Tweaking the Tunnels & Trolls Kindreds - The Elf

What can I say about the elf? If you've seen the LotR movie trilogy, you have an idea what they look like. In Tunnels and Trolls, I'm surprised that they don't get a positive modifier to Dexterity. They are just as agile, and a bit less hardy then humans. They do make up for it with positive modifiers to Int, Luck, Wiz and Cha.

Hmmmm.... I would say they make an excellent choice for a Wizzie or a Rogue. Go figure. A spell casting elf.

What kind of tweaks do the elves get? Well, lets give them cat's eyes. Not only do their eyes resemble those of cats, but they also work like those of cats, enabling elves to see nearly as well by starlight as they do by daylight. Additionally, elves are skilled at moving silently and stealthily through forests and the like. Allow them to get within 20 yards of others who aren't actively looking for them in a forest setting without requiring any SRs. Closer then 20 yards, or against foes that are actively looking for them, require the elf to make a SR against Luck. The standard SR is level 2, but depending on the counter measures and type of forest (lots of dead leaves on the forest floors, few trees to hide behind, etc) the GM should increase the SR to the appropriate level.

Dragons and Cats Oh My!

Alright, technically one dragon hand puppet and one cat.  My intention was to do a short review of The Tome of Horrors Complete for Swords & Wizardry, but my cat was hogging up the stage.  So, I improvised.

In any case, the dragon needs a name (the cat already has one).

Add your thoughts in the comments below.  I'll then take the suggestions and put them in a poll at the end of the weekend.  The name that wins the poll at the end of next week is the dragon's new name AND the original poster gets a $10 gift certificate to OneBookShelf / RPGNow / DriveThruRPG.  How's that for fun?

You can enter more then one suggestion, but only one will make the poll (my choice).

Mini Review - ST1: Temple of the Horned Goddess (Labyrinth Lord)

Sometimes you want to eat gourmet.  Sometimes you want fast food.  Temple of the Horned Goddess is decent fast food at an excellent price.

What does one get for their 2 bucks?  24 pages (plus front and back covers) of adventure for a Labyrinth Lord party around 4th or 5th level.  You get a town map, a surrounding area map and 2 small dungeon locations.  You also get some pre-rolled PCs, making this a decent choice for a Game Day or Con game, or just use them to add to your stable of NPCs.  Oh, and 2 new monsters for your Monster Catalogue, or whatever the youngsters are calling it these days.  Not a bad deal for an evening's entertainment.

From the blurb:


The mining village of Hardin's Point is in desperate need of some help. They have been constantly harassed by strange creatures from the jungle. Several adventure and mercenary parties have journeyed into the jungle to take on the threats but have yet to return. Mining operations and trade have almost come to a standstill. Do you have what it takes to find the source of the attacks and end the threat.?
Temple of the Horned Goddess is a Labyrinth Lord/AEC adventure. Designed for 4-5th level characters, the adventure can be placed in any generic fantasy setting. Created by Knightvision Games
This Module includes:

• Over 25 pages spanning overland and dungeon encounters 
• Map for the Village of Hardin's Point 
• Overland maps of the surrounding jungle and the Skinks lair. 
• Detailed maps of the Temple of the Horned Goddess
• New monsters to challenge the PCs
• New magical items and weapons

It's All in the Way You Say It

As a GM, do you use accents and unique voices for your NPCs?

Back in the days of weekly (or more often) gaming, I would try to instill certain NPCs with unique voices. I felt it made them more memorable, and judging from my player's reactions, it did.

I used it mostly with shopkeepers and such that I knew they would deal with repeatedly. Yeah, the stereotypical Scottish brogue for the Dwarven Armorer, a kid's voice for the Halfling Thieves Guildmaster, a German accent for the Bartender of their favorite tavern... stuff like that.

Needless to say, there were times I got my voices crossed, and they would always call me out on it when it happened ;)

Still, it was fun and effective. Then again, I have a bad habit of talking in accents ;)

Scheduling the Re-scheduled Renovations

Renovations should be back on track shortly. We rescheduled the contractor to come in and give us an estimate for this coming Monday (the future Mrs. Tenkar has increased her mobility, but is far from fully mobile). Which means I need to get back to cleaning and throwing stuff out. Fun ;)

I need to start cleaning out my son's old room (previously mine, and still lots of RPG stuff in the top of the closet). There still might be a few gems to re-find this weekend.

If all goes well, I'll have my X-plorers Boxed Set waiting for me when I get home from work on Tuesday. Fun stuff.

Oh, and Monday MAY be my first day in my new office at work. Or it may not. I find personnel moves take their own sweet time at my job, with little rhyme or reason as to their timeliness. When it happens, it will be a good move. I'll be inheriting a very competent staff, which solves 90% of any possible issues right off the bat. ;)

Gaming With Hand Puppets - Is It a Sign of the Coming Apocalypse?

I had a conversation with a coworker yesterday and the subject of hand puppets came up.  Alright, it came up because we were discussing video blog posts, so it didn't just "pop up".  The thing is, as interesting as I find the use of hand puppets in a video blog post (you have been warned) it got me thinking about the use of them in a standard table top RPG session.  Mostly by the DM for the occasional NPC.

I found knights and dragons, and with an average price less then 20 bucks a pop it's actually affordable.  The question is, has anyone tried this before?  Is anyone willing to admit that they tried this before? ;)

It's may be kinda silly, but I think it could work with the right group (and correct game system)

The Power of Words

Ever since the NYPD's Police Commissioner made his statement on 60 Minutes about the NYPD's ability to take down an aircraft, the news media has been abuzz.

What weapons will they use? Does the NYPD have surface to air missiles? Armed aircraft? Who gave them the authority to shoot down aircraft?

Commissioner Kelly never stated the NYPD could shoot down an airliner, just that the department has the means to take down an aircraft. A lucky shot from a .50 caliber rifle could do it. Maybe you could force down a 2 seater prop plane with a helicopter, but there is no way the NYPD is taking down a highjacked jetliner. That's a simple fact.

Still, the media filled in the blanks, even if they filled them in wrong. I'm sure your gaming group would do the same.

Rarely, if ever, give them a defined threat to work against. Leave it vague enough that they can make their own assumptions. Most of those assumptions will be wrong. Many of them will make the threat seem more fearsome them it really is.

Isn't that the whole point anyway? If the players are to believe the "cardboard tiger" it's always best to let them construct it themselves. They know it is real, as they built it ;)

It Ain't Heavy, It's My Tome of Horrors

I'm still in awe of the hardcover version of the Tome of Horrors. The sucker is huge and heavy. It compares very favorably to a nice sized single volume encyclopedia is size and weight.

According to an email I received last night, my X-plorers boxed set should be shipping shortly. Sweet!

The fiancee was nice enough to ask me where I'll be storing all the new goodies I've ordered. I reminded her I already bought the shelving ;)

Defining the Kindreds in Tunnels and Trolls - The Basics - Dwarves

Our next Kin to take a look at is Dwarves.  When we get to the Dwarves, we get a race that is decent at a combat role, but little else about them is defined at all.  Lets remedy that just a bit.

Our Dwarves our going to conform the the fantasy standard.  Grim and dour, loyal companions and dangerous enemies.  Dwarves have taught them self a sense of sonar detection for traveling in the dark underworld.  By clicking their tongues or tapping their hammers to stone, they can get a fairly accurate 3D image of their surroundings.  Tongue clicks are good for about 20' in distance, hammer tapping is good for about 40 yards, but the noise can attract unwanted attention.

Dwarves have mortal enemies in most, if not all, of the Trollish races.  They often share the same habitat and have little use for the other.  Dwarves are no match for trolls one on one, so the dwarves have taken on the tactic of swarming their foe.  For the stout folk, numbers make all the difference.  When fighting trolls, for every dwarf that outnumbers the trollish enemy, add 1D6 to the dwarf side's combat adds.

For example - 10 dwarves are fighting 2 trolls - the dwarves get to add 8 dice to their combat adds for their side (not each).  Dwarves are not above luring lone trolls to a quick death under the weight of their numbers.

Elves are the next to be tweaked...

I Got My Tome of Horrors Complete Today!

Yep, The Tome of Horrors Complete (Swords & Wizardry) was waiting for me when I arrived home today.  About the only gaming book I can attempt to compare it to is Ptolus.

It is a massive book.  I am eager to start thumbing thru it.  Expect a video blog starring the ToHC in the next day or two.

Tweaking the Tunnels & Trolls Kindreds - The Methods to My Madness

Captain Obvious made a good point in the comments section of the previous post. Why not ditch the multiplier to the Kindred stats and just increase the dice rolled and take the best three?

I did think of doing something similar, but at the core of this exercise is a desire to minimize change. The tweaks I'll be suggesting can be overlaid on the existing rules. If you don't like my suggestions, or just like some and not others, use what you want and ditch the rest. It won't break anything, or at least it shouldn't.

I'm not looking to rewrite the Kindreds. Well, actually, I couldn't, as except for the ability modifiers there is little if anything to rewrite. So I'm keeping the modifiers as is and working from there.

I hope that makes sense.

Defining the Kindreds in Tunnels and Trolls - The Basics - Humans

Why would anyone want to be a human in Tunnels & Trolls?  Every other kindred will average higher attributes due to multipliers.  Now, I know it isn't all about "min-maxing", but the inequality is pretty ridiculous if you ask me.  It's even more noticeable with the 7.5e rules, where level is based on highest attribute divided by 10.

My house rule for Humans?  Roll 2 dice before you start rolling your attributes and put them aside.  These  2 dice can be used to replace any 2 individual dice you may roll generating your stats.  Once they are used they are disposed off.  In the 7.5e rules, they can be used to create a TARO result (Triples Are Rolled Over and added).

The extra dice are due to the inherent adaptability of humans.  Humans can be found in the coldest steppes, the hottest jungles and nearly every climate in-between.  From city dwellers to farmers, soldiers to  wizards, if there is a role to fill, a job to be done, a human has probably done it.

Tomorrow, we tweak the Dwarves...

Victim of Real Life Thieving Skills

I didn't sleep well last nite. The dog was having some bathroom issues, and i had to let her out three times over nite so she could take care of business. And she still had a small problem in the room which I found when I woke up. So, needless to say, I wasn't in an awesome mood when I left the house to go to work.

My mood got worse when I reached my car. Some low life piece of sh!t broke into my car! Now, they didn't break a window or damage a lock. They had skills (or a master key). They apparently didn't let the car alarm phase them (as I had the AC on last nite, I never heard it). Well, "they" is a probably a singular "he" and safe bet they are a habitual drug user. He moved quickly, emptying the glove compartment, center console, passenger side door map storage area and the damn change holder on the driver's side.

Net loss? A three year old GPS and maybe 10 bucks in change.

Still leaves me pissed off.

I will take my blessings as I can. No damage to the car or locks. He was professional, as only a thief can be.

Defining the Kindreds in Tunnels & Trolls - Finding the Start Button

I've been talking a lot of crap this past weekend about the need for a setting for the Tunnels & Trolls RPG.  The thing is, before you can even get to the world at large, you need to know what actually resides there.  In the T&T rules, no matter the edition, the different kindreds (or races) are no more then a list of attribute modifiers.  It is assumed that you know enough about the different kindreds to make the proper choice for your roleplaying and gaming needs.  That doesn't work for me.  

Grabbing from the list in the 7.5e rules the following is the list of "Common" Kindreds:

Human - easy enough to identify with, it could still use a grounding in the fictional setting it will be used in.  Aren't even listed in the chart

Dwarf - again, easy enough to get a handle of, but could use tweaks beyond just attribute adjustments.  We do know he stands about 4' tall

Elf - there are many kinds of elves.  we could assume a "standard" High Elf from D&D type

Fairy - about 7" tall and can fly... or so the drawing shows

Hobb - think Hobbit or Halfling.  3' tall

Leprechauns - uhm, I think we would have to pass on the classic green outfit and hat.  They do get access to a Wink-Wing spell that they can do w/o magical training, but it also says they are all Wizards.  Go figure.

So, of the above, the Leprechauns have 2 sentences devoted to them.  The rest?  Nada.  And those are just the common kindred.

I need to define the kindreds before I can even think of designing any part the world.  I think I just stepped into a project...

The Free OSR List Mini Review - Mazes & Minotaurs

Do you member the classic Marvel Comic's series What If?  What If Spiderman had joined the X-Men type of story.  Well, Mazes & Minotaurs is an RPG What If.

What if the first RPG didn't dray it's mythology from Tolkien, King Arthur and other fantasy sources but instead drew upon Greek mythology.  The result is Mazes & Minotaurs.

It helps if buy into the "alternate timeline" when you go to the website ;)

It is a well done, alternative style RPG.  I can see bits of D&D, Tunnels & Trolls and Runequest in the rules we are given.  (Not to mention the cover to the M&M Companions is ripped from Avalon Hill RQ... but it's a fun rip).

From the blurb:

As most of you probably remember, the year 1972 saw the release of MAZES & MINOTAURS, the first ever-published fantasy roleplaying game, opening a new era of heroic adventure and mythic odysseys…

Fifteen years later, in 1987, Legendary Games Studio published a fully revised, streamlined and expanded version of M&M (which became known as Revised Mazes & Minotaurs or RM&M for short) in the form of three core books (the Players Manual, the Maze Masters Guide and the massive Creature Compendium) and a fourth optional book (the M&M Companion), all with full-color covers and quality B&W interior art.

In 2007, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this mythic event, the resurrected Legendary Games Studio is happy to bring you Revised Mazes & Minotaurs in PDF format (yes, the whole four books !)… FOR FREE. 

Football or Blogging - What is a Man to Do?

The Jets - Raiders game has been pretty exciting so far.  I'm hoping the Jets can pull this one off but time will tell.

I'm having way too many Tunnels & Trolls thoughts at the moment.  Crap is distracting me from football damn it!  Good thoughts tho'.  I'll see if they lead anywhere.

Maybe What Tunnels & Trolls Needs Is a Setting

You need to forgive me, but Tunnels & Trolls is burning it's way through my blood these past few days and I'm still on the T&T kick.

So, here's the latest thought:  Would T&T be best served if there was an actual "setting" for the game?  By this, I'm looking at The World of Greyhawk and The Forgotten Realms over on the D&D side of the equation.  During the course of most of D&D's history, one setting or the other has been the default setting for the vast majority of RPG campaigns that have been in existance.  What does Tunnels & Trolls have to offer?

TrollWorld.

There isn't really much you can do with TrollWorld as written to place a campaign in that setting, as there is very little there.  The Fragmentary History of TrollWorld isn't much of a help either.  So there really isn't a default setting to use with T&T, unless one wishes to port one over from D&D.  Which is fine, except that you would need to cut out a majority of the available races for T&T.  Not much of a loss, as most of them just exist on the Racial Adjustment Chart for Stat Multipliers - there is no write up for most of them.

Which leads to yet another thought.  Do we need all of the racial options for character generation that Tunnels & Trolls gives us or can we pare the list?  Or should we flesh out the list with actual descriptions, habitat and the likes for the creatures listed?

If we design a setting for Tunnels & Trolls, how far should one step away from the old default of the standard D&D type world?  Or should it be like Glorantha, very much it's unique self?

T&T adventures tend to have more "silly" elements then other types of fantasy RPGs do.  Is that because of the setting that is inferred, or the system?  Or "just because"?

A Step Closer to the Rest of My Life

Last night and today was Pre Cana, the ritual Catholic test of stamina / prior to marriage class.  The future Mrs. Tenkar and I survived (which wasn't easy, as Rachel's broken foot and sprained opposite ankle really hampered mobility, but I digress).

Last night's history lesson was fairly convoluted... I'm sure the priest knew where he was going but I didn't (and I was a history major).

Today, the couple that gave the class were very nice, although the wife's accent was heavy enough that I drifted off to gaming thoughts when she read or spoke.  Probably not what the big guy upstairs wanted from me, but the other option was breaking out the iPad, and we were told that was verboten right from the start... sigh.

In any case, I was wondering if an Illusionist class could be built for the Swords and Wizardry rules within the OGL.  I know there were reasons the class was kept out, which boiled down to not being able to stay true to the original D&D class within the bounds of the OGL, but just like the Bard class, there has to be a viable and acceptable variant out there, even if I have to write it myself.

Then I bounced to the question of "what exactly would make Tunnels & Trolls more acceptable as a traditional group RPG?"  Would it be a setting?  Sandbox or detailed local setting?  Maybe an adventure path.

I got my certificate AND I did some gaming brainstorming.  Not too bad a day ;)

Further Thoughts on the Viability of the Tunnels & Trolls System For Group Play

I got some really thoughtful responses to yesterday's post, and now I'm here with a need to elaborate on my previous thoughts (and possibly repeat myself).

Tunnels & Trolls, as written, assumes that the rules will be used in "Group Play".  Most of the rulebook is geared to group play.

The saving roll mechanism introduced in later editions needs a GM's interpretation as to is applicability and use.  It's only useful in group play.

Most of the spells in T&T assume group play.  Heck, the vast majority of solos don't allow for spell casting - generally speaking, they need to have a spell matrix to refer to allow for most spell use.

Solo play is a warrior's game.  Which means you can chuck about half of the rulebook if you're going solo.  Actually, solo play needs nothing more then the T&T Free Quickstart rules.  Ever.  Seriously, who's going to make it past 5th level playing HONESTLY through T&T solos?

It's not that it doesn't work well as a solo game.  T&T EXCELS as a solo game.  It's just as viable as a group play rpg, but that part often gets overlooked by the solo aspect.

Flying Buffalo is the major culprit here, as it took square aim at the solo market years ago and pretty much defined T&T as a solo game to the RPG masses.  It may have good business decision at the time, but the long term repercussion is that a game written for group play was never truly supported for group play.

Players are generally introduced to the RPG hobby by other players.  T&T as a solo game does not lend itself to introducing others to the hobby.  The 5e rules are pretty poorly organized, and probably wouldn't make for a great game to introduce new players without some experienced handholding, but the 7.5e rules are much clearer to understand (even if T&T enthusiasts like to argue the pros and cons between editions, in the end the gameplay is nearly identical) and would make for a nice introduction to the hobby.

Tunnels & Trolls could be a tool to add players to the RPG fold in general.  I'm glad to see that there will be a steady release of GM adventures for T&T in the near future.  Most of the currently available ones are on the "tho shalt not patronize list".  I hope Peryton and some other publishers can bring some fresh life to an enjoyable game system.

Will Solo Play Be the Slow Death of Tunnels & Trolls?

Tunnels & Trolls has always had a pretty secure hold of the "solo play" corner of the RPG hobby.  It really is what T&T is known for.  The thing is, treating it as a solo only system, or a solo first system, really shrinks your pool of potential players (and customers).

It isn't just perception that T&T is aimed at solo play even though the rules are written with group play in mind.  Look at the adventures published by Flying Buffalo.  Dungeon of the Bear and Isle of Darksmoke are the only GM adventures I can think of off the top that FBI put out.  The list of FBI solos is huge.

Mike Hill pretty much wrote about the same in the editorial of The Hobbit Hole issue #12: "... if T&T is to grow, writers should turn their attention from the potentially self-indulgent solo arena and back to the group."  (thanks to the Trollgod for mailing it out so quickly)

Just think... if you want to play solo, computer games and console games are king, even for RPGs.  Group play excels on the table top, whether it is real or virtual.  Solo play with T&T is going to be targeting a smaller and smaller audience.

Fans of Tunnels & Trolls will be best served if writers would move from solos to GM / group play adventures.  With many gamers dissatisfied with D&D 4e, now is a good time to present an alternative that is easier to learn and play.