The Book of Lairs
Encyclopedia
The Book of Lairs is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
, first published by TSR
in 1986. It contains an assortment of monster-themed mini-adventures.
game system by TSR in 1986 as a ninety six page book. Michael Breault
and Jim Ward
designed the original The Book of Lairs, which features a cover by Clyde Caldwell
.
REF4 The Book of Lairs II, designed by various editors, features a cover by Larry Elmore
, and was published by TSR in 1987 as a ninety six page book.
The original The Book of Lairs contains details of the lairs of various monsters drawn from the AD&D Monster Manual
, Fiend Folio
, Monster Manual II, and Oriental Adventures
books. Each mini-scenario includes a brief encounter with the creatures, which is designed to be used as a short adventure or as part of a campaign, at the Dungeon Master
's (DM's) discretion. Each also has an introduction detailing basic information on the type of terrain, total party levels, and experience points involved, plus rumors designed to bring the location to the attention of the player character
s. In addition to the monster lairs, there are a few NPC
hideouts. The bulk of the encounters are meant for parties of 3rd-7th level, although some are for any level, and a few go as high as 12th level.
REF4 The Book of Lairs II contains over sixty more mini-scenarios organized in the same way as the first book, and designed for instant use in wilderness or other campaign encounters. It also includes monsters from Oriental Adventures
.
Both books feature monsters ranging from commonly used types, such as orcs
, trolls
, goblins
, and dwarves
, to more obscure and exotic creatures, such as hybsils, shedu
s, remorhaz
es, and otyugh
s.
reviewed The Book of Lairs for White Dwarf
No. 86. Davis observed the lack of maps—only six in the whole book—saying, "most [of the encounters] suffer from the lack of a map" and stating that most of the encounters would require additional preparation by the DM before use. He noted that the encounters range from the fairly straightforward (such as encountering one bear) to the "positively frightening" (one with 876 Undead
creatures). While "Not everybody's cup of tea", Davis felt that the book was "a very useful source of ideas and material for any AD&D GM" to develop into longer adventures or fill in gaps, or for "those dreadful Oh-God-I've-Forgotten-the-module moments". Davis was reminded of the old Judges' Guild Book of Treasure Maps series, and with the number of adventures contained in The Book of Lairs, he felt the book would be an excellent value for its price. He noted that the encounters can be suited to the players' style of play, but felt that some of the encounters with larger numbers of creatures felt more random than planned. Davis concluded that "even if you only use half the encounters... you'll get a fair run for your money".
Ken Rolston
reviewed The Book of Lairs and The Book of Lairs II for Dragon
magazine No. 125. He felt that the encounters in the first book were "pretty conventional AD&D game problems rather than ingenious explorations of the personalities of the creatures involved", continuing, "Though they might be entertaining as gaming challenges, they are short on charm and character". In comparing the two, he felt that the second book benefited from having multiple authors, who wrote their adventures in different styles. He added, "The narrative values are also generally better served, with nice bits of plot, character, and setting to add flavor to the basic encounter problems. In general, not bad at all and occasionally delightful — Allen Varney
's little bits in particular". According to Rolson, the books contained "oddball critters" players would never want to use, but that "you might get a kick out of seeing how a clever and dedicated soul could bring them to life." He felt the second book was handled considerably more successfully than the first on those accounts. Rolston considered both books "graphically disappointing", in that the first book "brings to mind the old days of TSR illustration—not a positive association" and that the diagrams in the second book were "remarkably primitive", taken directly from old Monster Manuals and adventures.
Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, called the scenarios in REF3 "run-of-the-mill", but said that the scenarios in REF4 "tend to be more inspired".
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, first published by TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in 1986. It contains an assortment of monster-themed mini-adventures.
Publication history
REF3 The Book of Lairs was first published for the Advanced Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
game system by TSR in 1986 as a ninety six page book. Michael Breault
Michael Breault
Michael Breault is a game designer and editor, and an author of several products for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from TSR.-Early life and education:...
and Jim Ward
Jim Ward (game designer)
James M. Ward , is an American game designer and fantasy author. He is most famous for his game development and writing work for TSR, Inc., where he worked for more than 20 years. In 1989 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame...
designed the original The Book of Lairs, which features a cover by Clyde Caldwell
Clyde Caldwell
Clyde Caldwell is an American artist. Self described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters.-Early life:...
.
REF4 The Book of Lairs II, designed by various editors, features a cover by Larry Elmore
Larry Elmore
Larry Elmore is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, and the comic strip series SnarfQuest...
, and was published by TSR in 1987 as a ninety six page book.
Contents
REF3 The Book of Lairs contains a series of one- and two-page adventures centered around various AD&D game monsters. There are over sixty mini-scenarios, indexed by monster type and terrain, designed to be inserted into other campaigns or adventures.The original The Book of Lairs contains details of the lairs of various monsters drawn from the AD&D Monster Manual
Monster Manual
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically...
, Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio is the title shared by three products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
, Monster Manual II, and Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
books. Each mini-scenario includes a brief encounter with the creatures, which is designed to be used as a short adventure or as part of a campaign, at the Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
's (DM's) discretion. Each also has an introduction detailing basic information on the type of terrain, total party levels, and experience points involved, plus rumors designed to bring the location to the attention of the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s. In addition to the monster lairs, there are a few NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
hideouts. The bulk of the encounters are meant for parties of 3rd-7th level, although some are for any level, and a few go as high as 12th level.
REF4 The Book of Lairs II contains over sixty more mini-scenarios organized in the same way as the first book, and designed for instant use in wilderness or other campaign encounters. It also includes monsters from Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
.
Both books feature monsters ranging from commonly used types, such as orcs
Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
, trolls
Troll (Dungeons & Dragons)
Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Dungeon Masters can use them as enemies or allies of the player characters.-Publication history:...
, goblins
Goblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a very common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins and Kobolds are commonly non-human monsters that low-level player characters will face in combat. In D&D, goblins aren't smaller cousins of orcs, but are a part of...
, and dwarves
Dwarf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters...
, to more obscure and exotic creatures, such as hybsils, shedu
Shedu (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the shedu is a magical beast based upon the Shedu of myth. They resemble imposing, tan colored horses with noble, dwarf-like heads. Large, feathered wings, similar to that of the pegasus come from their backs. They always have curly brown hair...
s, remorhaz
Remorhaz
The remorhaz is an iconic magical beast in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is vaguely similar to the frost worm.-Publication history:The remorhaz first appeared in Dragon #2 ....
es, and otyugh
Otyugh
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the otyugh , or gulguthra, is a type of fictional monster for player characters to encounter...
s.
Reception
Graeme DavisGraeme Davis (game designer)
Graeme Davis is a writer and editor. He has worked extensively in the gaming industry and was one of the original designers of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay....
reviewed The Book of Lairs for White Dwarf
White Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
No. 86. Davis observed the lack of maps—only six in the whole book—saying, "most [of the encounters] suffer from the lack of a map" and stating that most of the encounters would require additional preparation by the DM before use. He noted that the encounters range from the fairly straightforward (such as encountering one bear) to the "positively frightening" (one with 876 Undead
Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....
creatures). While "Not everybody's cup of tea", Davis felt that the book was "a very useful source of ideas and material for any AD&D GM" to develop into longer adventures or fill in gaps, or for "those dreadful Oh-God-I've-Forgotten-the-module moments". Davis was reminded of the old Judges' Guild Book of Treasure Maps series, and with the number of adventures contained in The Book of Lairs, he felt the book would be an excellent value for its price. He noted that the encounters can be suited to the players' style of play, but felt that some of the encounters with larger numbers of creatures felt more random than planned. Davis concluded that "even if you only use half the encounters... you'll get a fair run for your money".
Ken Rolston
Ken Rolston
Ken Rolston is an American computer game and board game designer best known for his work with West End Games and the hit computer game series The Elder Scrolls...
reviewed The Book of Lairs and The Book of Lairs II for Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
magazine No. 125. He felt that the encounters in the first book were "pretty conventional AD&D game problems rather than ingenious explorations of the personalities of the creatures involved", continuing, "Though they might be entertaining as gaming challenges, they are short on charm and character". In comparing the two, he felt that the second book benefited from having multiple authors, who wrote their adventures in different styles. He added, "The narrative values are also generally better served, with nice bits of plot, character, and setting to add flavor to the basic encounter problems. In general, not bad at all and occasionally delightful — Allen Varney
Allen Varney
Allen Varney is an American writer and game designer born in St. Louis, Missouri. He has a dual B.A. in English and History from the University of Nevada, Reno....
's little bits in particular". According to Rolson, the books contained "oddball critters" players would never want to use, but that "you might get a kick out of seeing how a clever and dedicated soul could bring them to life." He felt the second book was handled considerably more successfully than the first on those accounts. Rolston considered both books "graphically disappointing", in that the first book "brings to mind the old days of TSR illustration—not a positive association" and that the diagrams in the second book were "remarkably primitive", taken directly from old Monster Manuals and adventures.
Lawrence Schick, in his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, called the scenarios in REF3 "run-of-the-mill", but said that the scenarios in REF4 "tend to be more inspired".