Harvest 'Dungeons & Dragons' Monsters in New and Innovative Ways

A new Dungeons & Dragons supplement adds a variety of new items and loot that players can obtain when harvesting monsters. We've all had that one Dungeons & Dragons session in which a player asks what they can harvest from a random monster and the DM comes up with a suitable answer. Sure, players can obtain pelts, claws, or teeth from the monsters they kill, but what about more innovative items that have value other than their weight in gold? Anne Gregersen, the writer of the best-selling supplement Sir Alkian's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse, recently released a new DMs Guild supplement that explains what all those random monster bits can be used for.

Monster Loot: Volume 1 is a new 81 page supplement that provides detailed breakdowns of various items that can be harvested from every monster found in the Monster Manual. In addition to providing a basic guide to harvesting (different types of monsters require different Ability Checks to harvest successfully), the book contains a variety of loot and monster parts that have some sort of special effects when either consumed or used in combat. For instance, fletching an arrow with feathers from an Aarakocra can increase the range of an arrow by 10 feet, while ectoplasm harvested from a ghost can be used to see into the Ethereal Plane. Other items can be harvested into potions or weapons, or used as a material component that grants a spell a specific potency. The only downside to this guide is that it doesn't come with any downsides to consuming certain monster parts. I love the idea of giving players a boon if they consume beholder blood, but I feel that there should be a bit more risk...even if the harvesting guide explains that consumables can't just be eaten raw.

I've always loved monster harvesting guides, and I appreciate how practical and fun Monster Loot is. Not only does this provide players with some extra rewards for killing monsters, it also opens up some fantastic roleplaying options and decisions. Would your character knowingly consume an intellect devourer if they knew it would grant some sort of benefit? Or are there limits to what sort of monster parts they'd eat? This is one of my favorite DMs Guild supplements of 2019 and is a must-have for any DM who has ever been asked what a demon heart does besides smell and take up space in a player's inventory.

Monster Loot: Volume 1 is available on the DMs Guild for $4.95.

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