Isssue 6 TABL LE OF F CON NTEN NTS TrollsZ Zine! is a Trollbridg T ge Production
T Trolls Delvee – by Dan Hembree H
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S Standing in a Corner – by b David S. Moskowitz M
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E Eating for Adventurers A – by Stefan Jones J
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H Henchmen for Solo Dellvers – by Dan D Hembreee
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M Meszmyr Heldaer – by Paul Ingrassiia
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N Night Walk in the Wild d Woods (T& &T solo) – by b James Falllows
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T The Tooth Pick P vs. the Broadsword d – by Mark Thornton
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R Rubus the Redneck R Ho obb – by E.P P. Donahue
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O Old Kramm – by Roy Crram
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S Soul Survivo or (T&T solo)– by Sid Orpin O
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A Armor Altern natives – byy Justin T. Williams W
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IIce Exile (T T&T GM Ad dventure) – by b Mark Tho ornton
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T Troll Links 6
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C Creditss T Tunnels and Trolls™ T is a trademark t of Flying Buffallo Inc., and iss used with peermission. Fo or more inform mation on T Tunnels and Trolls™ T produucts visit www w.flyingbuffalo o.com. F First edition of this magazin ne published by b Dan Prenticce and Kevin Bracey in Julyy 2010. A All rights reserrved. © 2010 Trollbridge T T TrollsZine! Lo ogo © 2012 M. M E. Volmar & Simon Lee Tranter T C Cover Layout Design © 20112 M. E. Volm mar & Simon Lee L Tranter C Cover Illustrattion © 2012 Patrick P Crusiauu A All visual and textual conteent has been contributed c byy the individuual authors annd artists creddited in this puublication. T The copyrightts for the con ntents of the magazine aree the propertyy of the indivvidual contrib butors, who h have given p permission forr their work to o be published d within TrollssZine! on a noot-for-profit bbasis. T The contents of this publiication canno ot be reproduuced elsewherre without thee express con nsent of the respective ccopyright hold ders; howeverr, you may freeely print the contents of tthis publicatioon for your peersonal enjoym ment—we h hope you do!
E Editing g Creditts E Editor – Dan Hembree C Compilation, Interior I Layouut and Design – Dan Hemb bree C Copy Editing – Dan Hembrree, Val Kelso on, Dan Prentiice
A Art Cre edits S Submitted Arrt D Darrenn E. Caanton: p. 7 A Alexander Coo ok: p. 3, 24, 266, 29, 31, 33, 36 3 P Patrick Crusiauu: Cover, p. 4 E E. P. Donahuee: p. 22, 23 James Fallows: p. 13, 15, 16, 18-20 J. Lambert: p. 56 SSimon Lee Traanter: p. 11 D David Ullery: p. p 9, 10, 47, 499-54 S Stock Art Jeff Freels: p. 2 P Public Domaain Art p p. 34, 37, 42, 43, 4 45, 46
T Trollss Delve Donnahue, James Fallows, J. Lambert, Siimon Lee Trannter, and D David Ullery. I am con ntinuously imprressed by thee quality of w work that these artists prodduce and freeely contributee to TrollsZinne!. Patrick Crussiau provided the trollish iillustration feeatured on the cover of thiss issue. The featured trolls appear ratheer benign, ddon’t they? Juust a father and son traveelling togetherr on a brightt and sunny day; what couldd be more pleeasant?
W Welcome to TrollsZine! T #6. This issue of TrollsZine! iss ffocused on deelving, which is what Tunnnels & Trolls iss aall about. In these pages are a two solo adventures, a G GM adventuree, and a shorrt GM scenariio fresh from m tthe creative minds m of the T& &T communiity; more than n eenough to keeep you busy fo or quite some time I would d tthink. There are plenty of o opportunitties for yourr ccharacters to die horriblee…I mean obtain o wealth,, gglory, and im mmortality. With W these ad dventures aree sseveral articlees to help support s yourr beleaguered d ddelvers and haarried game masters.
As always, I hoope you enjoyy this issue off TrollsZine!. A magazine deppends on yourr contributions. If you’d this m like tto see TrollsZ Zine! thrive, th hen please gett involved. Visitt the TrollsZin ine! thread at the TrollBriidge T&T discuussion forum to learn how yyou can contrribute.
T This issue includes a nice mix m of T&T authors both h o old and new. David D Moskow witz, author of o Amulet of thee SSalkti, gives uss an interestin ng game scenaario to test thee w wits and ingeenuity of an adventuring party. Stefan n Jones, author of Dark Tempple, has come up with somee eexcellent ruless on challenging players to provide theirr ccharacters witth the basic necessities off life. Finally,, R Roy Cram, author of many m T&T articles and d aadventures inccluding Mistyw wood and Gamesmen of Kasar, r, p provided this issues piecee of short fiiction with a sslightly differeent take on tro olls. It’s wond derful to havee ssuch notable members of o the T&T T communityy ccontributing to t TrollsZine!. Among the newcomers n iss James Fallow ws who wro ote the enteertaining and d cchallenging solo Night in the Wild Woods. As A a side note,, James provideed the illustraations for the solo as well. Y You can find another one of James’ so olos online att H Hobb-Sized Addventures. I loo ok forward to o seeing moree ffrom James in n the future. Sid S Orpin, auuthor of manyy o of my favoriite recently published p sollo adventuress in ncluding Rapsscallion, Devotiion to Duty, an nd Formication,, h has provided another solo guaranteed to t leave yourr ccharacters cow wering in fear. Did someonee say demons?? M Mark Thornto on, the creatiive mind beh hind the Gemss aand Giants blo og and author of the uniqque new solo o P Pressure Drop,, has provid ded a giant--infused GM M aadventure thro ough which he ran the Tro ollgod himself, f, K Ken St. Andree. Paul Ingrassia, the power behind Trollll H Hammer Press, presents us with w an intereesting Wizard d N NPC sure to make m a valuablle ally or cunn ning adversaryy ffor your nextt game. Of course c it justt wouldn’t bee T TrollsZine! witthout an article by the prolific p Justin n W Williams. Thiss issue he prresents an excellent set off aarmor elaborattions for all yo ou gear heads out there.
w, let’s get delvving! Now Dan Hembree
B Bringing all of o this writin ng to life are the inspired d ccontributions of many arttists includingg Darrenn E. C Canton, Alexaander Cook, Patrick Crusiauu, E. P. T TrollsZine!
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Sta anding g in a C Corne er By David S. Moskkowitz T This is a con ntrived encouunter, designed to test thee p player’s abilityy to act like ch haracters ratheer than actorss rrolling dice an nd revealing they've been n intellectuallyy ccrippled by conventions in electronic e gam mes.
irritaating exposedd skin but otherwise caausing no damaage. If inhaledd, however, th he fog does on ne point of damaage to CON N per minute, at which time the charaacters must aalso make a ssaving roll on n CON at theirr level minus one to avoid being blindedd. The fog is alsso flammable. Any contactt with fire willl turn the room m into a toxicc inferno at w which point ddamage for inhallation becomees three CON N points per m minute and the llevel of the saaving roll agaainst blindnesss becomes playeers' level plus oone.
S SETUP P A generically powerful p potential employer says, “Look,, iff I didn't thiink you could d fight, I wo ouldn't botherr ttalking to you. I want to seee how you th hink and workk ttogether beforre I decide what w of mine I should riskk leetting you takke with you. Your goal is to get out.”
Ho ow Thingss Work
P Poof. They're teleported into a round ro oom, 20 yardss in n diameter an nd 30 yards high, h with a sin ngle door. Ass ssoon as playeers are inside there will bee an ominouss m mechanical souund from beh hind the door leading l out.
The Door: Whenn the players ffirst enter the room, the emplloyer's minions barricade the other side of the doorr with enoughh force to enssure that the characters cannnot break through. After thee characters' fi first testing of thhe door, the minions will remove the barricade. The door is no llonger lockedd, just stuck. The same will work, reggardless of efforrt that failed previously w whatt's happening in the room. All of the m mechanical sounnds coming frrom the doorr are actually produced by tthe employerss’ minions ddoing their best sound effecct work to foool players.
IIn the center of o the room is i a single rouund table with h tthree objects positioned ass vertices of an equilaterall ttriangle: A glass jar with w a pair of moth wings flying around d in nside. At the jar's base is a small golden mallet. Thee jaar is enchanted to be imm mobile and in nvulnerable to o aanything but the mallet which w will eassily shatter it.
The Giant Red B Button: This iis indeed a resset button. If puushed, all of the room's ccontents reverrt to their initiaal state, instaantly and sileently—except tthere is a replaay of the aforrementioned sounds from the door. Lostt CON and exxpended WIZ are not refresshed, but
A candle as colorful c as thee moth wings are drab. It iss uunlit, but at itts base is a sm mall wand wiith which anyy ccharacter can cast a Call Flame spell of negligiblee ddamage. If yo our world has more mundaane items likee ccigarette or baarbecue lighteers of some sort, use them m in nstead. A carved ram m's horn, cleaarly made for blowing, cold d tto the touch. E Embedded in the center of the table is a palm-sized d rred button. Feeel free to write “Reset” on n it or, if youu p prefer a bit mo ore subtlety, use u an approprriate symbol.
T The Game's Afoott T The players sh hould have a minute or tw wo to exploree tthe room befo ore jets in thee floor start fiilling it with a ggreenish fog. The T fog will riise at six inchees per minute, T TrollsZine!
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ccharacters thatt were blinded d, however, caan see again.
The path of no h harm... ...is of course too ignore eveerything but the door. Barriing that, playyers should acct immediatelly, lighting the candle, then breaking thee jar and freeezing the hatter. The winggs, which will fall to the grround and sh room m gives no signs of succcess; no ligh ghts, bells, whis tles, or openiing of the do oor. No suggeestion that or wrong. the players havee done anytthing right o mployer's truee name is Perhhaps delvers can learn em Gnootehfeckingexbbawx or someething similar.
T The Horn: Bllowing the horn will cause it i to dischargee a ray of cold that t will freezze anything up p to ten yardss aaway, with no saving roll neeeded or allow wed. The firstt ttime a delver commits c to bllow the horn,, the GM mayy aallow others in n the way to make m a SR on n IQ or LK to o rrealize that theey need to mo ove. T The Candle: Lighting the candle will turn t it into a R Roman candlee of unlimiteed duration. Any A characterr tthat gets in its way is hitt with the eqquivalent of a B Blasting Poweer spell and recceives 5D+100 damage (and d tthe player wh ho pointed itt at his or her h teammatee sshould get a reeal-world smacck in the head d).
Ennd Game The reward for suuccess? Cheese, of course. If you're m and protein n for STR pleassed, provide extra calcium and C CON. If not, maybe it will act as a whiskker-variant of Th That's A Natty B Beard.
T The Wings: Once freed, the moth wings w grow to o tw twenty feet across and flyy around the room. Theirr fflapping causee’s sufficient turbulence t in the room to o kkick up the caaustic fog so it now hits players p in thee fface—and anyy lit flames. Iff the candle is lit, the wingss sstay close enouugh to the tab ble to be frozeen. Otherwise,, tthey fly out off range of the horn’s h ray.
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mbinations Delvvers who spennd time tryingg multiple com of aactions shouldd receive slighhtly more AP Ps for the ordeeal than those who don't lose sight of thee goal; but the bbonus should pale in compaarison to the eequipment the E EMPLOYER trusts them w with.
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Eating for Adventurers By Stefan Jones Most T&T adventures are not the sort of errands where characters need to be bothered with trivial details like eating, or keeping track of rations. However, on extended quests the challenge of staying fed can add to the fun rather than being an exercise in tedious bookkeeping. Below are a set of suggested rules for dealing with buying food, foraging, and staying fed.
Well Fed, Hungry, and Starving To be in tip-top shape for adventuring, characters need at least two square meals a day. The quality doesn't matter; a meal could be a feast, a piece of hard tack and a bit of sausage, or a couple of handfuls of bugs, berries, and roots resulting from foraging. A character that eats two or more meals is well fed and suffers no penalties. Characters that eat just one meal per day are hungry. Hungry characters take twice as long (twenty minutes) to regain a lost point of Strength (STR) or Wizardry (WIZ). They also heal damage to Constitution (CON) at half the normal rate (1/2 point a day). Characters that go without a meal for more than a day are starving. Starving characters regain lost STR and WIZ at one-sixth the normal rate (one point every hour). They not only do not regain lost points of CON through normal healing, but they also lose one point of CON each day. This damage cannot be healed by magic or potions, but is "healed" immediately after eating two hearty meals and getting a good night's sleep. Eating just one meal returns a character to hungry status; the hunger damage then starts to heal at "normal" hungry rate of a half point a day.
Buying Food Meals can be served up at an inn ready to eat, purchased in the form of raw materials for cooking, or bought in the dried or salted form for eating on the road or underground. Players should feel free to have their characters bargain for better prices!
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Meals at an Inn Virtually every inns and tavern serves meals to their guests. The quality varies with the type of inn and how much the guest is willing to pay. The quality of a meal doesn't affect a character's health unless the GM makes a special ruling; but meals could affect an adventure in other ways. A potential employer might look down her nose at adventurers who are seen eating boiled turnips, for example. On the other hand, a fancy meal might make a nice bribe for an official whose favor the adventurers are trying to curry (Mmmmm, curry!). Eating an especially rich and fancy meal could have consequences as well, ranging from being a bit slow or having gas. Meals at an Inn Miserable Meal Ordinary Meal Fancy Meal Sumptuous Feast
5 cp 12 cp 3 gp 10 gp
Miserable meals consist of poor peasant fare like porridge, hard black bread, and thin fish soup. Ordinary meals include dishes like stew, good bread and butter, cheese, sausage, and greens. Fancy meals include chops of fresh meat, roast fowl, vegetables with sauces, and good wine. Sumptuous feasts are rarely found outside of the homes of nobles and inns that serve the high-born; they include fancy roasts, soups, sauces, and pastries. The basic price includes some kind of drink, ranging from cheap ale to a goblet of fine wine. Extra rounds might add 20% to the price of the meal.
Raw Ingredients If the campaign deals with the characters' lives between adventures, they will want to know what it costs to stock their cupboard. Page 6
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Raw Ingredients
Meal
Week
Coooking Gear
Cost
Miserable Meeal Fixings Ordinary Meal Ingredientss Fancy Meal Makings M
2 cp 5 cp 12 cp
3 sp 8 sp 2 gp
Me ss kit Coooking tripod Bigg pot Cauuldron Cam mp cook's kit
100 gp 2 gp 3 gp 18 gp 10 gp
Weeight 20 w.uu. 40 w.uu. 50 w.uu. 800 w w.u. 1000 w.u.
R Raw ingredien nts need a kitcchen and a cook to becomee a meal! Mostt people can make a misserable-qualityy m meal; fancy feasts requuire someon ne with thee aappropriate Taalent.
cook's's kit has everyything requireed to prepare a big meals for a dozen or moore people.
M Meals on the t Go
Foraging
Rations
Cost
Weight
Field Rationss Dungeon Rattions
5 sp/day 1 gp/day
30 w.u. 20 w.u.
Anyoone can try too find edible iitems in the w wilderness. This requires a L11SR on Intelliigence (INT) iin a fertile area or a L2SR onn INT in a barrren waste. A successful means the chharacter finds enough rootts, berries, roll m wild greens, and grubs to maake one meaal for one food keeps forr two days. persoon. Foraged fo
F Field rations aree used on thee road. They include i thingss liike rolls, saussage, cheese, and dried fruuit. They keep p ffresh for abouut a week. A raation consists of two meals. F Field rations can be eaten as-is, but caampfire cookss w with a pot an nd tripod can turn them in nto somethingg m more appealing.
A chharacter can m make one foragging roll whilee traveling at a nnormal pace, ttwo rolls if treekking througgh the land at haalf normal paace, or four rrolls if stayingg put and workking from a caamp. Foraaging can be taken as a taalent! A skilleed forager findss two meal's w worth of food instead of one if the roll ssucceeds.
D Dungeon rationss (which are also a used aboard ships) aree ssturdy, spoil-reesistant foodss like jerky, peemmican, and d h hard tack. Th hey can keep for many weeeks. A ration n cconsists of two o meals. M Miserable meal fixings (grrains, dried fish, fi and roott vvegetables) can n be brought on the road or stored in a sship's hold. Two T meals wo orth weighs about 40 w.u.,, aand keep for a week; however, the supplies must bee ccooked.
C Cooking Gear G IIn a rough-an nd-ready mediieval world, anyone a with a kknife, some wood, w and a waay to start a fire f could turn n ssmall game or fish into a tasty roasted d meal. Moree eelaborate meaals require som me gear. The prices below w aare for new iteems; used geaar can be had very cheaply,, o or salvaged frrom ruins, battlegrounds, or monsters' ddens. A mess kit is a modest ind dividual cookin ng set, which h ddoubles as a bowl. b A cookingg tripod is used d to suspend a bbig pot or caulddron over a firee. Two tripod ds can be used d tto hold a sturd dy spit for a laarge piece of game. g A camp T TrollsZine!
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A tr trapping kit iincludes snarres, fish hooks, little spearrheads for gaaffing fish andd frogs. A traapping kit allow ws a characterr to make one additional traapping roll per dday.
A party of advventurers is on the march through the Drebatt W Woods. Two of the t characters deecide to forage as they go in hopess of extending theeir food supply. They can mak ke one roll each.. O One character has an INT of 13; she makes her L1SR andd rrolls a 6, not enoough to find a meal's m worth of forage. The secondd ccharacter is a Ranger R with a Foraging F talent of 16. He alsoo rrolls a 6, but it is enough for a successful SR and a he finds twoo m meals worth of nuuts and berries.
Lazaark the Reprobaate is hiding out in a small, fertille valley. He spendds his day tickliing fish and tryying to catch rabbbits with a snaree made from hiss shoelaces. Sincce he is staying put he can rolls. He doesn't have the trappinng skill, but makee two trapping ro does hhave an INT off 18. On a part rticular day he roolls a 7 and a 5. The first roll aand Lazark's INT totals 255, enough to wo meals worth of fish and makee a L2 SR andd thus gather tw game..
SShomol the Arrcher has escapeed from a slavve galley and iss m making his way up a desolate coastline. c The onnly foraging he'ss ddone is picking berries b as a kid. Because he is trraveling slowly hee ccan make two foraging fo rolls a day. d But with an a INT of onlyy 111, he must rolll a 14 or bettter on each rolll to find enoughh ppickings for a sinngle meal.
Gannnert the Ranger is patrolling the barren frontier wastes. Her slow ppace would norm rmally allow herr to make one ttrapping roll per dday, but she has a trapping kit so she can mak ke two rolls. Gannnert is a skilled trapper, meaninng she only needds to make a L2 SSR versus her T Trapping talent of 16 to succeedd. Gannert’s playerr rolls an 8 and an 11. The ssecond roll is a L2 success, earninng Gannert two meals.
T Trapping IInstead of forraging, a charaacter can try to t catch smalll aanimals. This takes more time and is a little moree ddifficult, but wields w richer rewards on success. s Food d ffrom trapping keeps for onee day after it iss caught.
Bigg Game
A character traveling at half pace caan make onee ttrapping roll per p day; a charracter staying put can makee tw two trapping rolls. r Trappin ng requires a L2SR L on INT T in n a fertile areaa, or a L3SR on o INT in a barren b area. A ssuccessful L2SSR yields two o meals. For each level off ssuccess abovee L2, the ch haracter obtain ns two moree m meals worth of o game. Trapping can also be taken as a ttalent. A talen nted trapper may reduce the difficultyy leevel of the traapping SR by one. o Trapping Gear Trapping Kitt
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Cost
Weight
2 gp
20 w.u.
Of ccourse, characcters can go aafter bigger game, be it deer,, boar, wild cattle, giant bipedal birdss or small dino saurs. Huntinng of this sort is really an addventure in itselff, requiring tthe GM to determine raanges, the num mber of hits oof damage a beast can taake before expirring, and wheether the preyy can fight bacck! Unless the pparty runs intto a prey creaature by chan nce, they'll needd to make SR Rs on INT or an approprriate talent suchh as Hunting oor Tracking orr Survival to fiind one. If a hhunt is successsful, a single deer or boar ccan supply dozeens of mealss. Game willl keep a dayy without prepparation; smokking meat is a major operatiion (taking nt of field at leeast a day) buut results in the equivalen ratioons.
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Hench H hmen fo or So olo De elvers By Dan D Hembreee L Let’s face it, being b a solo deelver is tough. Not only do o yyou have to be b prepared to o face ravenouus beasts, vilee uundead, slaverring monsters, spike-filled d pits, poison n n needles, and ancient magicc but you’ve got to carryy eeverything. Not just the good g stuff likke gold coins,, jeewels, and magic swords but b extra weaapons, arrows,, ttorches, oil, ro ope, water, an nd food. Plus you’ve got to o h hold your ow wn torch or lantern, l so fo orget using a sshield or secon nd weapon wh hen you go so omeplace darkk (w (which is the typical workp place of delveers); unless off ccourse someone was nice enough e to leaave a light on n ffor your plun ndering convenience. Then let’s say youu ddo kill that giant ogre that was teerrorizing thee ccountryside an nd his great horde of treeasure from a liifetime of saccking and loo oting is yours; how are youu ggoing to carry it all back hom me yourself?
or toouch anythingg first for thaat matter. Theey are not cannnon fodder (but accidents ddo happen). T That being said, they do comee in quite handdy.
Rulles For H Henchmen The following rulles are for ussing henchmeen in solo adveentures. In aadventures ruun by gamee masters, hencchmen may ccertainly play a greater ro ole. These ruless are intendedd to preserve a sense of ffairness to soloss while still allowing th he solo delvver a few comppanions. A chharacter with a Charisma off 12 or less maay hire one hencchman at a ttime. For eveery point of Charisma abovve 12, a charaacter may havve one more h henchman (e.g.,, a character w with a Charism ma of 15 may h have up to threee henchmen aat one time).
T That’s where henchmen come c in. No o, they’re nott p professional delvers, they arre simply hired d hands. Theyy ccome from alll walks of life, but they are all desperate. A After all, theyy’re agreeing to some prettty dangerouss w work. Maybe there’s t a farm mer’s son who didn’t get hiss ffair share of the family’s land, l a merch hant who lostt eeverything to fire, flood, orr gambling, a sailor who iss n now afraid of water, or even n a disowned and disgraced d n nobleman tryin ng to survive in the real wo orld. Their job b is simple. They carry backkpacks, sackss, chests, and d ttorches. They make sure th hat your hand ds are free to o ddeal with the dangerous sttuff while theey hang backk w well out of thee way. They most m certainly do d not engagee in n combat, sco out ahead for trouble, t open doors, chests
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Wheen you hire a hhenchman, rolll 3D6 and muultiply that num mber by 100. This is the carrying abiliity of the hencchman. Hencchmen have no other attrributes. They may wear no aarmor nor maay they carryy any weapon ns of their own;; they are strict noncombatants. They allso cannot be ussed to lead thhe way, solve p puzzles, test flloors, pick lockss, force downn stuck doors,, open chests,, doors, or winddows, or any oother kind of ddelving relatedd task.
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wever, that Hencchmen may nnot engage in combat; how doess not mean thhat your oppo onents will resspect their nonccombatant rolle. For every 6 that an adveersary rolls in coombat (scorinng spite damaage in 7th eddition) roll 1D6 . If anotherr 6 is rolledd, that mean ns that a hencchman got cauught in the m middle of the fight and has bbeen killed. Iff using spite ddamage, this effectively absoorbs that pointt of spite. Wheen the going ggets tough, heenchmen mayy not want to sttick around. At these tim mes a Morale Check is requiired. Whenevver the delverr loses CON N (but not from m Spite damaage), runs fro om a fight, o or another hencchman is killeed make a Savving Roll on Charisma. The Saving Roll starts at Leveel 0 (requires a roll on 2D6 >3) the first time a moralle check is reqquired and increeases by one for each subssequent checkk. A failed Savinng Roll meanss that one of yyour henchmeen has fled alongg with everythhing he/she w was carrying. Iff you have moree than one heenchman, dettermine which h one fled randdomly. Note thhat a failed Savving Roll does not reset the SSaving Roll levvel progressio on.
H Henchmen caan carry whatever the delvver wants, butt tthe delver muust provide containers such as packs and d ssacks for mostt items (food, oil, torches, rope, r treasure,, eetc.). Henchm men could alsso carry sparee weapons in n b belts, bows, quivers q of arrows or extra shields slungg o over their sho oulders or across their backs, or largerr w weapons such h as spears orr pole arms in n their handss ((they just cann not use them to t fight). A Another excelllent use of a henchman would w be as a ttorch or lanterrn bearer, givin ng the solo deelver two free h hands in dark environmentss.
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work for freee; they do Of ccourse, henchhmen don’t w expeect to get som mething out of this dangeerous job. Eachh henchman should receiive a 5% cuut of any monnetary treasuree (coins, gem ms, jewelry) w won in the courrse of the adveenture. I hoppe that you ccan see how vvaluable hencchmen can be too a solo delveer. While you may not need them or be alllowed them inn all solo adveentures (if youu start as a prisooner for exam mple), they can make life a lo ot easier in exchhange for just a little gold. After all, eveery warrior or w wizard worth hhis salt shouldd have a trustty sidekick or tw wo. You don’tt want to carrry all that stufff yourself, do yoou?
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Meszmy M yr Heeldaer A T&T NPC P Portrait By Paul P Ingrass ia
M Meszmyr Heldaer H D Dark Elf 55th Level Wizaard SSTR: 17 C CON: 17 D DEX: 39 SSPD: 17 IINT: 21 W WIZ: 56 L LCK: 27 C CHA: 22 A ADDS: +52 T Talents: Alch hemy, Magical Lore, Gem Trader T W Weapons: Staaff Ordinaire, Poniard, Bllowpipe/dartss w with stone-fish h poison D Description: Meszmyr is about a 5'8" talll and 170 lbs. w with deep purrple eyes and a jet black tuuft of hair on n ttop of his heaad. He has a long, narrow,, pointy nose,, p pointy ears, an nd dark tan, leathery skin.. His ears aree p pierced multip ple times, and he wears an enchanted e ringg o on each of hiss hands. The ring on the riight hand is a R Ring of Dis-SSpell; the onee on the left is a Ring off P Protective Pentagram. P Each E leechees half thee aappropriate krremm amountt from him wh hen he uses it. M Meszmyr has two small fangs f protrud ding from hiss b bottom jaw, and a his fingers and toes end e in sharp,, p pointy nails. T The Dark Elff wears volum minous robess in a motleyy aassortment off earth tones - deep green,, brown, gray,, aand black, all held closed with w a belt. Hee favors blackk leeather sandalss on his feet. Meszmyr’s hat h is a heavyy b burlap-like maaterial, long an nd pointy, witth chin strapss (w (which he never fastens). The hat dro oops over hiss eeyes, and the tip t ends in a sort of tassel th hat causes thee h hat to pitch fo orward. The 'tassel' ' is actuually a magicall eeyeball. It is cllosed when inactive, but at will, w Meszmyrr ccan make it open, o and then n he is able to t cast Detectt M Magic, Oh Th here It Is, Caateyes, or Om mnipotent Eyee sspells one at a time, withoutt any kremm cost. c T TrollsZine!
ordinaire crow wned with Meszzmyr carries a 7' staff o bull'ss horns, with a tiny skull (h hobb, gnome or dwarf, mostt likely) strunng between tthe horn poin nts, and a smalll corked jar hhanging from the base of tthe horns. The skull is magiccal and grantss him the equuivalent of 10 ppoints of armoor when he iss holding the staff. The jar iss always filledd with a potio on, the type ddependent on w what Meszmyrr’s needs may be for the addventure at handd. Meszmyr knnows all 1st leevel spells, andd a variety of hiigher level spells, which I w will leave for each GM to deetermine baseed upon their own unique needs. He also has a variety of magical, en nchanted, andd bespelled item s hidden awayy in his tower.. orn Tarr Oriliin, a green Backkground: Meeszmyr was bo eyedd, blonde haireed, Noble Elff of Khazan. H His father, Torrr-ah Orilin, w was a rich alchemist with powerful influuence in Khazan. His motheer, Kahla Oom mpah, was the ddaughter of aanother influeential noblem man of the city. Tarr, to the chagrin of his ssnooty father,, was quite
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a mischievous lad. Howeverr, he also displlayed a strongg m magical aptituude, so his father fa enrolled d him at thee W Wizard's Guild d. Torr-ah hoped his son would w learn to o uuse his magicaal gift, and thaat the regimen n of the Guild d w would curb hiss troublesomee ways. O Only a few weeeks after arrivving, while sneeaking around d eexploring the Guild hall after hours, Tarr passed d tthrough a maagical portal that broughtt him into a ddemonic worlld for 666 ho ours. Tarr neever spoke off w what happeneed in the deemon portal, but the boyy w would never be b the same. His eyes had d turned darkk p purple, his haair black, and d his skin haad become a leeathery, dark tan. He declared his name from then on n w would be Messzmyr Heldaerr, and that hee would neverr b be referred to as Tarr Orilin n again. Meszm myr had also rreturned with a new compan nion, Ghor, a Demonosaurr h hatchling. Alm most immediattely, his mischievous nature b began to morp ph into a quiett, brooding cuuriosity and an n in nsatiable thirsst for power. A Although Meeszmyr was in constant trouble forr ddisobeying Guuild rules, he excelled at hiis studies and d w was at the top p of his class, a class which despised him m ffor his sadistic, pompous personality. p His H classmatess aalso feared th he ever-growiing, and high hly protective,, D Demonosaur always a by his side. Meszmyyr was a lonerr aand spent nearrly all his timee at his studiess. U Upon graduatiing from the Guild, G Meszm myr, with Ghorr b by his side, sett out to build his power an nd fortune. Hee b became obsesssed with gemss and jewelry, so decided to o aapprentice witth a gem trader. He learned d quickly, butt h his personalitty clashed with w his masster’s, so thee aapprenticeship p was short-livved. He decid ded to set outt o on a life of ad dventure and exploration, and his focuss b became the accumulation off magic and geems.
m time to timee, Meszmyr an nd Ghor still go out on From adveentures to accquire more w wealth, or to o chase a speciial magic item m he may have learned abouut through his sttudies in Maggical Lore.
Ghhor the Demonossaur (Me eszmyr’s Fam miliar) MR 2216 (22D + 108) qual to the tottal of all of M Meszmyr's Ghoor’s MR is equ attribbutes, and inccreases/decreaases with his maximum attribbutes, not his current attrributes. If M Meszmyr is killedd, Ghor will im mmediately tryy to avenge hiis master’s deathh, and then w will die afterrwards. The ccreature is feroccious in com mbat, and hass a Talent in n Tracking equaal to Meszmer’s INT + 4. The Demonosaurr stands aboutt 4'10" and lo ooks like a giantt ball of flesh and muscle ccovered in dulll, grayishgreenn reptilian scaales. Ghor has only two sh hort, thick, stronng legs, but haas an enormo ous tail that is almost as thickk as his body is tall. It tapeers to a thick,, blunt tip, and a row of hornns runs down n the back to the tip of the ttail, where thee horns end iin a cluster. IIt also has threee horns acrosss the top of its face. Gho or’s face is flat aand takes up the entire fro ont of its bodyy. Most of its m mouth is filled with razor sh harp teeth andd two huge tuskss extending frrom the botto om jaw. Ghor has a tiny nosee (actually twoo nostril holess) and two sm mall, beady blackk eyes toppedd with bony ridges. Gho or wears a magiical 'armband'' type of ring around his rigght mouth tusk that grants hiim 20 points o of armor proteection.
A After many years of ad dventures, Meszmyr M had d aamassed a greeat amount off wealth and unusual u magicc ittems. He deccided to settlee down, so he h captured a ttower by slaaying the ressident wizard d, and began n cconstructing a dungeon beeneath it. Fro om within hiss ttower he started a businesss as a gem trader, and a b black market business as a potion and poison p dealer. H He also indulgged his other passion, p magiic and magicall lo ore, by build ding an exten nsive library and a series off laaboratories within w his dungeon, d a never-endingg b building project that was beecoming quitee an extensivee n network of tun nnels and room ms.
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Night Walk W in n the W Wild W Woodss A T&T 5th Edition So olo Advventure By James Fallow ws T This adventure was w written usinng the T&T 5tth Edition ruless aand designed to be b playable by characters ch of anyy level. Any timee tthat the text insstructs you to make m a Saving Roll, R you shouldd m make it at your character’s level. (e.g., if the textt instructs you too m make a Saving Roll on Luck, if you are 1sst level, make a L L1SR on LK, if 5th level then you must make m a L5SR).. L Lower level charracters ought to be careful not to t roll unluckilyy nnor enter into coombat indiscrim minately. Higherr level characterss tthat feel that thheir mettle will not be put to the test may bee aassured that therre are plenty of opportunities ahhead for them too bbe arbitrarily killled. Thus is ballance achieved! Any A gender, type,, oor kindred of chharacter may be used. For reasoons of space andd ssimplicity, optionns for magic use have not been given, g so you willll nneed to use your judgment to dettermine the outccome of any spellll ccast. Your charracter is betweeen adventures, travelling to a ddistant city. So far, fa the journey has h been uneventftful…
Introductio on Y Your journey has been lon ng and lonelyy. Arriving att H Hulgar’s Fort,, you are enccouraged to learn l that thee ffabled city of Ghometh G lies just a few daays’ ride to thee W West, across Black B Oak Heath. Madame Shakasha, a ttrader of som me renown, will soon be b taking herr ccaravan by thaat road. But for f now she iss awaiting thee aarrival of a shipment s of cabbages from m the goblin n ffarms at Jabb bersnatch Guulley. She offfers you thee o opportunity to o earn a hand dful of silver by b enlisting in n h her guard for the journey. Your Y business in Ghometh,, h however, is pressing p and the prospect of even onee n night’s delay holds h no appeaal, particularlyy if you would d n need to maake the rem mainder of your y journeyy aaccompanied by b the pervassive stench off Jabbersnatch h ccabbage. So you y decline th he offer and instead strikee o out alone on the t broken, deep-rutted d road that windss uup onto the bleak b moors of o Black Oak Heath. Now w rread paragrap ph 1.
Shadded over by reeaching brancches, it looks as dark as any tunnel in thee ground. Thee forest is a fforbidding ou wish to preseence, and youu are not surre whether yo spennd the night w within it. You pause to con nsider your optioons. If you w wish to press aahead, and haave means (mecchanical, magiical or naturaal) of lighting your way, read d 20. If you w would prefer instead to fin nd a small holloow somewherre off the roaad and set up camp for the nnight, read 300. 2 A diisembodied hhead floats above the foresst floor. It regarrds you with a cold, blank stare and adddresses you in seepulchral tonees: “Stranger! Kneel beforre me and hear my tale of w woe!” Will yyou kneel as requested, perhhaps bowing your head aand baring yyour neck meekkly for good measure? Reaad 16. Take a swing at this loathsome sppecter with yo our weapon? Read 29. Apollogize that, m much as you would be deelighted to hear the head’s taale of woe, yyou’d much raather hear the story about tthe little pigggies that travvelled to a magiical kingdom in a friendlly wizard’s fflying hat? Read d 37.
1 IIt is late in thee day, and youu are weary, haaving travelled d m many long miles. The sun sets s amidst crrimson cloudss o over the distaant mountainss. The road ahead a enters a ggloomy forest of gnarled oaaks and leaningg pines.
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3 Ouch! You lose 1 point of CON. It certainly seems that you are awake, however strange your surroundings. Perhaps you should follow the path? Read 6. Or would you prefer to settle back down to sleep, hoping that you will awaken in better circumstances? Read 13. 4 You slay your doppelganger. As its corpse slumps to the floor, it blackens and crumbles to dust along with all of its possessions. With a mighty rumble the room beyond the mirror collapses, and the tree roots around you twist and writhe. You decide that you had better get out of here as quickly as you are able. Read 18. 5 You press on into the forest. Make a LUCK Saving Roll. If you fail, read 25. If you succeed, read 17. 6 The path twists and turns through the woods, and you are soon completely befuddled about which direction you are heading. As doubts plague you, you are distracted by the noise of something approaching. You have been disturbed by the occurrence of a Random Encounter. Read 49. If you survive the encounter read 32. 7 The runes are of some lost language unfamiliar to you and broken in many places by the protruding tree roots. However, you find them strangely fascinating, and a sense of their meaning begins to grow in your mind. Make an INT Saving Roll. If you fail, read 21. If you succeed, read 43. 8 Unless you are somehow immune to all forms of poison (in which case there is no effect, and you may continue, following your snack, to 35), that was a particularly bold (or foolish) decision! The glowing toadstool is indeed virulently toxic. Make a CON Saving Roll. If you fail, read 13. If you succeed, read on. You choke on the foul tasting fungus. You lose 5 points of CON. If this is sufficient to kill you, read 13. If you still live, then read on further still. You drop to the floor in a convulsive spasm, and are afflicted by a striking auditory hallucination, in which it appears that the very woods around you speak: “Stranger, your lack of sense in the face of obvious dire danger does you credit! What is more, it indicates that you may be the one we seek. Our name is Fafahlfahal, and we are afflicted by Ghrl’khutt TrollsZine!
Bhaeghoar, Eater of Souls! Fight him in our name, and naught he does may harm you!” Should you perchance find yourself in combat with an incarnation of Ghrl’khutt Bhaeghoar, Eater of Souls at any time in the near future, you may say “Fafahlfahal” and indeed suffer no damage from Ghrl’khutt Bhaeghoar, Eater of Souls’ attacks, whilst inflicting your full damage against him, until the demon is slain. At length, the vision passes, and you are recovered. As you come to your senses, though, you fear that something fearsome approaches you through the trees. Read 25. 9 You are glad to leave the sobbing and the blackened oak behind you, but fear that you are hopelessly lost in these confounded woods. Make a LUCK Saving Roll. If you are successful, read 23. If you fail, read 25. 10 You take great delight in mocking your weeping reflection. This enrages your double – it jumps to its feet, takes a couple of steps back, and launches itself once more at the glass! This time… (read 14) 11 “You!” the horned rider declares in a voice as deep and strong as the very woods themselves. Will you flee as fast your little (or big, whichever) legs will carry you? Read 19. Or stand and fight? Read 22 12 The water is refreshing. Regain 5 points of lost CON. Drinking it also cleans your mind and suggests an idea – you could follow this stream, as surely it must eventually lead you out of this forest. If you wish to do this, read 33. Otherwise, strike back out in what you hope was the direction you were originally headed (read 35). 13 Alas, that was not one of your better ideas. There are terrible things that lurk in dark places, and it seems that one such has brought about your untimely demise. For you, the adventure ends here. For your shade, an eternity of torment lies ahead, haunting these cursed woods. The hours aren’t good, the pay is lousy, and the prospect of career progression nonexistent – but all that said, at least it’s a job… 14 The glass shatters into a thousand pieces. Your reflection is no longer weeping but smiling. It is not one of those friendly, light-hearted smiles that you like to think give you quite a winsome appearance, but a
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ssickening, twissted leer. “Th hank you,” it says, s and then n leeaps to attacck! The mirro or creature which w you aree ffighting is a form f of Dopp pelganger. It has the samee aattributes and same equipm ment that you carry c yourselff. A Any tactic, speecial item, speell, or ability th hat you mightt cconsider to employ e against it, it will also employy aagainst you. Iff you defeat your y Doppelgaanger, read 4.. IIf your Doppeelganger defeaats you, read 34. 3
16 “Alaas,” begins thee head, “I waas once a mo ost foolish adveenturer, and feell prey to a Raavening Fiendd Head…” Perhhaps there is m more to the tale, but sadlyy you will not hear it, for the narrativve is interrup pted. You expeerience a sudden, decapitatory sensation someewhere in thee region betw ween the base of your skulll and the top oof your shouldders. Read 133.
155 Y You are overw whelmed by a primal panic, and turn and d rrun to escape from this un nwholesome wood. w Make a D DEX Saving Roll. R If you faill, you stumblee on a root ass yyou flee and loose 3 points of CON. C If this is i sufficient to o kkill you, read 13. If you surrvive this dam mage, or if youu m make the Savin ng Roll, read on. o
17 As yyou proceed w warily into thee woods, yourr attention is caaught by a patch of talll, luminous toadstools grow wing at the basse of an ancien nt pine. Theree are some bite marks in onee of the toadsttools, and thee shriveled form m of some deead squirrel-llike creature curled up besidde it. You feell a curious co ompulsion to ttake a bite out oof the unwhoolesome funguus. Will you iggnore such fooliish thoughts aand quickly m move on? Reaad 35. Or indullge your strannge whim and taste the eeriily glowing thingg? Read 8.
Y You run alongg the winding path, and youu run, and youu rrun, and you run. In fact, you y realize with w a growingg ssense of horro or that you haave run for a much greaterr ddistance than you originallly travelled on o this forestt rroad. Perhaps in your con nfusion you have h only run n ddeeper into th he forest – or perhaps you are subject to o ssome kind of enchantmen nt? Standing momentarilyy cconfused and unsure, you see three figgures in longg h hooded cloakks approachin ng you with swift, certain n sstrides. Will yo ou strike off into the trees to escape thiss n new menace? Read 32. Draw D a weapo on and boldlyy aattack? Read 44. As confid dently as you are able, haill tthe new arrivals and ask for directions? Read R 42.
18 The chamber off runes has aaltered someh how. You once dwelt heere is now sensee that the poower which o gonee. On the flooor in its cen nter is a small golden statuuette of a rathher hideous, m many-limbed, cylindrical monnstrosity. Com mmon sense w warns you to leave the unplleasant thing well alone,, but sometthing else comppels you to piick it up and place it in youur pack. It is quuite heavy forr its size (weigght 20), and ccould well be w worth hundredds of gold piecces to the right buyer. Oncee you have aascended the spiral staircaase to the openn air, you notice anoth her welcomee change. Dayllight is breakking through the dense co overing of brannches overheead. The forest has lost its ong fill the unwhholesome chaaracter, and trrills of birdso air. A Able to see bbetter in the ggrowing light,, you note that the paths whiich diverge aro ound the blackened oak trunkk soon join aagain, in a roaad which headds steadily westw tward. You ffollow the ro oad, and to yyour great relieff, find that beefore too longg the trees beggin to thin out, and the roadd proceeds o once more across open mooorland. Read 550.
19 You flee in abjject terror, yyour mind ccompletely inged by fearr. Unfortunately, you neveer recover unhin yourr senses and whatever yo our fate may be, your adveenture ends heere. If it is an ny consolation n, though, whilsst you are reduuced to a gibb bering loon, you are not slainn by foul creaatures, and do o not becom me a shade destiined to haunt this accursed place for all eeternity. I T TrollsZine!
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h hope that help ps. Kind of depends d whether you are a gglass half full or glass halff empty kind of person, I ssuppose. 200 Y You decide to o proceed intto the gloomyy forest. It iss eeerily quiet. After A a few tw wists and turnss of the road,, tthe last circle of daylight iss left behind you, and youu aare deep in th he murk. Youu feel a grow wing sense off uunease – theree is somethingg very unnatuural about thiss p place, and youu sense that hidden dangeers lurk here. W Will you turn and flee as quuickly as you can, c to get outt o of this place before b ill beffalls you? Reaad 15. Or aree yyou made of sterner s stuff, and in no waay deterred byy tthe imminencee of peril? Reaad 5. 21 A As you trace your fingers over the run nes, unfamiliarr w words form on o your tonguue, and you feel f a growingg p pressure in yo our skull as though the contents c weree aattempting to force their way w out. You drop to yourr kknees in agon ny! You lose 5 points of CO ON. If this iss ssufficient to kiill you, read 13. If you live, read on. T The pain is succh that you alm most black ouut, but you aree aaware of a haarsh, rhythmiical chanting – which youu ssuddenly realiize is your ow wn voice, speaking wordss tthat you do o not underrstand. Then n unwelcomee kknowledge daw wns on you: something s stand ds behind you,, a looming preesence. You have h stopped chanting, and d ggag, as there iss a thick, chem mical odor in the chamber. E Every sense you have screaams at you to o run for yourr liife! Will you flee in blind panic from m the terriblee p presence? Reaad 19. Or will you defy your fears and d tturn and face it? i Read 31.
embaarrassing if you are a ddoe/female). This will perm manently reduuce your Ch harisma to 5 amongst hum mans and otherr judgmental sspecies. If youu are slain, of the paragrraph from or fforgot to maake a note o whennce you arriveed, read 13. 23 he strange forrest. Soon You trudge warilly through th you fear that you have lost all sense of direcction. You h at all, or are nnot even sure if you are folllowing a path just wandering aiimlessly betweeen the treess. Looking notice a small spring of abouut in growing panic, you n freshh looking watter. Do you w wish to drinkk from the streaam? Read 12.. Or press on n and try to gget out of this pplace? Read 332. 24 You try to speak tto your reflecttion, but abso orbed in its own misery, it payys you no atteention. Then yyou notice that beyond it, a ddark, monstro ous shape with h three red ng limbs is app proaching. eyes and a profusiion of weavin here is no such h thing on You turn around qquickly, but th yourr side of the mirror. Yourr doppelgangger shrinks wailing, its sorrow now oveertaken by againnst the glass, w abjecct fear. Will you wait to watch what happens? Read d 39. Smash the glass to free your un nfortunate reflecction? Read 14. Or get ouut of here as quickly as you aare able? Read 19.
222 Y You fight th he Wild Hun ntsman! (MR R80). If youu rreduce the Huuntsman to a MR of 40 or less, he willl b blow another blast on his horn, h summon ning a pack off F Foul Wolves. Roll 1D6 to determinee how manyy w wolves are sum mmoned. Eacch wolf has MR20 M and willl ffight against you togeth her with th he wounded d h huntsman. IIf you defeat the t Huntsman n, you may takke the horn ass yyour prize. The T horn can n be used once o per dayy aanywhere abovve ground in the wilds. It will work forr yyou exactly as it has for thee Huntsman – summoningg 11D6 worth of MR20 Foul Wolves to aid you. H However, youu will discoverr that a side-eeffect of usingg tthe horn will be that you will w grow irreemovable stagg aantlers out of the t sides of yo our skull (partticularly
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25 Your apprehensions are realized! Something terrible approaches! Consult the Encounter Table at 49. If you survive the encounter, read 35. 26 Congratulations! You have found the Lost Scythe of Yang-yi! It has 26 dice and 17 adds. Furthermore it allows you a free strike at the start of any combat, inflicting full damage against up to six opponents. Shouldering your newly found weapon, and laughing at your great good fortune, you proceed merrily on your way. Read 13 27 You are in a small circular chamber beneath the forest. Roots protrude from the ceiling and walls. There is a stone staircase leading up, and a single corridor exiting the chamber. A mournful sobbing echoes down the corridor from somewhere ahead. The walls of the chamber are inscribed with ancient runes. Do you wish to head down the corridor? Read 36. Or would you prefer to first make a closer examination of the ancient runes? Read 7. 28 You push your way into the room and stand before the mirror. You see your reflection looking back – well, almost your reflection, for the face in the mirror is twisted in grief, and crying out in wordless anguish! You stagger backwards in surprise – but your reflection lunges forward! It crashes against the glass – which shivers at the impact, but doesn’t shatter. How do you wish to respond? Try to speak to this thing beyond the mirror to find out how it/you came to be trapped there? Read 24. Use a weapon to smash the glass and free your reflection? Read 14. Jump up and down and pull moonish faces to mock the mirror being in its torment? Read 10. 29 You attack the Ravening Fiend Head (MR70)! If you defeat this foe, you will be pleased to discover that it wore a pearl earring, which your inner pawnbroker whispers is worth a good 50 gp from any (semi-) respectable booty dealer. You may also wear it yourself if you wish, it is most fetching. If you do not defeat this foe or if you cannot remember which paragraph you were supposed to return to following your encounter, read 13. 30 The ground rises to the north of the highway, and there you find a little hollow, shaded from the road by TrollsZine!
a growth of stunted bushes. It seems to be a discreet spot to make camp. The evening is warm and you have hard cheese and stale bread, so decide not to risk a fire in case of drawing unwanted attention. Helping your sparse meal down with a few gulps of sour Brannish wine, you settle down on a bed of ferns, pulling your travel cloak over you, and soon drift into a troubled sleep. You dream a most peculiar dream. In it, you are floating above the ground, looking down on your own sleeping form. Tendrils of mist are rolling out from the forest, and these reach your body like so many gaseous tentacles. The limbs of mist wrap themselves sinuously about you, lift you into the air, and draw you within the dark, forbidding woods. You awaken with a start, reaching instinctively for your weapon and your pack, which you are relieved to find straight away. But although you have grabbed your belongings, you cannot see them, or anything, for you are in pitch blackness. What is more, you feel a pressing presence around you that you instinctively know to be the old forest. Was your dream true, or did you wander here, sleepwalking? You are about to scrabble in your pack for the means to light your way, when you notice that you can see your hands before you, and the ground, and the trunks and branches of trees. Everything seems to be lit with an eerie luminescence that your eyes grow increasingly accustomed to. You seem to be in a small clearing of sorts (though branches still cover over head), with a single path winding out amongst the trees. Will you follow the path to see where it leads? Read 40. Or should you pinch yourself hard to see if you yet dream? Read 3. 31 You turn and behold the thing behind you – and your heart almost freezes in shock at what you behold! Make a CON save! If you fail, read 13! If, however, you succeed, read on. The thing is huge, quite filling the small chamber and blocking you from reaching the stairway. It is a great cylindrical mass of rubbery, luminescent flesh, from which dozens of jointed limbs extend and weave ominously. At the center of the mass is something of a face – three small deep red eyes regard you balefully; beneath them is a long vertical fissure lined with hundreds of irregular, razor sharp teeth. A thin purple tongue protrudes from the mouth, snaking slowly towards you. Do you turn and flee, screaming
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in ncoherently down d the corriidor behind yo ou? Read 19. W Will you draw your weapon and fight? Reead 48. Or do o yyou believe th hat it would be b folly to do anything butt sstand your gro ound and see what w befalls yo ou? Read 46. 322 Y You are lost in the trees,, with no sen nse of which h ddirection to go. Striking out, you push p through h uundergrowth and fallen brranches, and to your greatt rrelief find thatt you are backk on the foreest road. Yourr rrelief is sho ort lived, however, h as it is soon n o overwhelmed by growing an nxiety and doubts. There iss ssomething verry wrong in these woods. Read 35. 333 A As you follow w the stream, it i grows wideer and swifter,, aand its merry rhythm match hes your own n rising spirits. M Make a LK Saving Roll. If yo ou fail, you haave been besett b by some wan ndering beastiie. Go to 499 to discoverr eexactly what, making m note to t return to this t paragraph h ((33) if you should s survivve the encouunter. If youu ssucceed in the t LK Saviing Roll or survive thee eencounter, reaad 38. 344 Y Your mirror self has trium mphed! This leads to thee uunusual situaation where you may continue c thiss aadventure as your twisted, evil mirror self. If yourr ccharacter was already twistted and evil then you willl h have to workk out for yo ourself exactlyy what beingg ddouble twisted and evil means. m You may m loot thee ccorpse of youur former selff. Note that all a belongingss aand treasure, including i anyy ridiculously over-powered d m magical itemss gained on previous ad dventures, aree dduplicated in your doppelgganger’s posseessions. Theree is only one cattch, which is that t hencefortth, in this and d aany future queests, you shouuld only choosse actions thatt aan evil doppelgganger of youurself would taake. Delighted d aat your triump ph over your foolish and weak w original,, yyou set off baack down thee corridor to the room off rrunes. You areen’t entirely sure whether you y are in thee m mirror world or its originall, as both app pear identical. R Read 18.
and press on dow wn the left forrk (read 6) orr the right d 9)? (read 36 The corridor leadss to another chamber, whicch to reach you have to pushh and squeezze past more and ever ber, almost thickker tree roots. To one side of the chamb conccealed by the roots, is a largge, gilt-edged mirror. If theree are other fuurnishings in o or exits from the room, they cannot be seeen owing to the thick entanglement of rooots. The soobbing appearrs to be com ming from beyoond the mirroor. Do you w wish to enter the room and look into the mirror? Read 28. Or does nse) warn you to get out someething (call it common sen of thhis eerie hole iin the groundd as quickly ass possible? Read d9 37 The head seems ssurprised at yo our request. “Really?” it groanns, “oh, veryy well. Once, there were tthree little piggyy’s…” Althouugh the circuumstances aree unusual, you find the fam miliar story off your childh hood most soothhing. You recovver 10 points off CON and gainn 50 AP for this experience. Noow return tto the paraggraph you recorrded before rolling on tthe random encounter tablee, or, failing thhat, read 13. 38 It is a long marchh through a seemingly enddless night. Afterr a while, youu notice that yyour surrounddings have takenn on an increeasing and un nfamiliar lum minescence. To your great relief and against yo our worst expeectations, youu realize that the trees aree thinning out, and that the luminescencee is the naturral light of earlyy dawn. The woods aroun nd you have lost their macaabre aspect, annd are slowly coming alive with trills of biirdsong and oother morningg noises. Finallly, you are out oof the forest!
355 T The road that you are follo owing dwindlees as the treess p press in, until it is soon littlee more than a narrow path. B By the blacken ned shell of a lightning-blast l ted oak trunk,, tthe path splitss at a fork. With the treees pressing in n m menacingly clo ose, both routtes seem equaally uninviting. Y Your attentio on is caught by faint, mournful m sobss eemanating from within the dead tree. Do o you wish to o in nvestigate thee sobbing? Read 45 Or will you ignore it
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Y You stumble up u a rise, and beyond it yo ou see anotherr rroad; a better one than the one you weere following,, w which must leead to Ghom math. A sleeplless night hass leeft you weary, but you hop pe to get somee miles behind d yyou and hopeffully find an inn i where youu can rest and d rrecover. You carry a lin ngering doub bt that somee m mystery of tho ose haunted woods w has rem mained behind,, uunresolved, but that is no ot enough to o lessen yourr ggratitude for the t life blood d which still flows f through h yyour veins. SSomething or someone hass been watch hing over you! T Take 50 AP and increase your Luck by b 1 for yourr eexperience. Iff this feels somehow unearrned and youu p prefer to head d back to thee forest and spend s anotherr n night there, then go ahead and a read 13 in nstead. 399 Y You watch and see what w happenss, when thee o otherworldly demon d devourrs someone who w looks veryy m much like youu. When it hass finished, the demon lookss uup at you, and d then movess forward, passing through h tthe glass as th hough it weree not there. You Y turn and d rrun! Read 19. 400 Y You follow the path, youur heart racin ng, the blood d p pounding in yo our ears. Read d 25. 41 SSomething laarge is crash hing through h the woodss ttowards you! You Y draw youur weapon an nd prepare forr itts approach. There T is the blast b of a huntting horn, and d a horse rears up u before you, bestridden by b a huntsman n w wearing the antlers a of a stag. Will yo ou attack thiss sstrange rider? Read 22. Assk, “What is it i you hunt, o h horn-headed one?” o Read 11. Or declaare: “By Saintt L Langford’s Ho oly Bones, be gone and tro ouble me not,, tthou hoary misbegotten trop pe!” Read 47.
h, say four the oobvious. Getts mighty tediious after, oh millennnia now.” The third Grim SSpectral Warrrior chuckles at this (a AP if you can think of a chucckle like… weell, take 30 A suitabbly morbid similile to insert here)), which greattly offends the ffirst. He shovves the third iin the chest, and in no time at all, all tthree are braawling like street girls fightting over coppers in the ggutters outsidee the Blue Frogg Tavern. Whi hilst the three are thus occuupied, you backk away, then tuurn and run. R Read 35. 43 As yyou trace youur fingers oveer the runes, unfamiliar wordds form on yyour tongue, aand you feel a growing presssure as thouggh the conten nts of your sskull were attem mpting to forrce their wayy out. With a supreme menttal effort, yoou force youurself to stop p reading, wrennching your gaze away from the invidious markkings! nauseous (yo llose 3 points Yourr head spins aand you feel n of CO ON), but youu feel that youu have escapeed a much worsse fate. It seem ms to you th hat the markin ngs on the wallss are runes off binding, and that something unseen lurkss here, beyondd the thin, straaining walls off reality. Is this the cancerouus heart of th his wood’s strrangeness? he sobbing Yourr thoughts aree interrupted by hearing th from m down the ccorridor – ren newed, and lo ouder than befo re. Will you nnow investigatte this unsettlling noise? Read d 36. Or is it ttime to get ouut of this hole and as far from m this place as quickly as possible? Read 9.
422 ““Excuse me,” you ask in a quavering q voicce, “but could d o one of you fine fellows direct me as to o the shortestt rroute out of th his confoundeed place?” ““Well,” says th he first Grim Spectral Warrrior, in a voicee liike rusted steeel scraped oveer wet stone, “I’m tempted d tto give you th he rather obvio ous and termiinal answer to o tthat question… …” T The second Grim G Spectral Warrior W lets ouut a long sigh,, liike foul air escaping from m a newly opened o tomb. ““That’s you alll over,” he com mplains, “always going for
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444 Y You find yourself in combat with three Grim G Spectrall W Warriors! Eaach warrior is MR30. Out of an n eexaggerated seense of fair pllay, they will only o fight youu ssingly if your character is less l than 3rd level. If yourr ccharacter is so o proficient th hat the three pose you no o tthreat at all, they t will polittely suggest that t you fightt tthem at a suiitable handicaap (one hand d tied behind d yyour back, barre-handed, bliindfolded, wh hat-the-heck – n naked), and you y may hum mor them if you wish. Att w whatever levell of experiencce you are in n such a case,, yyou ought to be able to work w out the details. d If youu sslay the warrio ors, you will be b pleased to discover that,, tthough their forms crum mble to dust, each leavess b behind a silveer GSW broo och, probably worth 15 gp p aapiece. You may m proceed to t 35. Should d the warriorss ttriumph they will w offer youur corpse a fin nal salute, and d yyou will read 13. 1
on’t know are ddefeated, you know the drrill. (If you do the ddrill, read 13.))
455 W Warily, you peer p within the tree truunk. To yourr ssurprise you find a ston ne spiral staiircase, lit byy p phosphorescen nt mosses, tw wisting down into i the earth. T The sobs are echoing up frrom down beelow. Will youu ddescend the sttaircase to inveestigate furtheer? Read 27. O Or would you prefer to get as far from here h as quicklyy aas you can, by travelling eith her the left (reead 6) or rightt ((read 9) forks??
Rolll 2,3,44 5,6
466 Y Your beliefs, however h well-founded, aree of little help p in n this situation n. Read 13.
10,111,12
49 Rand dom Encoun nter Table Roll 2D6, and findd the result on n the table beelow. Most of thhe encounters will require yyou to engage in combat with some foul sppirit or beast o of the woods,, but some n which you m must go to resullts are special encounters in the lilisted paragrapph number to o resolve. Youu may only encoounter each of these once per adventure – if you roll tthat result aggain, treat it aas no encountter. Lucky you! Whether youu roll a speciaal encounter or one of monsters, if yoou survive thee encounter yyou should the m returrn to whichevver paragraph h you made a note of befo re reading thiis section. If yyou are defeatted by the encoounter, or if yyou simply forrgot to make a note of the pparagraph youu came from, rread 13.
7
8,9
Resu ult Read d2 Shad des of Mist (yyou face one for eevery level of your ccharacter, each aat MR25.) Tran nsient Wightt (Make a DE EX Saving
Roll tto avoid its toucch: fail and youu take 1D6 damagge to your CON N per level of youur character. Either way, the Wighht then fades awaay). Foull Wolves (Youu face 1D6 wollves, each at MR 220)
Read d 41
477 Y Your words are most efffective and fill the Wild d H Huntsman with an overwh helming sensee of his own n rridiculousness. He throws down his ho orn and ridess o off. You may take the Horn n of the Wild Huntsman. Iff yyou ever cho oose to blow it, in this or o any futuree aadventure, reffer to Parag graph 22 to discover itss eeffect. You maay instead cho oose to sell it, in which casee itt should fetch h 150 gp fro om an honestt trader. Now w rreturn to thee paragraph from whencce you camee ((before rollingg for this raandom encouunter). If youu ffailed to properly make notte of it, makee a note to bee m more careful in n future, and instead i read 13. 1 488 Y You have deciided to take on o Ghrl’khuttt Bhaeghoar,, E Eater of Sou uls (MR250) in combat. Although A thee E Eater of Soulss has untold powers which h it could calll uupon to resolvve the situatio on, it is perhaaps impressed d b by your pluckk, and decides to give you a fair fight in n o one-to-one co ombat. If youu triumph, reaad 18. If youu T TrollsZine!
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500 T The forest is far behind yo ou, and the ro oad improvess aand straighten ns with everry passing mile. m You aree uutterly weary after your exp periences of the t night, butt ffind the stren ngth to push on, and hop pe to reach a ttavern or inn where w you can n safely rest. SSometime afteer noon, you happen to lo ook back overr yyour shouldeer, and nottice the dusst of riderss aapproaching along a the road d. The forest is already lostt tto sight over intervening i hiills and rises. You strain to o ssee the riderss better, having some sillyy notion thatt ssome unspeakkable thing fro om the wood ds might havee vventured this far, even in broad b daylightt, to draw youu b back. But youu see that beyyond the riderrs are wagonss b by the dozen:: Madame Sh hakasha’s caraavan. Curious,, aand thankful for the oppo ortunity to resst, you take a sseat by the roaad and wait for the merchan nt to arrive. T The heavily-arrmoured Trolllish guards eyye you warily,, b but riding amo ongst them is Madame Shaakasha herself, f, w who merrily biids you a good d day.
“Youu think I lie?” you ask, “verry well. But peerhaps you woulld be interesteed in buying th his – it shouldd be worth a waggon or two off your stinkingg cabbages!” And from your pack you withddraw the goldd statuette. Exceept that it issn’t made off gold any lo onger, but carveed from blacck wood. Madame Shakaasha turns ashenn-faced, and ddraws back in revulsion. “Putt that thing aw way,” she croaaks in a hoarse whisper, and without a sinngle word mo ore gallops baack off to join her wagons. The guards gglower menaccingly, but you ppay them no hheed. You look at the ccarving. It is a truly repulssive thing. And yet… you run one fin nger down itts smooth nexplicably surfaace and strannge angles, finding it in comppelling. Perhaaps you will keep it yourrself, as a mem mento. Surely nno harm can ccome of that? ****************************************************
““Tell me,” youu ask, “how is i it that you and this train n m managed to paass through th hat accursed fo orest?” ““Forest?” she replies, “whaat forest? I daaresay, in spitee o of the name, th here hasn’t beeen a tree grow wing on Blackk O Oak Heath sin nce before the reign of the Jade J Kings.”
This adventure is at an end. Yo ou may take a reward of 500 AP for youur experiencee, and the ccarving of Ghrll’khutt Bhaeeghoar, Eateer of Souls. It could comee in handy as a paperweigh ht or bookendd. Feasibly, it m may one day prove to h have other p properties: whetther for good or for ill, timee alone must ttell.
Y You recount your adventuures of the night before. C Clearly, the Madame does not n believe a word w of it, and d yyou feel bound d to prove herr wrong.
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The Tootthpick vs. the Bro oadsword A T&T T Combat C E Examplle By Mark M Thorto on G Gustov Vynd strolled into o town. Altho ough it was a rrough town, Gustov G was confident in both b his savvyy aand his proweess with a sw word. He’d seeen a lot and d kkilled even more. Gustov had hacked his h way up to o tthird level and d his attributess were rising nicely. n Gustovv m made his way towards the Gutrot Inn, but b before hee m made it throuugh the wood den swing doo ors imprinted d w with the markk of many soree heads, he was w stopped in n h his tracks by a gob of spit th hat landed on n his left boot. T The boot was made of expeensive Nesstlehaven leather. H He looked at the man who o had spat in n his direction n aand weighed him h up as aveerage; althouggh average thee m man most cerrtainly was no ot. Gustov sho oved the man n h hard in the chest, thinking to t pitch him ‘aa’ over ‘t’ into o tthe horse tro ough handily placed for sobering and d b bathing ratherr than for equine e libation ns. The man n sstayed on his feet, howeverr, the first sign n that Gustovv h had not been as a savvy as he thought he was. w P Prokta had curly c hair; haad, in that hee had lost itt rrecently when he had stuckk his head into o a crawl wayy tthat turned ouut to be hidingg a baby drago on at the otherr eend. Good thiing it was onlyy a baby, but it i had left him m in n mourning fo or his beautifuul ginger barn net and he wass in n a sour moo od (that spittle certainly waas not sweet). H He was a veryy experienced rogue; he’d made m it to fifth h leevel and his adds were niicely mountin ng. He hardlyy b bothered with h magic as hiss INT caused d him to misss ttoo many savving rolls, butt his phenom menal accuracyy m more than com mpensated. T The confrontaation soon developed d into o a fight and d ggathered specctators. Gustov drew hiss broadsword d ffrom its scabb bard. As a L3 warrior w he got 6D6+4 with h h his favorite weapons w (houuse rule!) and his personall aadds were a meaty m +22. He felt gooood! His opponentt ssomewhat quirkily prod duced a toothpick and d b brandished it at a Gustov. Hee got just 1D66 for the littlee w wooden pokeey thing, but his combat adds were a ccolossal +62! Surely the outcome o was obvious, thee o onlookers tho ought, expectiing much blo ood to flow – tthe broadsworrd is mightier than the toothpick. Surelyy tthe outcome is obvious, you, y the expeerienced T&T T p player may thiink – Gustov will roll 21 on n average and d gget a combat total t of 47 with h his adds wh hile Prokta willl T TrollsZine!
get aand average coombat total off 65. The diffeerence of 18 iss more than enough to gget through th he leather armoor that both coombatants favvor. But how can a man with a toothpick really beat a man skilled w with a big, sharpp sword? In ffact, as it hhappened, Prrokta electedd to leap backkwards out off danger as Guustov sliced aat him. He madee a SPD SR and got himsself out of haarm’s way. Gusttov jumped aat him again, but Prokta choose to vaultt over the waarrior, spin an nd stab him in n the back of thhe head (unprootected) with his toothpick. He made SRs on both D DEX and ST TR and execcuted the maneeuver perfectlly – now the jab from the little stick woulld surely finissh Gustov! Not so…Gusto ov’s player appeealed to the G GM that a tooth hpick just wouuldn’t kill
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h him and the GM G agreed. Hee wasn’t goingg to stand stilll w while he was pierced and the toothpickk wasn’t longg eenough or stro ong enough to o get to the brrain. It did nott ddo 65 points of o damage. Th he GM allowed d just 1D6. A And so the figght went on with Gustov moving in to o aattack and Pro okta stunting his h way out off trouble whilee lo ooking for opportunities o to deal nastyy little pricks. H How would it end? Probaably someone would fail a ccritical saving roll; there is a one in eigghteen chancee aand on averagge the 1 and 2 would comee up half wayy tthrough the sequence of eighteen, e so perhaps p at thee n ninth critical saving roll so omething unffortunate and d ddeadly would occur. o A Actually, Gusttov’s player eventually e poiinted out thatt P Prokta should have to makee a LK SR to avoid a trippingg
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over the spectattors’ feet an nd he failed.. Prokta’s charaacter then claaimed Gustovv would need to make a LK SSR to have enough room to decapitatee him with the bbroadsword – he too failedd and slashed into some poorr man whosee wife who w was rooting fo or Prokta. Prokkta then madee SRs on both h DEX and SP PD to leap on ttop of the nonplussed Gustov andd perform acuppuncture on bboth of his eyyeballs. It waas still not enouugh to kill him m, but Prokta’s player appeaaled to the GM to require a current CON N SR for Gusttov not to pass out in agonyy. The GM aggreed and Gusstov failed he warrior wherreupon the sttill sour Proktta throttled th and left the tooothpick (which was madee of stout auriwood) pro otruding from m the dead Khabboomian khau man’’s nose. He eeven made a llittle flag to p put on the end of it (the tooothpick, not the nose) andd then he or’s wife. wentt off home witth the unfortuunate spectato
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Old d Kram mm By Roy Cram L Long ago in a faraway land d called Valesiia there was a fforest. Over time a little town had grrown up nearr tthese woods. Around the town were a number off ssmall farms where w hard working w men and women n rraised familiess and supporrted themselvves by raisingg ggrain, vegetab bles, and anim mals. Life waas good heree b because it wass far from thee king’s tax collectors, c and d tthere had been n peace in the land for a lon ng time. E Eight-year-old d Lars Olavso on, and his elleven-year-old d b brother, Peer, lived on one of the farms and a their littlee h house was quuite near the forest. It wass autumn and d m most of the harvest h work had been do one. The boyss h had done all their t chores so o after lunch their mother,, O Olga, told them m to go outsiide and play so she and thee n new baby, Kattina, could takke a nap. ““But," she to old them, “do on't go into the woods. I ddon’t want Old d Kramm to carry c you off!"" O Old Kramm was w the local boogey man that motherss uused to scare their t kids into good behavio or
him for being afraaid of Old Kraamm. Thatt really irritateed Lars, and h he resolved to o show his olderr brother thaat, not only was he not afraid of imagginary monsteers, but he could hide so well that evenn Peer could nnot find him. So, on his neext turn to hide,, Lars ran deepp into the forrest and did suuch a good job oof hiding thaat Peer was in ndeed unablee to locate him. Unfortunatelly, when Peer called for him m to come o far that hee went the out, Lars was in the woods so mself complettely lost. It wronng way, and sooon found him was llate in the afteernoon and it was hard to ssee the sun for thhe thick foliagge in the deep per parts of thee wood. ods as he dared, calling Peer went as far into the woo and searching forr Lars. But, aat last, as thee shadows begaan to lengthenn, Peer realizedd that he had to go and tell hhis father Olaav that Lars h had gone deep p into the woodds to hide andd had not com me out again. F Frightened and hungry, Peer hurried abouut seeking the way back to thhe clearing annd swearing th hat if he foun nd his way safely ly back home he would nevver misbehave again.
““Be good, or the t Troll will come c tonight and carry youu o off and cook you y for breakffast in his big pot!” p SStories from the early setttlers told of a mysterious,, h huge creature that would come c on fogggy nights and d ssteal the axes and saws peo ople had used d to cut down n ttrees in the forrest. This was the reason th hey referred to o tthe forest as th he "Trollwood d." T The area wherre the forest met m the clearin ng was a good d p place for the boys b to play their t favorite game g of hide-aand-seek. Neitther boy reallyy believed thatt trolls existed d ssince they had d never seen one. o So they dared to hidee aand hunt for each e other in the t bushes and d brush at thee fforest’s edge. N Now Peer, ass some older brothers are wont to do,, liiked to annoyy his younger brother. Soon n he began to o ttease and taun nt him about how boring it i was to playy w with someonee who was so o easy to fin nd. Each timee P Peer found Lars, L he moccked him agaain, and Larss qquickly becam me angry witth this irritatiing badinage. W When Peer beegan to go deeeper into the woods w to hidee eeach time and Lars complain ned, the olderr boy mocked T TrollsZine!
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P Peer got his ears e boxed for not taking better b care off h his younger brother. b Afterr Peer and his h father had d ccalled in vain at the edge of o the forest for f Lars, Olavv rran the short distance d to the little town’s tavern to askk tthe men theree to go with him h into the Trollwood to o h hunt for his boy. b But it waas now sunsett and the men n w were very relucctant to do so o in the dark. T Then a strangger who was staying s in the tavern spokee uup. His name was Bjorn and d he was a huunter by trade. H He was passin ng through on n his way to another a town. B Bjorn said thaat he would go g and find the t boy for a rreward. Olav, very concern ned, offered th he man all hee ccould afford. Bjorn quickkly accepted for he wass rrunning low on n cash and tho ought that thiis would be an n eeasy way to faatten his pursee. He asked the t other men n w why they wouuld not go intto the forest at night, and d tthey told him that they feaared the Troll who guarded d tthe woods. It was said to co ome out at niight to punish h aanyone who dared d to trespaass among hiss trees and do o tthem harm. T The hunter asked if anyonee in the town had ever seen n tthe Troll and they admitteed that none of them had. B Bjorn was amuused now; he had never seeen a Troll and d ddid not believve that they existed e anywh here except in n tthe overactivee imaginationss of country bumpkins b and d cchildren. But he was also very v glad of the t chance to o p pick up a littlee extra cash ass he still had a long way to o ttravel. SSo, Bjorn got together his crossbow and d several largee b bear traps from his gear th hen went with h Olav to thee eedge of the woods w where the t boys had been playing. H He made him mself several to orches, lit on ne up, and sett o off into the daark woods to find f the missin ng child.
D Deep in the heeart of the old d forest there stood a rockyy h hill. There was a cave in th he hill, its entrrance blocked d b by a large slab b of stone. In nside the cave,, Old Kramm m tthe Troll lay on o his simple bed of piled branches and d leeaves. He couuld sense that the sun had set, and so hee ggot up, stretch hed, and wen nt to add a feew faggots off w wood to the fire f under his big cooking pot. p When hee w was satisfied th hat it was heaating properlyy, Old Kramm m w went to his door d and easilly slid back the t huge rockk tthat served as a door. Old Kramm wentt out into thee ccool of the niight and again n stretched his ten-foot-talll T TrollsZine!
oulder there aand sniffed bodyy. He climbedd up onto a bo the eevening breezees. Now Trollls have very laarge noses and ears so they smell and heear very well. They can also see well in tthe dark too,, though theirr eyes are smalll by compariison with theeir other feattures. Old Kram mm inhaled deeeply and imm mediately pickked up two distuurbing scents iin the eveningg breeze: theree were two hum mans in his wooods, not far away, and on ne of them had ffire! Fire in hiis forest! Old Kramm had seen what fire ccould do to a forest, and a low growl ruumbled in his hhuge throat. H He would havee to deal with h that. Old Kram mm closed upp his cave, clim mbed down th he hill, and set ooff through thhe trees to fin nd these fooliish people who trespassed in his beloved w woods.
p was the was dark and ppast his bedti time, but sleep It wa farthhest thing from m young Larrs’ mind. He had never beenn comfortablee in or even near the woo ods in the daytiime. In the ggloom of thee night, the fforest had becoome very scaryy indeed for tthe eight-yearr-old child. Lars knew that hee had to get out of this aw wful place m came out soonn for Olga hadd told him thaat Old Kramm at niight to look for bad childdren to boil in his big cookking pot. Thenn, to add imm measurably to his terror and misery, he hheard, not farr away, the h howling of Lars turned wolvves. Barely abble to hold bacck his tears, L and rran as fast as he could, sw wearing and prraying that if he were allowedd to live he wo ould never go into these awfuul woods againn.
Bjorn also h heard the wo olves, and Not far away, B w. This was a serious stoppped to cock his crossbow thingg, for while w wolves would seldom attackk an adult man with a weappon, an unarm med little boy would be needed the temppting and easyy prey for thee beasts. He n rewaard Olav had promised him m. Bjorn lit h his second torchh and then huurried in the ddirection of th he howling wolvves.
who dared Old Kramm, on hhis way to findd the people w bringg fire into hiss woods, passsed near the cottage of the C Crone whom he allowed to o live in his fforest. The old w woman had llived in her llittle cottage iin a small clearring there for many years. E Each winter so olstice she had aalways left him m a bowl of porridge, and h he had no
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qquarrel with her. h Normally he would sto op and drop a liittle dead woo od for her heearth fire, but he heard thee ccalling of the wolf pack, an nd knew theyy were on thee ttrail of some prey. p He also knew now th hat one of thee p people in his woods w smelled d like a child. O Old Kramm doubled d his pace p and his long l troll legss ccarried him sw wiftly towards the intruders.
L Lars could hear the wolvess howling closse by and ran n tterrified throuugh the darkk woods. Then he found d h himself beforee a big stone that t lay againsst a rocky clifff juutting up fro om the ground. Realizing that t he could d n not outrun th he wolves, Larrs clambered frantically up p tthe rough surfface of the bigg rock to its to op. Unable to o cclimb further, Lars turned and a watched with w horror ass sseveral dark sh hadows emergged from the nearby brush h ssniffing at his trail leading up u to the rockk on which hee sstood. The wolves looked up and grow wled. Lookingg ddown, Lars co ould see the moonlight m refllected in theirr eeyes below. They T crouched d to leap, Laars closed hiss eeyes and prayeed, and suddeenly, BAMM!!! A large rockk liiterally explod ded against th he side of th he big slab off sstone on whicch Lars stood d. With a yelp p, the wolvess ffled. When theey reached thee shelter of the surroundingg ttrees and bush hes, they turned, barking an nd howling in n ttheir anger and d frustration.
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ly believe he w was still alive. H He looked Lars could scarcely o hurled the stone and abouut to see whoo it was who driveen off the beaasts. In that m moment, had the worst mom ment of his shhort life, for h he found himsself staring into the small reed eyes in tthe huge facce of Old mm. That wass the last straw w; Lars faintedd, and slid Kram downn the rock intto the shovel like hands off the Troll. Old Kramm stareed at the boy ffor a momentt. Then he or and placedd the child pushhed aside his big rock doo insidde. Closing thee door behindd him he then n set off to deal with the otheer human, the one who darred bring a torchh into his foreest.
ng in the disttance, and wolves fussin Bjornn heard the w steppped away from m the bear trrap he had juust set. He advaanced with torch in one hand and the crossbow, cockked and ready,, in the other. He quickly arrrived in a smalll clearing andd saw a huge sslab of rock aagainst the side of a stone hhillside. Then n, suddenly, ssomething hugee loomed up bbehind him. H He spun readyy to shoot, but bbefore he couuld take aim, a huge hand sw watted the crosssbow from hiis grasp and ssent the bolt fflying into the bbushes. The second handd of the gian nt creature reachhed out and,, grabbing th he flame of tthe torch, snuff ffed it out likke a man wouuld pinch outt a candle flam e.
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B Bjorn’s motheer had not raaised any foolls; the hunterr tturned and ran for his life.. He fled bacck the way hee h had come, and was just beeginning to hope he mightt eescape alive, when w the jaws of the bear trrap he had sett aand covered with w brush snaapped shut on n his own leg! H He yelled with h pain and sp prawled there, caught like a rrat. W With great efffort, Bjorn managed m to painfully p turn n h himself over. Then he saw w the wolves staring s at him m cclose by. Bjorn n whimpered and drew his hunting knifee o out, but knew w it would onlly delay the in nevitable. Butt tthen, the wolvves scattered, yelping and barking b again. T The giant wh ho had disarm med him and d snuffed hiss ttorch came striding up an nd stopped before b Bjorn. B Beside himselff with fear, Bjorn dropped the knife, and d ccringed away from the tow wering monsteer above him. O Old Kramm studied him briefly and then reached d ddown with both his huge haands. Bjorn cllosed his eyes,, w waiting for th he giant to teaar him to pieces, and then n sscreamed in pain p as the Trroll forced th he jaws of thee b bear trap aparrt freeing his injured leg. Like L Lars, thee h hunter had had h all he could tolerate, and mercifull uunconsciousneess claimed him. A short time later, l Bjorn woke w up. He was w in the hutt o of the Cronee who was washing w and dressing hiss w wounds. ““How did I geet here?” he stammered, T The old lady shrugged, “T The Old On ne must havee b brought you. Someone S kno ocked on my door. d When I o opened it, I fo ound you lyingg there on my threshold.” SSo Bjorn, worn out by thee adventures of the night,, ffainted once aggain.
nightt to even weeep. The troll w walked by him m and went to thhe end of the cave where th he big pot sim mmered on its beed of coals. T The giant creaature reached down and pickeed up a big chhopper. Lars ffelt like he waas about to faintt again, but thhe Troll simplly reached into o a bin by the ppot and pulleed out some beets and tuurnips. He begaan to chop theem up with hiis large knife aand added them m to his pot. H He stirred it aand after a wh hile tasted the bbroth. Then thhe troll filled a large stone bowl with the tthick soup annd placed it n near the boy w with a big woodden spoon. L Lars dared to o breathe agaiin, as Old Kram mm filled annother bowl for himself, sat down heavvily on his grreat bench, aand began to eat. Lars realizzed how hunggry he was now and sniffedd the soup. Findding no evidennce of any meat in it, he h hazarded a tastee and was soonn eating his filll.
Old Kramm had always lovedd the small crreatures of the fforest and esspecially theirr babies. Thee unhappy man child brougght back to him a floo od of old mories of his T Trollwife and T Trollkins who o had once mem livedd here with hiim in a time so long ago. How long had it been sincce they had, at the comin ng of the hum man kind, gonee back down into the cavern ns and the Trolll Warrens in tthe deep placees of the Eartth? But he had sstayed here, ““just a little wh hile longer” hee said, and the sseasons had sstretched into centuries. Suuddenly he knew w that it had bbeen too long and his big h heart ached to seee his kin againn and be nearr to his own faamily once moree. A little Troll tear ran dow wn his big nose and fell into his soup bow wl. He quicklyy wiped his eyyes on his tatterred sleeve andd picked up th nk the last he bowl to drin of hiis meal. Now, what to do w with the man cchild?
L Lars woke up in the dimly lit big cave. There was a h huge table and d bench there made of crud de, unfinished d luumber and a bed b of branch hes, leaves, and d pine needless aagainst the farr wall. But th he most disturrbing thing in n tthe cave was the t big iron co ooking pot sittting on a bed d o of coals at thee end of the caave opposite the t door. Thee T Troll’s dreaded d soup pot! Lars L felt himseelf grow weakk w with fear again n.
was very earlyy in the morrning, at leastt 2 hours It w befo re sunrise, when Lars woke up h his family pounnding on the door of the house and yyelling. He was embraced with joy and reelief by his m mother and fatheer, but got hiis ears boxed by dad afterrwards for the aanxiety he hadd caused them m. Theyy all scoffed att him when h he told them h his story of his aamazing adveentures of how w the old Trroll of the woodds had rescueed him from th he wolves, fedd him, and brouught him safelyy home.
T Then the hugee rock slab that served as a door ground d o open and Old d Kramm cam me inside. Hee slid the bigg rrock back into o place blockin ng any hope of o escape. Larss ssat, too exhaussted now by th he stresses of this awful
Whaat stories childdren make uup to try to gget out of troubble!
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B Back in the fo orest, Old Krramm sat on a boulder on n tthe side of the rocky tor th hat had been his home forr tthe last thousaand years and d thought abo out the eventss o of the night. How things were changging now. Hee rrecalled now the t early days of his own yo outh, when hee liived with his own parentss deep in the Earth below w aand how the war w with the little people, the Dwarves,, h had driven him m and his kin to ever higher levels of thee w world until th hey finally reeached the suurface of thee E Earth itself. He H remembered d the beauty and a wonder off tthe forest and all the new th hings that so enchanted e him m aand won his heart h with its almost a magicall beauty. Heree h he had lived with w his wife and here his children had d b been born. But B the hum mans had co ome in everr in ncreasing num mbers and th he other Tro olls, who had d n never been a warlike w peoplee, went back down d into thee ddeep places off the Earth aggain until he alone a was leftt b behind to watcch over the wo ood and proteect it from thee h humans. But there t seemed, every day, to o be more and d m more humanss. It seemed to him that he was donee h here. There was w little more one old Trolll could do to o sstop the men from coming here. He kneew they would d ccut down his trees t and cleaar the brush aw way and soon n h he would not be b able to preevent it any longer. How hee n now missed his old crabby Trollwife and d his children. A second tearr ran down his h nose and dropped d onto o h his lap. T Then, as the first deadly rays r of the suun tickled thee h horizon, Old Kramm, last of the wood trolls, got up,, w went slowly in nto his cave, and a slid the boulder b firmlyy sshut behind hiim.
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A few ew days later, the hunter Bjorn hobbled back into townn on a home-m made crutch. He claimed th hat he had battl ed the wood toll to a stan ndstill and th hen had to stop in the Cronne’s house to o get treatmen nt for his wounnds. Olav, affter much arggument, gave him some monney to pay his bill at the In nn. Then Bjorn n hobbled out oof town as qquickly as his damaged leg would let him, anxious to pput some disstance betweeen himself and tthe ‘vanquisheed’ troll of thee woods.
Ten years later, a full grown L Lars who now w had his other trip into the small own family and faarm, made ano part of the forest that had not yet been harrvested for lumbber or firewoood. He madee his way to the center wherre a rocky hilll jutted up frrom the grouund. It did not ttake him longg to find the b big slab of rocck that had serveed the troll as a door, but itt took his a lo ot of effort usingg a large tree bbranch as a levver to open it up. had apparentlly been so But the cave was empty, and h me. for a long, long tim Lars returnedd home, sadddened that ssomething So L speciial had departted from the w world of men.. But as he madee his way hom me to his wifee and children n, he knew he w would alwayss remember his wild nigght in the Trolllwood when he sat in a ccave and ate soup with Old Kramm.
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Soul Survvivor A T&T 7th Edition So olo Advventure By Sid Orpinn
Introductio on Y Your entire liife you have heard from the t men who o w work the caraavans across the t East Brah hm Mountainss b between Solih har and Khelll of the terro ors that hauntt tthe high passees. Stories to frighten children you had d aalways though ht; or the com mbination of a weak mind d aand too much h ale perhapss. All of the tales though,, m make mention n of demons and a souls bein ng dragged to o tthe netherworlld by their Priince, Baclitax'll. T This day thosee tales have been b proved true t to you in n n no uncertain fashion f as, following your capture whilee m making the mountain m cro ossing, you are a forced to o w watch as somee of your travvelling compan nions are torn n aasunder by deemons and heellhounds from m your worstt n nightmares. Iss there any waay you can avvoid the samee ffate and escape from their foul f clutches? ____________ ____________ ___________ ___________ SSoul Survivor is a solitaire advventure for usse with Tunnelss & Trolls 7/7.5 edition rules. Any characteer type of 1st
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or 2nnd level with no more thaan 30 combat adds may bravee these cavernns, but magic users will disscover that theree is limited oopportunity to o use their suupernatural poweers here where our world and the dem mon realm conjooin. Combatt spells are permitted; ccheck the Com mbat Spell Table located at the end off this solo whenn you cast one to see if the incan ntation is succeessful. A ‘Pooor Baby’ speell will alwayss work, as long as the appropriate INT Saaving Roll (SR R) is made succeessfully. For the purposees of recoverring WIZ, eachh new paragrraph visited allows 1 poiint to be regaiined. The demons willl have stripp ped you of yyour main weappon(s), but foortunately youur dagger (anyy sort, but no eenchanted typpes please) waas hidden in yyour boot, plus you still haave any arm mor you weree wearing (maxximum 10 pooints protecttion). The ussual T&T convventions applyy and, as alwaays, keeping trrack of the paraggraphs you haave visited is a jolly good idea. Bacliitax'l's devilishh minions willl be trying to ttrack you downn at all times w while you wan nder the cavess and
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passages of this projection of the demon realm into your reality. Every time you leave a cavern or room with the exception of the main cavern where you start, you must roll 1D6. If the result is odds, you meet one of these horrors and must roll on the Rampaging Demon Table at the end of this solo to determine which one. Also, if you return to a place you have visited before, unless instructed otherwise, you will find it empty of everything you saw before except a Rampaging Demon. Roll on the Rampaging Demon Table to see which one it is. Finally, should you die during combat at any point, go to 72. Now, go to 1 to start. 1 You are huddled with a crowd of your fellow captives in the center of a large cavern. Huge hellish hounds, the size of small horses, surround you guarding against any attempt at escape. In front of you, the Demon Prince Baclitax'l has already plucked out the hearts of two other prisoners and thrown the corpses to his minions for sport. You have seen strange translucent clouds leave the bodies; surely the souls of the dead being forced into the demons' foul realm. Your turn cannot be too much longer in coming. As you contemplate your own demise, one of the other prisoners, a dwarf, makes a run for one of the exits. The giant dogs immediately leap after him and in moments they have run him down and start to tear him apart. In the confusion that follows, you have a brief opportunity to make your own escape attempt. To just run for the nearest exit, go to 42. To try to hide in one of the shadowy areas at the edge of the cavern, go to 24. You could try to leap on the back of one of the demon dogs and ride out of here by going to 50. Or you could wait for a better opportunity to flee by going to 68. 2 You perform brilliantly. Baclitax'l applauds warmly baring his fangs in a fierce grin into the bargain. He vanishes, but rewards you by raising the level attribute of your choice by 2 points. The west door springs open while all the others fade away. Exit this way to 51. 3 You find a length of the chain that was used to tether the hellhounds that were guarding the prisoners. It will make a serviceable weapon, scoring 3D6+2 and requiring a STR and DEX of 6 to use. Return to 17.
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4 You have defeated the Prince of Demons in single combat. Truly a heroic effort! You earn 150 APs and can now step safely through the fire curtain to 66. 5 Attempt a L2SR on LK. If you succeed, go to 22. Otherwise, return to 45. 6 You cup the weird black fluid material into your hands. It has the consistency of quicksilver running in globular aggregations over your palms back into the pool. Do you really want to ingest this netherworld concoction? To drink it down, go to 37. Otherwise, return to 45 and make a new choice. 7 You turn quickly to check on those chasing you. Fortunately, they are not near enough for you to see them yet, but as you turn back to continue your flight, you slip. You find yourself falling towards the inky blackness of the chasm. Attempt to make a L1SR on DEX. If you succeed, you manage to regain your balance and can continue on to your destination paragraph. If you fail, you drop over the edge and fall to your doom; go to 72. 8 In order to release the scimitar from the skeleton's death grip you have to pull so hard that the remaining articulated bones collapse in a heap and instantly turn to dust. When the cloud has settled, the ring and helm are gone. The sword is ancient and battered, but perfectly serviceable. It will score 4D6 in combat. Now, leave here by returning to 21. 9 Attempt a L2SR on CHR or a Singing talent if you have one. Success leads to 2, while failure means you should visit 70. 10 You have got past the Prince of Demons and just have the fire curtain left between you and the outside world. You cannot wait to time your jump; you will just have to leap and trust to luck. Roll 2D6. If you roll doubles, you are caught by the flames and take direct CON damage equal to the number you just rolled (2, 4, 6...12). If you are still alive, go to 66. If your CON drops to 0 or less, go to 72.
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111 Y You are in a small squarish cavern with h exits to thee n north, east, and a south. The T moment you enter, a n number of gh hostly apparitio ons appear an nd start to flyy aaround and even through h you. As their t numberr in ncreases, youu notice a sh harp hissing whisper thatt eechoes off thee grey stone walls and intto your mind. T The speech reeaches an inttensity that sttarts to causee yyou pain whilee your vision starts to blurr. You are on n tthe verge of collapse. c Makee a L1SR on CON. If youu ssucceed, you can c leave safeely by headingg north to 17,, eeast to 27, orr southwest to t 41. If you fail, you falll uunconscious and a suffer CON damage equal to thee n number by which you misssed your SR. Should yourr C CON remain above 0, yo ou awake feelling cold and d ddisorientated but b can now depart. d If youur CON dropss tto 0 or below, go to 72. 122 T The object of your in ntense scrutiiny suddenlyy ttransforms in nto a living skeleton co omplete with h b bejeweled eye and tooth sockets. You are too close to o b be able to fleee, so you will have to fightt this creaturee o of the undead. It has a MR of 26 and can n regenerate 5 p points of dam mage each com mbat turn. Youu will have to o rreduce its MR R to - 5 or less to destroy it. Every 4th h ccombat turn another a of thee mounds willl spring to lifee aand join the battle. b A maxximum of 6 skeletons willl aappear in totaal. If, at any point, p you do o not have an n o opponent to fiight, you can head h to 69.
13 The giant dog flinngs you into th he air. You saail in a less than graceful arc across the cavern and ouut through D6 + 1 in one of the three exits. You laand doing 1D mage. If you remain consccious, roll direcct CON dam 1D6 . 1–2 you heaad southwest to 65; 3–4 so outh to 36, 5–6 southeast to 111. If your CO ON drops to 0 or below, go too 72. 14 ore 50 or morre, go to 4. Roll your full attack. If you sco Otheerwise, go to 25 and contiinue the battlee with the demoon. His CON N will obviously be reduceed by your combbat total. 15 Refeer to the tablee to see what happens. Retturn to 55 whenn you have finnished here an nd continue th his strange gamee of hop-scotcch. R Roll
Outtcome
2
Fiery blaast. 1D6 directt CON damagge if you fail L1SR R on DEX.
4
You are teleported dirrectly to 51.
6
Magical bblast. 1D6 dirrect CON dam mage if you fail L L1 SR on WIZ Z.
8
Lightningg blast. 1D6 ddirect CON daamage if you fail L L1SR on SPD D.
110
Freezingg blast. 1D6 diirect CON dam mage if you fail L L1SR on STR R.
112
Move onn 2 lines safelyy.
16 In o rder to releasse the ring fro om the skeletton's dead fingeer you have to pull so haard that the remaining articuulated bones collapse in a heap and insttantly turn to duust. When thee cloud has ssettled, the sciimitar and helm m are gone. T The ring is eenchanted. Th he wearer receiives double hiis/her DEX aadds versus th he undead (notee this does noot include demons); but evvery fight, evenn if successful,, leads to a peermanent 1 po oint loss of CON N. Now leave here by goingg to 21. T TrollsZine!
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17 You are back in the cavern where you started this adventure. Fortunately, the Prince of Demons and his hellish horde are not in residence. The only thing left is the large rock upon which Baclitax'l sacrificed your compatriots for his own devilish ends. If you want to have a look around for anything useful, go to 53. Otherwise, you can leave by heading southeast to 27, south to 11 or southwest to 65. 18 The passageway you enter slopes downwards quite steeply and you slow down in order to take care with your footing. Unfortunately, after just a couple of steps, you start to skid down slope as if you were walking on ice. You cannot slow your decent, but you can try to remain upright by making a successful L2SR on DEX. If you fail the roll, you fall taking the number you missed by in direct CON damage. Remember whether you managed to remain on your feet or not and proceed straight to 61. 19 Attempt a L2SR on INT or a Poetry or similar talent if you have one. Success leads to 2, while failure means you should visit 70 20 In order to grab something from the pile of treasure and still keep moving as quickly as you can away from the demons and hellhounds chasing you, you must attempt to make as high a SR as you can on SPD. If you fail the roll, one of the demons catches you. Roll on the Rampaging Demon Table to discover which one. Should you survive this encounter, you may gather treasure as if you had made a 1st level SPD roll successfully. If you succeed at 1st level, you grab 5D6 in GPs. If you succeed at 2nd level, you grab 10D6 in GPs, 1D6 gems worth 10 to 60 GPs each. If you succeed at 3rd level or better, you grab 10D6 in GPs, 2D6 gems worth 20 to 120 GPs each, plus an item that you can find at 48. When you have finished collecting treasure return to 65 and leave here. 21 You are in a large rectangular cavern with exits to the northwest, southwest, and south. If you have been here before, go to 38. Scattered at irregular intervals across the floor, though concentrated at its center, are TrollsZine!
half a dozen or so piles of pale grey dust or dirt. To examine the nearest mound, go to 58. If you prefer to keep moving along, you can stride amid the mounds to your chosen exit via 44 or you can skirt around the edge of the cave at 69. 22 You find a secret door in the east wall of the pool chamber. It leads to 41 if you choose to go that way. Alternatively, you could return to 45 and decide on a different course of action. 23 You bend to look at the moss when suddenly a large cloud of purple matter erupts into your face. You start to cough. You gasp desperately trying to draw air into your lungs but you cannot. You collapse and roll on the floor your lips and tongue turning blue as you suffocate and die. Go to 72. 24 The pandemonium created by the dwarf's escape attempt dies down and your absence seems to have gone unnoticed. Attempt a L1SR on WIZ. If you succeed, go to 47. If you fail, Baclitax'l's demonic horde discovers your hiding place and drags you before their leader where your heart is ripped out. Go to 72. 25 In a straight fight you are unlikely to defeat such an opponent. You need some sort of strategy to tip the odds in your favor. Attempt to make a L1SR on INT. Success leads to 59, otherwise fight for all you are worth. You may attempt this roll again during the heat of battle should you fail first time, however, the level of difficulty rises by one for every combat turn the fight has lasted (e.g., after the first combat turn L2SR, after the second combat turn L3SR, and so on). What you are up against here is obviously not the demon Baclitax'l, but merely a projection of some part of him into the mortal realm. He has a CON of 50 and MR of 52. If you are defeated, go to 72. If you are the victor, you should head to 4. 26 You drop into the strange dark pool. Immediately, you feel your strength and will being sapped. You sense you need to get out as quickly as possible. Attempt to make the highest level CHR SR you can. If you make the roll at L3 or higher, you escape in 1 combat turn. If you make the roll at L2, you escape in 2 combat turns.
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If youu make the roll at L1, youu escape in 3 combat turns. If youu fail the rolll, you escape in 4 combatt turns.
F For each com mbat turn you are in the Piit of Despair,, aattempt a STR R SR, startingg at L0 and in ncreasing by 1 leevel for each additional roll. Any failurees temporarilyy rreduce your STR S by the am mount that yo ou missed thee SSR for the nexxt 6 different paragraphs yo ou visit beforee itt returns to normal n levels. If your STR drops to 0 orr b below at anyy time, your spirit fails and a you sinkk b beneath the suurface into obllivion. Go to 72. When youu m manage to draag yourself outt onto the sidee, go to 45. 277 Y You are in a narrow n cave with w exits to the northwest,, ssoutheast, and d west. As yo ou try to deccide in which h ddirection you should head d from here, a humanoid d ffigure approacches from the shadows. In a few secondss tthe creature is i upon you. It is clearlyy a zombified d ddwarf wearingg chain mail armor (11 hits) but carryingg n no weapons. He H has a MR equal to the total t of your 3 h highest attribuutes. Your cho oices are to staand and fight. IIf the zombiee dwarf scorees more than n 4 spite hitss aagainst you, you y will mutate into zomb bie form. Youu ccan try to do odge past him m by makingg a successfull L L1SR on DEX X. Failing thiss roll means that t the dwarff ggets to attackk you withouut retaliation for a singlee ccombat turn. If your battlee extends to a fifth combatt tturn, a demon n turns up and d joins the figght; go to thee R Rampaging Demon D Tablle to see whicch one. Oncee yyou have avoid ded your opponent in whattever way youu ccan, the north hwest tunnel leeads to 17, thee southeast to o 221 and the eastt tunnel to 11.
28 As yyou leave the C Cavern of Saccrifice, you aree suddenly awarre that you aree crossing a naarrow rocky b bridge with the im impenetrable ddark of a likelly bottomless chasm on eitheer side of you.. The sounds of pursuit gro ow louder. If yoou decide to llook behind aat your pursueers in case they are so close that you havee to stand andd fight, go to 7.. If you just kkeep your heaad down and hope you can kkeep ahead off them, go to 556. 29 Roll 1D6. If you rroll evens, go to 39. If you roll odds, g Demon you meet a demoon; go to thee Rampaging Tablle to discoveer which on ne. If you suurvive this encoounter, you ennd up at 21. 30 You will have to aattempt a L2SSR on SPD to o get to an exit bbefore the dem mon prince caan react. If yo ou fail, one of B Baclitax'l's fienndish cohorts descends upo on you; go ng Demon T Table to disco over which to thhe Rampagin one. If you succeeed, you can lleave and heaad west to 51, nnorthwest to 665, northeast tto 11, or east tto 46. 31 Ring of Solace: Thiss enchanted o object has thee power to makee any of thee demons, exxcept Baclitax'l himself, leavee your presencce and forget w where you aree. For it to workk, all you neeed do is makee a successfull WIZ SR startiing at L0 the ffirst time you use it and inccreasing by one llevel on each subsequent aattempt. It willl be worth 150 G GPs if you esccape from herre. 32 You suddenly reaalize that thee mounds maay pose a As you do threaat to you and bolt for one of the exits. A so, tthe pile that yyou had been n looking at ttransforms into a living skeletton complete with bejeweleed eye and toothh sockets. Noow go to 44 an nd try to leave. 33 You are gripped iin the enormous jaws of o one of the hellhhounds and toossed around like a rag dolll. Attempt a L11SR on LK. If you are successful, ggo to 13. Otheerwise, you arre torn apart b by the giant caanine; your attem mpt to escapee has quickly ended in youur demise. Go tto 72. 34 You discover a terrbutje-like weapon hidden iin the dirt. It coonsists of a bbamboo pole with viciouss 3" claws attacched to it. It sscores 4D6+22 and requiress STR and DEX X of 10 to usee. Return to 177 and leave heere.
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355 Y You will need to try to makke L2SRs on both b SPD and d D DEX to bypaass the Princce of Demon ns. Failure to o m make either ro oll means thaat you take th he total(s) youu m missed the ro oll(s) by in diirect CON daamage beforee yyou have to fight f him by going to 25. If you makee b both rolls succcessfully, you nip n by him to 10.
o 38. headd back northeaast by going to
366 Y You are in a small circulaar cave. You have entered d ffrom the east and there is another exit to the south. T The floor is covered c in a thick carpet of moss thatt ggives off a fain nt purple luminescence. To o just head offf ffrom here at top t speed, go to 60. If you would like to o ttake a closer lo ook at this glo owing botanical mass, go to o 223.
41 You are in a largee rectangular h hall with ordin nary doors in thhe east and w west walls pluus two otherrs heading northhwest and noortheast. Theere is a raisedd wooden platfform against tthe south waall with an orn nate highbackked golden cchair at its ccenter. The Prince of Dem mons, Baclitaxx'l himself, is sitting on th his throne leaniing forward annd looking in your direction n. He leers at yyou and annnounces in a voice dripp ping with maleevolence, "W Welcome pun ny humanoidd to my Cham mber of Entertainment. If you can amusse me in a way that befits m my station, I m may allow youu to leave here alive." Yourr options aree to try to do as he ng (at 9), dancce (at 54), requ ests and eitheer sing a son recitee an epic poeem at (at 19), or tell a jokke (at 49). Otheerwise you couuld try to makke a dash for o one of the availlable exits byy going to 330. Finally, yyou could mple of demo onic royalty to o a duel by challlenge this exam goingg to 67.
377 T The black liquuid has an od dd consistencyy and virtuallyy n no taste. Witthin seconds of swallowiing, you feell yyourself fadin ng. You havee crossed into o the demon n rrealm. You arren't dead, buut you don't really get to o eenjoy all that normal mortality has to offer. o Trapped d b beyond hope of rescue or the t deliverancce afforded byy ddeath, your adventure has en nded. 388 Y You are back in the cavern n that had thee dirt moundss in n, though theey have now disappeared. You need to o m make a L1SR on LK to avvoid meeting a Rampagingg D Demon. Go to o the Rampag ging Demon n Table if youu ffail the SR. Iff and when the t time com mes, northwestt leeads to 27, south to 46, or southwest to 71. 7 399 T The thin pieces of materiaal have subtlee veins within n tthem and a waxy w warm suurface. They begin b to pulsee w with a silvery light l at your ap pproach; slow wly at first, butt w with increasing frequency. The T effect is hypnotic and d yyou find yourself feeling tirred suddenly. This place iss tthe Well of Sp pirits and the evil presence here is tryingg tto steal your so oul. Use the sum s of your WIZ W and CHR R aas if it were a MR to pro oduce dice an nd adds. Thee ccreature here has a rating of o 3D6 + 20. Run a spiritt b battle using th hese ratings as if it were an ordinary o T&T T ccombat but without w spite hits. h If your raating drops to o zzero or less at a any time, your y soul hass been stolen n aaway from youur earthly sheell and you haave died. Thiss m means that yo ou cannot be reincarnated, r so your life iss w well and trulyy over. If you are victoriouus, you gain 3 ttimes your opp ponent's ratin ng in APs. If the t creature iss ddefeated, all of the flaps drrop to the cavvern floor and d m merge to form m an openingg to a narrow w passagewayy tthat leads to 511. You could, of course, turrn around and d T TrollsZine!
40 mon with a h handful of You manage to bblind the dem w either rush past him to 10 or you dust and may now can take this oppportunity to attack him while he cannnot retaliate at 14.
42 You bolt for one of the 3 exitts and immediiately hear the hheavy footfallls of one of th he hounds ap pproaching you rrapidly from tthe rear. Attem mpt a L1SR o on SPD. If you ssucceed, go too 63. If you faail, go to 33. 43 manage to In yoour attempt tto retrieve thee helm, you m knocck the visiblee parts of thee uruk skeleton to the floorr. The boness collapse intto dust and when the cloudd has settled, the ring and scimitar are ggone. This piecee of armor apppears entirelyy unremarkab ble. If you decidde to try it onn, it looks abo out your size,, go to 62. To leeave here now w without the helm, go to 211.
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44 As you stride across the cavern, one of the mounds transforms into a living skeleton complete with bejeweled eye and tooth sockets. It has a MR of 32 and can regenerate 5 points of damage each combat turn. You will have to reduce the MR to - 5 or less in a single turn to destroy it. If you manage to survive the ensuing battle, you can head to 69. 45 You are in a small chamber on the edge of a pool that contains an odd blackness. Up close to this strange pond you feel more on edge, as if your hope of escape and confidence is being sucked from you. All in all, it is an uncomfortable place to be. There is only one exit through a doorway leading south. Do you want to leave here straight away by heading that way? If so, go to 51. If you would like to drink some of the dark liquid, go to 6. You could also search the area around the edge of the pool by going to 5. 46 You are in a narrow hall that runs east-west. There are large wooden doors in the north wall at the east of the hall and in the west wall. The whole place is beautifully decorated with rich, gold-embossed wallpaper, delicate plaster mouldings along the ceiling, and a highly polished marble floor. Approximately two thirds of the floor is taken up by a checkerboard pattern of red and white squares; 3 squares wide and 8 squares long. When you look closely at the squares, you can see subtle images appearing and disappearing at short, but irregular, intervals. To leave here via a door you did not enter by, you will have to step on some of these squares. If you wish to turn around and head back the way you came, return to the paragraph that sent you here in the first place. To press on, go to 55. 47 The demons perform their dreadful rite on the rest of your compatriots and then drift away leaving you the chance to slip out quietly. Go to 63. 48 Roll 1D6 to see what you have found. 1 - 2 Go to 31. 3 - 4 Go to 52. 5 - 6 Go to 73. When you have retrieved your treasure, return to 65 and leave here. 49 Attempt a L1SR on LK or a Comic or similar talent if you have one. Success leads to 2, while failure means TrollsZine!
you should visit 70. 50 You leap onto one of the hellhounds and grab hold as tightly as you can. The beast starts bucking and thrashing around trying desperately to dislodge you. Attempt a L1SR on STR. If you are successful, you manage to stay on board your canine mount. Eventually, the dog runs into the cavern wall and knocks itself out so that you can leap off to 63. Failure means you fall to the stony floor. Before you can react, however, Baclitax'l's demons are upon you. You are torn apart in a frenzied attack. Go to 72. 51 You are in a wide north-south corridor. South of you, beneath a high granite archway, a curtain of fire leaps and crackles. Sometimes the flames reach as high as the ceiling. Beyond this inferno, through the arch, you can see blue sky and glimpses of the East Brahm Mountains. It looks like you have made it to the gateway out from this demon-infested hole. Just as you start to contemplate the possibility of escape, Baclitax'l himself appears blocking your escape route. He bares his fangs and reveals his sharp claws all the while fixing his orange lidless eyes upon you. You must get past him to gain your freedom. Do you try to dodge and run around him by going to 35, or do you decide to attack him before he attacks you by going to 25? 52 Sword of Sanity: This is just an ordinary looking short sword (3D6) except that it will protect the wielder from any spite damage inflicted by any enchanted or other worldly creature (demon, zombie, living skeleton, balrukh etc.). 53 Attempt to make a LK SR. If you fail, return to 17 and leave. If you make a L1SR, go to 3. If you make a L2SR, go to 34. If you make a L3 or higher SR, go to 64. 54 Attempt a L2SR on DEX or a Dancing talent if you have one. Success leads to 2, while failure means that you should visit 70. 55 In order to get across the hall you need to cross 8 lines of checkerboard tiles. For each line of the checkerboard you step on, roll 2D6. Each time you roll doubles, make a note of the die roll, and go to 15.
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Y You can attem mpt to jump over lines off tiles and so o rreduce the nuumber you acttually step on n by making a D DEX SR at a level equall to the num mber of liness juumped + 1 (ee.g., to jump over o 1 line reqquires a L2SR,, 3 lines a L4SR R). Should youu fail your Savving Roll, youu ffall and take direct CON damage equaal to half thee n number you faailed by (round d up). You alsso slide acrosss 2 lines of squaares. Roll 2D66 and go to 15; use the tablee tthere as if yo ou had rolled d doubles off each of thee n numbers you rolled (e.g., iff you roll a 4 and a 2 youu m must accept th he consequencces of rolling double d 4s and d ddouble 2s). If you manage to t get to the far f side of thee h hall, the exit to o the north leeads to 21 and d the west onee ttakes you to 411. 566 Y You safely pass the bridge across the ch hasm and can n ccontinue on to o your destination paragraph h. 577 T The skeleton appears a to be that of an uruuk. As well ass tthe battered scimitar, theree is a silver riing sporting a yyellow jewel on o the index fiinger of the riight hand and d aan unusually shaped open n-faced helm on the floorr b behind the skkeleton. To pry p the sword d from thosee lo ong-dead finggers, go to 8. If you like th he look of thee rring and want to remove it, go to 16. Or you y can take a lo ook at the hellm at 43. If yo ou have a bad d feeling aboutt tthe uruk and his possessions, you could d examine thee w walls and theiir strange flap ps at 39, or you y could justt tturn around an nd leave by go oing to 29.
59 You notice that thhe floor of the corridor is ccovered in ashess. If you coulld throw it in nto the demon n's eyes, it couldd buy you preecious time. Y You will need to make a L1SR R on DEX too hit your targget. YOU WIL LL ONLY GET T ONE CHA ANCE, SO D DO NOT WA ASTE IT! Now w return to 255 and have at it. If you do m manage to blindd Baclitax'l duuring your batttle, go to 40. 60 As yyou stomp aacross the caavern your steps send plum mes of violet dust up into o the air. Yo ou end up walkking through cclouds of oddlly glowing particles and yourr throat beccomes sore. You start to cough uncoontrollably. Atttempt to makke a L1SR on C CON. If you fail, you losee CON pointts equal to th he number R by; armor w will not help. If you are you missed the SR oing south. still cconscious, heead to 18 and leave here go If yoour CON dropps to 0 or less, go to 72. 61 Haviing slid more than 20 feet ddown the slop pe, you see that yyou are rapidlly approachingg what looks llike a pool of soomething blacck. If you lost your footing during the slide , you will be ddeposited into o the sable poo ol at 26. If you aare still on youur feet as youu descend, youu can jump over the pool by making a L2SR on STR, w which will way. take you to 45. If yyou fail, then go to 26 anyw 62 This is Hadron's H Helm. Any wh ho don it aree instantly transsformed into an uruk. Youur attributes, skills, and otherr knowledge aare unaltered.. This transformation is for llife whether tthe helm is w worn or not. The helm givess the standardd 2 points of p protection. No ow, return to wh whichever paraagraph you weere at when yo ou decided to puut the helm onn. 63 You manage to get to one of the exits from the caverrn. Roll 1D6. If you roll 1-2, you head southwest to 655; 3-4, south tto 36; 5-6, souutheast to 11. B But before you ggo to any of thhese paragrap phs, visit 28 firrst. 64 You unearth a gllowing green gem. As soo on as you pick it up, you aree transported tto 51.
588 A As you approaach the small hill h of fine-graained soil, youu sspot what look like a few small s jewels am mid the heap. A Attempt a L1SSR on INT. if i you are succcessful, go to o 332. Otherwise, you continue to examine the mound att cclose quarters at 12. T TrollsZine!
65 You are in a smalll, roughly circular cave witth exits to the nnortheast, souuth, and west. A large pile o of treasure incluuding coins, arrtifacts, and evven a few jeweels rests in the m middle of thee floor. To trry to grab som me of the loot,, even though you are suppo osed to be fleeing from
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tthe demonic horde, h go to 20. Otherwise, you can dash h tthrough one of the exits. Northeast heads to 17,, ssoutheast to 411, and west to o 36. 666 C Congratulation ns! You have escaped from m the demon n n netherworld back b to realityy. By good fo ortune or thee in ntervention of the gods, yo ou are found wandering w thee E East Brahm Mountains by b a caravan en route to o SSolihar. You are a suffering from f exposuree and are nearr ttotal exhaustio on, but your rescuers r soon n tend to yourr im mmediate physical need: warming w you, feeding you,, aand healing yo our wounds. Whenever W youu tell your talee o of the demon host of Bacllitax'l, they alll give you thee ssame incredulo ous look that you y once reseerved for the ttellers of simiilar stories; buut that apart, you are welll lo ooked after. In less than a week, youu are back att h home. F For surviving this adventurre you receivee a bonus 2500 A APs in additio on to those you y earned forr combat and d SSRs throughout. In additio on, your experriences in thee ccaverns on the boundary between b this world w and thee ddemon world have given you y a special understanding u g o of the creatures that dwell in such placees. From now w o on, for every battle you too ok part in tod day, you get a b bonus combaat add when fighting dem mons or anyy ccreatures of th he undead (e.g., you had 4 fights today,, sso you now get 4 bonus co ombat adds). You can now w m move on to neew adventuress. THE END D 677 B Baclitax'l hesittates while exp pressions of suurprise, mirth,, aand even conttempt cross his h face. He beegins to laugh h aand while hiss guffaws ech ho around th he room, youu sslowly lose con nsciousness on nly to reawakeen at 51.
70 Bacliitax'l looks bbored through hout your perrformance and when you haave finished h he lets you kn now in no unceertain terms how poor yyour efforts were. He vanisshes but leavves you to face one of his giant Hellhhounds (MR330), a great slaavering brute aas big as a ponyy. If you surviive, you can leeave heading w west to 51, northhwest to 65, nnortheast to 111, or east to 466. 71 You are in a smalll, round caveern with one eexit to the walls are coverred in multiplle roughly northheast. The w trianngular flaps off silvery green n material. Thee ceiling is very low and yoou have to sstoop slightly to avoid hittinng your head. A humanoid skeleton is buuried up to its w waist In the m middle of the sandy floor. It has an ancieent bronze sccimitar in its left hand. To o examine the w walls with theiir odd appenddages, go to 39. To take a clooser look at thhe skeleton, go o to 57. If youu decide to turn around immeediately and leave, go to 29. 72 Yourr life on this plane of exisstence is overr. As your earthhly vessel succcumbs, your soul is ripped away to the rrealm of demoons where it w will suffer an eeternity of neveer ending agoony. Not on nly have you failed to surviive this adveenture, but yo our essential spirit has beenn stolen away and you can never be rein ncarnated. Yourr time here is over. 73 ld of Sanctity: This is an o ordinary-lookiing round Shield shielld (5 pointss protection)), but it ggets triple mbat turn 1 an nd double protection on proteection on com combbat turn 2 of aany battle.
688 Y You have wassted the boun nty that fate had h given you. B Before you reealize what is happening, you y are placed d o on the crude stone alter and the Princee of Demonss ttears out yourr heart. As yo our life ebbs away, a you aree vvaguely awaree of your eterrnal soul bein ng dragged to o ssome other place. p You arre dead. Worrse than that,, b because your soul has been b lost youu cannot bee rreincarnated. Your Y adventurre is over. 699 Y You skip arouund the edge of the caverrn and get to o yyour chosen exit e unmolesteed. To head northwest, n go o tto 27, while south s leads to o 46, and souuthwest takess yyou to 71.
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Rampaging Demon Table
Demonic Powers Table
You have been discovered by one of the demons that inhabit this place. Roll 2D6 and consult the table below to find out which of these devils you encounter. If your roll was a double (e.g., 1, 1 a meeting with Adal'meb) you should go to the Demonic Powers Table and roll 1D6 to see what special ability your opponent has. If you ever roll the same opponent again, they will have an increase in MR of 5 for each subsequent encounter with APs for victory increased by the same amount.
1 = Leaching Gift: drains 1 CON every combat turn unless opponent makes L1SR on WIZ. 2 = Gift of Inertia: slows opponent down, halving combat total every combat turn, unless a L1SR is made on SPD. 3 = Gift of Spite: scores double spite damage. 4 = Gift of Invisibility: halves opponent's combat total every combat turn unless a L1SR is made on LK 5 = Gift of Draining: reduces opponent's STR by 2 each combat turn and adds it to MR unless a L1SR on CON is made. 6 = Gift of Spite: scores triple spite damage.
1st D6 2nd D6 ↓
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→
Odd
Even
1-2
Adal'meb Vin'Crex A great blue demon with 2 pairs of A small red-brown demon with 2 pairs of arms and a black tongue at least 3 feet wings and a single horn on his head. long. MR 28. Armor provides 4 points of protection. (30 APs) MR 30. Armor provides 6 points of protection. (40 APs)
3-4
Cal'Plax A black demon with 2 pairs of eyes and 3 rows of razor sharp teeth. MR 34. Armor provides 6 points of protection. (40 APs)
5-6
Ust'Mek Hellhound A great horned demon with huge claws The hounds of Baclitax'l are great slavering on his 7-fingered hands. brutes as big as a pony. MR 30. No armor protection. (30 APs) MR 36. Armor provides 4 points of protection. (40 APs)
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Gol'Mab A large demon in the shape of a flying reptile. MR 32. Armor provides 2 points of protection. (35 APs)
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Comba at Spell T Table Y You may onlyy attempt to cast spells that t either do o ddirect damage to an oppon nent (TTYF, Call C Fire, Calll W Water, Blastin ng Power) or that improve your weapon n aattack rolls (V Vorpal Blade,, Whammy). Don't forgett tthat you need to make a succcessful INT SR S to cast anyy sspell. By somee strange effeect of this parrticular cornerr o of reality, no account a need be taken of the t differencee b between WIZ values of each h combatant.
T TrollsZine!
Just roll 1D6 to discover whaat effects thee demonic neth erworld has oon your incanttation. 1 = SSpell has half effect. 2 = SSpell has full eeffect. 3 = SSpell has no eeffect. 4 = SSpell has no eeffect. 5 = SSpell has half effect. 6 = SSpell has full eeffect.
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Armor Alternatives and Elaborations By Justin T. Williams Since before the dawn of recorded history, man has sought to protect himself from the malice of his enemies. From the first humble hide shield to the most elaborate suit of Maximilian articulated plate, warriors both rich and poor have used the best defense they could find. Armor and shields of all varieties, styles, and of a dazzling array of materials have highlighted man’s innate inventiveness and desire for protection all over the world and throughout history. Please find below a sample of some of the amazing diversity of protective gear from around the world. I designed this armor table so players and GM's could use the amount of detail that they are interested in using. So you can simply use the "Hits Taken" like regular armor in T&T or the “DEX Modifier” to add to the difficulty of Maneuvering and Movement SRs when wearing restrictive armor, or "Missile Hits Taken" to add a little realism, or you can use the "Blunt /Slashing /Piercing Hits Taken" to make each kind of armor truly distinct, or all of them together or any combination you see fit. Use and abuse the table to your heart’s content. I hope it adds something to your game. Also, give my new shield rule for Warriors a spin; it’s about time for shields to take the active part in combat that they deserve.
Shields and Warriors For members of the Warrior type, all shields are considered to be 1D6 weapons (unless they are already listed as doing more damage) in addition to their protective values.
Table Description STR (Strength Needed): The minimum needed Strength score to use the armor without exhausting the wearer. DEX (Negative Dexterity Modifier): Modifier to Maneuvering and Movement SR's (i.e., 2nd level basic SR becomes a 3rd level). Example: Roarick the Bold is decked out in a suit of plate and mail and is currently fleeing TrollsZine!
from the wardens of Finder's Keep. Running across a rooftop, Roarick spies a coach and team of four horses below. His player decides to try and leap into the driver’s seat and grab a ride out of town. The GM decides that a 1st Level SR would normally be called for to complete this maneuver, however, Roarick’s suit of plate and mail gives him a +1 DEX SR modifier bringing the needed DEX SR to 2nd Level. Roarick rolls doubles twice and is off with his new coach while the wardens curse him from the rooftops. HT (Hits Taken): The basic amount of hits taken by a specific armor type. If using the Missile Hits Taken statistic, HT should be used as the base number of melee hits taken. MHT (Missile Hits Taken): The amount of hits taken from fired, thrown, or launched missile attacks, such as arrows, spears, sling bullets, bolts, thrown daggers or knives, boomerangs, etc. B/S/P (Blunt/Slashing/Piercing Hits Taken): The different hits taken by the armor when attacked by blunt, slashing, and piercing weapons. Blunt: Damage from crushing and blunt force trauma inducing weapons such as clubs, maces, staffs, hammers, etc. as well as certain polearms. Note: Some blunt weapons like the warhammer, some maces, and some clubs include a spike or multiple spikes that can be used to inflict piercing damage. Some polearms, like the poleax and halberd, can be used as blunt, piercing, or slashing weapons. Slashing: Damage from edged weapons such as axes, most swords, and large knives. Note: Many swords, daggers, and knives can also be used as piercing weapons. Many single-bladed axes include a hammer on the reverse side that can be used to inflict blunt damage or a spike that can be used to inflict piercing damage. Some polearms, like the poleax and halberd, can be used as blunt, piercing, or slashing weapons. Piercing: Damage from pointed weapons like spears, thrusting swords (gladius and estok), bec de corbin, ankus, sickles, daggers, and most knives. Note: Some piercing weapons like the estok can also be used as a blunt weapon. Some polearms, like the poleax and halberd, can be used as blunt, piercing, or slashing weapons.
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Armor Table Name Articulated Plate Plate Field Plate Plate & Mail Half-Plate Bronze Plate Brigandine Splint Mail Chain Mail Japanese Lamellar Lamellar Scale Mail Ring Joined Plate Greek Hoplite Cuirbolli Leather Linothorax Studded Leather Fiber Disc or Tri-Disc Reinforced Cloth Feather Mantle* Layered Hide Wooden Bamboo Rope or Cord Quilted Cotton Quilted Silk Soft Leather Paper
STR* 12 11 10 14 10 14 10 11 12 08 06 07 04 10 05 05 05 08 03 04 06 08 08 02 06 03 02 03 06
DEX* +1 +1 +1 +1 +0 +2 +0 +2 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +1 +0 +0 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +0 +0 +0 +1
HT* 18 14 13 13 09 12 12 11 11 10 10 08 07 08 06 05 05 05 03 04 03 05 04 04 04 03 03 03 03
MHT* 18 14 10 10 06 10 09 08 07 10 09 07 04 06 04 05 03 03 02 02 07 02 02 01 01 01 04 01 05*
B/S/P* 18/18/18 14/14/14 13/13/11 12/13/10 09/09/09 12/10/10 10/12/09 10/11/08 08/11/07 07/10/10 09/10/09 07/08/07 05/07/05 08/08/08 06/06/05 05/05/05 04/05/03 04/05/03 03/02/02 04/04/02 04/03/01 05/04/02 04/04/02 03/04/01 04/03/01 03/03/02 03/03/03 02/03/01 02/03/03
Weight 1000 1100 1000 1500 900 1300 900 1000 1200 800 900 750 300 800 200 150 120 200 85 115 350 300 200 200 250 150 100 60 150
Cost Special 500 450 350 300 300 250 200 300 500 400 80 100 250 60 55 50 40 32 40 325 35 40 30 30 35 100 30 30
Weight 550 500 600 450 400 300 75 325 350 450 15
Cost 100 50 120 65 60 35 10 95 95 90 20
Shield Table Name Tower (Scutum) Pavise* Greek Kite (Knights) Large Round Target Buckler Lantern* Tarch* Irish Targe* Madu*
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STR* 06 06 07 05 05 05 01 06 10 05 01
DEX* +1 +1* +1 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +2 +0 +0
HT* 06 05 06 05 05 04 03 04 03 04 01
MHT* 10 10 10 08 08 06 03 06 02 06 01
B/S/P* 06/06/06 05/05/05 06/06/06 05/05/05 05/05/05 04/04/04 03/03/03 04/04/04 02/04/02 04/04/04 01/01/01
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Armor Descriptiions Note: Alll armor includdes an approprriate helmet orr skullcap. Articulateed Plate: Arrticulated plaate is custom m made for the wearer and a will coun nt as plate to o even someeone of a sim milar size. Thee construction n of articulaated plate takkes months an nd meticulouss fitting and d refitting. The T cost shouuld be in thee “many th housands" ran nge. Much off its fantasticc strength comes from m curves and fluting,, ng the stren ngth of the metal whilee maximizin keeping th he armor light. Plate: Intterlocking plates with maill covering thee joints and forming a sho ort skirt to covver the groin. Field Plaate: Interlockiing plates wiith an armingg gambeson n (quilted cotto on) instead off mail to makee the plate lighter and eaasier to wear for extended d periods. M Chain mail m with a brreast and backk Plate & Mail: plate, braccers and greavves. h Half-Platte: Breastplatte with paulldrons, thigh guards, gaauntlets and a helmet. Th he rest of thee body is co overed with thick t leather clothing or a light gamb beson. Bronze Plate: P Heavy bronze armor such as thee "Dendra Panoply.” Bulky B bronzee plates thatt overlap frrom the chest and shouldeers to middlee thigh. Th he arms and legs are prrotected with h bracers an nd greaves. ne: Brigandin ne consists of plates off Brigandin metal sow wn between tw wo layers of clloth or leatherr with sleevves or bracers covering the arms, a shortt kilt coveriing the groin, and chain maail and greavess covering the t legs. Splint Mail: Splint mail m consists of o long metall strips sow wn vertically onto a matterial backingg (either leaather or cloth)) with greavees bracers and d chain maail protectingg the joints and a skirtt covering the t groin and upper u thighs. M A flexiblle garment of interlockingg Chain Mail: rings coveering the chestt, arms, and th he legs with TrollsZin ne!
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loweer legs are prottected by braccers and greavves. Greeek Hoplite: G Greek Hoplitee armor consiists of a heaavy bronze brreast and backk plate, an arm mored skirt,, and bracers and greaves tto protect thee arms and llegs. nsists of row ws of Scalee Mail: Scaale mail con overllapping scaless of metal sew wn onto a clo oth or leathher backing. SScale mail covvers the torso and legs to the kneees, with greavves protectin ng the loweer legs and eitther full lengtth sleeves or elbow lengtth sleeves andd bracers proteecting the arm ms. Ring g Joined Platte: Ring joineed plate consiists of severral pieces off floating plattes joined byy (you gues sed it!) large rings. A largge plate coverrs the m the midddle of the chest which hangs from paulddrons (the arrmor that co overs the sho oulder) and leads to a coouple of ringss from which h hang tasseets (small plattes that proteect the upper legs). Addeed to this aree light bracerss and greaves and a light open helm or turban w with or with hout a skulllcap beneath. Cuirrbolli Leatheer: Cuirbolli lleather is hardened in b oiling water and sealed w with wax or oil. It plate with paulldrons conssists of a breasst and back p coveering the shoulders and upper armss. An armoored skirt witth thigh platees and bracerrs and greavves protect thhe lower arms and legs.
k length skkirt or a thigh h length skirtt either a knee and chain leggings. Thiss covers chain n, double mail,, and bar mail. m Japanese Lamellar: Jaapanese Lamelllar armor hass ovement and d been opttimized for ease of mo protection n from arrowss and other miissile fire with h small shieelds mounted d on the sho oulders and a wide brim mmed helmet for better pro otection from m missiles. mor consists of o small platess Lamellar:: Lamellar arm which aree laced togetther in paralllel rows, butt unlike scale armor, do d not havee a backing. Lamellar covers the chest and upp per arms and d h skirt. The forearms and d ends in a knee length TrollsZin ne!
Linoothorax: The Linothorax iis made by quuilting or ggluing multiplle layers of llinen at altern nating anglees to increase its strength. L Linothorax co onsists of a breast and baack plate with pauldrons covvering the sshoulders. Ann armored skiirt and bracerrs and greavves protect thhe lower arms and legs. dded Leatherr: Also known n as "bezainteed" or Stud "ringg-enhanced leeather," studdded leather co onsists of a knee length jacket of thickk leather with metal beveels, squares, ddiscs, or ringgs sewn onto it to provvide more prootection again nst slashing atttacks. Studdded leather eeither has fulll sleeves or elbow ms and lengtth sleeves andd bracers to prrotect the arm greavves to protectt the lower leggs. ber or Fibeer: Constructeed from plateed coconut fib otherr fibrous plannts, this armorr covers the w wearer from m head to toe.. It consists o of full length pants, shirtt, a reinforcedd breastplate, w woven helmeet, and
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a back plate that extends over the wearers shoulders to just above the head. The back plate serves to protect the user from missile attacks from behind. The islanders that most commonly wore this armor where accompanied into battle by the women of their tribes, who hurled rocks and other missiles at the opposing forces; the back plate served to protect the wearer from friendly fire. Disc or Tri-Disc: Consists of one large or three smaller bronze discs attached to the front, middle and upper chest, a broad armored belt, and a small bronze or reinforced leather skullcap. Reinforced Cloth: Reinforced cloth consists of a knee length jacket of thick quilted cloth with metal bevels, squares, discs, or rings sown onto it to provide more protection against slashing attacks. Reinforced cloth either has full sleeves or elbow length sleeves and bracers to protect the arms as well as greaves to protect the lower legs. Feather Mantle: Multiple layers of large feathers mounted on a wicker or cord framework covering the wearer from the neck to below the knee. The resplendent feathers that make up the mantle are rare and expensive; the feather mantle was a sign of high prestige and wealth. Although awkward, the mantle is surprisingly effective at blocking missile fire; the multiple layers of thick and slippery feathers serve to either deflect or trap incoming projectiles. Unfortunately, the feathers making up the mantle are delicate and easily damaged, especially in melee combat. *Special: If the mantle takes more than three times the base protection from a single melee hit, it loses a point of protection until it can be repaired. Layered Hide: A primitive armor made by layering tanned or untanned animal hides. It covers the torso, shoulders and hangs to the middle thigh. Furs are also wrapped around the arms and legs to provide a modicum of protection. Wooden: Popular in parts of Asia and with many Northern American native tribes. The basic armor is a thick leather or hide jacket that extends to below the knees and with sleeves to the wrists. The torso is covered with a series of vertical wooden slates tied together in much the way of TrollsZine!
splint mail. A wooden full helm completes the armor. Occasionally wooden splint bracers are also used. Bamboo: Bamboo armor covers the torso with an ankle length skirt and full sleeves. This is worn over a quilted cloth ankle length garment that provides protection from blunt attacks. The bamboo itself is tied together in short segments vertically and is worn in much the same way as splint mail. Rope or Cord: Found mainly in China, this armor is constructed of rings of sturdy rope or cordage sown together into a vest with or without pauldrons. A separate two piece kilt of the same material protects the upper legs. A reinforced leather or metal skullcap and occasionally leather bracers complete the armor. This armor was particularly popular with pirates because the armor, after being lacquered or coated in pitch, has a positive buoyancy and does not drag a wearer flung from a ship under the waves. Quilted Cotton: Quilted cotton or quilted linen armor consists of a knee-length jacket. Quilted cotton either has full sleeves or elbow length sleeves and bracers to protect the arms and greaves to protect the lower legs. Quilted Silk: Quilted silk consists of a knee length jacket. Quilted silk either has full sleeves or elbow length sleeves and bracers to protect the arms and greaves to protect the lower legs. Soft Leather: Soft leather consists of a knee length jacket. Soft leather either has full sleeves or elbow length sleeves and bracers to protect the arms and greaves to protect the lower legs. Paper: Paper armor is made by gluing multiple layers of paper at alternating angles to increase its strength. Paper armor consists of a breast and back plate with pauldrons covering the shoulders. An armored skirt and greaves protect the legs and bracers the arms. *Special: Paper armor is extremely ablative to arrow and bolt fire. Once paper armor has taken three times its protection rating in damage from arrows or bolts, it is considered ruined. This also happens if the armor is drenched for a prolonged time and the wax or lacquer coating is overcome.
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Shield Descriptions Tower (S Scutum): Thee tower shield (also called d “the door of war”) is a large rectanguular or oblongg m the chin to the t ankle with h shield thatt reaches from a large meetal central bo oss and rimmeed with eitherr metal or hide. h T pavise is a crossbowmaan’s or archerss Pavise: The shield thatt can be strap pped to the back b or set up p with a fork to take coveer behind whiile reloading a bow or crrossbow. It haas no boss, buut can be used d by the set of arm straps in melee. *Sppecial: the DEX X ld in melee. penalty is onnly when used ass a normal shield Greek: A very large round shield d faced with h bronze, co overing the usser from chin n to knees and d without a boss. o Kite (Kniights): A largge oblong shieeld tapering to a point, co overing from the shoulder to just underr the knee, rimmed with metal or hidee, and bearingg m boss. Th he kite shield was designed d a heavy metal to be wieelded from th he back of a horse and to o cover the leg while ridin ng. ound: A Vikiing and Saxon design thatt Large Ro covers fro om the chest to t just above the knee and d bears a heeavy metal bo oss. While ussually rimmed d with metaal or hide, som me warriors ussed unrimmed d shields likke sword breaakers (see T& &T rules) butt after one use u the shield is considered a buckler. r square,, Target: A broad varietty of shields, round, or kite shaped coveringg from the sh houlder to thee waist, eith her with a heaavy boss and rimmed with h metal or hide h or made completely c of metal.
increease the radiannce cast by th he candle; how wever, unlikke a torch, tthe light of the lantern shield extennds in a cone ahead of the wielder so un nless it is aim med it will noot illumine beehind or abovve the user.. Many historrical exampless have a thickk glass panee or pane of thin horn to provide addiitional proteection from drafts or swift movements gutteering out thee candle. Speecial: 1) Blindiing: In darkeened in close figghting, the lanteern shield is cappable of deliveering a directed bbeam of radiancee dazzling an oppponent and lleaving them opeen to attack. Thhis reduces the ppersonal adds of any foe capabble of being blinded by one halff ffor one combaat turn. Againsst MR enemies, this requires a L1SR on D DEX by the shieelds wielder. Aggainst stated oppponents, it is a L1SR on D DEX or IQ by the opponent too avoid fective once per ccombat. beingg blinded. This ttrick is only effe Night Target: W When used in the dark with the lantern 2) N cover withdrawn, thhe lantern shielld negates any missile combaat penalties agaiinst the user as iit is a dead giveaaway of their position. 3) Puunch spikes or blades: To maake the rn shields infigghting abilities, many most of the lantern more blades or spikes historrical examples have one or m extennding from the edge or boss off the shield for use in melee.e. These provide and addition 22D to the combaat total of thee wielder. Tarcch: The Russiian tarch shielld consists of shield withoout a boss thhat encircles tthe wearer’s eelbow. An attached arm mored sleeve covers from m the w to a gaunttlet with a p projecting two o foot elbow bladee. The circum mference of thee shield is succh that the w wearer is inccapable of low wering their shield arm, cutting of much of thee arms lateraal and vertiical movement. The forwardd vision is
Buckler: A small circuular or square shield with a very heavyy boss coverin ng either from m the hand to o mid-forearrm or simply the hand and d wrist. Good d for infightting where a large shield is a hindrancee and can allso be treated d like a metal boxing glove. Very much h in favor where fencing with w sabers and d rapiers is common ass it does not restrict thee dexterous use of fencingg swords. t includes an internall Lantern: A shield that ore spikes orr shuttered lantern and one or mo he internal can ndle lantern iss blades for infighting. Th mounted in a cage with w a reflecto or backing to o TrollsZin ne!
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restricted so much thatt a keyhole opening in thee he shield allow ws limited sigh ht through thee edge of th shield in battle. Suppo osedly used mainly m duringg p 2D+33 sieges. Speecial: the two foot punch blade provides in melee com mbat. Irish Targe: A round variety of thee target shield d faced with h leather or hide h and sporting an eight-inch spikee attached to the boss for use both as a weapon and a to help control youur opponentss weapon when w parrying. Special: The taarge provides 2D D in melee com mbat.
bottoom of the shiin to the top o of the knee an nd are founnd in many typpes of armor. Breaast and Bacck Plate: The breast andd back platee comprise thee torso protecction in rigid armor and ooften form thhe basis for co onnections to other piecees of armor suuch as the tasseets and pauldrons. Paulldrons: Paulddrons or shouulder guards cover the sshoulder, arm mpit, and in ssome cases ovverlap the bbreast and bacck plate.
w two longg Madu: A small round metal shield with antelope horns protruuding from the top and d S More a weapon than a bottom off the shield. Special: shield, the madu m provides 1D D+3 in melee combat. c
Tasssets: Tassets or upper leg guards hangg from the bbreast plate aand are eitherr singular plaates or form m lobster taileed segments covering from m the uppeer thighs to thhe knee.
A Sho ort Armor Glossary
Shieeld Boss: Thee shield boss is usually rouund or coniccal and form ms a convex m metal guard iin the centeer of the shielld where the m main grip is lo ocated. It serrves the dual rrole of proteccting the handd while form ming the hard point of the sshield that allows it to agggressively paarry incoming attacks and llaunch direccted shield-bassed attacks in turn.
B or arm m guards coveer and protectt Bracers: Bracers the forearrm and are found in many m types off armor. otect from thee Greaves: Greaves or leeg guards pro
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Ice e Exilee A T&T GM G Ad dventure e By Mark M Thorntton
Genera al Instructions This adventure can be played with either e the 5th h or 7th ediition T&T rulles. While it iss designed forr two or mo ore Fire Gian nts, there is no reason whyy you can’t add other chaaracters in if you y want; youu ncreasing thee would juust need to consider in monster raatings of the opposition. o nts can be rollled up with the followingg Fire Gian modifiers: W LK, DE EX x 2, INT T STR and CON x 10, WIZ, R x 5, SPD x 1 ½ x 1, CHR Remembeer SPD is a measure of reaction timee rather thaan sprinting speed, but if you need thee latter you could averagee STR and SPD D.
for sspecialist magees. You can decide what they do, whatt they cost, eetc. if you waant to use theem or invennt your own;; the idea off different kin ndreds havinng their own natural ‘spelllbooks’ is on ne that appeeals to me.
Giaants of Trrollworld world, giants aappear In thhis manifestattion of Trollw frequuently as largee ogres – thatt is, as hill giaants – but G Giants (with a capital ‘G’) are extremelyy rare. Thesse Giants aree much largeer and much more poweerful when fully grown n. The perio od of adoleescence is lonng by human m measuring. Th hey are also beings of a m magical naturee, not bound by all the llaws of physiccs as we know w them todayy, and so ttheir height does not n necessarily leaad to propportional weigh ght.
Height? I think about 15’. words (10D6)) Fire Giants are armed with flame sw bestos jerkins (4 hits). Theyy and wear fire-proof asb oaks. also wear tunics and clo nts naturally know k two spells which alll Fire Gian Fire Giantts know once their INT an nd DEX reach h 10: T – 1D66 per 20 STR of the Giant,, Burning Touch costs 1 WIZ W to cast but no INT T saving rolll required. me – costs 6 WIZ, W no INT SR S required. Call Flam There are other Fire Giant G spells suuch as Sauna,, P Lava Boost, Heartt of the Sun,, Oxy by Proxy, Great Ballls of Fire, Blood B Boil, and Externall Combustio on but these two youths do not know w them (yet)) – I imagine them t unfoldin ng in the mind d when INT T and DEX arre high enough h as they do
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There are a number of offshoots from the Giant tree. Those known to the Wizards’ Guild of Trollworld include Fire Giants, Ice Giants, Cloud Giants, Storm Giants, Ocean Giants, and Sand Giants. There is little in the way of reputable lore regarding these true Giants. They mostly keep to themselves and are able to keep lower life forms from intruding on their demesnes, standing aloof above all others in the rich tapestry that is Trollworld. Certain esoteric knowledge has been gained of them by other kindreds. The Dragon People tell stories that may have a few grains of truth mixed with the grit of invention and some ancient wizards who outgrew their mortal peers have passed their wisdoms as heritage tomes. It is within these dusty, near indecipherable pages that we learn hints of the task upheld by these Giants, a task that seems to foreshadow a change in the hegemony of Trollworld, a world in which humans play the dominant role. Snippets and tantalizing references lead some (self-appointed, all too often) authorities to suppose that these Giants are the custodians of races to be groomed to surpass humankind in ways as yet impenetrable, akin to kindergartners ensuring a safe and provoking environment for their wards to learn and extend within. Of these Giants, the only genus which has been associated with anything close to fact in living memory is that of Cloud. One example cannot be claimed to prove an entire thesis, but the reports of angelic beings known as ‘the Feigh’ at least lend credence to the old beliefs that have never quite gone away. In fact, it is only the Ice Giants and the Cloud Giants who have remained alert and attentive to their ancient charter, with their brethren becoming forgetful and dreaming for centuries passed. The wards of the Fire, Storm, Ocean and Sand Giants are lost to history, perhaps irretrievably. Of late, even the lofty Cloud Giants, those lordly aristocrats of languor and lyre, have neglected their purpose and allowed unworthy powers to displace their charges. It is to this backcloth our Fire Giants enter the world of the Snow People, the apparently timeless protégées of their Ice Giant cousins. How much of this the Games Master chooses to reveal to the players is up to you. If the players adopt Fire TrollsZine!
Giants as their characters, it would seem that much would naturally be known to them, although surely little regarding the Snow People. If the characters are not Giants, then it is a very different matter and they will have much to learn about the world they thought they knew. Bear in mind that the Fire Giants I am suggesting your players take up are young and therefore are not figures to dominate Trollworld. As for the Snow People, the infant kindred given as wards to the Ice Giants eons ago, they are innocent beyond compare. They are noble savages with the will to ever strive for more, yet often ready to hear the other and to work for their people, not exclusively for the one. This would be more than they could comprehend, for they see the one and the whole as undivided. They are not ‘hippies’ or ‘socialists’ – nothing so glib. The one will challenge the other when the other seems ‘unworthy.’ Their evolution is very slow indeed as they cease to be beings of matter and the boundary between matter and energy, matter and thought becomes as nothingness. These people have no knowledge of the outside world, to such an extent have they been sheltered. If it were only a matter of the physical, doubtless they, just as those natives of Pacific Islands confronted with the tall ships of the European navigators, would simply not see the Giants, their brains deleting this irrelevant optical information. However, kremmcharged beings are seldom invisible and unfelt. The Ice Giants long ago arranged for a food source for the Snow People – a creature that they can hunt and so nourish their spirit as well as their bodies. These pteredon are drawn in sufficient numbers to the moss on the roof of the huge ice castle that confines the yeti-like people. They alone are able to pass through the mists than surround the edges of the Snow People’s world, their tightly-knit village with its naturally stable population. These mists keep both the Snow People in and others out. Even the Ice Giants make very few incursions and so are legendary, mythical beings to their wards. The Giants intervene only when absolutely necessary, the sole arbiter being the appointed Guardian. Much more could be written, but make more or less of it as you will, for each manifestation of Trollworld is as to its own.
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Scene One – The Fea ast of the e Everlassting Flam me Two youn ng Fire Gian nts, rogues by b profession,, have beeen selected as sentries at tonight’ss gathering for the Feast of the Everlaasting Flame – onor. The Chiief is at the hiigh table with h a great ho his Flamee Witch, a wizard w of higgh order, and d revered guests g from other o clans. The T mood iss merry butt underscored d by the soleemnity of thee awaited rittuals and cerem monies. The good d order of the gatherin ng is rudelyy shattered by the arrivaal – out of th hin air – of a d. As he raisess his hands to o human; cllearly a wizard indicate his h peaceful in ntent, the Chieef motions to o warriors to escort the Flame Witch to where thee now disgrraced keeperss of the watcch stand, stilll unaware of o their failuree and the intrrusion. Whilstt the wizard d presents hiss case and suues for peace,, without debate or a wh hiff of clemen ncy, the Flamee Witch banishes the novice n gatekeepers with a single worrd of flame-force. You can build this sccene up and allow lots off character building or teear through itt; I made ourr highest levvel PC wizard, House Elf, the visitor,
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whicch leads on too another adveenture so the world is yoour oyster!
Sccene Two – Ice Exille The two Fire Giaants find them mselves standding in owling an iicy wastelandd with a bittter wind ho incesssantly. Snow w immediatelyy begins to pile up aroun und them eveen though theeir life-flame melts the ssnow as it setttles. At first th hey can see no othing but then, as the weak sun b breaks througgh the pse of thunnderheads aboove them, theyy catch a glimp someething glintingg ahead, barelly perceptible in the half--light. They hhave nowheree else to go. They mustt approach thhe only sign of anything other than the winds, icee, and gloomyy, cloud-laden skies. As they stumblle, hearts heeavy, feet aalready mbing, they cattch a distant w whine on the w winds. num hey take bitteer step It grrows graduallyy louder as th afterr bitter step annd their frozeen memories finally recoggnize it as theey hunting calll of wargs. The glinting begiins to reveal itself as a h huge – me 30 evenn by giant stanndards – blocck of ice, som time s taller than tthe Fire Giantts. They can ssee no featuure whatsoeveer on the pristiine face of thiis ice monnolith, but stilll there is nothiing else for th hem
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here and still the call of the wargg pack growss closer. Wiith a sickeningg rush, they beegin to realizee that they are much weaaker now – th heir STR is att half normal level.
Sccene Thrree – Inside Ha arnak
m to walk round thee It takes teen miserable minutes massive icce block and ten t more fearfful minutes ass the wargs draw near to o get to the opposite sidee oulder can be seen. As theyy where an enormous bo t are able to t make out a approach the boulder, they m just be en nough time to o door behind it. There may w in thiss avoid havving to deal with the wargs weakened state if the boulder b can be b rolled awayy nough – a ST TR SR at a level of yourr quickly en discretion is called for. If they havee to fight thee n wargs, it’ss your call to make it closse but not an automatic disaster. The pack might well w number 6 ould be reason nable. and a MR of 50 each wo
The door can be opened by reaading aloud a word Giantish inscriibed on the ddoor. It simplly says of G Harnnak ‘klutri (‘foortress of ice’ or ‘the ice man’s fortrress’ in the common tonguee) , but becauuse the dialeect is strangee it takes a L2SR on IN NT to writing. The ddoor can be b barred undeerstand the w from m within. Oncee inside and safe from the w wargs, the F Fire Giants finnd their stren ngth has gone down by aanother 1D6.. They can uuse Call Flam me to restoore 1D6 STR R but it willl not go bacck up beyoond 50% of base STR an nd every timee they exertt themselves they again lose 1D6 STR. They shouuld be able too balance thiss by Calling F Flame. Stresss how cold aand miserable they feel; ban nished as thhey are to this place of unen nding cold.
‘kluutri
From m the door, a 10’ wide 20’ high passage winds throuugh the blocck of ice, grradually ascen nding. Afterr 2 minutes, they hear heeavy footstep ps and encoounter a shagggy yeti-like ccreature, a crryoril. This beast lives hhere and gets fed, but it is often o need hunggry. It is extreemely anti-soccial, having no for ccompany, andd will defend iits patch to th he hilt. The cryoril is of very low iintelligence aand is naturrally belligerennt – it gives a blood-curdlin ng cry and aattacks withouut second tho ought. Make itt’s MR in thhe vicinity of 200 if you alllow the Fire G Giants to figght side by sidde, less if youu prefer to rulle that theree is only rooom for one giant to figh ht the creatture at a tim me; you want a reasonablyy even fightt. Remember tto make the ggiant’s STR drrop by 1D6 each combatt turn. Althouugh not fightting is oftenn the better rroute to take, here it is thee only way. Afterr dealing witth the cryoriil, the Fire G Giants folloow the passagge as it winds round and uup for anothher 10 minuutes (it is slippery and going quickkly will drain more STR) uuntil they findd large piecees of canvass-like materiaal hanging on n the wallss. There are 110 of these caanvases and th hey all havee metalloid rinng holes in th he corners and two in thhe centre, withh a cord of uunknown subsstance runnning through tthe six ring h holes in a figuure of eightt.
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As they seee the canvases they also hear h a rushingg noise ahead, rapidly grrowing loudeer. Very soon n they reach h the end off the passage;; it ends in a chasm wh hich would takke a L15 SR on STR for a Fire Giantt to leap acrosss. You may need n to adjustt the SR levvel as it is not desirable for them both to o be able to o make the leaap. If they loo ok around, thee Fire Giantts see that a prodigiously p strong s wind iss blowing out o and acrosss the chasm from fr a hole in n the roof of o the ice tun nnel just beforre the chasm. On the faar side of the chasm, they can c just makee out what is i the start of another passaageway. In thee center of the chasm th hey can see a small column n oldness below. of rock rissing up out off the misty co Sitting upon the colum mn of rock is a metal chest. i big enough for both Firee The top iff the column is Giants to stand upon easily, but if th hey attempt to o jump to itt a L3SR or L4SR L on DEX X would be in n order to not n simply pitcch off the otheer side. The canvaases can be used u as gliderrs requiring a L3SR on LK L to catch th he wind right followed by a L1SR on INT to figuure out how to steer. Thee cords are fire (and ice) resistant but the canvas iss hey really need d theses glideers and don’tt not. If th work out what they might m be used for, maybe a pictogram m on the backk if they takee one off thee wall. This is how the Icce Giants crossed to get to o he chasm. Levvel 20 magicc the Peoplle beyond th precludes the casting of o Fly Me, Wiink-Wing, and d Blow Youu/Me To spells.
The iron box coontains 100’ m more of this stout ned an cordd, but 30 secoonds after thee box is open ice gghost will begin to form m. After 30 more seconnds, the ice gghost will be solid enough to do 2D6 CON damagge per turn. It does not attack Ice what it Giannts, of coursee, but others are exactly w has bbeen left heree to target. T The ice ghost has a CON N of 150. It ccan be harmeed by fire or m magic, but nnot weapons.. If the ice gghost takes daamage shouuld the Fire Giants attackk it (from fi fire or magiic), it will flloat out of rreach, reducin ng its damaage attack to 1D6 per turrn. Plenty of scope for SSRs on most aattributes heree.
Sccene Four – The Snow Peop ple The passage beyyond the chaasm winds itss way rounnd and slowly upwards. Thee cold is intensse and shouuld lead to moore suffering aand possibly ddoubts abouut continuing. There is no ‘will’ attributee, so I woulld consider uusing the aveerage of CHR R and curreent CON for a saving roll h here – interesting if one wants to turnn back and haas to be convvinced by thhe other to preess on. Afterr 20 minutes of hard slogg, they will em merge into a vast caverrn surroundedd by thick sw wirling mistss. It must be measured in aacres. This is w where the Snow Peoplee, the Peoplee given to th he Ice n their Giannts to nurture,, eke out theirr existence on slow w journey of evvolution. The Snow Peopple will be going about their businness. There arre perhaps 1220 of them. Aspects to innclude for the players could be: Reconnaissance First encoounter – languuage barrier Hunting pteredons (M MR100 plus, DEX SR to hit or avoid beingg hit) Befriendinng the Chief ((CHR SR) Yak herdiing/milking Confrontation with th he Second in the hierarchy Exchangee of culturre e.g., coo oking, materials,, describing tthe outside w world, painting, songs Chief chaallenged by tthe Second – Fire Giants chhosen by the Chief as his standins for chhallenge of hun nting pteredon ns Teaching children
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When I raan this adventuure with Ken St. Andre and d my son, Charlie, therre was no battle b at thee beginning and much was w made of the languagee nd the culturral exchanges.. Songs weree barrier an created an nd shared. Then the Fire Giants weree invited to try their han nd at pteredon n hunting and d found it a challenge. The T Snow People can leap p prodigioussly, not so th he Giants. Th hen came thee anger from m the Secon nd at feeling displaced byy beings thaat had no plaace in the Peeople’s societyy and ultim mately his challlenge (I knew w we had alll recently watched w the John J Carter movie and I drew from m this). This was triggered d by the Firee Giants faiiling to take down ptered dons, but stilll finding favvor with the Leader L because of their new w ideas and novelty. f the Snow People, thesee If you neeed attributes for might be reasonable: r STR and CON 3D6 x 8, WIZ, LK, INT, SPD x a DEX x 2 1, CHR and c to yetiss I picture them as tall and sturdy, closer n but with more m elfin feattures. I thinkk than men working out o what theyy look like forr yourself and d describingg them in detaail is good forr you and thee players an nd will lead to t better gam me play – youu have to put p some refleective time in n here so youu can dream m it! The Snow w People’s reaalm is surroun nded by mistss that they are hard-wireed not to pass through. In n m will cauuse no harm to t the Giantss fact, the mists but have a fear ench hantment wh hich hits thee here is a tunn nel in the high h roof to theirr People. Th world thro ough which come c the pterredons, drawn n by the ricch moss whicch grows there and offerss them a food sourcee (could be other smalll l there to oo if you like – all this hass creatures living been conttrived by thee Ice Giants to provide a sustainablee environmen nt for their warrds.) y like) thro ough the mistss Somewherre (wherever you the Fire Giants G will find d a passage on n through thee ice, leadin ng round an nd upwards as a before. Itt wasn’t harrd to get my players to waant to exploree beyond th he mists, but if i you need to o give yours a push in th he right directiion perhaps giive the Peoplee a legend about a the Guaardian to share. I think thatt would sufffice nicely eno ough.
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Sccene Five – The Gu uardian’s L Last Deeed The Guardian is about to passs over to the other side and hand the torch on; he h has served hiss time, but cannot leavee this mortal plane becauuse no replaacement has bbeen sent. He has had no neeed to take a hand in thhe lives of thee Snow Peop ple for severral generationns, but is aw ware of their lives, theirr developmennt, and their eencounters. H He will know w what has transpired b between the Snow Peopple and their F Fire Giant visiitors. The Guaardian is sleeeping deeply, enveloped in n thick frost. han an It is not easy for aanyone or anyything other th Giant to get tto the Guardiian, deliberateely so. Ice G The passage quickkly ends after n no more than 50’ at mmense stairccase of alternaate black and white an im stepss. Each one is some 100’ high, far from insurrmountable ffor a Giant and not acctually enouugh to deter ddetermined huumans and th he like. The stairs might rremind some of a piano perhaps. Theyy are carved ffrom ice, as iis natural heree, and the ccolor differenntiation between black and white ice m may have beenn augmented ffor effect.
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The blackk steps, which like the whitee are some 10’ across, aree each triggerred by weigh ht of anythingg more than n a leprechaun n, rising like pistons p to thee ceiling to smash the liffe out of anyything unwaryy o walk onto on ne. A L2SR on o SPD would d enough to seem rightt to retreat in time if one sets off one off the piston n-steps. Perhaaps some last minute stuntt might be possible to avoid a being crushed c if thee victims reeactions are too t slow; butt there would d still likely to be injury from f the fall at a least, which h could be from f as high as a 100’. There are 20 of these steps in total and a at the top p mpty round chamber c with h three doors,, lies an em none of which w are lockked. Behind each is a shortt passage an nd at the end d of each passsage the Firee Giants willl find the follo owing: Left – Thee twisting passage is excepttionally cold – drop 1D66 STR each turn. t It leads to a flowingg stream off blue ‘lava’.. This would d do seriouss damage to o any non-icee creature wh ho consumed d anything more than a taste – sayy 10D6. It iss n sustenancee to Ice Giaants and the Guardian in particular. In the even nt that a new w Guardian iss d, should theyy consume th his lava (and d appointed they surelly would), th his will give a permanentt boost to both b STR and CON of 50% %.
Forggiveness whichh can be readd to the Fire Giant Chieef or to the Flaame Witch - th hen it burns. Wheen the Guardiian is woken or threatenedd (see below w), the Defender will verry quickly com me to him. This should not lead to combat unless the playeers are determ mined on this ccourse. ht passage off some Righht – At the ennd of a straigh 100’ there is a small cham mber housingg the Defeender, a hugee, intimidatingg warrior cleaarly of any iicy nature. Hee stands stockk still and willl only respoond or move if attacked, diirectly or indiirectly, or iff the Guarddian calls or is woken. IIf the Guarrdian is wokeen, he will go immediately to his room m and either defend the Guardian orr take instruuction. The Defender haas a MR of 8800, giving hiim an effecctive WIZ oof 80. His SSPD is 50. Other attribbutes can be ddecided upon n if necessary as the GM wishes. As sstated above, there really sshould not be a fight w with this warriior, but someetimes hey should be made playeers just insist. If they do, th to bee sorry!
T is the ab bode of the Guardian. G Thee Center – This large welll-appointed chamber is essentially a library. Those spendin ng considerab ble time heree l a varietyy of spells and d might, witth INT SRs, learn there are also many histories an nd books off folklore. The T Ice Giantt Guardian is almost frozen n solid and will not easilyy stir. Howevver, he can bee gently thaawed out and when he speaaks he will bee confused and frail – he h has been here h too long. What he wants, w of couurse, is a new w Guardian to o volunteer so that he can n dissolve and d move on. Iff t accept the task, he willl there is a willingness to offer a greeat gift – chan nging the new w Guardian so o that he or she is half Fire Giant and half h Ice Giantt g to give stats for the old Guardian n (I’m not going because he is too frail to t fight – if a hybrid Giantt or struggles to o is created there is plentty of scope fo t two halvees, the learning of basic Icee reconcile the Giant spellls and so on. Companionss will be Blow w You To’d their choice of destination n. If none willl wn for gettingg accept thee task, they arre on their ow out of heere! If someo one accepts and a the otherr wants to go g home but is afraid, offfer a Scroll off TrollsZin ne!
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Wrap Up U t Fire Giants returns to the t Fire Giantt If one of the Hall, the GM could eaasily play out this scene. Iff w to provid de for the new w Guardian to o the GM wants receive an n annual visit or some such h, so be it. An n enterprisin ng GM migh ht even worrk through a meeting between b Fire and Ice Giaants with anyy number off outcomes po ossible. ough all of thee five scenes I If the playyers come thro would awaard a total of 650 APs with h a bonus 2000 to the new w Guardian, but b GMs may well settle on n different numbers n to suuit their camp paigns. In myy thinking, the scenes geenerate 50, 100, 100, 100,, 200 and 1000 APs respecctively. Ms alike find much m to workk I hope plaayers and GM with and enjoy e here and d it adds to thee rich tapestryy that is Tro ollworld.
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T&T Websites Vin Ahrr Vin’s Trollbridge: http://trollbridge.proboards.com/index.cgi Trollgod's Trollhalla: http://www.trollhalla.com Tunnels and Trolls : www.tunnelsandtrolls.com Tunnels of the Trollamancer: http://trollamancer.weebly.com/index.html Gristlegrim: http://www.gristlegrim.com/ JongJungBu’s T&T 5th Edition Gathering and Paraphernalia: http://www.jongjungbu.com/home Hog Tunnels: http://sites.google.com/site/hogtunnels/home Darrgh’s Den: http://www.darrghsden.co.uk/ The Vital Spot: http://www.vitalspot.f9.co.uk/ The Tunnels and Trolls Archive: http://www.angelfire.com/rpg2/ancientworlds/tandt.html Free Dungeons: http://www.freedungeons.com/ The Troll Mystic: http://www.trollmystic.com/pub/ Ardenstone Adventures: http://www.ardenstoneadventures.com/ Tunnels et Trolls: http://tunnels-et-trolls.eu/ T&T Random Dungeon Generator: http://www.apolitical.info/webgame/dungeon/index2
T&T Blogs Ken St. Andre: http://atroll.wordpress.com/ The Lone Delver: http://danhemsgamingblog.blogspot.com/ The Delving Dwarf: http://thedelvingdwarf.blogspot.com/ Maximum Rock and Role Playing: http://maximumrockroleplaying.blogspot.com/ Tenkar’s Tavern: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/ The Omnipotent Eye: http://theomnipotenteye.blogspot.com/ Lloyd of Gamebooks: http://virtualfantasies.blogspot.com/ Trollish Delver: http://trollishdelver.blogspot.com/ The Many-Headed Troll: http://kopftnt.blogspot.com/ Troll Hammer: http://trollhammerpress.blogspot.com/ H’rrrothgarrr’s Hovel: http://hrrrothgarrrshovel.blogspot.com/ The Order of the Eldritch Imp: http://protectivepentagram.blogspot.com/ Realms of Chirak: http://realmsofchirak.blogspot.com/ Hobb Sized Adventures: http://hobbsized.wordpress.com/ Gems and Giants: http://gemsandgiants.blogspot.com/ The Tower of the Silent Sorcerer: http://jrl755.blogspot.com/ Alchemy Gaming Blog: http://alchemygaming.blogspot.com/ Deeper Delvings: http://delver.posterous.com/
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T&T Shops S Flying Bufffalo (print): http://www.fl h lyingbuffalo.co om/tandt.htm m Flying Bufffalo (pdf): htttp://www.rpggnow.com/ind dex.php?filterrs=0_0_0_0&m manufacturers_id=2238 Fiery Draggon (print): htttp://fierydraggon.com/draggonsbreath/ Fiery Draggon (pdf): http p://www.rpgn now.com/pro oduct_info.phpp?products_idd=59112 Lone Delvver Games (prrint): http://w www.lulu.com/spotlight/daanhem35 Lone Delvver Games (pd df): http://ww ww.rpgnow.co om/index.phpp?manufactureers_id=3094 Peryton Publishing (prin nt): http://ww ww.perytonpuublishing.com// w.rpgnow.com m/index.php? manufacturerrs_id=2586 Peryton Publishing (pdff): http://www Tavernmaaster Games (p print): http://www.tavernm master-games.cco.uk/ Tavernmaaster Games (p pdf): http://w www.rpgnow.ccom/index.phhp?manufacturrers_id=4176 Trollish Delver D Games (print): http:/ //www.lulu.co om/spotlight//trollishdelverr Troll Ham mmer Press (pd df): http://ww ww.rpgnow.co om/index.phpp?manufactureers_id=4505 Trollish Delver D Games (pdf): http:// /www.rpgnow w.com/index.pphp?manufactuurers_id=4283 Zodiac Go ods Publishingg: http://www w.rpgnow.com m/index.php?m manufacturerss_id=2583 Postmortuum Studios: htttp://www.rp pgnow.com/in ndex.php?cPatth=5386 Alligator: http://www.r h rpgnow.com/iindex.php?maanufacturers_iid=3801 Eposic: htttp://www.rpggnow.com/in ndex.php?man nufacturers_id =4010 Fabled Wo orlds: http://w www.rpgnow..com/index.ph hp?manufactuurers_id=29277 Slloyd14: http://www.r h rpgnow.com/iindex.php?maanufacturers_iid=3777 David Ulleery: http://ww ww.rpgnow.co om/index.php p?manufactureers_id=4305 Tunnels & Trolls en Fraançais: http:// /www.lulu.com m/spotlight/G Grimtooth Khaghbbo oommm: http://www.rpgn now.com/indeex.php?manufa facturers_id=44780 Michael Haensel: H http:/ //www.rpgnow w.com/index.php?manufaccturers_id=45535
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