''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 TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

roleplaying 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 ...

As with other ''

Monster Manual The ''Monster Manual'' (''MM'' is the primary bestiary sourcebook for Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, monsters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'' fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR (company), TSR. The ''Monster Manual' ...

'' 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 such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

, yuan-ti, and gnolls. 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 Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Arm ...

' 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

, 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, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes,

Matthew Sernett Matthew Lee Sernett is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Matt Sernett was part of the SCRAMJET team, led by Richard Baker, with designers James Wyatt, Ed Stark, Michele Carter, Stacy Longstreet, and Chri ...

Eric Cagle The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Andrew Finch Andrew J. Finch is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Andrew Finch began working at Wizards of the Coast in 1996, and held a number of different positions. Finch was ultimately working as the Director of Digi ...

Christopher Lindsay Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

Kolja Raven Liquette Kolja or Colja is a short form of the given name Nikolai. It may refer to: * ''Kolya'' (Czech: ''Kolja''), a 1996 Czech drama film * Kolja Afriyie (born 1982), German former professional football player * Kolja Blacher (born 1963), German violin ...

, Chris Sims,

Owen K.C. Stephens Owen K.C. Stephens (born October 28, 1970) is a game designer who has worked on a number of products for the '' Starfinder'', '' Pathfinder'' and '' Star Wars Roleplaying Game'' and other games. Career In 2000, Wizards of the Coast brought Owe ...

, 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

Henry Higginbotham Henry Higginbotham is a working artist who specializes in non-primitive art, steampunk, sculpture and more. Education Higginbotham has a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Iowa. Works Henry G. Higginbotham has produced interior a ...

, 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 o ...

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 Feb ...

Carl Frank Carl Frank is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Education He graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a BFA in illustration. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes '' Scourge of the Howling Hord ...

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 Howard Lyon is an American fantasy artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and ''Magic: the Gathering''. Early life and education Howard Lyon was born in Mesa, Arizona and studied illustration at Brigham Young University (BYU) worki ...

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,

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 ...

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 continue ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

Reception

References

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

Contents

Publication history

Reception

References