Loot-O-Matic

The Loot-O-Matic from Grimtooth Industries

Some people ponder the big questions. Why are we here? Where are we going?
What would happen if I taped a piece of toast to a cats back butter-side up and dropped it? Not me though, I'm pondering how my solitaire adventures through Trollworld compare to other peoples and, given a choice which random treasure generator would you use?

There are a lot of fine choices out there. From the bog standard generators that come with the rules (which we'll be focusing on in this post), on-line generators, generators from other systems that you can convert to Tunnels and Trolls, your own homebrew creations that best represent your own vision of Trollworld and, of course the fine generators that can be found in Elder Tunnels.

Personally given a choice between 5.5 and 7.5, I prefer the generator in the latter. Not that there's anything wrong with the 5.5 generator.. It's just not as interesting. It produces coins, jewels and, jeweled items. That's it!

7.5 however can produce all of that (in greater variation) plus weapons, armor, potions and, other magical bits and bobs. Which sounds great, in theory. The only problem is that it can go a bit (and for a bit, read WAY) overboard in the net worth of the treasure it dishes out, in one case handing a 1st level character a necklace worth in excess of 23,000... Yeah.. Just a "bit" overboard.

Other than it's Mad Hatter nature though, it's a good generator, so what to do? Enter homebrewing to fix an error that should have frankly been glaringly obvious from the word get go, the first table.

The first table in the 7.5 rulebook makes it just as likely that you'll roll jewels as coins, with a separate entry for jeweled items, meaning that it is now four times more likely that you'll find jewels of some description when compared to 5.5 and, twice as likely that you'll find jewels instead of coins.. Which common sense would tell you just isn't right.

My solution

Replace the first table in the book with the following one:

2D6 DARO

2-7: Money [See Money Table]

8-12: Weapon [See Weapon Table]

13-16: Armor [See Armor Table]

17-19: Jewels [See Jewels Table]

20-21: Jewelry [See Jewelery Table]

22+: Potion [See Potion Table]

Admittedly it's only a start but it I feel it goes a long way towards "fixing" the generator. Given time I will probably end up modifying all of the 7.5 tables along the same lines and, maybe introduce a few other McGuffins such as mundane items and a more robust et of tables for generating magical items.

Review: Elder Tunnels - Halloween 2010

Balancing horror and high-fantasy can be a difficult task.

Even in surreal, pan-dimensional warp spaces like the many worlds of Tunnels and Trolls it's a delicate balance. Many of the classic tropes have already been explored in depth by most gamers, either through the classic fiction that most of us will have read or, through popular culture.

Suffice to say, springing a surprise horror adventure on your party can be a difficult task for the GM... That's why we're taking a look at a Halloween product in early August.

Pick it up now, read through it within the next week and, your next session can really bring some bite to the table. Not only will the players not be expecting you to run such a scenario but, to their credit, the two GM adventures included in this issue don't read like horror at all... Until your players are already up to their necks in it that is. ;0).

But what do you get for your money?

The Ephemera Furnace

 

The first GM adventure in the book has several interesting themes running through it. One of which is a theme that doesn't often make it to my Tunnels and Trolls table in all honesty. That theme being morality.

I have long since thought that it is hard to herald folks that break into the homes of (granted, less savory) folks to steal and murder as heroes but, that would seem to be at the heart of our hobby. In fact, it's such common place in high-fantasy that most of us barely think twice about it. I sure don't when I am at the gaming table. I have even heard tales of a thieving little hobbit in another group, stealing the door knobs on every chamber he passed because they were made of brass!

So it is fair to say that any delver that's made it so far through their career (often having set foot inside their first dungeon is a  good benchmark) has done something immoral. Usually something like mowing down a poorly armed goblin with a broadsword for his pocket change or, hacking up a swarm of rats, just because they're in the way.

This adventure redresses that balance however and, the more black hearted amongst your party could find themselves having a very hard time! Which I think is a good thing. Not only does it encourage better roleplaying by forcing players to evaluate their actions but, it also throws them one hell of a curve ball.

Interestingly and coincidently, I saw a similar dilemma in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager that I had watched only last week.  So if you happen to have a season 1 on DVD and want to run this adventure, I would highly recommend taking a look at "Phage" for some pointers upon the motivations of the NPC's and, possible developments that may occur as a result of this adventure.

Resurrection Missions

I have to admit that when looking at the product as a whole, I find the inclusion of the Resurrection Missions article odd.

In all fairness to the author and the editors over at Peryton Publishing there is nothing wrong with the article. Nothing what so ever. It is well written, has that familiar Tunnels and Trolls take on fantasy about it and, offers three very entertaining short adventures that could be used to either break the ice with a new party or, as a special event to reunite players with their most favored fallen characters from the year that have met sticky ends.

It could be great! But somehow when compared to the other adventures it seems to fall short... Which is where the oddness comes in.

There is nothing wrong with it what so ever, yet I just can't seem to get on with it. I suspect that this may be more to do with me as a reader favoring certain authors, their styles of writing and, the way that they bring the words to life, so should certainly not be taken in any way, shape or, form as a slight on Mike's work. It's just evidently not to my taste.

It is however a fine piece of work and a good solid contribution to the zine, so well worth a read.

The Farmer's Daughter

In fairness to my readership, I must admit that I have not yet had time to play through this and, as not to spoil any of my future adventures I have pretty much tried to avoid reading anything about this solo what so ever.

As such, I can't really review it in any fair manner, so I will be coming back to this one at a later date. One thing I can comment on however is the interesting take on Grant Wood's, American Gothic that it uses as cover art and, that comment would have to be, awesome! Awesome with a capital A!

Trouble Among the Tumbled Stones

Last by no means least is Tom K. Loney's GM adventure, Trouble Among the Tumbled Stones.

Anyone that has read my previous Elder Tunnels review will no doubt have guessed that I was really looking forward to reading this adventure after how much enjoyment I got from the Wuthering Depths. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed.

Continuing in the setting of his previous adventure, Trouble Among the Tumbled Stones takes us above ground and into troubled times as Tom fleshes out this rich world with his vibrant imagination.

As with Christina Lea's adventure, things start out rather unassuming. People are going missing along the main trade road and, this being bad for business the local authorities want to put a stop to things. As such, they hire the party to investigate. Now that all sounds rather tame doesn't it?

Not at all horrific.

Well, that might well be the case if the people weren't going missing right in the middle of Ghoul country! Ghoul's that interestingly enough the locals seem to live a peaceful coexistence with or, at least a have a tolerance for. The Ghouls even have their own settlement and community.

Now hows that for a twist! Normally you'd be charging the Ghoul city with a bunch of angry locals, brandishing torches and pitchforks sure that they were the villains of the piece but nothing is quite that clear cut here. In this instance, the party are likely the outsiders, new to the area and, potentially the subject of suspicion from the Ghouls. Talk about turning the tables!

That's as about as much as I can say before I start throwing spoilers out there (which I really don't want to do) but, for all the great content in this zine I really have to recommend you pick up a copy.

You won't be disappointed.

Links

Check out the Elder Tunnels here.
Take a look around Peryton Publishing.

Pick up the PDF here ($4.99) or, order your dead tree copy here ($7.99).

On The Cards: Monday 6th August

Blogging is certainly a learning curve and, the lesson that the last week has taught me is that I and writing schedules really don't get along.

I suspect that this is in a large part due to my general disdain for deadlines. At best they are a pain and, at worst they pressure me into doing some fairly shoddy work as I rush through elements like editing and proof reading.

It's also not what this blog is about at all.

This blog is all about creativity and having an outlet for that creativity. This doesn't mean that I can't have a semblance of structure to my works however, just that declaring that I was going to convert an entire supplement in a day was probably a little bit ambitious. ;0).

My plan is still to keep all you guys in the loop though as to what you can expect to see, so going forward On The Cards is going to be more of an informal guide to what I have planned rather than the structured blow-by-blow plan of action.

So, going forward, the "plan" looks a little something like this...

I am still continuing with the conversion of the beasties for Diablo and, slowly but surely we are getting there. All being well, we should be roughly at the half-way point with them by the end of the week.

The trollish content will be thick and fast this week as I take a look at the latest products hitting the market, share my view on a more flexible means of character creation, review the next copy of Elder Tunnels in my collection and, compare Tunnels and Trolls to it's sister game Monsters! Monsters!

On the board game front I hope to be taking a look Relic, opening (finally) my copy of Fortress America and, sharing a couple of interesting reviews from around the web with my take on matters.

I have also downloaded my prizes from the contest over at Tenkar's Tavern this morning so hopefully I will have time to read through and possibly review those this week.

On top of all of this, I still have tons and TONS of content in the pipeline, so be sure to check on by on a regular basis and, most of all, enjoy your gaming. :0).

Week Of The Troll: Elder Tunnels - Winter / Spring 2010

It couldn't be the week of the troll without giving an honorable mention to the excellent folks over at Peryton Publishing. Not only are they great guys but, when it comes to their products you sure do get plenty of bang for your buck.

Starting way back in the cold winds of Winter 2010, Peryton Publishing now has 6 issues of the Elder Tunnels zine under its belt and, in my opinion, they just keep getting better and better.

Right now however, let me take you back to issue one, as we take a journey and begin our exploration of the Elder Tunnels.

It has to be said that for my money the first issue was a little hit and miss from my point of view. I absolutely loved the "Wuthering Depths" adventure written by Tom K. Loney. It had depth and an atmosphere that really drew you in as the GM reading over his notes. Stephen Butka's effort, "The Sorcerers Chimney" however left a lot to be desired.

This is not to say that however that the adventure was poorly conceived but, rather that in comparison to Tom's work it seemed incomplete and sketchy. Monsters are presented in a bizarre fashion and, encounters and locations lack any great detail. That said however, I can see that this may appeal to the old school GM's out there who see loosely described rooms and blank locations as a great chance to show off their own creative flair.

That's not me though. I like nicely fleshed out adventures that are ready to run straight out of the book. This is what I feel that you get with the Wuthering Depths. More than that I would say that the Wuthering Depths isn't just an adventure, it's a setting. A setting that is well worth the price tag on the cover, even without the other adventure included.

In conclusion, buy it. It's well worth it.

Links

Check out Elder Tunnels
Take a look around Peryton Publishing

Pick up the PDF here ($4.99)
Pick up a dead tree copy here ($7.99)

Week Of The Troll: TrollsZine

The week of the troll may be drawing to a close but I couldn't call an end to the event without taking the opportunity to give a mention to TrollsZine, Elder Tunnels and, Pocket Troll.

Whilst there is another zine out there *cough* Hobbit Hole *cough*, these three are the only ones worth their salt and your buck, with TrollsZine being free free free... Did I mention it was free?

Stating the same fact four times within one sentence may seem a bit like overkill but given that certain unscrupulous parties have in the past tried to sell TrollsZine as their own for as much as $13, being clear on the fact that it is free seems important. So if you see someone out there trying to sell you a dead tree version of any of the issues or, worse yet, charge you for the PDF, feel free to report them to your local law enforcement. It is a scam, they are scam artists and, as a contributor to the first two issues I don't see why you should have to pay for something that has been given to be shared freely.

The scummy dealings of Jim Shipman aren't news however and, I don't want to get too tied up in them in this post. Instead I want to focus more on the great work and tireless contributions of the Tunnels and Trolls community to furthering the hobby.

TrollsZine is a prime example of this, being the product of material and time freely donated by people who really care about the game and, really enjoy sharing their passion. So why not download a copy... It's free after all. ;0).

On The Cards: Friday 20th July

Next week will see a theme running through the majority of my posts and, that theme is Tunnels and Trolls.

Despite being the second oldest roleplaying game in existence and, a lot of the mechanics within it being adopted by other popular systems this little gem seems almost damned to toil in obscurity.

For example, Tunnels and Trolls was the first system ever to introduce solitaire adventures for gamers without active groups but, when we talk about solos Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventure are without a shadow of a doubt the first things that come to mind.

Take my word for it. Fighting Fantasy is good and has brought me many hours of pleasure over the years but, Tunnels and Trolls is better.

Need convincing? Stay tuned as there will be plenty of links to Tunnels and Trolls freebies, as well as a look at what's on offer for those willing to shell out a couple of dollars.

Coming up next week on the blog:

Alchemy Bytes
A Tunnels and Trolls Solo
More Types for Tunnels and Trolls
Presenting TrollsZine
Taking a look at Elder Tunnels