The Kobold Lair (An Encounter Area for 5th Edition) is a role playing game supplement published by Skirmisher Publishing for use with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a 24-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $2.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, three the front matter, one the Open Game License and one is ads.
The Introduction explains this supplement is a detailed encounter area occupied by kobolds and affiliated creatures and is suitable for 4-5 1st-2nd level characters, and can be expanded to work for characters of up to 4th level. It can be placed almost anywhere, but is expected to be in a borderland area where raids can be launched on it, and is an expanded version of the encounter area in The Keep on the Borderlands. Characters are, like in the original expected to make multiple forays against the kobolds, and the kobolds can learn from their encounters and respond to them.
Adventure Hooks explains that, whilst the original game required little more incentive than there are monsters, go kill them, as a hook, modern games prefer a reason and several are given.
General Features gives an overview of the kobold lair as well as how the kobolds can respond. Though dead kobolds cannot be replaced, in the short term, there are options for allowing injured or near-dead ones to heal between forays. The lair is also dark and cramped, something the kobolds can easily cope with but characters might have problems.
Outside gives details of the area outside the lair, then Underground covers the different areas.
Continuing the Adventure gives options for what might happen to the lair if the kobolds are killed or driven off; just because the kobolds are gone doesn’t mean it will remain empty.
New Spells has a number of spells used by the kobolds.
Design Notes looks at how the kobolds were converted from the original edition to still be a threat, given that changes to the game reduced the capabilities of some of what they had.
The Kobold Lair (An Encounter Area for 5th Edition) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is decent. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of colour illustrations, as well as black and white maps – one has only the original encounter areas from The Keep on the Borderlands, the other the expanded ones. Presentation is decent.
Throughout the descriptions of the various areas are various different options that can be utilised after the complex comes under attack by the characters. This includes various different traps that the resident trapmaker can deploy. Modern players do tend to expect a “once and done” approach to clearing lairs, though, and approaching this adventure in that way could easily prove to be fatal; the adventure attempts to make an old-style dungeon as fatal for modern characters as it would have been for earlier ones. The Kobold Lair (An Encounter Area for 5th Edition) is a decent little supplement and it can be found by clicking here.
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