Monstrous Lair #65: Shambling Mound’s Den by Robert Manson is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press. The supplement is stated to be system neutral, but also compatible with any version of Dungeons & Dragons, and is therefore covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available for $1.65 from DriveThruRPG but was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special offer. The supplement comes in two versions, a plaintext file and a PDF. The PDF has eight pages, with two pages being the front and rear covers, two pages are ads, about half a page the front matter and Contents and one page the Open Game License.
Using this Monstrous Lair is a standard piece of text for the series and explains what the tables are and that the supplement makes two assumptions; the GM has a map of the lair and stats for monsters and details of any treasure.
After an introductory paragraph on shambling mounds, the d10 tables follow.
1: Outside the Lair has descriptions for what can be encountered in the area.
2: What’s Going On? has what the shambling mound is doing.
3: Major Lair Features has some major features of dressing.
4: Minor Lair Features is similar to the above but the features are smaller.
5: Shambling Mound’s Appearance has ways of making a shambling mound more distinctive.
6: Treasure has some items that could be considered treasure, though no values are given.
7: Trinkets & Trash has some minor items, some which may have minor value.
Monstrous Lair #65: Shambling Mound’s Den in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, with major and minor sections linked. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There is a single stock black and white illustration. Presentation is okay.
With this series, how closely an entry sticks to the theme of the monster can vary, possibly because some themes are far more generic than others. This one is pretty close to a vegetative and marshy theme and is one of the better entries in the series as far as that goes. Monstrous Lair #65: Shambling Mound’s Den is a decent entry in the series and it can be found by clicking here.
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