In those previous books, the monsters did hit their challenge ratings, but we used a different method to hit it. Only four creatures—the archdruid, the flind, and the warlocks of the Fiend and the Great Old One—underwent changes to their ability scores, and these changes were minor. Mind you, some of the other lore content in those books is about as far from indispensable as you can get—I’m thinking in particular of the elf stuff—and even the best material has elements that you can feel free to discard.

It really will come down to how much you like the framework provided to you by Wizards of the Coast whether you do or don't like the exclusion of this extra information".And when I say "premise", I don't mean the text I linked above, I mean the idea that the book represents. The Player's Handbook, or PHB, includes just 9 total playable races, so this is a hefty chunk of new content. Cameron has been holding a controller for about as long as he can remember, developing a special love for The Elder Scrolls and Halo at a young age. This change ensures that bonus actions and reactions—such as misty step and shield—aren’t hiding out in a list of spells.

While this may seem like a disadvantage, I believe it adds to the streamlining of each monster; you’re hardly going to drop a Blue Abishai onto the field, a Fiend known for its lighting magic, just for it to bop someone with its quarterstaff. For Deities and larger creatures that often had ‘Madness’ effects, there are now sections detailing the cultists that follow such creatures, detailing actions taken in the name of such monsters rather than an emotional reaction that should be specific to the personality and experience of an individual character. However, most people are probably not shelling out that much money for their RPGs, whether it be the Wizards of the Coast or Paizo variety. Although I’ve never run a campaign that ventured into the lower planes, I’m inferring that barbarians have hitherto posed a big problem to high-level fiends, because Monsters of the Multiverse seems to take every one of their attacks that formerly dealt physical damage (bludgeoning, piercing or slashing) and converted that damage to an elemental or mystical type (acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, necrotic, psychic, radiant or force), perhaps to ensure that all that damage makes it through rather than get lopped in half by a barbarian Rage. Updated formats make monsters more efficient to run for the veteran Dungeon Master and easy to pick up for the new.Unlike games like Warhammer, RPGs have the characteristic that really only 1 person needs to have all the material to play. Also, if a PC should happen to summon a monstrous ally with that kind of damage resistance, the issue is moot if you’re already replacing the physical damage from monsters that used to have Magic Weapons with other damage types. Essentially, if you’re trying to build the most effective ranger possible (or wizard, or monk, or artificer), there are some races that are less effective than others when using the older rules. A monster can always choose to listen for its enemies, or sniff the air, and make its Perception check straight, rather than with disadvantage. Dungeons and Dragons is constantly expanding with new adventures, helping to grow the TTRPG to new heights over the last decade or so.