Rating: 
Summary: Best Upgrade!!
Review: Of the three upgraded core rulebooks, this one is the best!. Not only does it have lots of great new artwork, it has rules for using several monsters as PCs or NPCs with classes, stats for advanced monsters, and even instructions on tactics used by some of the most notorious monsters. A MUST for the serious gamer!
Rating:
Summary: Alright!!!
Review: Okay, I know you've all read those reviews on how dumb 3e and 3.5e are, but it's just the ramblings of 1e and 2e players who don't like the new rules. this new Monster Manual is GREAT! whether you're new to D&D or are an experienced 3e DM, this is for you! even those who don't use the other 3.5 books will love the improvements. especially the new parts with the stats for making a monster character and the monster changes. it is an essential tome for any 3e DM (and obviously for a 3.5e one).
Rating:
Summary: New And Very Improved
Review: Out of the three re-released core D&D rulebooks, the Monster Manual has the most outstanding changes. The differences between the 3E and 3.5E versions are vast, and the changes made in 3.5E are almost all for the better.Monster statistics now come equipped with base attack bonuses, grapple bonuses, and level adjustments (if you want to build your own monstrous character, either as a player or DM). The book now includes rules and guidelines, both new and improved, for creating your own monsters, as well as increasing the power of those already provided. Monster skills and feats have been addressed in far greater detail, as well. More importantly, the book includes both monsters from other books and new monsters, though the new monsters are often simply enhanced versions of older ones. Lastly, the book includes a lot of new and very cool artwork. The only thing that disappointed me was how they changed damage reduction. Enhancement bonuses to weapons are no longer relevant for purposes of damage reduction--now it has a lot more to do with the alignment of your weapon and what it's made out of. To me, this seems like an unnecessary change, one that makes it difficult to bring 3E monsters that feature damage reduction up to date with 3.5E.
Rating:
Summary: New And Very Improved
Review: Out of the three re-released core D&D rulebooks, the Monster Manual has the most outstanding changes. The differences between the 3E and 3.5E versions are vast, and the changes made in 3.5E are almost all for the better. Monster statistics now come equipped with base attack bonuses, grapple bonuses, and level adjustments (if you want to build your own monstrous character, either as a player or DM). The book now includes rules and guidelines, both new and improved, for creating your own monsters, as well as increasing the power of those already provided. Monster skills and feats have been addressed in far greater detail, as well. More importantly, the book includes both monsters from other books and new monsters, though the new monsters are often simply enhanced versions of older ones. Lastly, the book includes a lot of new and very cool artwork. The only thing that disappointed me was how they changed damage reduction. Enhancement bonuses to weapons are no longer relevant for purposes of damage reduction--now it has a lot more to do with the alignment of your weapon and what it's made out of. To me, this seems like an unnecessary change, one that makes it difficult to bring 3E monsters that feature damage reduction up to date with 3.5E.
Rating:
Summary: Good improvements, as always some errors
Review: The best things about the 3.5 Monster Manual is that it updates to the new version, adds important statistics in monster breakdowns, and has superscript to show things like bonus feats which allow you to translate them into variations or playable monsters. It still has some errors and inconsistencies but not enough to make the book worthless.
Rating: 
Summary: Marginally better than 3.0
Review: The other books should be burned this one could stay. Skip Williams is not always on the ball but he's done a fairly good job with this one. It rides primarily on the merits of the 3.0 MM but it has enough original content to make it a fairly good upgrade. I don't blame Skip for the moronic square horses and dragons. I blame the other "designers" who should all be fired.
Rating: 
Summary: Just useless
Review: There are already too many MM circulating between official stuff, added supplements (like Monsters of Faerun) and cookbooks (like Savage Species). Savage Species indeed! There, you find all the recipe to make the monsters your own, and to create new ones that are balanced, more or less. Monster Manual II? Useless. Monster Manual 3.5? Apart of adding some confusion, and taking care of DETAILS, like the actual place of templates, or grapple, or things like that, it's useless for those who own 3.0. Of course, it will become a necessary buy for players (and for those, I'd say the thing would deserve three stars, not more). For information, I played ADD1, 2, D&D3 and now have an insight on 3.5. It is commercial, modifies nothing or too much by just adding details (see my opinion about the new Player's Handbook). Overall: it confuses the game, it makes double standards, it's not worth to buy. Buy instead 3.0
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the 3.5 books
Review: This happens to be the best of the 3.5 core books. Unfortunately, this isn't saying much. Wait for official errata and/or a 2nd printing.
Rating:
Summary: Would have been great if I were new to D&D
Review: Well, here we go.
I started playing D&D back in 1980. It was a great game back then, simple enough to play and undefined enough to allow for the use of imagination. I stopped playing in 1983, but kept my stuff preserved at my parents' house for the future.
Fast forward to 2004. There have been various revisions since my day, namely versions 2, 3, and 3.5. In reality I play original D&D, Version "0" and use the AD&D books to supplement my game (considered version 1).
So I went to check out Version 3.5 at Border Books, and this is what I found in relation to Monster Manual 3.5: while the book itself is beautiful, and would be great in and of itself if it encompassed all the monsters of the D&D world, I cross referenced this book to the three (3 - count 'em) version 3.0 books and found that some monsters are included while others are not. What this means to me, is that if I wanted to be a completist, I would need somewhere around a dozen D&D monster books (maybe more). I find this annoying. I will not even comment on all the other vast number of version 3 and 3.5 books you need to play D&D today. Suffice it to say that I am turning back to the D&D Cyclopedia from the 80's and the original AD&D Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, and the Version II Monstrous Manual, and am closing the door on the rest of the nonsense.
If you want to play D&D, go to ebay and buy the basic set from the 1980's, then move on to the expert and master boxed sets. Buy the Monstrous Manual as a supplement and you should be all set.
'Nuf said, back to my game!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Revision to a Great Game
Review: When I first looked at the revised Player's Handbook, I found that there was not enough new material to really satisfy me. This is definately not the case for the Monster Manual. For those that have enjoyed the art of the previous 3E books, have no fear! Around twenty four new pictures are in this book and all of them are great! Some other great editions to the Monster Manual are the stat-blocks being made clearer (there is now the regular attack entry and a full attack entry), new monsters (always a good thing!), and added sections on developing monsters. Overall, a better book compared to the original. This book was really worth it, marketing ploy or not!
|
