Zealous Zouaves

Mercenary Companies, Knight Orders, Traits and Troupe

Rules for Four Against Darkness

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Erick N. Bouchard
Andrea Sfiligoi
 Zealous Zouaves
Mercenary and knight orders, traits & troupe rules for Four Against Darkness

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Written by Erick N. Bouchard

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Cover and Four Against Darkness game by Andrea Sfiligoi

Contributions & playtest: Finnegan Brown (dragon knights, quality control), Daniel
Casquilho (four knight orders), Samuel Flores, Chris Huffman, Laval Martin,
Christopher Mortimer (mercs, slug knights), James Pepin, Salvatore Ventrone, Jay
Villanueva (knights), Jonathan Welburn, Kenneth W. Woodland II, Andrea Sfiligoi
Proofreading by Mark Perry, David Nieczyporowic and Sharon More.
Art by Chris Bate, Ulysse Bouchard, Danilo Sanino, Andrea Sfiligoi, Game-icons.net,
Pixabay, Vecteesy, 123RF.com, Dean Spencer, Xunantunich, Warpedgalerie
Requires only the Four Against Darkness book.

For more information about Norindaal, the official Four Against Darkness setting:
https://sites.google.com/site/norindaal/
 Contents
Introduction 1 Knightly Orders 33
Acronyms 1 Knights of Alliteration 34
New Rules 1 Knights of Mistrust 35
Faction Points 1 Knights of Kingliness 36
Level Zero 1 Knights of the Orb 37
Character Traits 3 Knights of the Order of Ataxia 38
Knights of Purity 39

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Troupe Play 17
Solidarity 17 Knights of the Purple Bolide 40
Custom Mercenary Companies 18 Knights of the Robin 42
Changing Companies 18 Knights of the Regal Flamingo 43

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Knights of the Rose Blossom 44
Famous Companies 18 Knights of Tezany 45
The Atlis Coast Guard 19 Knights of the Weeping Skull 46
The Cancelors 20 Knights of the Wolflord 47
Iron Thunderers 21 Servant Knights of the Portal 48
Bahadur’s Buccaneers 22 Sphilis School of Strumpetry 49
The Living Wall
Synnova’s Simian Separatives
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Supreme Knights of the Dragon 50
Tenacious Knights of the Slug 51
The Thralls of the Blade Sultan 25 Other Knightly Orders 52
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The Two Moons 26
The Death Dealers 27 Major Knightly Orders 53
The White Eagles 28 Major Mercenary Companies 54
Zealots of the Greenfoot 29
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Pixies (New Class) 30

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Introduction
Zealous Zouaves (ZZ) was designed to
provide you with “troupe play” rules for
Four Against Darkness, in which all your
heroes share a common “guild” like a
mercenary company or a knight order.
You get 9 mercenary companies, 17
knight orders and simple rules to
invent your own.
This book also offers new character traits
of a more psychological nature. You can
mix these new traits along with those
found in Wayfarers and Adventurers,
Greedy Gifts of the Guildmasters or Kingly
Knights & Knifing Knaves at your discretion.
you may even get to handpick these
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Using the rules for level 0 characters,
Traits.
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You also get a new class, the pixie.
Acronyms
Some options herein refer to other
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books. These are not mandatory to
play. They are intended to give
additional options to players who enjoy
more choices and interconnectedness.
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Four Against the Abyss (4AA), Four
Against the Netherworld (4ATN), Greedy
Gifts of the Guildmasters (GGG),
Treacheries of the Troublesome Towns
(TTT), Wayfarers & Adventurers (W&A),
Ways of Wiles & Wits (WWW).
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New Rules
Some of the rules below appear in
previous books. They are reprinted for
your convenience.
Faction Points
Some books will give you faction
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points, a score that will carry over to
your mercenary company or knightly
order.
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You can have up to 5, and down to -5,
faction points with a given faction.
Faction points start at zero. Completing
a quest for a faction-aligned NPC gives
you 1 faction point. Killing a Final Boss
from a faction lowers your score by 1
with that faction.
Faction points are subtracted from
reactions with non-player characters
(NPCs) allied to that faction, making
non-violent reactions more likely. You
start with 1 faction point with your
faction’s allies and -1 point with your
faction’s enemies.
Option: GGG offers more uses for
faction points.
Level Zero
(Optional Rules)
The Character Traits in this book and
those featured in other books (W&A,
GGG) allow to roll a random, unique
personality trait with each character.
Optionally, you can choose a Trait for
one or more heroes instead of rolling,
but that hero must start as an
apprentice, at level 0, instead of L1.
This does not include the Rare Traits in
W&A, or Traits that would give you the
option to roll for two Traits.
Level 0 characters are similar to their
level 1 kin except that all their class-
based abilities count as zero: a L0
warrior, elf or dwarf thus has +0 to
Attack rolls. A L0 wizard has only 2
spells while an elf has none. The same
goes for other classes.
L0 heroes have the barest minimum
life (e.g. a wizard has 2, a warrior 6).
They start with only with clothes, a light
weapon and 1 gp. Nothing more.
Wizards also have a spellbook.
When gaining XP, L0 characters must
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roll 2+ on a d6 to become L1. Increase
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their life by 1, and give them any class
Trait appropriate to their new level, but
don’t give them equipment.
Characters who are forced down to L0
because of a level drain ability, such as
a wraith’s or a vampire’s, do not
become apprentices. They simply die.
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Madness
Certain events might cause your
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character to gain Madness points.
Should the number of Madness points
be higher than the character’s L, the
character falls into insanity and is
forever lost. Madness and its cures are
fully described in Four Against the Abyss.

Character Traits
(Optional Rules)
Character traits are optional benefits
specific to a given character that may
be rolled before his first game, or for
existing characters who do not have
one already. Most are a mix of good
and bad. Most are psychological. At
your discretion, for each character, you
may choose to roll either on the
expanded table below, the original
table in Wayfarers & Adventurers or
those in other books. Re-roll traits that
don’t make sense for your class.
See Level Zero to pick instead of rolling.
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Alternative traits are suggested if you
roll a Trait relating to Madness and you
don’t have Four Against the Abyss.
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Only one party member at a time
may have a character trait marked
with a box on the Expanded
Character Traits table. Tick that
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box. If another rolls the same,
replace that trait by a roll of d3+66
on that same table (this is why the
results on the table go beyond 66).
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Expanded Character Traits
table (d66)
11) Achilles' Heel
Your mother, a sorceress, bathed
you in the oily quagmires of the
Netherworld as you were but a
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baby, a pupae, clay or whatever
infantile form your species takes.
You cannot lose life points anymore,
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nor can you be petrified, but if you
ever roll a 1 for Defense against a
Boss or a Weird Monster, your
character must save vs. L3 death or
die immediately as the foe struck
your weak point.
Resurrection is possible but will
cause the loss of this trait.
12) Anarchist
The character is a violent anarchist,
reacting with uncontrollable anger
against authority. Whenever the
character fails a puzzle, will,
mesmerizing or bullying save, the
character must fight to the death
against any foe present.
13) Anxious
Ignore this trait and roll d3+66
instead if you don’t have 4AA.
Stress and paranoia drive the
character to excessive caution. Add
the character's Madness to all
Defense rolls. Subtract the
character's Madness from all Attack
and spellcasting rolls. This trait is
incompatible with Boisterous: re-roll an amazon's animal companion,
it should circumstances require you and a paladin's magical steed.
to have both traits.
15) Beacon of Hope*
14) Beast Bane Ignore this trait and roll d3+66 instead if
Ignore this trait and roll d3+66 instead you don’t have 4AA or if your character is
if your character class involves a beast a demon or necromancer.
companion (e.g., beastmaster,

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Others look up to you as a light in
paladin, druid). the darkness of despair. Whenever
The character's smell or attitude another party member with more

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terrifies animals. Monsters which Madness than you gains 1 Madness
also exist in the real world (such as point, you gain the Madness point
rats), and which may be “giant” or instead of them. However, you
“mutant” (e.g. mutant rats), have -1 ignore the 1st Madness point gained
morale in the character's presence. in every adventure.
The character saves at +1 against
them. The party cannot have pets,
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steeds or animalistic characters (e.g. Ignore this trait and roll d3+66 instead if
fiendingos, magical animals), for
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you don’t have 4AA.
they will run amok at the first
occasion. This includes a druid's or
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Insanity and stress drive the
character to the brink of frothing
fury. Add the character's Madness
to all the hero’s Attack rolls.
Subtract the hero's Madness from
all his/her Defense rolls.
This is incompatible with Anxious.
Re-roll it if circumstances require
least 1 encounter (10 minutes)
examining these details with
lugubrious obsession (roll for
wandering monsters during this).
23) Cassandra’s Curse �
Your character foresees the near
future, but is cursed to never be

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you to have both traits. believed. When this character is with
your party and another character
21) Betrayer �

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rolls a 1 during combat (for Attack,
Defense or spellcasting), that same
Blasphemous pacts were made in
character will also roll a 1 on that
the darkness, with a blood price to
character’s next combat roll.
be paid when the stars are right.
However, the character with
The character starts with the "Deal
Cassandra’s Curse will automatically
with a monster" secret (4AD) and
can use it once per adventure.
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on d8) on his or her next action right
However, each time a new
after the other character applies the
adventure begins, roll a d6: on a 1,
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effect of that second “1”.
a fiend calls the pact due. Either the
character must sacrifice another
character to the fiend — the 24) Claustrophobic
sacrifice's level must be 1 lower than Re-roll for dwarves.
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the betrayer’s or higher — or the

The character Attacks at -1 in
fiend will consume the betrayer's
corridors due to stress. The
soul when the adventure ends. In
character’s stressful vigilance
both cases, the sacrificed one's soul
reduces by 1 in 6 the party’s odds of
is consumed by the fiend, making
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being surprised by monsters in

resurrection impossible.
22) Blood Crave
Re-roll for conservationists.
Torture instruments and gory
scenery hold a deep fascination for
the character. S/he is immune to the
deleterious effects of Madness or
fear resulting from rooms featuring
such scenery, but always spends at
corridors. Wandering Monsters, that
normally always surprise the party
in corridors, have a 5 in 6 chance of
surprising the party.
25) Clockwork Prosthesis
Re-roll for golems.
Your character was amputated. Roll
a d6 to see what limb is missing: 1-2
hand, 3-4 foot, 5 arm, 6 leg.

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Fortunately, a mechanically inclined
friend — a gnome, a wizard, an
artificer or a talented smith — built
a prosthesis that works just as well
as the original.
An amputated limb can't be
amputated anymore, so rolls of
amputations for that limb are
ignored – the character can just put
the prosthesis back in place by
forfeiting 1 Attack action. A hand
prosthesis can also count as a light
slashing weapon if you wish (e.g. a
hook).
Your prosthetic limb can be stolen
(e.g. by invisible gremlins) or broken
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(by attacks that target equipment),
or destroyed by iron eaters, as it’s
considered a piece of metallic
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equipment.
One-handed and one-armed
characters cannot use two-
handed weapons or carry heavy
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items. One-footed and one-
legged characters cannot run
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and must use a hand to use a
crutch or lurch alongside a
dungeon wall.
26) Cold-Hearted Snake
Re-roll for reptilians.
The character is totally lacking in
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empathy and humaneness, but is
not necessarily cruel. Rolls for social
saves (persuasion, seduction,
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wooing, breeding, etc.) never
explode as long as this character is
with the party as their presence
freaks people out.
The character can’t find True Love
nor ever Befriend NPCs.
31) Compulsive Gambler
Obsessed with games of chance, the
character gets a +1 bonus to
gambling saves, but cannot refuse
an opportunity to gamble.
Reduce your starting gp by 2d6.
Always roll for reactions when a
monster's reaction table has an
option for gambling.
32) d’Erlette Lineage
Re-roll for non-humans.
Your hero descends from a famous
lineage of noble-born vampire and
ghoul hunters, the d’Erlette, and are
immune to these monsters’ powers.
However, having run afoul of the
Inquisition by denouncing their
vices, you start with 1 MURDERER
tick which cannot be removed.