Editing Monster Manual (section)

== ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ==
=== Original ''Monster Manual'' ===
The first publication bearing the title ''Monster Manual'' was written by [[Gary Gygax]] and published in 1977 as a 108-page book.<ref name="HW"/> It was the first [[hardcover]] book for any ''D&D'' game<ref name="WD8"/><ref name="history">{{cite web| url=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_History.asp| title=The History of TSR| publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]| access-date=August 20, 2005| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924195557/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_History.asp| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 24, 2008}}</ref> and the first of the core manuals published for the new ''[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (''AD&D''{{--)}} version of the game.<ref name="HW">{{cite book|last=Schick |first=Lawrence|title=Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games|publisher=Prometheus Books |year=1991|isbn=0-87975-653-5 |pages=106–107}}</ref><ref name="D&Dfaq">{{cite web| url = http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_FAQ.asp| title = ''Dungeons & Dragons'' FAQ| access-date = October 3, 2008| publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081002132129/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_FAQ.asp| url-status = dead| archive-date = October 2, 2008}}</ref> The ''Monster Manual'' was a game supplement intended to detail the standard monsters used with ''AD&D''.<ref name="HW"/> The book compiles over 350 monsters, some new and others revised from older sources such as ''[[Dungeons & Dragons (1974)|Monsters and Treasure]]'', ''[[Greyhawk (supplement)|Greyhawk]]'', ''[[Blackmoor (supplement)|Blackmoor]]'', ''[[Eldritch Wizardry]]'', ''[[The Strategic Review]]'' and [[Dragon (magazine)|''Dragon'' magazine]].<ref name="WD8"/> Each monster was listed in the book alphabetically with a full description and game statistics and many featured an illustration.<ref name="WD8"/>

The cover of the original printing was illustrated by [[David C. Sutherland III]].<ref name="HW"/> A softcover version of the ''Monster Manual'' was printed in the United Kingdom by [[Games Workshop]] in 1978.<ref name="HW"/> When the book was reprinted in 1985 it featured new cover art by [[Jeff Easley]].<ref name="HW"/> The book remained relatively unchanged throughout its fifteen printings up to 1989. Minor changes during the print run included a cover art change to match a new logo and [[Style guide|house style]], and some minor corrections introduced in the 1978 printings.

The first edition ''Monster Manual'' included topless portrayals of some of its female monsters, such as the [[Succubus (Dungeons & Dragons)|succubus]], [[Marilith|Type V demons]], lamia, and [[Sylph (Dungeons & Dragons)|sylph]]. The first edition was also the first appearance of the [[Mimic (Dungeons & Dragons)|mimic]].

In 1999, a [[paperback]] reprint of the first edition was released.<ref name="Fogens">{{cite magazine|title=Classic ''AD&D'' books are back|last=Fogens|first=M.|issue=52|magazine=[[InQuest Gamer]]|page=20|publisher=[[Wizard Entertainment]]|date=August 1999}}</ref> The first edition ''Monster Manual'' was reproduced as a reprint in 2012.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Wizards Is Reprinting the AD&D Core Books!|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/01/wizards-is-reprinting-the-add-core-books/|access-date=2021-09-02|issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2012/08/28/art-of-the-genre-the-old-school-renaissance/ | title=Art of the Genre: The Old School Renaissance – Black Gate | date=August 28, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Reception ===
''Monster Manual'' was also reviewed by [[Don Turnbull (game designer)|Don Turnbull]] who felt that "this manual deserves a place on every ''D&D'' enthusiast's bookshelf", and praised the explanatory text, stating that it "amplifies, where necessary, [the game statistics] and the result is the most comprehensive listing of ''D&D'' monsters you will find, presented in a clarity which is unfortunately all too rare in other sources."<ref name="WD8"/> Turnbull noted some minor printing errors and felt that some of the drawings were not as good as others, but felt that the book's quality "is as high as one can reasonably expect in such a complex matter".<ref name="WD8"/> Turnbull concluded by saying "I can do no more than heap high praise on the ''Monster Manual''. If every [[Dungeon Master|DM]] and every player didn't buy it, I would be very surprised. It is without doubt the best thing that [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]] have produced so far."<ref name="WD8">{{Cite journal| last =Turnbull| first =Don| author-link =Don Turnbull (game designer)| title =The Open Box, The Monster Manual| journal =White Dwarf| issue =8| pages =16–17|date=August–September 1978}}</ref> Lawrence Schick, author of ''Heroic Worlds'', commented that "As nothing is easier to design than new monsters, it has spawned a host of imitations."<ref name="HW"/> Games journalist [[David M. Ewalt]] commented that the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ''Monster Manual'' may have been a rush job, but its quality is undeniable.[...] The ''Monster Manual'' succeeded not just as a game supplement but by elevating the D&D rule book to fetish object. [...] The book became a beloved companion to a generation of gamers, something they came back to again and again."<ref>{{cite book |first=David M. |last=Ewalt |author-link=David M. Ewalt |year=2013 |title=Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It |publisher=Scribner |pages=137–138 |isbn=978-1-4516-4052-6}}</ref>

Scott Taylor of ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'' listed the ''Monster Manual'' as #8 on the list of "Top 10 'Orange Spine' ''AD&D'' Hardcovers By Jeff Easley, saying "Classic! Red Dragon fighting Pegasi in an air duel? What isn't to love about this one?"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2016/09/14/art-of-the-genre-top-10-orange-spine-add-hardcovers-by-jeff-easley/ | title=Art of the Genre: Top 10 'Orange Spine' AD&D Hardcovers by Jeff Easley – Black Gate | date=September 14, 2016 }}</ref>

In his 2023 book ''Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground'', RPG historian Stu Horvath called the amount and professionalism of the interior illustrations groundbreaking, saying "[[David C. Sutherland|Sutherland]] is joined primarily by [[David Trampier]], whose clean, precise lines often evoke the feel of medieval woodcuts. Together, they create a world where green slime drips from the ceiling and treasure chests can come to (hungry) life. RPGs take place in the theater of the mind, but the importance of finally seeing these creatures, often in tableau with unfortunate adventurers meeting their dooms, can't be overstated ... ''Monster Manual'' set the mold for other to follow [and] all embrace a standard of art and detail created here by Gygax and his collaborators."<ref name=mahg>{{cite book| last = Horvath| first = Stu| title = Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground| publisher = MIT Press| date = 2023| location = Cambridge, Massachusetts| pages = 31–34| isbn =9780262048224}}</ref> Witwer ''et al.'' commented in their overview of the artwork of the game: "Collectively, the ''Monster Manual'' images became the canonical representations of these fantastic creatures for an entire generation, a modern bestiary that has served as an authoritative resource for countless subsequent fantasy games."<ref>{{cite book |title=Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: a visual history |last1=Witwer |first1=Michael |last2=Newman |first2=Kyle |last3=Peterson |first3=Jonathan |last4=Witwer |first4=Sam |last5=Manganiello |first5=Joe |date=October 2018 |isbn=9780399580949 |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |oclc=1033548473 |page=77}}</ref>

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=== ''Fiend Folio'' ===
{{main|Fiend Folio}}

''[[Fiend Folio]]'' was published by [[TSR, Inc.]] ''Fiend Folio'' was primarily made up of monsters described in the "Fiend Factory" feature of ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' and from various [[List of Dungeons & Dragons modules|''D&D'' modules]], while some were original creations. It introduced several popular monsters to the ''D&D'' game including [[Drow (Dungeons & Dragons)|drow]], githyanki, [[githzerai]], [[slaad]], and death knights. It also featured monsters that were widely ridiculed, such as the flumph, one of the few non-evil creatures presented in the volume.

=== ''Monster Manual II'' ===
{{Main|Monster Manual II}}

''[[Monster Manual II]]'' was a 160-page hardcover book published in 1983, also credited solely to Gygax.<ref name="HW"/> The book was a supplement that detailed more than 250 monsters, most of them featuring illustrations. Many monsters in the book were taken from previously published adventure modules.<ref name="HW"/> The book contained random encounter tables for dungeon and wilderness settings built from the monsters in the ''Monster Manual'', ''Fiend Folio'', and ''Monster Manual II''.<ref name="HW"/> Some of its contents were taken from various ''AD&D'' adventure modules, in particular quite a number from ''[[Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth|S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth]]'', and a dozen new devils that had been first published in the pages of ''Dragon'' magazine. Like the ''Fiend Folio'' before it, the monsters in ''Monster Manual II'' listed the experience point value for each monster within the entry.  The ''Monster Manual II'' along with the First Edition ''[[Unearthed Arcana]]'' book featured quite a number of monsters, races, and places from Gary Gygax's home [[World of Greyhawk|Greyhawk]] campaign world.