Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition

I have been playing RPGs for a few years now and I have seen many types of monster manuals. I'm not going to go into much details, but here are the points I liked, and the stuff I thought they could do better.Pros:It has a little bit of everything you might want.Easy to readLaid out clear monster blocksCons:Being the first publication of the monster manual, I thought more common creatures players will run into at lower levels (below 20th) would had been nice. For example, one of the creatures they have in the monster manual was different types of Abominations which are level 20+ monsters from the War of the Primordials. Cool, but not necessarily needed in the first Monster Manual. What would had been nice was an expanded Human, Elf, Eladrin, Dragonborn, Goblinoid, ect sections with more diversity of opponent options up to 20th level. These creatures might not have the flair that the Abominations have, but your more likely to use them in a gaming session with level 1 and 2 players.Although, if you get Monster Manual 2, they flush out the more common monsters including expanding the opponent options for Humans, Elves, ect. So as a DM, you will need both.So in the end, good content, but a different layout would had been nice.

Bought this to add to my DM book collection as it had a few features that the newer 5e books don't have.Even though i've not played 4th Edition or plan on playing it, this is very useful for playing with 5th Edition games. Each monster in this book comes with a tactics section that shows how a creature would react in a given situation, a feature I believe should still be around in the newer books.I will be using an updated 5e version of these tactics in future to improve my game running.As for the quality of the book itself, a very well designed manual. Easily readable and searchable with high quality art for most of the creatures within it. Though it is slightly out dated, for the price, you can't go wrong for a great addition to your D&D collection.

Not a cheaply made book at all. The pages are thick and glossy and the hard cover is solid. Descriptions are very clear, the format is on the money and easy to follow.-Starting at the very back there is a 2-page "Monsters by Level" section that is really handy for helping you to put leveled encounters together.-Next there is a 4-page glossary section that (quoted): "This section provides definitions and descriptions of monster characteristics that aren't spelled out in their stat blocks." There are thigns like Aberrant [Origin] and a description of what that means.-Before that there are 4 pages of "Racial Traits" if you wanted to use them as player characters. Bugbears, Dopplegangers, Drow, Githyanki, etc. are all found here with their average height and weight, ability score bonuses, etc.Another really important thing about this book is that it lists tactics for most (if not all) monsters. I find this very handy.Highly recommended book, even if you have a DDI account it is handy to have around.-D

I bought a boat load of dungeons and dragons rule books all at the same time. My motivation was not to test play each and every addition. I needed them as a research resource for a campaign world that my team is developing. I can tell you after having read every book from every addition there are not huge differences in 3 and 3.5 five unless you are purest. Most of the artwork is recycled. Version four is where the big differences come into play. All that being said let me state that having been a player for more than thirty five years the quality of the books has remained consistent. I am not a fan of breaking up books into multiple volumes to make more money so buy carefully. If you are a real D&D fan and you are considering a purchase, go for it.

This review is copied and pasted across all of the 4th edition products I purchased as it relates to the system as a whole. The individual books are all decently made, and have reasonable (though far from perfect) editing.For those who grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons (as I did) this 4th edition of the game is not what we are used to. This does not mean it is a poor game, by any means. It does, however, mean that what you are buying is a "modern" interpretation of the classic game. It feels much more like a video game than a pen and paper role playing game.In the end, this is not a bad product line, but it is a better one for younger gamers than for those of us who are older and who were heavily exposed to earlier editions.

While there are a few monsters that I feel don't belong in the first of the 4th edition Monster Manuals, and there are a few monsters that I feel should have been there that didn't make it, this is still the best Monster Manual yet. The art is fantastic (well, most of it) and the seem to have made sure their is art for every entry this time. The layout is better with entries starting at the top of the left page instead of just "wherever" like the previous books. The new stat blocks are much simpler and straight forward, easier to read and to build encounters with. Great book!

Amazing ideas to steal and use in 5th edition. If you want to spice up some monsters, then you've come to the right place. Great ideas to add strategy during fighting and avoid slugfests. I also like the knowledge checks incorporated with each monster that you can use with your players.I personally never played 4e, but I'm glad I listened to advice to get this resource.

Got my book, it was used, was concerned and BAM. The book is in fantastic condition and looks brand new, outside of some pressure marks, which is to be expected.

Great fun abilities and lore for monsters

Generell ist erstmal zu sagen, dass es ein schönes solides Buch ist, in dem wirklich gelungene Illustrationen viele der Monster auch optisch vorstellen. D&D 4E hat Rollen für Charaktere bekommen (Defender, Leader, Striker etc.) und das setzt sich auch bei den Monstern fort. Es wirkt ein wenig gezwungen für viele klassische D&D Monster nun plötzlich verschiedene Varianten vorzufinden, die es früher so in keiner Kampagne gab. Dafür sind diese innerhalb ihres System gut durchdacht und für fast alle Monster sind auch jeweils mehrere Varianten angegeben.Mein Hauptkritikpunkt ist: Es ist nicht fertig. Zumindest fühlt es sich so an. Das Buch ist von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite vollgestopft mit Monstern. Das klingt zunächst gut, nur hat man dafür die Beschreibungen welche Kreatur wo vorkommt, welche Neigungen sie hat, und was sie tut, wenn sie nicht kämpft, vollkommen weggelassen oder in ein zwei Sätzen abgehakt. Man bekommt quasi ein reines Nachschlagewerk für Werte und Bilder.Dummerweise ist es aber auch kein reines Nachschlagewerk, denn es gibt die Kreaturen jeweils nur in einer vorgegebenen Stufe. Wer einen Kobold Stufe 4 benötigt kann Glück haben, dass es so einen gibt. Wenn nicht, dann bietet das Buch nicht mal einen Weg sich diesen zu erschaffen. Es gibt keine Tabellen oder vorgezeichnete Mechanismen mehr, wie einzelne Monsterarten weiter zu entwickeln sind.Besonders sauer stieß mir auch, dass kein einziges Tier mehr in dem Buch vorhanden ist. Der Vorgänger (D&D Monsterhandbuch 3.5) bot eine Fülle von Tieren und riesige Mutationen davon sowie eine Anleitung wie man Monster verändert oder komplett neu erschafft, das fehlt dem aktuellen Band komplett.Für die handwerkliche Qualität des Buches, der Illustrationen und der Stimmigkeit der vorhandenen Monster könnte man 5 Punkte geben, für den Nutzen in der Kampagne fällt es mir schwer eine gute Note zu verleihen.Ich habe den Kauf nicht bereut, es ist zumindest schön anzusehen, aber irgendwie fehlt mir noch immer ein Monsterhandbuch für 4E, das ich so nutzen kann, wie das alte.Gesamtnote: knappe 3 Punkte.

The book was in fantastic condition and arrived early! Absolutely nwould recommend this!

This book opened. So I was satisfied with it.It had one job.It performed it flawlessly.