Volo's Guide to Monsters (Dungeons & Dragons)

This is a great addition to 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. The cutesy banter between Volo and Elminster is kept to a minimum, leaving some really great, meaty content. While I just received my print copy today, I've been using the online version through Roll20 for two weeks. My review is based on two weeks of experience with the content, plus sitting with the physical book today.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.

I'd just like to clarify before I begin my review that I'm not jumping the gun by reviewing the first day of non-game store release. I purchased the alternate cover version from my local game store Nov 4th, and have used that version extensively since.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.

This was an excellent, excellent book! In the past, they would've called this "Monster Manual II"!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."

es un libro con gran informacion complementario de las reglas del juego. excelente compra para llevar tus sesiones a otro nivel.

Assim como os outros livros de apoio para o D&D 5e, este livro contempla todas as minhas expectativas, os monstros são incríveis e bem trabalhados, com tridimensionalidade e ainda mais explicações sobre seus comportamentos, habitats e etc... As novas raças, assim como as raças de monstros, também são incríveis, tem uma sensação de novo e não de apenas algo com uma textura diferente, recomendo a todos que gostam de D&D e querem novas raças e monstros para combater.

Ho preso questo libro perchè mi è stato raccomandato come spunto per dare ulteriore profondità e motivazioni ai mostri che verranno combattuti dai giocatori: nel mio caso specifico, sto preparando la campagna dell'essential kit (Dragon of Icespire peak) e devo dire che ci sono diversi punti e appronfondimenti interessanti da aggiungere alla campagna. Se i vostri giocatori non si accontentano di mazzuolare i mostri in questione ma gradirebbero anche avere un po' di spessore agli avversari che stanno affrontando (ma soprattutto se non ritenere che il "semplicemente sono cattivi" basti come motivazione) questo libro fa per voi.

En inglés. Es un aliado interesante para aquellos que, como yo, disfruten dándole mucha cancha a lo que rodea a algunos tipos de monstruos, haciéndolos más profundos que un mero "punching" que tus jugadores deben matar o malherir para continuar.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.

There are several race options included for players like the tabaxi (a feline race) and my personal favourite that is here, the Goliath(half giant Basically)For the DM, it gives you some great detail and idea on how to play certain types of monsters like a beholder or a giant. Their motives and reasonings and thought processes, as well as example maps for their lairs, included amongst other monster types.It also has many more stat blocks to choose from amongst the various monster types they go into detail about. I will be running the "storm kings thunder" module for myPlayers soon and am happy to see several different types of giants(as well as orcs and kobolds among all the others)All in all, a must have for any 5e DM, and a good choice for any player.