MC1 Monstrous Compendium, Volume One was published by TSR in 1989.[1] It was written by the TSR staff, with a cover by Jeff Easley, and interior illustrations by Jim Holloway, and came boxed with 144 loose-leaf pages and eight color cardstock dividers (each with a color painting on it) in a three-ring binder.[2] This supplement was presented as the base monster supplement intended to containing all the enemies required for most campaigns using 2nd edition AD&D rules.[2] Each monster has both a description and an illustration on a page separate from the other monsters, allowing for easy removal and retention of alphabetical order when other monsters are added to it.[2]
MC2 Monstrous Compendium, Volume Two was published by TSR in 1989.[1] It was written by the TSR staff, with a cover by Jeff Easley and interior illustrations by Jim Holloway and Daniel Horne, and was published as 144 loose-leaf pages of more monsters, with eight color cardstock dividers.[2]
MC3 Monstrous Compendium, Volume Three, Forgotten Realms Appendix was published by TSR in 1989.[1] It was written by the TSR staff, with a cover by Jeff Easley, and was published as 64 loose-leaf pages and four color cardstock dividers.[2] This was a supplement focusing on Forgotten Realms monsters.[2]
MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix was published in 1989. It had 96 pages, 4 dividers and a 3-ring D-binder.
MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix was published in 1990. It had 64 pages and 4 dividers.
MC6 Monstrous Compendium, Kara-Tur Appendix was written by the TSR staff, with a cover by Jeff Easley, and was published by TSR in 1990 as 64 loose-leaf pages with four cardstock dividers.[2] This was a supplement focusing on Kara-Tur monsters.[2]
MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix was written by the TSR staff, with a cover by Jeff Easley, and was published by TSR in 1990 as 64 loose-leaf pages with four color cardstock dividers.[2] This was a supplement focusing on Spelljammer monsters.[2][3]
Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995)
Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1998)
Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III: Creatures of Darkness (1994)
Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II (1996)—reprinting MC10 & MC15[6]
Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr (1995)
Savage Coast Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1996) (download-only)
Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition
In 2022, Wizards of the Coast announced a new Monstrous Compendium series of 5th Edition supplements to be exclusively released on the online platform D&D Beyond; some of these supplements are available for free to registered users.[7][8][9]
Introduced ten creatures from the Dragonlance campaign setting to the 5th Edition.[11]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 3: Minecraft Creatures
Christopher Perkins
March 28, 2023
Introduced five creatures from the Minecraft video game to the 5th Edition to promote the Dungeons & DragonsDLC for Minecraft.[12][13]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 4: Eldraine Creatures
James Wyatt, Jeremy Crawford, Ron Lundeen, Ben Petrisor
September 21, 2023
Features "creatures from Eldraine, the Magic: The Gathering plane recently featured in the Wilds of Eldraine set".[14]
Reception
Stephan Wieck reviewed Monster Compendium Volume One in White Wolf #17 (1989) and stated that "Of the three new 2nd Edition books, the monster compendium is the one that I feel improves the most over its predecessor."[15]
Berin Kinsman reviewed Terrors of the Desert in the Mar–Apr 1993 issue of White Wolf.[16] This 96-page manual was written by Tom Prusa, Louis J. Prosperi, Walter M. Bass, and Kira Glass and is "the first Monstrous Compendium appendix to deal with the AD&D Dark Sun setting".[16] Kinsman stated that it was "an invaluable tool for Dungeon Masters running a game in this setting, and DMs who have included psionics in non-DARK SUN campaigns should look here for interesting challenges".[16] He rated it overall at a 3 out of 5 possible points.[16]
Rick Swan reviewed Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Children of the Night for Dragon magazine #206 (June 1994).[17] He commented on the proliferation of monster books from TSR and other publishers: "Role-players seem to have an insatiable appetite for monsters. The sound you hear is that of publishers scraping the bottom of the barrel for new ones."[17] Swan noted that Children of the Night, by William W. Connors, adds living brains, bardic liches, and half-golems to the Ravenloft roster. Reviewing this with two other monster books from two other publishers, he quipped: "They're all interesting, but I bet if I read you the descriptions, you'd be hard-pressed to tell which monsters belonged to which system.[17]
Trenton Webb reviewed Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II for Arcane magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall.[18] He commented that the book "has a great cover and it's a top read too" and that the artwork "isn't exactly exactly inspired but it does sport a coherence and consistency rarely seen in roleplaying books. There are no 'well it's a man's head on a chicken's body' Crimewatch photofit embarrassments'" found in many other monster books.[18] Webb noted that the text "goes out of its way to encourage adventurers to use this book as a foundation rather than a work of reference" and that most of the descriptions feature quotes to add flavor, "which normally involve the quotee being horribly killed".[18] He felt that the blend and balance of the roughly 100 creatures in the book was good, "with a lively mix of the lawful and chaotic, the mighty and meek" but noted that the book "does err slightly in favour of the more fearsome, more powerful creatures".[18]
Trenton Webb reviewed Monstrous Compendium Annual Two for Arcane magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall.[4] He comments: "Serious work goes into bringing the beasties to life, but the crippling list format means they limp rather than leap (or crawl, or slither, or fly for that matter) from the page. A fault this work compounds by further tweaking the experience points system. A factor that's made all the more frustrating when it becomes apparent that the Monstrous Annual 2 dangles some delightful creatures before the referee's eyes."[4] Ramshaw appreciated one creature entry above all the others, naming the "star, without a shadow of a doubt" as the shambling umpleby: "Even without the Umpleby the Monstrous Annual 2 would be a necessary resource for all mainstream refs. With the shaggy-haired one, though, it rapidly approaches the essential."[4]
Trenton Webb reviewed Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II for Arcane magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall.[6] He noted that this product was a re-release of the first two Monstrous Compendium appendices for Ravenloft, in a single bound volume, and that Appendix I details "the variants, updates and unique monsters which lurk in the Demiplane's mists" while Appendix II "takes these new creatures and fleshes them out into full NPCs, expanding the descriptions in Appendix I".[6] He commented that as a reference book, "Appendix I does its job well enough. The true worth of the work, though, undoubtedly comes from the quality of Appendix II's creations" which "offer referees a varied and rich source of legends to drop into their tavern conversations or to add colour to campaigns". Webb concluded his review by saying: "All Appendices I & II offer DMs who own the old loose leaf versions are a few new piccies and the tidy new bound form, which is all well and good but hardly enough to justify [the price]. But for Ravenloft DMs who've been struggling on without the compendiums, this re-issue is an essential purchase which offers both core reference material and an inspirational glimpse of the Demiplane's dark heart."[6]
David Comford reviewed Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three for Arcane magazine, rating it a 4 out of 10 overall.[5] He commented that "The strength of the annual is that the contents are drawn from a variety of AD&D settings. Creatures from the TSR magazines, Forgotten Realms, Birthright, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Al-Quadim and Greyhawk can be found giving referees access to monsters with abilities that otherwise might not have been thought of."[5] However, he questioned, "Are a few interesting ideas and cross-over scenarios worth over a tenner, though? Well, TSR has released such a stupefying amount of products to date that every referee should have a decent supply of challenging monsters available for them to use. If you don't, then have a flick through this for a few new ideas, but think twice before you buy it."[5] Comford concluded his review by saying, "Volume three is a mixed bunch. Bar a few good entries it falls into a compilation of variations on a theme which, with a little time and imagination, most referees could come up with."[5]
Alex Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN, highlighted the Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium MC7 on a list of 2nd Edition products he would want rereleased on DNDClassics. He commented that "I think the best Spelljammer piece to first put on DNDclassics.com would be with its first Monstrous Compendium. By taking a look at the wide range of creatures available to the setting, DMs would know if there was anything there to inspire them. [...] There are so many cool monsters in this book. [...] What veteran AD&D 2e gamer hasn’t at least heard of the most infamous race of creatures TSR ever put out? [...] I know, as teens, we all laughed at the concept of a tyrannohamsterus rex – until we had to fight one".[3]
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as developed previously in the 1987 Manual of the Planes by Jeff Grubb. This includes many of the other Dungeons & Dragons worlds, linking them via inter-dimensional magical portals.
Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastic outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included Spelljammer content; a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition setting update was released on August 16, 2022.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark. Illithids believe themselves to be the dominant species of the multiverse and use other intelligent creatures as thralls, slaves, and chattel. Illithids are well known for making thralls out of other intelligent creatures, as well as feasting on their brains.
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover D&D book and includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. Creature descriptions include game-specific statistics, a brief description of its habits and habitats, and typically an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. As such, new editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. Due to the level of detail and illustration included in the 1977 release, the book was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
The beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is depicted as a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and many smaller eyestalks on top with powerful magical abilities.
The slaad is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They are extraplanar creatures (outsiders) that resemble giant humanoid toads of various colors, and other types, such as mud, and death slaadi.
The planes of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game constitute the multiverse in which the game takes place. Each plane is a universe with its own rules with regard to gravity, geography, magic and morality. There have been various official cosmologies over the course of the different editions of the game; these cosmologies describe the structure of the standard Dungeons & Dragons multiverse.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the mimic is a type of fictional monster. It is portrayed as being able to change its shape to disguise its body as an inanimate object, commonly a chest. The mimic uses a powerful adhesive that holds fast to creatures that touch it, allowing the mimic to beat its victims with its powerful pseudopods. The mimic was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game's original Monster Manual. The mimic has appeared in subsequent editions. Several variants of the creature have been introduced, with a variety of abilities and sizes.
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giants are a collection of very large humanoid creatures based on giants of legend, or in third edition, a "creature type".
The lich is an undead creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Liches are spellcasters who seek to defy death by magical means.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features. A new vampire is created when another vampire drains the life out of a living creature. Its depiction is related to those in the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood Dracula and monster movies. In writing vampires into the game, as with other creatures arising in folklore, the authors had to consider what elements arising in more recent popular culture should be incorporated into their description and characteristics.
Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns is a supplemental sourcebook to the core rules of the 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game.
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space is a 1989 boxed set accessory for the Spelljammer campaign setting, part of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game. It supplies rules and materials for playing AD&D in space. The set was well received by critics and fans.
Dungeon Masters Screen is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Something Wild is an adventure module for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including Dungeons & Dragons, and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has worked on AAA titles such as Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was lead designer on Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the term monster refers to a variety of creatures, some adapted from folklore and legends and others invented specifically for the game. Included are traditional monsters such as dragons, supernatural creatures such as ghosts, and mundane or fantastic animals. A defining feature of the game is that monsters are typically obstacles that players must overcome to progress through the game. Beginning with the first edition in 1974, a catalog of game monsters (bestiary) was included along with other game manuals, first called Monsters & Treasure and now called the Monster Manual. As an essential part of Dungeons & Dragons, many of its monsters have become iconic and recognizable even outside D&D, becoming influential in video games, fiction, and popular culture.
Children of the Night: Vampires is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
↑ Robertson, Joshua (September 23, 2023). "Dungeons & Dragons Is Crossing Over With MTG's Wilds Of Eldraine". TheGamer. Retrieved November 30, 2023. Unfortunately, while the first three Monstrous Compendiums were free, you'll have to dish out $5.99 if you want the Eldraine Creatures one.
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