Customer Reviews

Monster Manual 3: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook (Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The edition of flavor/lore text is welcome, and the overall quality of the book is a huge step up from the MM2 in my opinion. Also, the stat blocks have been revamped making it easier to read. Gone are the useless "encounter groups" from the first 2 MMs. Instead, they give suggestions on what (if any) other creatures the beast in question might be found with.

Some old favorites make their return: Mimics, cloaker, catoblepas, etc. I guess my only minor complaint concerns adding yet more flavors of some monsters (do we really need more beholders??) but again, even these are well presented and I am sure many do see the need!

The artwork is also a step up from that found in the MM2, with no recycled art that I am aware of.

An excellent book.

I really enjoyed MM3. MUCH MUCH better than MM2. I agree that the encounter groups from the previous 2 books are largely useless, especially if you are a DDI subscriber. (the website has an online tool that allows you to craft encounters in a way that keeps the level right, etc.) Unlike MM2, there aren't too many wasted pages. (who needs, like, 10 different 'humans' in a monster manual?!) Also, many classics are back...Mimics, thri-kreen, lolth, gremlins, catoblepas, and so on. Some new cool additions are the catastrophic dragons (not solos, for some reason), and more psionic and primal flavored creatures.
The art is good, as usual, and the text is much richer, and better written than previous MMs for 4e. My only complaint is that they did recycle several illustrations from 3e. C'mon guys, illustrators/artists need work too.
The re-organization of the stat block bothered me at first...And id does bother me that I have all 3 MMs, and their stat blocks don't line up, so mixing encounters from all three books might be a pain. But, I do have to say, after reading through it, the new stat block layout makes more sense. Too bad they didn't think of that in the first place back in 2008. Oh well. Better late then never.
Bottom line: if you're new to DMing, and you just have the first 3 core rulebooks, skip mm2, and get this one.

The latest in the Monster Manual line for Dungeons & Dragons introduces two changes. The new stat block is much easier to use in play, organizing actions by their type (standard, minor, triggered) and including relevant information about traits in the block itself, so you don't have to look them up in the glossary. Further, there is more flavor text for each entry, giving descriptions, background, and even stories about the creature. This latter was something that was sorely lacking in the 4th edition Monster Manuals and I'm glad to see its return. The Lore entries simply weren't sufficient in many cases to get a good feel for a monster. As for the selection of monsters, there is a fine variety with a slight emphasis on the Epic tier. Many new varieties of already established monsters are here (Drow, Dragons, Elementals, Giants) as well as creative 4th edition updates of old classics (Catoblepas, Mimic, Thri-kreen, Cloakers) and entirely new creations like Apocalypse Spells, sentient remnants of powerful ancient spells. As with all of the monster books in 4th edition, there is also the stats for a god (Lolth, in this case) and several creatures of god-like power (two of the old Princes of Elemental Evil: Imix and Ogremoch) for upper Epic-level campaigns. Overall, it is an excellent entry into the line.

Monster Manual 3 breaks with the previous Monster Manuals in a few pretty big ways.

As the other reviewers have mentioned, the stat block format has been revised. It's a bit easier to use, now, and makes it easier to keep track of various special effects that overworked DMs might otherwise overlook.

Also, and more importantly, it looks like the designers have finally hit their stride when it comes to monster design. There are several major departures here, all of which came about after the designers saw how monsters work in play. MM2 had some minor improvements - like solo HPs, adjustments to solo and elite defenses, and so on. MM3 goes even further. In fact, these monsters are so much more usable and so much beefier than the ones in MM1 and MM2, your players might look at you in shock. "What do you mean, that guy does 3d12+16 damage?!"

Here's a rundown. You can get more details in the July 2010 Updates from WotC's site, including a new damage expression chart.

* Brutes are no longer inaccurate. Like every other monster, they attack at Level+5 vs AC, or Level +3 vs F/R/W. This means you don't need to feel like brutes of levels lower than the party are just eating up useless XP in your encounter budget.
* Soldiers are no longer accurate. They had everything going for them already.
* Pretty much every Elite has a way to attack more than one enemy per round, either as burst/blast, or as a double attack mechanic. They count for two monsters, so they should do the damage of two monsters.
* Most importantly, the damage expressions are overhauled. On normal attacks, most monsters will deal 1/2 their level in additional damage. Brutes do even more - about 25% above and beyond the normal damage expressions.

What does all this mean? Well, most 4e DMs know that, by Paragon level, Level+0 encounters no longer pose a major threat to even a minimally tweaked party. You need to use Level+2 or Level+3 encounters, instead. This means the monsters' defenses and their HPs are significantly higher, and it can lead to long, dragging fights.

With these tweaks, encounters go back to normal. Level -1 is a decent challenge, and Level +0 becomes the norm. Level +2 or Level +3 become quite difficult, suitable for more climactic battles.

It's a good change, and a welcome one. It will mean that MM1 and MM2 monsters will no longer seem so shiny, but they're easy enough to before a session. Hopefully the upcoming Monster Vault will retool a few of our favorites.

What a formidable book of monsters. Im new to 4th ed but I am a veteran of D&D since first edition. I picked this up after reading many reviews online. I love the new monster block layout and how easy it is to use. Best yet is that all these critters are also downloadable through DDI (Dungeon's & Dragons Insider). The artwork is spectacular and the big boss is Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders. It offers multiple aspects of this big baddie along with other notoriously famous demons and devils from 1st edition. If you are not into 4th edition this book is not for you. If you have made the switch, or are new to D&D altogether then you'll find this book particularly useful (if you are your gaming groups Dungeon Master).

This item is great for finding new monsters to fight for your D&D 4e groups. I think it is very interesting to search through it and would recommand it if you want something fun.

I thought that the newest Monster Manual was a great addition to the series. The descriptions of each monster, their associated abilities, etc. are well documented, and this book will make Dungeon Masters and Players alike, very engaged.

If you want more of a variety and updated monsters from the previous manuals, this book is for you! Recommended!

Monster Manual 3 brings back a good variety of monsters back to the table. Coming in at 224 pages, ~ 60 less than Monster Manual 1, it brings a new level of detail for each monster. Unlike in MM1, MM3 does not show the XP breakdown of various encounters and battle groups. It assumes the DM is already competent at doing that. Instead, it gives several more paragraphs of the lore on each monster, the DC for knowing that lore, and is more indepth at describing their battle tactics. This is something MM 1 tried to do, but was very short about it.

Elementals are brought back in this book, ranging from lvl 1 to 22, which provides a nice substitute to the kobold / goblin beginning adventures. Other Classic Monsters that return to main play are: Shadow, Slaad, Nymph, Minotaur, Mind Flayer, Gnoll, Gargoyle, and many more.

This book does a nice job at spreading out all of the new monsters over all of the level ranges. There are approximately 7-10 new monsters per level, and include 3 creatures above 30: Imix, Ogremoch, and the dark goddess Lolth - Demon Queen of Spiders.

With it being the third monster manual you can tell they're reaching a bit for monsters to use, and thus some are more unfamiliar/interesting, but represent various tropes and influences (like the Skeksi from The Dark Crystal.) The art is great as usual, and the mechanics of running the adversaries vary in complexity, but the balance looks good overall, especially for players good at making/playing 4e characters. The monsters tend to either have flavor text for setting the scene, while others have story ideas to incorporate them as adversaries. My only complaint is the monster manuals seem to get shorter & shorter page counts as they go along, versus creeping prices I guess, gotta love it.