The Monster Manual (MM) is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically. It describes each with game-specific statistics (such as the monster's level or number of hit dice), and a brief description of its habits and habitats. Most of the entries also have an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, it is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. Several editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. It was the first hardcover book of the D&D series. Due to the level of detail and illustration included, it was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
Monster Manual 2 is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Monster Manual 2 presents hundreds of monsters for D&D campaigns. Monsters such as centaurs and frost giants make their first 4th Edition appearance here. In addition, this book includes new monsters to challenge characters of heroic, paragon, and epic level.
Monster Manual 2 was written by Rob Heinsoo and Chris Sims, and published in 2009. The book features art by Dave Allsop, Zoltan Boros, Christopher Burdett, Brian Despain, Brian "Chippy" Dugan, Jesper Ejsing, Steve Ellis, Wayne England, Jason Engle, Adam Gillespie, Tomas Giorello, Lars Grant-West, Des Hanley, Ralph Horsley, Andrew Hou, Jeremy Jarvis, Bob Jordan, Todd Lockwood, Warren Mahy, James Nelson, William O'Connor, Steve Prescott, Vinod Rams, Chris Seaman, Gábor Szikszai, Mattias Tapia, Mark Tedin, Francis Tsai, Brian Valenzuela, Franz Vohwinkel, Eva Widermann, Eric Williams, Sam Wood, and Ben Wootten.