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Designed by: Valentin “Trekiros” Prévost, Sean Vas Terra, Taron “Indestructaboy” Pounds, Boyan Valevn, Kirsty Kidd, XhangoGames, Zavier Bates, Devlin DM, Joe Gaylord.

Legendary creatures, such as dragons, beholders, and liches, can utilize lair actions by exerting their will or magic upon the area around them, creating environmental hazards each round of combat.

But what if every official 5e creature could have lair actions? Home-Field Advantage — A Compendium of Lair Actions provides new lair actions for over 250 official 5e creatures, including from the Monster Manual, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters.

The first few pages of the 200+ page supplement includes helpful tips on creating custom lair actions, handling overlapping lair actions (such as a creature who is both a noble and a knight), utilizing shared lairs (like a monstrous mount), and allowing hordes of smaller creatures to also use lair actions, such as goblins and zombies.

This book of lair actions effectively explains why we should unlock lair actions to everyone, and not just end-game legendary creatures, most of whom are rarely if ever seen in most D&D campaigns.

And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. We’ve got lair actions for more common monster bosses such as manticores, medusas, hags, and hydras, but also lower level creatures such as displacer beasts, dryads, gargoyles, and nothics.

Even those simple humanoid NPC statblocks such as swashbuckler, mage, rogue, and knight can use thematically interesting lair actions, with brief little blurbs suggesting where they would make their lairs.

cloaker lair

The CR 3 archer (Volo’s Guide to Monsters) could hide out in a castle or bandit camp. Lair actions include dropping a smoke bomb or firing a grappling arrow to stealthily (or quickly) reach new areas and more advantageous positions. They could unleash a fire arrow at a flask of oil, creating a fiery explosion, or shoot an alarm bell to summon reinforcements.

On the higher end of the threat-level is the CR 17 death knight. The undead warlord could be found in ancient ruins or the center of an undead warcamp. The death knight’s lair actions utilize its hold over undead minions, sacrificing an undead ally to heal themselves, or summoning skeletal hands out of the ground to restrain their enemies.

I’m constantly amazed by how well designed these lair actions are, each expertly tailored to their creature.

The classic ghost can cause ectoplasmic slime to stun and damage enemies, throw objects to batter its enemies, and bestow vulnerability to necrotic damage with its dreadful presence.

Focusing on grotesque feasts, the demonic nalfeshnee gains particularly vivid lair actions, including serving a literal head on a platter, wielding weaponized silverware, and animating dining objects that join in the battle. Put our service to the test!

The ravenous otyugh makes the most of its sewer or other refuse-filled lair, spawning swarms of insects, waves of poisonous filth, or disappearing under a pool of muck to reappear elsewhere.

These lair actions are creative, fun, and highly appropriate. They also double as effective dungeon-building tools when crafting monster-battling arenas. For example, making sure the otyugh is fought in a dank, enclosed space filled with garbage and refuse.

I would never have though to place the nalfeshnee inside a twisted dining room, but with these new lair actions it works beautifully.

The supplement also features an attractive layout with a variety of images and art that include creatures, environments, and even grid maps (not included). There are no actual statblocks or new creatures, but as an add-on, Home-Field Advantage is an indispensable supplement for dungeon masters looking to spice up their dungeons and boss fights.

Pros:

  • Over 250 new, highly-thematic lair actions for creatures from the Monster Manual, Mordekainen’s Tome of Foes, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
  • Excellent lair actions double as dungeon design tips for each monster.
  • Custom lair tips and variants, including horde lairs, overlapping lairs, and even player character lairs.
  • Nice variety of art styles and images, including creatures, environments, and battle maps.

Cons:

  • None!

The Verdict: Home-Field Advantage deserves a coveted place up next to Monster Manual Expanded as a good-looking, well-designed, and incredibly useful monster supplement, and a must-have for every Dungeon Master.

This review has been sponsored by the publisher Find more reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using affiliate links for shopping and pledging via Patreon.