Every Monster Replacement In D&D's 2025 Monster Manual
The 2025 edition of the makes some massive changes to monsters, replacing several of its most iconic enemies with alternate versions. has made quite a few changes in the past year, beginning with the new mechanics and balance tweaks in its updated 2024 version of the and. Next came a series of new subclasses via. The most recent changes mostly concern its, a resource full of statblocks for planning and executing enemy encounters.
In order to update the , is getting rid of a lot of its old statblocks. But instead of completely removing them, the 2025 includes 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 2025, what original 5e monster they were based on, and a quick rundown of the reasoning behind this decision.
The table below contains every monster statblock that was changed or removed in the 2025 , and the suggested alternative according to the book's own appendices. The suggested alternative may be nearly identical to the 2014 version, or completely unrecognizable — it varies from case to case.
2014 Monster
2025 Equivalent
Aarakocra
Aarakocra Skirmisher
Acolyte
Priest Acolyte
Adult Blue Dracolich
Dracolich
Androsphinx
Sphinx of Valor
Azer
Azer Sentinel
Bugbear
Bugbear Warrior
Bullywug
Bullywug Warrior
Centaur
Centaur Trooper
Cult Fanatic
Cultist Fanatic
Cyclops
Cyclops Sentry
Deep Gnome
Scout
Drow
Priest Acolyte
Drow Elite Warrior
Gladiator
Drow Mage
Bandit Deceiver
Drow Priestess of Lolth
Fiend Cultist
Duergar
Spy
Duodrone
Modron Duodrone
Faerie Dragon (green, blue, indigo, or violet)
Faerie Dragon Adult
Faerie Dragon (red, orange, or yellow)
Faerie Dragon Youthe
Fire Snake
Salamander Fire Snake
Flying Sword
Animated Flying Sword
Gas Spore
Gas Spore Fungus
Giant Poisonous Snake
Giant Venomous Snake
Gnoll
Gnoll Warrior
Goblin
Goblin Warrior
Grick Alpha
Grick Ancient
Gynosphinx
Sphinx of Lore
Half-Ogre (Ogrillon)
Ogrillon Ogre
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