The Kings of the realm have tried to pacify the Borderlands many times. It is a wild region crawling with bandits, orcs, goblins, and other fell and nightmarish creatures. From time to time, orc hordes or hobgoblin armies have marched south from the Borderlands to wage war on the human lands. About 100 years ago, Zelligar, the Wizard, and Rogahn, the Warrior ventured to the Borderlands to build a stronghold. They were never seen again. Now, Good King Mervin the Magnanimous directed a massive keep built on the edge of the Borderlands. He then offered any lord title to the Borderlands if only he could quell the chaos residing there and settle it for civilized folk. Sir Gorwald stepped up to become Castillon of the Keep. Knowing he did not have the men to wage war on the forces of chaos, he sent out a call for adventurers…you have answered that call.
Hello Dear Readers! Despite many cancellations, I finally scheduled my first Dungeons & Dads: Shadowdark on the Borderlands game. We played for about two hours. It was fun. My son, a good friend of mine, his kid, (and his kid’s friend), and an old friend got together to roll up characters and journey into the Borderlands.
My son (8 years old) made a dwarf fighter named Thorin, the Knave. He’s been watching/reading a lot of Tolkien. He thinks Thorin Oakenshield is pretty badass. My old friend made a dwarf fighter named Dirge, the Squire. My buddy made an old mage with some fairly low stats! He called himself Rayz, the Adept. The remaining two kids (12 years old) made a half-orc cleric, named Grog, the Acolyte, and a half-orc thief named, Garlin, the Robber.
Character generation is very straightforward and quick with Shadowdark. Being kids who are new to the game, I was very glad that character generation was relatively quick. I didn’t want to lose their interest. I wanted to introduce them to the Keep, get them to generate some rumors, and then hit the map to explore! I think we had characters drawn up in about 20 to 30 minutes between the five of them.
The intro paragraph to this blog post is what I read to them. Then I described the tall Keep walls, (with an emphasis on the Keep’s defenses), including a crow’s cage for those who step out of line. While I wouldn’t have a problem with the group trying to rob the place, I felt it was important to emphasize to newbies that actions have consequences.
While traveling through the Keep, the group noticed the location of an NPC (Jala, the Witch) I placed in the Keep as a source of insight into all things magical, (as well as a place to purchase/sell magical components). The group didn’t investigate as it was a bit creepy. Map areas marked “7” are apartments. I described them as being at various heights along the Keep’s walls. They are accessed by stone steps lit by torchlight, except for the alcove where Jala resides. It is dark and foreboding. Jala’s alcove is near the Tavern and Traveler’s Inn. It is colored red.
Another spot that got their attention, (my son in particular), was the moneylender’s bank. There was considerable discussion about using the thief’s abilities to find a way to break in. They noticed a guard with a longbow overlooking the bank at the top of the tower marked “12.” The group felt it best to leave the money lender alone. My son saw the stables and wanted to buy a horse. The entire party is broke, so there is no chance of purchasing horses yet! The bank is marked green on the map.
At the Tavern, “The Jolly Tankard,” they met Herwin the Barkeep. (It is Yellow on the map). I came up with some rules for purchasing drinks and gaining rumors.
How to roll on the rumor chart –
- First, the player must buy a round of drinks.
- Roll 2d10 to determine how many are in the bar.
- For every 10 people, add +1 to the reaction roll as it is more likely there is someone with a rumor to share.
- Select drink:
- Ale – 1cp
- Beer – 1 sp
- Wine – 1gp
- Roll 2d10 to determine how many are in the bar.
- Second, the player must pass a reaction check (2d6)
- Modified by drink and charisma
- Ale -1 penalty
- Beer no penalty
- Wine +1 bonus
- 8+ equals a success
- Modified by drink and charisma
- If successful, roll 1d100.
RUMORS:
1-2 A merchant imprisoned in the caves will reward his rescuers
3-4 A powerful magic-user will destroy all cave invaders (False)
5-6 Tribes of different creatures live in different caves
7-8 An ogre sometimes helps the cave dwellers
9-10 A magic wand was lost in the caves’ area
11-12 All cave entrances are trapped (false)
13-14 If you get lost, beware the eater of men
15-16 Altars are very dangerous
17-18 A fair maiden is imprisoned within the caves (false)
19-20 Bree-yark is goblin language for we surrender! (false)
21-22 Beware of treachery from within the party
23-24 The big dog-men live very high in the caves
25-26 There are hordes of tiny dog-men in the lower caves
27-28 Piles of magic armor are hoarded in the southern caves (false)
29-30 The bugbears in the caves are afraid of dwarves (false)
31-32 Lizard men live in the marshes
33-34 An elf once disappeared across the marshes
35-36 Beware the mad hermit of the northlands
37-38 Nobody has ever returned from an expedition to the caves (false)
39-40 There is more than one tribe of orcs within the caves.
41-42 The ruins of Quasqueton are somewhere in the borderlands. It was home to the great magic
user Zelligar and his fighter companion, Rogahn.
43-44 Rogahn defeated a mighty barbarian king using a magical sword.
45-46 Zelligar had a wizard’s workshop in the stronghold here he worked on magic stronger than any known to man. (false)
47-48 Rogahn owned a fantastic gem as big as a man’s fist that was worth over 100,000 gold pieces; he kept it hidden in his personal quarters. (false)
49-50 Zelliger and Rogahn had orc slaves to do the menial work, and some lived permanently in the stronghold.
51-52 The complex has two levels
53-54 Part of the complex is unfinished.
55-56 The complex has a rear exit which is secret and well-hidden
57-58 No outsiders have ever entered the complex and returned to tell the tale (false)
59-60 Troglodytes have moved into the complex in the absence of its former inhabitants
61-62 The place is protected by the gods themselves, and one member of any part of the intruders is doomed to certain death. (False)
63-64 The treasures of Zelligar and Rogahn are safely hidden in a pool of water (false)
65-66 The entire place is filled with guards left behind by Zelliger and Rogahn (false)
67-68 Rogahn’s trophy room has battle relics and slain monster remains from his adventures
69-70 There is a room with many pools of water within the complex
71-72 The very walls speak to the visitors
73-74 An enchanted stone within the stronghold will grant a wish to anyone who chips off a piece of it and places it within their mouth
75-76 All treasures of Zelligar and Rogahn are cursed to bring ill to any who possess them (false)
77-78 Zelligar and Rogahn have returned to their stronghold, and woe be to any unwelcome visitors (false)
79-80 There are secret doors, rooms, and passageways in parts of the complex
81-82 Some say Zelligar went mad and betrayed Rogahn.
83-84 There is an ancient elven tower in the forest. (false)
85-86 The Tower of the Twilight Break is only visible during the gloaming.
87-88 Just as the sun dips below the horizon, you can see something rising from fens from the top of the Bailiff’s tower.
89-90 It is said that the magic within the Twilight Break can cure any ailment.
91-92 There is a cursed tree in the forest to the north.
93-94 Deep within the forest, there is an ancient elven ruin.
95-96 The elves grew arrogant and were chased out of the forest by demons
97-98 The elves were guarding an ancient and powerful artifact (false)
98-100 The elves used to inhabit these lands. Some say that the magic they left behind attracted chaos and evil to the Borderlands.
As you can see there is more to the Borderlands than just the Caves of Chaos. I’ve included “In Search of the Unknown,” a one-page dungeon submission to an OSR Game Jam from a few years ago called the Tower of the Twilight Break, and a Shadowdark adventure submitted to the Shadowdark Game Jam from 2023. These are marked on the map by blue marks. The one in the swamp is the Tower of the Twilight Break. The Corruption at the Verdant Shrine is located in the forest on the northern portion of the map.
I can’t help it, Dear Readers! I just love building sandboxes!
So, as Rayz, the Adept, was the only character with money left over from character generation, he was buying round, after round, after round of drinks for the patrons of The Jolly Tankard. The group learned that Rogahn had a magic sword and that Zelligar and Rogahn’s fortress remains hidden in the Borderlands and is filled with traps. They also learned that there are many orc tribes lurking in the caves of chaos. With this in mind, all but the half-orcs spent gold for a room for the evening…the half-orcs slept in the common room.
Like I said: They are broke!
Led by the wizard, they followed the road east and discovered the Caves of Chaos. They cautiously entered the ravine only to be attacked by a giant gecko. Garlin hid in a bush, while the wizard blasted the giant gecko with a magic missile, and the dwarves charged. The creature failed its morale check, but Thorin charged after it, killing it with one mighty blow! (My son talked about this for a few hours after the game…lol).
At this point, they were in the center of the ravine. They entered Area A, the Lair of the Kobolds. Immediately, Grog and Dirge fell into the pit trap at the intersection, critically injuring both of them. This, of course, alerted the kobolds in the next room over. The Kobolds surprised the party and attacked! Rayz and Thorin were brought to 0 hit points, leaving Garlin alone in the hall to deal with the kobolds.
The Kobolds, having tossed their spears and were left otherwise unarmed, decided to head to Area 3 for reinforcements. In their mind, they had killed two intruders and had two others trapped. Dinner was going to be served regardless! This gave the players a chance to escape.
Now, the pit doors are hinged and attached to a counterweight system allowing the trap to automatically reset. Thus, Grog and Dirge were in pitch darkness at the bottom of this pit. Grog successfully cast “Holy Weapon” on Dirge’s ax who then hacked through the wooden trap door with a roll dealing maximum damage (12!!!). I ruled he was able to take half the door out allowing them to climb out of the pit trap. Garlin tossed his rope down to the two so they could climb out—having unsuccessfully tried to stabilize the wizard. Once out, just as death was about to permanently release Rayz from this mortal coil, Grog casts cure wounds on him. He then did the same for Thorin.
Dear Reader, looking back, I forgot to have Grog roll for casting his cure spells! I was so caught up in the drama of the moment. In any event, it was a mistake in their favor. No big deal.
In any event, while my son was hoping to drag the giant gecko back to the keep, the party felt it best to run back to the keep as they were seriously wounded and needed to resupply…not to mention there was a horde of Kobolds heading their way.
This ended the session. Everyone had a good time. I am looking forward to our next game as we will have more time to play without needing time for character generation. When we do play again, the party will have to make some decisions about the little coin they have left.
I think it might be a good idea for Garlin, the Robber, to pick up a short bow…his little dagger isn’t going to do much for the group!
I’m also going to go back over their known languages. My son asked a ton of questions on the ride home from the game about whether he could try to befriend the kobolds and turn them into henchmen.
Good Lord! My son is planning on starting his own group of bandit raiders!!!
That being said, the group is going to need to play smart. Shadowdark is no joke. They will not be able to fight their way through every encounter.
Also, for experience points, they each got 1 for killing the 2HD giant lizard. I am not using the carousing rules as it doesn’t feel appropriate with a handful of kids playing, but I might relax that and allow for a little carousing later on. Thus, I am using the alternative mode of play where PCs gain experience points equal to ½ the total number of Hit Dice defeated.
I may include an alternative to carousing as well. This alternative is based on the philanthropic efforts of the PCs. This also came from the Shadowdark game jam. You can find that here.
Regardless, the key to gaining experience and levels in Shadowdark is getting that treasure. It became a theme of our game session: “This is why we adventure. Gold.”
I leaned heavily into the sense of danger in anticipation of their first excursion outside the safety of the walls of the Keep. I noted how the guards at the gate didn’t bother to get to know their names as the guards figured they wouldn’t see the characters again; similarly, with the tavern goers. I also told the kids (and reminded my adult friends…) that if your character dies it is no big deal. You can roll up a new character and I will get them back into the game. Considering this first session almost ended in a TPK, I think the Borderlands proved it to be a very dangerous land.
Here’s looking to the next crawl through the Shadowdark, Dear Readers!!!
Lord Matteus' Ancient Tomes and Wondrous Items 