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…)