What were the monster redesign goals?So it really comes down to whether you like/agree with the monster redesign goals.
I went back and edited my post to explain better.What were the monster redesign goals?
Would the Vecna stat block that WOTC put out be an example of the streamlining format found in Multiverse?If you like the old system where you get every possible spell a monster can cast laid out and where it's possible to play a suboptimal version of a monster for its CR, get Tome of Foes.
If you want the monsters more streamlined and with "trap" options either removed or scaled up to match the proper CR threat level, get Multiverse.
(And yes, there are plenty of DMs who did not feel they ever fell for the trap options. WotC redesigned the monsters for all the other DMs.)
Yeah, I believe it had it. So you don't get a giant list of hundreds of spells that Vecna ought to (and almost certainly does) have access to, but just the ones they suggest you use in combat.Would the Vecna stat block that WOTC put out be an example of the streamlining format found in Multiverse?
Yeah, this is what I'd say: if you don't have Volo's, get Multiverse.Do you already own Volo's Guide to Monsters? If not, Monsters of the Multiverse is the easy choice because it gives you almost all the monsters from both Tome of Foes and Volo's.
The lore isn't necessarily great, though, and a lot of it is pretty self-evident. Yeah, the surface elves and (traditional) drow don't like each other, and their enmity stretches back to a mythic civil war among their people.Depends on whether you value lore or not. If you do, Tome of Foes is the better choice, because over 100 pages of lore are missing from Multiverse, to include lore on demons and gith, in addition to core PC options. Plus the Multiverse versions of the Foes monsters are cut back lore-wise to varying degrees.