Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition

OK....... I really REALLY REALLY wanted to love this game. To be honest I've been a sucker for every incarnation of DnD that's come out. I liked all of em in their own way. I prebought this one and every 'pre-book' they've put out... We were all so eager for this new incarnation. It read so well. I can't believe this, but this game has actually managed to depress me!! I HAVE played it. Just spent three hours playing, in fact.

When we finished the party reported that they had the distinct feeling that we had just played a board game version of WOW. Now we all LOVE WOW in our gaming group.. but that's NOT what we sat down to play around a table. We saw nothing 'quick' or 'streamlined' about the gaming experience. We moved pieces around a board adhereing to movement rules and 'squares' for this and that in a fashion that reminded me way too much of the old 'Heroes Quest', albeit a complicated version! Were the game mechanics good? Yes. Why did I give it a 'one star'? Because whilst the game is a good miniature warfare game it seemed to rob the flavor of DnD. The character creation was extrememly confined and the selections were limited. Gone was the ability to customize your character to the point that you actually felt like you had something unique. You will feel as if WOC is controlling the direction your character takes. The game DEMANDED a board and game pieces.. I've always felt that DnD's flavor relied on the 'minds eye', which is so much more colorful in my head than staring at plastic pieces on a piece of cardboard. I do realize that the 'original' DnD was just that, a wargame with a fantasy element. But I feel it evolved into so much more... I guess we've 'returned to our roots'... so why do I feel like we climbed back into the primordial ooze?!

A great deal of the time the magic users felt like they were 'hitting the hot button key'. They had one or two actions that they relied on every round to cause the maximum amount of damage. No inovation or imagination. Everything was geared towards 'how does this directly effect combat'.

The DM's guide isn't that bad. Reminds me a LOT of the first edition book. Information on how to be an effective dm, traps, dungeons, and artifacts. Not what 'thirders' would expect, but not bad.

The Monster Manual is awful. A third of the pictures are just rehashed from all the previous Monster Manuals. The book is concerned with stats so you can play your miniature game effectively. Again.... great if your into miniature gaming. The ecology and culture information is virtually non-existant. Make all the arguments you want about this now being in the pervue of the DM.. the honest answer is that WOC is being lazy. You have a vast variety of stats to place against your carefully created stats, but very little flavor to guide you in roleplaying the encounters.

I have read that the streamlined combat will enhance the rolplaying as you'll have more time available.... that was really exciting.. too bad this wasn't the case. Going to miniatures and a combat board, whilst carefully figuring out where your party and the encounter is, everytime combat arose was time consuming. You'll also notice that you'll have to change the map everytime, of course, which is also time consuming.

If you LOVE miniature wargaming. If Warhammer is something you daydream about.... this is the game for you! As a miniature game experience it ranks a three or four...

If you love games that take place in your head fired by limitless imagination then your probably going to be disappointed.

I really feel like power gamers are going to LOVE this game and probably flame me for my remarks. The game is geared towards being 'godlike'. I'm not knocking this. If you love powergaming and twinking then this is DEFFINITLEY the game for you. To each his or her own. You should buy it immediately... and keep DnD fiscally sound enough to perhaps manage an inevitable rewrite that might restore my faith.

Ironically I'll be keeping my set... I think it'll make a great board game for those rare nights when I just wanna run through dungeons killings things and working off frustrations. According to the DMG I don't even need a DM to do this..... Sound like any RPG you ever heard of???? No story teller... no RPG. Just another board wargame.. albeit a pretty good one.

Good day!

The new monster manual (MM) is a vast improvement over the 3.5 MM. The new system of minions and standard monsters MAKES SENSE, not all monsters know how to take punishment. The new monster stat blocks are so much easier to read and use, you no longer have to look through 3 books to use a monster. When I ran my game, I found it so much easier to use then the 3.5 manual.The art work is also fantastic, and there are several new monsters that are very cool and innovative.

Yes, there is less description of the monster in this MM then in 3.5. BUT THAT'S GOOD. It's the DM's job to fit a monster into his campaign, and I find that all too often the stereotypes portrayed in the 3.5 MM don't fit with the way I want that monster to in my campaign. All the time I find myself telling my players that, "Hey, in my world, this monster is different..." And it is so hard to break the stereotype that player get about monsters. This books gives the DM leeway to reinvent monsters for their particular campaign. The 4th edition MM doesn't attempt to define every monster. Overall this new MM is a great tool for DMs, and a superb edition to the already superb 4th edition of D&D.

Worst D&D version ever. It is but a shell of what D&D once was and is now the shattered remnants of something that was grand. Rest in peace D&D. Quite possibly the worst rpg I have ever played.

If you're a longtime fan of Dungeons & Dragons, this isn't the game for you.

Much of the game's rich history and iconic elements have been sacrificed in an effort to simplify the game to attract new gamers. The game is far less flexible than 3rd Edition.

Many of the iconic monsters have been drastically altered to fit into a new, unnecessary cosmology and core setting. Succubi are now devils, despite always being demons, and demons as a whole are now related to elementals. Angels are no longer exemplars of good. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Most of the iconic monsters have had their abilities stripped down to just a handful of powers, and nearly all non-combat abilities are gone.

The names of many of the new creatures and variants are bland. The flavor text is nearly nonexistant.

Monsters can only improve in a few cookie-cutter roles, such as "skirmisher", rather than truly advanced to become better at what makes them unique.

Worst of all, many iconic monsters (for example, frost giants) have been left out of the first Monster Manual and reserved for later books.

If you're a fan of the past editions of the game, save your money and wait until next year for Paizo's Pathfinder RPG, which looks more like the heir apparent to the D&D throne.

This book is lacking in everything but pictures and stats. There is zero flavor. Monster descriptions are terse at best, many monster variants are simply not described. Of pure description text the illithid has two short paragraphs. It reads more like a bestiary that one would find in an MMO walkthrough. What happened? Where is my D&D? When did I start playing WoW the tabletop game? Please read through this book in a local store before purchasing; you may like it, others have, but I think many will not.