Instead of simply sticking to familiar characters from mythology, many different types have discovered adventurers lurking about their dungeons. Over the decades the game has been around, the changes to the Challenge System have led to more and more monsters being introduced. No longer would an annoying player have to face off against a Red Dragon if the DM became annoyed, and that was a good thing. Similar methods were developed for Dungeons & Dragons' other systems such as video games. The monsters contained herein are culled from the D&D game’s illustrious history, with easy-to-use game statistics and thrilling stories to feed your imagination. As with the Monster Manual, this book was written primarily by Gary Gygax. Monster Manual II was published as a hardback book in 1983, and has the largest page count of the three, containing over 250 monsters, most with illustrations.

A monstrous feast for Dungeon Masters ready to challenge their players and populate their adventures. Monster Manual II was the third and final monster supplement for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, following the Monster Manual and Fiend Folio. This new system ensured a group of level one adventurers wouldn't stumble upon a monster they couldn't handle while continuing to throw the various chaff their way, which helped to build up levels in the early stages of gameplay. The Monster Manual presents a horde of classic Dungeons & Dragons creatures, including dragons, giants, mind flayers, and beholders. Instead of succumbing to the wills of the DM, a Challenge System was introduced in the game's third edition to help balance out the various encounters. Over the years, as the game developed, new methods were introduced to help streamline the process by which a band of merry adventurers might stumble upon some of these monsters. Thanks to intrepid Dungeon Masters and game designers, the game's 1977 edition of the Monster Manual has grown from a meager combination of weak and powerful creatures into a gigantic plethora of insignificant minions to ridiculously powerful Elder Gods. Dungeons & Dragons has been around in one form or another for more than 40 years, which is a lot of time for people to come up with powerful monsters people can fight.

D&d monster manual 5e