So far, our heroes have fared quite well using Rovan’s charmed monsters and playing things by ear. But if you meet many monsters, there come times when you must face up to the fact that they, too, live lives.

How did we arrive at such a point? Sit down and listen to a tale of BFRPG — Basic Fantasy Role Playing Game.

It came to pass that Darion “Orc Nightmare”, Rovan the Charming, Blessed Apoqulis and Heidel the dependable Dwarf sat down to make plans, and decided to go back to the island dungeon with Ugly Ulk, the charmed goblin. And when Darion happened to see Alda Brewstere, a talented thief, liberate angry sergeant Aldercy of the town guard from the weight of a purse right in the middle of the popular tavern, he could not resist hiring her: for a half-share, in exchange for freedom from participating in melee.

She said yes, and in the dungeon we right up front ran into a gaggle of kobolds who had found our dead friend, the Frog-Man, and now prayed to him as their powerful watcher from beyond, “Strong Being, Four Armed”.

Darion called out to them in a friendly manner and we found common ground in our shared enmity against the goblins (excepting ugly ulk), and we made a deal: They showed us the way and would give us weapons, while we would rid the dungeon of the evil goblins.

It did not help us much that they showed us the way we already knew, and that they presented us with a pile of low-grade knives and rusty spears; but what price tag can you put on friendship?

Good ambush

Also, we were going to fight the goblins anyway. So we went down and ambushed some giant bugs that Alda hat espied ahead of time; especially Heidel and Apoqulis distinguished themselves in the bug-slaying.

Darion then asked Alda and Heidel to check out a suspicious dead end while Rovan prepared an oil trap for potentially more bugs, and the dwarf discovered a secret door.

Chasing Apes

We found a dead duo, one of them a mage with his spell book (containing mighty “Sleep” for Rovan!) and a second stairway up to level 1, and destroyed a green slime. Then we discovered an underground temple full of lizard statues, where we were attacked by carnivorous great apes. Darion, Apoqulis and Heidel the Dwarf shouldered the brunt of the fighting, and despite much trouble swinging swords in tight spaces we finally stood victorious after one of the apes almost twisted off Heidel’s strong head. Triumph – alas, we found no loot.

But more doors, and more pillars. Rovan took the time to spill more oil, just in case.

Darion already cursed the architects of this warren full of shadows and cover, when we stepped through a door and into the ambush of six hobgoblins!

Bad Ambush

This was the end for ugly ulk, who took the first stab right between the ribs.

The fight was hard and brutal, and Darion would have fallen too without the aid of Apoqulis and Heidel. But with the aid of the dice gods, and thanks to Rovan charming a hobgoblin in Ulk’s place, we managed to destroy the ambushers and pick up some good loot: finally a means to pay Alda! Darion had started to worry what sort of “half share” we were going to give to her…

To our chagrin, once more our charmed “friend” was one whose language we did not speak. We discussed over going home with this loot, when the decision was made for us: Gnolls stormed through the next door, ready to take us out!

Oil well spent

We fled past Rovan’s oil with our freshly charmed hobgoblin in tow and the hyena-men hot on our heels. He lit it up and the flames roared high, roasting one Gnoll and hurting two more. They had to fall back, and as the well-organised enemies retreated, they seemed not fearful but quite determined to Darion’s smoke-stung eyes, so he insisted that we sod off before they circled around us and got us in the rear.

Thanks to the newly discovered stairwell we escaped and met our kobold friends again.

We warned them that we were not done yet, that we had to go but would return – and better prepared, to find out what those gnolls were defending back there.

So this is how we made kobold friends.
There’s more to come.

More Morgansfort