“If you love horror movies you’re going to love the artwork” in the new Monster’s Manual, Dungeons and Dragons production artist Meagan Kenreck says, in a recent video on the DnD YouTube channel. “It is terrifying, and gruesome, and there’s body horror”.
It’s a fun detail about the upcoming 2025 DnD book. Traditionally, the game’s Monster Manuals have tended to show creatures in a more naturalistic setting, or else without any context at all. While the 5e Monster Manual cover has a rather grimdark tone to it, the book’s contents rarely show anything that could be described as ‘body horror’.
The artist’s description immediately leaves us wondering what DnD monsters are likely to have the most grisly artwork. Certainly, the basic roster offers plenty of horrifying ways to die. I imagine falling into a mindflayer’s clutches would be quite horror movie-esque. That tadpole in the eye scene from the opening of Baldur’s Gate 3 had me squirming.
Similarly, I would not like to be dissolved by a Gelatinous Cube, consumed by a Mimic, or impaled on the tendrils of a Displacer Beast.
But we can go further than the usual suspects. How about the Sibriex, 15 foot tall demons that are basically disgustingly deformed heads covered in weeping sores? The Boneless also fits the bill for body horror: essentially they’re the bits left over once you create a skeleton. The Oblex is a monster that’s less gruesome, but no less terrifying. Intelligent slimes, they absorb the memories of their victims, whose moaning faces often appear in their glutinous bodies. They can also create doppelgangers to lure you in.
We doubt Wizards of the Coast is going to get too extreme with the horror elements. The 2025 Monster Manual is still a product kids are going to buy, after all. And in the video graphic designer Trystane Falcone points out that there are also “things that are extremely cute” within its pages.
We certainly hope the book’s artwork is more like the regular cover than the disappointingly bland alternate version that was revealed in the summer.
We’ve not heard much news about the Monster Manual lately, which makes sense when Wizards is gearing up for the launch of another book (check out our 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide review to see what we think of it). But in fact, this new DMG does offer some clues about the Monster Manual, in particular new monster subtypes and changes to lairs.
From statements Wizards released earlier in the year, we know this book spans almost 1,000 pages and features 80 new monsters that weren’t in the 5e edition. We also know there’ll be changes to layout. For instance, each monster will have its favorite type of treasure.
To keep up with everything WotC has planned for tabletop RPG enthusiasts, check out the DnD release schedule. We also have some guides to all the DnD classes and DnD races that in our humble opinion are worth a look.
Source: Wargamer
