Dungeons & Dragons Volo's Guide to Monsters Hardcover – 15 Nov. 2016

Well thought out and imaginative addition to the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In keeping with the general trend in the latest iteration of the game, the stress is on storytelling rather than rules. Many of the new races available for characters are not too different in many respects to other core races (Goliaths have virtually identical stat adds to Half Orcs already described in the PHB for example) but their background and history gives roleplaying tips to make them different to play.This volume is full of valuable resources, more powerful versions of standard Monster Manual critters ; Monster lairs (the Mind Flayer tunnel complex is extremely challenging), New races for PCs ; example NPCs; Detailed ecologies for some creature. All are useful and usable. It is a bit unwieldy in that some of the book is designed for DMS and some for players but , I suppose, that is close to the AD&D version of many moons ago, the Unearthed Arcana.Great production values and top notch artwork feature throughout...the Fire Giant Dreadnought and Slithering Tracker pics are highlights for me. The cover artwork is slightly underwhelming, in contrast.It's a shame no space could be found to credit the original creators of these creatures, I remember many of the best here (Kenku, Tabaxi, Nilbog etc) appearing in White Dwarf Magazine way back in the day , sent in by fan contributors. Still, in a way, their longevity and continued popularity, renewed in these up to date versions, are a testament to the writers who invented them,

An excellent addition to my gaming group's universe. The new player races are very welcome - this supplement provides detailed rules for 5 new origins and stats for a handful of traditional monster races people may like to roleplay. The in-depth exploration of key D&D monsters, their habits, society and homes, really adds the worlds you can build - It has been ideal for designing campaigns pitting the players against arch enemies, where they can be immersed in the lore of the orc warlord's clan, or delve into the devious web of puppets controlled by a hag, rather than slog through a series of randomly populated dungeons.

great info and artwork ,book was in pristine condition so i can only assume that the binding etc has now been sorted as other reviews have complained about it.good value and will be a great addition to my daughters collection.

Definitely the best subplinent book so far for 5e, the monsters are more fun to add to games as they aren't as well known to most of my players as the standard MM monsters, the lore is great for DMs and the new player races really sparked my imagination, the Tabaxi are by far my favourite race in D&D

While the in depth lore entries are only applicable to the forgotten realms, they're perfect as food for thought and inspiration for your own lore, and are detailed enough to fill in for anything you might have forgotten while writing your own lore.The playable races are reserved to a very small area of the book, but since this is more for DMs than players that's understandable.Plently of new and interesting monsters even if you are not interested in the races the rest of the book focuses on, though not enough to justify buying the book for new monsters alone.Despite what other reviews have said, no quality issues with my copy. Hopefully I'm not the anomaly here.Verdict: a worthwhile purchase for any DM seeking to make the most of classic dnd monsters, plus some playable races and extra monsters to boot.

Very useful looks good but only issue which its not the a fault with the book that i dont have the info on dnd beyond wish there was a code that would let me use both because i want the books but dnd beyond is very useful for understanding certain enemies and what they can do only browsed it also has new characters

apart from the bottom right hand corners of the cover being creased, there is little to show for it being second hand. It is in the same condition as described and i'm very happy with it.

I like the images of examples lairs for several different monsters and explores their goals, motivations and history like the PHB did with character races. The bestiary adds new additions to 5e with the vegepymy or the froghemoth. I recommend good read.