Page Updated:   2021-10-22

The Monster Manual is a Dungeons & Dragons bestiary for D&D 5E by Roll20, published by Wizards of the Coast.

• Marketplace link: Monster Manual^(Market)

The Roll20 Monster Manual Bundle

When you purchase the 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual through Roll20, you get a bundle that unlocks the Monster Manual Index of pages on the the 5th Edition SRD Compendium. Instead of seeing the SRD entries from the 5th Edition SRD Compendium, you will access the full text entries and graphics available from the hardcover book.

Contents 1 The Roll20 Monster Manual Bundle 1.1 The Monster Manual Compendium Edition 1.1.1 The Monster Manual Entry Index 1.2 Utilizing the Compendium in your Game 1.2.1 Adding the 5th Edition Compendium to your Game 1.2.2 Book Source IDs 1.2.3 How to Drag and Drop Entries into from the Compendium 1.2.3.1 Non-Monster Entries 1.2.3.2 Monster Entries 1.3 Notes 2 Bundle Updates

The Monster Manual Compendium Edition

When you buy a copy of the Monster Manual through Roll20, you don't get a PDF of the book. Instead, you unlock the entire contents of the book transferred directly into the 5th Edition SRD Compendium. Each monster has been given their own dedicated Compendium entry.

Note: If you do not have Monster Manual purchased, you will only be able to see the available monster entries from the D&D 5E SRD Compendium.

The Monster Manual Entry Index

• Monster Manual Index Page
  • Monsters: The Rule Page for Playing Monsters
    • Monsters by Name
    • Monsters by Type
    • Monsters by Challenge Rating
• Miscellaneous Creatures: Appendix A
• NPCs: Appendix B
• Credits

Utilizing the Compendium in your Game

One of the benefits of transferring the Monster Manual into Compendium form is being able to use it directly in a Roll20 game. When using the D&D 5E by Roll20 character sheet*, a GM is able to drag and drop a Monster entry from the 5th Edition Compendium onto the Tabletop to create a statted token AND generate a new NPC character journal under your Journal tab that will be linked to it. This NPC sheet will be automatically set up with all that monster's attributes, traits and skills that you can roll from immediately.

Additionally, any non-monster entry such as rules, lore, items, et cetera that you drag to the Tabletop will create a Handout of that entry that you can share with your players.

* A Note About Compatibility With Other 5E Sheets We only officially support the D&D 5E by Roll20 character sheet. Roll20 built this sheet in-house and we can reliable keep it synced and up-to-date with any and all content we provide on Roll20. The Compendium was designed with this sheet in mind and this is mentioned on the Marketplace page for the Monster Manual. All other 5E sheets available are community created. Compatibility of new Roll20 features is reliant on the individual sheet creators/authors/editors making updates to remain up-to-date with Roll20's features and products. That being said, we're more than happy to help out any sheet creators if they have any questions on how to adopt existing or new Roll20 features.

Adding the 5th Edition Compendium to your Game

First, you will need to add the D&D 5E Compendium to your 5th Edition game if you haven't done so already. To do this, you either create a new game using a 5th Edition Character Sheet OR go to your Game Settings Page afterwards to add the Compendium to the game. (For best Drag and Drop compatibility with the Compendium, we recommend using the Official Roll20 5th Edition Character Sheet ) The 5E Compendium is added by default if you've built a game using our existing Marketplace products such as the Lost Mine of Phandelver or Storm King's Thunder modules.

Once added, a new tab will be added to the Sidebar situated between the Journal and Jukebox tab. Symbolized by a lowercase "i" (i), this is the Compendium Tab. The search bar operates exactly as the one found on the exterior website version of the Compendium.

Book Source IDs

5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons has many books of content. A Book Source ID has been applied to all the entries added to the 5th Edition Compendium. This will allow you to keep track of which printed book an entry is coming from. To the right of any Compendium entry found on the Compendium Tab is a three digit Source ID directing towards a specific book.

Book Source IDs for the 5th Edition Compendium

SRD: An entry from the D&D 5th Edition SRD Compendium

MM1: An entry from the D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual

VG1: An entry from 5th Edition Volo's Guide to Monsters

How to Drag and Drop Entries into from the Compendium

• Step 1: Search the Compendium Tab for an entry (we'll use Volo's Guide to Monsters' Alhoon entry as our example)

• Step 2: Click and drag the entry from the Compendium Tab to the Tabletop

• Step 3: Step 2 begins the automation process, what is created depends on what the entry type is:

Non-Monster Entries

A handout will be created in your Journal Tab containing all of the text and images contained within the entry. For Monster Manual content, this allows a GM to share the content with your players who do not have access to the Marketplace bundle.

Monster Entries

Dragging and dropping a monster entry to the Tabletop first creates a character journal on the Journal Tab for the monster. If you are using the Official D&D 5E by Roll20character sheet, the sheet will automatically swap over to the NPC version and have all of the Compendium entry's attributes, traits, skills, and actions already inputted. The lore, images and description of the monster entry will be listed in the character journal's bio. The token graphic attached to the Compendium entry will then be placed on the Tabletop, statted with the HP and AC of the desired creature, and then linked to the character journal that was just created.

Notes

Token Art: Brass Badger Workshop was contracted to create token art for the following monster entries: Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Awakened Shrub, Awakened Tree, Baboon, Bloodhawk, Boar, Deer, Draft Horse, Drow Elite, Drow Mage, Elk, Giant Crab, Giant Goat, Giant Octopus, Giant Owl, Giant Raven, Giant Shark, Giant Poisonous Snake, Giant Sea Horse, Giant Toad, Giant Wasp, Giant Wolf Spider, Goat, Guard, Hunter Shark, Jackal, Killer Whale, Lion, Octopus, Cave Bear, Poisonous Snake, Polar Bear, Pteranodon, Reef Shark, Rhinoceros, Saber-Toothed Tiger, Sea Horse, Swarm of Beetles, Swarm of Centipedes, Swarm of Insects, Swarm of Poisonous Snakes, Swarm of Spiders, Swarm of Wasps, Swarm of Rats, Swarm of Ravens, Triceratops, Warhorse, and Warhorse Skeleton

Player Access: Players can have direct access to the Monster Manual within the In-App Roll20 Compendium. You can share the Monster Manual using Compendium Sharing. The GM can drag and drop any entry from the Compendium as either a Character or Handout (depending on the entry type) into their Journal to be made available for player use.

Other 5th Edition Character Sheets: We can't guarantee that the Compendium Drag and Drop features will work predictably with other 5th Edition character sheets like the Community-Created and Shaped 5th Edition Sheets. Wizard of the Coast modules are designed with the D&D 5E by Roll20 Character Sheet in mind.

Spellcasters: There was an intentional decision made with spellcaster monsters where we limited the individual spell entries down to the most commonly used offensive spells. For those we created a separate actions for each to be rolled from the sheet. We went with this method instead of having an NPC sheet with every single spell inputted under Spellcasting to keep the attribute bloat low to keep your games optimized. That being said, any spellcasting NPC should have all their spells listed under their Spellcasting Trait on the NPC sheet when you do a drag and drop from the Compendium.

Bundle Updates

2/7/2017 - Monster Manual launches on Roll20.

• Launch Blog Post
• Official Bug Thread