The A to Z Fantasy Bestiary

“What if I told you about the best book of monsters ever? The 5E Monster Manual just might be the one.”—Ed Grabianowski, io9 - Gizmodo

This bestiary is for storytellers and worldbuilders. If you have ever thought about running a Dungeons & Dragons game for your friends, either a single night’s adventure or a long-running campaign, this tome contains page after page of inspiration. It’s your one-stop shop for creatures both malevolent and benign.

Jump Into Play with D&D Beyond

Purchasing a digital copy of this book unlocks it for use in the D&D BEYOND compendium and toolset. D&D BEYOND is the official digital toolset for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Create characters in minutes, play directly on your character sheets with digital dice, and prep less and play more with Dungeon Master tools like the Encounter Builder and Combat Tracker. Play on Maps, D&D BEYOND's virtual tabletop — no subscription needed. Host game sessions on dozens of official maps, or make your own and use our player and monster tokens to take your gaming to the next level!

Meet the Menagerie

"The yuan-ti cast off their humanity long ago, and with it, their sanity."—from Masters of the Forbidden City by Codo Vidak

Populate your world with beasts both wondrous and sinister.

Horrifying mind flayers, shimmering unicorns, jiggly gelatinous cubes—this book contains over 150 ready-to-play, easy-to-run monsters of all levels to challenge heroes throughout their adventuring careers.

Common beasts mingle with the weird, the terrifying, and the ridiculous, inhabiting nearly every climate and terrain imaginable. Whether your adventure takes place in a swamp, a dungeon, or the outer planes of existence, there are creatures in this book to populate that environment.

Know Your Enemy

"The only good thing about owlbears is that the wizard who created them is probably dead." —Xarshel Ravenshadow, Gnome Professor of Transmutative Science at Morgrave University

Create thrilling encounters with iconic monsters.

When does an owlbear hunt its prey? Can fire hurt a pseudodragon? How fearsome is a hydra’s bite? Knowing the answers to questions like these is crucial to running a D&D adventure.

The Monster Manual (5e) gives you easy access to everything you need to know about creatures large and small. Hit points, damage resistances, legendary actions—stat blocks for each monster include all the information you need to craft encounters, while still being easily scannable when you need a quick reference.

Bring Your World to Life

"Slay me once, shame on you. Slay me twice, shame on me." —Rakshasa maxim

Feed your imagination with art and detailed descriptions.

The best thing about being a DM is that you get to invent your own fantasy world and bring it to life, and nothing brings a D&D world to life more than the creatures that inhabit it.

D&D games are narratives, and great narrators do more than just tell the story. They create a picture in the minds of their audience. From the color of the vapor from a gorgon’s nose to a single, curious detail that marks a rakshasa in disguise — the Monster Manual's rich descriptions and beautiful illustrations will breathe life into your campaign.