Embark with me once more as we go into the labyrinthine depths of the Four Against Darkness solo RPG; where each twist and turn unveils a new dreaded tale waiting to be told. In those dimly lit corridors, where shadows dance with secrets and echoes whisper of ancient mysteries, we tread cautiously, bracing for the unknown. Gone are the days of procedurally empty corridors; now, those barren corridors have an additional table to roll against – promising new features and places of interest.
No longer mere conduits between rooms, the corridors now contain large perilous chasms to cross, flooded expanses to swim through and mechanical traps that reset time and time again. Join me as we delve deeper, for in the darkness lie untold riches and adventure beyond measure
This blog post is number 2 in a mini-series on the Four Against Darkness solo RPG game, which I absolutely love. This series focuses on adding some more functionality and options to the game, which I reckon you’ll really enjoy. View the whole 4AD expansion series here.
We covered new customer 4AD treasures tables in our previous blog post.
Embark on your own dungeon exploration journey with Four Against Darkness. You can acquire the book for just £10 / $12 from Amazon, offering exceptional value for your investment.
The author is Andrea Sfiligoi (check out their Twitter profile) and published under the company Ganesha Games.
New Corridor Rules for Four Against Darkness
So the vanilla version of Four Against Darkness has you adding empty corridors when you roll a 4, 5, 8, 9 or 10 on the Room Contents table. That’s the table you roll upon once you’ve determined the size/shape and added it to your map.
That means using the default table, the odds of a corridor being empty is 19 in 36, or just over 50%.
My calculations: The maths may be wrong, but number of ways to roll (4, 5, 8, 9, or 10) = 3 (for 4) + 4 (for 5) + 5 (for 8) + 4 (for 9) + 3 (for 10) = 19.
Now I think corridors shouldn’t just be a thin avenue to fight in, and I gree most combat should occur in the rooms. However I’ve run quite a few games of 4AD now, and the relatively barren corridors needed an expansion (IMHO).
My Special Empty Corridors Expansion
I therefore decided to tweak the Room Contents table, so that a roll of 9 now reads:
[9] If corridor, roll on the Special Empty Corridors table. If room, empty.
What’s the special empty corridors table you say? Well its a little 4AD expansion table I’ve knocked up!
Before showing that, I just want to point out this changes the odds of a corridor being empty from 19/36 (53%) down to 15/36 (42%). A small but noticeable change, that you should experience roughly every game, without it being rammed down your throat.
Special Empty Corridors Table
| 1d6 | Special Empty Corridor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Flooded. After swimming through, roll 1d6. On a [1], roll on the Wandering Monsters table. |
| 2 | Chasm. Requires a rope to cross. If the corridor is revisited, roll 1d6, on a [1] a wandering monster has removed or cut the rope. |
| 3 | Locked Doors. Roll 1d6 per door in the corridor; [1-3] Level 3 Lock, [4] Level 4 Lock, [5] Level 5 Lock, [6] Level 6 Lock. |
| 4 | Mechanical Traps. Roll for a random trap. It becomes re-armed when you leave the corridor. |
| 5 | Shortcut. Randomise a connection to an existing corridor already discovered. Roll a d6 when it is first traversed. Unique |
| 6 | Staircase Down. A set of stairs behind a heavy locked door. Descends down to another dungeon level. Unique |
4AD Custom Corridor Rules
Lets breakdown those 6 special corridors should we, as none of them exist in the core vanilla game.
[1] Flooded Corridors
These corridors should be marked with wavey lines (e.g. ~) to denote the fact they are submerged. Maybe an overhead lake has slowly seeped through the dungeon walls and collected here. Maybe it’s a form of defense for the final boss.
Either way, a flooded corridor requires the party to secure their bags, stow their weapons and plunge head first underwater. Once they emerge on the other side, they must ready their equipment ASAP. For this reason, the party must roll 1d6 every time they cross a flooded corridor. A result of a 1 means that a wandering monster has come across the party while they spend extra time in this corridor.
Due to the water hazard, if you face a wandering monster in this corridor, you cannot flee from it.
[2] Chasm Severed Corridors
The corridor has been severed in two by a huge fissure, opening up a chasm beneath the floor.
Draw a large black tear through the corridor, expanding off into the walls. It should sever the entrance to the corridor you’ve just used, to at least one exit from the corridor, preferably more.
To cross the expanse and use one of the cut off paths, the party must string up a rope across the gap. (This rope is then fixed in place and cannot be removed later on by the party).
If the party later returns to the corridor, roll 1d6. On a [1], the rope has been discovered by someone, or something, and either removed or destroyed. The party must then use another rope or find an alternative path.
If the party needs to cross the chasm without a rope, for whatever reason, each character must roll 1d6. On a [1] the character disappears down into the void… never to be seen again. Elves and rogues get to add their level. Dwarves and Halflings suffer a -1 penalty. Anyone wearing heavy armour also suffers a -1 penalty. (heavy armour can be dropped but is then lost, as per the FAQ rules on page 70).
[3] Lock Doors down the Corridor
For whatever reason, the doors on this corridor seem to be locked. Any corridor exit that is not a door, becomes a locked door too. The exception to this is the entrance the party has just taken to enter the corridor.
Each lock has a level; roll 1d6 per door. On a result of [1-3], the lock is level 3. For [4-6], the lock is level 4, 5 or 6 respectively. You can attempt to bash down the door, pick the locks or use magic, as per the locked door rules on page 63.
[4] Mechanical Traps fill the Corridors
You step into this corridor and immediately hear the distinct sound of gears whirring, cogs turning, and ratchets … ratcheting(?).
This corridor is trapped, and you must roll up a trap as per the normal rules. In the centre of the room, protected by the trap, is 4d6 gold pieces inside an ornate chest.
The difference to the trap in this room is that the trap will reset automatically when you leave the corridor, ready to strike again if you ever re-enter it.
To disable it permanently, the disarm roll by the rogue must be a natural 6, or be 7+ with modifiers.
(If the trap allows a dodge/reflex style save, I.e. stone block, future visits to the corridor gives everyone a +1 bonus)
[5] Shortcut Discovered
An alert member of the party finds what appears to be a tight passageway behind a false wall, all the way back to a previous corridor you’ve discovered. No minions or even vermin seem to have found this passage.
You may pass through it without the possibility of wandering monsters or it being trapped.
Roll to randomly determine which previously entered corridor this current one connects to. Use an appropriate dice to select which corridor, i.e. if you’ve already visited 5 other corridors in this dungeon, roll 1d6 and re-roll any results of a [6].
When you first use the the passageway, roll on the following table.
| 1d6 | Passageway Rules |
|---|---|
| 1 | Collapses! Roll 1d4. The passageway collapses after that number of characters have moved through it (use the marching order). This may result in the party being split in two completely different parts of the dungeon. |
| 2 – 5 | One Way. A rotating panel limits the party movement. The party may only travel from the current corridor to the previously entered corridor, not the other way around. |
| 6 | Safe. An unguarded passageway that the party can use in either direction. |
Rolling a shortcut is a unique special corridor event, and therefore future rolls of a shortcut should be ignored and treated as empty.
[6] Staircase Discovered
The party have come across a large metal barred door in the wall (add an additional door in the wall of the corridor). This door leads to a staircase descending down into the darkness, however there is no chance it can be bashed or lockpicked.
The only way to open this door is to defeat the final boss. That monster will have a staircase key if they are defeated in battle.
This staircase essentially leads to an additional dungeon, that can be treated as completely seperate to the current one they’ve journeyed through. If the characters descends down the stairs, the next dungeon starts in the middle of a blank map, in a 3×3 room with 4 doors leading off in every direction.
Rolling a descending staircase is a unique special corridor event, and therefore future rolls of a staricase should be ignored and treated as empty.
Special Corridors Summary
Hopefully you’ve found this article fun and can’t wait to try out this little expansions to the corridor rules. Remember this is part of an ongoing mini-series into the Four Against Darkness house rules; featured in this ongoing 4AD expansion series.
The other articles are:
New treasure tables to add a little extra flair when finding gold, gemstones and jewelry in the darkness.
Add “Biomes & Themes,” a series of changes and custom rules to elevate role-playing scenarios as dungeons unfold procedurally.
Enjoy “More Rooms” for an expanded selection of dungeon rooms, bolstering that default fountain, cursed altar, and the weary wandering healer.
As for those hardened adventurers, seeking heightened challenges, “Dangerous Encounters” provides mechanisms to intensify combat as the party level.
Don’t forget, you can grab Four Against Darkness for just £10 / $12 from Amazon. Buy it now, you won’t be disappointed.