D&D 5E Volo vs. Kobold

[Demetrios1453]

Those all sound fairly low CR creatures which would be perfect. I didn't notice those on the monster list that I saw for Volo and this is a big plus to go with Volo.



Regarding the "flavor and fluff", is it tied to the Forgotten Realms, much? I dislike the Forgotten Realms and when I learned that Volo's Guide was based on it that's actually what prompted me to look at other supplements and led to me discovering Tomb of Beasts.

Very little. The beholder section details a beholder-run thieves guild in Waterdeep, but adapting that to another setting is as simple as changing the city name. There's basically the same issue with name checking the ancient giant kingdom of Ostoria; again a simple name change is all that would be necessary. The section on yuan-ti references some FR deities, but gives a sidebar on how to substitute other settings' deities.

Conversely, the froghemoth and vegepygmy sections reference the Greyhawk adventure "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks", and the mind flayer and neogi sections reference Spelljammer.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

The Yuan Ti gods Dendar and Sseth can easily be moved to other settings with no issues as nothing really connects them to realms.

 

[delericho]

A simple question for those who are familiar with both. I'm weighing up whether I might get Volo's Guide to Monsters or Tome of Beasts. It's one or the other not both.

Anyone have any guidance on which is the best use of finite funds?

It depends on your priority.

Tome of Beasts is just a book of (lots) more monsters. The format, and the amount of lore, is very similar to the 5e MM. There's a good range of monster types, and a good range of CRs represented. So if all you want is more monsters, this is the book for you.

Volo's Guide, on the other hand, can be described as three books in one: it's one third (ish) expanded lore on some iconic critters, one third (ish) of monstrous races for PC use, and one third (ish) new monsters. If any one of the three is unappealing, Volo's Guide is probably not worth the money.

(And, consequently, VGtM probably has about a fifth as many monsters as ToB - it has half the page count, and only a little more than a third is new monsters.)

So, if you just want as many monsters as possible, get ToB. If any one of the three parts of VGtM sounds bad, get ToB. But otherwise, probably get VGtM, on the basis that the smaller selection of monsters probably means there are fewer makeweights, and the depth of lore is probably helpful - quality over quantity.

 

[Jester David]

If you want more information, I've reviewed both in depth. Volo and Beasts.

I think I like the Tome of Beasts more. I think it offers more choices of new monsters, more high CR threats, and is more useful.
Unless you really want some more options and advice for classic D&D monsters like beholders, hags, or mind flayers.
So, really, get Volo for help making a campaign, and Beasts for more monsters.

 

[jaelis]

Only right answer is to get both

(Or to be really honest, if funds are so tight that and an extra $30 would be a real hardship, you probably shouldn't get either...)

 

[Ath'kethin]

I have both, and some serious buyer's remorse over ToB. It's way too 3rd-editiony for me. It has a ton of monsters, few of which are useful in my campaign. YMMV.

Volo's Guide, on the other hand, has the best and most succinct section on beholders I've ever read. The 8 pages or so here cover more ground than the entire 96 page 2e source look, and is more evocative to boot. The only bits of the book I don't care for is the section on giants (which basically described in detail how each race fits the ordning, which is not of great use to me personally), and the monster PC section since I don't use them. The monster PC section still has a ton of great and inspiring ideas about the creatures, though.

The monster lore in general in Volo's Guide is top notch in my opinion, especially if you (like me) loot it freely and apply it to different situations (a froghemoth and a bunch of bullywugs living int he flooded remains of a beholder lair, for example).

The NPC index fills in a bunch of gaps from the MM one, and various monster mechanical options give me new ideas for stuff my PCs can do.

I was really worried about the whole Elminster/Volo Keystone Kops routine, but it turns out that the book wastes only a single page on it, and the rest is the same kind of post-it note jottings I've been easily ignoring in the Monster Manual.

So for my money, Volo's Guide all the way.

 

[knasser]

Thank you for all the replies. Too many to individually quote and thank each in turn. And only one of you told me I should buy both which was better than expected.

After weighing up the pros and cons from the very useful information and advice, I think I shall get the Volo's guide. ToB looks excellent and one day perhaps I might. However, the larger amount of low-CR fey that Volo's seems to have and the section on Hags that everybody is so enamoured by (see what I did there? ) give it strong appeal, even though a few other things such as the new PC races are a negative. (I'm not against these per se, it's just reading the discussion strongly inclines me to a homebrew version of these should I want to include orc and goblin PCs).

Also, genuine LOL at the "Keystone Cops" description of Elminster and Volo. Seriously - must they get Forgotten Realms stuff all over everything? In chatting with a friend the other day I finally put my finger on what I really dislike about FR. It's a modern setting. Oh it has the trappings of fantasy but the way people think - they're modern people. Nobody actually thinks like someone from a feudal society would, nobody really feels different or strange to me, modern humour, post birth control sexuality. It just feels like 21st Century people swapped into fantasy clothes. Anyway, sorry - side rant and only my opinion. I'd just never really identified what I dislike about FR, before. I like my fantasy a little more ground up (both ways that you could read that).

Again, thanks for the responses. This truly is a very helpful community.

 

[dave2008]

(And, consequently, VGtM probably has about a fifth as many monsters as ToB - it has half the page count, and only a little more than a third is new monsters.)

I don't have either book yet , but Kolbold describes ToB as having 400 new monsters and Volo's has about 100, so it is closer to 1/4 of the monsters not 1/5

 

[Olive]

There's lots of monster types you could create a campaign around in ToB - shadow fey etc. - and just lots of super cool monsters. I think Volo's is really well done though and I'm planning on dumping gnolls and hags into my game drawing heavily on the info in the book. For what it's worth I bought Volo's in hardback and ToB in PDF but that was partly due to availability/postage costs to Australia.

 

[briggart]

The ToB actually has lots of Fey, probably around 40-45. They are so many that they start to feel repetitive (to me at least), especially because most of them are evil or CN. There is also a collection of fey Lords and Ladies (like the Lord of the Hunt, or the Queen of Witches) that I really liked.