The Story So Far

So far we have played three sessions. The following report covers about seven and a half hours of game play.

The story began with Jane and Darth meeting a dwarf cleric named Barnabas Ironbrace. Who was heading south to study in the libraries in King's Rock. They made their way to Silver Run in the night so that Darth could use the shadows to hide his appearance. There where some favorable reaction rolls and the three where allowed through.

Silver Run is a human outpost on the Silver Run River which flows from the mountains to the North. Silver Run is also a trading hub where Dwarven goods are transported South on the river. Although, Silver Run is considered a human settlement, it is home to a number of halflings, a dwarf family and one lone elf. Ezren Mondragon, is the mayor. He is 57 years old and a mage of some considerable power. There is a tavern, a church, a number of businesses, and a town square. The town is protected by a palisade wall and a standing militia of twenty-five men and women lead by their captain, Aleksandr Krieg.

Jane, Darth and Barnabas made their way to the local tavern, The Sleeping Dragon. The tavern is run by a the Barnwises, a halfling family. They were able to get dinner and a room for the night.

The next day the were visited by the town's mayor, Ezren. He first confronted Darth. Detecting Darth's lawful alignment, Ezren warned Darth that he was temporarily welcome, but that he would be watched carefully and that he should continue to hide his appearance as that most of the town's citizens may not react to well to a dark elf. He then explained to them that the town was suffering from a shortage of bread due to the fact that the mill had not delivered any flower for some time. Ezren offered to employ them to investigate the problem. The adventurers said they would be glad to and got right on it.

They began by looking around the town where they met the Dankmars, one of the local merchant families. The Dankmars reported that they had sent one of their sons to the mill to find out if they could help get the flower out. That was three days ago and he has not returned. After looking about the town, they made their way to the mill. There they met the miller who informed them that the Dankmar boy had gone down to the cellar and not come back out. The miller was terrified and would go down him self. The three adventurers then ventured down into the cellar. They found it was infested with giant rats. They attacked the rats head on. Darth did well welding dual scimitars and Jane used her bow. Barnabas found it difficult to hit any thing. Jane then managed to cast a sleep spell that knocked out the remaining rats. Darth and Barnabas then dispatched them easily. They followed a trail of what looked like blood, into an adjoining room to find the dead body of the Dankmar boy and two giant centipedes. Darth jumped in right away and instantly killed one centipede while Barnabas missed his strike. Jane then killed the other with a well placed arrow.

After returning the boy's body to his family, Darth and Jane returned to The Sleeping Dragon. Barnabas went to the church to get the local cleric to help the family. After a while Barnabas and Ezren met Jane and Darth at the tavern. Ezren shared the families gratitude for returning their son. Ezren told them about how the Dankmars are a good family, but they had been suffering from the deliberate theft of the storage building. One son had been beat up badly by the thieves. Now they lost one trying to help someone. Jane and Darth decided that they would try to catch the thieves and help the Dankmars. Ezren thanked them and left them 250 gold for getting the mill back to work.

The next day there was a funeral for the Dankmar boy and Darth found that he had been mostly accepted by the citizenry.

The next day, they toured the town asking about the thefts. They met Degolas, the elf bower. Degolas said that he suspected a competing merchant named Benjamin Reimbold and that on the day after each theft, smoke could be seen from a fire behind Reimbold's shop.

The adventurers visited Reimbold's and found that although Reimbold seemed nice, his employees looked like thugs and they found a fire ring in the back where it looked like boxes had been burned. (Game note: I use the character Barnabas to kind of prod the girls when they get stuck.. They are only 9 and 11 and sometimes they don't know what the next thing to do should be. I don't want to railroad the game but we have to keep things moving too.) Barnabas suggested that they set a watch on the store rooms and see if they can catch the thieves with an ambush. Darth and Jane agreed.

They watched the store rooms for three nights and on the third night, the thieves made their move. Darth and Barnabas charged in to confront the thieves only to find themselves out matched. Jane saved the night by casting her sleep spell again and taking down the thieves. While Darth tied up the thieves, Jane went to get Ezren and he called Krieg to bring a few men. The thieves were taken to the barracks where they were interrogated. They implicated Reimbold was the leader and that he want to force the Dankmars out of Silver Run. That morning they found the Reimbold's store burning and Reimbold and his remaining thugs where gone. Ezren rewarded the adventurers with 300 gold each and gave the contents of Reimbold's store rooms to the Dankmars. There is a 1000 gold piece bounty on Benjamin Reimbold's head.

The next game session went a little faster. Ezren met with the adventurers and proposed quest that might be very profitable. He told them about a famous theater and arena setup at the bend of the Silver Run River about five days travel from the town. An interesting fellow by the name of Gerald the Red held plays and gladiatorial contests there. The gladiatorial contests were famous because he pitted all sorts of monsters against each other until some ogres got out of hand and killed some spectators. The arena was abandoned and Gerald was never seen again. Ezren believed Gerald used magic items to control the gladiators and put on spectacular plays. He thought that one item in particular might be of interest to Darth. A mask that would make you appear as anyone or anything you wished. Ezren offered to sponsor the quest for one third of the magic items only. The adventures could take the rest.

Darth and Jane spent the rest of the day collecting the things they would need for the quest. Darth went to the barracks to spar and came back with three recruits and a lieutenant to join them. They then got a message to meet Degolas in his shop. Degolas explained that he once had been an adventurer and had managed to collect a few items. He wanted to give the two elves something better to wear than the studded leather they had. He gave Jane a elven chainmail hauberk and Darth a set of elven plate. The armor was not magical but it was designed for elves and weighed half as much as normal armor.

Once they had everything, they set out. Each day they rode straight on. They had a number of encounters with kobolds and hobgoblins. On the fifth day, they found the weed covered path to the old arena. They decided to setup camp and explore the arena next time.

Our last session was only an hour and a half long. The session began with a messenger arriving at their camp. The lieutenant needed to return and there was a message and a package for Jane and Darth. The message was from Ezren reminding them that they needed to be careful and search every area very carefully for traps and hidden doors. (This was my attempt to help the girls make it through their first real dungeon. I just hated the idea of the kids getting wiped out their first go.)

With this information and a bottle of health potion. They made their way into the arena and were immediately confronted by two hungry wolves. They threw some food to them and walked past while they ate. In the main arena they found two skeletons fighting each other. Jane knocked one down with an arrow and the other began bowing to an invisible audience. (The kids thought this was just weird). Darth searched the area and found a ring with a R engraved on the inside.

They then went to the top of the stadium seating and opened a door. It opened to an arms room covered in yellow mold. Darth walked end and immediately suffered from the mold spores. Jane pulled him out and healed him this some of the potion. They then poured oil on the floor and lit the room on fire. This destroyed the mold and the weapons.

They then searched the room and found a secret door that lead to a room with five emaciated kobolds. They were surprised because they thought they had barred the only door to the room. They were starving and did not put up a fight. Jane gave them some food.

We stopped there to pickup next time. I am amazed with my daughters and how they try to think things through. They need a push in the right direction sometimes, but mostly, they figure things out for themselves. I'm hoping at our next session, they will complete this quest. Because, I've got big things in store for them.

The Player Characters

Jane is Megan's Elf Adventurer. She is one of the Eastern Elves from Talen'Kalina, and out to make a difference in the world. She is very resourceful and has great timing with a sleep spell.


Level: 1
Class: Elf Adventurer
Alignment: Lawful
ST: 14
DX: 17
INT: 14
WIS: 10
CON: 11
CHR: 10
Armor and Weapon: Elven Chain-mail and Long Bow
Speaks Common, Elf, and Kobold
Spells: Sleep, Shield, Invisibility

Darth is Claire's Elf Adventurer. He is a Dark Elf who has rejected his peoples ways and has ventured above ground to seek his fortune. He runs into rejection and distrust where ever he goes, but those close to him have come to respect him.


Level: 1
Class: Elf Adventurer
Alignment: Lawful
ST: 14
DX: 16
INT: 14
WIS: 10
CON: 13
CHR: 8
Armor and Weapon: Elven Plate and Dual Scimitars
Speaks Common, Dark Elf, and Giant
Spells: Shield, Light, Levitate

Both of the girls are doing a great job playing their characters. Megan is quite the troubleshooter, while Claire likes to make bold moves.

The Setting

Every RPG game needs a setting. So I took the "The Known Land" map from Labyrinth Lord and made a few changes. My hope is to combine what I love about Middle Earth, The Forgotten Realms, and Narnia, so that the setting will be familiar and yet fun to explore.

The adventures takes place 1000 years after a great cataclysm that has left much of the greatness and secrets of the past buried. The Elves have split into three factions, and the Dwarves have retreated back to the mountains. Man has settled the south at King's Rock and created outposts at Silver Run and South Point, and the Halflings are the new kids on the block and are beginning to make a name for themselves.

The land is a dangerous place where those who follow the light seek to discover the good of the past, and must stop those who seek to use ancient powers to bring everything into the darkness.

What is this about?

This is about a family who loves to spend time with each other, playing games, and tapping our natural creativity and imaginations.

My daughters, Claire and Megan, and I have played games of some sort for the last 12 years. We have played everything from Candyland to HeroClix. About a year ago, Claire, was playing with some cousins. She had a bow(no arrows) and her cousin had a sword. She came running in and asked "Dad! Can I use some of your dice? We're playing a adventure game and we're going to use dice to see who wins the battles." I swear she thought of this herself.

Taking a cue from this, I looked into tabletop roleplaying games. The criteria I used was that it had to be affordable, customizable, and not overly complicated. I settled on Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games.

So, a couple of weeks ago we created some characters and I setup the game world and we began to play out some scenarios. I was very suprised how well my girls took to this game. They each really put their minds to it and came up with some interesting solutions to the scenarios.

We love playing and we call it "Our Adventure Game" and I will be sharing more as this as it develops.