Bad to the Bone

Bad to the Bone  Hello again dear readers, Recently I was flipping through some of my old 1st edition supplements and came across the Book of Lairs. I used to love these books and often used them as small encounters in between adventures, or sometimes even as random encounters during an adventure. Seeing these again made me want to create my own, so I have decidde to use this space from time to time to put together my very own Book of Lairs. I decided to start out with a simple little monster from the Fiend Folio (my favorite) that I have not seen used or discussed very often. I have tried to stay fairly close to the original format and spirit of the supplement. 

Bonesnappers(2)

Terrain: Forest/Swamp Total Party Levels: 8 (average 2)  Total Magic X.P.: 2,500 Total Gold X.P.: 2,100 Total Monster X.P.: 868 

Set Up * Locals in a small village speak of the legend of a pair of small dragons who lives in a cave in the nearby wilderness and the great treasure they are rumored to have. * Woodcutters and trappers are afraid to enter the local forest since several of them were killed by some kind of giant lizard. They offer a 100 g.p. reward to whoever can slay the beast.  

The Lair The bonesnappers live in a cave complex in the nearby wilderness, they venture out to feed and have a advanced sense of smell and can easily catch a human scent. When the get within a mile of the lair the party should find large three toed footprints all over the wet ground. Following the trail the party will run across many stripped carcasses many of which are missing the skulls.

 Death Dogs While following the bonesnappers trail the party will be ambushed by four death dogs who have stayed in the area scavenging on the carcasses left by the bonesnappers. Death Dogs (4) AC: 7; Move: 12"; HD: 2+1; HP: 11; AT: 2; DAM: 1-10/1-10; SA: Poison; SD: None; Align: Neutral   The Cave The trail leads to three caves in a hillside. It is easy to determine which cave is the home of the bonesnappers as the smell of death exudes from the cave entrance. The bonesnapper lair contains two caves, the first cave contains a small underground spring that the bonesnappers use as a watering hole. The second and larger cave is the bonesnappers lair.

 The Encounter

The bonesnappers have a highly developed sense of smell and will have noted the parties entry into their caves unless steps have been taken by the party to cover their scent. If the party makes their way to the cave with the pond first, then while they are in the cave the bonesnappers should arrive to attack. If the party makes their way straight to the lair, then the bonesnappers should be laying in wait for their arrival. There is a mated pair of bonesnappers laired here, the cave floor is covered with bones both animal and human, in particular in one corner is a pile of jaw bones. Bonesnappers AC: 4; Move: 6"; HD: 4; HP: 21, 28; AT: 2; DAM: 1-8/1-4; SA: None; SD: None; Align: Neutral. Strewn among the bones in the remains in the cave can be gathered 2,000 s.p. One of the skulls has a large garnet (800 g.p.) stuck in an eye socket, and amounf the pile of jaw bones can be found a emerald (1000 g.p.) and a silver chalice (200 g.p.). In an old belt pouch can be found a vial contianing liquid (potion of flying) and a plain gold ring (protection +1)