WE, THE

LAIR

CW: Imperialism

A hack of We, The City by Teo Kai Xiang (knicknacks.substack.com)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Eleonor Estragon
Images via Illustrated Shakespeare Archive and Wikipedia Commons (Title, Nest, Hide, Hallow, Hunt, Hoard, Wyrd, End)
 ALL OF YOU ARE
THE LAIR
You are a lair, a warren, a home for things others call monsters. The Lair is growing, changing, and
each of you represent a different aspect of the Lair; a yearning to be something else.

Through the ages and aeons, what will we become?

Before We Begin: SETUP

Pick your Domain (Nest, Hide, Hallow, Hunt, Hoard, Wyrd).
Everyone starts with 3 tokens.
Determine the length of your game; how many cycles do you wish to experience together?

Select 3-5 of the following traits for the Lair in this age: perpetually rainy, troubled by flocks,
unusually humid, isolated, putrid, trade route, cold and snow-covered, centre of scholarship, guild
hub, polluted, decaying, post-war, close to nature, bastion, underground, wretched hive, crime-
ridden, overly populous, ruled by tyrants, home to marvels

Draw a map of the Lair, divided into as many Areas as there are players, plus one. Take turns
inscribing upon scraps or post-its their Names, adjectives to describe their Physicality and the
Entities who inhabit them - until each Area has two scraps attached to it.

The Ages Pass: GAMEPLAY

At the start of each age, one of you is in power; you are in ASCENT. More than anyone else, you
are the Lair and have the power to CHANGE US in accordance with your DOMAIN by spending
tokens.

Everyone else is in DESCENT: they can RESIST your changes by imposing the costs of their
descent or COOPERATE by lending the power of their sphere. Choosing either earns you tokens.

Whenever you use a move that says (Mark 1), make the appropriate amount of marks on the They
Are Coming sheet. If it reaches a number equal to 5 times the number of players, They Come
seeking a challenge, riches, or to purge you from the world, and the game ends.

The Age ends when whoever is in ascent runs out of tokens. They lose power and must surrender
it to someone else. The Lair needs a new energy; whoever has the most tokens is now in ascent.
Another age begins.

Aftermath: THE END

Play things out until you have finished the desired number of ages, They have come to the Lair, or
everyone’s tokens have run out.

Admire and reflect on your handiwork:

What have we achieved together?

What would live here, in the Lair that we are?
What changes do you regret making?
What changes do you wish you had made?
Do we renounce what we are, or embrace it?
 THE PASSING OF
AN AGE IN OUR LIFE
CHANGE US
You are in ascent. More than anyone else, you are the lair. You can…
PAY 2 TOKENS: Describe how an Area within us should change, following the guidance of your
DOMAIN.

As Empire, I think our lives would be improved with new defences between us and The Deep. I
write this on a scrap of paper and attach it to the Area.

RECOVER A TOKEN: You can recover a Token if you pay the price of your ASCENT.
As Empire, I pay the price by noting that this increases the tyranny of a local warlord. Only
licensed adventurers may enter The Deep.

Everyone else (in descent) can choose to resist or cooperate.

RESIST COOPERATE
EARN A TOKEN: Impose your DESCENT EARN A TOKEN: Lend your DOMAIN to the
upon the change sought. change sought.

As Delve, I believe the fortifications make it As Renaissance, I believe the guilds would
impossible for ordinary people to flee their seek to test their new traps and devices by
tyrants. I write this on a scrap of paper and making them part of the defences. I write this
attach it to the Area. on a scrap of paper and attach it to the Area.

A DAY IN OUR LIFE

Anyone in descent can describe how someone in the lair reacts to the changes, by telling us a
story of a day in their life. The one in ascent awards a token to whoever they wish, by whatever
metric they desire. Any tokens past the first come from their own pocket.

Hearth describes a humorous scene where the heroes can’t get past the wall, and so return to
their welcoming mothers.
Guardian describes the approval of many religious figures who wanted to contain the shadows.
Corruption describes a monster looming near the walls, scheming about how to enter.

ENDING THE AGE

Rinse and repeat the process of changing us until whoever is in ascent runs out of tokens.
Their time as the dominant energy within us is over, and it’s someone else’s time to shape and
define us.

Whoever has the most tokens is now in ascent.

In the event of a tie, whoever was less recently in ascent gets to be.
 YOU ARE

NEST

You are every swarm, every beast, and every creature that wishes to make a place to fit their
needs. To harness our abilities to make one place in this world we feel at home. You are the lair
that yearns for comfort, a place to call home, and community.

DOMAIN

Shelter. Your power is comforting, nurturing, and warm.

How can we make this place our own? Who needs our shelter? What comforts do we need?

ASCENT

You create comfort and community, at the cost of making us a target (Mark 1).
Pay the price by: deciding who is excluded from the community you form.

DESCENT

In your absence, we experience isolation and discomfort.

Point out how the change leaves us open to division and a harsh life.

INFLUENCES. The Word for World Is Forest, The Shire, Wanderhome, Hibernation
 YOU ARE

HIDE

You are every refugee, every hunted beast, and every creature who flees rather than fighting who
hopes this place can shelter them from the crusaders outside. We are fear and caution. You are the
lair that yearns for safety, shields and camouflage, and shelter from the coming storm.

DOMAIN

Caution. Your power is careful, defensive, and shielding.

What threat shall we prepare for today? Who is coming next? How can we avoid violence?

ASCENT

You defend and hide us, at the cost of restricting our liberty.
Pay the price by: deciding whose joys are restricted to keep us all safe.

DESCENT

In your absence, we experience exposure and unwanted attentions.

Point out how the change restricts ordinary people or leaves them less safe (Mark 1).

INFLUENCES. The Word For World Is Forest, camouflaged creatures, rabbits, Assimilationism
 YOU ARE

HALLOW

You are every spirit, every mystic, and every supernatural creature that wants this to be a place of
harmony. To be a place to commune with the other energies of the worlds. You are the lair that
yearns for connections with spirits and cultures, balance with nature, and a broader perspective.

DOMAIN

Harmony. Your power is spiritual, esoteric, and balanced

Who does our lair exist alongside? What bonds us to the other beings of the world? How can we
work with others for the common good?

ASCENT

You create connections and possibilities, at the cost of losing individuality.

Pay the price by: stating how a connection costs more than we gain from it.

DESCENT

In your absence, we experience withering and natural threats.

Point out how the change disrupts the balance of our lair and the world around it (Mark 1).

INFLUENCES. Granny Weatherwax, druids, neo-paganism, appeasement

 YOU ARE

HUNT

You are every predator, every carnivore, and every vengeful creature that wants this to be a bastion
of power. To be the heart of a whole territory to call your own. You are the lair that yearns for
aggressive action, cleansing force, and revenge.

DOMAIN

Force. Your power is violent, sudden, and rash.

What must we impose on others? Who has earned our wrath? What shall we seize today?

ASCENT

You force people and places to obey your will, at the cost of inspiring revenge (Mark 2).
Pay the price by: stating who has been unintentionally hurt by what you do.

DESCENT

In your absence, we experience vulnerability and caution

Point out how the change makes us vulnerable to Them (Mark 1).

INFLUENCES. Dragons, Four Lions, freedom fighters, cycles of revenge

 YOU ARE

HOARD

You are every dragon, every dwarven hall, and every emperor that wants this to be a place of
riches. This is a place to honour our splendour. You are the lair that yearns for riches, splendour,
glamorous hallways and glorious treasures.

DOMAIN

Splendour. Your power is glamorous, persuasive, and bright.

How can we hold the shadow back? What threats need containing? How is the corruption
entering our realm?

ASCENT

You create magnificent places and spectacles, at the cost of attracting envy (Mark 2).
Pay the price by: deciding whose basic needs were neglected for your glories.

DESCENT

In your absence, we experience despondency and material wants.

Point out how the change leaves us uninspired or in material need.

INFLUENCES. Mines of Moria, draconic hoards, imperial splendours, late capitalism

 YOU ARE

WYRD

You are every bizarre beast, unnatural entity, and world-warping wizard who wants this to be a
place to escape reality. To be a place of strange magics, uncanny bargains, and taboo rites. You
are the lair that yearns for total freedom, strange experiments, and opportunities beyond this world

DOMAIN
Magic. Your power is strange, twisting, and free.
How can we improve this reality? What impossible needs can we fulfil? What have we always
wanted to do?

ASCENT
You give us what we want, at the cost of making us outcasts (Mark 1).
Pay the price by: stating which part of everyday life is forever changed for the stranger.

DESCENT
In your absence, we experience constraint and conservatism.
Point out how the change leaves us less free.

INFLUENCES. Supernatural monsters, Macbeth, witch hunts, anarchism

 THEY ARE COMING

How many marks needed (5x number of players):

Marks:

They might come to take your riches, to seek a martial challenge for the sake of earning respect
back home, or because they believe you are a blight they must purge.

They are here to do you a great wrong.

I am sorry.

The game ends here.

A note on lairs, monstrosity, and what I’m trying to do here

This world is shaped by imperialism. Its peoples, languages, culture and economics are inevitably
shaped by the fact that, for centuries, some regions plundered others for resources.

Back home, people from those regions told stories about heroic adventure, conquest, and
settlement that reflected the values that justified such actions - cultural supremacy, civilising
missions, and so on. Those stories weren’t always written with malice at heart - indeed, many
authors had the best of intentions - but when we tell such tales without reflecting on, critiquing,
and trying to change those values we perpetuate an old poison.

When I first wrote ‘We, The Dungeon’, I did so for a group of friends I trusted to already do the
work of being anti-imperialist. On preparing it for publication, I realised that, in many ways, it could
also be used to tell stories of settlement and colonisation that I want no part of.

So, following the example of Avery Alder and The Quiet Year/The Deep Forest, I wrote this. A
second, companion game exploring the other side of the equation - the creatures building their
home, nesting and sheltering in the horrible knowledge that, eventually, They Will Come.

Ultimately, They do not care about you. They care about your riches, or seeking glory through
violence, or purging that which they deem evil because to Them it is strange. So They will come
eventually, no matter what you do.

Such is the fate of so-called monsters in most fantasy settings.

The different Domains reflect different ways: Nest ignores it and tries to shelter, while Hide does
just that. Hunt lashes out, even as Hallow tries to negotiate and bargain. Hoard and Wyrd try to
build something wonderful for us, even though it puts us at risk from greedy and superstitious
outsiders.

But They Will Come. And the Lair will be forever changed.

Your Lair will not be perfect, even if you only play with Nest and Hide. No culture is. But hopefully,
this game can be a tool to engage with the other side of fantastical stories.

As with We, The Dungeon, please don’t use this game to celebrate fantastical versions of real-life
violence. And be aware of your fellow-players’ boundaries. Liberation struggles can be fun to play
out, but can also touch too close to home for the people you play with.

Even if you don’t care about my thoughts, I’m sure you care about them. Be kind.

And if you feel uncomfortable about something a fellow-player is doing, you have my full
permission to stop them and say “I’d really rather that didn’t happen. Can you do something
else?” they have to do something else.

I wrote the rules, and that’s one of them.

Have fun, be kind, and remember that, even among the monsters, some things remain evil.

- Eleonor Estragon