Every monster is a font of adventure. In this bestiary of Dungeons & Dragons monsters, you’ll discover the weird, the whimsical, the majestic, and the macabre. Choose your favorites, and make them part of your D&D play.
Along with the Player’s Handbook (2024) and Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024), the Monster Manual is part of D&D’s foundation and requires those books. This book is intended for Dungeon Masters (DMs) and provides game statistics for monsters: all sorts of creatures—whether friend or foe—controlled by the DM. Those statistics appear in stat blocks. The book presents the monsters’ sections alphabetically, with animals gathered in Animals.
Official D&D adventures refer to the monsters in this book, and you may use these monsters—along with the rules for monster customization and encounter building in the Dungeon Master’s Guide—to build your own adventures. Consult Monster Lists for monster lists that will help your adventure building.