The Monster Manual is a 320-page sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 released in July 2003. It is one of three core rulebooks for the edition. It presents rules and game statistics for monsters, and is intended primarily for use by the Dungeon Master.
It is officially referred to as the Monster Manual v.3.5. It superseded the third edition Monster Manual (2000), which was retroactively and unofficially termed by the community Monster Manual 3.0.
Official synopsis[]
Fearsome and formidable foes lurk within.
Encounter a horde of monsters armed and ready to battle your boldest heroes or fight alongside them. The fully illustrated pages of this book are overrun with all the creatures, statistics, spells, and strategies you need to challenge the heroic characters of any Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
Over 200 creeps, critters, and creatures keep players on their toes. From aboleths to zombies, the revised Monster Manual holds a diverse cast of enemies and allies essential for any Dungeons & Dragons campaign. There are hundreds of monsters ready for action, including many new creatures never seen before.
The revised Monster Manual now contains an adjusted layout that makes monster statistics easier to understand and use. It has 31 new illustrations and a new index, and contains expanded information on monster classes and playing monsters as heroes, along with information on how to take full advantage of the tie-in D&D miniatures line.
Content[]
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Development and release[]
Development[]
The book was written by Peter Adkison, Richard Baker, Jason Carl and Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes. Art was provided by Dana Andrews, Glen Michael Angus, Carlo Arellano and Daren Bader.
Following the release of D&D third edition core rulebooks in 2000, Wizards of the Coast began working on a revised version of the books by winter 2001. Skip Williams, one of the 3.0 lead designers, was tasked with overseeing the revision of the Monster Manual.[2]
Williams' first task was to make the monster entries more useful to DMs. Base attack and grapple bonuses were added. "Facing" was changed to "space" and rectangular areas were removed, since D&D third edition did not use facing like in AD&D (although this may also have been because larger miniatures generally have square bases to avoid toppling). The unpopular term "type modifier" was replaced with "subtype". Errata and FAQ entries were also incorporated, and small changes were made to improve the playability of numerous individual monsters and special abilities.[3] Monsters were also given read-aloud text, and new rules for creating monsters were added. The beast and shapechanger types were removed, with relevant creatures moved to other types.[2]
In September 2002, Rich Baker took over from Williams as Monster Manual lead. At this point, it was decided to push revisions more aggressively. Baker moved the monster rules to the back of the book so that it begins with monster entries, and various common traits like incorporeality were consolidated in a glossary. Bill Slavicsek sugested adding high-level variants of existing monster. Complex monsters were given round-by-round tactics entries.[4]
Baker also pushed for monsters to gain skill points and feats at the same rate as player characters, which would aid the inclusion of monsters as player characters. This resulted in a lot of work making tiny changes to every monster, which were mostly irrelevant to combat efficacy. Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, and Rich Baker were given the laborious task.[4][5]
This followed the concurrent development of Savage Species (2003), a book on monster player characters. At a series of meetings, level adjustments were added to Monster Manual entries considered suitable as a PC or Leadership cohort, with qualifying monsters having opposable thumbs, at least 3 Intelligence, and an equivalent character level of below 20.[4][5]
Significant improvements were made to monsters based on testing and feedback. Devid Eckelberry and Andrew Finch were tasked with making demons and devils tougher, since they tended to have low hit points for their challenge rating. They also tended to have numerous spell-like abilities which rarely saw use in combat, and were removed to focus on combat abilities.Other changes included making mummy rot more feared, increasing the delver's armor class to match its challenge rating, and various similar changes which took into account the balance of creatures in third edition ecosystem.[4]
A major change involved damage reduction, which would reduce less damage than before and require less common materials or magical properties to overcome, encouraging players to carry multiple special weapons. On January 30, 2003, an issue arose among the designers regarding damage reduction. It was settled the following day by Ed Stark.[6]
In total, 96 pages were added to the Monster Manual, bringing the total to 320 pages. Additions included round-by-round tactics for some monsters to aid DMs,[2] and new monsters, or monsters which had previously appeared in other sourcebooks. A particular challenge was fitting the text precisely into the later sections such as the glossary, since these had no art that could be resized.[7]
Announcement and previews[]
On December 6, 2002, Wizards of the Coast announced the upcoming release of a D&D third edition revision.[8]
At the Winter Fantasy 2003 convention, Wizards of the Coast released a preview of updated 3.5 statistics for the pit fiend, leading players to speculate over rules changes, drawing inaccurate conclusions as a result.[9] For example, the lack of a challenge rating was mistaken as a sign that the challenge rating system was abolished in 3.5; in fact, the design team had simply not yet decided on the monster's updated challenge rating.
From April 22, 2003, The Wizards of the Coast website previewed statblocks for the mummy, mummy lord 10th-level cleric, bone devil, and red dragon.[10]
Release[]
The Monster Manual was released by Wizards of the Coast in July 2003 for $29.95 US, or $41.95 Canadian.
In October 2006, a leatherbound Monster Manual v.3.5 was released, known as the Special Edition Monster Manual. It sold for $75.00 US or $100.00 Canadian, having an item code of 953907200 and an ISBN of 0-7869-3943-5.[11]
On October 2, 2012, Wizards of the Coast released a new edition of the Monster Manual v.3.5 (ISBN 0-7869-6244-5). The new reprint incorporated the latest errata and was intended to continue support for D&D 3.5 players, following the commercial failure of 2008's D&D 4th edition.
On May 5, 2015, it was re-released in digital format, based on the 2012 reprint. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $9.99.
Reception and influence[]
Critical reception[]
As of 2023, the Monster Manual reached the rank of Mithral seller on DriveThruRPG.
Influence on other works[]
External links[]
- Monster Manual (3.5) on DriveThruRPG
- Monster Manual (3.5) on Dungeon Masters Guild
- Product page at Wizards.com
- Monster Manual v.3.5 Art Gallery at Wizards.com (2003)
- Monster Manual v.3.5 Web Enhancement at Wizards.com (2003)
- (Half)-Fiendish Variety, Part 1 (web enhancement) at Wizards.com (2006)
- (Half)-Fiendish Variety, Part 2 (web enhancement) at Wizards.com (2006)
- (Half)-Fiendish Variety, Part 3 (web enhancement) at Wizards.com (2006)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Product page. Wizards.com, via Web Archive.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 D&D Version 3.5 Chat Transcript - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ Making the Monster Manual More User-Friendly Design Notes - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Monster Manual Design Notes - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassins, Magic Items, and Monsters Design Notes - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ Revision 3.5 Update, Dragon #306 (Apr 2003), p.72-74.
- ↑ Copyfitting Design Notes - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ 2003 Revisions to the Dungeons & dragons Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ Batezu Sneak Peak (Jan 31, 2003), Wizards.com
- ↑ Compiled D&D Revision Spotlight - Wizards.com (archived)
- ↑ Special Edition Monster Manual, 2006.