The 2025 edition of theDungeons & DragonsMonster Manualmakes some massive changes to monsters, replacing several of its most iconic enemies with alternate versions.DnDhas made quite a few changesin the past year, beginning with the new mechanics and balance tweaks in its updated 2024 version of thePlayer’s HandbookandDungeon Master’s Guide. Next came a series of new subclasses viaUnearthed Arcana. The most recent changes mostly concern itsMonster Manual, a resource full of statblocks for planning and executing enemy encounters.
In order toupdate theMonster Manual,DnDis getting rid of a lot of its old statblocks. But instead of completely removing them,the 2025Monster Manualincludes a handy-dandy table of easy equivalents, in case the DM is struggling to find a quick replacement for a favorite bit of cannon fodder. Here’s every suggested alternative monster in the 2025MM, what original 5e monster they were based on, and a quick rundown of the reasoning behind this decision.
Every D&D 2025 Monster Manual Conversion
D&D’s Defunct Monsters & Their Equivalents
The table below containsevery monster statblock that was changed or removed in the 2025Monster Manual, and the suggested alternative according to the book’s own appendices. The suggested alternative may be nearly identical to the 2014Monster Manualversion, or completely unrecognizable - it varies from case to case.
Faerie Dragon (green, blue, indigo, or violet)
Faerie Dragon (red, orange, or yellow)
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Yuan-ti Infiltrator
Do note that, in every case listed above,the suggested alternative monster is of an equivalent challenge rating (CR) to the associated 2014 original. That way,the DM doesn’t have to scrap or rebalance an entire encounterbecause their planned monsters have been removed from the game; they can simply swap in an appropriate alternative from the table above.
D&D’s 2025 Monster Manual Replacements, Explained
Why 2025’s Monster Manual Is Different
There are many reasons why theMonster Manualhas seen changes in 2025.Some of them are as simple as correcting inaccuraciesin previous versions: for example, the switch from “Poisonous Snake” to “Venomous Snake” is simply a matter of semantic accuracy. Others are for the sake of consistency, clarity, or simplicity, like the addition of the Modron prefix to the various drone enemies in the table above. Others have to do with certain types of monsters getting new, harder variants in the 2025 edition, hence the change from Azer to Azer Sentinel, for example.
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Many of theseMMsubstitutions also stem fromDnD’s attempt to leave the concept of inherently evil species and cultures behind. That’s apparent in the changes to monsters who come from playable races: Drow, for example, is substituted with the more generic Priest Acolyte, which has a standard humanoid statblock and can be subbed in for a character of any race. Other monster names have been changed to remove negative associations with indigenous people, like the change from Orc War Chief to Tough Boss or Lizardfolk Shaman to Lizardfolk Geomancer.
Some changes were made to remove gendered language, replacing Lizard King/Queen with Lizardfolk Sovereign, or Androsphinx and Gynosphinx with Sphinx of Valor and Sphinx of Lore, respectively. But whether they were changed to remove a bias or increase accuracy, they all serve to make theMonster Manualmore adaptable. That makes it a much more useful resource to anyDungeons & Dragonscampaign.
