Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battles

The best dungeons have fun boss battles, exciting hazards, and, of course, awesome treasure.Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battleshas all that plus everything you need to run a lair out of the book in a moments notice. Use a dungeon when you have nothing else planned, or build an entire campaign that leads up to a climactic encounter in a lair!

Weve got 22 dungeons in here! There is at least one dungeon for each level of play from 2nd to 20th. Each lair contains

• a unique, action-oriented boss with memorable, dynamic villain actions.
• every monster stat block you need to run the lair. Thats 151 unique stat blocks!
• a treasure hoard tailored to the dungeons denizens that includes an original magic item plus other unique rewards.
• a full-color map with links to a GM version that has all the information you need to run the dungeon and a player version that keeps those secret doors and traps hidden.
• detailed descriptions of traps, hazards, and NPCs.

Each stat block inWhere Evil Livesis from our rigorously playtested and developed bestiary,Flee, Mortals!That means each foe is more than just a bag of hit points or a list of spells. Each foe has at least a couple of action options in their stat block that keep players on their toes and combat fresh and engaging. Youll also find the rules for four new types of creatures:

• Action-Oriented Creatures:Boss monsters just got a lot more fun to fight. Each lair boss has fun and impactful villain actions that turn an encounter into a showstopper. Every action-oriented creature also has a way to succeed on saving throws that costs them something: hit points, speed, the use of a special action, or something more. Its like a better form of Legendary Resistance. We got exciting villain battles all tied up in one stat block. Combine them with our lairs, and youve got a fight to remember.
• Minions:Minions are a great way to let your characters feel heroic by fighting a sea of baddies without slowing the game down to a crawl. Because while a minion is almost as nasty as a regular monster, they die real fast. Every good villain should throw an army of lackeys at adventurers invading their home.
• Retainers:Initially introduced inStrongholds & Followers, our rules for retainers have been updated and streamlined to make them even easier to use. These player-controlled NPCs make running a sidekick character a snap. Free that goblin prisoner, and now you have a goblin sneak to help you take down Queen Bargnot!
• Companions:Players love pets! So we made rules that allow you to give players cool companions. Heal that injured abyssal hyena in the archdemons lair and you got yourself a new buddy.