First Published 3 March 2020 | Last Updated 16 May 2022

Volo's Guide To Monsters

Released 15 November 2016

Just after the 5th edition's 2nd birthday Wizards Of The Coast took a detour from publishing campaigns. It was time to expand on the assortment of creatures found in the Monster Manual. This 224 page book mixes up monster lore, new character races (that are all monster based), and a bestiary with nearly 100 new monsters. The book is geared towards both players and Dungeon Masters.

It is a fun and interesting read, as well as an excellent resource for creating monstrous player characters, featuring options like firbolg, goliath, kenku, lizardfolk, tabaxi, and more. The monster lore is for a heap of fan-favourites such as kobolds, goblins and mind flayers (amongst others). Most of the new creatures presented fit within the 'weird and wonderful' category, as not many here are common.

It presents this information from both the perspective of loremaster Volothamp 'Volo' Geddarm and the famous Sage Of Shadowdale, Elminster. Volo is of course known to sometimes 'expand' on the truth, so Elminster is here to keep him honest.

All in all, it is a great expansion if you are looking to do something a little different with creatures in your games.

Volo's Guide To Monsters Deluxe Edition