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Summary: Finally, a proper use of space!
Review: They finally got it right, and went back to devoting each page to holding as much information as possible. Gone are the days of one page, one monster. It reminds me of the way entries were done with the first Monster Manual. I don't like some of the new illustrations -- they are good, but the departure from the "traditional" images of some of the creatures isn't as pleasing to me as it might me to others (for example, the displacer beast looked better in 2nd edition, rather than the skeletal looking abomination in 3rd edition). However, many of the other creatures have a much more aggressive look, and that is a definite improvement. Additionally, we can rejoice that WotC has decided not to cave in to the religious freaks, and has returned demons and devils back to the game. Fiends are a great way of describing them, but the terms Tanari and Baatezu (who cares how it used to be spelled) are ridiculously weak. Thank the gods that the demons and devils are back!I started playing in 1981, and I finally feel like the game has taken a step in the right direction with this new edition. Although much of the artwork is a little too fanciful for me (I favor a more traditional-looking medieval campaign), I still like what they have done with the rules. The new Monster Manual is the icing on the cake -- that orc chieftain you are about to do battle with may have more than 20 hit points -- and I can't wait to start throwing some of these baddies at a new group of players! Good gaming!
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Summary: The wait was worth it.
Review: Well it took months, but finally we have the third and final core rulebook for the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons. This is the largest of the three books, and it is just packed with useful information. Every single creature is given average stats, so a player could choose to play almost ANY monster/class combination, instead of one of the six standard ones. This is a radical departure from the standard second edition rules. Plus the new format makes it very easy for Dungeon Masters to personalize old standards, e.g. a 4th level Minotaur Sorcerer. These new possibilities are sure to surprise even the most experienced D&D veteran. Like the other three books, the artwork is fantastic. Not only are you given portraits of every single creature described, they also include many anatomical details, such as bone structure. Unlike previous versions of this book, I think that the new monster manual should be used by players and dms alike, not to get an edge in combat, but to spice up the player's mount, familiar, or even to play a monster. I was a bit disappointed with some of the entries. The book glosses over some "standard" creatures, for instance "Raven" has barely a paragraph under the heading "Bird." This might not bother most players, but, since many of the animals that are treated cursorily occur OFTEN in a D&D game, it can be a bit frustrating. Particularly annoying is the lack of good details on the war horse. After reading the brief treatment of mounted combat in the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide, I was really hoping that the Monster Manual would clarify the matter. It didn't. I would have rated this book five stars if it weren't for that fact.
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Summary: A horde of monsters
Review: The new Monster Manual is out and it is just what Dungeon Masters have needed. I would have to say the new manual's highlights are: the new art and the cool new templates you can apply to any creature or character. Examples of the templates are Liches and Lycanthropes; if one of the players gets bitten by a Werewolf for example you have the stats that get aded to whatever they were beforehand. Very cool, and it allows for a lot of variation between different monsters of the same type. Stats for every monster type are included as well as all the information you would need to make a player character of the given race as well as progression guidelines. You can now have a game full of kobold or dragon player characters if you wanted to! I am very impressed with the monster manual overall. The only dissapointment I had was with the layout of a lot of the tables. Many of the tables describing monster statistics flow over to the next page, which can make it troublesome to find track to the rest of a particular entry on the next page. I'm still recommending it as a beautiful book which has all the information I could want and need as well.
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Summary: The Worst of the New Lot, Not That I Mean That in a Bad Way
Review: Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, with some really good ideas. However the new Monster Manual has some glaring oversites, that really make it annoying. Some of my personal favorate monsters are missing. Gem Dragons, Faerie Dragons, Thri-kreen, Gremlins, and some other "classic" monsters. All in all it is telling me (in a booming voice) "Be prepaired for the Monster Manual 2." Beyond that they have redesigned some monsters from the ground up. The most obvious being the Harpy, but some others have been tweaked as well. It is one of those "required" books, and it is a must buy. But it is the weakest in what has been a very execptional 3rd Edition of D&D.
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Summary: Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition Monster Manual
Review: In the Twenty Years Since I Started roleplaying game with the orignal Basic and Advanced Dungeon And Dragons. Role playing games in general and D&D have gone through many changes and improvements. The Third Edition Monster Manual is the best Dungeons & Dragons so far keeping the advantages of the old while adding over Twenty-Six years of experience. It's, chief advantage is it is much more organized easier to use and understand. The full color design art work and layout are excellent and Near outstanding. In truth it Rates 5 Five for D&D and 4 for rpgs in general.
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Summary: Waste of Time
Review: Okay, I've been playing AD&D and D&D since I could read. I've read every edition, and this has GOT to be the worst possible job ever. First, was it necessary to use the words "hideous", "cunning", and "vicious" in almost every entry? Second, the author (Skip Wiliams) coughed up very little new material. Most of the entries are the same creatures available in the older editions. Any DM can modify their old rules without wasting another $20.00 on this thing. If you've never played before or don't own a REAL Monster Manual or Compendium, it might be worth it. If you own the older ones, just make a few modifications and save some cash.
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Summary: Great Resource, but a little late
Review: This is the final instalment of the Core Rule Books, and any one who wants to experiance D&D to the max sould buy this book. The types of the monsters are varied, giving great quest options to the DM. There are a great deal of the old creatures still there, but each with a little change from the previous edition. The new monsters are interesting and give a great variety to play against. Some of the monster also have rules to create monster classes, a great thing for a Goblin NPC and such. The pictures are detalied and paired with the info you can vividly describe the campaign to your players. Overall, a great book, but why in the world was it not released 1 or 2 months earlier??
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Summary: Wonderful artwork, great creatures
Review: I thought that it seemed thin in comparison to the past monster manuals, but in no way did it let me down when I opened it. Fully detailed information on all the favorites along with several I haven't seen before. A must for all DM's running 3rd edition, or those players whom wish to delve into the monster races as PC's.
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Summary: Excellent work once again.
Review: This book offers over 500 monsters for the new D&D game. All the old standbyes are back and there are many that I had never seen before. Perhaps the most imressive of all the new books so far. AC and other factors are now catagorized by size. Allows players to for the first time play the monsters as characters. Offers new templates that allows all monsters to attain characteristics of a base monster. For instance, any monster may now be a vampire version of the base monster. The illustrations are excellent and make the monsters virtually jump off the page. Another excellent piece of work in the D&D 3rd Edition.
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Summary: Mmm... Tasty 3rd Edition!
Review: The Monster Manual is the third core-rules book in the new 3rd edition line of Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying books, and this one rocks the house! The monster Manual has a TON of new, beautiful art, from cover to cover. They've reworked like 90% of the classic old monsters, there's a lot of new stuff and more and better rules for monster PCs. You need this book. Even if you don't roleplay, get it for its gorgeous artwork.
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