One more game of Four Against Darkness and it proved (finally) that with familiarity I can actually get a game played in the time suggested (45 minutes). Again, this was played using the suggested half-sheet page size (it is actually on the same page as the Crypt of the Queen of Bones), so it is somewhat more dense than the first dungeon I explored.

This game included the first time I’ve ever actually worried about the fates of my characters in combat (as opposed to worrying about the medusa’s gaze). My dice were against me and The Mad Ogre Lord was nigh unassailable, and if the Priest of Marduk hadn’t intervened with two healing spells during the battle, Red Dougal the rogue would have been reduced to an ugly red smear on the floor.

But in the end the Ogre fell, Red Dougal picked up our first magic weapon (a small magical club), and we proved ourselves in the Proving Grounds of the Mad Ogre Lord. The party is now levels 2, 3, 4, and 3. The plan is to get this crew to level 5 and then try out the Four Against the Abyss rules… Then later I’ll start a new party and try the various adventures I’ve bought for the game.