Mordenkainen presents Monsters of the Multiverse – A Review

Reworked Races and Monsters for Dungeons and Dragons

So, a little late to the party, I’ve gotten my hands on Monsters of the Multiverse, a sourcebook for the D&D universe. T

So, a little late to the party, I’ve gotten my hands on Monsters of the Universe, a sourcebook for the D&D universe. So, first things first. This book contains barely any new material, so if you are already the proud owner of Volo’s Guide to Everything and Mordenkein’s Tome of Foes, you’ll get like a single new monster and will also have a lot of the races presented here.

So, there are almost no new monsters, no new races, so why should I buy the book?

Well, all the races (not from PHB) and monsters have been updated and combined into this book. So you’ll find this a handy book for looking up things quickly. Also, the updated stat blocks for monsters make them easier to play for the DM. They have been better organized, so it’s faster to see what every monster can do. The same goes for the races; they are all streamlined and easier to use. No doubt that both the changes to the races and the changes to the monster stat blocks serve to fit in with the coming update to the basic books.

The Races

No less than 33 races in this book are gathered from previous material and updated to the latest standards. That means some races have had some tweaks, and some are mostly the same as they were. They are mostly good, although having that many to choose from might lead to analysis paralysis. 😉 … I do, however, think that they have skimped on the descriptions of the races. It’s a very short text by each race, followed by a stat block. I like the more extensive descriptions from the Players Handbook, where you get to dive a bit more into what the race is. Then you can choose to follow that or go your own way, but it’s a nice inspiration, especially for new players.

The monsters

I really like the new stat blocks for all the monsters. Using spells has become easier, with the blocks just telling you how many times you can use what spell per long rest. And I like that there are a lot of variants on existing monsters too. Sometimes you just need that slightly harder-to-kill goblin in your life, and this book lets you off trying to create your own, adjusting stats, etc.

Summary

If you already have the books mentioned, there’s not much new other than the changes and the compilation of it all, and at $50, it’s in the high end of purchases. That said, putting all this info in one book is pretty nice, so if you can afford it, go get it and enjoy the expanded options it gives.

Happy playing 😊