Tunnels and Trolls
Encyclopedia
Tunnels & Trolls is a fantasy
role-playing game
designed by Ken St. Andre
and first published in 1975 by Flying Buffalo
. The second modern role-playing game published, it was written by Ken St. Andre
to be a more accessible alternative to Dungeons and Dragons and is suitable for solitaire, play-by-mail, play-by-post and group gameplay.
." In an interview in 1986, Ken St Andre stated that "my conception of the T&T world was based on The Lord of The Rings as it would have been done by Marvel Comics in 1974 with Conan, Elric, the Gray Mouser and a host of badguys thrown in."
The 5.5 Edition includes Ken St. Andre's house campaign setting, Trollworld.
Some editions add the following prime attributes:
A new character begins with a randomly generated score for each attribute, determined by rolling three six-side dice.
, and hobbit
s. Other races, like leprechaun
s and fairies, serve as additional character options. A character's race affects his or her attributes.
, but could be more accurately described as 'Rogue Wizards'. Rogues are limited in their spell-casting abilities, can utilize the full range of combat weapons and armor as a warrior but do not receive the Warrior's armor bonus. Warrior-Wizards are not so limited, but the player must be lucky with the dice when creating the character: high minimum attribute scores are required. Later editions include new classes such as Specialist Mage, Paragon (a renaming of the Warrior-Wizard), Leader, and Ranger.
Tunnels & Trolls is unusual among roleplaying games in conducting mass combat resolution with one set of rolls, as the above system applies to combats between any number of opponents.
Personal adds are determined by Strength, Luck, and Dexterity. For every point above 12 possessed in each of these attributes, the character receives a one-point bonus to his personal adds. Similarly, for every point below 9 possessed in each of these attributes, the character receives a one-point penalty.
In the 7th Edition, the formula was changed to include Speed in the personal adds.
The 5.5 edition (and 7th) introduced 'spite damage' whereby each "6" rolled on the combat dice causes a minimum of one damage to be inflicted on the opposing side, regardless of armor or the respective combat totals. This helped resolve the interminable stalemate that could occur between evenly-matched, heavily-armored opponents.
series achieved great popularity using this format. Both T&T's simplicity and its reliance on use of six-sided dice (as compared to the various polyhedral dice used by Dungeons and Dragons) contributed to its success in this format.
, Germany
, France
, Italy
, Finland
, and Japan
, and it entered these markets before Dungeons & Dragons
did in most cases. Corgi Books in the United Kingdom produced mass-market paperback-sized versions of the core rulebook as well as many of the solo adventures (occasionally with adult content removed), a format which paved the way for the renowned Fighting Fantasy
series of gamebooks.
In 2005, Flying Buffalo
updated the 5th edition rules with a 5.5 publication that added about 40 pages of extra material. That same year, Fiery Dragon Productions of Canada
produced a 30th Anniversary Edition under license in a tin box complete with CD, map, and monster counters, two new versions of the rules. Ken St. Andre used the opportunity to extensively update the style of play and introduce new role-playing concepts, such as character level determined by character attribute statistics instead of arbitrary numbers of experience points. The 30th Anniversary rules are generally known as the 7th edition, to avoid confusion due to the distribution of many unlicensed versions claiming to be the 6th edition via the internet. One of the most significant innovations of 7th edition is the introduction of a skills system.
Before its license ended in December, 2009 Outlaw Press released the following T&T items; 25 Mini-Solo's, 38 full-sized Solo's, 23 GM Adventures, 7 novels, 1 boardgame, 3 types of dice, 32 magazine issues (total) and 10 campaign supplements. The T&T magazines 'The Hobbit Hole' and 'Dungeonier Digest' include scenarios and articles by the designer of T&T, Ken St. Andre.
The relatively simple rules for Tunnels & Trolls have led to it being used for a wide variety of genres. Modern discussion of the game is found at Trollhalla and the Trollbridge. The 7.5 edition was released in 2008 by Fiery Dragon Productions, being an update and clarification on the 30th Anniversary Edition.
In 1999 Pyramid
magazine named Tunnels & Trolls as one of The Millennium's Most Underrated Games. Editor Scott Haring said of the game "everybody knows this was the second ever fantasy roleplaying game ... But to dismiss it as just an opportunistic ripoff would be grossly unfair. Flying Buffalo's T&T had it's[sic] own zany feel -- it was much less serious than D&D -- and a less-complicated game system."
Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes
is a variant system, credited to Michael A. Stackpole
. Publication was by Flying Buffalo, who released it in 1983, and Sleuth Publications Ltd. in 1986. While the basics are the same, it adds a skill system, changes the time scale of combat rounds, and includes rules for modern weapons.
adaptation was announced but never released.
In 1990 a computer version (Crusaders of Khazan) was published by New World Computing
, which embedded portions of many of the favorite old solo modules. Crusaders of Khazan is often said to be buggy and somewhat difficult to play. Crusaders of Khazan is included in the 30th Anniversary Edition tin, but not the PDF version.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
designed by Ken St. Andre
Ken St. Andre
Kenneth Eugene St. Andre is a retired public librarian, fantasy author, and game designer, best known for his work with Tunnels & Trolls. He has been an active member of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America since 1989.-General information:St. Andre was born in Ogden, Utah. He lives...
and first published in 1975 by Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo Incorporated is a Scottsdale, Arizona game company that publishes role playing games, card games, gaming materials, and runs Play-by-mail games....
. The second modern role-playing game published, it was written by Ken St. Andre
Ken St. Andre
Kenneth Eugene St. Andre is a retired public librarian, fantasy author, and game designer, best known for his work with Tunnels & Trolls. He has been an active member of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America since 1989.-General information:St. Andre was born in Ogden, Utah. He lives...
to be a more accessible alternative to Dungeons and Dragons and is suitable for solitaire, play-by-mail, play-by-post and group gameplay.
Setting
The Tunnels & Trolls core ruleset does not detail a specific setting, saying only that gameplay occurs in "a world somewhat but not exactly similar to Tolkien's Middle EarthMiddle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
." In an interview in 1986, Ken St Andre stated that "my conception of the T&T world was based on The Lord of The Rings as it would have been done by Marvel Comics in 1974 with Conan, Elric, the Gray Mouser and a host of badguys thrown in."
The 5.5 Edition includes Ken St. Andre's house campaign setting, Trollworld.
Prime attributes
Six prime attributes define characters in Tunnels & Trolls:- Strength (ST) determines which weapons the character can use and how much the character can carry. It also serves as magic points in 5th and earlier editions.
- Intelligence (IQ) measures the character's ability to think and remember facts.
- Luck (LK) affects combat results and saving throws.
- Constitution (CON) measures how healthy the character is and how much damage the character can take before being killed.
- Dexterity (DEX) represents agility and nimbleness and affects marksmanship.
- Charisma (CHR) represents attractiveness and leadership ability.
Some editions add the following prime attributes:
- Wizardry (WIZ) replaces Strength for powering magic points. Also called Power (POW) in the 5.5 Edition.
- Speed (SPD) represents reaction speed and, in some editions, movement rate.
A new character begins with a randomly generated score for each attribute, determined by rolling three six-side dice.
Character races
The rules recommend that novice players create human characters, but also offer the options of elves, dwarvesDwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
, and hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s. Other races, like leprechaun
Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...
s and fairies, serve as additional character options. A character's race affects his or her attributes.
Character classes
Players also choose a character class for their character. The two base classes are Warriors and Wizards. Wizards can cast spells but have combat limitations. While Warriors cannot cast magic, they are allowed the full use of weapons and armor is twice as effective in blocking damage. Rogues and Warrior-Wizards are also available as character classes. These two classes both combine the abilities of the Warrior and the Wizard. Rogues in Tunnels & Trolls are not thieves, unlike the Rogue classes in Dungeons & DragonsCharacter class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
, but could be more accurately described as 'Rogue Wizards'. Rogues are limited in their spell-casting abilities, can utilize the full range of combat weapons and armor as a warrior but do not receive the Warrior's armor bonus. Warrior-Wizards are not so limited, but the player must be lucky with the dice when creating the character: high minimum attribute scores are required. Later editions include new classes such as Specialist Mage, Paragon (a renaming of the Warrior-Wizard), Leader, and Ranger.
Starting equipment and money
New characters begin with an amount of gold pieces determined by rolling three six-sided dice and multiplying the total by ten. These gold pieces can be used to buy weapons, armor, and other equipment.Combat
Combat is handled by comparing dice rolls between a character and his opponent. Both sides roll a number of dice determined by which weapon is in use, then modify the appropriate result by "personal adds". Totals are compared, with the higher roll damaging the opposing combatant by the difference in totals. Armor absorbs this damage taken, and any amount remaining is subtracted from the Constitution attribute.Tunnels & Trolls is unusual among roleplaying games in conducting mass combat resolution with one set of rolls, as the above system applies to combats between any number of opponents.
Personal adds are determined by Strength, Luck, and Dexterity. For every point above 12 possessed in each of these attributes, the character receives a one-point bonus to his personal adds. Similarly, for every point below 9 possessed in each of these attributes, the character receives a one-point penalty.
In the 7th Edition, the formula was changed to include Speed in the personal adds.
The 5.5 edition (and 7th) introduced 'spite damage' whereby each "6" rolled on the combat dice causes a minimum of one damage to be inflicted on the opposing side, regardless of armor or the respective combat totals. This helped resolve the interminable stalemate that could occur between evenly-matched, heavily-armored opponents.
Saving rolls
Apart from combat, most checks are made against a character's attributes and factor in a difficulty level based on the task at hand.List of Tunnels & Trolls Publications
Tunnels & Trolls was also the first system to publish a series of fantasy-themed gamebooks - adventures which are designed to be played by one person, without the need for a referee. At least twenty such adventures were published by Flying Buffalo. The Fighting FantasyFighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player fantasy roleplay gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volumes in the series were published by Puffin in 1982, with the rights to the franchise eventually being purchased by Wizard Books in 2002...
series achieved great popularity using this format. Both T&T's simplicity and its reliance on use of six-sided dice (as compared to the various polyhedral dice used by Dungeons and Dragons) contributed to its success in this format.
Solo Adventures
- Buffalo Castle by Rick Loomis
- Deathtrap Equalizer by Ken St. Andre
- Labyrinth by Lee Russell
- Naked Doom by Ken St. Andre
- Dargon's Dungeon by Michael Stackpole
- Weirdworld by Keith Abbott
- Overkill by Michael Stackpole
- Beyond the Silvered Pane by James & Steven Marciniak
- City of Terrors by Michael Stackpole
- Sorcerer's Solitaire by Walker Vaning
- Sword for Hire by James Wilson
- Arena of Khazan by Ken St. Andre
- Sewers of Oblivion by Michael Stackpole
- Sea of Mystery by Gienn Rahman
- Blue Frog Tavern by James Wilson
- Mistywood by Roy Cram Jr.
- Gamesmen of Kazar by Roy Cram
- Beyond the Wall of Tears by K. Martin Aul
- Captif d'Yvoire by Steven Estvanik
- The Amulet of Salkti by David Steven Moskowitz
- Red Circle by Michael Stackpole
- Caravan to Tiern by Andrea Mills
- The Dark Temple by Stefan E. Jones
- When the Cat's Away by Catherine DeMott, James L. Walker & Rick Loomis
- Elven Lords by Michael Stackpole, Limited Edition
- Rescue Mission by Ken St. Andre in 2011 Free RPG DayFree RPG DayFree RPG Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American Role-playing game industry. Inspired by Free Comic Book Day, Free RPG Day was started in 2007 and is coordinated worldwide by Impressions Advertising and Marketing...
publication
GM adventures
- The Complete Dungeon of the Bear by Jim "Bear" Peters
- Uncle Ugly's Underground by Ugly John Carver
- Catacombs of the Bear Cult by Jim "Bear" Peters
- Isle of Darksmoke by Larry DiTillio
- Riverboat Adventure by Ken St. Andre in 2011 Free RPG Day publication
Pocket Solo Adventures
- Goblin Lake by Ken St. Andre
- Abyss by Paul Creelman
- Circle of Ice by Paul Creelman
History
The first edition of Tunnels & Trolls was published in April 1975, and underwent several modifications between then and 1979 when the 5th edition of the rules was published. This edition was also translated and published abroad in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and it entered these markets before Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
did in most cases. Corgi Books in the United Kingdom produced mass-market paperback-sized versions of the core rulebook as well as many of the solo adventures (occasionally with adult content removed), a format which paved the way for the renowned Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy
Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player fantasy roleplay gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volumes in the series were published by Puffin in 1982, with the rights to the franchise eventually being purchased by Wizard Books in 2002...
series of gamebooks.
In 2005, Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo Incorporated is a Scottsdale, Arizona game company that publishes role playing games, card games, gaming materials, and runs Play-by-mail games....
updated the 5th edition rules with a 5.5 publication that added about 40 pages of extra material. That same year, Fiery Dragon Productions of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
produced a 30th Anniversary Edition under license in a tin box complete with CD, map, and monster counters, two new versions of the rules. Ken St. Andre used the opportunity to extensively update the style of play and introduce new role-playing concepts, such as character level determined by character attribute statistics instead of arbitrary numbers of experience points. The 30th Anniversary rules are generally known as the 7th edition, to avoid confusion due to the distribution of many unlicensed versions claiming to be the 6th edition via the internet. One of the most significant innovations of 7th edition is the introduction of a skills system.
Before its license ended in December, 2009 Outlaw Press released the following T&T items; 25 Mini-Solo's, 38 full-sized Solo's, 23 GM Adventures, 7 novels, 1 boardgame, 3 types of dice, 32 magazine issues (total) and 10 campaign supplements. The T&T magazines 'The Hobbit Hole' and 'Dungeonier Digest' include scenarios and articles by the designer of T&T, Ken St. Andre.
The relatively simple rules for Tunnels & Trolls have led to it being used for a wide variety of genres. Modern discussion of the game is found at Trollhalla and the Trollbridge. The 7.5 edition was released in 2008 by Fiery Dragon Productions, being an update and clarification on the 30th Anniversary Edition.
In 1999 Pyramid
Pyramid (magazine)
Pyramid is a gaming magazine, publishing articles primarily on role-playing games, but including board games, card games, and other sorts of games. It began life in 1993 as a print publication of Steve Jackson Games for its first 30 issues, though it has been published on the Internet since March...
magazine named Tunnels & Trolls as one of The Millennium's Most Underrated Games. Editor Scott Haring said of the game "everybody knows this was the second ever fantasy roleplaying game ... But to dismiss it as just an opportunistic ripoff would be grossly unfair. Flying Buffalo's T&T had it's[sic] own zany feel -- it was much less serious than D&D -- and a less-complicated game system."
Spin-offs
Monsters! Monsters! is a subset of the T&T rules tailored to playing monsters. It is fully compatible with 5th edition. Copyright dates listed are 1976 and 1979, published by Metagaming and then Flying Buffalo. It is occasionally reprinted as photocopies by the author, Ken St. Andre. It has occasionally been illegally reprinted. It is currently available from Flying Buffalo.Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes
Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes
Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes is a role-playing game designed and written by Michael A. Stackpole and first published in April 1983 by Blade, a division of Flying Buffalo, Inc. A second edition was later published by Sleuth Publications, but Flying Buffalo continues to distribute the game...
is a variant system, credited to Michael A. Stackpole
Michael A. Stackpole
Michael A. Stackpole is a science fiction and fantasy author best known for his Star Wars and Battletech books. He was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, but raised in Vermont...
. Publication was by Flying Buffalo, who released it in 1983, and Sleuth Publications Ltd. in 1986. While the basics are the same, it adds a skill system, changes the time scale of combat rounds, and includes rules for modern weapons.
Video games
In the 1980s, a ColecoVisionColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
adaptation was announced but never released.
In 1990 a computer version (Crusaders of Khazan) was published by New World Computing
New World Computing
New World Computing, Inc. was an American computer game developer and publisher founded in 1984 by Jon Van Caneghem, his wife, Michaela Van Caneghem, and Mark Caldwell. It was best known for its work on the Might and Magic computer role-playing game series and its spin-offs, especially Heroes of...
, which embedded portions of many of the favorite old solo modules. Crusaders of Khazan is often said to be buggy and somewhat difficult to play. Crusaders of Khazan is included in the 30th Anniversary Edition tin, but not the PDF version.
See also
- Stormbringer (role-playing game)Stormbringer (role-playing game)The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
and Starfaring (role-playing game)StarfaringStarfaring is a science fiction role-playing game created by Ken St. Andre and published by Flying Buffalo in 1976....
are also designed by Ken St. Andre