Summary
The upcoming slate ofDungeons & Dragonsrulebooks is bringing a newMonster Manualto the table, and it’s officially going to be more expansive than any released before. TheMonster Manualis a core tool for creating combat encounters inDnD, providing the most accessible resource for dungeon masters to draw fearsome foes from. Although bestiaries can be supplemented by plenty of additional tomes, theMonster Manualcontains the majority ofDnD’s most iconic enemiesand serves as a necessary reference when running official campaign adventures.
In a press briefing for the 2025Monster Manual, leadDnDrules designer Jeremy Crawford confirmed thatthe book will feature “over 500 monsters,“a significant advancement over the 300 or so featured in the 2014 version. Among these, over 75 are completely new additions. The newMonster Manualwill also feature an increased array of NPC stat blocks, expanding a previously slim selection to include performers, pirates, and more.
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Having more monsters to reference in one book should be music to most dungeon masters' ears, as variety in a campaign is always a good thing.The expanded selection includes new variants among existing categories of monsters, like a fiery new skeleton enemy that could pose a stronger threat than the average set of clanking bones. This could be helpful for dungeon masters looking to fit iconic enemies into lower- or higher-level play than they’ve traditionally been suited for, shaking things up through a more substantial method than just tweaking stats.
Things also aren’t staying the same among the returning monsters, which are getting their own updates while keeping the same challenge ratings that they received in 2014. Ideally, this should give monsters that previously felt dull more interesting abilities, with any potential gain in power offset by equivalent weaknesses.
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Higher-levelDnDplaywill receive some generalized boosts through the addition of new high CR monsters, with the Blob of Annihilation ooze and a gigantic construct serving as two examples of major foes. In theupcomingDungeon Master’s Guide, revised guidelines for building encounters allocate a larger pool of XP to distribute on high-level encounters, which could allow fights without individual high CR foes to still become overwhelming in scale.
The 2025Monster Manualis set for a wide release on February 18 with early access available on February 4 through purchases from local game stores and D&D Beyond pre-orders of the digital and physical bundle. Grabbing the new book might not be strictly necessary for dungeon masters already equipped with the 2014 version, but it’s definitely promising some attractive improvements. 500 monsters is nothing to sneeze at, and even the most seasoned adventurers might encounter exciting newDungeons & Dragonstrials this year.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
