Customer Reviews

Monstrous Manual (AD&D 2nd Ed Fantasy Roleplaying Accessory, 2140)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is one of the core 3 books of the second edition AD&D, and as such it is required material for any dungeon master and very useful reading for beginning players. In the reviews below you can read about several good and bad things with this book, and they are summarized below:

a) content - the book contains the necessary basics for any game - orcs, goblins and the like. It also contains several offbeat monsters ( lammasu, giff) you could spinkle on top of your campaign if you like the sort of thing, and, finally, it contains a few useless super-powerful monsters that are there simply for the "wow factor" , such as the Tarrasque, tanar'ri, and other exotica. Of course by the time you can use those monstrosities you'll own many more volumes detailing the creatures of the multiverse. In any case, once you are past being interested in simple everyday kobolds, you should buy a different version of the manual or some of the annual compendiums.

b) format - I personally have nothing against book format. It's easier to use, it is more permanent in nature, and is much sturdier than the 3-ring binder pages, which were last released a long time ago and will never probably find their way into the mainstream again in the future.

c) usability - as far as I am concerned, the book is usable by the most of us. It could be better, but it is fine as it is, and the information is as expansive as could be published in the book's pages. Language is not too esoteric and the book by itself is fine reading.

Buy it as it is required. Move on later when you want more.

This product is a game necessity for a Dungeon Master(DM) of the Advanced Dundeons & Dragons (AD&D) Role-playing game. I would not recommend it for players whom never DM, it's not necessary, and it provides information players shouldn't have. For DMs the content of the book is excellent. More monsters and creatures than you'll ever need. Each beast is well discribed regarding appearance, habitat, life style, motivations, and several additional facts. I can not recomend this book enough. Anyone who is a DM or intends to be a DM, needs to have this book.

The only draw back of this book is the artwork. Most of it is quite good full color art, but I was hoping for excellence. The artwork isn't bad, but it does not live up to the excellence in the written context. That is the only reason this book receives a 4 star rating instead of a 5.

In summary, if you're a DM, get this book! If you just want read about weird and amazing ceatures, you'll enjoy this book. If you're an AD&D player who is looking to figure out how to beat the creature in your DM's latest adventure, stop trying to cheat.

Have fun and enjoy all the chaos AD&D has to offer. This book helps you do that!

After having played the newer 3rd Edition of Dungeons and Dragons for quite some time, I thought I'd take a little trek down memory lane and order an artifact from the past - the old AD&D Monstrous Manual. My, how things have changed in just over a decade! Every official D&D product coming out now is made by Wizards of the Coast , a company owned by Hasbro, maker of such childish wonders as Barbie and Ken. It goes without saying that due to it's parent company, Wizards only produces glitzy, "best foot forward" material that is much more family friendly and lot less "nude woman" oriented than what we enjoyed in times of old. Reading through this nigh on ancient volume reminds me both of how insanely cool Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was, and of how incredibly nerdy we must have all seemed.

The art throughout the book ranges the gamut from really great (See the "Gnoll" creature, which looks suspiciously like a DiTerlizzi work, the guy famous for doing all the Planescape artwork), to laughably cartoonish (see the "Bullywug" creature), to the outright bad (see the "Goblin" illustration. I get the feeling an artist was running too close to the deadline for publication, and had his pre-teen kid do a sketch, which he then submitted as his own). While some of the artwork has become considerably higher quality with the transition to 3rd Edition, most notably with the dragon illustrations, a lot of it actually took a step back. The Dryad, Elementals, and Hobgoblin all look a lot better here than in the newer editions. The whole book has an extremely nostalgic feel. Anyone who was fortunate enough to have played AD&D will be going through a minor rapture perusing the various pages. And fear not fans of the old school art, for large chested women with very little clothes on abound throughout!

A rather wide range of creatures exist in the Monstrous Manual, as this book was TSR's response to players demands for all the various monster books to be condensed into one tome which could be transported more easily. All the standard D&D creatures are here, along with various monsters from the Forgotten Realms, Al-Quadim, Planescape, and Dark Sun campaign settings. It certainly isn't entirely comprehensive, but it's pretty darn close. The format of the monster entries is far more readable in this book than in the 3rd Edition monster manuals. All the basic info you would need to use the creature in a campaign is listed at the top of the page. There is just enough information present to make the creature easily useable, but not enough so that you have to search for anything. I've noticed however that there are no "common" monsters. All creatures in this manual get a "Frequency" stat, describing how often they are found in their normal climate or terrain. Every monster is either uncommon, rare, or (most often) very rare. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, considering how monster infested any D&D campaign world is. Even the races that players can use as characters, such as the dwarves and elves, are listed as "uncommon".

With how cheap this book is going for these days, any old school fan, or even someone who just wants to understand what we were all so obsessed about, should definitely pick this up.

Players and DM's alike, I have been playing role playing games since Tunnels and Trolls came out in the 70's. I used the 3-ring binder for years and the bottom line is that TSR needed a hardcover, bound Monster Book in order to promote the game they developed and sell. How many times would you need to re-issue the 3-ring sheets containing the dragons and the orcs...come on..this book puts all the basics in one book so you can build on it. The annuals come out and if i am not mistaken you can still buy three ring binders and place all the ghouls you want from the boxed sets in there...However i would not think of playing without this book eventhough i can rattle off creatures stats by heart...it is a playing must and well worth the money!

Though not a D&D player, I browsed through a friend's copy of this book and was enthralled. As a mythology enthusiast and a fan of mythical monsters from all over the world, this book captured my imagination. Excellently illustrated by a number of talented artists, the book gives descriptions both in D&D numerical terms and layman's descriptions. Anyone looking for an end-all/be-all of mythological knowledge should be warned, however, that this tome does alter certain aspect of the mythical monsters for purposes of the game, and some of the creatures presented herein are entirely created by TSR. An interesting read and a great source of information. Enjoy!

It's true, and this particular book is an excellant rendition of just how good 2nd edition is. The book gives huge amounts of information on monsters (which is an excellant aid to DMs) and the pictures are great. I highly recommend it for all DMs who have a nostalgia for 2nd Edition, which is all I play.

It's difficult to describe just how valuable this book is to a hard-working Dungeon Master. Instead of floundering helplessly with a dozen Monstrous Compendiums, this book gives you over 600 monsters, with complete details! And that doesn't just mean combat statistics - diet, motivation, appearance, culture, and more are all touched upon. There are of course limitations to the presentation, but the text is admirable because it is evocative - the "mysteries" of each species encourage the DM to elaborate as much as he or she sees fit. The one drawback to this book is the illustrations - the quality of many of them is abominable, which is a shame, considering the power of the text. But, if you can overlook that flaw, this book is a must have!

This book is a good book, almost necessary if you are a DM. It is quite complete, telling you everything you need to know about the creatures. It has everything from Goblins to Dragons to Gelatinous Cubes (one of my personal favorites). If you aren't sure whether you want it or not, you do. :-)

Second edition AD&D is and will always be a great game. This monstrous manual completely replaced my old beat up 3 ring binder style book.

The details are complete, and the list extensive enough to populate whole worlds, and many planes. Get this book, and keep it.

It has complete lists of everyday critters, races, and beings along with the very rare, and creaturs that make fantasy, well fantastic. You won't be DMing until you have one of these on the shelf.
go ahead, pick it up, buy it with confidence.

The Monstrous Manual is very good and useful. There are lot of monsters in it, And tables to help you determine what monster to send. There are drawings for almost every monster, Detail about its way and place of life and the culture of every monster.

Most of the monsters are fine, but some can't be used, They might very strong, Very weak or very complicated.

But, Even so, It is very good.