In the earlier days of Dungeons and Dragons, the first players established many signature characters that are still referenced in D&D today. This is namely due to those initial adventurers asking about spells they could invent. Bigby, Melf, Evard, Tasha, all key characters in D&D lore, though one other eclipses them all. That character was Gary Gygax’s character, Mordenkainen the wizard. It is fitting, then, that a book on the multiverse and its fluctuating factions be penned by him. But, does the book live up to the expectation? Is the book flavorful, crunchy, and substantial?

To start, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes follows the trends set before it with the notes by Mordenkainen. They portray him accurately and are a just tribute to an iconic character. The majority of the book, though, contains lore and history of major cosmic events. The Blood War, the fall and division of the Gith, the pantheons of lesser known races and their dealings. Even one fragment of these elements could serve as a springboard for adventure. A devilish force might set its eyes on recruits for the Blood War, only for a fiend to attempt to squash that force before its a threat. The Githyanki, Githzerai, and their mind flayer foes might all tumble unexpectedly into a city as their chaotic brawl unfolds. A lesser deity might bestow a holy quest upon an aspiring adventurer. All are but the tip of the iceberg of adventure and taste as sweet as Neapolitan ice cream. Fitting given that each type lends itself well to leading into the next.

Few whole new mechanics are brought into Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes and fewer still on the players’ side of things. Tiefling variants are welcome. The original in the Player’s Handbook is a bit rigid compared to other races. Newcomers are the Gith race, the Githyanki and Githzerai. Both are endowed with telepathic magic (called psionics) and boast a few other mental or martial abilities and the Duergar are reprinted from another book for certain standardized play rules. The bulk of the mechanics, however, are aimed squarely at the Dungeon Master, for many, many powerful monsters of imaginable and unimaginable terror reside within. The majority of them are suited for more experienced characters and include new devils, constructs, drow, githyanki, duergar, undead, monstrosities, and unique monsters so villainous, they cannot be done justice by casually naming them here.

The taste is just right, the crunch is familiar, but is it all substantial enough? For a player, this can be slightly disappointing. There isn’t a huge amount of new content to salivate over, but the content that is there is quite crunchy and enjoyable. Dungeon Masters, on the other hand, get to bite into over 80 new monsters to devise adventures around. This is plenty to challenge a high level party with, which is no easy task on its own.

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes is an excellent glimpse into the wider worlds of D&D. It gives players a little snack of content to help satiate them while giving a Dungeon Master much more of what they’re always depleting, fresh creatures for the party to interact with, be it by combat, negotiations, or otherwise. It does contain some reprinted material, some of which is understandable due to being from adventures some folks might not have played. The small bit of the rest feels like padding otherwise, regarding player content. A small grip, however, towards a tantalizing tome of foes. A-. Another hit in 5th Edition D&D’s library.

-The_Clark_Side