Regarding Ptolus reference...
I've tried, believe me I've tried.![]()
In my case, I have purchased both separately as Banewarrens was available years before Ptolus. Secondly, being a bit wary of monster books, I have bought PDF version for somewhere around 45$ (some PDF promotion).
Still, I wish I had print version. It's very good and provides a lot of value... for example (caption under certain family portrait):
After painting this portrait of the
Vladaam family, local artist
Tulian Kremps disappeared
mysteriously, leaving behind a
notebook filled with indecipher-
able ravings.
Vladaams feature prominently in Banewarrens.
In my campaign I've had two mirror families of Vladaam, Ghelspad Vladaams and their fiendish kin from alternate dimension, the Ptolus Vladaams. And the Banewarrens was a dimension-traveling menace from the dimension of the fiendish Vladaams. It also made for a great surprise moment for the party to meet Vladaams who were supposedly killed.
Regards,
Ruemere