Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battles - Hardcover & PDF

The best dungeons have fun boss battles, exciting hazards, and, of course, awesome treasure. Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battles has all that plus everything you need to run a lair out of the book in a moment’s 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!

• a unique, action-oriented boss with memorable, dynamic villain actions.
• every monster stat block you need to run the lair. That’s 151 unique stat blocks!
• a treasure hoard tailored to the dungeon’s 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 in Where Evil Lives is 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. You’ll 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. It’s 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 you’ve 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 in Strongholds & 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 archdemon’s lair and you got yourself a new buddy.