Volo's Guide to Monsters (Dungeons & Dragons)
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Book details
- Print length224 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWizards of the Coast
- Publication dateNovember 15, 2016
- Reading age14 years and up
- Dimensions8.5 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches
- ISBN-100786966017
- ISBN-13978-0786966011
Book overview
This is NOT just another Monster Manual! Volo’s Guide to Monsters provides something exciting for players and Dungeon Masters everywhere.
· A deep dive into the lore behind some of D&D’s most popular and iconic monsters
· Dozens of monsters new to the fifth edition to include in your epic adventures
· New playable races to allow you to build characters to fit nearly any type of story in your D&D game.
The esteemed loremaster Volothamp Geddarm is back and he’s written a fantastical dissertation, covering some of the most iconic monsters in the Forgotten Realms. Unfortunately, the Sage of Shadowdale himself, Elminster, doesn’t believe Volo gets some of the important details quite right. Don’t miss out as Volo and Elminster square off (academically speaking of course) to illuminate the uninitiated on creatures both common and obscure. Uncover the machinations of the mysterious Kraken Society, what is the origin of the bizarre froghemoth, or how to avoid participating in the ghastly reproductive cycle of the grotesque vargouille. Dungeon Masters and players will get some much-needed guidance as you plan your next venture, traipsing about some dusty old ruin in search of treasure, lore, and let’s not forget ... dangerous creatures whose horns, claws, fangs, heads, or even hides might comfortably adorn the walls of your trophy room. If you survive.
Research has never been so dangerous!
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.An innovator in providing contemporary fantasy entertainment, Dungeons & Dragons is the wellspring for the entire modern game industry, digital as well as tabletop. Fifth edition D&D draws from every prior edition to create a universally compelling play experience, and exemplifies the true spirit of a game that holds captive the hearts and minds of millions of players worldwide.
Find more at: www.amazon.com/dnd
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Our recommended age:Manufacturer's minimum age: 14 years
From the Publisher
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| Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes | Xanathar's Guide to Everything | Volo's Guide to Monsters | |
| Customer Reviews |
4.9 out of 5 stars
10,926
|
4.9 out of 5 stars
24,633
|
4.9 out of 5 stars
15,569
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| Price | $99.99$99.99 | $40.75$40.75 | $89.99$89.99 |
| Get this to: | Craft inspired adventures with new and expanded monster lore, introduce new monsters to your campaign, and open new character race options | Explore a wealth of new rules options and create a wider world for your players to explore | Immerse your players in monster lore for a deeper roleplaying experience |
| Audience: | Dungeon Masters, experienced players | Dungeon Masters, experienced players | Dungeon Masters, experienced players |
| Contents: | Over 150 monsters with stats and illustrations / More options for character creation with new races / Expanded monster lore for Dungeon Masters to add depth to a campaign | Dozens of new spells / Over 25 new subclasses / New Racial Feats / Random encounter tables for quick combat setup / Rules for Downtime Revisited / Tools like improved traps, magic items, and more for Dungeon Masters to add to their adventures | 7 new playable races plus 6 monstrous races / In-depth monster lore including new variants of existing monsters, encounter tables, lair details, history, and more / Dozens of monsters new to fifth edition D&D for players to conquer |
Product information
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast; Illustrated edition (November 15, 2016) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 224 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0786966017 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0786966011 |
| Reading age | 14 years and up |
| Item Weight | 1.9 pounds |
| Dimensions | 8.5 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank |
#39,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#78 in Dungeons & Dragons Game
#3,068 in Reference (Books)
|
| Customer Reviews | 4.9 out of 5 stars 15,569Reviews |
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Customers say
Customers find the content incredibly useful for dungeon masters who want more, expanding on some monster races and adding delicious layers of flavor. They also appreciate the plethora of new monsters and new playable races. Readers describe the illustrations as excellent, well executed, and impressive. They describe the book as a great addition, fun, and interesting. Customers also mention the book provides new races for creating characters and in depth perspectives on monstrous cultures.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the content incredibly useful for dungeon masters who want more. They say the book covers a lot of interesting background lore, and has awesome stat blocks with interesting and flavorful abilities. They also say it's easy to read and find stuff they need for their game. Customers also say the sections are very thorough and well done, allowing them to build deep encounters and even full story arcs. They love the extended monster manual, and appreciate the addition of monsters from other games.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...All in all, the content is incredibly useful for any dungeon master who wants more content. The new monsters alone are worth the price of admission...." Read more
"...The lore bits and flavor are both top-notch, though I personally found the interactions between Elminster and Volo to be a tad - I don't know,..." Read more
"...For DMs, this is an extremely useful aid. The first chapter provides lore on cultures, history, social structure etc...." Read more
"...The Monster Lore covers a lot of interesting background lore for DMs on some of the iconic monsters in the game...." Read more
Customers find the creatures in the book fun, good, and evocative. They also appreciate the stat blocks for 5e, and the flavorful abilities.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...There are an excellent variety of new creatures, including some favorites that didn't make the original Monster Manual...." Read more
"...book. is. AMAZING. It has some amazing creatures that I thought were horribly left out by official D&D sources this edition..." Read more
"...Functionally, this book gives you more options for monsters. Now in my group I often just build my own from scratch...." Read more
"...This book still has value in that the collection of monster lore is still quite good, even if WOTC no longer considers it canon." Read more
Customers find the book provides a bunch of new playable races that are sanctioned by the D&D. They also say the new PC races are fine and add variety to players. Readers also appreciate the nice balance between creature types.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...Personally, I was glad to see a nice balance between creature types, and that these new creatures help round out some of the groups, such as Fey...." Read more
"...The new player races are awesome, and with my limited playtesting since FLGS release, all seem mostly balanced..." Read more
"...I like most of the monsters in the book, and the new PC races were good too...." Read more
"...It expands the list of playable races by leaps and bounds...." Read more
Customers find the illustrations in the book excellent, unique, and well done. They also say the layout is great and the monster pages have great detail.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...The layout of the book is great. It's nice to have the list by CR at the back of the book - a feature missing from the Monster Manual...." Read more
"...The artwork looks great too...." Read more
"...perhaps that of other long time players, it seemed like mostly well-illustrated fluff...." Read more
"...Graphics, as expected, are amazing. Very happy with my purchase." Read more
Customers find the book addition a great addition to the base game, with new enemies and tons of info for dungeons. They also say it's a content update for the 5e ruleset.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...The new character races are also an excellent new addition, although their uniqueness may make them more useful for some groups over others; that..." Read more
"This guide has a lot of good stuff for the DM and a few new things for players...." Read more
"...This book is a great supplement for the dungeon master who wants to add depth to some of the common villains the heroes will face off against...." Read more
"...If you want some more monsters though it’s a nice addition to the collection." Read more
Customers find the book fun, interesting, and enjoyable. They also say it can add some spice to an adventure and is a comprehensive guide that adds to the gaming experience.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...flavor, the book contains tables that make this creation easy and fun to use...." Read more
"Good quality and adds some fun races" Read more
"...expected, the artwork is beautiful and the writing is engaging and fun to read. It's more than just static text and stat blocks...." Read more
"...It was so much fun, and they loved the twist ending. Lots of inspiration to be found within these pages." Read more
Customers find the book has new races for creating characters and in-depth perspectives of monstrous cultures. They also appreciate the personality and art.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...The new playable character races are all very interesting and many have already been introduced in previous 5E publications...." Read more
"...The new character race options are also wonderful (some are repeats from canned adventures, but that's fine...nice to have them in one place)...." Read more
"...This section of the book is great. The section on new character races is good too, but only helpful if you want to add them in to your campaign...." Read more
"Lots of exciting characters and creatures to learn about. My son is even interested in them!" Read more
Customers find the D&D resources in the book great for DMs and players. They also say the races offer more interesting choices for players and that it has everything they need.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
"...This book is also an excellent choice for players to pick up if they want to expand their race choices.Durability..." Read more
"...Has everything he needs as a dungeon master, would be great for any DnD player. Graphics, as expected, are amazing. Very happy with my purchase." Read more
"...It has something for every type of player. New monsters to fight. In depth lore to read and incorporate...." Read more
"...Also has great options for extra player races, as well as a collection of new monsters ranging from whimsical to horrifying...." Read more
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Please try again later.Top reviews from the United States
What exactly are you getting in this book?
- Nearly 90 pages of in depth monster lore, focusing on Beholders, Giants, Gnolls, Goblinoids, Hags, Kobolds, Mind Flayers, Orcs, and Yuan-ti. This is very in depth work, with multiple pages providing variants, tables, lairs (including maps), historical background, and even some of the psychology of the creatures that can really help you flesh out these types of creatures in your games.
- 7 new Player Character races, including Aasimar, Firbolg, Goliath, Kenku, Lizardfolk, Tabaxi, and Triton. These are a nice edition, and I especially like how the details for these new races includes tips on how to role-play as these slightly more unique creature types. Overall, these new races feel like they can breathe a lot of new life into campaigns for players who might be starting to get tired of the standard set from the Player's Handbook.
- 6 new Monstrous Player Character races, which feature groups that were represented in the first 90 pages. These are more limited/specialized builds that a DM would really need to weigh before including in a game, but absolutely could provide some fantastic adventures for the right group of players. The 6 Monstrous races represented are Bugbear, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Orc, and Yuan-ti Pureblood.
- An expanded Bestiary.The next 99 pages of the book are dedicated to new monsters for your games. There are an excellent variety of new creatures, including some favorites that didn't make the original Monster Manual. Personally, I was glad to see a nice balance between creature types, and that these new creatures help round out some of the groups, such as Fey. It also is nice to see a book like this deepen the bench; this section of the book provides an especially large amount of new monsters of the type covered in the first 90 pages (Beholders, Giants, Gnolls, Goblinoids, Hags, Kobolds, Mind Flayers, Orcs, and Yuan-ti). A full 10 pages of this is also used to create new NPC stats, which is a great boon to be able to build encounters that stretch across a wider CR level in more civilized locations.
- The book wraps up with 4 pages of Appendixes which provide a quick reference no matter how you are looking for a creature: you can find them by CR level, by Creature Type, or by the typical environment that you would find the monster in.
All in all, the content is incredibly useful for any dungeon master who wants more content. The new monsters alone are worth the price of admission. The new character races are also an excellent new addition, although their uniqueness may make them more useful for some groups over others; that said, options are always nice to have. The first 90 pages of lore will be most useful to DM's who are planning on using the types of creatures listed in their campaigns. Especially if you are using those creature types, I highly recommend this as an addition to your collection, as the amount of material provided on these creatures is sure to spark your imagination and spin new adventures for your table.
Now, I really have to get this out there: this. book. is. AMAZING. It has some amazing creatures that I thought were horribly left out by official D&D sources this edition (the expansion of fiends itself is worth the buy to me).
The new player races are awesome, and with my limited playtesting since FLGS release, all seem mostly balanced (my party had some issues with some vague wording here and there but that's probably mostly due to their goal to drive me thoroughly crazy). Like, 10+ new (significant, not variations of already released variables) races added is a pretty big deal.
The lore bits and flavor are both top-notch, though I personally found the interactions between Elminster and Volo to be a tad - I don't know, childish? Cringey? For the most part, though, it wasn't an issue, and usually the information conveyed by the interactions is important (different takes on the creature you can have fitted for your campaign). I should also note that my friend and fellow DM had no problem with the dialogue.
The lair information is great, but I really wish there was more.
The binding seems a bit sturdier than the previous WotC publications, but I only received the non-FLGS copy this morning. You can rest assured that I will update my review as soon as a page falls out, or if I note an issue with the printing itself.
The layout of the book is great. It's nice to have the list by CR at the back of the book - a feature missing from the Monster Manual.
Overall, my nit picks don't really matter when one considers the quality of the book. It's honestly a must-buy for any 5th edition enthusiast. If you're new to the hobby, however, you might want to wait a bit before buying.
The lore is for certain monsters, such as mind flayers and orcs. It also has a list of new races for players but that is by far the shortest section. Third it has more monster-manual style monster entries, and finally an appendix for NPC humanoids with class levels, such as an abjuration wizard or an arch-druid, or some other non-class NPCs like apprentice wizard. So this is definitely something that is more useful to the Dungeon Master than the players, but players can also benefit (and not in a meta-gaming way either).
For those that want to play a paladin but don't like the "honor and justice" mold then Tritons provide an excellent template. They are typically lawful good but in a good-is-not-nice sort of way and gain racial bonuses to their STR, CON and CHA (+1 each) in addition to useful abilities, which set them apart from the paladins of other humanoid races.
Additionally, the communication methods and non-combat skills of the kenku sound like they would be fun to role-play. The curiosity of the tabaxi as well; there's a random table to simulate their mercurial curiosity.
For DMs, this is an extremely useful aid. The first chapter provides lore on cultures, history, social structure etc. for monsters, which can help with role-playing them, devising encounters that can lead into future events, and what their lairs can look like. Each section has maps, many of which are a full page, detailing a typical lair.
As a DM myself, these sections have already proven useful for me. I used the section on goblins to describe a war camp that was the centerpiece of a prior campaign, and the section on hags to devise and plan a future campaign.
The artwork looks great too. The focus monsters get several pictures showing them in action, like this one of an orc hunting party chasing down an elf, who is trying to hide, or a dissection of a mind flayer (Volov's own work, maybe? Or some researcher he interviewed?) Each monster and player race has their own depiction (warning: the spider-themed ones are creepy).
Trickster Eric Novels gives "Volvo's Guide to Monsters" an A+
The Monster Lore covers a lot of interesting background lore for DMs on some of the iconic monsters in the game. The section gets into what motivates some of these monsters including societal backgrounds. There are also stat blocks on variants and lair maps. All of this is very nice and helpful if you are trying to flesh out a custom campaign.
There's quite a few pages of new monsters (sorry didn't count) including stat blocks and brief descriptions. New monsters with stats are always welcome to a DM especially when we've gone through the Monster Manual and are running out of new monsters to keep players engaged. It seems like a lot of Fiends to me but that's not really a complaint. There are a few other monster types as well including NPC and beast stat blocks.
The new playable character races are all very interesting and many have already been introduced in previous 5E publications. The intent of these new races is that they are very rare races as they all bring unique abilities. As such you probably don't want to have to build a campaign around an entire party of these races without proper planning. Potential issues may arise if you have a session for character creation prior to a campaign and you throw this book on the table. One player sees all the cool new player races then the rest see what he/she is doing and want a cool new player race too. So be prepared for that potential can-of-worms as it could throw a few monkey wrenches into your already prepared campaign. This isn't to say that it won't all turn out OK but it is definitely something to consider.
Volo's guide has the monsters "out of the box," but then has sub-sections after each monster that show variations you can add in the game to make them different, more challenging, but also stay within the spirit of the monster's original design. For example in the beholder section, they have alternative eye socket powers. So previous knowledge from another game won't aid the players when they encounter your re-skinned creations.
If you have someone at your table who is a rules lawyer, and they take issue with things that aren't in the books (you're cheating!), this will help you create variations that you can point to and say "actually this can exist." It also just gives more ideas and culture for the monsters. This includes behavior, biological functions and culture which all really help build verisimilitude. So if your group likes a lot of realism and detail, Volo's guide has done the work.
The book is very detailed, and is written from the perspective of Volo, a traveling wizard from the Forgotten Realms setting who has a very high opinion of himself and is prone to conflation. Thankfully, there are annotations from Elminster (also from Forgotten Realms) that help either confirm, or in some cases, completely refute what Volo is saying. This makes it for a more amusing read.
This guide was necessary for D&D. Some of the monsters in the book are as old as the game (over forty years) and the community takes them for granted. It's nice to see a product that freshens up the old, brings some new and ultimately helps give a DM tools to create a more immersive experience.
They also finally (!) took my advice, and added an NPC entry for a few characters' suggestions of mine! The 6 types of wizards, and the youngster apprentice at level 0 or 1. I'd actually submitted a slightly different character sheet; using "alternate wizard," the kid had an 18 Intelligence and a 9 strength (for a prodigy 12 to 14-year-old mage, makes perfect sense) with an option for a single low-power magic item, such as a +1 Ring of Protection, but all in all, it's the same character sheet I submitted! Bravo!!! (The suggestions I had submitted goes WAAAAY back to when we were kids...a 1st-level mage or fighter/squire, or thief, or anything would be a young teenager. By 2nd-3rd level, he was 16 or 18. By 5th Level, the squire or mage or what have you is 21, ready to be knighted or take his Test of High Sorcery. It also makes perfect sense for a knight or wizard to be a nobleman's son (legitimate or bastard) because such an education cost a LOT of gold, and tutoring from age six or so. This is just putting a bit of reality into a fantasy game, I know, but it helps to "suspend belief."
Top reviews from other countries
The only minor issue I had was that it's called a guide to Monsters, but is only half-filled with monster stats/descriptions, and also, it's only about half as many pages as the Monster Manual or the Dungeon Master's Guide, but it costs the same as those 2 books.... which is not an issue with Amazon (they had it priced on sale), it's more of a beef with WOTC.
Detalla algunos de los monstruos más icónicos y agrega descripciones, ideas y contexto a muchos de esos seres que pueblan los paisajes y cuevas del universo de D&D.
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