The Monster Manual, the third ‘key’ book in any new version of Dungeons & Dragons, is out now and is selling faster than predicted.   The classic fantasy roleplaying game recently updated its rules set, the first major update since 2014. With the 2024 versions of the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Player’s Handbook already receiving rave reviews from the fans, the keenly anticipated Monster Manual completes the set by providing over 500 monsters for players to interact with.

The new book is tightly organised; as it’s available in both physical and digital formats, this is crucial as Dungeon Masters don’t want to scrabble through the book looking for Gelatinous Cube stats only to find it listed under some obscure subtype. Animated Armour is lumped under Animated Objects but is still easy to find. Stat blocks are clearer, and there are even some new monsters to play with.

Lavishly illustrated, the book contains 85 horrors new to D&D, including the arch-hag and a thing called the Blob of Annihilation, which looks a lot worse than you expect it to.  

The Monster Manual is traditionally the last ‘major’ book of any new edition (though this edition is still compatible with the 2014 version, so your old books get to stay on the shelf.)  It is out now.