance, my DM in our current campaign is attempting to run a Dark Souls campaign. Only one of us has died, and it wasn’t even in an encounter! It was me who died, inflicted by a fellow player for roleplay reasons. Since both sides are now far more swingy, it makes for more explosive combat that can sway poorly for either side if they’re not careful.
    Lair actions have been taken away. Some have criticized this, but I honestly found lair actions to be more cumbersome when planning an important encounter. This does not go to say that lairs have become less-interesting! The lairs themselves are more consequential when non-allied creatures are in their vicinity. Aboleths poison the water within a mile of the lair. Vampire lairs reduce light by 2 levels while inside it, making sunlight sensitivity a far-more difficult thing to pull off. Even further, monsters within their lair have additional benefits while inside them. In particular, many of these laired monsters have an additional legendary action while inside, making them far-deadlier when it’s not their turn.
    Legendary Actions themselves are also reworked to be more user-friendly and terrifying. No longer are there LA’s that use multiple charges. Each Legendary Action uses one charge. Some have restrictions, such as certain conditions needing to be met (including being in a lair for some), while others state they happen at the start of every other creature’s turn. I really like this. All Legendary Action charges are regained at the start of the monster’s turn. This makes boss monsters far more terrifying to fight, and require more thought. Multiattack, in the same vein, has been reworked to give more variety to a monster’s attacks. You get more options on how you use your multiattack, and the abilities that aren’t included in it are a very satisfying tradeoff to use instead of the multiattack. In other words, monsters are more reactive and are given more tools to deal with a swathe of scenarios and tactics; the scariest monster in the game is now a competent DM running a difficult or deadly encounter.

    Spellcasting has been modified for monsters. For those who have read entries for Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse, you will be somewhat familiar with how they work. Their spellcasting is laid out with very streamlined rules in the spellcasting section of the monster’s entry. It shows at-will, 2/day, and 1/day spells, and when they are allowed to cast them. Spells that increase its effect based on the spell slot used always use the lowest one unless otherwise stated. As an example, Adult Black Dragons can cast Melf’s Acid Arrow as an at-will power at 3^rd level, but Ancient Dragons cast them at-will as a 4^th level. As an aside, this also does not include their Acid Breath, which recharges on a 5-6 at all stages of a Black Dragon’s life. It also shows the spellcaster’s casting ability, their spell attack, and DC save all in the same spot right next to where the spells are. Some monsters have spell-like abilities. These are not considered spells for the purposes of actions and reactions such as casting Counterspell, making it more difficult to counter a monster’s innate magical abilities. For instance, the Aboleth can cast the equivalent of Dominate Person as part of its multiattack, which players cannot Counterspell.
    In sum, I am strongly in favor of most of these changes. But as I mentioned before, only time will tell if this rendition of a monster is good or bad for the game. A word of caution, as well: it is specifically stated that these monsters are completely compatible with the 2014 version of the game. But since the 2024 version is designed to be more swingy for both players and monsters, this logically would put 2014 characters at a stark disadvantage. Matthew: use these new statblocks for your Dark Souls sessions!

ORGANIZATION
    I’ll keep this part brief. But the organization has some good and bad to it. The good: there are many different tables in the back that organizes them into different lists. By monster type, by group, by CR, by terrain, and much more. Very useful. They also have a table that shows the 2014 equivalent of reworked monsters! An excellent tool for those trying to convert over!
The bad, however, is much more egregious in this regard. Everything is alphabetical, which is not much different than the 2014 MM. However, the 2024 one completely separates monsters of the same type alphabetically as well. For example: Rather than having a dedicated section to all dragons under the Dragon umbrella, Black Dragons are under B while Red Dragons are under R. Now, all the different variations (or ages) of these dragons are under the same banner. Wyrmlings, Young, Adult, and Ancient Dragons are all grouped together (thank Mystra). But if you want to find a list of demons, you will have to locate the demons group in the back of the book, then find what page they’re on in the table of contents. It’s kind of annoying if you don’t know the names of every demon creature.
    On another note, the organization of a creature’s statblock has changed only marginally, specifically to allow a more uniform look. As mentioned already, the spellcasting has been moved around a bit to ensure all the information based on spellcasting is in one spot. This is nice, and I appreciate the way the statblocks look now. Again, that could be because I’ve looked at the same statblocks for the last 10 years, so I’ll let you have your own opinion on that.
    The 2024 Monster Manual, despite my dislike of the modern changes Wizards of the Coast are making due to their well-documented hatred of my demographic in the audience, I can say with confidence that this is a must-have book. It stands as an updated and welcome replacement for the monsters of 2014’s 5^th Edition. The game with these monsters are more challenging and diverse in combat as a result, forcing the party to utilize their entire kits and shaking them out of the predictive slumps they tend to fall into. It also stands as a great way for veteran players to be surprised by new monster abilities rather than rely on the info they already have memorized from years of encountering these beasts or running them. Give the Monster Manual a try, and ask to see my copy if you’re unsure about purchasing your own!