Into the Sewers

Part 3 of A Can of Worms - A Kate and Kip Adventure

Last time, the heroic sacrifice of 2 Federation troopers allowed Kate and Kip to reach the pumping station. There they found a ooze-covered tunnel that led into the bowels of the city.

Proceeding down, they entered a labyrinth of passageways. They could hear the rushing of water nearby.

They turned a corner and found themselves confronted by a worm and a couple of slimes. Kip blasted a slime but the worm spit acid on Kate, wounding her badly.

Kate retreated to escape the acidic attacks. Kip blasted another slime. However, more worms began to converge.

Kip was hit! With both of our heroes wounded, they decided to retreat up the tunnel and find a defensive position.

What happened next? Did they defeat the worms? Find out next time on
The Adventures of Kate and Kip!

Mummy's Day

A Cat Patrol Adventure


In its first adventure, the Cat Patrol explored the right and middle passage of the dungeon. Flush with success at finding a piece of jewelry worth 150 gold, they decided to return to town, where they were able to updated their equipment (Cooper and Thomasina purchased heavy armor while Ollie acquired leather).

In addition, they added a party member. Buster is an elf, armed with leather armor, a bow, and sword.

Game Note: I know it's supposed to be FOUR against darkness, but the party is named after our cats and we now have 5 cats. We didn't want to leave Buster out (his picture still needs to be added). I compensated by adding 1 to each D6 when determining the number of enemies. I should also have added a life to bosses.

Because the party did not explore the left passage of the dungeon, they decided to return and finish the job.

Game Note: Per the rules, once a party leaves a dungeon then all the monsters are supposed to leave. I decided to ignore this rule because we never met a boss, leaving it feeling a bit anti-climatic. Also, we would be exploring a whole new area. I decided to take a little creative license, allowing us to "finish" the dungeon but making it like a brand new one.

Here is the second level of the dungeon

Re-entering the dungeon, the party veered left. The came to stairs going down. At the bottom, a corridor (1) branched three ways. This time, they started to the left. As they turned down a long corridor (2), the screeching of bats pierced their ears. Little Ollie leapt into the air and sliced 5 of them himself!

They opened a door to their left and entered a large room (3). There were 8 goblins but the party dispatched them easily.

They returned to the corridor and opened the door on the right. In this room (4) was a puzzle box. Onyx nearly sprung the trap but he managed to open the box and find a valuable gem (30 gp)!

In the next room (5) they found the prone form of a small dragon. They tried to creep past it but it awoke and demanded them to explain what they were doing. They were left speechless. Then the dragon decided to let them pass, for a price. Coughing up all their hard-won treasure, the party proceeded to a temple (6). Here Cooper received a blessing that would give him a bonus against the undead.

The party had reached a dead end; they had no choice but to go back through the dragon's room. Hopefully, their previous bribe would be sufficient. Alas, it wasn't and the dragon attacked. Cooper and Thomasina shielded the party with their shields. Thomasina managed 2 hits against the dragon. Then, when Onyx managed to sneak around and backstab it, the dragon had enough. It flew away through a secret shaft. The party recovered their bribe as well as additional treasure.

The heroes backtracked then entered a small room (7) with an ogre. Cooper was wounded in the melee but once again Thomasina proved invaluable, scoring 2 hits on the monster. As it received multiple wounds, it fled. Ollie discovered a ring of teleportation.

In the next room (8), invisible gremlins stole a number of items, including the party's magic items and some weapons. Ollie found himself unarmed! Unwilling to proceed, the party returned to the goblin room (3) and recovered some daggers.

After re-arming, the party continued their quest. Leaving the gremlin room, the party entered a long corridor (9), From the far end they heard shuffling and moaning. As they peered into the darkness, they spotted a mummy!

From http://www.aidedd.org/dnd/monstres.php?vo=mummy

At first, only Onyx managed to hit. Then after Cooper and Thomasina defended against attacks, the party slashed the mummy to ribbons! They found a healing potion.

Game Note: Oops! I allowed everyone to attack. This being a corridor, only the front rank + the bowman (Buster) should have attacked.

With the main boss defeated, the party decided to leave the dungeon. Before they could escape, they were attacked by skeletal rats. Both Thomasina and Ollie were wounded. The party then annihilated the rest. The path was open; they left the dungeon with bounteous treasure!

Game Note: This is another adventure using Ganesha Games' Four Against Darkness

Back at It

Part 2 of A Can of Worms - A Kate and Kip Adventure

Last time, Kate and Kip were defeated while investigating rampaging worm creatures on the planet Celestia. They managed to make it back to their ship, where they called for help. A squad (actually 2) of Federation troopers joined them.

This time, Kate and Kip landed east of the pumping station. The troopers landed west; their mission was to draw off the monstrosities while our heroes made for the station.

The slimes converged on the troopers, taking one out. One slime noticed the heroes but Kate blasted it.

The remaining trooper sought cover in a building. Kate and Kip began battling a worm guarding the station.

A slime slipped under a doorway and wounded the trooper. Kate and Kip rushed forward.

They entered the station and blasted the guardian.

They found a trail of slime leading into a tunnel. As they entered the black hole, they could hear a man's screams echoing throughout the city. They bowed their heads in tribute to the fallen troopers.

The Cat Patrol

A New Adventure Using Ganesha Game's Four Against Darkness

The Cat Patrol consists of 4 party members:

• Cooper, the warrior armed with sword, shield, and light armor
• Thomasina, the cleric armed with a mace, shield, and light armor
• Onyx, the rogue with light armor and a dagger
• Ollie, the halfling with a short sword and sling. He carries a lantern

The party decided to explore a dungeon a little way outside of town. Below is what they mapped.

After entering the dungeon, they veered right through a corridor (1) into a small room (2). A swarm of vampire bats fled at their presence. They backtracked, passed through another small room (3) and entered a a third (4). A pervasive feeling of evil blanketed the room. Then, a ghost appeared and passed through Onyx. He was petrified with fright; Cooper nearly had to carry him out of the room.

In the next room (5), they met a wandering healer. What was he doing in the dungeon? He did not say. Alas, the party could not afford his services.

Next, they enter a room (6) filled with vampire frogs. They rushed to the attack. Thomasina smashed one with her mace. A frog leapt on Ollie and begas sucking his blood. Ollie stabbed it with his dagger and it fell dead. Cooper and Onyx killed two more, and the remainder hopped away. Thomasina bandaged Ollie's wound. Meanwhile, Onyx searched the room and found a necklace worth 150 gold pieces!

The next room (7) contained an altar. A sense of evil emanated from it. Again, Onyx felt paralyzed with fear, but Thomasina blessed him and he returned to his normal self. As Thomasina completed the blessing, a party of hobgoblins attacked. Our heroes parried the blows, then Cooper, Onyx, and Ollie put down their opponents. The rest fled.

The party had come to a dead end so they backtracked. The were nearly back at the entrance (4) when 3 trolls attacked. The party cut them down in an instance. As they paused to catch their breath, 2 of the trolls returned to life. Again, the heroes killed the trolls only to have them regenerate. A drawn-out battle began. Cooper was wounded twice. Finally, the party killed the trolls and hacked them to bits.

At this point, while an expensive piece of jewelry in their possession, the party decided to leave the dungeon.

Worm Food

A Kate and Kip Adventure

Our heroes Kate and Kip took a short break after their rescue from a Frigidair prison. But now they are back. Word has reached Federation HQ that Stargaze City on the planet Celestia has been overrun by worm-like creatures. These monstrosities are devouring the local population. The creatures are issuing from a pumping station in the middle of the city.

Kate and Kip have been sent to investigate. They land on the outskirts of the city and cautiously move forward. They spot 2 types of creatures - worms and slimes.

With their blasters on full power, our heroes eliminate 2 worms. The creatures begin to converge towards them.

A slime accosts Kip but his clothing temporarily protects him. Unfortunately, a worm spits acid on him, causing a wound.

Kate and Kip destroy 2 more of the monstrosities while slimes approach.

A slime eats through Kip's pants and causes another wound. Kip blasts another worm.

Kate and Kip take refuge in some buildings. One slime oozes under a doorway into Kip's building. It latches onto his leg. A shock of pain runs through Kip's body and he collapses.

The slime leaves its prey and chases after Kate.

She flees to Kip's building where she finds her partner comatose. The slimes surround her and attack. She feels their acidic secretions burn through her skin. She nearly faints from the pain.

But persevering, she blasts one slime.

And then the other.

Our heroes are unable to continue to the pumping station. Kate drags Kip to the safety of their ship where she administers first aid and calls for assistance.

Will our heroes learn the secret of the monstrosities or is Celestia doomed? Find out next time!

Lair of the Ogre Lord

Part 2 of a new Maudicor Adventure

Previously, I described how we had just defeated 2 trolls. From there, we entered a large room (13).

We heard a loud grunting noise, then were confronted by a hideous visage - a strange creature called a catoblepas.

It gazed at us and we felt the life draining from our bodies. Then the creature bolted in fear through an open door to our right. We decided to proceed the other way,

We entered another room with an altar (14). This one, however, emanated with a holy light. Wynne felt a surge of power flow through her. She knew that any undead she met would meet their end quickly. Again we passed through a couple of corridors (15-16), driving off centipedes along the way.

From there, we stayed left and then entered a narrow room (17) and were assaulted by the smell of death. The room was littered with bones and corpses - presumably the victims of the ogre. Suddenly, some of the bones animated and attacked us, Aganon, Wynne, and Kyda began laying waste to the skeletons. One grabbed Kyda and stabbed her repeatedly with a broken sword. Kyda smashed it with her magic sword. After the battle, Wynne healed Kyda and we applied bandages to our wounds.

We then backtracked through the winding corridor (16) and ran into a massive orc. Wynne smashed it with her mace then Aganon deflected its blows. Aganon and Wynne hit it again and I blasted it with fireball. Badly wounded, it fled.

We proceeded to a small room (18). Here, the giant ogre lord was asleep.

It rose instantly but we were upon it. Aganon and Wynne hacked and smashed it while Kyda peppered it with arrows. I used a scroll to cast a lightning bolt at it. The ogre swung at Aganon. He blocked the blow with his shield but the force knocked him to his knees. This gave Kyda a clear shot; her arrow pierced its eye. It howled in rage, swinging wildly. Wynne stepped in and dispatched it with a blow to the temple.

We found another scroll. With our mission complete, we rushed back to the exit. Fortunately, we met no resistance. We have now returned safely to the Holy Temple.

Game Note
Both parts of this adventure were played out using the standard rules for Four Against Darkness by Ganesha Games.

Curses

Part 1 of a new Maudicor Adventure

After the success in defeating the medusa in the Catacombs, the Preceptor decided that we could tackle something a bit more challenging. In the nearby foothills is an abandoned monastery. Lately, a dreadful ogre has taken residence and attracted other monstrosities to his banner. We are to enter the monastery and kill the ogre.

Here is a map of the monastery.

We entered the grounds and came to an intersection (1). Turning right into a corridor (2), we ran into 2 orcs. They did not last long. We came to a narrow, L-shaped room (3). As we turned the corner, a burst of flame enveloped us. Then with a deafening roar, a small dragon attacked. I blasted it with a lightning bolt. It then attacked our fighter and cleric, but they avoided its deadly claws and jaws. Thus began a deadly dance. Aganon and Wynne tried to strike the beast while avoiding its attacks. Finally, Aganon struck 2 quick blows. The beast staggered and then Wynne finished it off with a blow to the head. We found a gem worth 40 gold.

We then backtracked and entered a square room (4) with an altar at the far end. As we approached, the altar glowed with a diabolic, pulsating light.

From http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/wallpapers/AltaroftheLost_DKA_2560x1600_Wallpaper.jpg

Suddenly, I felt as if I were stricken by pure malevolence. Wynne rushed to my side and blessed me in the name of the Maker. The feeling dissipated.

The next room (5) contained a puzzle, which I solved easily. My success unveiled a hidden recess wherein lay a magical bow. We gave it to Kyda. We passed through an armory (6) into a room that looked like a mausoleum (7). Suddenly, a ghostly entity appeared. Aganon and Wynne were so frightened that they appeared momentarily transfixed. The entity disappeared as quickly as it arrived, so we continued our quest.

We passed through a couple of corridors (8-9), scattering several giant centipedes along the way. We then entered a small room (10) stacked with books. I found a scroll that allows me to cast an Escape spell. We proceeded into another corridor (11) where we defeated 3 hobgoblins.

As we entered the next passage (12), we were assaulted by a noxious odor. As we recoiled in disgust, 2 trolls rushed us!

From http://tribality.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/troll1-740x360.jpg

Aganon and Wynne ably defended and then slaughtered the creatures. As we recovered from our shock, one came back to life and grabbed Wynne's leg. She smashed it with her mace and then Kyda sliced it to ribbons. I then noticed that one of them dropped a staff. I picked it up and noticed runes notched along its length. Deciphering them, I realized that I held a magic staff that cast fireballs. Wonderful treasure indeed! But we seemed no closer to the end of our quest. Where was the ogre?

Find out next time!