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| New party member Setch, peers through the hole in the wall at Callum & Erevan fighting a giant rat |
The Hibernian barbarian smiled as he introduced an old friend to his fellow explorers. "This is Setch," he said gesturing towards the bearded little man who barely came to Callum's waist. "He saved my life once, when I was wounded and left for dead on a battlefield." The Wizard Malik stood up from the table quickly and approached, obviously intrigued by the little man's arrival. "Are you one of the Aos SÃ, my good sir?" he inquired, bowing slightly. Callum smiled at hearing his native tongue spoken. He turned abruptly as Oslac clapped him on the shoulder, booming that any friend of Callum's was a friend of his, as well. The wood elf Erevan entered the room with a quizzical look on his face as he watched his friends gather around the newcomer.
"You can use that term, yes." Setch said in much deeper voice than one would expect for his size. "Others call us the People of the Barrows, as our homes are built underground, and often resemble burial barrows to them." He turned to look at the Erevan, pulling his cap from his head and holding it to his heart. He let loose a stream of melodic Elven phrases. Erevan replied in kind, also bowing to the little, bearded man. "Your friend Callum is bound to me." Setch explained to the group. "When I healed him of his grave wounds years ago, part of our spirits were joined."
Callum folded his arms. "We are brothers, now. Twins, even!" A wide smile broke out on the Hibernian's face. It was echoed by Setch, who looked up at his friend, towering over him. He looked back at the others with a twinkle in his eyes. "Even our own mothers would struggle to tell us apart." Setch said. Laughter bubbled around the circle. He continued, "I sensed my brother's recent injury and have come to look in on him."
Callum seemed startled and looked down at his friend. "I was injured only two weeks ago -- surely you have not journeyed all the way from Hibernia in that time..." Setch looked up at him and merely smiled, eyes twinkling. Callum chuckled, and patted his shorter friend's shoulder. "Okay, okay...keep your mysteries!"
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| Six delvers this time! Cleric Friar Horace & Half-Folk Setch joined Callum, Oslac, Malik & Erevan |
It was time for another game of
Four Delvers. I wanted to increase the party size this time, as my eventual goal is to run games for the
Sunday evening group. In those sessions, I will want players to control two delvers each, which on a normal evening, would mean a dozen in the party. So, for this game, I was increasing the party size gradually from four to six, the table size from 18" to 24" square, and doubling the number of creature opponents starting on the board.
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| This scenario begins with the delvers in the middle of the board - a ruined portion of Moonrest |
I had another change in mind, too. After my
first game of Four Delvers, I reached out to the rules author, David Bezio, and game aficionado Rich Brown, to discuss questions and ideas that I had. My biggest concern with the mechanics was the potential for it devolve into a dice rolling slog with "a whole lotta nothing going on" as I expressed it to them, citing some percentages and statistics. In Four Delvers, you roll an attack, and if you hit your opponent, he rolls to save. If the creature does not save, and is down to 0 hit points, you roll an additional time on a Wound Chart. I was concerned that on the Wound Chart would slow the game down. On it, a d12 roll of 1-4 is no effect ("Flesh Wound"), 5-7 the creature is Stunned and can take no action on its next turn, and 8-12 knocks it out of action. This extra third step to finish off an enemy concerned me, especially as you have only about a 41% chance of rolling an "8-12" on 1d12. I suggested to Dave and Rich that perhaps a final, unsaved hit should not require a roll on the Wound Chart and would kill the monster, instead. I said we could keep the Wound Chart for the players, especially since a number of the character types can take only one hit (such as Malik and Setch). Dave said it would make the game faster and perhaps more cinematic that way. Both Dave and Rich encouraged me to give the rules tweak a try.
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| Erevan's keen Elven ears detect the approach of our enemies -- four giant rats carrying disease |
So, SIX delvers ventured back into the abandoned city of Moonrest. Partway through their exploration, Erevan whispered to the group that he could hear the sound of movement closing in all around them. Perhaps it was large claws on the cracked stone pavement, he added. Oslac ordered the six adventurers to form a loose circle, back to back. Besides Setch, also joining the group was a holy man named Friar Horace. His main task would be to heal any party members who were gravely wounded. Erevan pointed out to the group where he heard the movement coming from and nocked an arrow to his bowstring. A high pitched squeaking could also be heard, now. The source soon came into view -- four giant rats, eyeing the adventurers hungrily. Each was the size of a large wolf. "Be wary, something else comes besides these vermin," Erevan cautioned, head tilted and listening.
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| 'I smell a rat...!' Callum spots one of the creatures and breaks ranks to charge it immediately |
Through the ruined buildings, Callum saw movement and the twitching of a pink tail. He shouted a Hibernian war cry and darted from the circle, bursting through a gaping doorway to attack one of the rats. There was a loud squeal as Callum's new, magical axe struck home, then a curse as the creature twisted quickly and bit him in return. Friar Horace twirled his staff and called, "Ware their bite, Hibernian -- these foul creatures carry a disease that acts quickly and weakens the body!" Callum grimaced at the pain and raised his shield. The rat charged quickly and snapped, but Callum was able to swing his buckler to intercept the bite. While it gripped his shield with its teeth, he tugged it forward, and swung downward with his axe. There was a satisfying crunch as its skull was crushed and a final, pathetic squeak.
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| The other three rats close in and begin to charge members of the party, inflicting & receiving hits |
As another rat prowled close to the circle of adventurers, Oslac shouted his own battle cry and charged, sweeping his sword downward and then back. The blade struck home, and the rat squealed its pain and backed off. More rats were slinking through the ruined buildings and came into view. Erevan loosed an arrow which struck a rat, but seemed to do little to deter it. Setch whirled a sling over his head, but the stone missed and clattered past another rat. Malik began chanting, summoning up magical energy.
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| Bloody combat begins and soon two of the rats are downed...but wait! What is that loud roar?? |
In this scenario, called
Among the Ruins, players roll at the start of every turn to see if the strong wind has picked up or a momentary calm has arrived. On turn 2, I rolled "Favorable Winds" (+1 to Shooting) -- the only time in eight rounds! All other turns shooting would be at a -1 to the roll. And for a second turn in a row, thankfully, no wandering monster had arrived on the board edge. That would change, though! Turn 1 had been a good start for the delvers-- one dead and one wounded rat. As the wind began to rise, the rats pounced on the adventurers. Oslac suffered a diseased wound, as well. Erevan's second shot struck home and provoked an angry squeak. Malik hurled a magical bolt of energy and finished off the rat that Oslac had wounded. Oslac turned his head as the friar clamped a hand on his shoulder. He felt a healing surge of energy enter his body through his shoulder and looked back, muttering quick words of gratitude. Callum jogged up beside Oslac and grinned. He nodded to the dead rat a few steps away, "That's two, now," he said, raising his gleaming, blood-soaked axe.
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| So far, Erevan's arrows & Setch's slingstones have yet to stop this massive rat from advancing |
Callum winked as he charged off to help Erevan, who was facing down a rat only a few steps away. Seeing Malik protected from the rat, Erevan called to Setch, and the two ran off through a collapsed building. As they entered the street behind it, the elf pointed at one half-buried chest for Setch to investigate while he darted off to another. Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the haunted, abandoned city. Whatever it was, it sounded big! Back at the main group, Oslac blocked the lunge of a rat with his shield. He stabbed around the shield, the blade sinking deep into the rat's mid-section. Another rat sank to the pavement, blood staining the surface.
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| Oslac & Callum were both wounded several times throughout this bloody fight |
The roaring was getting closer and closer and Oslac turned to face it. A massive bear soon pounded around a corner into view, sniffing the air in front of it angrily. "Now, there's a big boy..." Oslac muttered. He swallowed, and then raced towards the bear who reared up on its hind legs. Oslac slashed its mid-section drawing a roar. The bear brought both paws down on Oslac's shoulders and crushed him to its body. The stout warrior's breath left his lungs in a whoosh. It...was...
strong! He heard shouting behind him and Friar Horace charged to his assistance, whacking the bear's snout with his staff. The bear backhanded the burly friar and three lines of bloodstains appeared on his robes.
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| Thinking the fighters have the rats under control, Erevan & Setch dash off to secure the treasures |
The bear's roars were answered by another close on its trail. Erevan sighed, glancing one last time at the half-buried, iron-bound box and shook his head. He turned and darted back to help his friends, calling on Setch to do the same. The little man had knelt next to the box and was carefully examining it for signs of any traps. Meahwhile, Callum swung his axe at a rat, which nimbly dodged out of its path and leapt forward, its jaws snapping shut on the Hibernian's arm. Oslac continued to struggle with the bear, as it tried to crush the life out of him. Gripped in its arms, he was unable to swing his sword with any force in reply. Friar Horace continued to pound the bear with his staff, but its hide was thick and it took no notice of his blows. Half of the delvers were wounded and they were still facing two bears and a giant rat.
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| But it was not to be! First one bear, then another attacks the party inflicting crushing blows |
And then a third bear arrived! So intent on the half-buried box was Setch that he was startled when he heard a deep snuffling nearby. He looked up and saw a bear approaching him, only a short distance away. He whirled the sling
over his head and loosed the stone, then sprinted off -- not even
waiting to see if it struck its target. As he raced by a gap in a ruined
wall, he could see that Callum was still struggling with the rat. Blood was running down his arm as he swung his axe, unable to land a solid blow as the nimble but giant rodent ducked and skittered back and forth. Malik called on him to fall back to avoid the charge of the approaching bear. Shield up, the barbarian stepped backwards, the rat following him warily.
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| Setch is surprised by the approach of a 3rd wandering bear - he dashes off without the treasure |
Erevan arrived at a gap in a wall near where Oslac and the friar struggled with the bear. He saw the second bear approaching, so loosed an arrow that sunk deep into its chest, provoking an angry roar. With his arms constricted, Oslac was finally able to redirect his sword and plunge the point upwards. He felt it slice through the bear's muscle and pass between its ribs. He kept shoving with all of his strength. Finally, the point reached a vital organ, and the bear groaned and released him. It wobbled for a moment on its hind legs, and then crashed backwards to the ground. Panting heavily, Oslac adjusted his shield and stance as he saw the second bear charging towards him. Before it arrived, he sighed involuntarily as he felt the healing touch of the friar, and the sweet vitality of life pouring back into him. His breathing became less labored and his bruised chest ached less. He narrowed his eyes and braced his shield for the charge of the bear. It hurtled into him, battering away with its mighty arms. Oslac was able to avoid its crushing embrace this time, but his return strikes seemed not to affect the bear.
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| Erevan dashes back to add his arrows to the brutal battle against the bears which just keep coming |
The bear continued to hammer at Oslac. Thankfully, his quality chainmail and stout oaken shield protected him from the bear's claws. He ducked under one swipe of a mighty paw and thrust with his blade, hearing it roar as the sword struck home. The bear backed away shaking its head in pain. Suddenly, an arrow shaft sank deep into its ear. The bear turned to run, but stumbled only a few steps and fell to the pavement, its deep breathing labored, and then growing slower and slower, as it died. "What a shot!" Oslac shouted at his Elven friend. "Thank you!"
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| Finally killing the last rat, Callum & Malik face a new, stronger foe...but the friar arrives to help! |
Malik used his staff to hurl a bolt of magical energy, which finally struck the rat solidly. Every hair on its mangy pelt seemed to stand up, and it slumped to the street, lifeless. "By the prophet's beard - finally! I grew tired of missing that vermin over and over." Callum chuckled at the wizard's uncharacteristic expression of anger and frustration. He pointed with his axe at the approaching bear and crouched, shield held high. He heard footsteps behind him and Oslac appeared at his side. The two warriors nodded to each other and turned back to face the bear. Behind them, Friar Horace skidded to a stop, staff raised.
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| After much blood is spilled, the party gathers to deal with the 4th & final bear |
Meanwhile, Erevan stayed in place, staring down the street from which the bears had come. He nocked another arrow, waited, then aimed. Sure enough, another bear was stalking towards him, muscles in its back and shoulders rippling. Erevan loosed and saw the arrow sink into the creature's shoulder. He called out to Malik, warning him of the creature's approach. He fired another arrow and this one seemed to have no effect on its approach. He heard the whirl of Setch's sling and saw the stone crash into the skull of the creature. It stopped and shook its head in pain. "Cor...there you go, laddie!" Setch laughed. "I have another one of those for you right here," he said, reaching into his pouch. There was no need for the stone, though because another blast of eldritch energy rippled down the street, enveloping the bear. It sank to the street, lifeless.
Between Oslac and Callum, the two warriors were eventually able to kill the final bear. Whenever it wounded one of the pair, Friar Horace would heal him. It had been a long, bloody fight for the delvers. The giant rats and bears had been deadly foes and several of the party had been near death themselves. With teamwork and the friar's healing hands, though, they'd overcome their foes. A moment later, Erevan and Setch jogged up, each carrying an iron-bound box. Malik called from a short distance away that he had the third treasure that they'd spotted earlier. "Let's go, my friends," Malik said. "Unless Erevan's ears say otherwise, it sounds like the way back to the bridge is unblocked by foes. Now, let's go before more are drawn to us by the sounds of battle..!" The other five needed no more encouragement and ran towards the wizard.
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| Victory! Oslac, Friar Horace, & Callum celebrate downing another mighty bear |
It had taken eight turns to defeat the four giant rats and four wandering monster bears. Did I enjoy the rules tweaks? The board did not seem too big at all and the six delvers were not tripping over each other or too much to keep track of for me. I will probably add two more delvers next time and increase the board size. I felt that removing the Wound Chart for monsters and having them die on an additional, unsaved hit after they fell to 0 hit points gave the proper effect. Although none of the delvers died, three of them were wounded and only one more hit away from zero.
I will probably increase the monster count proportionally in the next game, though. This is because I feel my rolls were well below average for the most part, with one important exception. Friar Horace earned his place among the delvers and NEVER during the entire game failed a 7+ healing roll on 1d12. On the other hand, Oslac's attack rolls were awful! Successfully hitting on a 6+ on 1d12, he never during the game hit twice on his attacks. Worse, he missed twice on almost half of them! Callum rolled a 10+ on an attack once the entire game -- getting to use his Berserk ability only once. Malik failed to cast his spells three times in the first four turns. Wandering monster bears appeared 50% of the turns, though there was only a 33% chance of that occurring. Setch hit only once with his sling the entire game. And don't get me started on the favorable vs. unfavorable wind rolls...haha! So, I think my delvers under performed, making the game a closer run than it could have been otherwise.
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| The base rules for 'Four Delvers' is available for free on Wargame Vault & RRB Minis & More |
Not sure when the next game will be, though. I'd like to get it in before I leave for vacation early next month. I want to play at least one more game before I spring it on the guys for a Sunday evening's treasure hunt in Moonrest. Plus, I need to paint up more buildings to appropriately represent the abandoned city of Moonrest! You know how it goes, as a gamer...ALWAYS...NEED...MORE!
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
- Miniatures painted in 2026: 73
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
- Terrain painted in 2026: 21
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
- Scatter painted in 2026: 48
