Monster Manual II: Dungeons & Dragons Accessory

The Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual II is a great supplement to the D & D 3.0 roleplaying game. It's loaded with monsters and creatures from the very weak (Challenge Rating 1/4) to those containing legendary power (CR 28). The CRs and Alignments are all balanced, giving a wide range of creatures weak to strong, good to evil. I liked the 2 Open Game Content monsters included in the back (Razor Boar and Scorpionfolk). If you're a Gamemaster looking to add some new surprises to your 3rd Edition D & D game, get this book. You won't be disappointed!

I don't see how anyone could hate this book. It brought back some old faves like the fomorian, firbolg, and myconid. I found out the the myconid was in Dragon issue 292, and I was afraid I would never see them again. However, D & D was kind enough to print my favorite creature in the book. I was looking forward to the grippli, but it was not included. The hook horror was a great creature to bring back too. I enjoyed the new creatures too. Tarrasques seem so wimpy compared to a phoenix, corpse tearer, or fiendworm. My one problem with the fiendworm is that it could ruin a campaign, since it will not stop. I suppose a fiendworm could be magically trapped and accidentally released, but they can really change a kingdom.

The Monster Manual II is a quality book that matches the excellence of the other core rulebooks in the 3rd Edition D & D game (unlike the disappointing and overpriced softcover supplements). The monsters are inventive and give one plenty of ideas for adventures based around their unique abilities ... and have some fine details that just lend 'atmosphere' too, like the detail of the yugoloths leaving a faint trail of ash wherever they walk :) . Many of the monsters are tough, providing great opponents for more experienced characters. And although some of the art is truly poor, many of the pieces are magnificent also, at least in my opinion. There are few monsters in this book that you won't want to use in your game.

After a number of fits and starts and just plain useless books, at last the mighty powers that be have delivered a good book with useful information, clearly-written text and attractive presentation. Not all the illustrations are great and some of the monsters are just throwaways put in to provide variety, but on just about every page there's something to wet the appetite of any DM.As my current group is heading into 10th level plus territory, the beefy monsters are a welcome addition and the ideas for new races are helpful in designing friendly NPCs and dastardly villains.A great book.

I was happily suprised to discover that the second monster manual contained monsters with a CR of 1/3 and up. In fact there's a number of monsters with CRs between 1 and 14 as well as high as 28. It's also great to see some monsters that I've been waiting for (Firbolgs, Twig Blights, Banshees, Automatons) as well as a few elemental based creatures (a personal favorite), some very gross and scary monsteres (Famine Spirit, Flesh Jelly), some very unique monsters (Stained Glass Golem, Raggamoffyn) and cool templates (Capture One, Death Knight, Monsters of Legend, , Half-Golem). Overall a great supplement with an awesome cover that will offer an abundance of new creatures to a DM with a group of any level.