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Volo's Guide to Monsters

Volo's Guide to Monsters

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  • Create Date：2023-04-02 06:58:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Wizards of the Coast
  • ISBN：0786966017
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Summary

Immerse yourself in monster lore in this supplement for the world's greatest roleplaying game

This is NOT just another Monster Manual！ Volo's Guide to Monsters provides something exciting for players and Dungeon Masters everywhere。
- A deep dive into the lore behind some of D&D's most popular and iconic monsters
- Dozens of monsters new to the fifth edition to include in your epic adventures
- New playable races to allow you to build characters to fit nearly any type of story in your D&D game。

The esteemed loremaster Volothamp Geddarm is back and he's written a fantastical dissertation， covering some of the most iconic monsters in the Forgotten Realms。 Unfortunately， the Sage of Shadowdale himself， Elminster， doesn't believe Volo gets some of the important details quite right。 Don't miss out as Volo and Elminster square off （academically speaking of course） to illuminate the uninitiated on creatures both common and obscure。 Uncover the machinations of the mysterious Kraken Society， what is the origin of the bizarre froghemoth， or how to avoid participating in the ghastly reproductive cycle of the grotesque vargouille。 Dungeon Masters and players will get some much-needed guidance as you plan your next venture， traipsing about some dusty old ruin in search of treasure， lore， and let's not forget 。。。 dangerous creatures whose horns， claws， fangs， heads， or even hides might comfortably adorn the walls of your trophy room。 If you survive。

Research has never been so dangerous！

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Reviews

Mikael ，

Useful supplementary rules that allows for players to play humanoid monsters （Of which i have had many requests）。

Dan Schwent ，

I spent a couple hours flipping through this last night。 Monsters， monsters， monsters。 Some popular monster species are put under the microscope， like Mind Flayers， Beholders， and various goblinoid races。 Some new non-human player character races are introduces， like the Goliath， Firbolg， and Tabaxi。 Other than that， it's page after page of monsters。 My wife occasionally looked up from her phone game to marvel at the Flail Snail and other monsters and is pretty jazzed about playing a Tabaxi so t I spent a couple hours flipping through this last night。 Monsters， monsters， monsters。 Some popular monster species are put under the microscope， like Mind Flayers， Beholders， and various goblinoid races。 Some new non-human player character races are introduces， like the Goliath， Firbolg， and Tabaxi。 Other than that， it's page after page of monsters。 My wife occasionally looked up from her phone game to marvel at the Flail Snail and other monsters and is pretty jazzed about playing a Tabaxi so the book did it's job。 Seriously， who doesn't need more monsters in their game？ 。。。more

Arthur B ，

Adds new monsters and new playable character types to 5E， but is somewhat let down by being overtly tied to the Forgotten Realms setting。 Still， at least that setting is about as generic as vanilla ice cream， so shifting these to a different concept is easy enough。 That said， with these creatures and PC types being reprinted in a setting-neutral way in Monsters of the Multiverse， Volo's Guide has become somewhat redundant unless you are specifically keen on the Forgotten Realms setting。 Full rev Adds new monsters and new playable character types to 5E， but is somewhat let down by being overtly tied to the Forgotten Realms setting。 Still， at least that setting is about as generic as vanilla ice cream， so shifting these to a different concept is easy enough。 That said， with these creatures and PC types being reprinted in a setting-neutral way in Monsters of the Multiverse， Volo's Guide has become somewhat redundant unless you are specifically keen on the Forgotten Realms setting。 Full review: https://refereeingandreflection。wordp。。。 。。。more

Becky ，

A great expansion/supplement。 I use it all the time。

Matthew ，

The positives are the pre-gen NPC and PC classes at the end and some of the monster family ecosystem bits at the front。 The negatives are， as always， throwing things that should have been in the monster manual into a new book just for more money and I'm just not generally a fan the 5th edition art style。 The positives are the pre-gen NPC and PC classes at the end and some of the monster family ecosystem bits at the front。 The negatives are， as always， throwing things that should have been in the monster manual into a new book just for more money and I'm just not generally a fan the 5th edition art style。 。。。more

Carlos Gutiérrez ，

Interesante manual sobre todo en su primera parte， que permite conocer el modo de actuar， pensar y ser de monstruos clásicos， así como algunas razas nuevas muu interesantes que añadir a las clases básicas del manual del jugador。 Recomendable。

Steven van Ens ，

Volo's Guide to Monsters was the first supplementary book for 5th edition D&D。 As such， it is a little outdated now， as it predates the changes following BLM and the revisited rules on alignments。 Despite this， more recent editions of this particular book do include these changes， but I happen to own the older version。The book is a supplement mainly to the Monster Manual core rulebook。 As such， it contains stat blocks for many monsters， both old favourites， new creations and different versions o Volo's Guide to Monsters was the first supplementary book for 5th edition D&D。 As such， it is a little outdated now， as it predates the changes following BLM and the revisited rules on alignments。 Despite this， more recent editions of this particular book do include these changes， but I happen to own the older version。The book is a supplement mainly to the Monster Manual core rulebook。 As such， it contains stat blocks for many monsters， both old favourites， new creations and different versions of monster from the MM。 It also includes very expansive lore for six monsters central to many D&D adventures， including Orcs， Goblins， Hags， Kobolds， Mind Flayers and the elusive Yuan-ti。 This lore is generalized and usable in any setting， though there are occasional references to the Forgotten Realms setting。 On top of that， a small chapter is dedicated to new monstrous races for players to use in their character creation。The book is a fun and interesting read， although it must be said that the races and （possibly all） monster stat blocks now also appear in the recently published Monsters of the Multiverse。 Despite this， the lore chapter still contains much information on these monsters， and is a good read for DMs。 。。。more

Thom ，

This is one of my favourite DnD books， probably my single favourite supplement if I had to pick one。 It's a fantastic resource for DMs， with some fantastic monster lore and guides for dungeon building （something that I still struggle with after about 4 years of DMing， so increased guidance is always nice）， amazing playable monsters that expand greatly on the Monster Manual， and some fantastic （if perhaps not entirely balanced） player races。 If you've got the core books and are looking to expand This is one of my favourite DnD books， probably my single favourite supplement if I had to pick one。 It's a fantastic resource for DMs， with some fantastic monster lore and guides for dungeon building （something that I still struggle with after about 4 years of DMing， so increased guidance is always nice）， amazing playable monsters that expand greatly on the Monster Manual， and some fantastic （if perhaps not entirely balanced） player races。 If you've got the core books and are looking to expand your DMing collection， start here。 。。。more

Abdulaziz Sobh ，

Volo's Guide to Monsters is a sourcebook for the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game， released in 2016。 It is， in part， a supplement to the fifth edition Monster Manual and Player's Manual。Volo's Guide to Monsters （PDF-Online Reading-Download-Summary-Review）: https://www。toevolution。com/blog/view。。。 Volo's Guide to Monsters is a sourcebook for the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game， released in 2016。 It is， in part， a supplement to the fifth edition Monster Manual and Player's Manual。Volo's Guide to Monsters （PDF-Online Reading-Download-Summary-Review）: https://www。toevolution。com/blog/view。。。 。。。more

Jeremy Blum ，

Ah， Volo's Guide to Monsters - the D&D book that started a kerfuffle across the internet in 2020 after folks pointed out （rightfully so） that much of the lore contained within is stereotypical and racially-charged。 You could argue that this book was sort of at the nexus point of a ton of different D&D-related controversies that erupted that year， from the debate over whether Oriental Adventures should still be sold on the DM's Guild to the fact that former D&D Creative Director Mike Mearls， who Ah， Volo's Guide to Monsters - the D&D book that started a kerfuffle across the internet in 2020 after folks pointed out （rightfully so） that much of the lore contained within is stereotypical and racially-charged。 You could argue that this book was sort of at the nexus point of a ton of different D&D-related controversies that erupted that year， from the debate over whether Oriental Adventures should still be sold on the DM's Guild to the fact that former D&D Creative Director Mike Mearls， who wrote much of this book， allegedly took the side of a sexual abuser who helped out with playtesting on 5e。 Putting all the controversy aside。。。is Volo's Guide to Monsters actually a good sourcebook for D&D itself？ Honestly， it's a solid read。 Yes， the lore on monsters contained within is restrictive and racist in the same way that most tabletop RPG bestiaries written prior to 2018 are。 For instance， saying that all orcs always have savagery bubbling in their blood and forcing them to take a -2 to Intelligence， as well as the whole idea that kenku can't speak and can only mimic words they hear， are annoying tropes from yesteryear that interfere with character building。 But if you can look past those bits， what you do have here is a readable collection of intel on a lot of monsters that you're probably going to use in your games as a DM， ranging from hags to mind flayers to yuan-ti。 Much of this stuff should probably be rewritten in a more nuanced manner whenever D&D's next iteration comes out， and a large amount of Volo's lore has already been retconned （in a frankly slapdash manner） in the recently released Monsters of the Multiverse book。 This book's legacy， it seems， will likely be that of inciting a change that will gradually shift how D&D lore is written for years to come。 For that reason - as well as the fact that the text isn't intentionally malicious， which is what everyone seemed to be saying in 2020 - I do give it 4 stars。 。。。more

Will Cooper ，

Very in-depth look at several sections （Beholders， Giants， Gnolls， Goblinoids， Hags， Kobolds， Mind Flayers， Orcs， and Yuan-Ti） and how these creatures and societies function， exist， their motives， etc。 If you're a DM， I would say get this。 Also comes many player races to expand your character creation pool and a ton of monsters in the back。 Very fun to read and have as a collection to pull from！ Very in-depth look at several sections （Beholders， Giants， Gnolls， Goblinoids， Hags， Kobolds， Mind Flayers， Orcs， and Yuan-Ti） and how these creatures and societies function， exist， their motives， etc。 If you're a DM， I would say get this。 Also comes many player races to expand your character creation pool and a ton of monsters in the back。 Very fun to read and have as a collection to pull from！ 。。。more

Dylan ，

Volo's Guide to Monsters by Wizards of the Coast is a top-tier supplement that lives up to its name as a monster guide。 Not a replacement for Monster Manual， it is for the Dungeons & Dragons fan who:- Wants more lore on certain monsters and monster player races [Beholder， Orcs， Kobolds， etc。]- Wants the ability to play monster races [Aasimar， Firbolg， Goliath， Kenku， Lizardfolk， Tabaxi， Triton， Bugbear， Hobgoblin， Goblin， Kobold， Orc， Yuan-Ti Pureblood]- Wants to incorporate any of the additiona Volo's Guide to Monsters by Wizards of the Coast is a top-tier supplement that lives up to its name as a monster guide。 Not a replacement for Monster Manual， it is for the Dungeons & Dragons fan who:- Wants more lore on certain monsters and monster player races [Beholder， Orcs， Kobolds， etc。]- Wants the ability to play monster races [Aasimar， Firbolg， Goliath， Kenku， Lizardfolk， Tabaxi， Triton， Bugbear， Hobgoblin， Goblin， Kobold， Orc， Yuan-Ti Pureblood]- Wants to incorporate any of the additional monsters that Volo's brings to the table including a lot more Goblinoids， Giants， and NPC stat blocks It isn't a replacement for any of the older material by any means， but it builds on those ideas in a beneficial way with optional additions to anyone's campaign。TL;DR: Helps expand the lore available to DMs， and the desire to play non-human characters。 。。。more

Lewis ，

This book is really good if you want more monsters for your games。 it is also good if you want more subclasses for your players。

Ash Keyes ，

Will continue to use this and reread as needed。 Truly love the additional playable races。

Rob Moore ，

Lots of great monsters here that can spark a plethora of different adventures。 A great pickup if you are a dungeon master looking to move beyond the core monsters in the monster manual or if you are looking to dive in on some of the classic monsters of the Forgotten Realms。 Also a great companion for players who want more race options。

Dan Hyer ，

AD&D 5E。 If you want to dive really deep into some monsters， this is the book to do it with。

Rich ，

Fun monster lore

Byron Hill ，

This book adds a good amount of new fun monsters and adds a decent amount of fun new playable races。 Very decent supplement for D&D 5e。

Martin Maenza ，

I like that this was more than just another book full of monster stats。 The extra focus lore for nine base monsters was very helpful。 The additional layer character races and the stat blocks for typical NPCs was also appreciated。

Ryan Smith ，

A really handy book for creating diverse characters in D&D

Mitchell ，

Not exactly the easiest thing to read。 But some of this was exactly what I was looking for - especially the deep dives into goblins and kobolds and orcs and to a lesser degree gnolls and mind slayers and beholders。 I was curious to see what a monster lair might look like by a game master given considerable thought， and this provided that。 The monsters themselves mostly fit into what would add to the richness of those lairs。 Still the text was ponderous and not always all that entertaining。 The m Not exactly the easiest thing to read。 But some of this was exactly what I was looking for - especially the deep dives into goblins and kobolds and orcs and to a lesser degree gnolls and mind slayers and beholders。 I was curious to see what a monster lair might look like by a game master given considerable thought， and this provided that。 The monsters themselves mostly fit into what would add to the richness of those lairs。 Still the text was ponderous and not always all that entertaining。 The maps were a little too pretty and not clear。 Still， this is a book I hope to come back to。 3。5 of 5。 。。。more

The Sapphic Nerd ，

I got this mainly for the additional playable races and was not disappointed！ Now I just have to decide what to play as。。。

Regan ，

This definitely isn't the first time I've read this book， the first time was probably 2019， but I'm noting it because I combed it much more this time than I would have last time。 I prefer the Xanathar's/Tasha's layout and organization but these monster explorations are fun and useful。 I was able to build out story undercurrents for two separate campaigns just from re-reviewing the content， so that's a good thing。 This definitely isn't the first time I've read this book， the first time was probably 2019， but I'm noting it because I combed it much more this time than I would have last time。 I prefer the Xanathar's/Tasha's layout and organization but these monster explorations are fun and useful。 I was able to build out story undercurrents for two separate campaigns just from re-reviewing the content， so that's a good thing。 。。。more

Tatiana Alejandra de Castro Pérez ，

La guía de Volo es algo más que un bestiario; incluye conocimientos sobre cómo se comportan algunos monstruos y cómo son sus sociedades （y guaridas）， además de ofrecer un mayor elenco de bestias y PNJ para las partidas de Dungeons & Dragons。Lo que más he disfrutado del libro ha sido el primer capítulo， el dedicado a ese conocimiento más íntimo de nueve monstruos del juego， y todas las anotaciones de Volo y Elmister （¡algunas son muy graciosas！）。 Creo que se pueden sacar muchas ideas para partida La guía de Volo es algo más que un bestiario; incluye conocimientos sobre cómo se comportan algunos monstruos y cómo son sus sociedades （y guaridas）， además de ofrecer un mayor elenco de bestias y PNJ para las partidas de Dungeons & Dragons。Lo que más he disfrutado del libro ha sido el primer capítulo， el dedicado a ese conocimiento más íntimo de nueve monstruos del juego， y todas las anotaciones de Volo y Elmister （¡algunas son muy graciosas！）。 Creo que se pueden sacar muchas ideas para partidas de aquí。Lo que menos me ha gustado del libro son algunos de los monstruos del capítulo tercero （tengo un trauma especial con el vargouille） y no sé hasta qué punto las variantes de bestias van a ver hueco real en una partida。 También he echado de menos más profundidad en otros seres icónicos de D&D。。。 quizá estén en otra guía de Volo futura。En general es un libro que se disfruta bastante y que puede ayudar a dar más profundidad a los monstruos que aparecen en el Monster Manual （o desperdigados en otros suplementos de D&D） y dar alguna opción más para los jugadores que busquen interpretar razas nuevas。 。。。more

Evan ，

Good guide and has great monsters。

Scott Johnson ，

This was good， but I did have a harder time focusing on it this time around （hence the long， long time it took to finish）。 I don't think I was as invested in the lore for most of these races as I was for others in the past。It's also one of my first really high level supplements that entirely presupposes that you are a rules expert （and I'm a tad fuzzy on what the various modifiers and abilities do， I should reread the core rulebooks again， since the lack of an opportunity to actually play has be This was good， but I did have a harder time focusing on it this time around （hence the long， long time it took to finish）。 I don't think I was as invested in the lore for most of these races as I was for others in the past。It's also one of my first really high level supplements that entirely presupposes that you are a rules expert （and I'm a tad fuzzy on what the various modifiers and abilities do， I should reread the core rulebooks again， since the lack of an opportunity to actually play has been undermining my internalizing all of this stuff more permanently）。 。。。more

Drew ，

Volo’s Guide to Monsters follows the same format as the DM expansion books， with half the book being in-depth lore of some part of the D&D worlds， including new character options， and the second half of the book being a bestiary of new creatures， most of which relate to the lore from the first half of the book。 This book adds lots of lore about some iconic D&D monsters like beholders， giants， goblinoids， etc。 It covers their behaviors， abilities， how to role play them， and even provides fully-re Volo’s Guide to Monsters follows the same format as the DM expansion books， with half the book being in-depth lore of some part of the D&D worlds， including new character options， and the second half of the book being a bestiary of new creatures， most of which relate to the lore from the first half of the book。 This book adds lots of lore about some iconic D&D monsters like beholders， giants， goblinoids， etc。 It covers their behaviors， abilities， how to role play them， and even provides fully-realized example lairs for these creatures。 While this is super interesting and allows a DM to add depth to encounters， it’s also a LOT of information that would be hard to remember in the moment。 Might just be me though。 Here’s something I’m beginning to realize with these books: in general， lore like this is fun for its own sake， but only for the DM， with few exceptions。 On the other hand， lore that lends itself to spontaneous discovery， especially via player interaction， is absolute gold in an RPG。 For example， everything I learned about beholders is cool， but the only way I could share that with the players would be to expound on the lore myself， to info dump on the players if they ask。 In contrast， there is a creature in this book that adds a throwaway detail in its description that is， in my opinion， the best thing in the book。 The creature is called a cave fisher， a 5-foot-long pure white lobstrosity that secretes sticky filament to entangle prey。 Not a high chance characters would ever see one， especially if the adventure takes place far from their favored lairs。 But when a cave fisher is killed， their alcoholic blood is harvested as a powerful spirit。 Their blood is literally powerful booze。 This is an opportunity to add detail to the world that is interactive: the players could wander into a tavern and see a bottle of dark red booze behind the bar， labeled Cave Fisher Blood。 A picture of a strange giant lobster is on the label （maybe with a warning on the label to take it easy with this stuff）。 Players will have questions， and the barkeep could provide answers—right before they buy a round of shots and you have them roll CON saving throws。 It’s the difference between lecturing and discovering。 Passive vs active。 Expanding on the world should be possible through the everyday， not just via the crazy shit adventurers experience in faraway lands。Overall， a pretty cool book。 I felt that it was an oversight to leave out player options to be a mindflayer。 Given the lore in this book， it’s perfectly possible to be an adventuring ithillid， with built-in backstory to boot。 。。。more

Kurt Vosper ，

A wonderful addition to the new rule set。 Volo is of course the ‘author’ but Elminster is in there commenting as well。 Some new monsters for 5th edition as well as some old favourites （Flinds are back and much improved btw）。 Fun read。

Stephan ，

On the whole， I really did enjoy this book。 It gives a very nice in depth look on several of the monstrous races the player characters can encounter when playing Dungeons & Dragons。 And even gives us rules to play as them in a campaign。 This is both the best part of the entire book， but also my biggest complaint。For an example: we get a very nice and， quite frankly， awesome chapter on kobolds。 You know those weak draconic goblin-things the players can encounter at level 1 to try out their skills On the whole， I really did enjoy this book。 It gives a very nice in depth look on several of the monstrous races the player characters can encounter when playing Dungeons & Dragons。 And even gives us rules to play as them in a campaign。 This is both the best part of the entire book， but also my biggest complaint。For an example: we get a very nice and， quite frankly， awesome chapter on kobolds。 You know those weak draconic goblin-things the players can encounter at level 1 to try out their skills at and to advance one or two levels against？ Well now I've got a very different view on the little critters。 I've really started to question their alignment and will most definitely be using them a lot more as intelligent social trapsters。 （Tuckers kobolds anyone？ They are （in my eyes） portrayed as fairly intelligent creatures who lives in underground communities where they try to keep out of the way of the bigger races of D&D。 They don't go out on vicious raids on the countryside。 They don't join up with the local dark lord of evil doominess voluntarily and they have even been known to work alongside humans， Expanding a city's catacombs or sewers in exchange for protection。Kobolds are often dismissed as cowardly， foolish， and weak， but these little reptilian creatures actually have a strong social structure that stresses devotion to the tribe， are clever with their hands， and viciously work together in order to overcome their physical limitations。 In the world they occupy， kobolds are often bullied and enslaved by larger creatures — or， when they live on their own， they are constantly fearful of invasion and oppression。 Although individually they are timid and shy away from conflict， kobolds are dangerous if cornered， vicious when defending their eggs， and notorious for the dangerous improvised traps they use to protect their warrens。 This makes for an interesting race both as NPS's and PC's。 But here's where my complaints come。 When we get to the rules for playing a kobold all of the abilities and skills seem to focus on them being small， weak， cowardly and evil。 There's nothing that suggests that they are intelligent trap makers。 They get a hefty penalty to strength （something neither gnomes or halflings do） and nothing that suggests their draconic ancestry。All in all it feels like they had one author composing the background materials and a totally different making up the rules for the playable race。 I would enjoy playing the race as it is described， but certainly not with the rules we got （but then again， that's what house rules are for，eh？）The book also gives a very nice depiction of the mindflayers and of their origins。 They are an alien species who once ruled a vast empire until the day that their slaves， the gith， rose up and toppled their empire。 Now they stay hidden， trying to influence the world in secret， yearning for the day they can reclaim their lost domains。 But all the while they are being hunted by the gith。 But why then don't we get any more information or background material on this race？ It feels like we only got half of the story！I would also have liked the book to focus a bit more on both Volo and Elminster。 There's so little in the book that suggests Volo had a hand in making it that it just feels like an ordinary sourcebook。And still。 After all these complaints， I really did enjoy reading this sourcebook。 And I've gotten so much inspiration for use in my coming adventures and campaigns。 。。。more

tpg0 ，

As an AI language model， I don't have personal preferences， but I can tell you about the book 'Volo's Guide to Monsters。' 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' is a supplemental guidebook for the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game。 The book offers a closer look at the lore and ecology of some of the more dangerous monsters in the game's universe， including beholders， mind flayers， and giants。 The book also includes new player options， such as new race and class options， as well as spells and magic items。 Overall， 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' offers players and dungeon masters more insight and options for bringing interesting and challenging monsters to their games。

tpg1 ，

As an AI language model， I cannot have preferences。 However， I can provide information and a brief summary of the book。 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' is a supplement for the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons， published by Wizards of the Coast。 The book focuses on various monsters and other creatures that players may encounter during their game sessions， and provides detailed information on their histories， habits， and abilities。 The book is written in-character by the infamous traveler and explorer Volo， and includes his personal observations and anecdotes。 It also includes new player character races and options， as well as new spells and magic items。 Overall， 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' is a valuable resource for Dungeon Masters and players alike who want to add more depth and variety to their D&D games。

tpg2 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have preferences or opinions; however， 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' is a comprehensive guidebook on creatures of the Dungeons & Dragons universe。 It provides game masters with information on monsters' lore， ecology， and behavior， along with tips for crafting immersive encounters。 The book also includes new player races and character options， making it an excellent resource for players and dungeon masters alike。

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Reference

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