D&D Follows T&T?

I have been reading some of the reports on D&D 5th edition (or Next?) posted by Scott Malthouse at The Trollish Delver. I honestly don't care all that much about the development of this new edition. It's not that I don't like D&D; the Moldvay Basic set was my introduction to role playing games and I still play PbP games using OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord. I just never thought any rule changes were necessary, even 2nd edition AD&D, but especially not complete overhauls (3, 3.5, 4).

What I did find interesting, however, was this statement:

Iconic monsters will remain threats at higher levels
This is something that has always bugged me about the game and it looks like it's finally being rectified. Iconic D&D monsters like goblins and orcs will be just as capable of challenging a party at 1st level as they will be at 8th level. Monte Cook said: "I think it offers a better play experience that the orc/ogre can remain in the campaign, and people can know how the monster would work from a previous experience, but they remain a challenge for longer." Instead of having a level 1, level 5, and level 8 orc, there will just be the quintessential 'orc' creature that easily scales.

I find the statement interesting because Ken St. Andre got this right in 1975 with Tunnels and Trolls 1st edition. With each monster assigned a Monster Rating (MR) by the Game Master and not a book, a goblin, orc, or even a jellyfish can be as weak or strong as you want to make it; there are no set standards that says a goblin has to be a weak opponent. In fact, no two goblins in that war party coming over the hill need to be the same. You can even tweak their MRs to reflect differences in weapons or armor. What is best is that it is simple and can be done on the spur of the moment.

Even better, your weak little monsters never really become insignificant in the T&T combat system. You may decide that all goblins have a MR of 10 giving them a measly 2D6+5 in combat. But what if you throw 20 or 30 of the little buggers at your overconfident friends? "They're only goblins," they'd sneer. But those dice and adds add up fast (40D6+100 for a company of 20 MR10 goblins) allowing those goblins to pack quite punch (up to 340 punches in fact); and if you are using spite damage? Ouch. That's 40 chances to roll a 6 on a six-sided die. Each 6 means one point of damage to those high and mighty PCs; no excuses, no way out. You're wearing enchanted plate armor and a shield made from a dragon scale? Too bad. This is quite different from the D&D mechanics where I have played high level characters that have cut through hordes of the rank and file with no risk of injury. The T&T system allows large numbers of small opponents to quickly overwhelm a few powerful ones. Hell, it happened to Conan countless times, why not your 6th level warrior?

Goblin MR 10
Charge! Wait, there are how many?

Goblin MR 40
Proceed with caution.

(Illustrations by Robert Hermminger, used with permission.)

The Dungeon of the Rat: GM Adventure from Lone Delver Games

I have just released a new version of the GM adventure The Dungeon of the Rat along with the town of Millet's Crossing in cooperation with the author, Mike Hill (aka Hogscape), through my Lone Delver Games storefront at RPGnow. This is a fantastic starting adventure for low level characters. All proceeds earned from the sale of this book will be donated to the JeffWerx Transplant fund, which will go toward kidney transplants for Jeff Freels (aka Grumlahk) and his wife Raquel.

You can currently get a pdf copy from RPGnow, but hard copies will be available from Lulu next week.

Here are the details:

The village of Millet's Crossing is a small and unassuming place. There is little of interest to the wandering sword-for-hire except for a nice inn and a general store. But the Troll's Trove provides a welcome bit of rest and relaxation to your band of road-weary adventurers. Just as soon as you have settled in, however, your host offers you a rather odd business proposition. It seems that the Troll's Trove has rats in it's cellar and these rats are stealing things all over town. What is really odd is that they are leaving behind small jade rat statues. A nice reward awaits those that can clear out the infestation and put a stop to the thefts. It appears to be a simple task, but one must be careful; even rats have gods.

This book contains details for the village of Millet's Crossing and the Dungeon of the Rat which lies right beneath the calm, rural community. The Dungeon of the Rat is suited for a party of four to six first-level characters. A mix of character types is recommended including at least one wizard and one rogue.

The Dungeon of the Rat is designed for use with the Tunnels and Trolls™ game system. You will need a copy of the T&T™ rules to play this game.

Special Note: All proceeds earned from the sale of The Dungeon of the Rat will be donated to the Jeff and Raquel Freels Transplant Fund. Jeff is a great friend and contributor to the Tunnels and Trolls™ community. Both he and his wife are in need of kidney transplants.

TrollsZine! Returns

This is a quick note to let everyone know that I have taken on the editorship of the TrollsZine!, the Tunnels and Trolls (TM) fan-supported magazine that came to life in 2010 thanks to the dedicated and talented members of the Trollbridge. TrollsZine! started out strong in 2010 with three excellent issues under the direction of Dan Prentice and Kevin Bracey. After completing these three issues, Dan and Kevin needed to step away due to other commitments (you know, life). The massive nature of this undertaking and the fact that it is provided free of charge resulted in a year-long hiatus. That hiatus is now over, however, and TrollsZine! #4 will be released in early February once I complete some additional editorial work. If you have not obtained your free copies TrollsZine's 1-3, just head over to the Flying Buffalo RPGNow storefront. Be sure to watch The Lone Delver, Trollbridge, and Trollhalla for news on the release of TrollsZine! #4. Once this is done, my current plan is to release at least two more issues in 2012 depending on submissions and (of course) my schedule.

January's Lone Delver

I have not posted a new Lone Delver image since June. That poor guy's been trapped in the pit for a while. I wonder if he's alright (pokes him with a stick). Hmmm. Probably not. Oh well, here's his replacement.


The Lone Delver for this month is by Paul Jacqays and appeared in the classic Flying Buffalo solo Blue Frog Tavern written by James Wilson. This illustration shows one of the major challenges faced by a lone delver; there is no one to watch your back. I also like the way the illustration shows the poor illumination provided by a single torch. There is a lot of darkness surrounding her and even the illuminated area is filled with shadows. Of course, that's not going to be much of a problem for very long.

Wizards and Weapons: Two More Thoughts

I had a couple more thoughts on the flexibility of the "2 dice limit" on weapons that wizards have in T&T.

First, there are certainly more weapons in the world than those listed in the 5th and 7th edition rulebooks. A game master or even a player could find other historical weapons and give them T&T attributes. There are many examples of this posted by other players on the Trollbridge and published by Flying Buffalo within the pages of Sorcerer's Apprentice, various solo adventures, and GM adventures. What is great about this for the topic of wizard's weapons is that if the new weapons only have 2 dice, then a wizard could use them regardless of the type of weapon. So, there is always the potential for more weapons in the wizards arsenal.

Second, there is the possibility of crafting "special" weapons for wizards that they may not otherwise be able to use. Weapons can be enchanted to have special abilities, would it not be possible to have an enchanted broadsword that only gets 2 dice? "A 2 dice broadsword," you ask, "what use is that?" Remember that the restriction only applied to dice and not to weapon adds. That enchanted broadsword might therefore have 15 adds. So now you have a wizard wielding a broadsword that gets 2D+15. Not too bad.

Ok, on to new topics.

A Wizards Arsenal

A comment by Soren on my last post has led me to put together a list of weapons that can be used by wizards in T&T. I never thought I'd get so much out of the wizard character type and combat, but I am enjoying the discussion.

I mentioned the flexibility of the T&T character types in my last post. One of my examples was the ability of wizards to use an array of weapons types including swords, axes, and bows. Wizards are limited to weapon with only 2 dice, but this is a very flexible restriction when compared to one that states "wizards may only use daggers." Why? Because there are a number of different types of weapons that wizards may use even with this limit. Also, as I've stated before, this does not limit the number of adds the weapon has.

So, here is the arsenal of wizards in 7th and 5th editions:

7.x edition T&T

Daggers
All 19 (range from 1D+2 to 2D+5)

Swords
Manople (2D+2)
Foil (2D+1)

Bows & Ranged Weapons
Very light bow (2D)
Fish bow (2D)
Boomerang (2D)
Chakram (2D)
Sling (2D)
Spiked throwing stick (2)
War bola (2D)
Blow pipe (0+1) (poison delivery system)

Hafted Weapons
Hatchet (2D+3)
Baton (2D)
Piton hammer (1D)
Prybar (2D)
Truncheon (2D)

Spears
Assegai (2D+3)
Javelin (2D)
Stabguard (2D+2)

Unusual Weapons
Ankus (2D+1)
Bagh nakh (1D each) (tiger claws)
Blackjack (1+3)
Brass knuckles (2D)
Caltrops, large (2D)
Caltrops, small (1D)
Gaff (2D)
Garotte (1D+3)
Hand spikes (2D+3)
Lasso (1D+2)
Quarterstaff (2D)
Razor-rope (2D+2)
Throwing star (1D+3)

So that is 50 weapons among 6 different types defined by the rules. Not bad. The maximum damage potential is 2D+5 and there are a number of ranged weapons with a maximum listed range of 60 yards (very light bow).

5th Edition T&T

Daggers
All 14 (range from 2D-2 to 2D+5)

Swords
Manople (2D+2)
Foil (2D+1)

Bows & Ranged Weapons
Very light bow (2D)
Chakram (2D)
Shurikin (1D)
Sling (2D)
War bola (2D)
Blow pipe (0+1) (poison delivery system)

Hafted Weapons
Baton (2D)
Crowbar (2D)
Piton hammer (1D)

Spears
Assegai (2D+3)
Javelin (2D)

Unusual Weapons
Ankus (2D+1)
Bagh nakh (1D each) (tiger claws)
Caltrops, large (2D)
Caltrops, small (1D)
Quarterstaff (2D)

That is 32 weapons across 6 weapon types. Obviously the weapons charts were lengthened in the 7th edition rules. The maximum damage potential is still 2D+5 and there are still a number of ranged weapons with a maximum listed range of 60 yards (very light bow). The wizard did lose his hatchet in 5th edition, so he cannot wield an axe.

Yes, wizards are limited to weapons that have 2 dice; but this limit still allows a great deal of flexibility and a number of options for arming your wizard.

Reasons I Love Tunnels and Trolls

Ok, so there are a lot of reasons; enough to make this a regular series. But one of the reasons I love T&T is that the character pictured to the left could be a wizard. What do I mean by this? Flexibility of character types. I know the first thought you may have when you look at that picture is likely 'ranger' or 'thief.' but in T&T you have to be careful. The roles of the three basic character types (warrior, wizard, rogue) in T&T are not narrowly defined in the rules, meaning that players and referees are not constrained by excessively strict rules saying what every type of character can and cannot do. Wizards, for example, do not need to be feeble weaklings in robes and pointy hats that die as soon as something nasty so much as breathes on them. Wizards can carry a number of different weapons including very light bows and can wear any armor they can afford and have the strength to walk around in. Your wizard does not even need to be weak and easily killed. If you want a wizard with an 18 Constitution, you can have it. You want him to be armed with a foil and a main gauche; go for it. Couple that with a nice suit of armor and your wizard might be harder to kill than some warriors. A T&T wizard need not be a stranger to combat and certainly does not need to cower in the rear with the gear. But maybe you want a wizard that avoid combat and devotes all of his time to learning the arcane and honing his spellcraft. Guess what. You can have that too.

Of course this concept of flexible character types does not only apply to wizards, although it is the most extreme example of being able to break preconceived notions of character types in my opinion. Warriors are also very flexible and you can make whatever you want of them. No need for scores of warrior subtypes. Simply come up with a background of your own. May your warrior was raised in the woods, is very dextrous, and skilled with a bow. You can use that background to make a 'ranger' type without needing extra rules. If your party happens to run out of supplies in the middle of the woods, your warrior's background should allow for a Saving Roll to forage for edible plants and hunt animals more effectively than a city bred warrior.

Rogues are a whole other matter. Rogues are an open book. You can come up with whatever character concept that you like. Yes, I've previously stated that I never thought much of 5th edition rogues as defined in the rulebook, but that does not mean that they cannot be fun characters to play; especially once they get some experience under their belt and some spells. It's just my opinion. The rogue type gives you many options, that is the appeal to this type that I see. Until you play 7th edition, that is, get the Roguery talent and start kicking everyone's butt. At that point, casting spells may seem like an afterthought.

So, to recap: Tunnels and Trolls does not tell me that my wizard cannot wear a suit of mail and wield a sword or an axe.

Itash the Grim: Second Level Wizard

In his three delves into Buffalo Castle, Itash managed to earn enough Adventure Points to rise to the second level. Not bad for a lone wizard. Itash was lucky enough to have his Constitution and Luck increased while adventuring inside Buffalo Castle giving him a nice boost for combat. As is my custom, I used the attribute boost for gaining the second level to increase Itash's Luck by 4 (I should note that I am playing using the 5th edition rules). Why Luck? That's four more personal adds and Luck is the most commonly called on attribute for Saving Rolls, especially in solo adventures. Itash had also earned enough cash to purchase four second level spells from the Wizard's Guild. Nice. He also picked up a lantern and some spare oil for future expeditions. Itash did suffer a lot of injuries in his last delve once I introduced Spite damage, so he will likely use the bulk of his remaining wealth convalescing in a Guild dormitory carving wooden rings and dreaming of his next adventure.

Name: Itash the Grim
Type: Wizard
Kin: Human
Level: 2

ST 14
IQ 14
LK 21
CON 15
DEX 12
CHR 10

ADDS +11

Treasure: 65 sp, 75 gp, 1 jewel (300 gp)
Adventure Points: 1270

Weapons: Kukri (2D+5, 20 wu, 15 yd), Haladie* (2D+9, 15 wu, enchanted), Common sling w 100 stones (2D+0, 60 wu, 100 yds)

Armor: Back and breast (5 hits, 200 wu), Greaves (2 hits, 40 wu), Gauntlets (2 hits, 25 wu), Greek helm (2 hits, 35 wu) [Total 11 hits, 300 wu]

Equipment: Warm clothing and pack, calf high boots, lantern, 2 spare oil skins, 20' silk rope, Delvers package, 1 days provisions, 5 wood rings

Weight carried: 460/1400

Languages: Common, Elven

First Level Spells: Detect Magic, Knock knock, Lock Tight, Will-o-wisp, Oh There It Is, Take That You Fiend, Vorpal Blade, Oh-Go-Away, Hocus Pocus, Teacher

Second Level Spells: Poor Baby, Glue-You, Cateyes, Hidey Hole

Plans for 2012

A new year already. I looked back over my goals for 2011 and saw that I did not meet my goal for the second year of The Lone Delver. Life just got a little too busy to exceed the number of posts from year 1; but life has been good. I do have many articles lined up for the coming year covering topics related to house rules, solo design, the evolution of the T&T rules, solo reviews, and my own solo run write-ups. Phineas the Red did not seen any action this last year having been replaced by Itash the Grim in my analysis of the survivability of Wizards in solo adventures. I rather like Itash and will certainly be using him some more. All I need now is a nice 7th edition rogue to add to my stable of characters.

As far as Lone Delver Games is concerned, I did release one new solo in 2011 although it was not the one I had planned to write; however, I really like Crypt of the Wolf Prince. This new solo is actually the start of a solo sandbox campaign, something I am pretty excited about. I will be producing a series of adventures all set in a huge ruined city outside of a small town named Cheapham. You will not need to play these solos in sequence or even all of them; it's entirely up to you. But you will be able to take a single character from adventure to adventure learning more about the ruins and their significance as you go. Ultimately I'd like to produce a campaign book on the ruins for use in GM-run adventures.

I plan on writing at least two new solos in 2012 including the spaghetti-fantasy, bounty hunting adventure I've mentioned previously and a second installment in the solo sandbox. I have a third sketched out as well, but we'll see how much time I really have. In addition, I am currently working on editing and layouts for two GM-adventures. The first will be released later this month. I am actually publishing these for another writer, something I'd like to do more of in the future. My T&T Combat House Rules book is still in the works, but it may take some more time to see the light of day; at the end of the day I'd rather write adventures than new rules.

Sales of my solos have happily continued on RPGnow and Lulu. The Temple of Issoth has been downloaded 876 times; again I'm that one for free but I'm still very happy about the level of interest.

I'm starting off with a post on the first day of the year so I'm hoping that is a good omen for achieving more of my T&T related goals this year. My thanks to everyone who has followed my blog, purchased and played my solos, and provided comments and support.