Manual of Monsters Manual of Monsters is a source book for " Warcraft The Roleplaying Game " and was published in 2003 . It contains descriptions and game statistics for a large number of creatures that inhabit the Warcraft setting . As the book was published before the release of " World of Warcraft " , it only covers a few creatures that were introduced in the MMORPG and mostly covers material from the RTS series . The book is out of print . However , it can still be obtained in a PDF format . A new creature source book for the " " was released on February 7th , 2007 called " Monster Guide " . It covers new creatures that appear in " World of Warcraft " and updates some of the creatures from " Manual of Monsters " with new game statistics and rules of the new Warcraft RPG game . Chris Metzen was a co - author and a member of the " Design Assistance and Additional Material " staff for the book . Appendix Two : Villains of Warcraft . In Appendix Two the book also contains descriptions and game statistics for the following major villains of the Warcraft universe : Appendix Three : Other Monsters in Warcraft . Finally , Appendix Three contains original lore for monsters and creatures adapted into the Warcraft Setting from other d20 books ( " " , Creature Collection Revised , Creature Collection II : Dark Menagerie , and ) . According to the book the updated lore takes precedence over descriptions found in the previous non - Warcraft books . The section also contains information on how to incorporate other monsters into a campaign for the Warcraft RPG . The background lore could be used by someone who wanted to include the monsters in their campaigns . " Other Monsters in Azeroth . . . Some creatures in " Manual of Monsters " are similar to the described in the MM - centaur , dragon s , elemental s , golem s , and so on . In some cases the MM descriptions are suitable for use as - is , such as for elementals . Under circumstances , the creature receives no listing in the " Manual of Monsters " . In other cases , monsters are different enough in their ecology or abilities to require a new description here . When a creature is listed in the " Manual of Monsters " with the same one as the MM , the description in this book takes precedence for a Warcraft campaign . The same is true for an animals or vermin particular to the world of Azeroth , as described in Appendix One . In the case of identical types of animals the ones in the Manual of Monsters takes precedence . Many of these creatures are unique , and have not appeared in previous Warcraft video games ( although a few like " floating eye s " , " shadow s " , " bone golem s " and others , have been incorporated later ) . A few entries ( wyvern - wyvern , dryad - dryad , centaur - centaur ) seem at first glance to contradict other known lore on the subject , however , the book explains that they are unique , or a rare variations of those creatures . And some of these rare variations appears to be in later sources ( Centaur from the Eastern Kingdom , Dryad ( tree spirit ) , and others ) . Also , its notable that Appendix III expands upon creatures that were referenced in other chapters , appendixes , and sections of the book , for example mite s , nymph s and shambling mound s . Some sections from the Appendix Three such as articles about giant eagle s , sprite s , nymph s , half - ogre s , devourer s , and a few others , have been referenced or expanded upon in later sources . The article about the elemental s or Centaur from the Eastern Kingdom , were derived and expand upon ideas made in previous Warcraft games . Appendix III is not the only Warcraft source to establish original Warcraft - related back stories to creatures from the D & D MM and other non - Warcraft sourcebooks . Some of the earlier chapters in " Manual of Monsters " incorporated a few creatures not included in Appendix III , including references to darkmantle and girallon . Even more original creatures were established in other Warcraft sourcebooks including " Lands of Conflict " , " Shadows & Light " , " Magic & Mayhem " , " World of Warcraft The Roleplaying Game " , and " Monster Guide Web Supplement " , such as : dire lion s , lizard familiars , or steam mephit s , which are found in the story " Dark Iron Chains " that Brann Bronzebeard recounts in " Lands of Conflict " . The Appendix Three was split into several sections which sometimes included a small background explanation on how the material related to biology or history of Azeroth . The following is a listing of some of these quotes ; The Kaldorei count many more allies than have been documented so far . Amongst these allies are several species from the Tome of Horrors by Necromancer Games . Some are ancient allies , others newly recruited ( or reclaimed ) allies , befriended by the night elves in the wake of their lost immortality . < br > The minions of the Burning Legion are countless , yet below is a list of shock troops , animal cohorts , and generals alike . < br > In addition to quilboar , tauren , elves , and orcs , other sapient species populate the world of Azeroth . Three of them are described in the Tome of Horrors . < br > Orcs and goblins are not the only goblinoid s on Azeroth . Some of the previously unknown species are crossbreeds , while others seem to be races unto themselves . Three of these species are discussed briefly below . < br > The diversity of animal life on Azeroth is limitless . In addition to the creatures described elsewhere in this book , several species described in the Tome of Horrors can also be found on Kalimdor and throughout Azeroth . < br > In addition to the diversity of life on the surface of Kalimdor , the seas of Azeroth are also teeming with life . Much of this life is mundane , if monstrously large , though the sea has her secrets — and threats . The following aquatic creatures listed in the Tome of Horrors can be found in the rivers , lakes and oceans in around Kalimdor . Controversy . Canon ? Appendix III has some controversy surrounding it by Warcraft fans . Although some material from Appendix III has made it into other sources , this does not necessarily mean that all the material will make it into future sources . Even though some of the material has made it into other sources , it is the opinion of some of the freelance writers and editors of the RPG line , and many of the fans , that Appendix III is not considered canon . However , the RPG staff involved have admitted that their opinion is their own and does not represent Blizzard Entertainment . Marketing ? From a marketing perspective , Appendix III could help attract customers of D & D and other d20 - type games to the Warcraft franchise if creatures familiar to them were included or available for use during RPG gameplay , or maybe the way around , that Warcraft gamers would get more involved into the D & D franchise . Neutral point of view . Blizzard has never officially given their stance on the issue . Since WoWWiki strives to have a on official lore ( both canon & non - canon ) it is included on " Manual of Monsters " / Appendix Three and a link in the relevant articles . This information is separated from the other lore so that people can decide themselves if they consider it canon or not . Monsters Ranked by Challenge Ratings . The final section is a table showing a variety of monsters how much of a challenge they are and what classes they tend to be .