Actual Play: Four Against Darkness I

The Adventures of the Cavern Crawlers

Apr 23, 2024

I recently started playing Four Against Darkness, a fantastic solo dungeon delving TTRPG designed by Andrea Sfiligoi. While the game itself is not designed for narrative play, I have (as is my wont) begun to bend the game to my narrative will. The first few entries in this series will be more summaries than actual narrative, but as the adventure progresses, a simple narrative does coalesce.

Prologue

Days 1-6

The Cavern Crawlers—a novice adventuring party consisting of Folgi the dwarf, Artaeus the cleric, Aria the rogue, and Calindis the wizard—delved deep into the lair of a small dragon. For their efforts, they gained significant treasure—including a Wand of Sleep—as well as subdued the dragon within with a well placed Sleep spell. On their way out of the dragon’s lair, a wandering ogre attacked, but it too fell victim to Sleep, as the wizard spent one of her Wand of Sleep’s charges.

The journey back to Chasman, the village where the party of adventurers were currently based, was a full five days in length. On the day before they were to arrive back at Chasman, they stumbled upon a barrow on the side of a low hill. Investigating the first chamber, they were greeted by a ghostly lady in white who tasked them to bring her the ogre who had desecrated her tomb. They managed to find the ogre and, with yet another Sleep spell, neutralized it, tied it up, and delivered it to the lady in white. She granted the party a Shield of Warning, which they decided would serve Artaeus, the Cleric, well.

They returned to Chasman and sold their spoils, earning 301 gold pieces total. They split the gold four ways, and reported to their current patron, a retired adventuring wizard named Lagis Moonscar, to pay their week’s rent (8gp). The wizard requested the party travel east to a known bat cave and return with twelve bat wings. In return, the wizard agreed to pay them a bounty of five gold per wing as well as provide a freshly brewed Potion of Healing.

The party spent some of their gold on supplies for the journey, including rations for a full week of travel, rope, and bandages.

Next Time…

The Chasm Crawlers will travel seven days east to the bat cave Lagis Moonscar sent them to. What will their journey east look like? Only time will tell.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you down the Road,

Eric