The final, updated supplement for the trilogy of Dungeons & Dragons 2024 core rulebooks has been released. The Monster Manual 2024 debuted as a 384-page, full-color hardcover book with standard and premium covers. D&D Beyond and Roll 20 offer a VTT version of the Monster Manual, too. The standard cover, illustrated by Tyler Jacobson, features Vajra Safahr and Minsc facing off against a beholder; the premium cover, credited in the book to Olena Richards, is a metallic blue mindflayer with gold foil print. Both books are high quality-printed hardcover books with illustrated end pages and feature gorgeous, thematic illustrations by over two dozen artists.

The Monster Manual 2024 credits lead designers Jeremy Crawford and F. Wes Schneider, along with Mackenzie De Armas, Christopher Perkins, and Ben Petrisor. It is, first and foremost, a meaty, functional supplement that provides art, background, and updated rules for over 500 monsters. Designed for ease-of-use, the Monster Manual opens with a short, table of contents, an alphabetical index, and a sidebar that describes what’s changed from the previous edition.

Though the rules update is significant, the new Monster Manual has a straightforward structure. At its core, this quote-filled supplement is designed for quick references while ensuring that a DM has enough monsters to drop into a scenario. DMs keen to find thematically-appropriate monsters can refer to them by name, challenge rating, monster type, or habitat. For each monster, a short write-up provides context describing how and, in some cases, why the monster attacks. Others, like the Animated Objects, not only offer rules but the catalysts for their creation, too.

It’s important to mention for new players that any opposing character–even humanoid characters such as an Assassin, Druid, Mage, or Knight–with a challenge rating (CR) is treated as a monster. From an organizational standpoint, this is a missed opportunity especially since Appendix A is dedicated to animals (of the beast type). The “kitchen sink” approach, in particular, makes it challenging to sort out the creatures parties love to fight versus a humanoid NPC that could be part of an adventure. Though the indices in the back of the book are extremely helpful, the humanoid NPC write-ups offer stats and a table for roles but little else. This approach means the DM will have to do the heavy lifting to create appropriate names, locations, and backgrounds when designing a campaign.

To ensure that DMs have the rules update, Appendix B offers an update for every monster from the 2014 Monster Manual. This was a smart decision, as DMs often compare and contrast rules updates to a previous edition. For DMs keen on specific changes, Lee D’Amato at Screen Rant has done the heavy lifting comparing the full list of old monsters to their updated counterparts.

Overall, the Monster Manual 2024 is an essential supplement for anyone who wants to run Dungeons & Dragons. The monsters have an excellent CR distribution designed for playability; over half are CR 8 or below. With over 500 monsters, 25 monster types and groups in 12 habitats, DMs will find lots of unique monsters to drop into any adventure.

Review provided by Allie Brooks.

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