Let’s Play Under the Fourth Kingdom! Part 2: Upper Cistern
Last session ended by the stairs leading down into Depth Level 2, the Upper Cistern. Felix descends it with careful steps.
First, let’s check the lighting on this level:
d6+1: 5, light
d6 light source: 4, luminous fine mist
Great, let’s explore the first room. The UD to progress on this level is a d6.
Room 2
UD6: 3, no change
Room exits: 2
Description: Closed + Restorative
I’m gonna rule that this is a safe area to rest.
d6 contents: 4 = NPC > 1, Cistern Patrol x2
Vigour d6, Armour 1 Treated Leather, Attack d6 Shortsword, Morale 8. Reaction +2.
Lore: The first line of defense against any and all threats from the Underdepths.
d6 Vigour: 2 and 1.
Let’s do a reaction check. This is done with 2d6 + Presence, and I get a -2 due to my Shitfy Bane, so that negates the Reaction bonus from these NPCs.
2d6+1 Encounter reaction: 4 = angered/hostile
Oh, no. Why are they angry?
Leave + Folk
They wanted to be with their families instead of working knee-deep in shit. Can I convince them to leave me be?
Oracle: No, and…
Apparently they found someone to take it out on, and it’s the shady man sneaking by.
Felix crept off the stairs into a closed stone chamber where a luminous mist hung low. Seems safe enough*, he thought. A quiet spot to breathe and rest a while.*
But he wasn’t alone. Two women trudged knee-deep in foul water, looking pissed. Literally and figuratively.
Patrollers. Felix swore under his breath.
Their eyes narrowed the moment they met him. “You delvers think you can just slip around wherever you please,” one muttered, hand slipping to her shortsword. “Some of us haven’t seen daylight in weeks.”
Felix raised a hand to reason with them, but they were done being reasonable. A shadowy thief looked like a perfect target for their frustration.
Blades rasped out of their sheaths.
So much for a safe place.
And our first combat begins! Let’s roll for initiative. This is done with a single d6 + Presence. On a 4+ we go first, and a roll of 1 is always a fail.
d6 + 1 initiative roll: 2
Yeah, I rolled a one. Auto-fail. Not a great start.
All checks in the game are player-facing. That means enemies never roll to attack us. We roll for defense, and on a fail they hit us. As a reminder, checks are made with 2d6 + bonuses, and a result of 8+ is a success.
The bonus to defend is Dexterity. I think the right procedure is to roll twice, once for each enemy. That’s what I’ll do.
Defense check for Patroller A, 2d6 +1: 5, fail! > d6 damage: 5!
My armor has a protection of 0, so Felix is already down to 4/9 HP. Yeah, this could be it for us.
Defense check for Patroller B, 2d6 +1: 10, success!
Whew! You know what, Felix is just gonna leg it. This is too scary. He’s barely alive from a single attack.
Fleeing requires a DEX check.
2d6+1: 10, success!
Nice! Now we have to use the oracle.
Do they pursue Felix?
Oracle: No, but…
They’ll remain vigilant in that room. If I want to use it to rest without a check, I’ll have to deal with those bastards.
In any case, I’m out of combat and safe for now. We heal 1 Vigour + Str after a fight, so 2 for Felix (6/9). Onward.
Room 3
UD6: 4, no change.
Note: If you didn’t notice, I’ve started the room count at 2. That’s because I’ve already explored 1 room in the previous level, and every 10 rooms require a rest period. Counting the overall number instead of on a floor basis makes it easier for me, as I’m sure I’ll forget otherwise.
Exits: 2
Description: Familiar + Foetid Lake
Content: Trap/hazard!
Here’s the procedure:
d6: 6 = Presence
Now we generate the Presence trap/hazard. That’s a potential ambush. We roll on the level encounter table and make a Presence check. On a success, we detect the enemy first and can engage with advantage. Failing, they surprise us.
d6 Upper Cistern encounters: 4, young croaker.
2d6+1: 8, success!
The area opened into a familiar-looking drainage space, its layout reminding Felix of countless runoff shafts he had explored as a boy. The air reeked. Damp and foetid, it carried the swampy stench of deeper levels. Murky water formed shallow pools on the floor.
As Felix stalked further in, something shifted near the broken pipes.
A young croaker crouched by the water, its translucent scales almost invisible in the misty air.
Here’s the young croaker:
Not the wholesome kind of frog we usually see here. Let’s check its Vigour.
2d6: 8
I’m out. My damage is a d6 with disadvantage (I roll 2d6 and keep the lowest value). So I’ll sneak by the creature. Maybe with a DEX test? Not sure if it’s necessary, but let’s do it. I’ll have advantage on this.
3d6+1: 11, success!
Felix squirms in the shadows and quietly evades the toady creature, moving into a new area.
Room 4
UD6: 3, no change.
Exits: 1
Description: Rustic + Invader
That could be another dreg delving for riches. I’ll skip the contents roll and go with that. Let’s check the Reaction:
2d6-1: 3 = Death. They attack. They will not be reasoned with.
Damn it. Looking for stats for this dreg, I decided to use the Bandit enemy found in the Upper Cistern: Vigour d6, Armour 0 Thin Leather, Attack d6 Shortsword (Poison 1), Morale 7. Lore: Usually looking for an easy mark.
d6 Vigour: 3
Let’s do this, then.
I get the initiative rolling 5. For a melee attack, the check is 2d6 + Strength.
2d6+1: 9, success!
And I rolled double 4s, so that’s an enhanced hit!
All doubles are enhanced results, either successes or fails depending on the total, of course. Double 6s are critical hits, and double 1s are critical failures (if the check fail. If we have, say, a +6 modifier, it would be an enhanced success. I think. Maybe we could rule that double 1s is always a crit fail?)
Anyway, an enhanced hit when attacking gives us +1 damage.
d6D+1 damage: 3, 2.
I have to keep the lowest, so 2. However, my bandit knife has the Slash trait, which deals +1 damage to foes without armor, so that’s 3 damage. And it also has Bleed 1, which causes 1 bleeding damage every round until the condition is removed (requires an action).
Bleed causes damage in the current round it is applied as well, but is it instantly? I’m gonna say yes. So the wandering dreg takes 4 total damage, meeting its doom.
Felix reached a rustic room held together by old timber beams. He barely had time to react when a ragged dreg burst from behind a post, eyes wild.
Desperation and the fight for survival could make monsters of us all.
The man lunged, but Felix moved faster. His knife slipped under the attacker’s guard. The blade ran deep, and as he pulled it, a jet of dark blood poured out with it.
The dreg staggered, bleeding beyond recovery. He fell to his knees, staring at Felix, then dropped face-first onto the damp boards.
Felix was never a killer, but the Underdepths rarely rewarded conscience.
He put the knife away with a trembling hand.
Indeed, it made monsters of us all.
With the battle over, I recover 2 Vigour (8/9. Am I doing this right?)
Let’s roll for spoils now.
d6: 6 = item!
I’ll roll for two mundane treasures and pick one (Canny skill).
2d20: 17, 20 = Whetstone or Fortitude Resin.
The Whetstone gives me +1 damage, and the Fortitude Resin +1 to attack checks, both for 1 fight. Hmm, guess I’m going with the Whetstone to offset my damage with disadvantage.
We can also loot everything fallen enemies carry. I’ll snatch that shortsword with Poison 1 and put it in the bag.
Oh, I’m forgetting to scavenge the rooms! We roll 2d6 + Presence and check the table. Let’s do it here:
2d6+1: 8 = Rubbish.
Meh. At least we did it.
Room 5
UD6: 1, down to UD4!
Exits: none
As we progress through the level, a change in the UD requires a new check for light sources.
d6+1: 6, light source > luminous mist again
Cool, keeping with the theme.
Description: Gelid+Velholm
I think Velholm is the land of sorcery in the Kerova-verse. I could be wrong, but let’s go with that. Say a battle happened here and left ice shards sticking out from the walls and the ground.
Contents: NPC > Proud Knight
Reaction: Neutral
Finally, someone who doesn’t look at Felix and see a bullseye. I’ll call him Reinhold. To go with the room description, I’ll say Reinhold killed a delver, a mage gone mad, and is now wary of other people.
Is he hurt?
Oracle: No, but…
He is tired. I give him a ration and say I can keep watch while he rests. Felix will cling to his humanity. Does the knight accept?
Oracle: Yes, but…
Hmm, let’s roll on the action table to get an idea: Plan + Train
A chill enveloped Felix the moment he crossed the archway. The mist glowed around ice shards jutting from the walls and ground like frozen spears, stained by specks of blood.
Standing among the ice was a knight, armor scraped and frosted, visor lifted to show tired eyes. His hand clutched a sword.
Felix halted. “I mean no harm.”
“Of course, until I show you my back.”
Exhaustion hung on him heavier than the armor. Felix showed him a ration. “Look, this place brings out the worst in us, but we can try to resist it. Here.” He threw the ration, and the knight caught it. “Eat it and rest. I’ll stay by the entrance.”
Felix sat down and leaned against the stone.
The knight looked at the ration, then at Felix. “I’m Reinhold of Palamore.”
“Felix.”
“Well met. If you want to go deeper, Felix, I’d say resting unnecessarily is a waste. Dull steel is more dangerous than a spent muscle. How about we hone our skills a little?” He measured Felix up and down. “You might be in need of some practice.”
Felix agreed. He could use the fencing training, as he pretty much had none.
The two of them practiced in the cold room for an hour.
Do enemies wander into the room?
Oracle: No.
Does Reinhold want to join forces? I’ll say this is likely as we’ve bonded a little over the training session, and he’s starting to trust Felix.
Oracle: Yes, and…
When they finally stopped, Reinhold seemed to be energized by the effort.
Felix, on the other hand, was panting, bent over his knees. “I don’t know how you do this with all that armor. Maybe we could stick together. You’re the muscle, I’m the… eyes.”
Reinhold laughed. “Well, this dreadful place takes a heavy toll on a solitary mind. Yes, I believe we can help each other. You clearly need more training.”
Felix grunted, regretting the invite.
Nice, we have a buddy! His stats are the standard for a generic NPC as seen here:
He has 1 armor since he’s a knight.
2d6 Vigour: 11!
Nice. I’ll lend him the shortsword with poison 1 I nabbed. Better than the one he’s using.
And we’re off! This room is a dead end, so we’ll backtrack to room 3.
Room 6
UD4: 1, stairs found!
Description: Ashen + Apothecary
The small room was coated in gray ash, as if something had burned here. Shattered glass vials and broken shelves lined the walls. A trail of crushed medicinal herbs and black powder led into the stairway to the next level.
d6 Contents: 6 = Encounter (may choose a Scourge encounter)
Ooooh, I’ll go with the Scourge! There are 4 different Scourges, and each playthrough can only have one type. Here’s how the book suggests handling it:
I’ll roll for it. It’s obvious that there’ll be spoilers for one of the Scourges, so be warned.
d4: 4 = Cordyceps Infestation
Cordyceps infected creatures often have putrid fungal growths coming from facial cavities and lesions in skin. Lumbering and foul, the sole purpose of these Scourge encounters is to climb ever upwards and infect every living creature along the way.
Oof, this sounds like a nightmare. Let’s see what hellish creature we found:
d8 Scourge Pool I: 3 = Putrid Gray Ooze
Vigour 2d6, Armour 1 Gelatinous, Attack d6 Tentacle Grab (Poison 1). After a failed defense against Tentacle Grab, test Str or suffer Impaired Status for 1 round. Lore: A sure sign the Scourge is festering when these are seen in the upper reaches of the Underdepths.
2d6 Vigour: 2!
Perfect! We don’t check the reactions for Scourge enemies as they’re extremely hostile and attack on sight.
Felix and Reinhold notice that the disgusting creature looks weak. They attack.
We get the initiative! Felix hits, rolling 5 and 1 for damage. Gotta take the lowest. The ooze has 1 armor, so no damage dealt. However, I apply Bleed, and it takes 1 damage.
Reinhold strikes true and deals 1 damage, slaying the fungal slime.
We heal 2 Vigour.
I search the body for spoils and scavenge the room, but don’t find anything.
The putrid ooze collapsed on itself, a sagging slime of fungus, leaving behind a faint smoke and the sharp stench of mold.
Felix kicked it lightly. “It was barely holding together.”
“There will be stronger ones,” Reinhold warned. “The Scourge is pushing higher. It should not linger on this level.”
“They’re reaching for the surface, right?”
“Correct. We’d better move. The next levels will be worse. Are you ready?”
Felix swallowed hard. “I don’t have much choice, do I.”
Reinhold smirked and kept the shortsword in hand. “Not if you want to keep delving.”
“Let’s go.”
Together they descended into the dark passage, leaving the first sign of the Cordyceps behind, heading toward whatever else awaited in the Middle Cistern.
And that’s it for today! I knew this was going to be fun, but I have to say I’m enjoying it way more than I thought I would. The game is awesome.
I’m awarding myself 2 XP points. Felix goes up to Level 1 and has 1 XP left. Each level requires that same amount of XP, so 2 for level 2, and so on. The XP resets to 0 after a level up.
We can increase one of our attributes or d6 Vigour. I’m not looking forward to the d6 gamble for Vigour hahah. Even though I’ll have to invest in it at some point, I think, I’ll go with DEX for now as it might help with survivability. It goes up to 2!
Do we also level up NPCs in our party? I think this could be fun, right? Let’s do it. Reinhold goes up to Level 1 as well, and his Strength increases to 2.
Here’s the map for this session:
Under the Fourth Kingdom is available on Itch.io.
Map created with Dungeon Scrawl.