Volos Guide to Monsters

Oct 5, 2026

A supplement for Dungeons & Dragons that explores monster lore for game masters and players. It describes where monsters live and how they think, including ways they may befriend or harm adventurers. The book outlines monster groups, expands race options, and introduces new monsters with stat blocks. It also provides appendices for new beasts, non-player characters, and stat block lookup by challenge rating, creature type, and environment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages226

Reading Time5 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Chapter 1: Monster Lore

Beholders: Bad Dreams Come True

Giants: World Shakers

Monstrous Adventurers

Chapter 2: Character Races

Aasimar

Firbolg

Kenku

Gnolls: The Insatiable Hunger

Chapter 3: Bestiary

Index of Monster Stat Blocks

VOLOS GUIDE TO MONSTERS Immerse yourself in monster lore in this supplementfor the world's greatest roleplaying game VOLO'SGUIDE TO MONSTERS CREDITS Lead Designer:Mike Mearls Lead Rules Developer:Jeremy Crawford Designers:Adam Lee,Kim Mohan,Christopher Perkins, Sean K Reynolds,Matt Sernett,Chris Sims,Steve WinterAdditional Design:Ed Greenwood Managing Editor:Jeremy Crawford Editors:Kim Mohan,Christopher Perkins,Michele Carter Editorial Assistance:Chris Dupuis,Ben Petrisor,Stan! Art Director:Kate Irwin Additional Art Direction:Shauna Narciso,Richard Whitters Graphic Designer:Emi Tanji Cover llustrator:Tyler jacobson Interior llustrators:Tom Babbey,John-Paul Balmet,Thomas M.Baxa,Mark Behm,Eric Belisle,Christopher Bradley,FilipBurburan,Christopher Burdett,Sam Burley,Conceptopolis,Stephen Crowe,Daarken,Eric Deschamps,Dave Dorman,MikeFaille,Scott M.Fischer,Lars Grant-West,Rebecca Guay,LakeHurwitz,Tyler Jacobson,Jeremy Jarvis,Jorge Lacera,DanielLjunggren,Howard Lyon,Warren Mahy,Brynn Metheney,ScottMurphy,Marco Nelor,Jim Nelson,Marc Sasso,Chris Seaman,CraigJ Spearing,Cory Trego-Erdner,Franz Vohwinkel,RichardWhitters,Eva Widermann,Shawn Wood,Ben WoottenCartographer:Jared Blando Other D&D Team Members:Greg Bilsland,Bart Carroll,John Feil,Trevor Kidd,Christopher Lindsay,Shelly Mazzanoble,HilaryRoss,Liz Schuh,Nathan Stewart,Greg Tito Project Manager:Heather Fleming Product Engineer:Cynda Callaway Imaging Technicians:Sven Bolen,Carmen Cheung,Kevin Yee Art Administration:David Gershman Prepress Specialist:Jefferson Dunlap 620B8682000001 ENISBN:978-0-7869-6601-1First Printing:November 2016 987654321 Printed in the USA.O2016 Wizards ofthe Coast LC,PO Box707.Renton,WA 98057-0707,USA.Manufaxtured by Hasbro SA,Rue Emile-Bochat 31,280 Delemont,CHBgpresented by Hasbro Europe,4The Square Stockley Park Uxbridge Middlesex UB1l1ET LK. ABOUT THIS BoOK Monsters are the heart of this book-where they live,how they think,how they might befriend you,and howthey might harm you.Chapter 1 delves into the stories ofsome of the monstrous groups presented in the MonsterManual.Chapter 2 supplements the race options in thePlayer's Handbook,and chapter 3 introduces a host ofmonsters and their stat blocks.Appendix A provides afew new beasts,and appendix B is stocked with non-player characters to populate your D&D adventures.AppendixClets you look up stat blocks in this book bychallenge rating,creature type,and environment. Sprinkled throughout the book are observations andmusings from two denizens of the Forgotten Realms:the legendary explorer Volothamp Geddarm(Volo tohis friends)and the Archmage of Shadowdale himself,Elminster Aumar.For the benefit of DMs and players ev-erywhere,Volo and Elminster share their insights withregard to some of the monsters found herein,and theirwords hold a measure of truth regardless of the D&Dworld in which these monsters are met. Playtesters:Robert Alaniz,Jay Anderson,Kevin Baumann,JerryBehrendt,Bill Benham,Stacy Bermes,Matthew Budde,MikCalow,Anthony Carosell,Chris Eadie,Frank Foulis,JasonFransella,Jason Fuller,Jeffrey Fuller,Nick Graves,Richard Green,Gregory Harris,Ken HartSterling Hershey,Eric Hufstetler,PaulHughes,Mark Knapik,Yan Lacharité,Shane Leahy,Tom Lommel,Jonathan Longstaff,Matt Maranda,Chris “Kong”McDaniel,LouMichelli,Mike Mihalas,Daren Mitchell,William Myers,KevinNef,Robert QuillenII,David “Oak”Rice,Sam Robertson,ArthurSeverance,Pieter Sleijpen,Phil Tobin,Steve Townshend,KyleTurner,William Vaughan,Arthur Wright ON THE COVER Tyler Jacobson ilustrates a fateful meeting between a suspiciousfrost giant and a lone adventurer armed with Volo's Guide toMonsters.Will the giant cleave our learned hero in two,or willdiplomacy win the day? Disclaimer:Wizards of the Coost does not wouch for,guarantee,or provide any promiseregarding the validity of the information provided in this volume by Volothamp Geddarm.Donot trust Vola.Donot go on quests oferedby Volo.Do not listen

FAQs

What topics does the book cover about monsters?

It explains where monsters live, how they think, how they might befriend you, and how they might harm you.

What do Chapters 1, 2, and 3 focus on?

Chapter 1 delves into monster groups, Chapter 2 supplements race options and Chapter 3 introduces monsters and their stat blocks.

What tools are provided for finding monster stats?

Appendix C lets readers look up stat blocks by challenge rating, creature type, and environment.

Oct 5, 2026

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