“Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: Part One” Hits D&D Beyond
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Popular third-party Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting is now available on D&D Beyond. Originally published in 2022 by Loot Tavern and later released by Hit Point Press after a record breaking Kickstarter, as the name suggests, the book is all about monster hunting, offering new rules, subclasses, magic items, species and adventure hooks.
It marks yet another third-party title that has ventured into the wilds of Wizards of the Coast’s once closed off digital ecosystem. It’s worth noting, however, that the original book has been split into two separate products. Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: Part One is now available on D&D Beyond, with part two coming out in the near future.
So is it open season on this new DnD monster book? Below, we track down all the details.
What’s in the original “Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting” book?
The original version of Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting is a sourcebook for DnD 5e that was created by third-party publisher Loot Tavern and later distributed by Hit Point Press after earning a record $1.8 million in funding via Kickstarter that was completed in 2022. The book is 600 pages in length and includes
- 75 new monster stat blocks
- 69 new spells
- 14 maps
- 11 monster hunt adventures (for multiple levels)
- 10 new species
- 9 new subclasses
- A new “Monster Tamer” class (with 4 associated subclasses)
- New rules for Harvesting, Crafting and Cooking with monster parts
If you purchased the physical copy from Loot Tavern and Hit Point Press you also get the following digital elements:
- PDF version of the book
- 44 additional monster encounters
- 10 “Bard Recording” music tracks
- 25+ monster sound effect audio files
- 10 ambient soundscapes audio files
What’s included in “Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: Part One” on D&D Beyond?
As noted previously, the original Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting book has been split into two parts on D&D Beyond. Part One is 350+ pages in length and includes the following:
- 4 Subclasses
- 8 Species Options
- 54 Monsters for use with D&D Beyond Encounters
- 85 Magic Items
- 5 Adventures
- 9 Magic Items
- 9 maps and tokens for use with the new D&D Maps VTT
- Rules for Tracking, Harvesting, Crafting, and Cooking.
It’s important to note the book does NOT use the new DnD 2024 rules. It is technically compatible given that it’s designed for DnD 5e, but species, subclasses and the new Monster Tamer class are all still using the 2014 rules.
How Much is “Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: Part One” on D&D Beyond?
Currently, Part One retails for $39.99 USD on D&D Beyond (although as of this writing it’s been temporarily discounted to $29.99 USD). Notably, the PDF version of Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting (which includes both Part One an Part Two) retails for $34.99 USD on Hit Point Press site. What you’re really paying for, however, is integration with D&D Beyond, including the ability to add the new species and subclasses into the platform’s character creator.
It’s also worth noting that the physical version of the book (which includes the PDF and both Part One and Part Two) retails for $79.99 USD (not including shipping and handling). So the pricing here isn’t quite as competitive as what we’ve seen with other D&D Beyond products.
Final Thoughts
With the launch of the new 2024 Monster Manual, there’s a ton of interest around how to make creature encounters more engaging and unique. So including Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting on D&D Beyond makes total sense. One of the biggest draws with Loot Tavern’s sourcebook, however, is the inclusion of rules for Harvesting, Crafting and Cooking with monster parts (something the new Monster Manual doesn’t even begin to explore).
That being said, if you’ve already picked up Heliana’s before, there’s not much incentive to snag Part One, unless you’re absolutely dying to integrate the content with D&D Beyond. Still, if you’re new to the book, now’s a great time to pick it up (although ordering directly from Hit Point Press or your local game store is probably going to give you more bang for your buck). Wizards of the Coast hasn’t confirmed when Part Two will be coming out, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on this in the days ahead.
In the meantime, you can download your copy of Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: Part One now on D&D Beyond. Below is also a video from the official D&D Beyond YouTube channel that features an interview with with designers from Loot Tavern and Hit Point Press breaking out what’s included.
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Jason Volk is the Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics and lives in the wilds of Western Canada. He has been playing D&D for over 25 years and is a huge fan of Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms. His favorite character of all time was a Necromancer named Neek who spent most of his adventuring career resurrecting the corpses of slain monsters. When he’s not playing TTRPGs, Jason enjoys video games, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40K, watching football and spending time with his wife and adorably nerdy children.
