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CHAPTER 3Dragon Lairs3The vampire lord might dwell in his darkand gothic castle, the hag in her ramshackle hut inthe swamp, or the kobold tribe in their undergroundwarren. But although each of these locations lendsitself to tales of high adventure, none is so central toits master’s fundamental nature as the dragon’s lair.The lair is nearly as vital a recurring theme inmyth and fantasy as the dragon’s hoard or even dragonsthemselves. Whether it is a simple cave atop thepeak of a misty mountain or a monster-filled, deathtrap-strewn complex that the characters must conquerto rescue a kidnapped princess, a dragon’s lair isthe epitome of adventure sites.At its simplest, a dragon’s lair is someplace for thegreat beast to rest and—more important—store itshoard. (It’s difficult for even the most powerful creatureto accumulate great wealth if he has nowhereto put it.) One could argue, in fact, that the hoard iswhat makes the dragon’s lair necessary—and such anenticing setting for adventure. Player characters haveplenty of places to go in the hope of finding worthychallenges and treasures great enough to make theeffort worthwhile, but a dragon’s lair is one of the fewlocations where they know they can find both.In practice, however, a dragon’s lair is more thana simple storehouse. Even the dullest wyrm is acunning beast, and all but the youngest have haddecades, if not centuries, to make their homes justso. A true dragon’s lair, then, isn’t just a place at all.It’s an element of the challenge posed by the dragon,a first—and sometimes second, third, and fourth—line of defense against intruders. It might only delaythieves until the dragon can deal with them; it mightoffer the dragon tactical advantages in battle; it mighteven be able to take the lives of foolish adventurersin its own right, without its master lifting a claw. Buthowever it is built, wherever it stands, and whateverform it takes, braving a dragon’s lair shouldmake for an adventure as memorable as fightingthe dragon.90CHAPTER 3 | Dragon LairsLARS GRANT-WEST