Summary
Dungeons and Dragons' upcoming 2024Player’s Handbookis only the first among a set of revised core rulebooks. However, the third entry in this series—the remasteredMonster Manual, set for a February 2025 release—has been set a mighty task by the design behindDungeons and Dragons' 2024 revision.
D&D 5ehas often fallen short when it comes to giving mid-high CR monsters their due in terms of raw power.Where DMs can easily fellD&Dplayersin the early game, with the goblins of Phandelver tearing up new players by the dozen, godlike terrors and forces of nature are a cakewalk at their own level. The best spot forD&Dis around levels 3-10, where encounters feel like fair fights. Still, even here there are monsters that are far weaker than the CR they’re given—despite new books giving players more and more powerful options.
D&D 2024’s Monster Manual Needs To Put Up A Fight
Players are tougher than ever before inD&D 2024’sPlayer’s Handbook. Despite some spells being rightfully nerfed, alongside some less obviousnerfs found inD&D 2024’s revised character creation, every class has been given the means to blast more damage, stay in the fight longer, and approach problems with more options. Every player will also be getting a feat from their background, as well as an Epic Boon feat at level 19—cranking power higher at the start and end of player journeys.
Weapon masteries are a big part of this;evenD&D 2024’s paladin, which has received a hefty nerf to its smite, is getting itself potent weapon masteries. Some of these masteries simply put out more damage, while others can knock creatures prone without sacrificing damage. A fighter with three attacks and the Topple mastery has three chances to knock a foe prone (six if they use Action Surge), all without sacrificing damage. This definitely helps close the power gap between martials and casters, but it nonetheless puts monsters in a tricky spot.
The New Ancient Green Dragon Statblock Is A Good Sign
RecentD&Dmonster releases, such as those found inSpelljammer,Planescape,Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, andVecna: Eve of Ruinhaven’t been up to snuff when it comes to knocking down players. These monsters, while having a great deal of solid design, often pull punches—overweighing defensive abilities to the detriment of damage output. Fortunately, this seems to be changing withD&D 2024; not only have designers already stated that the math behind calculating CR is being changed, WOTC designer Makenzie De Armas stated in a recent interview with Ghostfire Gaming’s Eldritch Lorecast “Don’t worry, the monsters will hit harder” in response to concerns about player power.
The new Ancient Green Dragon statblock, revealed atan officialD&DGencon panel, seems to confirm this. This statblock, which will be part of the upcoming 2025Monster Manual, is far more dynamic, giving the dragon more to do as well as more health and damage. That damage is particularly important, though: the 2014 Ancient Green Dragon and its 2024 revision are both CR 22 and can make six attacks per round (if they focus out-of-turn abilities on damage), but the total average damage per round (assuming all attacks hit) is 38 points higher in 2024.
The jump from 124 to 162 is incredibly significant, putting the dragon exactly where it should be hitting in terms of damage. Using the encounter-building guidelines ofD&D 5e-compatibleFlee Mortals, designed using the tried-and-tested Lazy Encounter Benchmark by TTRPG designer Mike Shea, a CR 22 ancient green dragon should be a tough solo encounter for 4-5 players of levels 15-16. Players of this level are far beyond demigod status already, especially spellcasters, so the fact that the new dragon has more bite, more health, and more options is a major boon. If all revised monsters follow this example, they’ll definitely keep pace with players.
Dungeons and Dragons
Created by Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop game in which players craft their own worlds and band together to take on adventures through mysterious realms outlined in companion materials. One of the best role-playing games ever made, it has been adapted into a variety of video games and other media.
