Capping the Troll God Saga

Well, I've spent the last 3 days trying to decide whether or not to post the Troll God's apology letter to Trollhalla.  Yes, it's pretty personal (at least for something that was sent to every member of the Trollhalla community).  Revealing and insightful too.  Or not.  I just don't know how I feel about it in the total sense of it.  Or I do, and I am not comfortable with it.

The thing is, I was asked to post open letters to further Ken's cause, and then after the change of heart, I'm kinda left by myself pissing in the wind.

I had no horse in the race, but I added my voice upon request.  In the long run, this is a pimple on the ass of Trollhalla, Ken, T&T and whoever else got caught up in it.  It too shall pass, and will be forgotten by most.  Still, I was a pimple popper in my teens.  Drain the bastid and let it heal instead of festering for weeks.

Which means I probably should post the damn thing so I can put the thing to bed on this blog.

Where should I begin?

You can't imagine how bad I feel right now.

Tom Loney is right.  I am a hypocrite and a bad person who thinks only of his own welfare.  No matter how charming I may be, I'm really a sociopath, and if you stay with me long enough, you are bound to be hurt.  Just ask my wife, Cathy, if that isn't true.

The only thing I can say in my own defense is that I never really wanted to harm anyone--not anyone.  I don't hurt people because I want to hurt them.  I do it because I can't help myself.

I apologize for turning Trollhalla into a tool to be used against a single person (namely James Shipman). I apologize for asking people to join me in spreading news of my personal argument with James Shipman. I apologize for starting a crusade, and then bailing out when it looked like I might be the first person killed in that crusade.  I apologize for looking after my own interests and not considering the interests of others who might be involved.

I have never claimed to be a perfect, or even a "good" person.  I know how many flaws and weaknesses I have.  I had rather hoped that no one else would ever find out, but of course these things come out here and there.

I can promise that such things won't happen again. At least I'll try to make certain that they don't.

Anyone who wishes may feel free to forward this apology or put it up on their websites. I hope you don't, but . . . YOU ARE FREE AND EMPOWERED TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.  I am not your leader, and you don't have to answer to me or to anyone but yourself and God for your actions.  Believe me, I pay for my sins every day.

Bitterly,

Ken St. Andre

Gaming Music Review - Transylvania (Nox Arcana) - Monolith Grpahics

In general, I'm not big on music in my RPGs.  I generally find it to be distracting in my D&D sessions, even the soundtracks that are supposed to be evocative of sword fighting and such.  Yeah, I know the soundtracks from Lord of the Rings do a decent job, but again, I would find them distracting during gaming.

Horror gaming, however, lends itself to atmosphere.  Music is probably the most effective way to get your group into the mood for a nice nerve-racking Call of Chtulhu session.  The Transylvania - Nox Arcana album from Monolith Graphics does a surprisingly good job at setting that mood.

I say surprisingly, because as I stated earlier, I'm not big on music in my games and never used it in the past.  This album I think I could use.  CoC, Ravenloft... maybe even a Chill session.  Hmm, or maybe not Chill -  the camp factor is a bit high there.

I'm surprised that Monolith didn't release this just prior to Halloween.  They kinda missed a built in promotion by nearly 3 weeks.  Still, it's good.  Is it worth the 10 bucks?  If you asked me 3 weeks ago, I would have told you to have this playing as the Trick-or-Treaters made their rounds.  Now, unless you have a horror game session coming up, its kinda outa place.

It's al in the timing.

QuickStart - Legend of the 5 Rings - Legacy of Disaster

When I first started tracking down all the Quickstarts that were available in PDF, it was a daunting task.  Thankfully, for the most part, all I need to do now is catch them as they get released.

Legacy of Disaster is a quickstart for Legend of the Five Rings.  It was a Free RPG Day giveaway, and is now available in PDF at RPGNow.  With all of these Samurai style releases over the last few days, I may have to seriously give the genre some further thought.

Here the blurb:

For over a decade role-players have come to the Emerald Empire of Rokugan to learn the true meaning of honor and glory. Now it is your turn to take up your katana in the name of your Clan.

The minor daimyo Doji Haruki has always craved more power and prestige among those who possess true influence in the Imperial Court. Now, on the eve of his greatest and most promising court, mere hours before his moment truly arrives, his most valued treasure is stolen. The daisho of the great hero Seppun Daiori, gifted to Haruki by the Seppun family, is mysteriously absent. Fearful that his greatest triumph shall become the moment of his ruination, Haruki turns to a handful of samurai who arrived for court ahead of schedule, desperate for their aid in returning the daisho before the court concludes.

Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition Role-Playing game is on sale now. This free adventure contains everything you need to get started.

Random Mid-Week Thoughts

A bad internet connection lost my first attempt to post this in the black hole of the internet, so lets see how the second attempt goes.

The one way pissing match between St. Andre and Shipman has been a weird ride that has left a strange taste in my mouth. After all the negative press Shippy has had over the last year or so, I was more then happy to relay the emails that the Troll God asked to be posted. Then came a small redaction. Then a request to delete one of the posts. The latest Troll God email on the subject sheds some light on a situation that seems to have been more personal then anything else. I haven't posted that one yet and I'm not sure I will. But the story is half told at this point, and the only way to clear it up may be to post it.

Did i mention I hate wearing my old work hat with my new work hat?

All went well last night. Hopefully there is some peace of mind as a result of it.

I have a perfect view from my office window of someone picking his nose as he looks out his window. Lovely.

Did I mention my 3g connection sucks? Can't get on the web. Can't post at Trollbridge. Can't post in the play by post im in over there.

Still have an hour before i can leave for home. Sigh


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Sometimes Son Knows Best

I'm sitting in my car, in the rain, outside a major NYC hospital (Nila, you know the one) as my son gets himself checked out for some reoccurring headaches. His grandma is with him, there is no legal parking in 10 blocks, so I sit and wait.

My money is on seasonal allergies, but as his mother passed from a brain hemorrhage (and complained of headaches immediately prior) I understand his concern.

Of course, he could have told me of his concern during normal doctor's hours, but he IS my son ;)

Back to more gaming stuff tomorrow, assuming I get any sleep tonight.


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Blog Spotlight - Errant RPG Blog

Yep, the link is up there on top of this page.  Some of you have already found it.  The rest of you need to check it out.  Greg Christopher (of the Synapse Design Blog) is using the Errant blog to highlight his latest project, the Errant RPG.

For the basics of what to expect, click here, but to summarize (as best I can... I'm sure Greg will correct me if I am wrong), this D&D clone is more of a toned down 3.5 then a straight out clone of one of D&D's earlier iterations.  It's not so much Old School or New School but a D&D without all the unnecessary crunch.

So, why should you check out the blog, let alone another D&D clone?  Because Greg is a thinker and a puzzle solver, which leads me to expect this will be really sweet when all the pieces are put together.  Well, all that and the fool likes to put together really professional projects and then gives them away for free.  I figure get his stuff before he wises up ;)

I kid... he ain't wising up anytime soon ;P

You can also follow him at Synapse Design.  Give them both a peek.

Mini Review - Blood and Honor

John Wick has returned to feudal Japan with Blood and Honor.  Here's your chance to play Samurai and their clans using the system from Houses of the Blooded (Houses of the Blooded is NOT required).

Personally, I like the idea of Clan emphasis, it reminds me a bit of Ars Magica (one of the best games I never played)

From the blurb:

After ten years, John Wick has returned to the world of samurai!

Blood & Honor: Samurai Tragedy in Old Japan is a new way to tell stories of honor and steel!

Blood & Honor includes:

* 170 Fully Illustrated Pages

* Rules for Creating Both Clans and Characters

* Task Resolution that allows Player Narration

* A New System for Duels and War

* Magic and Religion from Old Japan

* Streamlined Seasons System for Long-Term Goals

* Chapters Devoted to Player and Narrator Advice

Welcome to Old Japan...

Then then there is my (so far) favorite quote from the book:

But I Want to Play a Ronin!

So... you want to play a wave man, eh? Okay. Here are the rules.

Make a character. You get no Clan Points. All of your equipment is poor quality. You have no horse, you have no food, you have nothing.

Oh, and samurai treat you like crap because you’re a coward. You didn’t have the courage to kill yourself when your Daimyo died.

Playing a ronin is the modern equivalent of playing a homeless person in modern America. Yes, you can get picked up by a Clan as a sword arm, but they’ll put you in the crappiest part of the army and expect you to die quickly. You’ll have to do manual labor for food—remember the samurai cutting wood in Seven Samurai?—and you’ll be scorned wherever you go.

Those are the rules. Have fun with them.

I haven't played with an Oriental RPG setting since Oriental Adventures for AD&D.  This is tempting, even if it is just for the good read.  At 5 bucks, its a steal.

First Look - Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes

The boxed set of MS&PE (if you can find it) is the standard sized RPG Box (not the smaller box size that was used with T&T 7.5e or LotFP Weird Fantasy). As such, even tho it is larger, it seems to be less, as the box is not overflowing.

The rulebook is impressive - the box might not be overflowing, but the rulebook is. Just flipping thru I stopped at the section on Martial Arts and came to the realization that this is a rulebook I will need to read from cover to cover. Whereas Tunnels & Trolls is fairly straight forward in play, MS&PE appears at first glance to crank that up to 11. Might be a nice way to bring skills to T&T tho'. Time will tell.

The paper in the rulebook feels kinda cheap - it's from the Blade generation, and the printer used appears to have been different then in previous T&T products.

I'll try to get some pics up later today or tomorrow. Well, that and hit upon the rest of the goodies in the box.


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The Poll Results Are In - I'm Going to be a Busy Little Beaver

Yep, the poll is closed.  We had 38 voters (who could vote for as many choices as they wanted).

The solo run throughs easily came in first with 19 votes.  Its a busy plate and I think I'll be adding Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes to the systems that will get a workout.

MS&PE came in second (barely) with 11 votes.  I might actually do this first.  It depends on how things work out.

The comparison of different T&T editions came in third with 10 votes... it was that close.  I'll get to this at some point.  It's probably the biggest project of the three, so don't expect me to get to it too soon ;)

Thanks to all who voted.  Now I've got some work to do... heh

Trollgod Speaks - Healing the Wounds

The Trollgod has been pretty busy with his communications the past couple of weeks, and even though this wasn't specifically indicated to be shared with all the blogosphere, it was shared with all of Trollhalla.  Personally, I think its important enough to be shared with all (if I am wrong, I am fairly sure Ken will tell me to correct things quickly enough).

Ahem,

I want to tell you all that James Shipman and I have resolved our personal differences.  He has agreed to stop selling my works without permission and to stop collaborating with him.  I have resolved to stop saying anything negative about him on the web.

This doesn't mean that James has resolved his differences with anyone else.  He has not resolved his differences with Flying Buffalo, for example.  He will never resolve that until he stops using, making, and selling Flying Buffalo's trademarked property Tunnels and Trolls.

In the past I said I would rather not have members of Trollhalla working with Mr. Shipman, but you, of course, coould do what you wanted.  I have softened my stance a bit.  If you wish to work with Mr. Shipman on any of his publishing projects, go right ahead. It is none of my business, after all, what other people do with their time and their talent.

--Ken St. Andre

Tick Tock

Less then 5 hrs to go with the poll, and the race is still for second place.  Vote, and vote often ;)

Football afternoon starts in 10 minutes.  Woot!

Poll Closing in Less Then 20 Hrs

Yep, in less then 20 hrs the poll will close.  It's really a battle for second place at this point, as I can see the Solos are placing first.  So if you haven't voted yet, do so.  It still counts.  For second place at least... heh.

It should be some fun weeks ahead.  (I need to find a way to squeeze some solo gaming in during lunch time at work ;)

More from Homeless Mustard for your listening pleasure:

Down Day

The last 2 weeks have been packed with work on weekdays and visiting family on the weekends. Tomorrow will be my down day, a day to watch football and get my game plan together for the different solos and systems.

Needless to say, today is another visiting family day. Heh


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Balancing Act

Well, I need to balance out this afternoon's somber post yet I don't have anything gaming to really post.

The poll ends in a day or so, and it looks like solos are coming in first, but MS&PE is a strong second.  Second might get completed before first in this case, but we shall see.

In any case, I'm posting this song for Christian (as he always finds the best stuff to the point I'm actually buying music on iTunes again).

Falling Leaves

The Fall is no longer the season it used to be for me. Leaves changing colors, preparing for the Holidays and lots of weekend gaming. As an adult it has become a season of remembrance.

I lost my training sergeant in an off-duty incident in the fall of 1997 - shot and killed with his own gun. Rest well Fitz.

9-11 was on the cusp of the fall, and not only did my department lose 23 officers, and the nation lost thousands of citizens, but my core group of friends (and former gaming group) lost one of out own that day. Be at peace, Paul.

Today, my son's mother would have been 38. She was taken from us way too young. I will never be able to fill her shoes, but I try. No worries Min, he's in good hands.

Before you know it, winter will come and go, and spring will return. Sometimes you need to remember what you've lost to truly value what you have left.


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Lots of Lone Wolves

Project Aon is a collection of the Lone Wolf series of adventure books available free and legally on the net.

I might have to put some time into this after I do a run thru of all the solo's it looks like I'll be running as per the current poll results.

Of course, at the pace I move at, it means sometime in 2011 before I dance with the Lone Wolf ;)

Distilling Tunnels & Trolls

I'm going to work on an experiment and see if I can distill T&T down to 4 digest sized pages - basically folding a sheet of printer paper in half, and using the 4 sides as a pamphlet.

I'm seeking to do this so I will have access to a handy dandy reference sheet when I'm stuck at work. T&T is not OGL and does not have an SRD, so I won't be distributing it, but if I can get it to work I'll let you all know how I did it.

I suspect Apple Pages will be the software I'll be using, just not 100% sure yet.


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The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society - Reprints

Traveller is one of those games where character generation is a game unto itself.  Heck, you can die before ever seeing actual gameplay.  This made for some great time in High School when me and my friend Andrew were in charge of the Book Room.  Spend 10 minutes delivering books, then 50 minutes rolling up Traveller Characters.  Saweet!

Far Future Enterprises holds the rights to the GDW Traveller stuff, and they currently have all 3 volumes of The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society reprints at 10 bucks a volume when you purchase all 3 volumes in a bundle for 30 (usually they are 30 bucks a volume).

This covers issues 1 - 33 of the Journal, and included 2 maps of the Spinward Marches of the Third Imperium in the shipping box as a bonus (at least they were in my box).

Traveller is a setting I enjoy reading, and I have plenty of reading to keep me occupied for a long time.

I blame Christian for this purchase, as he had asked about the Traveller reprints a few weeks back on his blog ;)

Keeping Up With the Borderlands

I'm trying to find a setting to use with my (hopefully) forthcoming Tunnels & Trolls Campaign. It aint easy.

The underlying system doesn't concern me much, as it's easy enough to convert to T&T. The problem is the scope of most commercial campaigns. The Forgotten Realms / The World of Greyawk / The Wilderlands and their kind are nice, but their scope is too huge. I need a backyard for the players to play in,not an endless park.

I want it to be sandboxy. Something like Keep on the Borderlands, but designed with todays sensibilities.

I might already have it in my library and I just need to identify it, but I am open to suggestions. Like I said, system doesn't matter much, as I'll be converting to T&T anyways.




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Petty Gods, Large Rewards

James over at Grognardia has a Petty Gods Project that he is seeking submissions for.  It's a pretty cool project, and I'm thinking about a Petty Junior Deity or two myself.

How do you make a cool project even cooler? When Dan of Labyrinth Lord fame offers free (art enhanced) PDFs of the same to contributors to the Petty Gods Project.  Damn sweet offer.  Get off your butts and be petty folks!

Hedging My Bets

If the poll results keep going as they are, I've got a fun crap load of solo gaming to get to. Even if it doesn't stay in the first position, its clear that its a decent idea. Might as well get a head start.

I was listening to the Opie & Anthony show this morning, and Penn from Penn & Teller was the guest. He mentioned that for legal reason, when he uses derogatory words to describe people in his shows, he keeps to vulgarity, as its harder to sue someone who calls you a mother f^cker for slander then it is if you call them a liar or dishonest. His staff lawyer will actually go thru the scripts ahead of time and take out possibly slander words and replace then with imaginative four letter+ words. Very interesting and topical, considering the events of the past few days here in the blogosphere of Old School gaming.

I've had the Apple keyboard for the iPad since my birthday over the summer and hardly ever gave it a workout until now. Its actually pretty good. I'm impressed. I don't mind the touchscreen the iPad uses at all, but this is so much easier and quicker.


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Some Thoughts...

-The poll is more active then I expected.  It looks like solo run thru / comparisons of play has taken the lead.  Probably should have thrown MS&PE into the mix for that choice, but then I'd never finish ;)

It is nice tho, as I can focus on one or two things as a steady column / regular entry for a bit.  Very interested in seeing how it plays out.

-Sometimes the drama behind the game is more exciting then the game.

-I haven't started Christmas Shopping yet.  Another year of Black Friday shopping from my computer if all goes well, then back to sleep.  Avoiding the crowds is the best part.

-I just saw a Christmas miracle right now as I type... my son closed his window all the way.  Heck, you might even think winter were almost here.

-I'm tempted to roll a Tunnels & Trolls 7e character right now, so I can run him thru some early T&T Solos w/o adjusting the MRs... with luck he'd run roughshod over his adversaries and I wouldn't have to fudge rolls.  Not that I EVER fudge rolls when playing solo... or when I GM...

-I very badly want to watch last nite's episode of The Walking Dead, but the kid's in bed, and it deserves to be played loud.

-I thought I was going to get an extra hour's sleep with DST in effect.  I never saw it.  Someone owes me.

-I had something I wanted to post about something, but I forget what it was.  Unless its part of the above list, but I doubt that it is.  Grrrrrrr...

From Ken St. Andre

Public Apology to James Shipman


A few days ago, I sent a mail to all Trollhalla members in which I tried to explain my current relationship with James Shipman and Outlaw Press. As you may know, we are not on good terms, and I let my anger get the better of me. That is no excuse. I should have remembered my courtesy, and not called him any names at all. I certainly should not have called him a felon. I recant. I take it all back. Despite our differences, Jim Shipman is a gentleman, and I will never insult him again. I sincerely hope we can resolve our differences, and that my lapse in courtesy last week can be overlooked and forgotten.

Sincerely,
Ken St. Andre

P.S. I hereby ask anyone who carried my previous message about James Shipman to take that message down and run this one in its place.

Ken St. Andre
November 8, 2010

(I'm just a messenger. The above is posted and the previous redacted as per the wishes of Ken St. Andre)


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The Obsession(s)

Slinky. It's fun for a girl and a boy. It's apparently also fun for me as I sit at my desk at work and find the thing constantly in my hands. Metal, not the horrid plastic one. Of course, sooner or later it will get tangled and bent, and that will be the end of that.

Call of Duty: Black Ops. I suspect this will also be fun. Probably also fairly obsessive for the first few weeks after release, father and son will be sharing in this one.

If only the lad would consider table top roleplaying, I wouldn't need to buy two copies of every release we want to play together. Well, at least he pays a share of the cost from his allowance ;)

The Walking Dead. First zombie movie / series / whatever that i'd love to play in as a player. I need to watch last nite's episode later.

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Poll Update

I am humbled by the number of early votes in the poll. A big Thank You to all who have voted and will vote. It is up until next weekend, so get your vote in when you can.

The poll results should keep me fairly focused for a while... Won't that be a nice change? Heh


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Working on a Poll

No, not a stripper's pole... I don't think you or I could stomach that.

No, a poll, as in "vote for the silly stuff you want Tenkar to do next"

I'm thinking something along the line of my next in-depth review (like I did for Tunnels & Trolls 7e) or even running myself thru solos in D&D 4e Essentials Red box, LotFP Weird Fantasy Tutorial, T&T, MSPE and maybe even a Fighting Fantasy adventure and compare... crap, that would be a series of posts.

Eh, lets see how the poll works out.  It might even surprise me ;)

Another Good Session Last Night

When you can play for four hours of gaming, not roll any combat dice and not even realize it, it's a damn good session.

That, or maybe I was just too tired to tell the difference ;)

Some great role playing last nite. I had a blast. Next month will be a long wait for the next session.


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Sometimes the Hook is Only as Good as the Players

Here I am, in the middle of a Castles & Crusades (via Fantasy Grounds 2) session, and all I can think is that my roleplaying almost cost us an adventure hook that I was willing to avoid at all cost (being the suspicious dwarf that I am).

Of course, there are 4 of us tonight, and you only need to hook one ;)

Still, it is something to bear in mind... if you can hook one player, you'll probably pull the rest in tow...

I'll remember that as I work on my Tunnels & Trolls campaign... (no asking for when yet... after the New Year at the very least)

Ass... Dragging... Must... Game...

I am totally beat.

Last nite was movie nite.  After letting the kid get his driving time in and doing taxi service for the lady, I didn't get home until after 1 am... and then i had to be up at 615 to get the kid to his SAT test at 730 this morning.

More driving after the test and I'm ready to crawl into the sheets.  I can't tho', as I have a C&C game via FG2 at 8 tonight.  The game only rolls around once a month so I'm not going to miss it, but I can already feel the pain.

Let's see how long I last tonight before the "junkie nod" takes me out for the night ;)

QuickStart - BattleTech: A Time of War

Yep, Battletech has RPG rules, and now there is a free Quickstart for those rules.  If you've lived in a cave for the last 25 years or so, Battletech is a game of mechanized fighting robots, with people in the gooey center.  Alright, that may be an oversimplification, but why take my work for it?  Here's your chance to roleplay the gooey center ;)

A Note From the Troll God

A word about James Shipman and Outlaw Press.

Xxxxxx removed as per Ken St. Andre's request xxxxxx

--Ken St. Andre
Nov. 6, 2010



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In Spite of Damage

Tunnels & Trolls 5.5e and later added Spite Damage into the mix. Basically, every natural 6 rolled on a d6 during combat represents unstoppable damage... Roll 2,4,6,6 you know you did at least 2 points of damage to your opponent, irregardless of whether you won that combat round or your opponent's armor protection.

As combat between two relatively equal opponents in armor could drag out forever before spite damage, it's a nice change. The problem is, most solo adventures were written for the 5.0 rules (pre-spite damage), and the inclusion of spite damage will frequently whittle your delver down to pieces.

My suggestion? Leave out spite damage when playing the solos, or for a harder solo, only count it for the delver's dice... Use it against the monsters.

It really is there to help the mobs more then the delvers anyway. Delvers tend to roll less dice (but have better combat adds) then the monsters, and spite damage is all about the dice.


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Where There is Darksmoke, There Are Trolls

Yep, got myself The Isle of Darksmoke, a GM Adventure for Tunnels & Trolls, in the mail today.  It seems when you shake the Post Office just a wee bit, prompt deliveries are the result.  Sweet.

Now, a quick glance at the cover (and an advertisement on the back), shows that this was supposed to be part on of a 2? 3? part series.  The actual full title is The Isle of Darksmoke -1: The Nameless Village and the Dome Level.  At 56 pages, it's no slouch, and the back cover has a Cardboard Heroes Fold out, if you want to add paper miniatures to your T&T game.

The module is quasi-sandboxish, in that the island (aside from the village and the dome) aren't mapped, but it is suggested that you could do so, and entrances are indicated on the dome map for levels of the GM's own design.

Suggested levels are 1-4 and an average party size of 5.  Which is a good starting point, but I suspect the trek to Island could make for a decent adventure itself.  Actually, I think you would need a reason to get the party to this remote island, at least these days (todays youngen's need more purpose then player's basic greed and lust for adventure - paraphrasing a bit).  The included quest hooks assume the party is already on the Island.

All this from a quick glance.  It's pretty meaty.  I'll need some time to digest it, but it's a nice change from the usual (there aren't all that many really) GM adventure for T&T

Too Many Hats, Just One Head

I've got my finger in too many pies at work at the moment. It seems I need to find a temporary replacement for my (old) job as I temporarily fill in for someone else. Either that or I go sick for a few weeks when this crap catches up to me.

Wait, that could leave lots of time for games and blogging.

Maybe I need a third hat ;)


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Mini Review - A Dungeon Dash: Wraithwood Cavern

I'm throwing this one out there for Christian, as its a short and FREE side adventure for 4e.  Having read thru most (not all) of the 4e rules when they came out, and having picked up the Essentials Core Books upon release (cause it was damn cheap on Amazon, and you never know where your next game group may gravitate) I still can't tell how well this will play out.

I just have a hard time visualizing all the 4e tactical combat... hell, 3.5e had way to much for me.  In any case, I figure some of you 4e DM's mind find a use for this.  OOOOoooo, and they include adventure hooks for the lazy DM ;)

From the blurb:

The "A Dungeon Dash" series of side adventures by Kurt Sparkuhl are FREE products designed to enhance your 4th edition D&D campaign. Each Dash takes only 10 minutes or less to read through, and usually clocks about 3-5 hours of play time. With some additional preparation, each Dungeon Dash can serve as the foundation for a larger highly detailed adventure.

Every Dungeon Dash includes:

- New custom monsters

- New traps/hazards/puzzles

- A detailed map and descriptions of every encounter

- Treasure and reward guidelines

- Example story hooks to blend the adventure into your campaign.

First Look: Monsters! Monsters! (Reprint Edition)

I actually have my Monsters! Monsters! 2nd Edition (4th Printing) open right next to my Monsters! Monsters! reprint edition.

Some quick things.  Apparently the 1st Edition had a full color cover by Liz Danforth.  2nd Edition has a mostly black & white cover with red highlights.

The reprint is stapled, the 2nd Edition has the spiral binding that is either loved or hated it seems.

1st edition has some footnotes that are missing from 2nd Edition.  Apparently there were some text "errors" inserted by the 1st Edition's Editor, that were changed / corrected in the 2nd Edition.  Steve Jackson wasn't perfect back then it seems ;)

The 1st Edition Reprint has been reset professionally using modern techniques (computers) according to my untrained eyes.  It's not a photocopy of the original but a remastered copy.  Oh, and the Reprint also includes an 8 page GM adventure inserted in the middle... can't complain with freebies ;)

The rules appear to mirror T&T fairly closely, but I'd probably need to see them next to the 4e and or 5e  rules to make sure.  It looks like stat increase for leveling is boosted,  I'll look at it closer to be sure, probably over the weekend.

It is nice to see there is a Monster Glossary with a sentence or two detailing each of the Monster Kindreds, something sorely lacking in T&T 7.5 e.  Even at that it still takes 5 pages of the 40 page book (plus an 8 page insert of a town).

More later...

Parent = Game Master

Really.  As a GM you want your players' characters to grow, it's sometimes hard to give them enough freedom where they can get in actual trouble, whatever plans you have for them they somehow always avoid, they are suspicious of the carrot and resent the stick, the Friend / GM line is a fuzzy one at times, even running a game with just one PC can feel like herding cats...

Thing is, after a few hours once every week or two, your players go home.

After a few hours in school for the day, your kids come home.

Can you tell I had a wild parenting ride over the past few days?

I did six months of chemo a few years back, hardly lost any hair.

Solo parenting a teenager must account for 90% of my grey hairs tho ;)

It's all worth it in the end... even if I start pulling my hair out...

See, being a GM over all those years left me well prepared... heh

Alright, back to the gaming crap mananna folks :)

Better Late Then Never

I mentioned previously that my local post office had a package sitting for over a week at the neighboring post office for me but never told me.  That was my collection of T&T solos and a few others choice books.
My Flying Buffalo order that was shipped on October 12th was no where to be found at either post office.

What do I find leaning against my front door today?  My Flying Buffalo order from nearly a month ago.  Go figure.  Two reprint copies of Monsters! Monsters! for the next Gathering of Fools and some other small T&T stuff.  It was a wait but I'm glad it didn't get sent back to Rick.

Today was a good day.  The fact that I ditched work made it even better ;)

Not a Review (Yet) - Wordplay Basics

Just recently released for free on RPGNow / DriveThruRPG, Wordplay Basics from D101 Games is a new RPG that uses d6s by the bucket.  Well, maybe not by the bucket, but if you are a Tunnels & Trolls player, you probably have the right number of dice.

I haven't done more then skim the first few pages, but from what I can tell the system look fairly free form and rules lite.  Oh, did I mention it's free?  It's been a while since I posted one of those ;)

From the publisher's blurb:

Wordplay is very easy to play and has been designed to be played with

any created setting or genre that you wish to explore.

The game features the following:

• Free flowing character creation, allowing a player to describe their alterego in the game and use those descriptions as Traits (which are then split between Body, Mind and Soul categories)

• A dice building game. Describe what your character is doing and make use of as many advantages as you can to build as large a hand or pool of dice as possible.

• Roll your dice and count up your successes and the highest total wins, only the dice that land on the table count!

• Create goals for your character and drive them forward to succeed.

Instead of numerous complicated rules, Wordplay provides story telling opportunities that are translated into dice for your characters.

The game is meant to be rules light, open and encourages players to give vivid descriptions that build a shared, character focussed, story.

Wordplay requires traditional six sided dice to play and many of them!

This plain text Basic edition of the game, gives you the core system which is everything you need to play the game except your imagination and a hand full of dice.

Just a Coincidence

It's just a coincidence that Tenkar's Tavern and Tunnels & Trolls share the same initials.  Heck, I never even realized it until just now.  Go figure ;)

Alright, on the T&T review plate we have:

The Delver's Pack for 7.5e
Monsters! Monsters! (reprint and 2nd printing - haven't checked closely but I expect they are the same)
5e T&T Boxed Set (can't find my 5.5e book from back in the day, so I ordered a second copy)
5e T&T Corgi Paperback Edition
4e T&T Rules
Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes Boxed Set (MSPE)
A whole bunch of T&T Solos
            1-10 & 12-14 from Flying Buffalo
            11 & 15, 8 & 19, 16& 17, 2 & 4, 12 & 20 and 9 in Corgi Paperbacks (I believe this is complete)
            So, effectively 1-17 and 19-20 and hunting the rest down (with the intent on getting all in FBI editions)

Decisions, decisions... heh

Tip Toe, Thru the Tunnels, Thru the Tunnels & Trolls

I'm sure all the T&T stuff is annoying the serious grognards out there.  Look guys, I'm sorry.  Really.  I'm trying to get this addiction under control.  Seriously.

But...

I tried to collect OD&D stuff, but there is no way to get a complete collection in decent shape at an affordable price.  It just doesn't happen.  I have copies of most of what I want, and the rest will be forever out of my range.  Besides, if I wanted a complete collection of everything published by TSR thru AD&D 1e (the EGG years), I'd need to devote a whole closet to it.  It's not going to happen.  Not if I want to live "Happily Ever After."  The family will kill me. ;)

However...

Tunnels & Trolls is a finite collection.  24 solos (with way too many printings for it to be worth a damn), 7ish editions, and handful of GM adventures, Corgi editions, the Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes spinoff - this is a finite collection.  Besides, 24 solos gives me lots of ways to fill in that "alone time".  Wait, that doesn't sound right.

That means I will still be reviewing T&T stuff (The Delver's Pack and MS&PE are probably the next in the hopper) just as I will be covering the general Old School stuff for the clones and the Indi games that I find interesting.  Heck, Greg He Who Knows Boundless Energies and Creative Juices is working on something that I expect to be Old Schoolish, Newish and Indi-like.

It's a good time to be a gamer, I just found an often overlooked corner with Tunnels & Trolls.  It's far from the only corner, and have no fears, my Bullseye Lantern does a fine job of illuminating those corners. ;)

My Worthless Thoughts on Running Pre-Written Adventures

There seems to be two main schools of GMs:  Those that use homebrewed adventures, and those that use pre-written adventures.  When I say pre-written, I mean adventures written by others then the GM.

Now, most GMs falls somewhere between these two extremes, they use a combination of homebrewed and pre-written.  If you use the homebrewed method exclusively, this post is not for you.  You're good.  Go forth and prosper.  Nope, this piece of drivel from my typing fingers is a loose list of do's and don'ts for those that don't have the time to homebrew 100% of the time.

DON'T run a prewritten adventure if your thoughts on the whole process is "this is going to suck, but I'll push thru it anyway".  If you know its going to suck for you and your group, WTH are you going to make them suffer thru it?  Wether it's going to suck because you hate pre-written adventures on principle, or the one you just spent your hard earned dollars on is not right for you and your group, just DON'T DO IT!  Trust yourself, your players do.

DO make the prewritten adventure your own.  Your players will know when you drop a random adventure into their campaign, so don't let it be a random plug in.  When you plant in your garden, you don't drop the rose bush on top of the soil.  You dig a whole, add fertilizer and compost, cover it back up, water... you make it a part of the garden.  Its the same with pre-written adventures.  You need to plant them and water them and make them a part of your campaign.

DON'T expect that the adventure writer wrote the adventure with you and your campaign in mind.  He didn't.  You'll need to read it closely and make changes.  Too many traps?  Take some out.  Opponents too weak?  Boost them up.  Magic items that will unbalance your campaign?  Change them.

DO get you players invested in the adventure.  Rumors, hooks and plot threads can and should be placed in advance.  The only one that can do that is you.  (Unless you are running a pre-written campaign arc, in which case you may be supplied with many hooks and rumors).

DON'T treat an adventure like a one-shot with no campaign value as your players will react in kind.

DO ensure that you know the adventure as well as one of our own creation.  There is little worse then watching the GM flip back and forth thru the adventure trying to figure out what happens next.  Use a flow chart if it helps,or notes, or highlighting... whatever method helps you run this as your own.

This is far from a complete list.  I'm sure I'll think of more the moment I post this.  Feel free to add to it in the comments.

Mini Review - Kobold Quarterly #15

Yep, time to get back to some mini-reviews ;)

Today we look at Kobold Quarterly #15.  In any ways, it is a direct descendent of Dragon Magazine (may the gods of Greyhawk rest it's soul - yes, the current incarnation doesn't count).  Wolfgang Baur is the editor, and his Open Design company is the publisher.

KQ cover' both 4e and Pathfinder, but even those that prefer Old School will find stuff to sink their teeth in.  It is invariably well written and well put together.  That being said, I find the 4e stuff to be more then I generally want, but I understand why they want to cover both markets.  It's a divided market.  The Pathfinder articles I find much more useful, as they are easier to use with older D&D variants.

This issue includes articles by James Lowder, Monte Cook, Wolfgang Baur and many others.  The James Lowder article is almost worth the price of admission by itself, as its a nice insight into the World of TSR under Lorraine Williams.

I do have some issues with the issue.  Articles are not necessarily labeled for the system they are written for, which is annoying.  I had to read a page of the article on critical hits before realizing it was for 4e.  Pathfinder stuff I can convert, 4e I generally don't bother with.  Shame too, as the article was well written.

My other issue is with the ads.  Ads in a PDF edition of a magazine should be hyperlinked as a default.  Many weren't.  Shame really.

Overall, a very good magazine, if you recognize and adapt for the inherent weakness of covering two incompatible systems.  Excellent value if you play both Pathfinder and 4e, good value if you play one or the other, and a decent value if you are an Old School gamer willing to convert some of the Pathfinder stuff.

And the Winner is...

Well, we had quality entries, if not quantity of entries ;)

So, they all get a prize, even if not the same prize.

John Stephens gets the copy of Realms of Cthulhu in PDF

JDJarvis wins a PDF copy of Fantasycraft

/Matt gets himself a PDF copy of Splicers RPG

The winners need to email me at tenkars.tavern@gmail.com to get their prizes.

Congrats to all!

Happy Halloween!

Sometimes You Have to go to the Postman

Did I mention my local Post Office sucks?  Big time?  It appears my Flying Buffalo order is being sent back, not that they ever made the attempt to deliver it.

My big T&T purchase on Ebay?  tracking finally updated last nite, it appears they've had it since LAST Friday... again, no slip to let me know, thank god for (delayed) online tracking.  All that being said, it wasn't waiting at my zoned post office, but a neighboring one.  Yep, two trips.

That being said, I now have a 2nd printing of Monsters! Monsters!, and 13 of the first 14 Solo adventures.  Oh, and a second copy of the 5e rules for T&T.

I guess you can say it was worth the wait ;)

Nother Contest Bump!

Contest ends in less then 5 1/2 hrs. I'll even add a 2nd prize, so we should have 2 winners. Let's get it done!


- Posted from my iPhone

Contest Bump!

Quick post to remind all that the current contest end tomorrow night at midnite.  You chance for a free PDF copy of Realms of Cthulhu is ending soon.

Witless in the City

I intended to post a witty piece on the use of published adventures in an ongoing campaign, but parent teacher conference earlier tonight has left me exhausted.

Police work is way easier then parenting, let me tell you ;)

I'll try and be witty this weekend.  If I'm not witty, at least I'll be verbose (SAT words for the kid's benefit)  heh

My Thoughts Posted Elsewhere

I spent way too much time posting on Greg's blog yesterday. Apparently I am like a fine beer... I take a while to ferment. Synapse Design Blog

Don't forget the yesterday's contest. Entries must be in by midnite, this coming Saturday.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Contest: Win a PDF Copy of Realms of Cthulhu

Let's get this party started!

The contest is really simple, but it will require a minimum amount of work on your part to enter.

You are going to roll up a Tunnels & Trolls character, and one random poster will win a PDF copy of Realms of Cthulhu courtesy of RPGNow.

So, what you need to do is:

1 - download a free copy of the Tunnels & Trolls rules if you don't already own a copy of the 5e/5.5e/7e or 7.5e rules - any edition of the T&T rules will work

2 - roll up a character (or many, but only the first posting will count).  You'll need some d6s for this.

3 - name your character

4 - post your character in this thread with a sentence or two describing him / her

5 - at midnite on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 I'll randomly choose one the posted characters as the winner, and send out the prize via email.

Pretty easy if you ask me ;)

P.S.  Yes, I really do have T&T on my mind these days.  So sue me!

Bits & Pieces

Well, someone was kind enough to buy me what looks to be a HUGE canning jar with a flip lid for my dice.  So, needless to say I had to order 2 more pounds of dice to attempt to fill the sucker.  Still a work in progress.

I'm pretty impressed with the Delver's Pack for Tunnels & Trolls.  While the box doesn't overflow from the cramming of too much stuff (can you really cram too much gaming material in a box), what is there is pretty good.  All that and a whole stack of character sheets (the core box just comes with 4).

I'm going to be posting a new contest in a few (minutes?  hours?), and the prize will be a PDF copy of Realms of Cthulhu.  Seems to be the right prize for Halloween ;)

Landshark! Who? Postman! OK, Let Me Open the Door... Arrggh!

Sorry, there's an old SNL joke somewhere in that title.  Must be my frustrations with the US Postal Service.

See, this is what I don't understand.

When James shipped LotFP Weird Fantasy from the netherland known as Finland, I believe it took 3 days to go door to door to my house.

CDs purchased on Ebay from Australia?  2 days.  Holy cow!

The Delver's Pack for Tunnels & Trolls that I ordered?  Arrived at the Jersey City, NJ Postal sort facility last Wednesday.  I know, I had the tracking info.   It was updated last Thursday - Jersey City.  Friday?  Updated as - Jersey City.  Saturday?  You guessed it, Jersey City.  Yesterday it finally hit my local post office and it arrived at my door today.

To put it simply, the USPS sucks a large amount of ass.  I think the postal beast devoured two small orders from Flying Buffalo earlier this month.  Rick is going to check the status after he settles in from con time in Germany.

UPS?  God bless 'em.  Never lost a package yet, and Amazon is where I do more shopping then anywhere else.

Anyhow, I'm finally getting a chance to look thru the T&T Delver's Pack.  Looks good so far.  I also got Steve Jackson Game's Zombie Dice via Amazon/UPS.  Should be some family dice fun this weekend.

Five Hundred and One

Yep, the last post was my 500th blog post.

I want to thank my readers, posters, fellow bloggers and most importantly my family... I'm sure if my son totaled up the time i've spent blogging he'd be really pissed it wasn't spent killing stuff online with him and taking their stuff ;)

Thanks everyone. You've kept it fun, which is why I come back every day. Keep up the good work and I'll try and keep my end up :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Rest of the Box

I've covered all the books and booklets in the T&T Boxed set.  Now we have the bits and pieces, so to speak.

First up is the counter collection.

Tunnels & Trolls isn't really a game that worries about facing and exact positioning, but counters, just like miniatures, can help the players visualize the game they are playing.

Fiery Dragon always does a nice set of counters, and these are no exception.

72 counters, covering both PCs and adversaries.

I believe the artist is Claudio Pozas, as he did the illustrations in the monster book and the special edition monster / magic book.  His look fits Tunnels & Trolls pretty well.

We get a handful of character sheets, which are nice but small.
I expect one would get better use out of a sheet printed off the internet, but it's nice for inclusion in a boxed set, as it adds to the idea that it is complete in the box.

There is a fold out map of Trollworld.  It's actually pretty cool, even tho' I don't know anything of the places on it.  That's a hint Ken.  Maybe a small wordbook for Trollworld, no more in depth then the 1st Printing of World of Greyhawk.  I know I'd buy it as fast as Ken puts it to paper / word processing program ;)

Last is the 4 small six sided dice, about the same size as were included in LotFP's Weird Fantasy Boxed Set.  Which means its nice they were included, but a bit small for everyday use.

I'm sure the formatting of this post is going to be all over the place, but screw it.

All in all I'm very happy with the T&T 7.5e Boxed Set.  It's a lighter game then most of the D&D OSR clones and is certainly Old School, which is where I'm sitting my gaming table these days.

I'm waiting on the Delver's Pack to show up, maybe tomorrow ;)

edit:  500th post... go figure.  That kinda snuck up on me ;)

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit is the GM Adventure included in the Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e Boxed Set.  In a sense, it suffers from a similar problem to the included Solo Adventure - it's not written for a starting party.   Instead, it's written for characters of up to 5th level, and even tho' level in T&T doesn't necessarily have the same meaning as in D&D, this isn't really written for new players or average starting characters, which is a shame as it is a well written adventure.

Still, all that being said, a smart and lucky party can probably survive the adventure in some state.  T&T is a game where character demise is to be expected, at least more-so then many other fantasy RPGs.  Besides, rolling up a new PC is quick and easy in T&T ;)

Ken St. Andre offers a nice piece of advice at the beginning of the adventure for the GM, and I found it valuable enough that I am quoting it here:

I do recommend that if you find that demanding players are causing you to make up a lot of details on the fly, you should write down what you made up so you can be consistent later. Plot developments and adventure hooks will probably arise as the adventure unravels, so jot these ideas down as they arise or as you think of them. You might want to use them later or introduce them if play slows-down or goes in a different direction from what you had planned.

There is an editing problem with some dropped text on the bottom of page 3.  It's not a game breaker, just a minor annoyance.  It's in both the print and PDF versions for the curious

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - Monsters & Magic Book (Special Edition)

The Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e Monsters & Magic Book (Special Edition) is a 22 page booklet included in both the T&T 7.5e Boxed Set and the 30th Anniversary Tin.  As far as I can tell, this booklet introduced Special Damage to the T&T game (I don't see it in my 5e copy of the rules, and I'd need to dig to find my 5.5e copy).

You can read about the Special (Procing) Damage in my previous post about the Monstrum Codex.

We also get a few paragraphs on Balancing Encounters in T&T 7e/7.5e, which is based on a 4 character party.  Strangely enough, the Balancing Rules that make mention of the Revised T&T rules (presented in the 30th Anniversary Tin and available for free at Trollhalla for registered members) refers to a Standard 3 person party.  I might need to give the Revised (think alternate) T&T rules a closer look.

In any case, the booklet details 20 creatures for use in your T&T game.

The rest of the booklet gives a short and dirty introduction to magic items in T&T.  It's enough to give the GM some ideas, but little more.  Sample staves, wands, potions and weapons are stated out.  It's a start, but leaves me hungry for more.

All in all, there's a lot of info crammed into those 22 pages.  How about we get a book 2? ;)

Today is a Do Nothing Day... Maybe

After long negotiations (all of about 2 minutes) between the kid, my girl and myself, we've decided that I need a "down day" on most weekends.  No shopping, no movies, no driving... just me and my stuff.  Unless of course, the kid wants to play a MMORPG or two... somehow that clause got snuck into the contract... at which point I'm apparently gaming.

The biggest winner in this whole thing?  The pets.  My girl's dachshund gets to have her mommy home one day a week and my feline Ashley thinks I'm home to keep her occupied all day.  Pets really are the center of the world.

Did I mention that the girl and I have now designated one weeknite a week to be "Pub Dinner Nite"?  This is working out to be a Win Win across the board!  Heh.

October is for Oktoberfest

I left Queens for a few hours this evening to head to an Oktoberfest out on The Island (just for quick reference:  NYC is The City, unless you are already in one of NYC's outer boroughs, in which case Manhattan is The City; any part of Long Island east of Queens is The Island).

The food was good, the beer was cold (and as we were guests of the beer distributer that was supplying the beer, it was all free... WOOT!).  My girl and I did notice an interesting crossover tho... the German band was mixing Irish drinking songs into their selections, and singing them in German!  It was a frikkin' hoot.  Of course, my German is piss poor, so I was singing the songs I recognized in English ;)

Imagine when the Dwarf in the party catches the local Elfin Bard singing his land's drinking ballad in Elvish... or worse, the goblins they come across in the dungeon are singing it in their tongue... fun for all if you ask me :)

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - Monstrum Codex

Continuing my way thru the T&T 7.5e Boxed set, we come to the Monstrum Codex.  Its a 45 pages of monster goodness.

How much do you really need a monster book (let alone 2) for a system that allows one to design creatures with a simple Monster Rating.  Quick refresh:  MR is a creature's CON / HP.  It determines the combat dice, and half the MR is the creature's Combat Adds.  Pretty simple and flexible system.

So, why the Monstrum Codex?  Because simplicity can be bland. The monster descriptions add flavor, which is always helpful.  Special Damage and Special Abilities add depth and surprises that will keep the party off their toes.  The Special Damage is dependent on the numbers of "6's" rolled... roll enough "6's" and the Special Damage "procs" (yep, that's an MMORPG term).

Personally, I like the idea of "procing" damage in a RPG... it keeps the Special Damage special, and out of direct control of the GM.

The book is spiral bound, just like the rulebook and the monster book... which is either a selling point, or not, depending on your point of view.

The Postman Delivers!

I always find it interesting that packages from a few states away can take 3 weeks to arrive, and other packages from across the country show up in a few days.  Gotta love the US Postal Service!  Huzzah!

Anyhow, the 2 packages that were in my mailbox today were both Tunnels & Trolls related.  The first was the T&T 30th Anniversary 7e Tin.  I like the tin even if it is smaller then the 7.5e Boxed Set.

Items of note:  a 32 page Alternative Rules booklet in addition to the 7e rules.  I need to give this a closer look.  Oh, and of course the CD, which includes (amongst other things) a greatly expanded equipment list and a copy of the T&T Computer game from 1990.  I'll need to boot my PC to give it a try later.

The other package had a signed copy of Monsters! Monsters! and two signed copies of A Fragmented History of Trollworld.  Very nice.  A weekend of reading awaits.

More Links Means More Gooder!

Yep, the New and Improved Tenkar's Tavern has added two links to the top of the page, making the Tavern "More Gooder!"

Alright, how about a little bit better?  Slightly more useful?  Skewed more in the direction of Tunnels & Trolls? (probably - its my current bag, baby!)

Trollhalla, where you get to hang with the Troll God himself, and Trollbridge, where folks post about Troll and Tunnels and other such oddities.

Now, if you wanna do me a personal solid, and expand the amount of free online storage I can squeeze outa the fine folks of Dropbox (where a large portion of my RPG PDFs currently reside), you can sign up using my referral link up on top of this page.  You get free online storage that you can access anywhere you have an internet connection, and I a bit more space to store the huge amount of PDFs I got with my donation at RPGNow for the Pakistan Flood Relief. (Over $41,000 donated by gamers as of this posting)

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - Codex Incantatem

The Codex Incantatem is, for all intents and purposes, a book of bonus spells for T&T.  The spells in the T&T rulebook have been part of the game for years, whereas the spells here, in many cases, have been published previously in T&T fanzines.

There are 39 1st Level Spells, 47 2nd Level Spells, 42 3rd Level Spells, 30 4th Level Spells and 30 5th Level Spells, for a grand total of... 188 additional spells for your T&T Campaign.  The reason I say campaign and not game, is because the T&T Solos, if they allow magic wielding characters, have a Spell Matrix or Chart that help  you work out a spells effect for that adventure - these spells do not appear on such a matrix, at least not with the current collection of solos I've come across.

Now, to put things in perspective... the core rules have 9 5th level spells, this book adds 30... and 6th level has 4 spells to choose from.  I guess when I get the Delver's Pack in the mail I can let you know about the additional higher level spells.

Are they balanced for play?  I don't know, but I don't think there is anything game breaking included.

Do they add options to your game?  Yep.  Just make sure your players earn what they get, and don't let them find anyone willing to sell any spells that you feel might upset the balance, but that's true with anny game system.

Overall, a nice addition to the core rules.

Adding My 15 Bits

Okie, so it looks looks like everyone is doing their list of 15 games.  Can't blame them, as pretty much every list I've looked at has had a few games that made me go "Damn!  I wish I had a chance to play that!"

Anyhow, here's my list, in no particular order:

1 - Risk - classic set with the caltrop pieces
2 - Castles & Crusades - it made old school new
3 - AD&D - my intro to RPGs and my mainstay for years
4 - Chaos Marauders - one of our mainstays when we didn't have a full group for the gaming session
5 - Rifts - insane game, maybe that's why my first character was a "Crazy" ;)
6 - MERP - a fun alternative to AD&D.  Bolas were a dangerous weapon against the PCs
7 - Baldur's Gate Series - When all you had were yourself... and an insane Ranger
8 - Spacemaster - I ran this more often then Traveller
9 - Everquest - Because Ultima Online taught me the true meaning of the word "grief"
10 - Tunnels & Trolls - playing with yourself can be fun.  Git your mind outa the gutter!  Besides, its fun for group play too ;)
11 - Battlelords of the 23rd Century - I never understood the rules, but the guns were big and we had fun playing
12 - Nuclear War - sometime you just need to nuke someone
13 - Warhammer FRP - it was a blast the first time around, and Dark Hearsay was the first Fantasy Grounds campaign I played in
14 - Ultima Series - Sometimes a good story beats lame graphics
15 - Anarchy Online - a MMORPG that also supported solo play? go figure

And Now For Something Completely Different

I was watching the commercial for the new D&D Red Box (not watching it on TV, as I haven't seen it on TV anywhere) and while browsing a thread on EnWorld I found the extended (original 4 minute long) video that was later edited down for the commercial.

Fun stuff, if you are into poorly animated Fiend Folio creatures and Heavy Metal... apparently, I am into it ;)

Spring Cleaning in the Fall

I did some long overdue cleaning over the weekend with surprising results.  You see, I have this one shelf that has turned into a cubby hole of sorts - odds and ends get placed there temporarily, some for longer temporary times then intended.

Case in point - my Dragon Magazine Archive has been missing the first disc since, well, forever it seems.  I even went so far as to bid on another set on Ebay to replace it (didn't win).  What do I find in a stack of CDs that were on that shelf?  The missing first disc.  Nice.

I also stumbled across Scrollworks Issue #1 by Christian over at Destination Unknown.  A little piece of history was buried on that shelf it seems.

I still have to clean out the top shelf in the closet in my son's room.  There is gaming material I haven't touched in years up there.  It may be another archeological dig ;)

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Rulebook - Part 4

This should wind down the main rulebook overview / review.

Spells in T&T.  You either love them, or you hate them.  Not for game reason tho'.  Game-wise its a pretty tight system.  Each spell has a Level, WIZ Cost (which lowers as the character advances in level), Duration, Range, whether or not it can be powered up and then, of course, the spell description.  It's actually very well done without being overly complicated.

Nope, the love or hate is due to the Spell Names:  Upsidaisy (levitate), Healing Feeling (cure disease), Dum-Dum (lowers target's INT), Slush-Yuck (rock to mud) and of course, the (in)infamous Take That You Fiend! (TTYF - a basic attack spell).

Tunnels & Trolls doesn't take itself too seriously, although it's easy to play it as a serious game.  T&T is a flexible, lite hearted system.  If the action isn't covered in the rules, it can probably be covered with a Saving Roll (think ability or skill check, depending on where you are coming from).  Which is great, as good players  think out of the box, and a good RPG system will encourage that.

For those asking, the more I read the T&T rules, the more I like them.  Fun is more important then game balance, which I think has been forgotten in D&D's later incarnations.

Working a late one tomorrow.  Think I'll roll thru a T&T solo in the morning.  Wish me luck.  Some are more killer then the worst Killer DMs ;)

Doctors Without Borders - Pakistan Flood Relief Bundle at RPGNow

Onebookshelf / RPGNow / DrivethruRPG has, with the generosity of a number of its publishers, put together a bundle of RPG products for a price of $25, with the proceeds going to DWB.  Heres the quick blurb:

Record monsoon rains caused flooding that left almost 2,000 people dead and 20 million homeless. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani estimates crop losses at $3.3 billion, total damage of about $7 billion. People displaced by the flooding that began at the end of July are still living in temporary shelters, such as schools, or in tents. Doctors Without Borders continues to provide medical care, clean water, and relief materials.

Following the success of our previous fundraisers for DWB during the Haiti Earthquake Reponse we have decided to put together a new charity effort to raise funds for relief efforts in Pakistan. Several publishers have donated some very cool items to help us raise funds for Doctors Without Borders. The bundle will be available until 10:00 AM EST, Monday, October 25th.

So, there you have it.  It's an extensive list of products.  I won't be listing them all, but you can look at them here.  Still, I do have my favorites:

Adventures in Oz - An RPG set in the land of Oz

Don't Rest Your Head - Fairly popular Indi-RPG

Dragon Warriors RPG - the updated version of the game previously available back in the day in mass paperback format

Exalted Second Edition - never owned it, now I will

Harnmaster Third Edition - Harn was a great source of setting material, now I can check out the rules

House in the Hills - Solo Adventure for Tunnels & Trolls

Icons - A Supers game that hit many of the sweet spots

Open Game Table - Volume 2 - if you read RPG blogs, you should be reading this

Spycraft 2.0 - I still have 1.0 packed away somewhere

Starblazer Adventures - The FATE System meets outer space - a fine piece of work

The Cursed Chateau - By the man who brings us Grognardia, a nice Old School Adventure

The Sanctuary Ruin - Another Old School Adventure

Wild Talents 2nd Edition - More Supers to shake your stick at

Wrack & Rune  - A LL Adventure - See, more Old School

These are all games I either own, or have wanted to own.  There are many more products in the bundle that I haven't mentioned

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Rulebook - Part 3

Alright, where was I?

Uhm, combat.  Your weapon will decide the number of dice (d6) in combat, and you get Personal Adds, which are added to the total die roll.  That is compared to your adversaries dice and adds (usually in direct correlation to its MR, or Monster Rating).  The difference is the amount of damage done to the loser.  If there are multiple characters / adversaries on each side, the dice totals on each side is added, and the losing side takes the damage (distributed amongst its members).

Armor blocks a certain amount of damage points - Warriors get to double the points that their armor blocks.  Damage is taken from CON.  Time or a Poor Baby spell heals damage.

Spite Damage is derived from each "6" rolled... even the winning side can suffer from Spite Damage.

Personal Adds are derived from 4 of your attributes... each point over 12 is +1 Personal Add.

That's the basics of combat.  The side that can maximize it's numbers in combat while minimizing it adversaries numbers in active combat will have the advantage (with the enclosed encounters from Fiery Dragon, T&T can almost become  tactical RPG).

Now spells, Saving rolls and other variables obviously will change things, but that is why you are playing a roleplaying game and not a wargame.   The combat system is pretty flexible, and the MR system allows for quick changing of monsters combat ability if you goofed in your adventure design (when the TPK is the GM's fault, not a result of poor play on the side of the players - or if the players are steamrolling everything).  Heck, the MR system allows for the quick design of monsters and adversaries, thereby allowing the GM to keep things fresh.  If only Raggi had a similar system for LotFP Weird Fantasy ;)

Spells are a whole other kettle of fish.  I'll get to them next...

Distracted by the Cowhide

I'm making today a Lazy Football Sunday.  NY Giants game started at 1 pm, the NY Jets play at 4 pm.  Happy Happy Football Day.

Did I mention i has the winning bid on the T&T 7.0 Collector's Edition Tin? More Happy Happy ;)

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Rulebook - Part 2

I can already see this is going to span many parts.  That's ok tho', I have a decent amount to say on the topic ;)

Character generation, at it's core, is pretty much as you know it from any of the OSR games at: roll 3d6 per attribute, either in order or assign as you will.  In Tunnels & Trolls, your race (Kindred) will determine modifiers to those rolls.  Not + / - 1 as in the games you might know, but as a multiplier: in the case of a Dwarf, x2 to STR and CON, 2/3 to CHA (Strength, Constitution and Charisma - see, you know the game already ;)

There is also a point system for character generation, sort of as a nod to modern sensibilities.  When using the point system, Kindred modifiers are not applied.

Wait, I almost forgot the rule of TARO - Triples are rolled over AND added to the previous roll.  Ex: You roll 4, 4, and a 4, which equals 12.  Keep the 12, roll 3d6 again... they total 10, your total score is a 22 for that attribute.

Me, I was always the roll 4d6 and drop the lowest type of GM in D&D and such.  Using that in T&T will greatly increase the odds of rolling a triple (if the player can choose which die to drop).  It will also improve the chances of rolling scores high enough for a Paragon (Warrior / Wizard dual class).  I don't think it would be all that balance breaking, especially as Attribute Scores will be increasing as one spends earned Adventure (experience) Points.

Adventure Points allow one to increase Ability Scores.  They are earned by killing stuff, role playing, saving rolls and other methods.  Increasing you Ability Scores can increase your Personal Adds (more on this later), make you better at relevant Saving Rolls, make you better at surviving combat (CON = HP), etc.  They also determine your character level in 7.5e (back in 5e, your Adventure Point total determined your level).  In 7e, it cost 100 AP x current stat to increase by 1 (from 10 to 11 costs 1,000 AP).  In 7.5e, that cost has been lowered to 10 AP x current stat to increase by 1 (from 10 to 11 costs 100 AP).  The lowered cost is definitely more reasonable, but I suspect the AP award for completing the included solo adventure (reviewed here) was written for the 7e rules.  Or Ken is just a very generous GM ;)

K, that's it for now.  Back later

Review - Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Rulebook - Part 1

You gotta start somewhere, so it might as well be with the rules themselves.  The first thing you will notice about the book s that its a bit shorter, maybe an inch, then the other two spiral bound books included in the box.  Just figured I'd throw that out there.

The book itself runs 174 pages.  14 pages of which consists of the Armor and Weapons Glossary.  Back in 4e (T&T, not D&D) they basically tell you to look the stuff up that you don't understand on your own (this was prior to the internet).  Now, 14 pages to tell you exactly what it is your character is buying.  I like it myself.

T&T now gives you the following classes to choose from:  Citizen (your average schlep), Rogue (mix a bit of warrior and a bit of wizard - reminds be of the bard class from Dragon 56 / Best of Dragon), Warrior (your meat shield), Wizard (makes things go BOOM and such), Specialist (not really it's own class, but various specialties based on some of the other classes), and Paragon (Warrior / Wizard combo - not watered down like the Rogue - needs exceptional rolls at character generation to be one).

One omission in the rules in my view, is the lack of any real description of the Kindred, or intelligent races.  The main races are Human, Dwarf, Fairy, Hobb and Leprechaun.  There are also 32 rare Kindred races.  Five of them have footnotes on the Kindred Attribute Modifier Charts.  The rest?  Nothing is said about them.  We have the stat modifiers, but I dont even know what a Urook looks like, acts like, anything.  Let alone Urookin.  A sentence or two on each would suffice.

Don't get me wrong, I love choices, and T&T is a game with lots of choices.  I just like to have an idea about my choices aside from a purely muchkin POV.  If they used the same font as the Armor and Weapons Glossary, a Kindred Glossary would take 3 to 4 pages.  Something to think about for the next printing / edition.

I know I'm sounding negative at this point, but don't let it throw you.  I really like this boxed set, and thoroughly enjoy the T&T rules.  More tomorrow about the rules.

Back to Basics

It's funny, but the most annoying part of my current obsession with Tunnels & Trolls is the noticeable lack of GM run adventures.  Ton's of solos, not so many for groups.

Then I realized something.  It's a matter of simplicity to change any Old School D&D module to T&T.  Assign the creature an MR, decide if it has any special abilities that will come into play with the roll of an assigned number of natural "6's" and you are pretty good to go.

I mean, D&D (2e and earlier) is my native born language, but I've become fairly fluent in T&T, and translating between the two doesn't appear to be to difficult (at least from D&D to T&T).

What this means is that with minimal work, I have a nearly limitless source of gaming adventures for use with T&T.  In theory at least.  I need to put the theory to the test.

Anyhow, the 7.5e review will continue, probably later today.  Oh, and some thoughts on D&D B/X (as i have the Expert rules now - never did have it back in the day - AD&D was the big boys' game)

Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e - The Photo Collection ;)

As requested, I took a bunch of photos of the T&T Boxed Set and its contents.  Without further ado, here we go:

Here's the box full of it's goodies.  Notice how it doesn't want to stay shut?

Here's the enclosed map of Trollworld

Two of the three counter sheets. (I initially forgot there was a third)

The two enclosed adventures, one solo and one for a GM / group

Here's the rulebook, spiral bound

The extra spells and monster book - spirals again

See, I found the third counter sheet.  Also, the character sheet and the SE Monster and Magic book

Here's the whole set, including the dice.

I'll start the reviewing this weekend ;)