Knight of Destiny

This campaign supplement to the Four Against Darkness rules is set in the outdoors. There is no dungeon generation or map-making. It is a story that focuses on one character, not four. However, during the course of the adventure, your character (a paladin) may gain up to 6 retainers to assist him on his quest for the Grail.

Length of the Game. Completing the adventure should take around 45 minutes, but given the random nature of solo games, it can be over much faster.

Background. Welcome to the age of King Arthur! This is a high medieval world, rich with chivalry, monsters, dragons, witches, and deadly knights, who are always ready for a challenge. The Kingdom is in decay. Lancelot has left and King Arthur has fallen ill. Traitor knights, led by Morgana and her unholy child Mordred have rebelled. Only the Grail can heal Arthur and end the evil, but it is a race against time. The traitors are hunting paladins to stop the quest. If the Grail is not found in time, all will be lost to darkness…

Flow of the Game. The game is based around various tables. The starting table is the Journey Table (1). It determines the scene of your paladin's next action. This will either be rolling on the Inn Table (2), the Encounter Table (3), or the Traitors Attack Table (4). After any outcomes are resolved from those tables (each can break out to further tables), play returns to the Journey Table (1) again and repeats until the quest ends. You cannot return to a previous encounter.

You will need to keep track of various scores, apart from your character's life, level, and treasure;

• Piety points: This is the level of your paladin's holiness.
• Rebellion Level: The strength of the traitorous forces. Used as a modifier on the Challenge Table (7). As the traitors grow in strength, the bosses you fight become more powerful.
• Number of bosses slain: Bosses are the leading traitors. As bosses are killed, their ability to attack is weakened. Used as a modifier on the Traitors Attack Table (4).
• Completed side quests: This measures the reputation and chivalry of your paladin. It is a modifier on the Inn Table (2).
• Number of rumors: Collecting rumors is crucial to success. Spending 3 rumors at a time changes the result on the Encounter Table (3). Once spent, a rumor cannot be re-used.

End of the game. You win if you find the grail and return it to Camelot. You lose if your paladin dies, or the rebellion reaches level 5.

Inns are located in populated areas, and give a crucial break between encounters. You can heal, enlist retainers and uncover rumors.

You can only stay at an inn if you have 10gp spend - but see the charity section below. If you stay, roll on the Inn Table (2), to determine how well you are received. Then perform any or all the following actions in the order listed on the "Staying at an Inn: List of Actions" summary below.

Charity and No Money. If you have less than 10gp and no treasure to sell (excluding armor, weapons and magical items), and did not roll 7+ on the Inn Table (2), you can be given charity from a local church rather than staying at an inn.

In this case, you may still perform a healing roll (free board on church property), but you may not undertake any other inn actions such as looking for rumors or hiring retainers. Existing retainers stay with you and no payment is needed to re-employ them.

Staying at an Inn: List of Actions (in Order)

• a — Pay 10gp to stay.
• b — Heal d6 lost life points. You may not gain more life points than your maximum, of course. Retainers automatically go back to their full life point total and do not need to roll.
• c — Re-employ existing retainers for 5 gold pieces each.
• d — Determine if any new retainers are available, who cost 10 gold pieces each to employ. If there are, dice for classes available.
• e — Purchase goods, using the Shopping and Costs Table (15). You can also sell goods and magic items. Equipment sold is worth half its buying price in gold pieces.
• f — Roll d6 for rumors. On a result of 4-6, you gain 1 rumor. If you have one or more streetwise retainers, add +2 to this roll.
• g — If you have one or more merchant retainers, roll a d6. On a 5-6, the merchant hears of a religious relic for sale, that can be bought for 5d6 x 5 gp. See table 13 regarding authenticity tests.

Retainers are 1st level characters, who have between 1-3 life points, and never make an XP roll. Except for merchants, who are armed only with a knife (light slashing hand weapon) and have no armor, all retainers come with (1) a crushing or slashing hand weapon, and (2) light armor and shield. Your paladin does not pay for a room at an inn for retainers – they look after themselves or sleep in the stable, as appropriate for their rank.

Term of Employment. It costs 10gp to initially hire a retainer. Re-employing a retainer costs 5gp every time your paladin arrives at a new inn. Retainers are only employed from one inn to the next. Before hiring new retainers, you must decide whether you want to keep your existing retainers, they do not have to be re-employed.

Look for New Retainers. To see whether there are any new retainers available, roll a d6. Deduct from that number the retainers you already have, and adjust with any Inn Table (2) modifiers. If the final result is a positive number, that is the number of new retainers available for hire. As an example: You have two retainers. You roll a 5 and deduct 2, that means there are three new retainers available.

Retainer Classes. For each retainer available, roll a d6 to determine their class (see the Available Classes (d6) table). The classes are described below. Other abilities will show up on the various tables. Modifiers on tables do not stack if you have more than one of the same class of retainer.

• Brute: This skilled mercenary fighter has +1 to attack rolls, 3 life points and +1 morale.
• Hunter: A skilled forester with a bow, who can shoot first even if surprised. Do this after the minions reaction is rolled, and he will forgo his next attack to change weapons and ready his shield. Has 2 life points and +0 morale.
• Merchant: Has great knowledge of locations as well as many contacts. Has 1 life point and -2 morale.
• Streetwise: A fast thinker and good talker, who adds +2 to rumor rolls, and deducts -1 from reaction rolls in encounters with human minions. Has 2 life points and -1 morale.

Retainer Morale. Some enemy may force your retainers into a morale test to see whether they continue to fight loyally at your side or flee. They pass on a 4+ after modifiers. Retainers must also individually test morale if one of them dies in combat. When they flee, no free attack is rolled against them, just remove the retainer from the fight. If your paladin survives the encounter, the retainers who fled will come back from their hiding spot at the end of that encounter.

Money Spent on Retainers. Any additional money spent on retainers (e.g. to buy them better armor, equipment, or bandages), is treated as a gift to them, and is not returnable. The wage paid to them is not recoverable, even if they die.

Fighting Knights

This only applies to knights met on the Challenger Table (7). The fight is just between you and the enemy knight. Your retainers do not get involved. There is no surprise or reaction roll. The fight goes ahead like a normal combat.

Who Attacks First?: Roll a d6. You will attack first if the roll is 1-4, the opponent will attack first on a roll of 5-6. This roll is performed at the beginning of the fight, and then you alternate between attacking and defending until the end.

No Armor or Weapons?: These will be lent to you for the fight, and must be returned at the end, even if the enemy is defeated.

Enemy Below Half Strength: Will lose 1 level and test for morale. On a pass they fight to the death. On a fail, the enemy boss or knight will not flee but ask for quarter instead.

Giving Quarter to a Boss: Not granting this (the fight continues) to a boss who asks for it, is an act of Dishonor. If you give quarter to a boss, you can dice for a piety point. That boss will remain in the game and you might fight him again, fully healed, in future.

If You Win: This is either by slaying or giving the opponent quarter. You get an XP roll, and gain the amount of gold pieces listed under their treasure roll.

Ask for Quarter from a Knight (Not a Boss): You give up an attack to ask for this. Roll a d6, if more than the rebellion level, quarter is given, and you must pay over an amount equal to the winning knights treasure roll. If you cannot meet the full price in coins or treasure, then this is an act of Dishonor. If you roll less than or equal to the rebellion level, the fight continues to the death.

Fighting Minions

Unlike other encounters, retainers will attack minions and will be attacked by minions.

When you fight night minions, a lantern should be used. The lantern bearer cannot use shields or two handed weapons. If a retainer carrying a lantern dies or flees, they will drop it so someone else can pick it up (using up an attack to do so). If you have no lantern, all rolls for attack and defense are at -2.

You receive an XP roll for every 10 minion encounters survived.

Fighting Others

A paladins honor does not allow retainers to fight monsters with 2+ life points (non minions). When these monsters are at less than half their life points, treat them as one level lower, and they take a morale test. You receive one XP roll for every such enemy you defeat.

Using a d8

This is optional. It powers up the paladin, so only use this option if you are having difficulty winning. Once your paladin reaches 5th level, use a d8 instead of a d6 for XP rolls (do not advance beyond 5th level), attack rolls, defense rolls, and save rolls. Piety tests and rolling for piety points still use a d6. Retainers still use a d6. A d8 explodes on a roll of 7 or 8.

Random Names

At the back of this book are random name generators for inns, retainers, and knights. They are optional, and help if you are seeking more color in the game.

It is possible to use a Paladin in standard games of Four Against Darkness, but the following rules must be used:

• There cannot be more than one paladin in the party.
• Do not use piety points. Piety points are only specific to this supplement.
• The paladin belongs to the warrior class. Any skills, items or other benefits that can be used by a warrior equally apply to a paladin.
• The paladin is immune to fear. Any save vs fear, terror or similar is automatically passed.
• The two expert skills can be used. Divine Smite works once per adventure, and Holy Avenger works against any one boss or weird monster per adventure. With Holy Avenger, a boss or weird monster needs to be selected at the start.
• Before an adventure begins, a paladin can roll on the Quest Table in Four Against Darkness. A reference to taking something to a room means taking it outside the dungeon at the end. The paladin can roll on the Epic Rewards Table after he leaves the dungeon on completion.
• A paladin is always in the front rank of marching order, always attack first, and is always first in the party to perform any action he is able to do.
• A paladin never flees from a fight.
• You may not use the magic items gained in this adventure in standard Four Against Darkness games.

Accepting the great quest, Sir Lionel starts out from Camelot, full of hope. Not long into his journey, he is met by another knight guarding a bridge, who challenges him to a fight if he wants to pass (a 4 on the Journey Table, then a 5 on the Encounter Table, which becomes a 7 as he has no piety points). The knight, Sir Meleagrance (a 1 on the Challenge Table, then a 5 and 2 on the Challenger Knights name table), takes his position, attacking first (rolled a 5 so Meleagrance gets first attack). Meleagrance misses with his swing (save on a 2+ and a 3 was rolled). Lionel struck back with a powerful blow (rolled 6, with exploding dice of 5, then adding Lionel's level of 3 the result is 14, doing 3 wounds - 14 divided by Melegagrance's level 4 is 3 hits). Reeling, Meleagrance misses again (rolls 3), but in return, Lionel does no better (rolls 1). Melegrance swings again, almost hitting (rolls 2), but Lionel strikes back (rolls 5). Meleagrance sees that he is up against a superior knight and asks for quarter (he has lost 4 from 6 life, more than half, so makes a morale roll of 2). Lionel accepts, takes 20gp (rolled 5, x4 for level) from Melegrance as spoils of victory and crosses the bridge. (As Lionel beat a non-minion, he makes an XP roll, which is 4. Being greater than his current level of 3, he now goes to 4th level, and gains another life point).

After crossing the bridge, Lionel spies a hamlet with a large inn, the Happy Hobgoblin (a 1 is rolled on the Journey Table, then a 5 on the Inn Table, then a 3/5/3 on the name generator for inns). The particularly jovial and talkative innkeeper gladly accepts Sir Lionel as guest. Seeking help, our gallant knight finds 1 solid yeoman, named Raygar, willing to join for a fee (rolled 1 for retainers, so only 1 available, then 3, making him a brute, and 2/6/4 on the retainer name table). Lionel also purchases a nice two handed sword from the local blacksmith (he now has 25gp in funds; 40 at start, 20 from the fight, -10gp for the inn, -10gp for the retainer, and -15gp for the sword). Lionel also seeks information on the surrounds or any legends of the grail, and gains some valuable knowledge (6 rolled for rumors).

Setting out once more, Lionel and Raygar are confronted by 19 desperate and armed peasants looting the countryside (5 was rolled on the Journey Table. Then 8 on the encounter table, another roll of 4 makes it a day minion, then 1 for angry peasants, with a roll of 4d6 for 19). Appalled by the lawless brigands, Lionel attacks, who, supported by Raygar quickly strike down 5 of the looters (Lionel rolls 3+4 for level, equals 7 inflicting 3 losses, and Raygar rolls 2, +2 bonus for 2 losses). Surrounded, both Lionel and Raygar are wounded (both face 7 peasants, where a 1 equals a hit, Lionel loses 1 life, Raygar loses 2). Enraged, Lionel strikes fiercely as does the wild Raygar, taking down 9 of the brigands (Lionel rolls 6, exploding +3, level +4 for 13 inflicting 6 casualties, and Raygar rolls 4+2 for 6 inflicting 3 casualties). The remaining 5 rioters flee (less than half their number, roll 5 for morale with a -2 modifier for a result of 3). They leave behind silver goblets and cutlery, clearly stolen from some local noble (roll of 4 on the treasure table, and 3d6 value came up with 12 x 2gp).

A bit bloodied, Lionel wishes he had purchased bandages to tend to the wounds at the Happy Hobgoblin. Pressing forward, he finds an eerie sight ahead, a sign of death on the roadside, as a nearby village is afflicted with plague. Lionel does not hesitate as he enters the village to help, though Raygar chooses to camp on the outskirts. He helps where he can and leaves, knowing he made a difference (4 rolled on the Journey Table then 4 for the village. Lionel rolled 3 and 6, so was not affected by the plague, then rolled another 6 and so gained a piety point).

Moving on, he heard that a fellow knight of the round table has been killed by Mordred, as the traitors grow in power (6 rolled on the Journey Table, then a 2 on the Traitors Attack Table, and the Rebellion Level goes to level 1). Ahead he spies another settlement, at the center of which is the Thee Oaks Inn. A lawless area, Lionel finds that rogues have stolen some of his money (1 rolled on the journey table, then 3 on the Inn Table, the save vs pickpocket failed on a roll of 2, with 10gp stolen on the 3d6 roll). Both Lionel and Raygar are now fully healed, but no new retainers are available (1 rolled, less 1 for the rehired Raygar is none available). However, Lionel hears more gossip, legends and rumors (6 rolled for rumors, and Lionel has 14gp left; 25 to start, +24 from the peasant fight, -10 stolen, -10 inn costs, -5 rehire Raygar, -10 bandages for both Lionel and Raygar). The journey continues, and another roll on the Journey Table awaits…..