Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) [Hardcover]

Wizards Team (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2007

Who couldn't use a few new monsters in their game?

Monster Manual V is the most recent volume in the best-selling Monster Manual line. This D&D supplement presents a fully illustrated hoard of new monsters, as well as ready-to-play variations of previously existing monsters. In addition, this supplement features maps of monster lairs, sample encounters, and tactics sections to help Dungeon Masters run the more complex creatures. Additionally, many entries contain information about where monsters are likely to appear in the Forgotten Realms and Eberron compaign settings.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (July 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786941154
• ISBN-13: 978-0786941155
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Buy, woth a smooth feel, July 20, 2007

By 

Brian A. Liberge (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Hardcover)

All in all this is a good book. It's not a great book, but it's a solid additional Monster Resource.

I'll hit you with the bad, first. There are three section devoted to already printed monsters with class levels: vampires, kuo-tao and hobgoblins. Now I can understand how this could be useful to some people, but it seems to me it should either be a web supplement or a separate book. Each of these sections takes up more room than a regular monster entry. That means you miss out on several new monsters for each one of these entries. Some of these spots include classes from some the other popular supplements, like the complete books. For me this is a positive because it makes them seem more unique, so I might use them. If you don't own the books the classes are from, they include enough information to still make them usable.

The other bad, was the two maps that were included. Each takes up about a page and were published separately on their website. Which means they simply take up room.

Now the good. Lot's of new monsters, most of which could easily appear on Material Plane. The range of difficulty is vast. They are fun ideas, that would probably not be apparent to players running into them, and seem very easy to run. Several have stats on how to make them familiars or mounts.

Two of the biggest fears were of the inclusion of Mind Flayers who follow Thoon and the Dragon Game. I actually have found these to be the two biggest positives in the book. The Thoon Mind Flayers are not, for the most part, Mind Flayers with Character levels. They're different types of Mind Flayers and Mind Flayer creations. They're all really fun, with varying CR. They're written as a separate sect, but they really don't have to be. There's even an Elder Brain with a CR of 15. This way you can have an elder brain battle before getting to Epics.

The Dragon Game, takes up a little too much room for my liking. There's a lot of fluff here. Dig through and you'll find a real gem. The template that can be applied takes away sorcerer levels form the dragons and replaces them with special abilities that are simple to use and make them seem more like dragons. It also gives you easy ways to make dragons a more intense and plot oriented part of your campaign world.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some usefullness, but often a rehash, August 23, 2007

By 

Patrick Curtin "Bookaholic" (Cape Cod MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Hardcover)

I bought this more to round out the collection than thinking it would have a lot of high-class monsters to use. I was right. Most of the monsters are either regular humanoids with levels and feats tacked onto them or very esoteric monsters that would have little impact on a regular game. That being said, the production values and artwork remain impressive, and I would reccommend it for the hard-core gamer. People on a budget could use their money better elsewhere.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MM V, August 23, 2007

By 

Daniel Chinnery "the pawn" (NE Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Hardcover)

Well, I thought this book was very good, some new ideas and a nice format, and the monsters actually seem real, not a bunch of made up things just to fill a book. I really liked it until.......

Unfortunately I found out a few days ago at GenCon , that Wizards is putting out Dungeons and Dragons Version 4 in May 2008, so Version 3.5 will be retired. Be ware before you go gung ho on buying a lot more 3.5 stuff.