A Fantasy Role-Playing Game by Ken St Andre, Liz Danforth, and James “Bear” Peters Illustrations by Rob Carver, Steve Crompton, Liz Danforth & Stephan Peregrine Additional material by Bear Peters, & Brian Penn Published by Flying Buffalo T T UNNELS & ROLLS DELUXE Agame by Ken St Andre Designed and written by Ken St Andre, Publishing and Kickstarter Management Liz Danforth, and James “Bear” Peters by Rick Loomis Abyss solo adventure by Paul Creelman Game development by Liz Danforth Gull, the City of Terrors by Michael Stackpole with additional development by James “Bear” Peters, Project coordination, maps, layout, and graphics Brian Penn, and Stefan Jones by Steve Crompton Editing by Liz Danforth, T&Tarchival materials provided by Debora Kerr, and Rose Beetem Ken St Andre, Patrice Geille, Rick Loomis, James “Bear” Peters, and Liz Danforth Front cover painting by Liz Danforth Proof reading by Liz Danforth, Rose Beetem, Mark Evans, Stefan Jones, Chris Palmer, Interior illustrations by David Moskowitz, and Debora Kerr. Liz Danforth, Steve Crompton, Rob Carver, Stephan Peregrine, Justin Miller, Funded by the Kickstarter backers of Peter Seckler and Quoghmyre the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls project This book is dedicated, with thanks, to Patrice Geille who inspired us and to the memory of those who are gone but not forgotten Tim McCausland, Michael Jackson, and Jason Sato © 2015 Ken St Andre, Liz Danforth, Rick Loomis, Steven Crompton & Jim Peters. First Printing July 2015 dT&T Softcover edition: FBI-9103 ISBN 0-940244-90-x dT&T Hardcover edition: FBI-9104 ISBN 0-940244-91-8 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below. Artwork is copyrighted individually according to the notifications appearing with the art. Any art not marked is copyright © 1977-2015 by Flying Buffalo Inc. Printed in the United States of America Tunnels & TrollsTM, and Deluxe Tunnels & TrollsTM, are trademarks of Flying Buffalo Inc. Published by Flying Buffalo Inc. PO Box 8467, Scottsdale, AZ 85252 www.flyingbuffalo.com 2 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS The Basic or Core Game What you need to play 7.3 Opponents With Attributes...............71 Section No. Page 7.4 Monster Levels..................................72 1.0 Introduction............................................5 8.0 Combat....................................................74 1.1 A Word about the Organization 8.1 Basics and Definitions......................74 of the Book....................................6 8.2 Missile Weapons in Combat...............77 2.0 Playing the Game...................................7 8.21 Gunnes.........................................79 3.0 Creating Characters...............................8 8.3 Unarmed Combat...............................80 3.10 Prime Attributes..............................8 8.4 Berserk Combat.................................81 3.2 Personal Adds..................................11 8.5 Other Special Combat Situations......85 3.21 Character Sheet........................12 8.51 Stunning Your Opponents..........85 3.3 Character Types.............................13 8.52 Using Multiple Weapons.............85 3.31 Warriors....................................13 8.6 Evaluating Basic Combat..................86 3.32 Wizards.....................................13 8.61 The Elements of Combat..........86 3.33 Rogues......................................15 8.7 AP Rewards for Combat....................89 3.34 Specialists................................17 9.0 Magic.......................................................91 3.4 The Playable Character Kindreds......19 9.1 A World of Magic................................91 3.41 Humans.....................................20 9.2 Theory and Practice of Magic............92 3.42 Dwarves....................................20 9.21 All About Spells..........................93 3.43 Elves.........................................21 9.22 More About Kremm....................93 3.44 Fairies.......................................23 9.23 Types of Damage........................96 3.45 Hobbs........................................23 9.3Spell Interactions and Stacking Rules..97 3.46 Leprechauns.............................23 9.4 Schools of Magic................................98 3.5 More About Your Character.............25 9.41 Learning Magic........................100 3.51 Height and Weight....................25 9.5 The Spell Book.................................103 3.52 Weight Possible/Weight Carried..25 Deluxe Tunnels & Troll Spellbook..105-137 3.53 Possessions...............................26 9.6 Tools of the Trade............................138 3.54 The Rest of the Story................27 9.61 Staffs and Wands......................138 3.6 Character Progression.....................28 9.62 Potions, Wards and 3.61 It’s a Learning Experience.......28 Magical Trinkets.....................140 3.62 Character Level........................29 9.62.1 Potions..............................141 4.0 Equipping Your Character....................30 9.62.2 Magicalitems...................142 4.1 Weapons...........................................31 9.62.3 Power batteries................147 4.2 Armor and Shields...........................43 9.7 Creating New Spells........................148 4.3 Bigger, Better, Broken-in, or 9.71 General Guidelines....................148 Broken Down...................................49 9.72 When Can You Invent.................149 4.4 Poisons............................................53 10.0 Putting it All Together........................151 4.41 Combat Toxins..........................56 10.01 How to Prepare..........................152 4.42 Antidotes...................................56 10.02 Philosophy of a Good Time........152 4.5 Provisions and Other Equipment....57 10.03 Some Practical Considerations.153 4.6 Equipment and Backstory................61 10.1 How to be a Good GM.....................154 5.0 Saving Rolls..........................................62 10.2 How to be a Better Player...............155 5.1 Adventure Points for Saving Rolls..66 10.3 Once You’ve Got It All Together.....155 6.0 Simple Talents.......................................64 11.1 Appendix A: Spells Listed Alphabetically.........156 7.0 The Hostile Opposition.........................70 11.2 Appendix B: Spells By School of Magic......158 7.1 Monsters, Enemies, and Foes..........70 11.3 Appendix C: Spells by Category..............162 7.2 Monster Ratings..............................71 11.4 Appendix D: Acknowledgments..............165 3 Table of Contents Elaborations 17.0 The Kitchen Sink...........................219 Optional topics that give the game more 17.1 Treasure Charts........................219 variety, depth, and/or flexibility 17.2 Wandering Monsters..................220 17.3 Marking Time...........................221 12.0 Elaborations.....................................166 17.4 Guilds........................................222 12.10 More about Character Types.....168 17.5 The Other Human Advantage...223 12.11 Training...............................168 17.6 Locks and Traps........................223 12.12 Warriors...............................169 17.7 More About Gunnes in Trollworld..224 12.13 Wizards................................170 17.8 The Reality of Dice....................225 12.14 Rogues.................................171 17.9 Steeds and Their Kindreds........226 12.2 Specializing Your Specialist........172 12.3 Citizens.......................................175 Trollworld Atlas 12.4 Paragons.....................................177 A Nexus of Realities 13.0 Other Playable Kindreds..................178 Trollworld Atlas......................................227 13.01How to use These Characters..179 Introduction: Trollworld.........................228 13.02 Monster and Charisma.........180 A Trollworld Timeline.............................232 13.1 Playing Non-Human Characters..181 Rrr'lff: the Dragon Continent.................243 13.12 Consider the Consequences.181 Rrr'lff Map Guide...............................244 13.13 Making Your Own Kindreds.182 Zorr: the Eagle Continent......................249 13.2 Attribute Multipliers for All Zorr Map Guide.................................250 Playable Kindreds........................182 Maneland: the Unicorn Continent..........253 13.3 Monsters! Monsters!...................185 The Eastern Islands (of the Great Ocean).........258 13.4 Monsters Kindred Desriptions....186 Sonan Ie: the Island Empire...................262 14.0 Languages.......................................201 The Cities: Khazan by Ken St. Andre...............266 14.1 The Civilized Tongues................201 Khazan: the Undercity............................269 14.2 The Ancient Tongues..................202 Beneath the City of Khazan...............270 14.3 The Tongues of the Beasts.........202 Khosht: Queen City of the Bronze Uplands 14.4 Languages That May be Learned.202 by James "Bear" Peters.................................272 14.5 City Dialects in Trollworld.........204 The City of Knor by Liz Danforth...................276 15.0 Extended Talents.............................205 Phoron...................................................281 15.1 What is a Talent?........................205 Gull: the City of Terrors 15.2 Aquiring Talents.........................202 by Michael A. Stackpole................................282 15.3 Improving Your Talents..............206 15.31 Leveling Up..........................206 Adventures 15.32 Improving Your Talents Solo and GM with Adventure Points.................206 Adventures.............................................287 15.33 Improving Your Talents Abyss Solitaire Adventure by Paul Crewell....290 by Game Master Fiat..................206 GM Adventure: Into Zorr........................302 15.4 Broad vs. Narrow Talents............207 The Docks of Zkaria..........................303 15.5 A GM’s Guide to Assigning The Trek South of Zkaria..................307 Talent Saving Rolls.........................207 The Chambers of Z'TPozz..................317 15.6 A Final Note................................209 End Matter.............................................327 15.7 Talent Lists.................................209 Weapons Glossary...................................330 15.8 Living in the Past........................211 Main Rules Index...................................343 15.9 More Recent Edition Characters Trollworld Index....................................348 with Existing Talents....................213 Acknowledgments..................................352 16.0 Accessories......................................214 Credits & Thanks...................................360 16.1 Miniatures..................................214 Afterword by Liz Danforth.....................361 16.2 Virtual Tabletops and Other Postcard from Khazan by Ken St. Andre.........362 Digital Tools..............................217 Character Sheet......................................363 4 Sec. 1.0 1.0 Introduction to dT&T F antasy gaming and role-playing games have game is to share a challenging, enjoyable experience changed over the almost four decades since T&T where everyone has fun. was first developed. This edition retains many of the To play the game, several things have to be done early “old school” conventions of the genre, in part ahead of actual play. This outline supposes there is a because that is what makes T&T recognizably the group that intends to play together. game that it is. Expect that going in. But in addition, Someone in the group must create or buy an certain mechanics from interim editions have been adventure. Whether that person digs a dungeon or carried forward, with some entirely new content as tunnel-complex, or devises a cross-country well. I expect a game to change or die, because excursion, they must stock the adventure with nothing is ever perfect—but we hope that this edition challenges and rewards in the form of monsters, will prove to be a lasting, definitive version of the magic, and treasure. This Game Master has godlike game for years to come. powers over his or her own scenario, but is expected One of the old school conventions is the basic to be fair to the other players. The Game Master will concept of the game. Here, people of many not play as a character inside their own dungeon backgrounds and kindreds are imagined to live in an (knowing all the secrets), but will still run the non- alternate world where fantasy is alive and magic player characters who populate it. works—a world with similarities to the many fantasy An existing game module can streamline and worlds of fiction and literature. Some of these people quicken this process for a GM, who should feel free choose a life of adventure and derring-do, and are the to use and adapt it to their own purposes. If no one characters run by the players of the game. in the group has been a Game Master before, then a For games to be played face to face, someone in a published adventure is definitely the way to learn group has to have an adventure for the characters to the ropes. dare to undertake. Ideally, this “Game Master” will Meanwhile, players will create and name the create a situation for the players to explore, or the GM fantasy characters (called PCs for “player characters”) might purchase or adapt a previously-published who will explore the dungeon or adventure. They will adventure. Tunnels & Trolls also has solitaire pick what type of character they wish to play, adventures for those unable to gather groups for play, choosing among different species (called kindreds), or when playtime is limited. and different backgrounds determining the character’s Brave men and women arm themselves and capabilities. Players equip their characters with arms venture out exploring deep tunnels or exotic locales and provisions to give their heroes a chance of going at risk of body and soul to seek treasure and out adventuring and coming back alive. experience. Those who survive and return from such This might be done independently of the GM, or expeditions increase in experience and wealth, with GM approval and cooperation, particularly if the attaining power and fame. GM envisions a long-running campaign of linked Afantasy role-playing game like T&Tis not about adventures. Players might even work together to winning and losing like a game of cribbage or chess. optimize the makeup of the adventuring party. Fantasy games like this are, at their best, cooperative Ultimately, every player should create a character storytelling and the joint effort of give and take they will have fun playing. between player(s) and the GM. The purpose of the 5 Sec. 1.1 1.1 A word about the organization of the rules T he rulebook that follows provides instructions the game. Many were first introduced in later editions, for all the above, and for much else besides. If or championed in player forums online. Cherry-pick you look at the Table of Contents, you will see the those things that augment the features you enjoy in book is organized into three “tomes”. For the rules of the game, and ignore what doesn’t. the game, read the Basic Game and Elaborations. For The final tome, Trollworld, provides some details insight into specifics about Ken’s world, you will find of the way the world existed for the original players what you seek in the Trollworld tome. back in the day, additional developments made by This reflects on the nature of this game: the Ken and others in the intervening years, and some flexibility to select the features of the game that make entirely new material created just for this edition. the most sense to you and your group, and that result in the most fun for your style of play. Some players like rules with great specificity, variety, and detail; others You will also see SIDEBARS throughout the just want to roll into the adventure and don’t want book, pulled out in a gray box. These will the mechanics to hinder their imagination. (In truth, typically offer an explanation of a mechanic, an most people probably fall somewhere in between). example, a bit of background, and/or an Think of your choices as modular, but recognize alternative option to either simplify or expand on that the final results may differ from group to group. the mechanic under discussion. The Basic Game (Sections 1-11) contains the core rules, including some of the material previously included in “Natural Developments” of earlier Finally, a convention adopted during the editing editions. Everything you must know to play a game of of these rules is that when you read first person Tunnels & Trolls is here, and most of these rules have singular in a statement, it means Ken St. Andre is stood the test of time. This section puts a premium on speaking directly. Statements with “we” most likely playing human characters and their non-human represent a collaborative statement between Ken and associates comfortable in normal human society. the game developer Liz Danforth, and possibly The 2nd tome, the Elaborations (Sections 12-17), including information or input from Bear Peters gives you new options or alternative rules that enrich and/or Steve Crompton. 6 Sec. 2.0 2.0 Playing the game T unnels & Trolls is a game of It is recommended that the GM limited information. Individual keep the number of players in the players cannot see the whole board group rather small—perhaps two or or dungeon map. Only the GM up to five players with a couple of knows what is on the map, and tells characters apiece. With too many the players what they can see and players, everyone tries to talk at observe around them. In turn, once, potentially degenerating a players tell the GM what actions session into a shouting match. (That they take, what special search can be fun with the right group, but procedures they use, and anything is generally a bad idea.) If a GM else that may be relevant to the deals with more than three players, situation. It is a vital skill in fantasy it may be necessary to limit the gaming to be able to envision one’s number of characters being played surroundings. Players might sketch at one time, or to invoke some their own maps as they go, and formal procedure to determine who should feel free to ask the GM to gets to talk when. The Game Master draw out what the immediate should never allow one player to environment looks like. Some GMs dominate play, even if that person and players like to have everything has the best character. set up with miniatures to clarify The game is most enjoyable situations and to short-circuit when everyone participates. possible misunderstandings. (See Section 16.1in the Elaborations for ideas on how to use miniatures in a T&T game). Characters and players speak for themselves, declaring their own actions and decisions. This may Run more than one character? come after group discussion if cooperative tactics The rationale behind players running more are necessary. Speech might be role-played in the than one character on any given adventure is that character’s own “voice” or it may be simply spoken characters might die. If that happens, a player as normal conversation. In the end a player is might be sidelined for the rest of the adventure. responsible for his or her own character and what AGM who would rather deal with fewer that character does. player-characters (PCs) should consider making If there is any doubt about how the party is less deadly adventures, or provide the means for arrayed or what they would do, the GM can query characters to pull through a nasty scrape with each player separately for each character. If the GM healing potions or magics, or a timely rescue. wants spontaneous reactions for each player or character, he may ask them to write out their next Pro tip: the GM's power to kill characters is unlimited. The power to scare the players half to set of orders and give it to him without consulting death is the real skill! Don't confuse the two. any other player. The occasional use of such devices keeps the players on their toes and adds a bit of suspense and surprise to the game. 7 Sec. 3.0 3.0 Creating Characters I n order to play T&T, you need one or more Start with a basic blank character card something characters to be your adventurous hero or like this: heroes. These are called player characters, typically abbreviated PC. Each character is defined by eight prime NAME: __________________________ attributes—four physical attributes and four mental—that define the character’s innate abilities Type:__________ Level:___ Gender:____ and make the game’s mechanics work. The physical Kindred:________________ Ht:_______ attributes are Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, and Wt:____________ Hair:______________ Speed; and the internal or mental aspects are Intelligence, Wizardry, Luck, and Charisma. This STR:___ CON:____ DEX:____ SPD:____ step of the character creation process is semi-random, IQ:____ WIZ:____ LK:____ CHR:____ with the attribute values determined by rolling dice. You will select other details that round out and Combat Adds:____ individualize the character later, things like name, WTPoss:________ gender, kindred, character type, equipment and more. Pre-formatted character sheets may be found in Equipment: these rules at the end of this section, (page 12), and ________________________________ online, or you can make your own on a piece of paper, a 3 × 5 card, or using an electronic interface Money:____________ device or i-thingy of your choice. The exact form of the character record is not important, because it is Spells:______________________________ just a way of organizing the information for easy Magic:_____________________________ play. Finally, get your hands on a number of regular six-sided dice—at least three. 3.1 Prime Attributes If you are creating your first character for About dice in T&T T&T, you may find it helpful to roll up the When T&Twas first created, polydice (those character as the prime attributes are described in with more or less than six sides) were very uncommon. the paragraphs below. Although polydice are available everywhere today, For purposes of explanation, we will create a we still prefer to use traditional six-sided dice, which human female called Feir, daughter of Terror. The results in a simple bell curve for attributes. character could just as easily have been male and Statistically, people tend toward the average, and called Fred the Gardener or Conan the Barbarian exceptional attributes are notable for being rarer. (no relation to that other Conan the Barbarian). The three six-sided dice (abbreviated 3d6 in these Humans are the default “norm” against which other rules) roll values between 3 and 18, with 9-12 being denizens of this fantasy world are compared, and most common. There are lots of optional modifications to those bell curve attributes deeper in the rules. their regular attributes are unmodified—simply the numbers you roll up. 8 Sec. 3.0 To determine the prime attributes of a new shields a character can use. (Attribute requirements character, roll three six-sided dice (3d6), add up are listed in the Weapons Tables, beginning in their values, and write that total next to the first Section 4.1.). Strength also determines how much attribute on your list. Repeat this once for each stuff the character can lug around. attribute. These numbers may change later. Feir rolled a STR of 13. Within certain other If you roll a triple for any of the attributes, mark limitations, Feir can use any weapon tirelessly as long that attribute with an asterisk. Any attribute for as the strength requirement of the weapon is 13 or which you roll a triple gives you the option to make less. If her strength falls to 0 for any reason, she is the character a specialist, which is a particular type unconscious and unable to do anything but breathe. of character described in Section 3.34. For the moment, simply make note of any triples you roll, CONSTITUTION (abbreviated CON) is the and come back to it later. general measure of a character’s health. It is also the measure of endurance and how much punishment STRENGTH (abbreviated STR) is the ability the body can absorb before dying. Hits taken in to exert force—lifting, shoving, pushing, etc. combat are subtracted from constitution. If CON Strength can be a limiting factor in what weapons or ever goes to 0, the character is unconscious and dying. At that point, CON will go down by one point per combat round. First aid or magical healing can save the character’s life during this time. However, if CON reaches -10, the character is dead. Matching attributes to a character Constitution may be used as a general measure of toughness or resistance to external forces, such as Generally, attributes get assigned by dice rolls susceptibility to disease. Should Feir be exposed to that go straight through from beginning to end. a common disease (say the equivalent of measles), Working with whatever the dice give you is a good role-playing challenge. But if you have a character an easy saving roll on CON could be used to concept in mind when you start to roll up your determine if she catches it. (The saving roll character, you might want to partially control the mechanic is explained in Section 5.0). results. You can do this in one of two easy ways. Feir has a CON of 13. She’s healthy and sturdy To keep some randomness, you may choose but not exceptional. what attribute gets what rolls. Some rolls will be high and some will be low. Generally speaking, DEXTERITY (abbreviated DEX) refers to warriors should have high strength and constitution both manual dexterity and physical agility. Many values; wizards tend to have high intelligence and weapons have minimum dexterity requirements. wizardry; while rogues have high luck and dexterity. Marksmanship with missile weapons is You can mix this up any way you like, of course. determined by one’s dexterity. Spellcasters need The other option is to arbitrarily assign attribute numbers from a pool of points. An average the dexterity of nimble fingers to manipulate first level human character has 84 points to work magical forces. with, spread among the eight prime attributes. If Feir is quite ordinary with a DEX of 10. If she you decide in advance that you want a smart pursues magical knowledge, her DEX is high enough character, a strong character, or someone who is to allow her to learn to cast any first-level magic spell. lucky or charming—this is a convenient way to Physically, Feir is no acrobat, but she has a reasonable make that happen. chance to succeed at a minor challenge that depends on basic bodily coordination. 9