Classic monsters can get stale, and Game Masters often need to generate their own monstrosities to properly challenge players. But concepting, creating, and using monsters is no easy feat for any Game Master—and that’s where this book comes in.

In these pages, 15 of the brightest stars in the gaming industry share their wisdom for conceptualizing, developing, and maximizing the “Wow!” factor of monsters. Step by step, the writers show how to think up a new idea—or modify an existing one—then refine and test the design and get the absolute most out of the creature.

Ever wanted to build a monster from mythology or pop culture? Use psychology theory to power your monsters’ motivations? Get advice for when your players try to befriend a beast? This book has you covered! Through simple but effective techniques, these experts demonstrate how to:

• put an adversary’s environment and resources to best use
• employ common-sense motivations to guide a creature’s behavior and choices
• develop realistic alternatives to just fighting—and dying
• grab every player’s attention with powerful, sensory-filled descriptions
• make monsters much more than a piece of art coupled with a block of statistics!

Presented in thoughtful progression, this book contains essays by RPG veterans Monte Cook, Wolfgang Baur, Mike Mason, Crystal Frasier, Mike Shea, Shanna Germain, Steve Winter, and many more. They have created your favorite monsters from the most prominent roleplaying game publishers around. Now let them turn you into a Monster Master, too!