Dungeons & Dragonsjust made over 25% of the statblocks in the newMonster Manualavailable for free. Later this month, Dungeons & Dragons will release a new version of its Monster Manual core rulebook. While the rulebook contains all the same monsters as its 2014 predecessor, the D&D design teamupdated the statblockswith an eye towards rebalancing the monsters and making them easier to run during combat. The result is monsters that are more in line with theirintended threat levelwith new or greatly changed abilities.
Over the weekend,Dungeons & Dragonsupdated its Free Rules set to include 157 creature statblocks from the newMonster Manual.The majority of these monsters are generic monster types, including various kinds of beast statblocks that druids can use for their Wild Shape form. Also included are NPC statblocks like mages, warriors, toughs, and a handful of dragon wyrmlings. Notably, the most dangerous creature is the CR 10 Stone Golem. These can be accessed for free onD&D Beyond’s website.
Monster Manual: Everything D&D Just Released For Free
Over 150 Classic Monsters Are Included In The Free Release
The Free Rules are intended to be a starting point for newD&Dplayers and contain both basic character creation rules and some basic DM tips and guidance. Notably, the Free Rules were released last year and include all the rules changes and revisions made toD&Das part of the revised 5th edition rules.While these aren’t intended to be a comprehensive rule set forD&D, they do contain all the character class rules (with one subclass for each character class) as well as many spells and feats from the 2024 Player’s Handbook.
Dungeons & Dragons 2025 Monster Manual Review: Classic Monsters Get A Big Tune-Up
Dungeons & Dragons' new Monster Manual provides revamped statblocks that increase the threat and excitement for many classic monsters.
Here is every creature statblock now available for free via D&D’s Free Rules set:
Our Take: Free Material Is Great, But Weirdly A Step Back For D&D
The Previous Set Of Free-To-Use Basic Rules Contained More Monsters
It’s admirable that Wizards of the Coast continues to make some portion of itsD&Druleset free to help new players jump into the game. Wizards previously released the Basic Rules forD&Dplayers, which contained limited rules for the original version of the 5th Edition. However, the Basic Rules (at least those on D&D Beyond) contain more creature statblocks than the Free Rules,including several high CR monsters for players to face.In this context, the new Free Rules are a step back forDungeons & Dragons, although they could get updated again after the Monster Manual’s official release.
