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Lair Encounter Procedure

What this is

When the expedition stumbles on a faction's lair in uncontrolled wilderness, this procedure determines whose lair it is and how much of the faction is still present.

Invoked by: the Wilderness Encounter Procedure in an uncontrolled hex, or DM judgment.
Invokes: a faction template; the Encounter Staging Procedure.
Returns to: the Wilderness Encounter Procedure (or the calling procedure), once the lair is staged.

Step 1: Determine the faction

Roll or pick from the Regional Faction Table for the current terrain. The result is the faction whose lair the expedition encounters.

Step 2: Determine occupancy

The encountered lair may be occupied, abandoned, or have different creatures inside altogether.

Roll d100.

d100 Lair Formations Features Treasure
01–35 Abandoned. The original lair occupants are long gone. No formations. No guardian features Sparse or none
36–50 Squatted. A creature has moved into the empty lair. No formations; Roll one creature/group from the Wilderness tables who now occupies lair No guardian or trap features By creature(s) encountered
51–80 Held. The lair is in active use. All formations by the template All features by the template All treasure by the template
81–00 Diminished. The faction has been reduced to a leader and a few followers. Leader formation and 1 support formation No guardian features Leader's share only

Step 3: Stage the sighting

Invoke the Encounter Staging Procedure (Lair column). Distance and grounds are produced; reaction and surprise do not apply to the sighting itself. If the party engages the inhabitants, stage that engagement as a separate wilderness encounter.

Regional Faction Tables

A region's Faction Table lists the faction templates whose lairs might be found there. Roll or pick. Bracketed entries are templates still in development.

Hill, Mountain, Wilderness

  • Orc
  • Cult
  • Red Dragon
  • [Goblin]
  • [Hobgoblin]
  • [Bugbear]

Forest

  • Cult
  • Orc
  • [Goblin]
  • [Bugbear]

Grassland and Civilized Fringe

  • City Guard (rogue or remote outpost)
  • Cult
  • Orc (raiders)
  • [Thieves Guild]
  • [Goblin]

Coastal

  • City Guard (harbor outpost)
  • Cult
  • [Thieves Guild] (pirates)
  • [Sahuagin]

Underdark

  • Beholder
  • Kobold
  • [Drow]
  • [Grimlock]
  • [Quaggoth]
  • [Myconid]

Volcanic

  • Red Dragon
  • Kobold (lava theme)

Swamp

  • Cult
  • [Lizardfolk]
  • [Sahuagin]

Arctic

  • Cult
  • [Frost Giant]

Desert

  • Cult
  • Orc

Sky

  • Red Dragon
  • [Cloud Giant]