D&D 5E Easter Eggs in Volo's Guide to Monsters

[Remathilis]

As someone unfamiliar with planescape, not owning Volo's, but in love with Hags, Fey and Threes, may I ask you expand upon what this "Rule of Threes" is?

In Planescape, there are three universal truths: the Rule of Threes, the Unity of Rings, and the Center of the Multiverse. The rule of three basically says things come in threes: inner, outer, and prime planes; good, neutral, and evil; law, neutrality and chaos; power, prime, petitioner; tanar'ri, baatezu, and yugoloth; etc. Planescape used this a lot in the setting, never two without three.

The hag section mentions that hags in trinity get power, and never in more or less number. This is said to be a nod to the Rule of Threes "some planar travelers believe". Which is a slight nod to PS.

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[Chaosmancer]

In Planescape, there are three universal truths: the Rule of Threes, the Unity of Rings, and the Center of the Multiverse. The rule of three basically says things come in threes: inner, outer, and prime planes; good, neutral, and evil; law, neutrality and chaos; power, prime, petitioner; tanar'ri, baatezu, and yugoloth; etc. Planescape used this a lot in the setting, never two without three.

The hag section mentions that hags in trinity get power, and never in more or less number. This is said to be a nod to the Rule of Threes "some planar travelers believe". Which is a slight nod to PS.

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Ah, thank you very much

 

[Parmandur]

In the Orc section, there is a sidebar about the Goblin/Orc war in Acheron, and a Greyhawk archmage named Tzu k os mentioned as having a theory about how that eternal war will end; both a reference to an old time Greyhawk magic item, and maybe a future AP?

Vegepygmy section has a short description a legend that sounds like Expedition to Barrier Peak, again in Greyhawk, and possibly another adventure I am unfamiliar with?

 

[Remathilis]

In the Orc section, there is a sidebar about the Goblin/Orc war in Acheron, and a Greyhawk archmage named Tzu k os mentioned as having a theory about how that eternal war will end; both a reference to an old time Greyhawk magic item, and maybe a future AP?

Vegepygmy section has a short description a legend that sounds like Expedition to Barrier Peak, again in Greyhawk, and possibly another adventure I am unfamiliar with?

Vegepygmys and froghemoth but reference Barrier Peaks, their origin module.

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[Zardnaar]

Other thoughts:

Xanathar Guild takes up a lot of real estate in the Beholder section, and the Xanathat is on the cover of the MM: could the Xanathat be the BBEG of an eventual Waterdeep/Undermountain storyline?

There is an offhand ed mention of how some people think the ancient Mindflayer empire was not destroyed, but flu f out of time into the future: is this a tie to anything from previous Illithid lore, or maybe a setup for a Mindflayer AP tied into Psionics...?

3.5Lord of Madness hinted that MindFlayers were time refugees from the future.

 

[NiClerigo]

Have you guys found any subtle references to Eberron at all?

 

[Parmandur]

Have you guys found any subtle references to Eberron at all?

Not subtle, but the Yuan-Ti section has a sidebar listing the gods they would follow in the seven PHB pantheons (Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Eberron, Celtic, Egyptian, Greek and Egyptian).

Might be more than that, bit the references I have noticed are all Greyhawk or FR ..