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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GM Lent" data-source="post: 6942038" data-attributes="member: 6798775">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.</blockquote>

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