Volo's Guide to Monsters: A Comprehensive Reference for Dungeons & Dragons Players

LyndaA: Got this as a gift for my son. Has everything he needs as a dungeon master, would be great for any DnD player. Graphics, as expected, are amazing. Very happy with my purchase.

United States on Oct 23, 2023

Maria: My husband likes it 😏

United States on Oct 14, 2023

k: Item was delivered, as promised. Condition met else exceeded expections. Thank you.

United States on Oct 09, 2023

Lesley Griffiths: Great

United Kingdom on May 15, 2023

Carlo C.Carlo C.: Ho preso questo libro perchè mi è stato raccomandato come spunto per dare ulteriore profondità e motivazioni ai mostri che verranno combattuti dai giocatori: nel mio caso specifico, sto preparando la campagna dell'essential kit (Dragon of Icespire peak) e devo dire che ci sono diversi punti e appronfondimenti interessanti da aggiungere alla campagna. Se i vostri giocatori non si accontentano di mazzuolare i mostri in questione ma gradirebbero anche avere un po' di spessore agli avversari che stanno affrontando (ma soprattutto se non ritenere che il "semplicemente sono cattivi" basti come motivazione) questo libro fa per voi.

Italy on Apr 04, 2023

Rafael: Apresenta novas raças e feats. Infelizmente saiu uma versão que contém todo o conteúdo desse livro que é o Monster of Multiverse, mas ele continua sendo uma ótima leitura e um ótimo suplemento

Brazil on Jan 15, 2023

BW: This is a supplement for the core 5E books, providing lore within the frame narrative that Loremaster Volothamp Geddarm is the one who collected it and made it available to the reader. The Literary Agent Hypothesis is fun when it is done well, and it is done well here. Volo's comments provide extra insight, humor and a greater degree of immersion into the lore itself.

The lore is for certain monsters, such as mind flayers and orcs. It also has a list of new races for players but that is by far the shortest section. Third it has more monster-manual style monster entries, and finally an appendix for NPC humanoids with class levels, such as an abjuration wizard or an arch-druid, or some other non-class NPCs like apprentice wizard. So this is definitely something that is more useful to the Dungeon Master than the players, but players can also benefit (and not in a meta-gaming way either).

For those that want to play a paladin but don't like the "honor and justice" mold then Tritons provide an excellent template. They are typically lawful good but in a good-is-not-nice sort of way and gain racial bonuses to their STR, CON and CHA (+1 each) in addition to useful abilities,...

United States on Dec 29, 2019

Tyson G.: The very short answer is that if you are a Dungeon Master and want more background information on some of the most common or famous of the monsters and species in the D&D universe, this is pretty much a must have.

If you just play D&D and don’t Dungeon Master, I think you can avoid this purchase. The new playable races don’t add anything spectacular to the game and would require DM permission to use.

The long answer and analysis:
Volo’s Guide to Monsters is divided into 3 sections: Monster Lore, Character Races and a Bestiary.

Monster Lore

The monster lore section by far is the most interesting part for me. It provides much insight and information on the following species: Beholders; Giants; Gnolls; Goblinoids; Hags; Kobolds; Mind Flayers; Orcs and Yuan-Ti.

The insight into the Beholders was interesting from a dungeon design point of view. For example, if you can float without effort then it makes sense to choose vertical shafts as places to pick your fights. The vertical shaft combined with the antimagic cone from the Beholder’s central eye thwarting all attempts at magical flight or climbing will make this a very tough fight...

Canada on Mar 28, 2018

Kitsune: Ich habe es direkt am Veröffentlichungestag bekommen, lange vor Lieferankündigung, wirklich erstaunlich.
Natürlich konnte ich es nicht lassen gleich hineinzuschauen.

Die ersten Kapitel befassen sich mit Hintergrundinformationen und Verweisen auf neue Varianten von einigen sehr verbreiteten Monstertypen (Beholder, Riesen, Mindflayer, Gnollen, Goblins, Hags, Kobolden, Orcs und Yuan Ti) Dabei beschränkt sich dies nicht nur auf reinen Infos sondern auch Tipps für Spielleiter, wie man sie spielt, wie ihre Verstecke aufgebaut sind einige der Gegner bekommen sogar Legendäre Aktionen, Lair Actions und so weiter. Außerdem sind noch beispielhafte Dungeon Maps dabei ;) Also ein wirklich gelungenes Kapitel.

Kapitel zwei befasst sich mit den Spielerrassen auf die alle so gewartet haben. Ich muss leider sagen, sie sind ein Reinfall von A-Z. Man ist von den Wizards wirklich besseres gewohnt. Ich als Spielleiter werde keine der dort genannten Rassen so zulassen.
Die Assimar sind eine bodenlose Frechheit, man hat Paladinfähigkeiten in die Rasse gepackt (Lay on Hands und die Level 20!! Fähigkeiten in abgeschwächter Version) Tut mir leid, aber das ist ein NoGo.
Die...

Germany on Nov 18, 2016

slugnet: This is a great addition to 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. The cutesy banter between Volo and Elminster is kept to a minimum, leaving some really great, meaty content. While I just received my print copy today, I've been using the online version through Roll20 for two weeks. My review is based on two weeks of experience with the content, plus sitting with the physical book today.

What exactly are you getting in this book?

- Nearly 90 pages of in depth monster lore, focusing on Beholders, Giants, Gnolls, Goblinoids, Hags, Kobolds, Mind Flayers, Orcs, and Yuan-ti. This is very in depth work, with multiple pages providing variants, tables, lairs (including maps), historical background, and even some of the psychology of the creatures that can really help you flesh out these types of creatures in your games.

- 7 new Player Character races, including Aasimar, Firbolg, Goliath, Kenku, Lizardfolk, Tabaxi, and Triton. These are a nice edition, and I especially like how the details for these new races includes tips on how to role-play as these slightly more unique creature types. Overall, these new races feel like they can breathe a lot of new life into campaigns...

United States on Nov 16, 2016