#### 10 DRAGON LAIRS ####
  * Lairs, Denizens and Hoards -- ready to plug and play into any story *

Author: Willow Willis
Re-publication date: 2022

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## 1. AIRSHIP LAIR ##
This battle-ready zeppelin has been refurbished to suit the needs of a portly 
brass dragon, who won it in a bet several years ago. The top-deck has been 
stripped of furnishings and most of the walls have been removed, leaving a 
cavernous interior that the dragon fondly refers to as the 'captain's 
quarters'. The gondola hanging underneath the airship boasts room for twenty 
humanoid crew-members, along with the galley and general mess hall. 

Entrance/Exit: humans usually enter the airship at dock through the lower deck, 
passing through the crew-members' living space. From there, they can either use 
a pulley-operated lift through the center of the zeppelin to reach the dragon's 
commode, or can take the emergency ladders off the side (a vertigo-inducing 
experience). The dragon, of course, can fly directly into its quarters through 
a retractable awning. It likes to leave it open on clear days, so that it can 
gaze out over the landscape. 

Defenses: The airship comes equipped with front, rear and side-mounted gun 
turrets, six in total. It is capable of hitting an enemy airship from almost 
any angle, though its primary weakness is directly below (where the gun turrets 
can't target effectively). However, a fleet of 5 mini-fliers can be deployed to 
protect its airspace, should the need arise. All twenty crew-members have at 
least rudimentary combat training, and some are quite skilled with sword and 
pistol. And of course, there's the dragon itself . . . 

Hoard: The entirety of the upper deck is stuffed with maps. Maps hang on the 
walls, lay piled on tables, or are rolled into the thousands of cubbies that 
the dragon had installed. The dragon keeps all kinds of maps -- treasure maps, 
ancient maps, maps of other realms and planes of existence. Many are one-of-a 
kind, or contain secrets that no library in the world has access to. 
Thankfully, the dragon is quite willing to bargain for access to his hoard. One 
simply has to serve a term of service aboard the dragon's ship as a crew-member 
(the length of contract to be determined by how valuable the map is). Don't 
expect to sell your copy, though. The dragon is quite capable of enchanting a 
map so only the bearer can read it. No sense in letting a good secret go to 
waste. 

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## 2. PAWNSHOP ##
Why waste your time hunting for treasures when you can let them come to you? 
This modern-day rust dragon resides in the largest pawn shop in Chicago, where 
he has been accumulating priceless junk for well over 100 years. Though he took 
human form in the early years to wheel and deal with the best, the dragon is 
now content to let his hand-picked human operators run the business. The pawn 
shop's employees are largely unaware that their employer is a dragon; all they 
know is that they get a bonus for bringing in an item good enough for the boss' 
'personal collection'. Behind the counter is a trapdoor that leads down a 
flight of stairs into a cozy underground cavern that the dragon dug himself. 
The dragon spends most of his days here slumbering or caring for his 
collection. The cavern is dimly lit by a few flickering fluorescent bulbs, and 
the room is occasionally shaken by a passing subway. 

Entrance/Exit: There are two entrances to the storefront (the shop door and the 
rear loading dock), and one entrance to the cavern below (the trapdoor behind 
the counter). The dragon has also excavated a hidden tunnel that connects his 
lair to the subway network in case he needs to flee. 

Defenses: All pawnshop clerks are trained to use the shotgun behind the 
counter, and carry personal .9mm handguns on their person at all times. The 
dragon has lost many valuable finds over the years to robbery, and has ceased 
relying on Chicago's finest to protect his hoard. 

Hoard: An eclectic mix of jewelry, undiscovered paintings, original Coca-Cola 
memorabilia (the dragon is very fond of the logo), and national treasures. Most 
items would sell at auction for 10 grand or more; some pieces are valued in the 
millions. In other words, it's a 'picker's paradise'. 

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## 3. LABYRINTH ##
Preferring guile to raw combat ability, this black dragon ensconced itself on a 
deserted, rocky mountain centuries ago. In the beginning, it raided the 
surrounding towns for slave labor to build its impressive mountain fortress. 
The mountain is now covered from base to crown with a massive labyrinth, all 
natural features long since carved away. At the very top of the mountain lies 
the dragon's golden hoard -- a vast wealth that tempts the foolhardy from all 
over the world into the labyrinth. Few ever return. 

Entrance/Exit: There is only one way into the labyrinth: the massive gateway at 
the front. It stands unguarded and has no warnings posted, save for the twin 
statues on either side. Two massive angels stand as if bound to the posts, 
faces twisted in fear and pain. 

Defenses: The labyrinth stands as a test for all who enter. It is nearly 
unnavigable, and the walls are often changed around by several nests of rock 
gnomes that the dragon has cultivated. If a hero makes it through before dying 
of thirst or hunger, he is allowed to challenge the dragon to a test of wits or 
combat. The reward is set as a single piece of the dragon's hoard. 

Hoard: A massive pile of glittering gold, jewels and other treasures. Typical 
fare, really. It lies exposed at the very top of the mountain, however, where 
it gleams enticingly in the sunlight. The golden glow of the treasure is 
visible from miles away, and has given the mountain a legendary reputation. 

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## 4. FAIRY GLEN ##
A secluded glade, deep within an enchanted forest. There is a cozy dry cave to 
one side, where the young dragon makes its bed, and the entire clearing is 
bordered with a ring of giant red mushrooms. Flowers and ferns carpet the 
ground, and several exotic trees stand with faces seemingly carved into their 
trunks. Butterflies float lazily through the golden sunlight that filters 
through the trees, lending the entire glade a magical feel. 

Entrance/Exit: None really. You can approach this glade from any side, but you 
will have to step through the ring of giant mushrooms to enter. Many common 
folk have superstitions about fairy rings, and one of this size might be 
especially dangerous . . . 

Defenses:  See Hoard. 

Hoard: This young dragon is unusual in that it has chosen a living hoard. It 
has ranged far in its half-century of life, capturing fey of all types and 
bringing them back to its glen. There is no real pattern to the mix: you'll 
find will o' wisps next to dryads; grigs, nixies and nymphs; satyrs, 
leprechauns, pixies and even a few elves. The dragon seems to feel an 
overwhelming desire to catch them all, in order to complete its collection. 
Controlling all of the fey is no mean feat, and it is often all the dragon can 
do to keep them from escaping. Thankfully, the ring of mushrooms provides a 
barrier that few of his captives can cross without permission. Not all of the 
fey are at odds with the dragon; he works very hard to befriend them, in fact. 
Many of them would rise to the dragon's defense, if he were threatened. 

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## 5. GLADIATOR'S RING ##
Sgt. Michaels is perhaps over-fond of telling travelers how the local garrison 
came upon a wounded dragon, and managed to imprison it. Their weapons were 
ineffective against the beast's diamond-hard hide, so they instead overwhelmed 
the beast with buckets of water that quenched its weakened flames (losing no 
fewer than half their number in the attempt). Afterwards, they chained the 
beast to an immovable stone and would have left it to rot were it not for the 
greed of the city council. They sensed an immense opportunity in the captive 
dragon, and ordered a gladiator's ring to be built around the beast. And so the 
dragon has laired in his prison for ten long years, with naught to eat but the 
flesh of the dangerous or foolhardy, come to challenge it to mortal combat. 

Entrance/Exit:  The lair is set up like an outdoor theater, with many entrances 
and exits for the weekly crowd of onlookers. There is a main gate, through 
which large or exotic beasts are brought in occasionally. 

Defenses: The dragon has been chained to the very center of the ring, and its 
tether allows it a roaming radius of 50 feet. It is always hungry, and flies 
into an insane rage at the slightest provocation. The stands have been built 
well back from the reach of its flames, but an inner corral of metal ensures 
that the combatants have no such luxury. Random boulders and other debris have 
been scattered across the floor to provide cover. Additionally, there are 
guardsmen who try to ensure that only registered combatants (either criminals 
or fortune seekers) can get through to the inner circle. 

Hoard: The dragon has had to make do with what it can scavenge over the past 
decade. Besides the weapons and armor of the dead (if they are at all 
valuable), the dragon has also collected every bit of jewelry from the bodies 
of the slain, and every spare coin that has been hurled at it by drunken 
spectators. The sum of wealth, while not much by dragon standards, has come to 
be known as the 'dragon's lottery'. The mayor of the city has declared that 
anyone who manages to slay the dragon gets to keep the entire hoard, thus 
ensuring a steady stream of desperate or foolhardy contestants to entertain the 
crowd. The city council makes a killing on the tickets, of course. 

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## 6. THE PATRON'S PALACE ##
Over the past several centuries, no single force has shaped all of Art as much 
as the Patron. The Patron lives in a mansion designed by none other than Hugo 
de la Rothcherre, an architect who rose to international prominence several 
centuries ago. The Patron is always watching the current trends in artwork 
through his network of informants (mainly art professors and a few 
connoisseurs), and will arrange for the kidnapping of the most promising young 
up-and-coming artists. As an mature red dragon, the Patron has little trouble 
'convincing' the newcomers to produce several original works of art for his 
private collection. Those who manage to please the beast are then allowed to 
leave; the others are slain. There is an upside, however. Being captured and 
released by the Patron practically guarantees the career of any young artist, 
so it's actually a highly desirable fate. 

Entrance/Exit:  When Hugo was captured by the dragon early in its career, it 
was an infuriating experience for the young architect (who was rather 
hot-tempered). So, while he designed a palace of special magnificence, he also 
included several secret passages and hidden doorways that the dragon has yet to 
discover. While he was forced to destroy all his blueprints before leaving the 
palace, Hugo reconstructed them from memory (in secret, lest the dragon find 
and destroy him). Those blueprints were gifted to his successor, lost in a bet, 
nearly destroyed in a fire, and have since disappeared. 

Defenses:  The whole place is covered with sophisticated alarms and traps, to 
stun and capture the unwary. The Patron likes to maintain human form for the 
most part, and so also employs a whole entourage of servants, including guards 
to patrol the grounds. Oh, and good luck even finding the Grand Exhibition Hall 
without an escort. 

Hoard:  The Grand Exhibition Hall hosts hundreds of original, never-before-seen 
artwork by some of the most famous names in art history. And, because so many 
of his victims become world-renowned artists later in life, the dragon's hoard 
only increases in value over time. 

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## 7. THE GREAT TREE ##
Only the dragon knows from whence she procured a viable twig of the Tree of 
Life, or what it cost her to coax it to root within the forest floor of her 
home - such things never come without a price. Yet root it did, and the dragon 
has spent the past millennium tending to her prize. Under her care, the sapling 
became a tree of special magnificence, easily twice as tall as any other tree 
in her forest home, and twice as wide at the base as the average house. 
Carefully, so carefully, the dragon dug out a large burrow underneath the 
tree's roots and lined the walls with treasure that she deemed too common or 
damaged to be part of her main hoard. 

Entrance/Exit:  The dragon spends most of her time in the branches of her tree, 
using the burrow below mainly for treasure storage and sleeping. As such, there 
is only one way in and out. The lowest branches of the tree are still 30 feet 
above the ground, but the bark is so rough that it can act as a natural ladder. 

Defenses: Realizing that the tree was vulnerable to scaling from below, the 
dragon planted and carefully maintains several species of vine that wrap around 
the lower trunk. These range from the mundane (thorny brambles and poison ivy) 
to the fantastic (vines with flowers that release sleeping powder or shoot 
darts that induce powerful hallucinations). If the would-be climber makes it 
past this gauntlet to the first of the great branches, he will then have to 
contend with the denizens that the dragon has encouraged to nest there. Wasps 
and bees of incredible size, rare and dangerous birds and even a few pixies and 
sprites. The more valuable the fruit on a given branch is, the higher up it is 
generally grafted, and the more dangerous the nests on that branch. 

Hoard:  The dragon did not choose her tree by happenstance. Once it had rooted 
well, she wasted no time grafting branches of other trees to its trunk, relying 
on the magic of the Tree of Life to sustain them. In the early days, she ranged 
far to find samples of rare and magical trees to add to her collection - golden 
apples, cherries that cure any illness, pears that can feed a crowd of 
thousands from one piece. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, 
including some that are long extinct in the world at large. Now, however, the 
dragon prefers to deal with those who come seeking one of the tree's fruits. 
She will normally send the caller on a quest to find a new branch for her tree, 
though she may also trade for other things to fulfill her own inscrutable 
purposes. 

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## 8. THE JEWELLED CORPSE ##
In an age where magic has faded and fantastic beasts are remembered only in 
legend, the very last dragon toils against the fate of his kind. Far away from 
the microscopes and the prying minds of humanity, a vast corpse rests on the 
desert sands. Piece by piece, the ancient beast has assembled it from the bones 
and scales of his ancestors, until the entire thing resembles a macabre quilt 
stretched over a gaping ribcage. The dragon has bound his own soul into the 
work, and has pulled together nearly every scrap of magic remaining in this 
unbelieving world to knit it all together. Shadows of muscle, tissue and blood 
rise in nearly tangible workings. It is very nearly complete. 

Entrance/Exit: The corpse is approachable from almost all sides, though one 
would have to choose whether to sneak down the side of a mountain or approach 
from the open desert. 

Defenses:  The dragon has largely relied on the terrain to keep his work safe. 
He has hidden it in the lee of a mountain range, smack dab in the middle of the 
most inhospitable desert on the planet. There is little of value to attract 
mortal attention to his domain, and the dragon has been secure in obscurity for 
the past several centuries. Still, he has not left everything to chance. Nearly 
all of his magic is bound up in his work, but the dragon has still dug out pit 
traps and created other terrain defenses to slow an invader down. The dragon 
will repel any incursion with extreme prejudice, though he may seem to welcome 
visitors at first (long enough to gauge the threat and kill them when they 
least expect it). He will use all of his ancient cunning to prevent even one 
witness from escaping to tell tales. 

Hoard:  Dragon bones and scales are mostly curiosities on the market these 
days, but there are some knowledgeable buyers who seek them as a source of 
residual power or ritual focus. However, there is one prize that even the most 
modern treasure hunter would kill for: the Heart of Tiamat, a ruby the size of 
a Volkswagen Beetle that is the focus of all the dragon's work. The dragon 
believes that the Heart will begin to beat once his work is complete, giving 
rise to a new era for dragon-kind when the great mother dragon rises once again 
from the desert floor. 

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## 9. CLOCKWORK CITY ##
Stormhaven was once the wonder of the mechanized world - a clockwork city that 
could run itself, right down to the mechanized chimney sweeps. It's engineering 
was so perfect, its streets and buildings so precise and colorful, that 
eventually it attracted exactly the wrong sort of attention. Mad geniuses of 
every stripe came in droves to either see what they could learn, or to prove 
their own superiority through attempted conquest. Eventually the city council 
tried to mitigate the damage by creating a contest to be run once a year, 
granting the winner the prestigious (and largely ceremonial) title of Mayor of 
Stormhaven. After that, things went swimmingly for several decades. Eventually, 
the contest proved to be Stormhaven's downfall, largely due to the exuberance 
of one of the contestants (who brings a life-sized clockwork dragon to a 
science fair?!). 

Entrance/Exit:  After flushing out all of the fleshy meat-creatures hiding in 
its new domain, the dragon settled into the city and established its dominance 
over all the lesser mechanized beings. Stormhaven bent to its will, and shut 
all its gates and barred all its sewers. No entry may be gained except through 
force (which will alert the city defenses) or through air drop (which is 
inadvisable given the dragon). 

Defenses: All lesser mechs have been permitted to carry out their former 
functions, provided that they also respond to an invasion. The chimney sweeps 
may sweep chimneys at precisely five past noon, but they will ALSO wield the 
whirling brooms of death at any meat-bag foolish enough to show its face during 
their shift. The trick, then, is in timing an invasion just right; preferably 
when the most dangerous units are scheduled for their daily maintenance, or are 
due in another part of the city. The dragon itself has been programed to 
emulate a real dragon most impressively, and it will behave in a manner 
stereotypical for dragons (except that it keeps to a very, very precise 
schedule when rampaging). An adversary could probably count on it to do 
'exactly what a dragon would do'(™) given the circumstances -- no surprises. 

Hoard: The city itself is a prize worth fighting for, as whomever controls it 
also controls several major shipping lanes and a magnificent port. There are 
also countless people who would pay for the chance to return to their homes and 
businesses. Finally, there is the matter of all the gold left within the vaults 
of the city's many banks (which the dragon has now piled within City Hall). It 
spends every day from noon to 5:30 polishing, weighing and counting its 
collection. It even 'sleeps' on it at night ('just like a real dragon' ™). 


## 10. DOLL HOUSE ##
Long, long ago a wounded vampire came across a clutch of recently hatched 
dragonlings while on the run from a renowned vampire hunter. Crazed with 
hunger, the vampire fell upon the hatchlings, draining each within a few 
seconds. He had just started on the last when the mother returned and promptly 
squashed him to a pulp. Unfortunately, the dragonling succumbed to the 
vampirism several days later. Trapped in a body no larger than a house cat, 
with its mind and instincts likewise unable to mature, the little dragon relied 
entirely on its mother for 10 long years. Eventually though, she sought a new 
home for her child. She dropped the cat-sized dragonling on the roof of the 
palace and took wing, leaving it to fend for itself. Since then, the tiny 
dragon has taken up residence in the Princess's doll house -- a lavish 
structure the size of a small cottage, with over a dozen elaborately decorated 
rooms. 

Entrance/Exit:  The doll house was created to be accessible, with access panels 
to all of the rooms. The dragon, however, has sealed off the human access to 
the main dining room and uses it for its sleeping quarters. 

Defenses: The dragonling has been using its vampiric powers to completely 
dominate the young princess' mind. She probably doesn't even realize that there 
is a dragon in there, in truth, but will still act to keep others from 
investigating it too closely. The little dragon has also created a small force 
of ghoulish servants -- mostly mice, rats and a few cats -- to provide a 
regular source of nourishment and a last line of defense against an invader to 
its tiny realm. 

Hoard: Using the dominated princess to full advantage, the dragonling has 
garnered an impressive little hoard. There is expensive jewelry (which the 
princess can't remember stealing), a few magic items that were originally 
commissioned for the princess' own protection, and hundreds of random coins and 
expensive baubles. Additionally, the doll house itself is stuffed ever-fuller 
with expensive miniatures as the nobles strive to garner favor by catering to 
the princess' well-known obsession with the thing.