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TacticsInfernus is a formidable opponent and well versedin fighting humanoids. He eagerly engages the PCs,reveling in the chance to kill. He focuses his attacksagainst humans and tieflings first, but he’s not foolishenough to ignore other PCs.Round 1: Infernus lifts off the ground and fliesforward, spending an action point to move twice andstill use his frightful presence.Round 2: Infernus hovers above the PCs and useshis breath weapon against as many characters as hecan catch in the blast. He then moves to land on theledge behind the PCs, if possible.Round 3+: Infernus makes a bite attack againstthe closest PC he can reach and spends an actionpoint to use double attack against another character.Finally, he uses his tail strike to strike any annoyingflankers.If Infernus becomes bloodied and uses his bloodiedbreath, he considers flying out of the volcano if he’sfaring poorly against the PCs. Otherwise, he attemptsto bull rush enemies into the magma to eliminatetroublesome PCs who have managed to escape theworst of his attacks.DevelopmentAlthough Infernus is content to fight the PCs in hislair, his battles against the tieflings of Bael Turathtaught him the value of retreat. He readily flees thevolcano if the PCs manage to survive 4 rounds offighting, flying over their heads and up through thecone. After he is out, Infernus circles around thevolcano to look for signs of how the party reachedhis island. While the PCs follow him or tend to theirinjuries, the dragon attacks any allies who remainedabove or rips apart any vehicles the characters leftbehind.When Infernus sees the PCs emerge from thevolcano, he engages them again if his breath weaponhas recharged. This time, he uses immolate foe to hitartillery characters who had success against him inhis lair. Afterward, Infernus flies back into his lair torecharge his breath weapon.Features of the AreaIllumination: Dim light from the volcano’s fierymagma.Boiling Water: A pool of boiling water covers thefloor near the back of the chamber. Characters startingtheir turns adjacent to the boiling water take 5fire damage, and those entering a square of boilingwater take 20 fire damage.Bones: Infernus keeps a big pile of the bones ofthe azers and whales he’s eaten. Beneath the mess lieshis hoard. Mindful of the heat, Infernus keeps onlyitems that can survive the furnacelike environment.His hoard includes 87 pp, 8,261 gp, 5,993 sp, and44,070 cp, all half melted into large chunks; a platinumbar (5,000 gp); a pillar of blended narwhal ivoryscorched black by the heat (7,500 gp); a steel Arkhosianmedal awarded to Infernus for courage (2,500gp); three fire opals (1,000 gp each); three diamonds(5,000 gp each); and a level 21 magic item.A square containing bones is difficult terrain.Heat: It’s extremely hot on the dragon’s ledge. Atthe end of each character’s turn spent here, that charactermust make a saving throw or lose one healingsurge. Inside the caldera, the heat from the volcanodeals 5 fire damage to a character for each round heor she spends in the area.Magma: Beyond the ledge lies the heart of the volcano,a pool of churning magma about 70 feet below.Characters who fall into the magma take fallingdamage and other damage as described under area 2on page 136.Uneven Floor: The floor is uneven and drops 5feet, climbs 5 feet, and drops 10 feet as indicated onthe tactical map. A character can hop down 5 feetwithout slowing down, but it costs 1 extra square ofmovement to scramble up 5 feet, and an Athleticscheck is required to climb or jump down 10 feet .ConclusionInfernus continues leading the PCs into and out ofhis lair, wearing them down all the while, until thecharacters manage to corner him or he finally wipesthem out.VOLCANO LAIRCHAPTER 3 | Dragon Lairs141