We’ve had an early glimpse of DnD’s 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, and it’s filled with hints about what’s coming in the new Monster Manual. Yes, it’s also filled with useful DMing advice, magic items, and optional rules. But weaved in with those ideas are plenty of details about how enemies will change in the new ‘edition-ish’ of Dungeons and Dragons.
One of these trivia titbits was already revealed by Wizards of the Coast, and that’s the fact that monsters now have a favorite treasure type. All DnD magic items are now categorized as Arcana, Armaments, Implements, and/or Relics (some items can be more than one) – and different DnD monsters now have a preference for which kind of sparkly loot they store in their lair.
But further exploring the 2024 DM’s Guide teaches us that this isn’t all that’s changed about Monster Lairs. “Each creature’s entry in the Monster Manual indicates the terrain types where the creature is most often found”, Wizards of the Coast writes on page 110, “and that book also includes tables listing the creatures commonly found within each type of terrain”. This is designed to help you create immersive but varied environments and encounters.
Previous marketing promised that the 2025 Monster Manual would include over 80 new monsters, and the Dungeon Master’s Guide already seems to feature a few stat blocks that we haven’t seen before. You can find them in the full Greyhawk campaign setting that chapter five now provides.
Based on their names, these all seem to be new subtypes of existing creatures. The Spy Master probably shares DNA with the Spy, and the Archpriest sounds like a more potent version of the Priest stat block. A Veteran Warrior and a Tough Boss are also named as creatures from the Monster Manual – we’re assuming these are particularly beefy versions of humanoid guards or fighters.
As the next book on the DnD release schedule for the year, the Dungeon Master’s Guide will be available worldwide on November 12. For more info, check out our full 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide review. We’ve also picked out some highlights, including the book’s surprise celebrity DM consultants, and the sad demise of the classic Bag of Rats build.
For D&D rules you can use right now, here’s everything you need to know about DnD classes and DnD races.
Source: Wargamer
