A review copy of the module was provided. Read more Roll20 Reviews and watch the video reviews on my YouTube channel.

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Designed by: Kobold Press

Tome of Beasts 3 Lairs is my favorite dungeon pack since, well, Tome of Beasts 2! It’s far larger than its predecessors, with over 20 lairs, ranging from underwater shipwrecks and active volcanoes to a tailor’s shop turned rakshasa-cult hangout!

The following is included in the Tome of Beasts 3 Lairs module ($29.99):

    • 23 single-map adventures (lairs), ranging from 1st to 12th level.
      • Each lair includes a full color, 5-ft square map (+dynamic lighting for subscribers).
    • Over 100 monster tokens and statblocks, including 40+ new creatures from Tome of Beasts 3.

roll20 tome of beasts 3 desert valley

Tome of Beasts 3 Lairs is also included in the Tome of Beasts 3 Complete Bundle ($79.98), which features all 400+ creatures integrated into the Roll20 compendium, including token art and statblocks.

But for the purposes of this review, I want to focus solely on the lair book, which include dozens of creatures from Tome of Beasts 3. My favorites include the Ice Golem, who can shove creatures and objects into its flash-freezing chest cavity, the seagull-hybrid Gullkin whose tempest breath can knock players into all sorts of hazards, and the Animated Instruments that can form into an entire Animated Quartet with ongoing musical effects.

Each lair focuses on one or more of these signature creatures. As with previous lair books, they tend toward a straightforward, hack and slash adventure design, with plenty of monsters to fight. Don’t expect much in the way of puzzles, story, or social encounters, though some do a better job injecting story beats than others.

One of my favorite lairs (“Automated Banditry,” level 3) is a simple bandit cave, with a few clever twists. The three bandits are ex-college dropouts, who stole some constructs from their school. Armed with some rudimentary knowledge, they’ve turned to banditry to pay back their student loans, using the power of these creations.

It’s a fun premise that leads to some unique constructs for lower level PCs to deal with, such as Animated Instruments and Clockwork Armadillos, as well as nice opportunities to try and talk the “bandits” down from their half-hearted schemes.

Other lairs take you to far more exotic locations, such as the desert valley in “Flight of the Dromedaries” (level 2), where the party must recover a group of camels spooked by a flying dragon. The valley features pit traps, vultures, ruins, and a boss battle with a Desert Slime.

roll20 tome of beasts 3 ice golem

Perhaps the party needs a rare herb found at a druid’s sanctuary, only to realize the druid isn’t home, and the herb is currently encased in an Ice Golem within the well-guarded laboratory (“The Green Sanctum,” level 7). Or embark on a salvage mission to search the wreckage of an upside-down merchant ship, now infested by Bilge Goblins, Dire Lionfish, Wrackwraiths, a Breakwater Troll, and a Brine Hag (“The Salons of Mother Celeste,” level 8).

I cannot overstate the absolutely gorgeous map art. The textures, detailing, shadows, etc, easily make these dungeons — some of which are as large as 15 or 16 rooms, some of the most attractive 5e maps I’ve ever seen. You’re mainly buying a dungeon pack for the maps — and these maps are absolutely worth it.

Still, it’s a shame the only purchase option is the entire 23-map bundle. Individual lairs can be added to any campaign as add-ons, and easily accessible thanks to their small footprint within the journal. But it would be nice to be able to purchase them separately as needed.

It’s also weird that the level range for these lairs stops at 12, despite having many, many more lairs to work with than ever before. I realize that most D&D is played at the first two tiers, but come on! Even Candlekeep Mysteries and Journeys to the Radiant Citadel reach levels 15-16 with their anthologies.

If you’re looking for high quality map art, fun new creatures, and a huge variety of decently-size dungeon locations and ideas, you really can’t go wrong with Kobold Press’ latest offering.

Pros:

  • 23 lairs ranging from level 1 to 12, featuring a wide variety of locations and themes.
  • Each lair features a full color map, room descriptions, adventure hooks, NPC tokens, and dynamic lighting.
  • Lairs can be individually added to any campaign in Roll20.
  • Includes all necessary 100+ statblocks, including over 50 from Tome of Beasts 3.

Cons:

  • 23 lairs and none of them higher than level 12?

The Verdict: Clever mini (and not so mini!) dungeons with beautiful maps and fun new creatures creates another winning mini-adventure formula in Tome of Beasts 3 Lairs.

A review copy of the module was provided. Read more Roll20 Reviews and watch the video reviews on my YouTube channel.

Support my video work via Patreon.