Release 1

Ruin of Darkfir Castle Copyright © 2008 Onno Tasler

All Rights Reserved
by Onno Tasler Distributed under the terms of the
Open Game License version 1.0a
A Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Adventure
Introduction
This adventure module, part of the Adventure Anthologies series, is for use with the Basic Fantasy
Role-Playing Game rules, and is intended for X player characters. If you don't have the Basic Fantasy
RPG core rules, please visit www.basicfantasy.org and download a free copy.

Prelude and dirt, which has partly been conquered by

ferns and bushes. Almost in the middle of the
Set amidst a deep fir wood (hence its name), former keep is a spot bare of life.
Darkfir castle was home to the Sires of Darkfir. The
last member of this family, Sir Reginald of Darkfir,
did not adhere to the knightly virtues his The Tower
forefathers honed, but fell to vice, greed being
the strongest of them. He turned to robbery and Outside the Tower
became the bane of the whole duchy. For a
long time, the Duke was occupied by demi- The tower—or what remains of it—stands three
human raiders, but finally he called his vassals levels tall and is overgrown by ivy beneath which
and laid siege to Darkfir Castle, storming it and you can hardly spot the original stonework. Only
burning it to the ground. Yet, no trace was found the lower both levels are still complete; the west
of either Sir Reginald or his treasures. Soon after wall of the third level is missing. Occasionally, the
the siege, locals tried to take stones for their wind carries a sharp stench from the tower; the
homes, but fled in panic as they saw a ghost closer you walk, the stronger this scent becomes.
haunting the castle, which quickly fell to ruin. Up The ground around the tower is littered by debris,
to now, treasure and knight remain lost—but which probably fell down when the upper levels
rumors about both hidden in the haunted castle collapsed, and forces you to watch your step,
are still far spread. lest you break your ankle in one of the many
holes. There is one gap in the tower’s wall, which
allows an average human to squeeze himself
Approaching the Ruin inside.
Finally, after several hours of marching through a
This was once the castle’s tower and last line of
dark forest full of gnarled trees, stumbling over
defense. The upper levels collapsed under the
treacherous roots and passing through thorny
intense heat when the castle was burned, but
bushes, hearing nothing but your curses and the
the lower levels somehow survived. Today, the
wind in the leafs, you come to a clearing around
second level is inhabited by a Darkling and his
a hill. Up the hill, you can see a tower, crumbled
giant bat companions, their guano causes the
from time, black from smoke and green from ivy.
stench and they are also responsible for driving
It is clearly abandoned, as the topmost level is
off all other birds.
shattered and open to the elements. Strangely,
no bird seem to have build his loft atop the tower
and thus it remains barren and deserted.

As you draw closer to the tower, you see the

remains of what most likely was once Darkfir
Castle: crumbled walls, overgrown by mosses
and lichens. On the other side of the wall,
opposite to the tower, is a big pile of garbage

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Ruin of Darkfir Castle AA1.5

Inside the Tower Neither the darkling nor the giant bats carry any
treasure, but a well preserved darkling trophy is
worth 15 silver pieces to some collectors and
First Level scholars. There is also a small interest in living
darklings for research or as part of a zoo, those
Except for the western side, where you entered
interested pay up to 30 silver pieces, depending
the tower, the floor is free of debris but the
on the darkling’s status.
omnipresent dust makes you sneeze. The stench
became even stronger. The little light falling
through the entrance illuminates the inside Third Level
poorly but allows a cursory search. You can see
a still usable spiral staircase next to the broken When approaching the third level, a gust of wind
wall, a rotten table and some heaps of howls through a jagged hole in the wall. The ivy
garment. covering the tower is partly sucked inside and
falls back once the squall subsides. The west wall
This room has been carefully plundered over the has nearly completely collapsed and took the
years and there is nothing of interest to be found ceiling down, too. You can see far westwards,
inside, but the room can be defended quite well but except for woods and hills, nothing particular
and its interior is not spotted easily from the catches your eye.
outside and thus would probably make a safe
resting place—due to the overwhelming stench,
Cursed Chapel
not a very comfortable one, though. Also, any
watch would be endangered of seeing the Forming almost a perfect octagon, a spot in the
ghost. castle’s centre is devoid of life, not even the
slightest plant grows there and no no animal’s
If the heroes examine the floor, they can find a
burrow can be seen. Exactly in its centre lies a
lose stone a bit north of the room’s centre. If
large stone, which once probably was formed
removed, an iron grip can be seen. This grip is
by a craftsmen but meanwhile suffered from
part of a concealed trap door which shuts off a
wind and weather and is mostly covered by
secret passage into the wine cellar. It has not
mosses and lichens. Within all this green, a dark
been used for a long time (and never been
stain, curiously as devoid of life as everything
found by the dukes troops), therefore it is stuck
directly around the stone, draws your attention.
and needs to be forced open.
This is the former chapel of Darkfir Castle.
Second Level Reginald was not nearly as pious as his
forefathers and thus, when a priest came to stop
The higher you get, the stronger the stench the robber baron, he only laughed at him. But as
becomes. As you finally enter the second level of he was afraid the priest might be a spy, he
the tower it becomes nauseating. The room is allowed him to pray inside the old chapel, but
pitch-dark, but you hear a very faint sound, as if slew him during his prayer. Since, the chapel is
tiny feet were walking in the distance. cursed and the murdered priest’s ghost roams it
(Adventurers with infravision can see a warm at night and will attack anybody it meets inside.
spot in the left corner)
If killed in combat, he will simply reform the
This is the darkling’s lair, where he sleeps during following night. To release his spirit, a human (or
daytime and where he starts and ends his hunt other sentinent mortal being) has to pray a
each night. He is always accompanied by a whole day and a whole night for the ghosts
group of (2d6) giant bats and sleeps behind eternal soul at the desecrated altar in the middle
them. Should someone or something disturb their of the spot. During daytimes, this includes only
sleep, he will use his stunning scream as first danger from beings with evil intentions coming
action. If the enemy seems to strong, he will flee along, but during night, he has to remain there
and plot some ambush later. despite the ghost. Luckily, the ghost won’t attack
anybody praying at the altar, but its mere

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AA1.5 Ruin of Darkfir Castle

presence is sufficient to harm the praying wounded and have no interest to fight, therefore
adventurer as strongly as three successful attacks they will try to hide if the characters approach
would. Should the character survive, the ghost and flee as soon as possible. Should the
will try to magic jar him at dawn, should this adventurer somehow promise an easy target (for
succeed, the character will not only example because they rest or when sorely
battered) the highwaymen will try to ambush
be completely healed from all damaged them, but will flee quickly if the fight turns against
suffered while praying, but also gain one them. They will also flee if the adventurer attack
additional attribute point (roll 1d6: 1 STR, 2 DEX, 3 them.
CON, 4 INT, 5 WIS, 6 CHA).
They will surrender if the character offers them
the chance, as they have no interest in being
Pile of Garbage slaughtered by well armed adversaries. If offered
On the other side of the wall, opposite to the food and shelter, they will ally themselves with
tower, is a big pile of garbage and dirt, which the adventurers but it will take some time before
has partly been conquered by farns and bushes. they become fully trustworthy.
There grows a big bush at the corner of the dirt,
The highwaymen have few possessions: a light
adjacant to the stump of the former wall. You
weapon, few coins and ragged armour. They
hear the twittering of a small bird from
are looked for by the authorities and know it,
somewhere within the green leafs. This beauty
each of their heads is worth 1 silver piece when
seems somehow out of place in this otherwise
caught alive and brought to justice. If killed, they
rather barren ruin.
are simply dead and earn no bounty.
Hidden behind the tree lies to entrance to the
former residential building, which somehow got Underground
over the fire and the wall collapsing onto it. If the
adventurers search under the tree, they will see a
the lower end of an almost rotten door, including Larder Cellar
a way leading into the pile of garbage. If they
The steps have been cut out of the bedrock, air
succeed a listen check, they will hear some
and walls feel chill and moist and you notice the
movement inside (the bandits make when
typical smell of underground storage rooms.
hiding).
Inside, you find trash and junk, the remains of
shelves and rotten food. There is a small passage
Former Residential Building which is closed by a rusted door.

It is dark inside, the tree keeping out the little light This is the castle’s former storage room, but what
the door might allow to pass. The air is stale, food wasn’t plundered has become rotten
hardly any wind enters this place and you smell meanwhile. There is nothing of interest to be
mould and dust. The floor seems quite clean, found in this room. The rusted door can be
only seldom your foot hits stones or garbage. opened by force only and leads to the wine
cellar.
When searching carefully, the adventurers will
find a trap door leading down into the larder
cellar and a lot of junk. A small band of bandits Wine Cellar
hides at the western wall behind and under
This cellar was plundered as well as the larder
some rubble.
cellar, only the rotten and broken remains of
wine casks remind you of what this cellar’s use
Highwaymen was. Otherwise, it is similar to the larder cellar.

A small group of (2d4) highwaymen took refuge

here after their gang was defeated by the local
militia. They are few survivors, hungry, tired, and

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Treasure Treasury
Somehow, a small cask of wine get over till today As you enter a small, natural cavern you feel as if
and still remains hidden under a pile of garbage you could smell the rough stones themselves.
in the north-eastern corner. This is excellent wine You feel a slight current passing by your ears
and worth (2d6×10) gold pieces. when you step through the door, but lose this
feeling once you are inside. The ground is rough
and has not everywhere the same height.
Secret Door
While the ground is uneven, there are no truly
The third wine cask when counted from north has
dangerous parts, unless one stumbles into the
a doublewalled end, between both walls is
breakthrough on the left. The room is quite
enough space for a grown-up human. The rear
empty, but just so that the enormous chest in its
wall can be swung outside, it then opens into a
middle can be seen that more clearly.
secret passage.

Treasure Chest
Secret Passage
This chest is only secured with a simple lock and
The passage is roughly cut from stone, the air
can be opened by force, too. It is truly filled with
even worse then it had been in the cellar. Still,
coins—copper coins. 4,320 of them, to be exact.
you can breath even though it feels
uncomfortable. Within the passage, you hear It seems something or somebody else plundered
nothing except your own feet on the ground the treasury already, this simply cannot be all of
and there is no wind but your own breath. the fabled robber baron’s riches! Someone
searching for trails will find some grooves leading
This passage connects the wine cellar and the
towards the breakthrough, as if something heavy
first level of the tower.
has been drawn this way. Behind the
breakthrough, a shaft descends into the
Trap depth. . .

A trap on the stairs up to the tower should

prevent would-be-assassins from entering this The Ending
way. When stepping on the second step from
The adventurers can return to town any time,
the bottom, the trap shoots a bolt from under the
getting the XP for what they accomplished so
eighth step, doing the same damage as a heavy
far. If they found the chest, they have to find a
crossbow bolt. There is just one bolt left. (When
way to carry it—the coins alone weigh 432
the characters take a close look at the stairs, it
pounds and they also need to carry whatever
will be obvious that the trapped step is much less
container they store them in. The bandits might
worn out than the others)
find this chest an alluring target and set an
ambush, but otherwise the march should not be
Secret Door to dangerous (after all, the town is not that far
away). If the GM wants to roll for random
About one third the way from the tower to the encounters, the table for “Inhabited Territories”
cellar, a brass badge, covered by verdigris, can should be used.
be found on the right side. If cleared, one can
read the following inscription: “Only those with a
sparkling personality will find the treasure.” If one Adversaries
somehow creates a spark on the badge, a
secret door opens and grants access to the Darkling
treasury.
The darkling is a giant bat which somehow was
influenced by foul sorcery.

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AA1.5 Ruin of Darkfir Castle

Armor Class: 6 Stunning Scream: this scream is just beneath

men’s frequency and causes the victim to be
Hit Dice: 2 stunned for 1d4+1 rounds, unless a saving throw
succeeds, in which case the time is reduced to 1
No. of Attacks: 1 bite or 1 scream
round.
Damage 1d4 + 1 HP per round blood drain /
Stunning Highwaymen
Movement: 10’ / Fly 60’ These bandits are Normal Men without any
special attributes or abilities.
No. Appearing: 1 + 2d6 giant bats
Possessions: one light weapon, either a hand axe
Save As: Thief 2
(35 %), a club (40 %) or a spear (25 %). Ragged
Morale: 6 armor, granting AC 9 (60 %), otherwise their
armor does not protect them at all, 1d8 copper
Treasure Type: None coins

XP: 100
Ghost
This is a ghost of a human priest who was slain
while praying for the safety of Sir Reginald’s soul.

Possessions: none

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Ruin of Darkfir Castle AA1.5

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