A bit of a throwback today, we’re taking a look at the Villains and Lairs series from our good friend Jeff C. Stevens. Specifically, we’re going over Villains and Lairs II, as well as Villains and Lairs III (Free!).

Disclaimer: We were provided with a free digital copy of this product.

If you’re wondering where Villains and Lairs I is, well, it’s here – all the way back in 2018 (how time flies!). The rest of the series was also published back in 2019 (and are of course for the 5th Edition) – but don’t let that fool you, there’s a reason it’s a Platinum Best Seller. In fact, they are all Platinum Best Sellers, except the first one – which is an Adamantine Best Seller. So you know you’re in for a treat, but then again, you already knew it just from Jeff’s name on the cover. But let’s just get into it.

Villains & Lairs II

As with many of Jeff Stevens’ supplements, this is a collaboration with several writers to produce a large array of NPCs. In this case, we have 24 villains in total, with 21 different writers each contributing their own – Jeff included, of course – spanning across more than 80 pages.

In truth, not every character included is necessarily a villain. They can be, of course, but they all have comprehensive backgrounds, including short-term and long-term plans, character flaws, and even other possible roles they might take in relation to the players. Some of them can be mentors, allies (perhaps of circumstance, perhaps real), or just something more transactional like informants, guides, or simply merchants.

Every NPC has their own portrait (and a statblock, of course), but 8 of them also come with their own personal lair (map included), often with lair actions as well to give them an extra boost if you decide to face them there. Some of them are also connected to each other – not necessarily very strongly, but there’s a thread you can use to enrich their stories by incliding more than one of them. All this information they have makes it quite easy to use them as long-term villains, not just a one-off encounter that your players can slaughter – though of course nothing is stopping you from doing that as well, and you can easily come up with a quick one-shot adventure or sidequest for them.

There’s also a lot of variety, both mechanically and story wise. You have CR from 1/4 all the way to 17, with a pretty even distribution across them – you also have all kinds of species and.. occupations, such as a Dryad, an Eladrin, a Werewolf Bard, a Goblin Shaman, a couple of undead, and even an alien. The dryad in particular, named Alianthra the Bloodthorn and designed by Karl Resch, is my favorite because she has a very interesting background (even among the rest of the excellent entries, this one stands out to me), which can go several different directions.

Villains & Lairs III Free

Similar to what was done for Encounters in the Savage Seas, the 3rd installment of this series is a shorter supplement that’s available for free. With 8 new villains and 1 new lair, don’t think that it’s a lower effort publication – everything here is just as polished and intriguing as the other entries in the series. I’m going to highlight 2 specific NPCs from here that I really liked: The first Maug, a disgraced demon general who is exiled from the Abyss and seeks to return there and to the service of his master. It’s a neat inversion of the usual trope of a knight or paladin trying to atone for their failures – and can really make for some very interesting dynamics. The second is Kringer, a jester possessed by a demonic being, and the reason I highlight her is because, well, she’s a demonic jester – and Jeff really likes those sorts of characters, judging from his very successful adventures like The Madhouse of Tasha’s Kiss and Happy Jack’s Funhouse.

Final Thoughts

Jeff just doesn’t miss – both supplements are still very good additions to your collection of NPCs and character ideas. You absolutely should get Villains & Lairs III (since it’s free), and Villains & Lairs II has a lot more that you should check out. Finally, they, along with part IV and a couple more supplements, are also in a discounted bundle.

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