Lords of Madness offers a treasure-trove of information about some of the most interesting foes that the D&D game has to offer: the mighty aberrations. From the insidious mind flayers to the many-tentacled grells, to beholders and their twisted ilk, these monsters can't be taken lightly. This book can help you learn about these grotesque foes and master special abilities to defeat them. Below are ten reasons why Lords of Madness is a great resource for players.

10. Grell: If you've played Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, you have some idea how great a threat even a lone grell can pose. This book provides you with plenty of ways to defeat these creatures, even if they show up in force.

9. They Aren't on Your Side: Though the neogis were important to some of the older D&D settings, they haven't received much attention in the pages of recent D&D supplements. But your DM might just be banking on the fact that you probably don't remember them very well. So get Lords of Madness, and get the scoop on why these devious slavers are walking the streets of your character's home city.

8. Tips Worth Having: What if you're not the kind of player who enjoys reading the Monster Manual? What if you think a Knowledge check is the right way to learn about monsters? Well, this book's still for you. Lords of Madness offers plenty of useful advice on fighting monsters, and you don't have to break character to use it.

7. Protect Your Thoughts:Lords of Madness includes a chapter on that most horrid of opponents -- the mind flayer. You need to read it, if only to give your character a fighting chance. After all, it can read his mind.

6. Abolisher: Your character isn't alone in his struggles against the aberrations. The Abolishers -- a powerful organization of aberration hunters -- can offer your character succor and the help he needs to prevail against the servants of madness. If he makes it back alive, he might even get a chance to join the group by taking ranks in the associated prestige class. Just make sure you know how to find the organization when you need it.

5. They Don't All Have Tentacles: The horrid appearance of aberrations is normally enough to give them away, and your character has a reasonable chance of recognizing most of these creautres as foes. But they don't work alone -- they use mental coercion to draw the unscrupulous or unsuspecting into their dread plots. Lords of Madness holds the keys to the cults that surround the most powerful aberrations.

4. Aberrant Feats: To defeat foes as insidious as the aberrations, you must use their own power against them. To that end, Lords of Madness introduces a new category of feats -- aberrant feats -- that let your character take on the qualities and abilities of her foes.

3. Words of Power: Magic might be your character's only chance against a powerful aberration. So make sure she's armed with spells from Lords of Madness before confronting one.

2. Tricks and Tools:Lords of Madness is packed with all kinds of magic items and mundane equipment that can be useful in overcoming aberrations. So make sure you're prepared for the worst when you head out to your next adventure.

1. Friends You Need to Have: Even the best spells, feats, and knowledge might not be enough to defeat a cagey aberration. Mind flayers, beholders, and the other twisted creatures from Lords of Madness can overwhelm even the most prepared adventurers, so make sure your character has plenty of friends. Four powerful, aberration-fighting organizations are detailed in this book, and you can't afford not to know about them. Learn the secrets of the Circle of the True and the Darkrunners, as well as other powerful organizations that can help you in your struggles against aberrations.