[KQ] Pest control - part 1

Sir Reginald had been missed at the Midsummer banquet at the King's high court. In fact, his fellow knights realised, no-one had seen him since they had all ridden home after the Christmas court. Concerned that something amiss might have befallen Reginald, Sir CJ and Sir EM decide to investigate, riding to his small but strong castle which they both knew so well from years of friendship. The entrance was barred and no-one answered their call, neither Reginald nor his servants - something was definitely wrong! The two knights pretended to ride away in case anyone or anything was watching, carefully made their way to the postern gate, drew their swords and prepared to adventure on behalf of their friend...

It had been a while since we'd played Knights' Quest, mostly because I was being a slowcoach implementing the tweaks from the feedback I received during the playtest earlier this year, but the end of the holidays seemed the ideal time to draw swords and roll dice!

Partly because I decided the two knights would know the castle already, and partly because I'm still revelling in having space to lay out games at leisure, I set out the storage rooms in advance with the ever-excellent Inked Adventures dungeon tiles.

Polydice and impromptu character sheets at the ready!

I also put on this incidental music to set the tone as well as making a particular effort to actively Minstrel the game - they know the rules well enough now that increasing the descriptive aspect of the tunnels, foes, doors etc. doesn't distract them from what they can and can't do. Why not listen along as you read?

As they made their way into the castle, the postern gate slammed shut behind them, great echoes reverberating down the corridor - they wouldn't be able to proceed discretely now! Sure enough, they barely take a dozen more steps before they are ambushed by a trio of goblins with bows.

No problems; snicker-snack, their vorpal blades removed the heads of those vermin with almost contemptuous ease! Sadly for the dynamic duo, the gobbos weren't the only uninvited guests who had heard the slamming door, and this lot were a bit bigger...

Yeah, that's two goblins, an orc, and a troll. Bad times.

The orc proved a vicious opponent, repeatedly besting Sir CJ and wounding him badly in the long slugging match they seemed unable to resolve...

Sir EM had considerably better luck against the troll, bringing down the great monster and suffering barely a scratch in the process, before the two knights quickly dealt with the goblins (who turned out to be terrible shots). Breathing heavily, the heroes bandaged their wounds, adjusted their harness, and prepared to continue. Where was Sir Reginald? How had these creatures taken over his stronghold?

"Which way now?"

Tune in next week, Quest fans, for the next thrilling instalment,
Rab