Grove of the Gorgon

A Khamen and Candorra Adventure

Using Four Against Darkness

Once again Khamen was summoned before the Preceptor and offered another mission. This time, he and Candorra would sail to the southern island of Sarpedon. Rumor had it that the Holy Rod of Leonidas, another lost relic, was located there, in a grove guarded by a medusa.

This time our heroes were accompanied by Sister Wynne, a priestess of the Holy Temple (whose earlier adventures have been recorded previously).

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Our heroes landed on the rocky shore of Sarpedon. Cliffs rose from the beach, with a pathway cutting through them leading into the island's interior,

Suddenly, with a screech, five bird-like creatures swooped upon the party. Two of them dove upon Candorra, rending her flesh with their sharp talons. Swinging wildly with her sword, she struck down her attackers. Khamen and Wynne took care of the rest. Their way was open.

As the path climbed through rocky terrain, they could hear the rumble of water in the distance. Then they came upon a bridge that crossed a gorge. A raging river ran through the gorge fall below. A gate blocked the river. It was fastened with a rope tied in an intricate knot. An old man sat beside the gate.

As they approached, the gatekeeper rose and greeted them.

"You may only pass this way if you can solve the riddle of the knot. Otherwise, the gate shall remain closed and there is no other way."

Candorra approached the gate and inspected the knot. She tried to untie it but failed. Wynne also could not unravel it. Khamen approached, pulled out his magic dagger, and with a single stroke cut the knot in half. The gate swung open as the gatekeeper's mouth dropped in surprise. Khamen's companions gave him a look.

Khamen shrugged. "I read about something similar once."

"Well, it worked." Candorra replied. "Let's go."

As she advanced, she noticed something lying upon the bridge. It was a wand. She pocketed it, and promptly forgot about it.

After traveling a ways, the party entered a forest. The sound of pipes seemed to emanate from the trees. Khamen and Wynne began to get drowsy.

"Let's take a short break." Khamen urged as he plopped upon the grass. Wynne joined him. Candorra urged them to rise, but they paid her no heed. Suddenly, a bunch of half-man half-goat creatures popped out and began to shower the party with arrows. Candorra pulled out her bow and responded. The satyrs could not match her elven marksmanship, and soon they were routed.

The path now led our heroes into a secluded grove. At the far side was an altar with a rod upon it. The Holy Rod! But where was the guardian?

As they stepped into the grove, a figure appeared from behind a tree. It turned to face them.

"Avert your eyes! Look upon the ground!" Wynne commanded.

She and Khamen looked away, but Candorra hesitated. She then got a full view of the guardian's face. It was a terrifying sight - with the malformed features framed by a mane of writhing snakes! Candorra emitted a cry of horror, then she froze in place. Khamen glanced at her, then stared in horror as she petrified before his eyes. In seconds, a stone statue stood where his friend once was.

Wynne was not the least bit fazed. She stepped over to Candorra, laid a hand on her stony shoulder, and said a prayer. The rock began to crumble and flake off. In but a moment, Candorra was restored.

Wynne challenged the medusa. "Begone vile creature! Your evil has no power over us!"

The medusa hissed. "Fool! I am not evil; just cursed."

"If you are not evil, then step aside and let us claim the Holy Rod of Leonidas." Wynne demanded.

"Nay, Sister. I cannot do that. Part of my curse is to remain here and guard the Rod. I cannot let you have it . . . unless the curse is broken."

"And how do we do that?" asked Khamen.

The medusa's hideous visage broke into a smile. "You must bring me the sorcerer that cursed me. Alive."

Will our heroes capture the sorcerer and recover the Rod?

Find out next time!

The Dragon's Lair

An Adventure using Four Against Darkness
Part 2

After defeating the ogre, our party backtracked to the second room extending from the corridor (11). We met some goblin snotlings, which Aganon defeated in one blow. We then entered a room with a statue of a warrior (12).

The statue's sword did not appear to be stone; it gleamed like silver. Kyda was so entranced that she touched the sword. The statue suddenly came to life and swung its sword at her! She dodged the blow and then struck it with her sword. Wynne rushed up and smashed it with her mace. Enraged, the statue swung at Wynne but she dodged. Aganon, Wynne, and I all hit it, then Kyda finished it off with a backstab.

Once it was defeated, the statue crumbled into bits. We still had the sword, which was silver. We estimated that it was worth 140 gold pieces.

We wound through another empty corridor (13) and entered a charnel house. Suddenly, the bones became animated. 8 skeletons attacked. In a fury of holy indignation against the undead, Wynne smashed the bones to bits (with some help from the rest of us).

We turned back and then entered another corridor (15). Ahead, we could see a room (16) and could hear the unmistakable sounds of breathing. This was it! We readied ourselves and marched forth, springing a trap in the corridor. Another boulder fell, hitting me again! Wynne rushed to me side after I fell. But then we could hear movement from the room. The creature in there was coming out! Wynne cast a quick heal on me, then resumed her position.

Suddenly, from the room came the roar of fire. Aganon and Kyda hit the floor, avoiding damage. Wynne and I were blistered. Our party then rushed into the dragon's lair. Aganon wounded it while I cast a lightning bolt that struck it square in the chest. The beast bellowed with rage, then slashed with its claws at Aganon. He avoided the blow and struck the dragon again. It reared back and spouted flame from its gullet once again. This time, everyone was scorched. Yet we fought on. Surrounding it, we struck and struck until it lay dead. We found some gold and a magic mace for Wynne!

After bandaging our wounds, we headed out. I noticed that the corridor outside of the dragon's lair (15) turned toward the entrance. We decided to proceed down it. A swarm of vampire bats attacked but we easily scattered them. We were in luck; the corridor connected to the entry room. We made it out safely!

We returned to Temple headquarter to report our victory.

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!

The Wyrm Under the Streets

Part 1 of the Catacombs
(A Maudicor Adventure Using Four Against Darkness)

After our failure at the Caverns of Chaos, the Preceptor decided that we should tackle something a bit less challenging (famous last words!). Under the city is a labyrinth of tunnels known as the Catacombs. It has often been the lair of disreputable folk. Currently, there are rumors of evil deeds. It is our mission to investigate it.

As he was unable to provide us more equipment, we had to improvise some clubs.

Here is a map of the dungeon so far:

We entered the dungeon. Opening the middle door of the first room (1), we proceeded into a twisting corridor (2). Here we ran into 5 fungi folk. Aganon and Wynne fought superbly and defeated the enemy (although Wynne was wounded).

We then entered a large empty room (3). As we proceeded to the door, we were suddenly attacked by 5 vampire frogs. They seemed to target Kyda; she was soon badly wounded but Wynne healed her. Kyda then backstabbed the last remaining frog.

At this point,we discovered a valuable piece of jewelry. We decided to take it back to the Temple and re-arm ourselves.
Game note: I "cheated" here and let the adventurers leave and return to the dungeon because I felt it would make for a better story if I could arm them properly. Changing the rules is one of the benefits of solo gaming (and as you will see it was very fortuitous for the party).

Refit and rested, we returned to the Catacombs. In a corridor (4), we ran into 7 ne'er-do-wells, apparently using the Catacombs for nefarious ends. Aganon gave them a chance to surrender but they attacked. I put 5 of them to sleep and the others fled.
Game note: The random roll came up orcs but it seemed unlikely for tunnels under the city. I changed the name but used the same stats. One of the strengths of Four Against Darkness is that the monster lists can easily be tailored to your needs.

We then passed through a corridor (5) and a room (6) without incident until we came to an irregular room (7). There was a dais with what we thought was a statue of a dragon on it. Then the dragon began to move! I immediately shot a lightning bolt at it, which seared the beast. Aganon leapt into the fray and stabbed the dragon. The beast, reared back and slashed with its massive talons. Aganon ducked but Wynne was hit and thrown against the wall. Again, Aganon stabbed the beast. This time, its attacks missed. But then it reared back and spewed forth a geyser of sulfurous breath. Aganon and Wynne dodged but Kyda and I were scorched. Then Wynne leapt upon the beast's back, and with a prayer to the Maker clubbed its skull. It collapsed in a heap. We found some minor bits of treasure (including a fireball scroll).

As we take a moment to recuperate, I am jotting down these notes. It appears that the dragon was being kept by someone, perhaps as a watcher. Who is behind the evil doings in these Catacombs? Only further exploration will tell.

Game Notes
This was my second adventure using Four Against Darkness available from Ganesha Games. I highly recommend it for some quick adventuring!

The Caverns of Chaos

A Four Against Darkness Adventure

My name is Maudicor. In the past, I have delved into the mysteries of mana and learned the arcane arts. Now, I use my talents in the service of the Holy Temple.

Recently, the Preceptor of our local temple learned of a nearby dungeon that the locals called the Caverns of Chaos. Apparently, evil forces had occupied it. I was assigned, with three others, to clear it out. My companions were Aganon the warrior, Wynne the cleric, and Kyda the rehabilitated rogue.

I drew a map of the parts of the dungeon that we explored.

1. We entered the dungeon and found ourselves in an empty room. There are 3 doors leading out; we chose the middle one.
2. From there, we moved into a long corridor that emptied into a rectangular room. As we entered the room, a sudden flurry of wings swooped by us. A pack of vampire bats, startled by our appearance, flew out of the room.
3. After passing through an empty corridor,
4. we came into a long room. It seemed empty but after a thorough search we found some mysterious runes carved into the far wall. Perhaps a clue to the secrets of the dungeon? We need more information to reveal the mystery.
5. And another empty corridor, leading to
6. an irregularly shaped room. As we entered, a foul odor assaulted our senses. Bones were strewn throughout the room. Then we heard a faint growling, followed by an angry roar. The denizen of the room, a vile troll, leapt out of the darkness at me! He swung and his long claws dug into my arm. I fell back, blood oozing from my wound. My companions rushed forward. Aganon and Wynne hacked and smashed the creature. Them Kyda snuck up behind it, and thrust her blade deep into its vitals. It collapsed. We then chopped it to bits so it would not regenerate. We found 2 gold pieces strewn among the rubbish. We then retraced our steps (scaring off some rats in one of the corridors) until we reached a new room.
7. This room was occupied by 6 goblins. I blasted one with a fireball while my comrades each killed one. The remaining 2 fled.
8. We followed them into a corridor but they disappeared! There was a stone door at the end of this hall but we could not open it. Then I noticed s series of knobs labled with pictographs. A puzzle! After a few minutes, I solved it and we were able to open the door.
9. As we passed through the next corridor, we ran into a patrol of 3 hobgoblins. We immediately attacked, and after a brief fight we had vanquished the foe. On one of the hobgoblins, we found a ring of teleportation.
10. The next room was covered in webs, We started cutting and burning our way through them, but this awoke the denizen of those webs. A giant spider dropped into our midst. As it descended from the ceiling, Aganon thrust into its torso but the creature still lived. It landed on Wynne and sank its fangs into shoulder. She cried out in pain and backed away. The party attacked, but the spider deftly dodged. It then leapt at Aganon biting him and injecting him with poison. Aganon countered and slashed the spider. It bit him again; more poison coursed through his veins. He was growing weaker, but he put all his strength into the blow and split the creature in twain. Wynne then rushed to him and by praying fervently to the Maker Aganon's wounds were healed. Searching the room, we found a necklace worth at least 100 gold!
11. We backtracked through a few rooms, scaring off some more vampire bats. We burst into a new room and ran into 7 orcs. With a quick incantation, I put 3 of them to sleep. Aganon and Wynne each killed an orc, but they were injured in their fights. Aganon then slew another and Kyda's backstab eliminated the last one. We found a ring worth 120 gold.
12. As we explored the next room, we found piles of rusted junk lying around. I planned to poke around with my staff, but then I realized that it was missing from my hand. After my cry of surprise, the others discovered that their weapons were gone. Gremlins! They had stolen all our weapons, our treasure, and even my spell book. We were utterly defenseless so we decided to make a hasty exit.

As we neared the exit, we were attacked by a pack of goblin swarmlings. They bit and clawed, wounding me. But we were able to extricate ourselves and flee from the dungeon.

We have now reported our failure to the Holy Temple and we await their response.

Bewitched

Part 2 of a Khamen and Candorra Adventure

Using Four Against Darkness

After their meeting with the medusa, our heroes departed from the grove to seek the sorcerer.. They ran into a range of impassable mountains so they took a detour. They came to another grove with an altar in it. Khamen approached the altar and was immediately struck by a sense of ennui. He knew that his defense would suffer.

After a little while the woods cleared and the party traveled through rolling hill. At the top of the hill several beautiful ladies lounged upon the grass. Khamen called out a friendly greeting but the women responded angrily. They donned bronze helmets, took up spears and shields, and charged in a phalanx at our heroes.

"Amazon warrior women!" warned Candorra. She stepped forward with her bow and started shooting. Two of the warriors dropped dead. But the phalanx quickly overran their position. Their spears darted out, stabbing Candorra repeatedly. Badly wounded, she tried to retreat but they followed doggedly. Wynne stepped forward and blocked the pursuit. She took a wound but managed to overcome a warrior. A seesaw battle then ensued, with all of our heroes taking wounds. Finally, the Amazons were overcome. Wynne healed Candorra then bandaged herself and Khamen.

They continued their journey, winding through hill and dale. At one point they ran into a nest of snakes, but the creatures fled. Finally, they came across a ruined temple. A man was lounging upon the portico. He rose and greeted the party.

"I know why you are here. The medusa has sent you to capture me, but you will be the ones in chains!"

He began to mutter an incantation while waving his hands about. Suddenly, Candorra remembered the wand she found on the bridge. She pulled it out and unleashed its power. A blast hit the sorcerer; he looked stunned. Then he collapsed to the ground.

Wynne checked him out. "Asleep!"

They bound and gagged him, then returned to the medusa. While standing behind him she had the party hold his head and pry open his eyelids.

The medusa spoke: "In a minute, I will stand before you so you can see your handiwork. Of course, it will be the last thing you see as you turn into stone. There is but one way to save yourself - remove the curse!"

"If you turn me to stone then you will remain that way forever!" the sorcerer replied.

"If you won't remove the curse I will stay this way forever anyway. At least I will have my revenge!"

She moved closer to the sorcerer and began to sidle around him. As she did she kept speaking to him. He could hear his doom approach. Finally he cried out "Alright, I'll do it! Just stop!"

"Make it quick!"

The sorcerer uttered a spell. Suddenly, the hideous medusa transformed into a beautiful lady.

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A few days later the party was aboard a ship headed for home. They had the Rod in their possession, along with a sizable chest filled with gold. The former medusa, a lady named Melodia, elected to remain on the island. She was herself a powerful sorceress and would be able to keep the sorcerer imprisoned so he could not curse any one else.

Game Notes

• I ran this adventure as a hex-crawl rather than a dungeon crawl.
• Because the boss was from Greek myth I crafted a Greek-themed adventure.
• I've been trying to level Candorra up so that I can play the next published adventure (Three Rings). Alas, she botched her experience roll! 

Descent into Darkness

An Adventure using Four Against Darkness
Part 1

From the Chronicles of Maudicor
From our headquarters at the main Temple in Scotsile, servants of our Lord are often sent on missions across the divided lands. Recently, my party embarked on such a mission. The Temple received reports of dragon activity in the mountains north of Elgram.

My comrades and I were assigned to investigate. We tracked the dragon to a lair cut into the side of the mountain. Below is my map of the complex.

We could see an exit further up the mountain (clearly the way that the dragon made its way into the dungeon) but we entered through 2 large stone doors. Initially, we only encountered various types of vermin, such as vampire bats and frogs (1-3). We found an armory (4) but needed no weapons. A fountain (5) provided magical healing but we were as of yet unhurt.

After brushing aside some more vermin (6-7), we entered a room with a long entrance corridor (8). In the room itself, we could see a treasure chest. Carelessly, we entered, triggering a trap. A large boulder fell from the ceiling. The others managed to dodge it, but it glanced off my shoulder. I could feel pain surging through me. Wynne bandaged me the best she could.

We backtracked and then proceeded along an empty, winding corridor (9). We entered another room (10) and discovered an ogre! We attacked the beast. I cast a lightning bolt that knocked it back. Aganon used the opportunity to strike, causing another wound to the monster. The ogre lashed back and Aganon staggered. But he returned to the fray and struck the ogre again. Wynne followed and smashed it with her mace.

Now, the beast plowed through the party and swung at me! I could not avoid the blow and was sent reeling across the floor. Seeing me incapacitated, Aganon rushed over and stood over me to protect me. The ogre swung his massive club but Aganon deflected the blow. He struck back while Kyda moved behind and stabbed the ogre from behind. It collapsed with a mighty thud.

After the battle, Wynne felt a surge of holy power; she knew that the Lord had blessed her by increasing her skill. We rummaged the room and I found a staff that casts fireballs.

From there we backtracked again, entering a second door in the winding corridor.

What will the party find in this room. Learn next time!

Stone Cold

The Thrilling Conclusion to the Catacombs
(A Maudicor Adventure Using Four Against Darkness)

After defeating the dragon, we continued our investigation of the Catacombs. Here is a map of what we explored:

Our search led us to a corridor filled with dragon swarmlings (8) which guarded an expensive gem. Then I solved a puzzle (9) to find a lightning bolt scroll.

We backtracked and in a square room (10) we found a hidden treasure chest with 196 gold pieces. As we proceeded, we defeated 3 zombies (11) and 6 cultists (13). I was able to use a fireball scroll that I found to aid us in our victory over the cultists.

Game note: Again, to meet the theme, I changed some monsters. As the dungeon progressed, I began to envision it as a lair of a dragon cult, hence the dragon swarmlings (instead of goblin swarmlings) and cultists (instead of hobgoblins).

Fortunately, we found a room with a fountain (15). We tested the waters and found that they healed our wounds.

The next room (16) was a more unpleasant surprise. As we entered, we spied a female figure with snakes for her hair. A medusa! Aganon and Wynne were instantly turned to stone! "Don't look at her face!" I yelled. "Keep your eyes on her feet!" I used a lightning bolt scroll but with my eyes averted, I missed badly. Kyda and I then forged into the fight. Alas, our limited vision hindered our attacks, and many times we missed our target. The medusa managed to wound both of us. But finally, we got used to our poor vision and struck her until she collapsed dead. We found a magical sword.

But what to do about our petrified comrades? We picked up their bodies and began to manhandle them through the dungeon towards the exit. We had to beat back attacks by rats and vampire bats but managed to make it out of the dungeon. We brought our friends back to the Temple, where blessings returned them to their human form.

After we made our report to the Preceptor, he sent out another expedition to rout out the remaining cult. Alas, the leader and the remaining cultists had fled. At least the Catacombs are now clear!