Let's Go Delving in the Courtyard

Whilst relaxing at The Delvers Arms, Stonn, Jasgrad the Dwarf, Jander the Elf, and Oleus the Wizard overheard a traveller telling the barkeep about a forgotten courtyard rumoured to contain hidden treasure. Never ones to ignore the prospect of loot, the four Delvers quickly finished their drinks and set off to investigate.

In reality, this was our second game of Four Delvers, and we were tackling Encounter 2: The Courtyard.

Arriving at the site, the Delvers were surprised to discover they were not the first treasure-seekers on the scene. Another band had already begun exploring the courtyard, and they seemed less than willing to share. Standing between the Delvers and any potential riches were a pair of Men-at-Arms, two thugs, and an archer, all determined to keep the spoils for themselves.

Turn 1

Both groups sized each other up across the courtyard, each weighing whether the treasure was worth the fight that seemed inevitable.

“Looks like we’re not the only ones who heard the rumours,” Jander observed, nocking an arrow to the bowstring.

“Then let’s make sure we leave with the treasure,” replied Stonn, tightening the grip on his weapon.

The decision was taken out of their hands when the rival adventurers surged forward. As the opposition advanced, Oleus raised a hand and unleashed a burst of arcane energy while Jander sent arrows streaking toward the charging figures. Their opening volleys achieved mixed results, as one enemy staggered under the assault, while another seemed to shrug it off and keep coming.

“Why is it never the first spell that misses?” Oleus grumbled.

Turn 2

With the enemy rapidly closing the distance, Stonn and Jasgrad stepped forward to form a living wall between their companions and the advancing foes.

“Behind us, wizard,” Jasgrad growled. “If they want the treasure, they’ll have to come through a dwarf first.”

Oleus was only too happy to comply. After another disappointing attempt at spellcasting, the wizard wisely retreated behind the fighters.

“I meant to do that,” Oleus insisted. “It's called a tactical reposition.”

The two sides crashed together in a flurry of steel and shouted threats. Jasgrad met a Man-at-Arms head-on, while Stonn threw himself at a thug with characteristic enthusiasm. The fighting was fierce, but the Delvers gradually gained the upper hand. One of the Men-at-Arms was cut down, and a thug soon followed, leaving the rival treasure hunters suddenly looking much less confident.

Unfortunately, the enemy archer was proving far more troublesome. Keeping to cover, he darted between ruined walls and piles of rubble, making himself a difficult target. While the melee raged in the courtyard, the bowman calmly picked his shots. One arrow found its mark, striking Jander and drawing blood.

Turn 3

Perhaps drawn by the sound of clashing steel and shouted curses, reinforcements arrived. Another Man-at-Arms and a thug entered the courtyard and immediately threw themselves into the fight.

At last, Oleus managed to get a spell to cooperate. Raising his staff, he unleashed a Blast that slammed into one of the newly arrived Men-at-Arms, leaving the unfortunate warrior dazed and struggling to regain his senses.

“There! I told you the magic was working,” Oleus declared triumphantly.

With the enemy line wavering, Stonn seized the opportunity. Charging forward, he engaged the thug in a brief but brutal melee, quickly cutting him down before turning his attention to the remaining foes.

Meanwhile, Jander had become locked in a contest of marksmanship with the opposing archer. Arrow after arrow flew across the courtyard, but the enemy bowman proved maddeningly difficult to pin down. Ducking behind walls and broken masonry, the archer repeatedly denied Jander a clean shot.

To make matters worse, another well-aimed arrow struck home.

“Again?” Jander hissed, wincing as the shaft found its mark. “Would somebody deal with that archer?”

Turn 4

Suffering from the wounds inflicted by the enemy bowman, Jander wisely abandoned the open ground and slipped behind a nearby statue for cover.

“I'm beginning to think that archer has a personal grudge,” the elf muttered as he checked the damage.

While Jander regrouped, Oleus finally seemed to find his rhythm. Arcane bolts crackled across the courtyard as the wizard's spells began landing with much greater consistency. One particularly effective Blast struck a Men-at-Arms, leaving him reeling and vulnerable.

“Now that's how it's supposed to work,” Oleus said with a satisfied grin.

Sensing his opportunity, Stonn charged in before the enemy could recover. A few swift blows later, the weakened warrior was down, leaving the Delvers firmly in control of the battle. The tide had begun to turn decisively in their favour.

Turn 5

With the enemy force reduced to a single, infuriatingly elusive archer, the Delvers finally gained control of the battlefield. Confident that the remaining threat could be contained, they began spreading out across the courtyard in search of the treasure that had brought them there in the first place.

“Keep an eye on that bowman,” Stonn warned. “I’d rather not take an arrow in the back while digging through rubble.”

“Aye, and I'd rather not leave any treasure behind,” Jasgrad replied, already heading towards the nearest point of interest.

Turn 6

The opposing archer suddenly grew much bolder, stepping out from cover to take a shot at the Delvers. Fortunately, the arrow sailed wide and nobody was hit.

The reason for this newfound confidence soon became apparent. Emerging from the far side of the courtyard came reinforcements: a heavily armoured Knight accompanied by another thug. The Knight looked every inch a serious threat, his armour gleaming as he strode onto the battlefield. Unlike the thugs and Men-at-Arms the Delvers had already defeated, this was an opponent capable of matching Stonn blow for blow.

“Well, that's new,” Stonn muttered, eyeing the newcomer. “And I was just starting to enjoy myself.”

Elsewhere, Jander was having less success. Nursing the wounds inflicted during the battle, the elf had ducked out of the fighting to recover. We use a house rule that allows a Delver to forfeit both actions and make a 7+ roll to heal a wound. Unfortunately for Jander, the dice were not cooperating.

“Any luck?” Oleus called across the courtyard.

“Depends,” Jander replied. “If the goal was to remain injured, I'm doing exceptionally well.”

As the Knight advanced and the archer lined up another shot, it was clear the fight wasn't over just yet. The Delvers had won the first phase of the battle, but a fresh challenge had just arrived.

Turn 7

More thugs emerged from the edges of the battlefield, but by now the Delvers had identified the real threat. The newly arrived Knight was a far more dangerous opponent than the rabble accompanying him, and all eyes turned towards the heavily armoured warrior.

“Forget the thugs - bring down the tin can!” Jander shouted from behind cover.

This time Oleus rose to the occasion. Stretching out his staff, he uttered the words of a Freeze spell, and a layer of magical frost enveloped the Knight. The warrior ground to a halt mid-stride, locked in place by the wizard's magic.

“Let's see how fearsome you are when you can't move,” Oleus said with a satisfied grin.

Seeing his opportunity, Stonn charged forward and launched a ferocious attack against the immobilised Knight. Yet despite the advantage, his blows failed to find a weakness. Sword rang against steel as the Knight's armour absorbed every strike.

“Is he wearing a fortress?” Stonn muttered, stepping back in frustration.

Turn 8

The thugs surged forward, eager to overwhelm the Delvers through sheer weight of numbers. The resulting clashes were short and brutal. Oleus supported the front line with well-timed spells while Stonn and Jasgrad met the attackers head-on. Between magic and cold steel, two of the three thugs were swiftly cut down.

“That's more like it,” Jasgrad laughed, planting a boot on a fallen foe. “They're running out of volunteers!”

At the centre of the courtyard, however, a far more important fight was unfolding. Stonn and the Knight finally came face-to-face, their weapons ringing loudly as they traded blows. Neither warrior was willing to give ground, and for a time the duel drew everyone's attention.

“You've got some fight in you,” Stonn admitted, parrying another strike.

The Knight's only response was another powerful swing.

Despite steadily reducing the enemy numbers, the Delvers were beginning to pay the price for their success. Cuts, bruises, and accumulated wounds were taking their toll. Both Stonn and Jasgrad were looking worse for wear, and it was becoming clear that they needed a chance to catch their breath and tend to their injuries before pressing the attack.

Turn 9

At long last, the Delvers succeeded in bringing down the Knight. It had taken a true team effort to overcome the armoured warrior. Oleus' spells hampered his movements, Jander's arrows found the weak points in his defences, and Stonn relentlessly pressed the attack whenever an opening appeared.

“Stay on him!” Stonn shouted as the Knight staggered. “He's finally starting to tire!”

A final concerted effort proved too much for the heavily armoured foe, who eventually crashed to the ground in defeat.

“Well,” said Oleus, lowering his staff, “that was considerably more difficult than the zombies.”

While the others focused on the Knight, Jasgrad dealt with the last remaining thug. The dwarf's axe made short work of the unfortunate brigand, bringing the fighting in the courtyard to an end.

“Is that everybody?” Jasgrad asked, looking around the battlefield. “Good. Now let's get back to the important business.”

“The treasure?” replied Jander.

“The treasure,” Jasgrad confirmed with a grin.

Turn 10

With their attention now firmly fixed on the treasure, the Delvers took a moment to catch their breath and tend to their wounds.

“Five minutes,” Stonn said, lowering his sword. “No monsters, no treasure hunting, no heroic charges.”

“A sensible plan for once,” Oleus replied.

One by one, the battered adventurers paused to recover. Unfortunately, in their eagerness to search for loot, they had completely forgotten about the lone surviving archer.

The bowman certainly hadn't forgotten about them.

Every so often he would appear from behind a wall or ruined statue, loose an arrow, and then disappear back into cover before anyone could catch him. It was becoming increasingly annoying, but fortunately for the Delvers, the archer's impressive accuracy from earlier in the battle seemed to have deserted him. Arrows clattered off masonry, buried themselves in the dirt, or sailed harmlessly overhead.

“Should we do something about him?” Jander asked as another arrow missed by a comfortable margin.

“Nah,” replied Jasgrad. “At this rate he'll run out of arrows before he hits anything.”

For all his persistence, the archer was now little more than an irritation, allowing the Delvers to patch themselves up and return their focus to the far more important task of finding the treasure.

Turn 11

Remembering that the real objective was treasure, the Delvers finally turned their attention from fighting to searching. Splitting up, they began investigating the most promising locations around the courtyard (in game terms, the three treasure tokens scattered across the battlefield).

“Right,” said Jasgrad, rubbing his hands together. “We've done the heroic bit. Time for the profitable bit.”

The lone surviving archer watched the Delvers advance and wisely decided against standing his ground. Rather than risk a direct confrontation, he fell back from position to position, keeping his distance while looking for an opportunity to harass the treasure hunters.

“Funny,” Jander remarked. “He seemed a lot braver when he had friends.”

As the Delvers spread out across the ruins, the archer continued his retreat, leaving them free to begin searching for the rewards that had drawn them to the courtyard in the first place. The battle had largely been won; now it was a race to uncover the treasure before anything else decided to join the fray.

Turns 12 & 13

At last, the Delvers reached the three treasure sites and began their searches. After all the fighting, the rewards were finally theirs for the taking.

“There had better be something valuable in here,” Jasgrad said, brushing dirt from a chest. “I'm not getting stabbed by a knight for pocket change.”

One by one, the treasures were claimed and stowed away. With their objective complete, there was little reason to remain in the courtyard.

As the Delvers gathered their newfound booty and prepared to leave, the lone surviving archer could do little more than watch from afar. A few half-hearted arrows followed them out, but none came close to finding their mark.

“Stand and fight!” the archer shouted.

“Stand and lose?” replied Stonn with a laugh. “I think we'll take the treasure instead.”

With that, the Delvers departed victorious, leaving the courtyard and a thoroughly frustrated archer, behind them.

Final Thoughts

The Delvers eventually made their way back to the tavern, weary but triumphant, and spread their haul across a table to see whether the expedition had been worth the effort.

As it turned out, it most certainly had.

Three rolls on the treasure chart led to an impressive 11, 11, and 12 resulted in an astonishing haul of ten treasure finds. Among the spoils were nine gold coins, three potions (Strength, Invisibility, and Healing), and two magical sets of Bracers. Not every discovery was beneficial, however. The final treasure revealed a hidden trap, though fortunately it failed to injure anyone.

Staring at the pile of loot, Jasgrad said “Now that is what I call a successful day’s work.”

“Funny how treasure keeps appearing after all the dangerous parts are over,” Oleus observed.

This encounter lasted roughly twice as long as our previous game and provided considerably more tension throughout. The Delvers accumulated a worrying number of wounds, and if it hadn't been for our house rule allowing heroes to spend actions attempting to heal, I suspect we might have lost one or two party members along the way.

The Knight, in particular, proved to be a memorable challenge, demanding a coordinated effort from the entire group to bring down. Combined with the steady stream of reinforcements and the persistent harassment from the enemy archer, the encounter kept the pressure on from start to finish.

Most importantly, though, everyone enjoyed the game. The Courtyard felt like a step up in difficulty from our first adventure and hinted at the tougher challenges still to come. With two successful expeditions behind them, Stonn, Jasgrad, Jander, and Oleus are already preparing for their next outing and we're looking forward to seeing what Encounter 3 has in store for them.