''Monster Manual 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

''Monster Manual 2'' presents hundreds of monsters for ''D&D'' campaigns. Monsters such as

centaurs A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as bein ...

and

frost giants Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above- freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a ...

make their first 4th Edition appearance here. In addition, this book includes new monsters to challenge characters of heroic, paragon, and epic level.

Publication history

''Monster Manual 2'' was written by

Rob Heinsoo Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...

and Chris Sims, and published in 2009. The book features art by

Dave Allsop Dave Allsop is a Scottish game designer and artist for role-playing games and video games. Career Dave Allsop developed the role-playing game '' SLA Industries'' (1993); the Scottish company Nightfall Games was founded solely to publish the game. ...

, Zoltan Boros, Christopher Burdett,

Brian Despain Brian Despain is an artist whose work has appeared in galleries, in video games, on book covers and in role-playing games. Career Despain has worked as a graphic designer, 3D modeler, photo retoucher, and illustrator. He worked for ten years in t ...

, Brian "Chippy" Dugan,

Jesper Ejsing Jesper is a given name commonly believed to be of ancient Persian origin, meaning "Treasurer". Some notable people with the name Jesper include: Music * Jesper Koch (born 1967), Danish composer * Jesper Kyd (born 1972), Danish video game and fi ...

, Steve Ellis,

Wayne England Wayne England (d. 9 February 2016) was an English artist whose work regularly appeared in role-playing games, wargaming rulebooks and magazines and was used on cards for collectible card games such as '' Magic: The Gathering''. He died on 9 Fe ...

Jason Engle Jason A. Engle is an American artist, whose work has appeared in role-playing games and collectible card games. Early life Jason Engle was born in southern California in 1979. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes ''Shining South'' ...

Adam Gillespie Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

Tomas Giorello Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...

Lars Grant-West Lars Grant-West is an American artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. He currently teaches illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Early life and education Lars Grant-West was born in Brooklyn. He attended New York City ...

Des Hanley Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), severa ...

Ralph Horsley Ralph Horsley is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes cover art for the adventure '' The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde'' (2006), and interior art for ''Monster Manual III'' ...

Andrew Hou Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

Jeremy Jarvis Jeremy Jarvis is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Jeremy Jarvis grew up in a small town in Alabama, and moved to New York City right after high school just before his eighteenth birthday. There, he ...

, Bob Jordan,

Todd Lockwood Todd Wills Lockwood, (born July 9, 1957 in Boulder, Colorado, United States) is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and for hi ...

Warren Mahy Warren Mahy is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and other fantasy works. Early life and education Warren was born in the small sea side town of Whakatane in New Zealand. He grew up surrounded by the wonders of the Pacific ...

, James Nelson, William O'Connor,

Steve Prescott Stephen Prescott (26 December 1973 – 9 November 2013) was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. Prescott made his début for St Helens in 1993, and soon established himself as the club's first choi ...

Vinod Rams Vinod Rams is an American artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Vinod Rams attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. He did product design at the Franklin Mint in Philadelphia, Penns ...

Chris Seaman Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Niger ...

Gábor Szikszai Gábor (sometimes written Gabor) may refer to: * Gábor (given name) * Gabor (surname) * Gabor sisters, the three famous actresses, Eva, Magda and Zsa Zsa * Several scientific terms named after Dennis Gabor ** Gabor atom ** Gabor filter, a linea ...

, Mattias Tapia,

Mark Tedin Mark Tedin is an artist whose work has appeared in collectible card games and role-playing games. Early life and education Mark Tedin was born in Sitka, Alaska. After high school, he attended college at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, ...

Francis Tsai Francis Tsai (April 14, 1967 – April 23, 2015) was an American comic book artist, illustrator, author and conceptual artist. He was of Taiwanese and Japanese ancestry. Early life Tsai was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Lubbock, Te ...

, Brian Valenzuela,

Franz Vohwinkel Franz Vohwinkel (born 1964 in Munich, West Germany) is a German artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Works Vohwinkel drew the cover art for the book ''Dataware'' (1998) for TSR's ''Alternity'' game, and illustra ...

Eva Widermann Eva Widermann (born June 6, 1978) is an illustrator and concept artist whose work appears in role-playing games. Education She went to the Scholastic of Graphic & Design, Munich. Career Widermann started her graphic design career in 1998 and wor ...

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1 ...

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as ''A Night at the Opera (film), A Night at the Opera'', ''A Day at the Races (fi ...

, and

Ben Wootten Benjamin (Ben) Charles Wootten is a graphic artist and designer based in Wellington, New Zealand. Early life and education Wootten was born in Essex, England in 1969, and his family moved to New Zealand when he was three. He grew up in Whakatane ...

. Shannon Appelcline commented that with Fourth Edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Wizards planned to publish just three books for each setting, beginning with the poorly-received ''

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide The ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide'' includes everything a Dungeon Master needs to run a 4th edition ''D&D'' ...

'', ''

Forgotten Realms Player's Guide The ''Forgotten Realms Player's Guide'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Forgotten Realms Player's Guide'' presents the changed Forgotten Realms setting from the point of view of ...

'' and ''

Scepter Tower of Spellgard ''Scepter Tower of Spellgard'' is an adventure module for the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Plot summary In ''Scepter Tower of Spellgard'', a mysterious presence has taken up residence in one of the towers ...

'' in 2008, and "The next year saw the clockwork production of ''

Dungeon Master's Guide 2 ''Dungeon Master's Guide 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents ''Dungeon Master's Guide 2'' gives expansions for the Dungeon Master to add to a campaign. The ''Dungeon Master's Guide 2 ...

'' (2009), ''Monster Manual 2'' (2009) and ''

Player's Handbook 2 ''Player's Handbook 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Player's Handbook 2'' includes eight classes: the avenger, barbarian, bard, druid, invoker, shaman, sorcerer, and warden, ...

'' (2009), as well as the reappearance of Eberron through the typical two books and an adventure – the latter released as part of Free RPG Day. These setting books were much better accepted, perhaps because the 4e nay-sayers had now moved on to other games."

Reception

References

{{D&D topics Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2009