A Lair is a location in the Primordial Dream used as a haven by a particular Beast.
Overview[]
The Lair is as much a part of the Beast's soul as the Horror itself, and collapsing or damaging parts of the Lair harms the Beast. The center of the Lair is the Heart; if this chamber is collapsed, the Beast will die.
Beyond the Heart, the Lair is formed of Chambers and Burrows. Chambers are dream-reflections of places in the real world where someone experienced tremendous supernatural fear. If a Beast caused this fear, such as by successfully using a Nightmare on someone in that location, they may be able to add the Chamber to their Lair. They may also use a Chamber created by someone else (another Beast or another supernatural being) if they can figure out just how the Chamber was created. Burrows connect Chambers to one another.
Members of a brood may connect their Lairs to one another, either with Burrows or a shared Chamber. The Lair also opens onto the rest of the Primordial Dream, allowing the Horror to roam outside when it gets hungry.
Lair Traits[]
The inside of a Lair is usually inhospitable to anyone except the Beast who possesses it. A Beast automatically gains immunity to environmental conditions that resonate with their Lair, such as extreme cold, extreme heat or poisons (if the Lair has a toxic atmosphere). Beasts in a brood may share these immunities with one another. Mechanically, conditions inside the Lair are described by Lair Traits, a persistent Condition or Tilt that affects any non-Beast inside.
The Beast can try to impose those Lair Traits on their environment, essentially merging their Lair with reality. This is easier when the environment already resembles the Lair in some respect. For instance, if a Beast's Lair has the Dim Light and Undergrowth conditions, then the Beast could conjure up tall weeds or tangled debris in a space that is already darkened, or create unnatural shadows in a location that already has a hazardous ground cover.
In a similar way, a Beast can try to access their Lair from the real world, and this is made easier when their location resembles one of their Chambers. When a Beast physically enters their Lair, they merge bodily with their Horror, unless it is Slumbering (10 Satiety).
As Beasts become more powerful, their Lairs become larger and can carry more Lair Traits.
Visitors to the Lair[]
A non-Beast who enters the Lair is subjected to the harmful effects of all Lair Traits, and humans risk a breaking point from fear. Optionally, a Beast can extend someone temporary or permanent access to their Lair, which shields that individual from the negative effects of Lair Traits. This access allows the individual to access other Chambers of a shared Lair, not just the Lair of the Beast who granted it, and thus is not given lightly. It can also be revoked at will, bringing all the Lair Traits back into play.
Heroes may be able to access a Beast's Lair from a location where the Beast has previously opened a Primordial Pathway. Once inside, they may attack the Horror directly or attempt to collapse Chambers.
Insatiables can also access a Beast's Lair from elsewhere in the Primordial Dream. While Insatiables cannot create their own Lairs except through Satiety expenditure, they can steal a Beast's lair in this manner.
Depending on the Beast's Kinship, the lair may contain a portal to another Realm entirely, such as the Hedge, the Underworld or Shadow. A Beast may also cobble together Chambers from widely-separated locations (different cities, countries, even continents) allowing for rapid travel from one real-world location to another.