The 2025Monster Manualhas no shortage of newDungeons & Dragonsmonsters, but a couple in particular are nearest and dearest tolead designer Jeremy Crawford’s heart. While a lot of the book focuses on remixing monsters with everything from minor tweaks to major overhauls, the completely new additions are naturally some of the most exciting changes. The shiniest options tend to be the new high-level threats, and both of Crawford’s picks comes from that selection.
In aninterview withScreen Rant, Jeremy Crawford responded to a question about his favorite new monster byreiterating his love for the Blob of Annihilation, which he calls his “baby,” and gushing over the Arch-Hag. Both of these monsters could easily spell doom for low-level parties, with Challenge Ratings of 23 and 21, respectively.
Jeremy Crawford: That blob is my baby, because I was the one who came up with this originally, and the one who came up with the joke name that somehow stuck. I think one of my other favorite creatures is the Arch-Hag, and that’s because I love Hags.
Elaborating on the appeal of the Arch-Hag, Crawford referred to the split potential for Hags to be either combative foes or dubious allies.The new high-level version “gets at that dual nature of the creature"while highlighting the uphill battle of actually attempting to fight one and the long-term repercussions that could result.
The Blob Of Annihilation & Arch-Hag Are Serious Threats
Forces To Be Reckoned With
The Blob of Annihilation recently gained a starring role in promotional material for the 2025Monster Manual, and it’s not hard to see why.Its “joke name that somehow stuck” is undeniably memorable, but if it sounds like a goofy threat, the artwork of it looming over a city with the skull of a dead god inside its amorphous form should quickly quell any laughter.
D&D’s 2025 Monster Manual Won’t Include One Feature Missing From The 2024 DMG
There’s a lot that’s new in the 2025 Monster Manual, but one feature that the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide skipped isn’t returning here.
Meanwhile,the Arch-Hag juices up the more typical threats provided by run-of-the-mill hag varieties, collecting abilities from across multiple hag toolkits and boasting a couple of legendary actions to boot. The fey creature is intended to convey the sense of dark power that figures like the Baba Yaga have inspired in both folklore and pastD&Dmaterial.
The Blob Of Annihilation & Arch-Hag Should Both Be Very Fun
I’m lucky enough to already have a copy of the 2025Monster Manualin my hands, andI’m in agreement that the Blob of Annihilation and Arch-Hag are both standouts. The Blob of Annihilation is an obvious winner, and the Arch-Hag scratches a similar itch to the significant sense of threat thatAuntie Ethel provides inBaldur’s Gate 3.
I’m still interested to see what else the community ends up latching onto from the new book, including the response to modified returning creatures like dragons. Every new book comes with its fair share of contention, and it’s always possible that even creatures as cool as the Blob of Annihilation and Arch-Hag could prove troublesome in play. At any rate, Jeremy Crawford seems to have had plenty of fun testing out these newDungeons & Dragonsmonsters, and I’m looking forward to doing the same myself when I get the chance.
