Four Against Darkness 03 - Second Adventure

I asked YS whether he wants to use the four existing heroes for the next adventure or to create new ones. To my surprise, he chose the latter - eager to discover the four remaining character classes. I think I was able to explain the rage attack, the luck point, and the adventures alright - but only introduced the dwarf—treasure thing as a flavour rather than a rule. I am not sure we missed much on that, but we did miss a few times about the fact that wandering monsters do not yield treasures.

We did use the Twisted Minions add-on for every other minion encounter, which added some varieties as well as a bit of challenge. But even then, our 1st level characters still did not face much trouble. Maybe we need the Fiendish Foes add-on sooner rather than later.

Just as Steve, Clare, Thebe, and Marcus returned to the town after defeating the medusa, four other heroes set off for their own adventure.

Barb the barbarian and Heave the dwarf both wield two-handed axe, ready to cut down any monsters they encounter; Eli the elf carried a bow and a sword; and Harry the halfling with a full backpack - sling, light hammer, and lots of snacks.

They were not the most experienced of adventurers, but they were well prepared. They pooled their money together and bought bandages for everyone, as well as a shield for Harry and some rope for Eli. Last but not least, they bought a lantern to light the way. They also decided that Eli should prepare a blessing spell in case they encounter a medusa.

At the entrance of the dungeon, they saw two doorways - one on the left and one on the right, both pointed to the north. They decided to go to the left, with Harry in the front, holding the lantern, and the Barb staying by him. At the back were Eli with her bow ready to fire, and Heave with his heavy armour protecting himself.

The very first room they entered, they encountered two trolls. Unbeknownst to the heroes, these trolls were part of a big clan (twisted minions 69), and more of them were waiting for the heroes further inside the dungeon. The trolls managed to hit Barb, but the rest of the heroes quickly disposed of them. The heroes were surprised to find a Ring of Teleportation in the room, and promptly gave that to Harry - who was quite agile but physically the weakest among them.

In the next room were two hobgoblins, who did not give the heroes much trouble at all. The heroes killed them without breaking a sweat and found a Wand of Sleep - which would be very useful in the hands of Eli.

Next, they passed through a twisted pathway, which did not seem to be occupied by any vermin or minions. Eventually, they reached a room with six fungi folks. The fungi folks tried to poison the heroes, but the heroes all dodged out of the way. After they killed four of the fungi folks and two of them fled, the heroes found a magic scroll with weird writings on it. They did not know what magic the scroll contains, but decided to carry it in case they face an emergency.

They met another pair of hobgoblin in the next room, which dropped a bracelet. The corridor out of the room contained six vampire frogs, as well as a gem. Both of these came in handy as they met a wandering alchemist in the next room. The heroes already had four bandages with them, but were still worried about the fact that none of them was a cleric. They did not have much cash, but really wanted to purchase some healing potions from the alchemist. Feeling generous, the alchemist accepted the bracelet in exchange for two potions of healing.

Going back to the other door out of the hobgoblin room, they discovered a cursed altar. It cursed Barb and reduced his defensive ability. Luckily, Eli has a blessing spell and was able to dispel the curse quickly. However, it also meant that they did not have any blessing spells left if anyone is turned into stone by a medusa.

Further inside the dungeon, they encountered two armouries, seven confused skeletons (twisted minions 72), as well as being ambushed by eleven skeletal rats. The latter managed to injured Harry three times. Seeing that Harry was really close to dying, they rested a bit and applied some bandages to him.

While backtracking, they were ambushed by four vampire frogs and three zombies - both dispatched easily. However, in the next room, a rounded room at the far side of the dungeon, was a chimera. Both Barb, Eli and Heave managed to strike at the chimera, but they could not stop it from breathing fire onto the four of them. Eli and Heave were injured by the fire, but Harry managed to hide behind his shield and Barb managed to dodge away.

As soon as the chimera stopped breathing fire, Barb jumped forward and swung his two-handed axe at the chimera. With a powerful blow, he chopped its head off. In the room, the heroes found a magic scroll of lightning bolt. Eli also gained a level (level 2), meaning that the shots from her bow would be even more powerful than before.

Going back to the previous room, they were ambushed by seven goblins! One of the goblins had a venomous attack (twisted minion 04), but the heroes were too nimble for them and five of them were quickly killed, with the remaining two ran away. The next room contained a treasure… but it was only worth one gold piece.

The heroes were then surprised by a catoblepas - which unleashed a gaze attack on them. Barb, Eli and Harry were all injured by the attack, but then Eli stabled herself, drew her bow, and fire a shot at the catoblepas. Miraculously, the shot struck the catobelpas in its eyes, and killed it outright.

They reached another dead-end soon afterwards, and got rid of some goblin swarmlings they found there. However, when they went back to the twisted passage, they found a giant spider wait for them. The giant spider was not very touch, but it managed to bite both Heave and Eli. Heave was poisoned by the bite, but Eli resisted it before they worked together to bring down the spider. In its remains, the heroes found another healing potion. Harry also managed to increase his level (level 2) as a result (thus giving him an extra luck point and a much needed life point).

The heroes wandered through the dungeon search for treasures and monsters, but they did not have much luck finding either. They met vampire bats, goblins, giant centipedes, and vampire frogs — all did not injured the heroes one bit, but also not leaving much treasures. However, the heroes did meet another group of trolls — this time four in a group. They also did not provide much challenge to the heroes, but did at least yield another wand of sleep.

Having explored all of the dungeon, the heroes arrived back at the entrance, where they chose the door on the left. On the right was the only remaining unexplored corner of the dungeon.

They stepped through the door on the right, holding their breathe. And there, they found an ogre, one that was even larger than average. The heroes never faced an ogre before, and both Eli and Harry were a bit weakened (with 2 lift points each).

Eli and Harry both shot their ranged weapon, while Barb and Heave swung their two-handed axes. The ogre, hurting, aimed its attack at Harry - knowing that one solid blow would knock Harry out. However, Harry, being an halfling, was extra elusive against ogres. While the ogre was trying to hit him, the other three heroes continued their attack and finally took it down.

In its lair, the heroes found 3 gems. They were not the most valuable of treasures, but was not bad for a first adventure. Barb was also able to increase his level (level 2) as a result of defeating the ogre. Together, the four heroes returned to town to celebrate.

Four Against Darkness 02

Andrea Sfiligoi, the author of Four Against Darkness, wrote in the book that an adventure takes roughly an hour (or less ). We (i.e. YS and I) took a very long time though - running small bits of adventure between 15 minutes and 45 minutes each. YS, who is now 6, can understand the basic mechanics well enough (as well as some of the monsters); and even FY, who is 3, can help with rolling the dice.

After a brief rest with the Wandering Alchemist, they went back to the room where the goblins were, and took another exit. The next room only contained 8 rats - which were quickly disposed of by the heroes.

In the next room though, was a Medusa. The heroes fought a Catoblepas, but never something as dangerous as a Medusa. Steve fired an arrow with his magic bow, wounding the Medusa, but Thebe’s sling-shot missed. The Medusa then set her gaze towards each of the heroes. Thebe and Marcus immediately turned into stone, but luckily Steve and Clare were quick to turn around and avoid the gaze.

Steve quickly put away his bow and drew his 2-handed sword, while Clare used one of her blessing spells to turn Marcus back to flesh. Medusa launched her attack, but Steve was able to repel it. Clare then used her other blessing spells to cure Thebe, while Steve attacked the Medusa with all his might. Miraculously, Steve was able to strike at her weak point (*exploding dice) and killed her in one blow. In her remains, the heroes discovered a silver necklace.

Steve’s heroics gained him a level (2). He now hits even harder and should help them overcome the next boss they encounter.

His higher skill came in handy in the very next room. Unusual for the dungeon, it was a circular room. And in the middle was a small dragon! Steve quickly fired an arrow towards the dragon, wounding it. Thebe followed with a sling shot, and Clare swung her magic hammer. Marcus only had a blessing spell and a fireball spell left, and neither of them helpful — so he swung his wizard’s staff instead.

The dragon quickly retaliated with four quick bites — two at Marcus, one at Steve and one at Thebe. Marcus lost all his life and fell down to the ground. Seeing that Marcus was dying, Clare immediate cast a healing spell on him — bringing him back to life.

Steve and Thebe continued to attack the dragon with their swords, with Steve doing most of the damage. Meanwhile, the dragon also continued to bite the heroes, again heavily wounded Marcus. Luckily, Steve was quick to the rescue; and with his 2-handed sword, he struck the dragon’s belly and finally killed it.

Dragons always have three treasures, and the heroes found 10 gold pieces, a scroll of sleep, and even a wand of sleep!

Marcus was heavily wounded, but was able to recover a bit after some rest. He also gained a level (2) and learned a new spell of escape!

In search of treasures and monsters, they travelled back to near the entrance and into another room. In the room was a trapdoor. Thebe attempted to avoid it, but ended up falling through it. Luckily, he was only lightly wounded and Steve was able to help him get out again.

On the other side of the entrance, the heroes encountered a chimera. It breathed fire at the heroes a few times, but they were able to withstand it and killed it swiftly. They only got some gold pieces from the combat, but Clare did gain a level. With her magic hammer, she would be able to combat both normal enemies and undeads very effectively.

In the very next room, the heroes encountered a lady in white, who gave them a quest of slaying all the monsters. They had been killing all the monsters they encountered up to that point, and so gladly accepted the quest.

They continued to wander the dungeon, facing skeletons, zombies, orcs, as well as numerous vermin. None of these gave them any trouble.

However, their good luck did not last forever, and they encountered some invisible gremlins. The gremlins managed to steal their wand of sleep, 3 magic scrolls, a bow, a hammer, and their only healing potion. But at least they still have their magic weapons and their magic spells.

Not long afterwards, they triggered another trap, and the gas trap managed to hit every one of them. Marcus fell unconscious, and Clare had to cast her second healing spell to heal him back up to normal.

Eventually, they arrived at the last room of the dungeon. Inside was a Medusa - more fierce than the last one they encountered. Steve’s magic bow drew first blood, and Thebe’s sling-shot miraculously hit the Medusa’s weak spot, critically injuring her.

The Medusa’s gaze attack fired at all of the heroes. Maybe because of her weakened condition, or because of their prior experience with gaze attacks, the heroes were all able to dodge away and avoid being turned into stone.

Clare swung her magic hammer at the Medusa, and with one final hit, slayed it.

Steve gained another level as a result of this fight, and the heroes found some fools gold among her treasures. They found it amusing that a whole adventure of killing all monsters they encounter ultimately gave them fools gold to bribe monsters with.

Their spirits were high when they went back to the lady in white, who pointed them to the Gold of Kerrak Dar - which they promptly search for. They found it in the room where they met the fungi folk, and hauled the treasure back to town.

Four Against Darkness 01 - Four heroes getting ready

This was a game I started with YS, who just turned 6. We previously tried Justin Halliday’s Hero Kids, but it is a bit too freeform for someone who is not familiar with the tropes of fantasy fiction / fantasy games, and takes a bit of table-space and time to set up. Four against darkness might be a good way for us to get some simple tabletop gaming in, and we can work in the story bit as we go along. Maybe soon YS would be familiar enough about how dungeoneering works as well as the common hero classes and monsters. Then we can move onto more free-form stuff and proper RPGs.

This adventure started with four heroes:

• Steve the Warrior, wielded a 2-handed sword and carried a bow (with 12 arrows in his quiver)

• Clare the Cleric, wielded a hammer and a shield

• Thebe the rogue, wielded a short sword and carried a sling

• Marcus the Wizard, wielded a wizard staff and a spell book

After Thebe bought a lantern and Marcus stocked up on bandages, they descended into the dungeon.

The first room in the dungeon was a large room containing a single hobgoblin. Before the hobgoblin could attack, Steve fired an arrow straight at it and killed it. After making sure that there were no more monsters around, they opened the treasure chest guarded by the hobgoblin. To their surprise, they discovered a magic bow! They were puzzled why the hobgoblin has a magic bow in his possession, but they gladly took it and gave it to Steve - who was the only person in the party that knew how to use a bow.

They next walked into a corridor. A statue was erected in the middle of the corridor, but they decided not to touch it and carefully walk passed it instead.

The next room contained 5 hobgoblins. Steve fired his magic bow at them and killed one straight away. Marcus then cast a sleep spell and sent 2 of them to sleep. Clare and Steve swung their hammer and 2-handed sword at the hobgoblin but missed. The hobgoblin also missed when it tried to strike at Clare. Next round, Thebe tried his luck with his short sword, but did not manage to hit the hobgoblin. Finally, Clare smashed her hammer at the hobgoblin and defeated it. They searched the treasured left behind by the hobgoblin and found a magic hammer! Clare picked it up and replace her ordinary hammer with it.

The party slowly approached the next room, but even Thebe - who was walking in front — failed to notice the spear trap. Clare managed to dodge out of the way, but Marcus was injured, leaving him even weaker than usual. But at least they were able to discover a gem in the room. That might fetch them a bit of money if they could get out of the dungeon alive.

Through the door way on the other side, they reached a big room. And even from afar they could see a catoblepas lurking. Steve fired his magic bow, and Thebe fired his sling, but only the first the two hit. The catoblepas immediately attacked using its gaze — injuring Clare and Thebe. However, the four heroes were more than a match for the monster. They surrounded the monster, each hacking at it. And before long, the catobelpas was slayed. In the room, the heroes found a scroll of fireball - which might come in handy especially because Marcus has already used one of his spells on the hobgoblins.

Having defeated such a weird monster without much trouble, Thebe gained a level (2). Hopefully, his improved skills could help them avoid the traps awaiting them further inside the dungeon.

They stepped through a small and uneventful room and into a long, bending, corridor. Fourteen rats were wandering to and fro and corridor, but the heroes made short work of them — each of their strikes took out several rats at once.

Thebe was disappointed that the corridor did not contain any treasures, but at the end of the corridor, they found a room filled with fungi folks. As usual, Steve led with a shot from his magic bow, and Thebe used his sling. Clare then followed up with her magic hammer, and Marcus with his wizard staff. They killed four fungi folks straight away, and the four remaining ones tried to fight back. However, the heroes were to agile for them and none of their attacks landed. After the heroes killed one more of them, the remaining fungi folk ran away. Two more were killed by Steve’s arrow and Thebe’s sling shot, but the last one got away. Once the room was cleared, the heroes discovered what the fungi folks were guarding — a silver ring, not magical but beautifully crafted, probably worth a small fortune.

Having no onward path, the heroes backtracked through the — now rat-free — corridor and walked through a side door. On the other side of the door was a huge room with no enemies, but just a puzzle. Thebe, who is now somewhat experienced with disarming traps and solving puzzles, got to work and soon was able to solve the it. All it yielded was 10 gold pieces — which was better than nothing.

There were two exits from the puzzle room, and the door they chose lead to a room with four skeletons. They were no match for Clare’s magic hammer.

The next room contained six goblins. The heroes were able to surprised them with an arrow and a sling shot. None of the goblins tried to flee, and all of them were slain by the heroes — leaving 9 gold pieces behind.

One of the paths out of the room lead them into a dead-end, where they met a wandering alchemist. The alchemist had a few healing potions for sale, but the heroes did not have many gold pieces with them. After some discussion, they decided to give the silver ring to the alchemist in exchange for one healing potion and 120 gold pieces. The alchemist invite them to stay and rest, but the heroes were eager to press on.

(To be continued…)