D&D 2024 Monster Manual: "Every monster is a springboard to adventure"

Todd Kenreck conducts an in-house interview with designers Jeremy Crawford and F. Wesley Schneider. These Wizards of the Coast top dogs discusses the third and final core rulebook, the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Monster Manual.

Yes, it's already 2025. And yes, they're keeping the "D&D 2024" edition name going. Mainly because 2024 - 1974 (the year D&D became a commercial product) = D&D's 50th anniversary.

What's new: Everything.

• Over 500 stat blocks make this the biggest Monster Manual in D&D history.
• Expanded numbers of creatures within each creature type.
• High-Challenge-Rating creatures are more dangerous.
• Low- and medium-Challenge-Rating creatures made more fun.

The focus on artwork is unprecedented. All-new art. Creatures all placed within context. They're either chasing things, fighting things, standing over things that give you a sense of their size and scale, and, in general, you'll be given a broader look at the world(s) of D&D. There's not a single creature presented as floating in whitespace. Every Monster Manual before this one was pretty much depicted in that floaty, out-of-context way. But not this one. This book has the monster in action. 

Rust Monsters are rusting weapons and armor. Beholders shooting rays out of its eyestalks. Ancient dragons standing on massive fortresses as if they're the pet steps my old cat uses to get up onto the bed. Wait until you see the dinosaur-esque Tarrasque—a non-dragon creature that is legendary even in a game whose most legendary creatures are dragons.

Asked to pick a standout example of an monster that's received across-the-board improvements:

• Crawford cites the ancient dragons. He stood over the artists' shoulders, ensuring they were depicted as majestically and terrifyingly (or protectively) as possible. He beefed up hit points. He beefed up damage. He beefed up their "tactical texture." A dragon's Lair Actions have been moved into the stat blocks. Also, all ancient dragons are spellcasters—it's not just an optional sidebar activity for them anymore. 

• Schneider emphasizes the new introduction written into the book. They're prioritizing which monster abilities a Dungeon Master should be using to get the most out of a combat encounter. It's a bit like The Monsters Know What They're Doing book by Keith Ammann—except Wizards of the Coast condenses this info in a section called Advice on Running a Monster. Not just to create a TPK-inducing Dark Souls experience. Yes, you can increase a creature's threat level. But you can also dial things down if need be. 

What each monster's stat block now additionally contains:

• Environment you're most likely to encounter this creature. 
• Default treasure.
• Some creatures (like a Mimic) might include a chart describing here are some things this Mimic might appear as. Or the different forms another monster might take. 

There are monsters that will inspire you—monsters that might not have inspired you before. A lot of that may have to do with seeing them depicted in their element, attacking hapless players, giving you, the Dungeon Master, that little cackle of joy you get when you run a dangerous encounter.

For a comprehensive, official blog post on everything new coming to the new Monster Manual, go here on D&D Beyond.