RSS
Home
Tunnels & Trolls combines 'Old School' and "indie" style gaming
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The highlight of RinCon '09 for me was getting the chance to play Tunnels & Trolls with its creator, Ken St. Andre. For those who aren't in the know, T&T is a fantasy roleplaying game created in 1975, one year after the release of Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike D&D, Tunnels & Trolls has remained under the direction of a single creator, has maintained the same vision, and the rules of various editions have remained almost completely compatible with other editions. For all of those reasons, it is as pure an Old School-style game as you can get.
I have read many definitions of "Old School" and have followed the Old School movement from the beginning. The game I played in met most criteria liad down to define that style of play. Skills are minimal; we were encouraged to ask questions and explore things, without resorting to die rolls to gather information. The equipment we were carrying mattered, and we were up the creek when we didn't have items we needfed (largely because we failed to ask appropriate questions when given the chance). Success relied more on the players' wits than on numbers on the sheet and the die rolls we made. My player almost died, based on my own foolish choices. Another player character did die, with no remorse or regret from our gracious gamemaster. The only reason I can see that Old School gamers have no adopted Tunnels & Trolls is the simple fact that it doesn't carry the D&D brand name, nor is it a clone or derivative of D&D. Old School gamers are missing out, in my opinion. This delivers the experience they claim to be looking for.
The game system is simple enough. There are 7 attributes -- Strength, Consitution, Dexterity, Speed, Intelligence, Wizardry, Luck, and Charisma. You roll 3d6 to determine the scores. This seems very familiar, but these are starting numbers. They don't mean the same thing as in D&D. As you gain experience, expressed as "Adventure Points", you buy up your attributes. It's not impossible for experienced characters to have attribute scores in the 70s, 80s, 90s or higher... in fact, it's expected. Character level is determined by the first digit in one of your class's primary attributes. If your Wizard has a score of, say, 57 in any one of his Dex, Int, Wiz or Chr, he's a 5th level character, period. More on levels in a moment.
Yes, there are classes, but again, they don't work quite the same as in D&D. In version 7.5, the classes are Citizen, Rogue, Warrior, Wizard, Specialist, and Paragon. Citizens are normal people, with no weapons or magic training... but they get Talents (I'll citcle back to that). Warriors and Wizards are what you'd expect. Rogues are less akin to thieves and more like the Grey Mouser, a combination of fighter and spellcaster that depends upon wits and luck. Specialists come in a number of varieties, like Ranger, and have innate abilities that duplicate spells. Paragons happen when you roll up really good starting attributes (12 or better in everything), and get the benefits of both Wizards and Warriors. What a class really does for you is determine the abilities you start with. it kind of matters, but in the long run it doesn't. A Wizard can spend Adventure Pouints to crank up the right attributes and be nearly as good a fighter as a Warrior. All classes get Talent, which substitute for any number of abilities..As you also noticed in the example above, there are 4 different core attributes for Wizard, and you get to choose what attribute you emphasize, meaning you can play a Wizard a lot of different ways.
Talents are a key feature here. They're very indie-game in their loose definition and use. At each level (in some classes, each level after 1st, because that class gives you a Talent as 1st) you pick a new Talent for your character. There is no list. You make up with the Talent is, you decide what attribute it's tied to, and the gamemaster either approves it or doesn't. When you tie all this together, you can have a character that's technically a Rogue, but has such a diverse set of Talents and your choice of attributes that he could be called any number of things.
Lest I forget, here's the core mechanic: Everything is a saving roll. The base target number (a "level 1" challenge") is 20. Each challenge level adds another 5, so a "level 7 challenge" is a target number of 50. You roll two (or more) d6 and add them to the appropriate attribute. That's it. Make a level 3 Dex save. My Dex is 27, so I need to roll a 30 total. I roll 2d6, get 10, add my Dex of 27, total 37, I succeed. Adventure points are earned as you go, by multiplying the roll by the save level. In this instance, I roll 10 on a level 3 save, so I get 30 Adventure Points.
that's not the combat mechanic, however. You don't roll to hit. You basically roll damage, adding in attribute bonuses that comprise your "personal add" or "combat add". Both attacker and defender roll. High score wins. Damage taken is the difference of the two. If I score 63 between my roll and my combat adds, and the monster scores 47, he takes 16 damage. It plays easier than it reads. Adventure points awards for slaying a monster are basically equal to its hit points, divided by the number of characters. So if three characters work together to take down a Monster rating (MR) 450 critter, they get 150 Adventure points each. If they kills an MR 300 monster, they get 100 AP each. Simple.
Tunnels & Trolls 7.5 is also a boxed set, which should please people who lament that no one makes good boxed set adventure games these days. For $35, you get the following:
The core rulebook, spiral bound
Codex Incantatem, a spell book, spiral bound
Monstroum Codex, a monster book, spiral bound
Monsters and Magic Book, special Edition, more spells and monsters
Hot Pursuit, an adventure module to be run by a GM
Strange Destinies, a solo adventure module
Character sheets
A fold-out map of Trollworld
3 sheets of cardstock counters, with characters and monsters
Four six-sided dice of very nice quality.
That's plenty of material to keep you playing for a while. For additional material ,you can subscribe to Trollhalla, the official Tunnels & Trolls community, where you'll find an actvive fanbase and years of material to bring to your game.
In summary, I think Tunnels & Trolls is a real winner. It's got a combination of tradition and innovation, it's good for dungeon crawls and story-based adventures, it does it all very simply and elegantly and it comes in a relatively inexpensive boxed set that includes everything you need.
Tunnels & Trolls V7.5 (official T&T RPG Box Set)
Statement of Review Ethics
Berin Kinsman brings over 30 years of experience in playing, running, and writing tabletop roleplaying games into the equation when writing reviews. Unless otherwise noted, all reviews are based on a reading of the book and not actual play. Games are evaluated on presentation, including quality of writing, artwork and graphic design, setting material, player character options, and the level enthusiasm to play them that is generated by that presentation. It is safe to assume that all games have been provided by the publisher, author, or other party associated with the game for review in return for promotional consideration. Not every game provided for this purpose will be reviewed. The source of the game provided for review does not influence the opinion of the reviewer, and each game will be evaluated on its own merits.
Related Articles:
Comments
