Players love monsters. And perhaps that means no book will be more popular with players than the Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faern. Each monster in the book-about 100 monsters in total-is presented with a quarter-page, full-color illustration, a stat block, and both a D&D and a Forgotten Realms(r) write-up. Every monster in the Compendium also comes with statistics for use as player characters.
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Firstly, I noticed the lack of exceptional art that was present in the first monster manual. The art isn't exactly bad, but wizards could have done a much better job. The whole presentation of the book seemed a bit rushed and the lack of a hardcover was especially discouraging.
Next, many of the creatures here are not "Creatures of Faerun" but come from other realms. Genasi and Tieflings were from Planescape, and while its nice to have them back in detail for 3rd edition I'd say the title of the book is a bit misleading. When I see "Creatures of Faerun" it would be nice to have the majority of creatures actually be from Forgotten Realms.
Lastly, the price. I understand that this book has more limited appeal and will make less money then the core books, but I don't think that means that wizards should raise the price. For being a softcover book half the size of the core monster manual this book is way too expensive. The book is even more expensive then the core monster manual which is a hardcover!!!!
I don't want people to think this book is worthless. It has its good points. The sheer number of templates in this book make it an awesome selection and the creatures inside (From faerun or not) are absolutely wonderful additions. I just had to point out the flaws for people who are as picky as myself. So if you don't mind paying extra for less, or you need a good monster to stump experienced players then by all means, buy this book!
From Shadow Dragons to outsiders (alternate-planar beings) that are semi-elemental, the MC is a good way to add monsters that will spice up any game. Each of them is done in the same format as in the MM and allows for a DM's own formatting. The book also discusses some of the aspects of the different regional characteristics of some of the alternate races, such as dwarves.
Some of the nice additions are Shadow Dragons, Genasi, Tieflings, Good Lichs, more Were forms, and more types of Beholder.
If you are looking for the best books for 3ed., get them in this order: Monster Manual, Creature Collection (from Sword & Sorcery, which is compatible with 3ed. D&D), and then this book.
It has 1/5th the number of monsters that the MM has, is a fairly flimsy paperback, yet it is 110% of the price ($22 as opposed to $20). This is outrageous for the way the book is written and for only 100 monsters. At a price/monster ratio (ignoring that one is hard-cover), the MM is roughly 4.4 cents per monster while this is 22 cents per monster.
The initial price was reasonable, the price of the sourcebooks is approaching ridiculous. Overall the book is good, the content is decent and it is worthwhile for a Faerun campaign, but if you are looking for something truly outstanding, skip it.
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