Something I often hear people ask is, "What actually defines a lair monster, and which ones are there?" Well, I've got your answers. Lair monsters are monsters that are always in a certain area (or in some cases, a certain floor) and are usually very tough compared to other monsters on the same floor. Unless you are a very skilled and high level player, it is usually recommended to go in a group for all but the easiest lair monsters. Some of the toughest lair monsters require groups of 5 or 6 of the highest level people in the game, and it all depends on what kind of risk you want to take-a greater risk usually brings a greater reward. Here is a list of lair monsters with information, recommendations and hints for each. There is a lot of info on this page, so please be patient while it loads. Also, my difficulty ratings are in comparison to other lair monsters, and are difficulty for a normal character (thieves are not included, as they have special skills for lair monsters). Thanks!
Trog is the King of the Trolls in Kesmai, and resides in his lair above Kesmai -2. He is probably the easiest lair monster to kill, and the one most people kill first. He fights like a troll
and does not use any spells, although he has more hit points and takes longer to kill-plus he can knock you off his lair so move away from the air hex :). His treasure usually includes a bone (which can be used as a weapon), a ram skull, a blind res ring and a +1 dex ring, and a couple diamonds.
He is sometimes hard to find to kill, because he is pretty easy to kill so people sometimes kill him just for fun. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 3
Doom.Orc is the first lair crit thieves seek out, because he holds the coveted +4 glowing crossbow that all thieves need. Magic Users(Thaums and Wizards) are not allowed into his lair at all, so only Knights, MAs, and Thieves can get in. He
has about 3 or 4 orc companions that carry crossbows as well, but they are not +4 like the one he carries. A presence can also usually be found around him, which can make it very difficult for thieves to stay hidden in his lair. To enter his lair(which is SE of the portals) It must be night time. His treasure pile also includes a lion robe, which many MUs like to wear. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 5
Daisy is one of the most seeked out lair creatures, for the fact that she is an integral part of the Knight's Quest and sometimes holds a returning hammer in the back of her lair. Make sure that you have plenty of fire prot
before attempting to fight Daisy, as she casts powerful fire spells often through the fight. If you are a Magic User who helps a knight to fight Daisy, bring plenty of balms because Daisy centers her attacks on the Magic Users in the group. A group of 4 or 5 who cooperate well should be able to beat Daisy, but be careful
because her lair is a no-recall zone. which means, if you are in trouble you have to run all the way out of the lair just to escape. After killing Daisy, be sure to take the corpse to the tanner to get a nice set of draggy scale armor. IF you are looking for the rhammer as well, go behind her lair, and there will be a room
with a big wraith or two and about 3 ghouls. After killing these, check the back room in that room to see if there is an rhammer on floor. If so you are pretty lucky, because they only appear about 20% of the time. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 6
The Evil Thaumaturge is located north and east of Hermann's (which is where knights go to complete the Agate Quest) If you are trying to locate him, his name is Ydnac. The Evil Thaum has very powerful death spells, and if you have no death protection, he can easily take 90-100 with one death spell. The easiest way to beat him is to wait around the corner of his lair, warm an attack spell (death works well) move around the corner and hit him with it to fizzle his spell, then run back around the corner before he can hit you. Repeat this strategy, but keep in mind he may try to chase you so get far away. The reward for defeating him is a star robe or a permanent wisdom potion, and if you are lucky and catch him after a reset, you may be able to find an rhammer, which is located on the altar. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 6
The Oakvael serpent is a monster that is an exception to the rule. It does not actually have a "lair," but rather wanders around the Serpent Level (-3) of Oakvael. It can be rather difficult to defeat, depending on what skills you have. It can only be hurt by glowing weapons, such as a BBS, but can also be hit by a couple spells, such as Ice Spear. Death, Lighting and Curse, along with some other attack spells, do not work. The serpent can poison you, which will stun you plus take away a few hps a round. Since it attacks quickly, it can stun you and repeatedly stun you until you are dead. A good strategy I have found helpful is this (keep in mind you need a returning weapon): Stand 3 spaces away from the serpent. Throw your returning weapon at it, then when it moves one space away from you, move 3 spaces in the opposite direction. Repeat this until you kill it. This is not an easy strategy, but is a good way to defeat it unless you have Ice Spear. There is a 50% chance that when you kill the serpent, you will find a MOP (DP) on it's body. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 7
The Iron Liches are a pair of Liches that live on the Undead level of Oakvael. It is said that casting spells while on the Undead level attracts them toward you, especially if they have been let out of their lair by another adventurer. Their lair is located in the southern area of Undead, and is hidden by a secret door. When opened, both liches will immediately see you and start to attack you. They attack with their hands, and sometimes cast fire. One of the liches, the one with a yellow robe on, is much weaker than the other and should be killed first. After that, concentrate on the more powerful lich using your glowing weapons. Death and other attack spells do not work on them. They will hit you against the wall and knock you down, so be sure you bring lots of flasks in case you get low on hit points quickly. Once they are defeated, another secret door within their lair leads to the treasure room. In it, you can find a permanent dexterity potion, Feather Fall boots, a restore mana potion and other little items. Difficulty Rating (1-10): 7
The Whirlwind dragon is an integral part of the second Knight's Quest. It is located on the bottom floor of Oakvael, known as the Reptile Pit. Many knights seek to defeat the Whirlwind dragon, because you must defeat it to find the Knight for the second Knight's quest. Once he is found, he will give you 16 hps if you show the magical halberd gained from another part of the quest. The Whirlwind dragon usually only casts whirlwind when the fight begins, and then attacks after that. Only knights can enter her lair, which makes it much harder in that no Thaums can be present to heal. The strategy is much the same as the one used to defeat Daisy, except the new added danger is the whirlwind spell. The main danger is not from the dragon itself, but rather the 4 super powerful wyrms that wander around near her. When you defeat her, you can have her body made into a set of dragon scales, a good set of armor. Besides that, there is not much other treasure in the lair.
Difficulty Rating (1-10): 9
The King Wolf is another lair monster like the Serpent, where it does have an actual "lair" but rather wanders around Axe-Glacier. Because it is never in one place, adventurers often have hard time finding it. The reason many people try to kill it is because it holds an obsidian egg, the component needed to make an Raxe. The King Wolf can only be damaged by silver weapons, such as a Silver Greataxe or a silver dagger. As far as I know it cannot be stunned, deathed, cursed or Magic Missled, but I may be wrong. It looks like any other wolf, so the only way to tell it is the King Wolf is to see how hard it hits and how hard it is to kill. Unless you are an experienced user of an SGA or a dagger, the King Wolf can be difficult to defeat.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 7
The Leng Vampire is one of the toughest lair monsters in the game, not only for its power but for where it is located. The Vampire is located in the Leng Tower, which is found on Leng -1. It can be found by opening a secret door in an area with a small rectangular path around a wall, which is the tower. There are 5 floors in the tower, and only the strongest adventurers can go to the top. On the first couple floors there are lichs, and on the third floor very strong NPCs appear as well as lichs. On the 4th level very strong Thaum NPCs and Archer NPCs appear. Once you reach the 5th floor, there are many monsters, including the vampire, who is invisible. There are 2 powerful death-casting liches, and 2 powerful griffins. Since it is invisible, you cannot see where it is until it attacks you. It can death you from far away many times before it moves close enough to attack. It can only be hurt with silver weapons, and can hit hard and fast. If you kill it, there are a wide variety of treasures you can find on it, some of the most valuable being an occasional Torc, which provides Stun/Death protection, or other rare items. Overall, the Leng Vampire is one of the toughest lair monsters, with Mama the only other lair monster of comparable difficulty.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 10
The Axe-Glacier Drake is part of the trio of lair monsters that reside near each other in Axe. The Drake hurls lightning bolts often, and is invulnerable to attacks by lightning. It can hit pretty hard, and you have to be careful that you don't, in your haste to escape, run the wrong way and have an encounter with Mama :) It is said that if you throw lightning bolts at a drake, it will only get mad and hit even harder than normal, although I am not sure if that is true. Since its lair is located in ice, you have to be careful to slip and fall when you are fighting it.. its not a good time to lose your balance :) If you are going to fight it, try to have someone that has the spell lighting resistance to cast it on you, or try to find a ring of lighting resistance. If you have lighting protection, the drake is the same type of monster as Daisy, attacking often and moving quickly. The same strategies also apply, like it will go for the spell caster of a group. When you kill it you will find a dp (which is why they are called drake potions), a restore mana potion, a +2 dex ring, and of course, the drake scalesDifficulty Rating (1-10): 8
The Leng Ninjas are located in a secret area below the mausoleum. The secret area is located behind the mausoleum statue. After you go through the secret door, there will be a long winding corridor to some more steps. At the end of this is a small room, with a corridor to the left. Along the corridor is a teleport that only Thieves and MAs can go through (it looks like a pile of bones). After that, you will be inside the lair. There are a few ninjas that will jump kick and attack you, and there will be the ninja leader. You definately want to come in a group for this, because all of them attacking you at once can knock down the hps really fast. The leader, named Shidosha, is the toughest, with the most hit points and strongest attacks. After you defeat them all, you will get a buddha, a kimono and a fan. The buddha is an integral part of the crystal gauntlets quest, and the kimono and fan are a robe and weapon for MAs, respectively. Since MUs are not allowed, make sure you bring a lot of flasks.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 7
The Leng Drake, in many respects, is the same as the Axe-Glacier Drake. Both use lightning and generally the same strategies. The similarities end there though, as the Leng Drake has roughly 3 times the amount of hitpoints as the Axe Drake, and has much tougher buddies. Outside the Drake's lair, there are a few super-minos, that can often stun with their attacks, and a few other monsters. They also hang around inside the Drake's lair, so you have to contend with the crits as well as the Drake. The Drake in Leng has better treasure though: it still gives a dp, mana restore potion and the scales, but sometimes it also gives a ring of lighting resist. Because of its difficulty and monsters, most thieves prefer the Axe drake instead.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 9
The Leng Dragon, named Kosh, is located in a lair above the Griff Cliffs of Leng. The lair is not very large, and it is very easy to accidentally fall off the ledge, so make sure you have FF on. The Leng Dragon is like Daisy, but has many more hitpoints and is able to hit much harder. Also like Daisy, the only real strategy is to get someone strong or a phantasm as bait, because the dragon can move 3 spaces and attack in the same round, so there is no real way to dodge. Keep in mind that if you jump off the ledge back down to Griff Cliffs to get away, the dragon may follow you down the jump and chase you around Griff Cliffs. Kosh is a lair monster that eats you if you die, so if you die your body will be eaten, and you will go straight to the UnderWorld, with all your possesions remaining in the lair. Kosh gives FF boots, an NV helm, and a death resistance ring as treasure.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 8
The Yeti is part of the "deadly trio" of Sparky, Mama and the Yeti. The Yeti is a very difficult lair monster to get to, because you must go through Sparky and Mama before you can even fight the Yeti. Mostly only thieves fight the Yeti, as they can easily slip past the ice dragon and drake to get near the Yeti. The Yeti is killed for the misery dagger, which enables a Knight to complete a portion of the Halberd Quest. Thieves must be very careful in the lair, as moving on ice to avoid the yeti's gaze can be very dangerous. If you are a thief and accidentally slip on the ice, your hide spell will be broken and the yeti will see you. The Yeti hits very hard, in the range of 90-200 hps per attack, and breathes a very powerful Ice Storm. The reward for defeating the Yeti is a Breathe Water bracer, bear skull, a robe and the misery dagger.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 9
One of the most infamous lair monsters in LOK, many adventurers aspire to defeat Mama. Mama is located in between Sparky and the Yeti in Axe-Glacier, and is in a lair with ice scattered everywhere. Mama has very brutal attacks, such as a devestating ice storm and powerful claw and knock-down attacks. Thieves do not dare to try to solo Mama as they do other monsters, as their arrows cannot harm her and they would die quickly trying to use an SGA :) Mama possesses magic resistance, and is immune to all spells except Ice Spear, which can penetrate the ice dragon's scales. She must be hit with an SGA, as a silver dagger is not large enough to hurt her. Martial Artists are known for their ability to block many of Mama's attacks once they reach 5th Dan and higher, and they are usually used as Mama bait. Mama has many different types of loot on her, including griffin skulls and figs, a couple types of rings and sometimes a brooch, which gives you Protection from Stun and Death.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 10
The Axe-Glacier Giant resides on the 80' level of Axe-Glacier in the Giant's Castle. The Castle's base is on the 60' level, which can be reached west of Axe-Glacier Town. There are usually a bunch of NPC archers in and around his lair, which can make fighting him more difficult. He does not use any specialty attacks, but rather punches and knocks down opponents. His lack of range attacks makes him a somewhat easier lair monster, as he can be attacked from a distance and is not immune to spells like Death, and he uses the same strategies as Daisy does in attacking. Unlike Daisy however, it is not wise to stand toe to toe with him, as he will probably knock your head off if you are not careful. He can only be hit by glowing weapons. The reward for defeating the Giant is several moderate value items, with the most valuable item being the returning hammer found on the altar in the castle.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 6
The Leng Sandserpent is located northwest of the statue in the mausoleum, but cannot be reached from this postion. He can be reached by a secret door that is located at the end of the corridor found at the stairs down from the pungent bush portal drop of Leng. You can tell that he is in the lair if you hear the rumbling sussurations of giant scales in the sand near you. When you open the secret door, the sandserpent will attack you, and can hit for moderate damage of 25-40 as well as knock you down. He is not a very difficult lair monster, but must still be hit with a glowing weapon. He is immune to spells such as Death and Stun. When you defeat the sandserpent, you will find a few shielders, some diamonds and some gold in the lair.Difficulty Rating (1-10): 4
