''Monster Vault'' 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 Vault'' collects the monsters of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' world in one box and presents all-new variants, including new spins on such monsters as

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, orcs, and

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

. In addition to combat statistics, each monster entry comes with story information to help DMs incorporate the monsters into their adventures and campaigns. This box also contains die-cut tokens for the monsters that appear within, as well as a 32-page adventure that showcases several of the monsters.

Publication history

''Monster Vault'' was written by

Logan Bonner Logan Bonner (born September 24, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Arkansas State and Utah State. Early life and college career Bonner grew ...

, Matthew Sernett, and

Rodney Thompson Rodney Thompson is a game designer whose writing credits include numerous books for the '' Star Wars Roleplaying Game'' and the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. He was the lead developer for the 4th edition version of the Dark Sun ...

, and published in 2010. Shannon Appelcline commented on ''Essentials'', the final major expansion of 2010 for Fourth Edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'': "Trade paperbacks like ''

Heroes of the Fallen Lands ''Heroes of the Fallen Lands'' is a supplement to the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents ''Heroes of the Fallen Lands'' includes new builds and cha ...

'' (2010) offered rules for a variety of character classes in a trade paperback that was about half the price of one of fourth edition’s hardcover books; while other boxed sets like ''Monster Vault'' (2010) added to the board-game like components of 4e by including not just a book of monsters but also tokens to represent those monsters in-game. Besides making ''D&D'' cheaper and simpler for new players, ''Essentials'' also walked back some of the changes made by the 4e rules, such as getting rid of fighters' daily powers, to once more increase the differentiation between fighter and spellcaster classes."

Reception

''Monster Vault'' received the silver

ENnie Award The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

for Best Monster/Adversary.

References

{{D&D topics Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks ENnies winners Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2010