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- The return of a monster from a previous edition
- A new monster that you would want to use
- Flavour of a monster that influences its use
- A mechanically interesting statblock
Keep in mind that 1) I will have an overview of the book at the end, and 2) my choices are subjective. I could have easily made Top 20 lists in each category. If I have a bias, it's for mechanically interesting statblocks. So, in homage to David Letterman, here are my Top 10 Lists for each category.
RETURNING MONSTERS
10) Eldritch Giant [Lvl 18 Skirmisher] {Previously seen in 3ed MMIII}
Oh, and the Frost and Stone Giants are here as well. But I've always thought Eldritch Giants are cooler. Plus they have a theme of destroying conjurations and zones to fuel their attacks.
9) Djinn Skylord [Lvl 25 Controller (Leader)] {Previously seen in 3ed MMI}
The Djinns, like the Efreets, are epic level elementals. Their schtick is crafting the Elemental Chaos into beautiful structures and art. The Djinn Skylord is my favourite: it has a powerful area attack that can be recharged more often with its at-will attack.
8) Behir [Lvl 14 Solo Soldier] {Last seen in 3ed MMI}
For your Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth needs. Besides the fun of shocking, stomping, and devouring PCs, Behirs get to act three times a round. 3 standards, 3 moves, and 3 minors a round!
7) Bullywugs [Heroic Tier] {Last seen in Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerun}
I could not pick just one Bullywug for this. All four are excellent and flavourful. All of them allow PCs who land critical hits on them to heal HP, because nature itself hates Bullywugs so much! Their auras and powers highlight their filthy and erratic ways delightfully.
6) Couatl Star-Serpent [Lvl 15 Elite Controller (Leader)] {Last seen in 3ed MMI}
Fans of Eberron will see that 4ed Couatls are flavoured similarly. The Star Serpent has several powers and abilities that showcase its flying serpentine body, as well as their positive connection to radiant energy.
5) Duergar Hellcaller [Lvl 12 Artillery] {Last seen in 3e MMI}
Duergar are back, with quill hair follicles and a devilish background. Most Duergar have a minor ability that hurts or hinders a foe with its beard quills (connected with a pact made to Bearded Devils, no doubt).
The Hellcaller has 2 powerful encounter area attacks. Better yet, once an encounter, it can summon a Devil minion to take a melee attack intended for it!
4) Myconids [Heroic Tier] {Last seen in 3ed MMII}
The mushroom people are back, and they work very well with each other. Regeneration and sharing of damage makes them very difficult to deal with.
3) Lycanthropes [Heroic/Paragon Tier] {Last seen in 3ed MMI}
The missing WerePeople have returned. Wereboars and Weretigers have some very nasty diseases to spread. Wereboars' Moontusk Fever can screw with your saving throws, and Weretigers' Moon Rage can flat out make you lose the ability to wield weapons or implements!
2) Clay Golem [Lvl 15 Elite Brute] {Last seen in 3ed MMI}
And Iron Golem returns as well. But Iron Golem can't roll twice for Initiative and take the higher roll. It can't prevent shifting in an Aura 3. And it doesn't have the ability to hit 2 PCs a turn and prevent them from healing HP (save ends). Clay Golem DOES.
1) Barghest Savager [Lvl 4 Brute] {Last seen in 3ed MMI}
Barghests are now lycanthropic shapeshifters, transforming between their classic forms and a goblin humanoid. What excites me about the Savager is that it can copy an at-will or encounter power from a PC it has attacked and seen it use said power.
NEW MONSTERS
10) Dust Devil [Lvl 3 Skirmisher]
A Walking tornado that can knock your prone and blind you with its swirling sand. Awesome shifting ability to boot.
9) Gnaw Demon [Lvl 5 Skirmisher]
This chubby imp slows down adjacent enemies, all the better to finish off bloodied PCs. 1d8 damage against bloodied targets, and at-will 10 square teleportation towards them means taking a second wind is a very good idea.
8) Needle Demon [Lvl 12 Controller]
How does a Close Blast 5 attack that dominates foes (Save Ends) sound? Once I tell you that it recharges on a 6, do you need to know anything else?
7) Neldrazu [Lvl 8 Lurker]
These demons with pierced nipples and four crab arms are known as abductors. Probably because it can teleport itself and an adjacent foe 10 squares away, both on its turn, and when it becomes bloodied.
6) Fey Lingerer [Paragon Tier]
The Feywild version of the Lich. When a dedicated Eladrin dies without completing an important task, it reanimates into an undead. Crunch-wise, Lingerers spawn a separate Lurker monster when they die to finish off their enemies.
5) Fell Taint [Heroic Tier]
The Dire Rats of the Far Realm, these insubstantial motes of madness poke into the natural world to prepare for the coming of far worse monsters. All four Fell Taint monsters are low-level because they have the ability to fully heal themselves if they kill a foe with a coup de grace attack (a difficult task to do past level 5).
4) Infernal Armor Animus [Lvl 3 Minion Soldier] and Rupture Demon [Lvl 5 Minion Soldier]
This is a tie for two minions who work well when they're killed off. The Animus, a soul-possessed suit of armour, boosts damage for devils as well as heals them when they die. The Demon, made of oily sludge, restrains victims in addition to damage and healing boosts.
3) Star Spawn [Paragon Tier]
Fans of H.P. Lovecraft rejoice. Each Star Spawn is supposed to be a reflection of a sinister star in the sky that has fell intentions on the mortals of your world. Each defies what it considered normal, and merely being around these aberrants can kill you, body and mind. Consider this the first of many entries of Star Spawn.
2) Ghost Legionnaire [Lvl 13 Soldier]
Best when kept with its own kind. All Legionnaires share their HP with each other: no single Legionnaire dies until they all do. Compared to a Lvl 13 Solo Soldier, it's better because it will have 5 separate attacks and not be shut down when only one Legionnaire gets stunned. A fun touch to this monster is that successful History checks can make them more vulnerable to damage.
1) Pod Demon [Lvl 15 Elite Artillery]
When I play Magic: The Gathering, I enjoy cards that produce lots of creatures and let me sacrifice those creatures to do powerful things. Pod Demon is exactly that kind of creature.
As long as it has less than four Podspawn minions out, it spawns a new Podspawn minion each turn, and can bring the total from zero to four twice an encounter. It has several uses for it. Blowing it up to damage nearby foes. Swapping places with it at any distance. And gains 2d6 damage when it has combat advantage on a creature (which the Podspawn grants to a foe when it is adjacent to it).
FLAVOURFUL CREATURES
10) Heroslayer Hydra [Lvl 20 Solo Brute]
Apparently the teeth of these hydras were treasured by ancient people as valuable weapons. So you might find them at the end of spears in an ancient dungeon.
9) Winter Wolf [Paragon / Epic Tier]
The category of Winter Wolf is split between two different creature types. The elemental wolves were forged by powerful cold primordials as mounts, while the natural wolves are descended from the Great Spirit Wolf, a primal spirit.
8) Ancient Gold Dragon [Lvl 30 Solo Controller]
So far, the Gold Dragon is the only Dragon in 4ed able to take on a humanoid form. The statblock does not reflect this, so it must be a predilection for these dragons to use rituals to change form.
7) Warforged Titan [Lvl 19 Elite Soldier]
The Lore check paragraph suggests that this mechanical monstrosity is simple-minded enough to follow the commands of who ever shows a symbol of its creator. I can see some potential abuse from PCs, but it's still interesting.
6) Witherlings [Heroic Tier]
The cutest undead ever. They look like reanimated gnoll children with special claw attachments, and favour attacks in the gnoll style of dogpiling foes. They are gifts from Yeenoghu to fight against the undead forces of Orcus.
5) Earth Archons [Paragon Tier]
A Stone Titan named Brakkamul rules the largest group of Earth Archons within the Elemental Chaos: Thrak-Harda. It is rumoured that they protect the Diamond of Despair from the Dao (earth versions of the Efreeti).
4) Goblin Acolyte of Maglubiyet [Lvl 1 Controller]
These goblins are very superstitious. They look for omens in everything to determine the will of their Exarch. Something entirely innocuous might send them to battle, or running away in defeat. This is not reflected in their stat block, but it would be amusing to see PCs try and influence the goblin this way.
3) Nothics [Paragon / Epic Tier]
One eye, hunched shoulders, gangly arms, spiked backs, pointy teeth. These creatures hail from the Far Realm, but have come to be favoured by Vecna. Some nothics can become viewing screens for the deity of secrets to peer through.
2) Firbolgs [Paragon / Epic Tier]
Giant-sized humanoids of the Feywild with powers connected to the moon. Firbolg society centers on the Wild Hunt, presumably based around a hunt for trophies, living and inanimate. Their society worships Sehanine, Melora, and Raven Queen, but calls them The Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Firbolgs despise oath breakers and hunt them down in much the same way that 3ed Kolyaruts would.
1) Demogorgon and company [All Tiers]
The motherlode. To summarize, this entry has:
- how Demogorgon got his two heads
- the names and personalities of the two heads
- his dual nature and its influence on his cult
- how Dagon advises and influences his fellow Demon Lord
- the possibility that the Abyss was not created by the Chained God, but was unleashed by it, with Dagon already within it.
- the story of Kazuul, his fall from grace, his mighty weapons, and the prophecies hanging over these weapons
- How ettins were created
- the story of Tharak and how freeing her captive may help overthrow Demogorgon
- Demogorgon's naval forces
- how his cultists favour twins as potential recruits
- The Demon Lord's insane prophets who have a Freudian view of the brain, with a Conan approach to overcoming it.
OUTSTANDING MECHANICS
10) Half-Elves [Heroic / Epic Tier]
Excellent reflections of a race that favours Charisma. The Con Artist uses non-magical methods of duping people quite well. The Baleful Thaumaturge can lay down area effects as well as generate temporary HP; said temporary HP can then be used to placate his dark masters to perform a 8 square teleport.
9) Gnoll Gorger [Lvl 7 Brute]
As a minor action, this Gnoll can hurt an ally for 5 HP and heal for 10 HP. Works well with Trolls.
8) Goliath Sunspeaker [Lvl 7 Artillery]
Once an encounter, this Goliath can leap into the air and leave an area of burning fire behind for her foes to be scorched by. The jump is at least 3 squares, and she gets 4 to all defenses for this jump.
7) Oni Devourer [Lvl 7 Soldier]
As a recharge 5 melee attack, the Devourer can make a foe take a -5 penalty to saving throws (Save Ends). Yeah. -5 to make the check to stop making poor checks. Combo this guy with the Needle Demon for TPK.
6) Troglodyte Deepscourge [Lvl 9 Artillery (Leader)]
As an at-will, it can weaken foes within a Troglodyte's stench aura. Fortunately for them, all Troglodytes within 10 squares have the size of their Troglodyte Stench auras increase by 1.
5) Humans [All Tiers]
This entry alone could have a Top Ten list to it. Given the adaptability of humans to be good at anything, this is the catch-all for fun monster ideas for humanoids. Mount rider, hunter, assassin, gladiator, crazy noble, enchantress, javelin master, knife thrower, and pirates!
4) Drakes [Heroic / Paragon Tier]
Similarly, a lot of good concepts mechanically. Bloodseeker Drakes excel at finding and killing bloodied foes. Scytheclaw Drakes keep foes down and hurt them while they're down. Fang Titan Drake is a T-Rex, and that's good enough for me.
3) Deva Fallen Star [Lvl 26 Artillery]
Like the Fey Lingerer, this Deva returns to life as an undead when it dies. However, it keeps the same statblock, and (barring the use of appropriate energy type of damage) may never fully die.
When it is alive, it is powerful. Its' at-will power can reduce the target's attack options to only basic and at-will powers for 1 round. Plus, once an encounter, it can share the damage it receives from an attack with the attacker.
2) Misfortune Devil [Lvl 15 Artillery]
The Bernie Madoff of the Nine Hells, he encourages his opponents to make very bad decisions, and escapes if they want revenge. A rechargeable ranged attack deals more than what can be expected at this level, with an option for the target: it can redirect the damage it took to one of its allies, and have the Misfortune Devil reroll the damage dice (with a 5 bonus).
If the Devil is hit in melee or ranged, once an encounter, it can redirect that attack to a foe within 5 squares. And if anyone is left, it can use its fly 6 speed and at-will attack that allows teleport 4 to escape far, far away.
1) Fomorians [Paragon Tier]
Like the humans, I could make a Top 10 list from these entries. Honest to God, I love every single monster in this entry. If nothing else I have written here convinces you to read this book, read it for the Fomorian section. Mechanically, it is brilliant. Each statblock uses the "Evil Eye" theme for Fomorians in an unique, flavourful, and powerful way.
GENERAL POINTS
In addition to monsters, there are two race-specific templates in this book: Archangel and Slaad Spawner (both Controllers). Archangels are best when fighting in melee alongside other monsters. Slaad Spawner presents an alternate in-combat method for Slaads to increase their brood. As an immediate reaction, a hit on it produces a minion that joins the fight.
The art in this book is good, but lacks incredibly good art that I expect from Wayne Reynolds and other artists. If I could name a style, I'd say this book's art is "Goofy Occult", very much in keeping with 1st Edition D&D. To be fair, I initially decided to purchase this book solely because of the Marut art, so it isn't that bad.
You may have noticed from the review that minions now have roles attacked to them. A minion such as the Podspawn is now identified for what role it best fulfills in combat (IE. Skirmisher). Playing with MMI minions and MMII minions, I don't feel that one is stronger than the other. However, the focus on roles for minions seems to have opened up more useful design for minions. Hopefully, it will make minions better integrated into the role system, and make them more useful in combat.
Overall, I feel that all the monsters do their jobs well, but some are sexier about it. Mechanically, the Metallic Dragons, Frost Giants, and other returning monsters fight how I would expect them to. They don't disappoint in fulfilling my expectations of them.
However, the monsters from the new and mechanically interesting lists have so many tricks to them that can make fun encounters or surprises during combat. Even though the returning monsters work well within the system, being neither under of overpowered, they do not capture my excitement as much as monsters with tricks. It feels like special tricks were reserved for new monsters and the same old tricks were used for the returning monsters.
I personally feel this was a good move. DMs use Xorns and Remorhazs because they are classic monsters. New monsters need new schticks to grab the attention of DMs and their players. Would Mind Flayers have become popular if they couldn't Mind Blast and Bore Into Brain? I'd say no.
My greatest complaint about this book is that it failed to address the lack of epic creatures in the first MM. It did add some more, but still leaves epic level understaffed.
In the final analysis, Monster Manual 2 is a good purchase for a DM wishing to fill out his or her monster library. It has a good selection of classic monsters as well as monsters that are interesting to run in combat.
