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Ruined cities are much more than a sea of rubble. Some places—major temples, towers and fortifications—will have survived in better conditions than others. In other places, the advanced decrepitude of the ruins create areas of heightened danger. Use this list, to add major features and the like into the characters’ exploration of a ruined city.
Read MoreHalf-woman, half-monster harpies are vicious, corrupt hunters driven by their insatiable desire to eat. They prefer intelligent prey and enjoy speaking and parleying with their meals. Dwelling in the world's wild and desolate places harpies are savage and utterly without remorse. They love shiny baubles and decorate their lairs with such. The stench of death and decay hang heavily over a harpy and her nest.
Read MoreFew predators can match the purple worm for strength, ferocity and might. Even powerful adventurers do not take on a purple worm lightly for they often consume their prey whole. (Indeed, stories of entire adventuring parties consumed by a purple worm are not uncommon…)
Read MoreHidden in the rotten corners of the world are grimoires potent enough to drive a reader mad. Great power seeps from the pages, and even the most stalwart monk, sagacious wizard or noble knight risks his very sanity with the turn of every page.
Read MoreHidden in plain sight amongst the houses and shops of local neighbourhoods, cultists worship ancient beings and profane gods. Hidden cellars and secret rooms provide locales for their foul dens of worship and sacrifice.
Read MoreWhen a flight of harpies, beset by a relentless demonic menace from beneath the dark seas, used their captivating song to lure a ship to its ruin, they sought allies instead of food. Thus, was born Fraywrack, originally a war camp created by the strange alliance of man and monster against a far greater threat. Now, hidden by the broken remains of their ship, the wreck's survivors and their recruits train endlessly for a fight they fear they have little hope of winning. Still, they persevere, welcoming adventurers who seek shelter in their cavern-home or who wish to learn some lessons of their own or, just maybe, lend their own might to the struggle.
Read MoreScions of the night, vampires live among the prey they feed on; the presence of a vampire often causes chaos and panic. A vampire’s lair is not for the weak-hearted.
Read MoreThe ghoul is a creature of nightmare for any adventuring group. From the packs of mindless, carrion-eating undead to the ancient civilisations deep underground, screaming adulation to their sheep-headed god Orcus, all ghouls have one thing in common. An eternal, gnawing hunger that no amount flesh can ever sate.
Read MoreOwlbears are a staple of low-level adventures. There is nothing more frightening for neophyte adventurers than facing down this mad mixture of bear and owl.
Read MoreFew fantasy foes are as iconic as goblins. Use the goblins below, to add flavour and personality to the foes in your campaign!
Read MoreSet sail for adventure on the Picaroon Peninsula! Stretching from the isolated pirate stronghold of Deksport in the west with its three violent, feuding rulers, to the mysterious Forest of Gray Spires in the east, the Picaroon Peninsula is home to ruthless buccaneers, cannibal cults, crumbling tree-choked ruins and pirate curses.
Read MoreOnce a prosperous village, Ashford now stands as a decayed shadow of its former self. A year ago, it was a busy place; its streets and gardens echoing with the sounds of life, love and commerce. Then the stranger came and death followed upon his heels. Plague had come to Ashford. In his wake, he left the hacking coughs and pain-filled moans of the dying and the wails of the survivors mourning their dead. Over half the population died, and many of the survivors packed and fled.
A few folk yet dwell in Ashford among the abandoned, deserted homes of their friends and neighbours, but it is now a quiet, mournful place. Weeds choke its abandoned gardens and untilled fields. Wolves, foxes and other less natural predators gnaw at the weathered bones filling the village’s open plague pit. The surviving villagers are distrustful of strangers, shunning them whenever possible, and few find welcome, cheer or solace in Ashford.
Read MoreCunning ambush predators, ropers lie in wait pretending to be stalagmites so their prey blunder too close to escape.
Use these lists to add depth and flavour to a roper’s lair.
Read MoreBy day, Aubade’s cobblestone streets are eerily quiet and still, the village seemingly abandoned. At night, though, regularly spaced lampposts along the winding lanes blaze to life, the village shining like a land-bound star and illuminating residents hard at work as if it were the middle of the day.
Read MoreStatues come in many shapes and sizes and are a staple of most dungeons. Statues are a great way of adding depth and verisimilitude to a dungeon. (But remember, paranoid players may assume a lavishly described statue is important or that it may animate and attack them!)
Use these lists, to add statues into your dungeon.
Read MoreStatues come in many shapes and sizes and are a staple of most dungeons. Statues are a great way of adding depth and verisimilitude to a dungeon. (But remember, paranoid players may assume a lavishly described statue is important or that it may animate and attack them!)
Use this list, to generate interesting features for your statues.
Read MoreBeacon Promontory arose from the watery grave of Beacon Cove after a ferocious storm submerged the village. The handful of doughty survivors rebuilt their homes around Beacon Lighthouse, which lights the way for passing ships, many of which used to make the former village a port of call. Many consider the holdouts insane for staying, considering over half their neighbours left or were killed in the storm, but they feel they have a duty to seafarers who become stranded along the remote stretch of coast. However, the truly insane person may be the lighthouse keeper who believes the deluge that destroyed Beacon Cove was a precursor to an invasion from beneath the waves.
Read MoreSmugglers are naughty chaps; intent on dodging the lawful taxes of the realm they work at night to bring in valuable or illegal items destined for the black market. Thus, smugglers’ lairs are (or should be) flavoursome and different to a “normal” dungeon.
Use these lists, the add depth and flavour to the smugglers’ dens in your campaign:
Read MoreDressing, detail and flavour can elevate your game. Role-playing is a game of the imagination and anything you can do to help your players dive into your campaign world and suspend their disbelief is a good thing. Let Raging Swan Press help! In 2019, patrons supporting Raging Swan Press at the $2 and up level got a free copy of that month’s 20 Things instalment and both monthly instalments in the Monstrous Lairs line.
Read MoreThe thriving village of Edgewood stands in the very shadow of the Shadetimer Forest. For a century, it has prospered. Wars, droughts and pestilence striking other nearby settlements never seem to affect the village, and yet tragedy mars life in Edgewood. For every year, terror stalks the village and its inhabitants die seemingly random, but horrible and gruesome, deaths. Thus, despite its prosperity, Edgewood remains a small place, and few travellers remain there for long.
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