Within the rules ofDungeons & Dragons, all creatures are categorized into types, from humanoids to beasts to more outlandish beings like fiends and aberrations. Each are defined by certain parameters that apply to the creatures within their group, andmainly serve as a way for DMs and players to understand what kind of creature they are dealing withand what lore within the world ofD&Dmost directly aligns with them.
According to interviews with the developers of the upcoming2025 Monster Manual, many creatures within the book will be receiving changes to how they are traditionally classified. This has implications not just for the lore of these creatures, but also mechanically to some degree, asthere are certain spells and abilities that only affect certain creature types. However, these changes may be foreshadowing an even greater purpose for these type classifications, as perhaps Wizards of the Coast has further rule changes planned that incorporate creature type into the game.
What Creature Types Are Changing In The 2025 Monster Manual
Creatures Are Getting More And More Inhuman
The names of the creature types themselves will not be changing inD&D’s 2025Monster Manual, and there will still be dragons, constructs, elementals, and more.The specific creatures within those groups, however, are getting shifted around. In a deep dive on the book available on the officialDungeons & DragonsYouTube channel,designers explained that certain groups of monsters are being moved from one type to another; for instance,were-creatures inD&Dwill now be classified as monstrosities, rather than humanoids, to emphasize the impact of their transformation.
All in all, there are fourteen different creature types in the game ofDungeons & Dragons: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, humanoids, monstrosities, oozes, plants, and undead.
In addition, there are two specific smaller creatures whose movement out of the humanoid category is significant:kobolds and kenku, both once humanoids, are now listed as monstrosities and dragons, respectively. This info stands out because both have been player character options in the past as well as enemies. PlayingD&Das a non-humanoid has massive implications for the kinds of spells that can affect a character, for better and worse, so these type changes will be significant if players still wish to use these species.
Spells & Abilities That May Be Affected By 2025 Monster Manual Changes
Mechanics These Updates Will Impact
The main types of spells that stuck out as significant when discussing creature types in the past were healing spells, smites, and those thatspecifically affect humanoids. Healing spells stated that they cannot affect undead or constructs in previous 5th edition materials, meaning that having a player character or ally in those categories could be quite problematic. Within the2024 Player’s Handbook, however, no such stipulation exists.Healing can affect any creature typeindiscriminately.
How D&D 2024’s Healing Changes Could Have A Huge Impact On The Monster Manual
The new Player’s Handbook made some critical changes to healing, which may mean the Monster Manual will be deadlier than ever.
Divine smitestill deals an extra 1d8 radiant damage to fiends and undead, although it’s worth pointing out that this is less powerful now thatdivine smitetakes a bonus action to cast. As for the humanoid-specific spells, such ascharmandhold person, that is where the most important rules still lie.These spells only work on humanoids, meaning a player character who is not humanoid could be considered immune to their effects,or the party may discover a were-creature in their midst when it automatically resists their charm spell.
Spells likecharm personaren’t typically directed at player characters, given the inherent problems with taking a player’s agency away, but spells likehold personare more commonly implemented by enemy mages.
Of the ten player character species presented in the2024 Player’s Handbook, all are humanoid, indicating thatthe game designers are planning encounters and creatures with humanoid parties in mind. Playing as a kobold or kenku under the new rules, or even as afairy or satyr, which count as fey, may lead to some unintentional but interesting effects on the battlefield.
What Players & DMs Need To Know About Type Changes
How These Rules Can Affect Your Games
In the past, creature types have been more important as a structuring tool outside the game rather than a mechanic within it. It is useful for DMs to be able to sort creatures like this to plan encounters that feel thematically cohesive, and it’s useful for players to discover what kind of creature they are going up against to learn more about it. Butit could be interesting to see more creature abilities that take advantage of these restructured type classifications.
D&D’s 2025 Monster Manual Will Contain An Unexpected Amount of New Monsters
The new 2025 Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons will include over 85 new monsters, which is far more than originally expected for the book.
Dragons could have special actions that bolster other draconic allies in the area, or devils and demons could possess certain attacks that are stronger against each other to represent the Blood War. It seems like a good deal of work has been put intoreorganizing these groupings, and the game designers could take advantage of this to make creature types more mechanically relevant inDungeons & Dragons.
