Page 5 - Monster Manual [11th Print]

I N T RODUCTION

his bestiary is for storytellers and world­ WHAT ls A M O N S T E R ?
builders. If you have ever thought about
running a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game A monster is defined as any creature that can be
for your friends, either a single night's interacted with and potentially fought and killed. Even
adventure or a long-running campaign, something as harmless as a frog or as benevolent as
this tome contains page after page of a unicorn is a monster by this definition. The term
inspiration. It's your one-stop shop for also applies to humans, elves, dwarves, and other
creatures both malevolent and benign. civilized folk who might be friends or rivals to the player
Some of the creatures that inhabit the worlds of characters. Most of the monsters that haunt the D&D
D&D have origins rooted in real-world mythology and world, however, are threats that are meant to be stopped:
fantasy literature. Other creatures are D&D originals. rampaging demons, conniving devils, soul-sucking
The monsters in this book have been culled from all undead, summoned elementals-the list goes on.
previous editions of the game. Herein you'll discover This book contains ready-to-play, easy-to-run
classic critters such as the beholder and the displacer monsters of all levels, and for nearly every climate and
beast next to more recent creations such as the chuul terrain imaginable. Whether your adventure takes place
and the twig blight. Common beasts mingle with the in a swamp, a dungeon, or the outer planes of existence,
weird, the terrifying, and the ridiculous. In collecting there are creatures in this book to populate that
monsters from the past, we've endeavored to reflect the environment.
multifaceted nature of the game, warts and all. D&D
D
E
monsters come in all shapes and sizes, with stories that WH R E D o MONSTERS W ELL?
not only thrill us but also make us smile. If you are new to the D&D game, you might not be
If you're an experienced Dungeon Master (DM), a few familiar with the weird and wondrous places where
of the monster write-ups might surprise you, for we've monsters can be found and fought.
gone into the Monster Manuals of yore and discovered
some long-lost factoids. We've also added a few new DUNGEONS
twists. Naturally, you can do with these monsters what When most people think of a dungeon, images of dark
you will. Nothing we say here is intended to curtail cells with iron bars and shackles spring to mind. In
your creativity. If the minotaurs in your world are the D&D game, the word "dungeon" takes on a broader
shipbuilders and pirates, who are we to argue with you? meaning to include any enclosed, monster-infested
It's your world, after all. location. Most dungeons are sprawling underground
complexes. Here are a few other examples:
How TO U S E THI S B O O K • A ruined wizard's tower atop a lonely hill riddled with

The best thing about being a DM is that you get to invent goblin-infested tunnels
your own fantasy world and bring it to life, and nothing A pharaoh's pyramid filled with haunted crypts and
brings a D&D world to life more than the creatures secret treasure vaults
that inhabit it. You might read a monster's entry and A lost city in the jungle, overgrown with vines and
be spurred to create an adventure revolving around it, overrun with demons and demon-worshiping cultists
or you might have an awesome idea for a dungeon and The icy tomb of a frost giant king
need just the right monsters to populate it. That's where A filthy, labyrinthine sewer system controlled by a
the Monster M a nual comes in handy. gang of wererats
The Monster Manual is one of three books that form
the foundation of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, THE UNDERDARK
the other two being the Player's Handbook and the There is no greater dungeon than the Underdark, the
Dungeon Master's Guide. The Monster Manual, like underworld beneath the surface world. It is a vast
the Dungeon Master's Guide, is a book for DMs. Use it subterranean realm where monsters accustomed to
to populate your D&D adventures with pesky goblins, darkness dwell. It is a place filled with lightless caverns
stinky troglodytes, savage ores, mighty dragons, and a connected by tunnels that wind ever downward. One
veritable horde of creepy crawlies. could spend a lifetime (however brief!) exploring the
Guidelines for creating encounters with monsters can Underdark and find such places as the following:
be found in the Dungeon M a ster's Guide. That book also A mind flayer prison or asylum, filled with mindless
contains wandering monster tables and other goodies thralls and raving lunatics
to help you use the monsters in this book in interesting A lost dwarven necropolis containing row after row of
ways, as well as advice for modifying monsters and dusty tombs waiting to be plundered
creating your own. • A fortified outpost bristling with armaments, guarding
If you've never run a D&D adventure before, we the way to a magnificent drow city
recommend that you pick up the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS A subterranean rift filled with giant fungi and ruled by
Starter Set, which demonstrates how to take a bunch of a megalomaniacal beholder or mad fomorian king
monsters and build an exciting adventure around them. A chain of rocky islands on a vast, sunless sea that's
home to aboleths and insane kuo-toa

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