''Monster Manual IV'' is an optional supplemental source book for 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 ...

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

As with other ''

Monster Manual The ''Monster Manual'' (''MM'' is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'' fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The ''Monster Manual'' was the first hardcover D&D book and inc ...

'' supplements, MM4 contains a variety of new creatures as well as expanded variants on staple '' D&D'' monsters such as orcs,

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

, yuan-ti, and

gnoll Gnoll may refer to: *Gnoll Country Park, a park in Wales *The Gnoll, a sports ground in Wales *Gnoll (fictional creature), a fictional species of human-hyena hybrids See also * Gnole, a fictional entity in ''The Book of Wonder'' anthology * Knol ...

s. What separates it from past volumes is the level of detail given to each creature subtype, including probable behavior in combat and even a complete pre-prepared encounter complete with a map. While the 'standard' entry still clocks in around two pages, many of the 'expanded' entries are four pages or longer, with the ' Spawn of Tiamat' section going on for nearly forty pages, or 20% of the entire volume. This results in fewer overall monster entries, which proved unpopular among many D&D players. Each entry also contains a table listing DC ratings for skill checks made using the Knowledge ability. In general, a low DC check results in revealing all the monster's subtype traits to the player, while higher ratings reveal their origins or various special offensive and defensive abilities. This book was also published in the v3.5 format and used the new stat block format that was introduced in the '' Dungeon Master's Guide II''. ''Monster Manual IV'' contained fewer actual monsters than Monster Manual II and III, but had sample lairs and encounters for them, gave stats for classes and templates applied to old creatures, and full page maps. The book also ties into the "Year of the Dragons" theme that Wizards of the Coast planned out for 2006 with the Spawn of Tiamat, yet contains no new monsters that are considered true dragons.

Publication history

''Monster Manual IV'', published July 2006, was designed by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel,

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, Matthew Sernett,

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, Andrew Finch, Christopher Lindsay, Kolja Raven Liquette, Chris Sims, Owen K.C. Stephens, Travis Stout,

JD Wiker J. D. Wiker is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career JD Wiker originally comes from Indianapolis, where he began his love of games, starting with his family's collection of board games and the weekly game night. ...

, and

Skip Williams Ralph Williams, almost always referred to as Skip Williams, is an American game designer. He is married to Penny Williams, who is also involved with the games industry. He was the co-creator of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd Edition and the longtime au ...

. Cover art was by

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, with interior art by

Daarken Michael Lim, better known by his pseudonym Daarken, is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes interior art for ''Races of Eberron'' (2005), ''Heroes of Horror'' (2005), ''Races of ...

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 ...

, Carl Frank,

David Hudnut David Hudnut is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes the cover art for '' Heroes of Battle'' (2005), '' Heroes of Horror'' (2005), and the adventures '' Red Hand of Doom'' (2006) ...

, Howard Lyon,

Raven Mimura Raven Mimura is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Raven received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. He spent a year teaching art and building his portfolio ...

, Jim Nelson,

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Wayne Reynolds Wayne Reynolds is a British artist whose work has appeared in comics and role-playing games. Early life and education Wayne Reynolds was born in Leeds, UK. He attended art college in Dewsbury and Middlesbrough. Games Wayne Reynolds has contin ...

Ron Spencer Ron Spencer is an American illustrator whose most famous work has been for the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering''.Felt, Kevin (December 17, 2007). "Painter of 'Magic' cards inspiring random acts of kindness", ''San Gabriel Valley Tri ...

Anne Stokes Anne Stokes is a fantasy artist whose early work has appeared in role-playing games, particularly ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Early life Originally from London, Stokes has had an interest in the fantasy genre since her father read ''The Hobbit'' t ...

Arnie Swekel Arnie Swekel is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Background Swekel was born May 2, 1964, and grew up in River Rouge, Michigan. After graduating high school he briefly attended The Center for Creative Studies (now called Coll ...

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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 ...

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

James Zhang James Zhang is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career Zhang has done interior illustrations on a number of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' books for Wizards of the Coast, including '' Sharn: City of Towers'' (2004), the ''Eberron ...

Reception

References

Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2006 {{D&D-stub

Contents

Publication history

Reception

References