Isssue 7 TABL LE OF F CON NTEN NTS TrollsZ Zine! is a Trollbridg T ge Production
T Trolls Kick In! I – by Dan n Hembree
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R Raising Spirrits – by Justtin T. William ms
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F Forecast forr a Bit of Ch haos – by Vall Kelson
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K K-Bombs (N New Khazan n) – by David d Moskowitzz
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T The Village of Wyrmsdale – by E. P. P Donahue
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A All the Classses in T&T – by Douglaas Toth
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T The Wizard’’s Hut (T&T T solo) – byy J. C. Lambeert
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T They Know Kung Fu! – by Dan Prentice
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M Muddled Eaarth – by Daavid A. Ulleryy
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S Sometimes the t Saving Rolls R Are With W You – byy Ira Lee Goossett
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B Black Powd der Oddities and Advanced Misfires – by Justinn T. Williams
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T To Start Witth… – by Paatrice Geille
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T The Ruins of o the Castlee Pynnesse (T&T ( GM Adventure) A – by Tori Beerquist
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T Troll Links 7
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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 Jeeff Freels 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, Mike Hill, Val Kelson, David Moskoowitz, Dan Preentice, M. E. V Volmar
A Art Cre edits S Submitted Arrt D Darrenn E. Caanton: p. 41-42 A Alexander Coo ok: p. 9, 20-222 E E. P. Donahuee: p. 3, 14 James Fallows: p. 56, 57, 59, 62-65, 68, 699 Jeff Freels: Co over J. C. Lambert: p. 25, 27-33, 35, 37, 39 SSimon Lee Traanter: p. 13, 533 D David A. Ullerry: p. 4-8, 43-444 Joshua E. Ulleery: p. 70 C Cartography D Dan Hembreee: p. 71-72 E E. P. Donahuee: p. 15 (createed using Hexo ographerTM b by Inkwell Ideeas) S Stock Art Jeff Freels: p. 2 P Public Domaain Art p p. 47, 49, 51, 52 5 T TrollsZine!
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Trollls Kicck In! filledd adventure ccontains a dettailed and enggaging backkground, a touugh set of chaallenges for ddelvers to oovercome, as well as severral suggestion ns for addittional adventtures. Do no ot enter this castle unprrepared, unless you’d likee to remain there forevver.
These are indeed exciting times for the t Tunnels & mmunity. Delux xe Tunnels & Trolls (dT&T)) Trolls com will be released this summer th hanks to an n amazinglyy successful Kickstarter K campaign thatt T outpourin ng of supportt raised oveer $125,000. The for the dT T&T Kickstaarter campaign n has proven n that T&T T is not a forggotten game; it is alive and d well. I darresay that the existence of TrollsZine! T and d all of the fan-produced d material in publications,, online foruums, and bloggs proves that point.
The artists for tthis issue in nclude Darren nn E. P. Donahue, JJames Cantton, Alexandeer Cook, E. P Falloows, J. C. Lam mbert, Simon Lee Tranter, D David A. U Ullery, and Jooshua E. Ulleery. As alwayys, the qualiity of work that these arrtists producee and freelyy contribute tto TrollsZine! iis outstandingg. The one and only Jeeff Freels provided the ccreepy illusttration featureed on the covver of this isssue— that w warrior’s probblems have really just begun n.
TrollsZine! #7 contains an a excellent mix m of articles,, nd adventuress to keep youu busy for thee stories, an remainderr of the winterr and into the spring. Justin n Williams has describeed some wo onderful new w visions of o undead monsters to o throw att unsuspectting delvers and the finer details off gunpowdeer weapons in n T&T. Put these articless together and have so ome fun. Vall Kelson hass provided an entertainiing descriptio on of a new w pe monster cap pable of ruiniing the day off golem-typ any party of delvers. David D Mosko owitz presentss n article for TrollsZine! in n the first New Khazan m fueleed doomsdayy which he describes magically hue has given n us a ratherr weapons. E. P. Donah wn for delvers to rest and relax in afterr quirky tow their latesst adventure; they probablly won’t havee any moneey left once th hey can get out, o but that’ss beside thee point. Defin ning character roles is often n a point off discussion, an nd Douglas Toth T lays out a he standard T&T T types to o perfect waay of using th produce an a array of character classses that somee players feeel have been missing m from the t game. Thee solo adven nture in this issue is by J. C. Lambert. The Wizarrd’s Hut is an excellent exaample of how w one can create a rich an nd complex adventure a thatt y tired off covers verry little physiccal space. If you’re your delvvers constantlly beating up your poorr monsters, Dan Prenticee has offered to train them m in some more m advanced fighting tecchniques. Ourr short storry for this isssue is by Ira Lee Gossett,, who show ws us that it really r is betteer to be luckyy than good d. Patrice Geillle has provideed some solid d advice on n keeping your freshly crreated delverss alive … fo or a while at least. l Finally, Tori T Berquist,, author of the solo adven ntures The Bulllow Lands and d b forth a new GM M The Sunk of Tarsus, brings C Pynnesse. This undeadadventure The Ruins of Castle
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I hoope you ennjoy this isssue of TrolllsZine!. Rem member that TrollsZine! relies on your contr tributions. W We don’t just need writers and artistts, but also edditors, designeers, play testerrs, and prooofreaders. If yyou enjoy TrollsZine!, then please get iinvolved. Vissit the TrollsZ Zine! thread aat the TrolllBridge T&T T discussion fo orum to learn n how you can contributte. My thankss to all of youu have alreaady climbed onn board. Dan Hembree
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Raisin ng Sp pirits Undead, A Little D Differenntly By Jusstin T. Williiams Are yourr zombies sluggish, s youur phantomss dispirited, and your skelletons nothingg but sad bagss of bones? Then you may find some inspiration in n nd anomalouss this collecction of undeaad oddities an apparition ns. For your delight and your players’ fright, let the t dead rise!
Famine e Spirit What goodd is a strong swoord arm againstt the death of a land? MR: 70 +35 (Witherin ng/Decaying Touch) T Dice: 8D+ Special Abilities: A Withering Wind: can sum mmon a terriible wind thatt ops, spoils foo od, and sickens animals. decays cro Raise Unde dead: can raise the bodies of those it hass slain and the bodies of o anyone or anything thatt has died of starvation in the form of a Hungerr Ghoul (seee below). Control Huunger Ghouls: can c command d any Hungerr Ghouls it has created. Summon/C Control Gore Crows: can summon s and d control Gore Crows (seee below). h by maagic, silver, orr Immaterial: can only be harmed nts that havee been used d to harvestt instrumen food—succh as scythess, sickles, graain flails, and d other agriccultural implem ments. Ignore Arm mor: its witherring touch ign nores all non-magical arrmor.
Famiine Spirit is clever, and uunlikely to ddirectly conffront its eneemies, preferrring to sen nd its servaants, the Hunnger Ghouls, to deal with them, and its Gore Croows to spy an nd steal from them whilee it remains saafe in a hiddeen location—uusually a seccret stash off food whose owner refussed to sharee even as otheers starved.
Go ore Crowss MR:: 20 Dicee: 3D+10 (Serrrated Beak an nd Talons) Speccial Abilities:: Wingged Flight: are ccapable of fligght. Far-SSeeing: can traansmit imagees they see tto the Famiine Spirit thatt controls them m.
ne Spirit is a horrid h corpse-Descriptiion: A Famin like phanttom of indetterminate sex whose bodyy floats etheereally over th he ground and d shows all thee ravages of o death by starvation. Itts empty eyee sockets are a filled with h green flickkering corpsee lights. A Famine F Spirit is a revenant of vengeancee that is bro ought about when w an innoccent is starved d to death for f a crime he h or she did d not commit. Such a deeath opens the body of thee deceased to o possession n by a vengeful ghost thatt will use thee vessel to wreak w havoc until u it is put to o rest. A
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he size of vuultures Desccription: Huuge crows th with hooked serraated beaks an nd bloody redd eyes. Theyy give off a foul corpse-liike odor andd utter raucoous guttural ccalls. Gore C Crows are, in truth, spiritts in physical form and malliciousness
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salt oor flour, or teaar apart a man n or dog to feast on fleshh. All of thiss, of course, helps the Famine Spiriit to spread thhe killing hungger that it draaws its poweer from. Huunger Ghoulls are capab ble of compplex plans onnly when direcctly controlledd by a Famiine Spirit. Otherwise, they behavee like minddless eating m machines, incap pable of all but the mostt simple of taactics—such aas hiding in a closet or unnder a set off stairs, and w waiting to amb bush a victim m.
Chharnel Doggs Whatt use to flee from m a tireless hunteer? MR:: 58+ Dicee: 6D+29 (Jag agged Teeth aand Ragged B Broken Claw ws) Speccial Abilities:: Undeead Resistance: are immun ne to poison n and diseaase, do not bbreathe or feeel pain, andd their undeead state givess them the equuivalent of 3 p points of arrmor. Speedd of the Dead: ccan run tirelesssly and endlessly at top speed—charaacters runningg away from them over a long rangge have a +1 level of diffficulty increease on theirr SRs to outrrun or outdisstance them m. Implaacable Tracker:: can track in nfallibly over land, acrosss rivers, and through the rrain once theyy have beenn given a targeet’s scent.
h and blloodlust, theyy incarnate. Filled with hatred are the eyyes and scoutss of the Famiine Spirit thatt controls them, t serving it to satiate its own darkk desires. Gore G Crows are excellent thieves, and d have been n known to steal s small im mportant itemss from theirr Famine Spirrit's enemies and a to spy on n their planss.
Hunger Ghouls MR: 35 +18 (Claw-likke Hands and Teeth) T Dice: 4D+ Special Abilities: A Undead Innvulnerability: arre immune to o poison and d disease, do d not breath he or feel paain, and theirr undead staate gives them m the equivalent of 3 pointss of armor. v killed by a Hungerr Undead Reeproduction: a victim Ghoul wh ho is not comp pletely devourred rises from m the dead as a a new Hungger Ghoul. Undead Peersistence: do not n lose any of their dicee until they cease to function, but do lose their addss with damaage as normal.. Descriptiion: Dependiing on how the Hungerr Ghoul dieed, its body may m look alm most alive, bee horribly sttarved, mutilaated, or, if killled directly byy the Famiine Spirit, desiccated d an nd withered. Hunger Ghouls G are creeated from thee victims of a Famine Spirit S and risee to an un-liife of eternall ravenous hunger. Theyy will eat anyy and all food d ople. A singlee they find, including aniimals and peo G will happ pily devour a whole w sack off Hunger Ghoul
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Howl of thee Damned: can utter a gutturral baying thatt strikes at and chills th he very heartt of anythingg m make a L2SR L on INT T living—alll characters must or lose haalf of their peersonal adds for that turn. Each sub bsequent turrn, they maay make an n additional L2SR on INT T to overcomee their fear. Infective Bittes: their bites can cause fevver and illnesss in their victims—for th he cost of 3 po oints of Spite,, i bite. a Charneel Dog can inflict an infected Infected characters c muust make a L22SR on CON N or lose 2 points of STR R, DEX, and INT per dayy until they can be cureed by a spell or healer, orr succeed at a L3SR on CON made once per dayy t lost pointss will return without w the aid d (none of the of magic or o at least a weeek of uninterrrupted rest).
burning will tto trail nothhing but hatredd and a mad b and bring down their prey, on nce they trackk it— throuugh rain andd snow, overr rivers, and even acrosss the mostt forbidding and inhosp pitable terraain—they desttroy it. Charn nel Dogs someetimes guardd the tombs oof ancient prieest kings, and whole packks are said too serve the ddead and deaathless witchh queen of thee marches easst of Finder's K Keep.
Gib bbet Treee Wherre rest the souls oof the hanged? MR:: 50 (for its trunk) + 20 (per body haanging from m it). Average MR: 150 Dicee: 16D+75 (T Trunk: Strangliing Ropes; Haanging Bodiies: Fists, Teetth, and Grapp ple) Speccial Abilities:: Entaangle: each em mpty noose haanging from it can reachh out and atteempt to grab or strangle a single charaacter at the ccost of 3 poin nts of Spite— —if the charaacter in questiion fails a L3SSR on DEX o or LK, his oor her adds aare cut in half until a succcessful L3SR R on STR or L LK is made. Reachh: can extendd its strangliing ropes an nd the
ogs, mastiffs, wolfhounds,, Descriptiion: Large do hyenas, an nd the like, rotting and crawling c with h vermin an nd decay, with h hate pouringg out of theirr empty eyee sockets or blind b cataractous eyes, and d their flesh h and fur dripp ping with corrruption, whilee slime and d bile foam from their fanged f maws. Charnel Dogs D are thee ultimate un ndead trackerr beasts, maade by only the most evill and corruptt Necroman ncers and Dem monologists. Filled F with TrollsZin ne!
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bodies thaat hang from its branches up to 30 feett from its main m trunk. Steely Bark k: due to its to ough nature, itt is considered d to have 8 points p of armor. Aura of Feear: the reek off decay and an n unquiet auraa surround it, i causing chaaracters and NPCs N to makee a L2SR on n INT or LK on the first combat turn— — any charaacter failing the t SR has a +1 level off difficulty increase on his or her SRs for thatt combat. nd ancient treee with a greatt Descriptiion: A huge an canopy an nd many sturdyy limbs projeccting from thee trunk. Suuspended from m these limb bs are ropess knotted into nooses, and hangingg from thesee ropes aree the bodiess of its victtims, twistingg pitifully in n the wind and d in various sttages of decay. A foul steench permeatees the surrouundings of thee Gibbet Tree, T and no othing will grow g near it. Sometimees, when a treee is used as a hangman'ss gibbet, the souls of th hose hung possess the treee and use itt to vent their fury on thee living world. When thiss happens, th he Gibbet Treee will at firstt ambush single individuuals who hap ppen too nearr oon, however,, and build up its zombiie puppets. So it will opeenly attack alll within its reach, sendingg out its un nattached Gibb bet Zombies to drag moree victims into its reach. When W attacked, the Gibbett Tree will defend itself with its stran ngling nooses,, hes will attackk and any bodies hung frrom its branch heir ropes likke monstrouss from the ends of th ombies can be distinguished d marionettees. Gibbet Zo from otheer zombies byy the nooses th hey wear, and d many have broken lolliing necks. As most Gibbett Trees are found at crosssroads, they can c become a deadly meenace in short order.
Bo one Drago ons The tterror of the anciient past rises to stalk the presennt. MR:: 125+ Dicee: 13D+63 ((Crushing Feeet, Rending C Claws, Hornns, and Razorr Teeth) Speccial Abilities:: Resisstance of the Unndead: are imm mune to poiso on and diseaase, and do noot breathe or ffeel pain. Boness of Stone: theirr bones are fo ossilized and h hard as stonee, providing 12 points of arrmor protectio on. Terroor of the Ancieent Dead: the bones of thee giant sauriian invoke teerror in anytthing smallerr than them m—all charactters must makke a L2SR on n INT or hhave a +1 levvel of difficuulty increase to all combbat SRs. Crushhing Strength: th their strength is as great as it was in liffe—any SRs on STR madde against them are conssidered to be L L4SRs. Tram mple: for the coost of 6 generrated Spite points, a singlle beast can ellect to tramplee all party mem mbers that fail a L1SR on LK or D DEX if it win ns that combbat turn—if trampled, a ccharacter takees full damaage for that tuurn without th he benefit of aarmor.
Gibbett Zombie (unattached) ( MR: 30 +15 (Fists, Teeeth, and Grap pple) Dice: 4D+ Special Abilities: A Undead Innvulnerability: arre immune to o poison and d disease, do d not breath he or feel paain, and theirr undead staate gives them m the equivalent of 3 pointss of armor. n lose any of their dicee Undead Peersistence: do not until they cease to function, but do lose their addss with damaage as normal..
Desccription: The animated bonnes of great ffossilized dino osaurs brouught back intoo a sorcerous half-life to serve theirr animators. T These giant teerrors are the work of ppowerful Necrromancers wh ho search tireelessly mens. for thhese rare and deadly specim And to end on a lighter—if no less deadly!— note …
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The Bombie B
Desccription: A zzombie wieldiing a large buurning torchh, with a hoorribly distendded abdomen n and hideoous stitches running from m the end of its sternnum to its grooin. The Bom mbie is the uundead equivvalent of the smart bomb (Zombie? Sm mart?), creatted by a proggressive Necro omancer looki king to makee the most ouut of her minio ons. You onlyy have to thhrow one at yyour players, aand they will worry abouut any torchh-carrying zo ombies they come acrosss as long as yyou are game-m mastering.
Because Neecromancers can use u gunpowder too! t MR: 20 +10 (Teeth, Talons, T or Torrch) Dice: 3D+ Special Abilities: A Undead Innvulnerability: arre immune to o poison and d disease, do d not breath he or feel paain, and theirr undead staate gives them m the equivalent of 3 pointss of armor. n lose any of their dicee Undead Peersistence: do not until they cease to function, but do lose their addss with damaage as normal.. Explosion: each Bombiie has a speecial one-timee hich destroys it); once am mid a party off attack (wh delvers, it will attempt to thrust its torch t into thee wn into its ab bdomen. If the t characterss bomb sew manage to o make a L3SSR on STR, DEX or LK,, they stop the Bombie from fr detonatin ng its payload. If they faiil, it does 10D D+10 damagee to all within n melee rangge, minus anyy armor the ch haracters mayy have (all characters c can n make a L2SR R on DEX orr LK for haalf damage).
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Foreca F st For a Biit of C Chaos By Val Kelsonn hen we heard it,” the strangger said to thee “That’s wh group gath hered around him near thee tavern’s fire,, “a tormen nted scream that sent sh hivers up ourr spines and d seemed to come c from evverywhere and d nowhere. It didn’t echo off the tun nnel walls butt set up a ch hill in the spiriit. The very howl h itself wass unholy.” The T man paussed for a sip from his mugg and drew on his pipe.
The tale-spinner hheld his pipe cradled in hiss hand as hee resumed hiis story, “We saw the flickkering light first, thoughh Mebwell, hee weren’t so lucky. Thatt thief had bbeen blunderring along th hrough everyy lock and traap, breaking o or tripping eacch one as we encounteredd it. I s’pose if ‘tweren’t forr poor luck he wouldn’t hhave had any at all. His lucck ran true and he was the first to fall to the chaos cloudds.”
d the trail mud d off my bootss and shut thee I knocked tavern do oor behind me. m Signaling the t innkeeperr for a pint, I shrugged ouut of my packk. I selected an n ble outside thee circle of listteners, set myy empty tab pack dow wn on one ch hair and pullled the otherr around so o I could listeen to the talee. I had been n tracking the t story of tunnel rippeers, or chaoss clouds as they are so ometimes kno own, for thee better parrt of the last fortnight. It would w appearr that I had finally fo ound someon ne who had d a encounter with one. The T innkeeperr survived an quietly plaaced a tankard d on my table as if reluctantt to break th he spell beingg woven in thee circle by thee fire’s lightt. I dug out a coin and passed it over,, then leaneed back in my chair to listen n to the tale.
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nd and “Theey were aboutt the size of a grown houn theree were three of them. Theeir appearancce was acco mpanied by a flickering o of dim lights and a godss-awful chim ming and rringing of metal. Mebw well, he was working on picking a locck, or breakking his tools in it more likke, when the cclouds rounnded the cornner of the tun nnel. The lead one spedd up and Mebbwell fell undder it with baarely a screeech. As the otther two advaanced on the rrest of us, I could see thhey had fancyy full helms iin the centeer of the cloouds and gho ostly, shifting faces with a pair of briightly glowingg eyes. Aroun nd the ms was the souurce of the be-damned ringi ging. A helm swirlling mass of bbroken weapon ns and other m metal
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pieces flickered and glinted in the glow of the helmet’s eyes.”
alcove towards all those flickering and spinning shards.”
I sipped at my tankard, the bitter ale about what I had come to expect from this part of the country. Oh, how I longed for a nice, fruity Trebmalian red or a smoky mezcal from the southern isles. Alas, such imported niceties didn’t make it this far into the Keltonesh'ta Mountains. The bitter ale seemed to fit as hand-in-glove with the flickering firelight and rough tables of the room. I grimaced as I took another sip to ease my dry throat and returned my attention to the man surrounded by the rapt audience.
“I leapt in with my hammer and somehow managed to knock the helm just right. The chain released Drebin and it was all I could do to dive out of the way. The cloud spun towards me as I backed up and ran into the wall. A piece of spinning steel suddenly shot out towards me. I tried to dodge,” he said fingers brushing past the slice on his face, “but I wasn’t so successful.”
The survivor, if the healing slice across his face was any indication, was pretty much how I would have expected an adventurer to appear. Rough, non-descript clothes covered his frame and scarred hands held his tankard and pipe. A quality leather belt gird his waist from which hung a worn leather scabbard housing a long dagger. The hilt of the dagger gave evidence of long use and the soft glints of dark red from the pommel suggested a jewel inlay. The boots propped up before him were of a quality similar to his belt. They were well worn and equally well taken care of. In short, a man who gave priority to the gear that would keep him breathing. Someone who let his skill, rather than his appearance, speak for him. “The other two clouds rushed us,” the man continued, “Skeg took the first hit and it sounded like a group of demented tinkers all beating out of sync on his great shield. I’d seen him take the charge of a wounded boar on that same shield with barely a grunt. This chaos cloud forced him two steps back. He once mentioned that his father was half-troll and to look upon him I didn’t doubt it; the face only a mother could love and standing head and burly shoulders above the rest of us. That day I saw the hint of fear in his eyes.” “Skeg shifted the first cloud off his shield and it continued on past to Drebin and me. Drebin tried to duck back into the alcove next to him, probably hoping that it would miss him as it bounced off Skeg’s shield and the tunnel wall. It almost did. As the cloud closed on me a length of chain suddenly whipped out from it and snagged the dwarves foot. It dragged him out of that
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“My vision wavered and I must have blacked out for a moment. When I could see again, I saw the helm lying in the tunnel dirt, a scattering of broken blades, armor and other pieces lying on the ground around it twitching. Our wizard was standing just past me casting a spell at the cloud charging him; probably the same one that had done in poor Mebwell. I’d seen him throw spellfire before and it’s an awesome sight. I’m not sure what this spell was, but when Jorgen shouted the cloud just came apart in midair and fell to bounce along the ground.” “Skeg was holding his own, trying to squash the remaining cloud into the wall with that great shield of his. The cloud must have taken offense to being caught between the troll and a hard place because the din it made as those blades raked his shield and tore chunks out of the wall would have put a group of drunken metal smiths to shame. Jorgen cast that spell of his once more and Skeg stumbled into the wall as the cloud dropped at his feet and he crushed the helm.” “Mebwell was a goner; there was nothing we could do for him. The helms and their metal pieces lay on the ground twitching up a storm as if they’d like to do nothing more than pull back together and have at us again. We didn’t stick around to see how long they’d be out of commission; we high-tailed it out of there.” The warrior took another long pull on his tankard and followed it up with his pipe. I wondered if the pipe somehow made the bitter ale taste better. It was worth looking into, all things considered. “Looking back on it,” the man continued, “scouting out the tower ruins of the wizard Efqavarna probably wasn’t the best of ideas.
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Hearing tales that he bound demons to his service is one thing; having seen it with my own eyes is something else entirely.” I nodded to myself. The very idea should have been enough to make them question their sanity. That they had survived was a minor miracle. Perhaps Jorgen was one of those holy wizards, a wizard in service to one of the gods. Either way, I had enough to write up a quick report and send it along to the Archivist’s Collegium by courier. Perhaps further investigation and maybe an interview with the other survivors would elicit further details. Time would tell. A field investigator for the Archivist’s Collegium certainly wasn’t the dull job that I had once thought it would be.
Chaos Cloud Chaos Helmet – MR 25; always found in groups of three or five. Chaos Coat – MR 80; the same as a chaos helmet but an order of magnitude larger. Sometimes found with a contingent of chaos helmets. Heaven help you if it’s a group of five. Special: 0/Scream: L0SR on CHR or frozen with fear for one turn. Target cannot take any action. 2/ Blade Ejection: The tunnel ripper is able to make a missile attack against a party member. 3/Chain Whip: L2SR on Dexterity or entangled with whip for 1D6 turns; L2SR on STR to escape. Weakness: A successful casting of Curses Foiled can interrupt the curse binding the demon to the helm for 1D3 turns. This doesn’t free the demon from the helm, but will interrupt its ability to control the helm and surrounding cloud temporarily. It’s probably not a good idea to hang around to determine just how long the spell will last. Origin: Chaos clouds, or tunnel rippers as they are sometimes known, were created by the wizard Efqavarna in a fit of pique. Efqavarna was a genius when it came to magic and his brilliance truly shown when he bent his thoughts to matters
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of security. It became a mark of prestige to boast that one had a series of Efqavarna’s wards protecting one’s property or that one of the mage’s sentinels patrolled the grounds. At times, even the mere rumor that Efqavarna may have been seen on some noble’s grounds was enough to make thieves look for easier pickings elsewhere. The mages reputation became so legendary that some adventurers tried making their name by breaking into Efqavarna’s tower itself. While none succeeded, for some bizarre reason decipherable only through the cipher of male machismo, many continued to attempt the feat. At one point, the inner and outer baileys of Efqavarna’s modest retreat were quite literally littered with the remains of failed adventurers. Removing the bodies left the mage with a small mountain of weapons and gear that he had little use for or interest in. As he stood on the balcony considering the debris inspiration struck. Efqavarna adapted and modified a spell he had used to great success in the past. The mage inscribed the name sigils of demons he knew on the inside of each ornate helm and bound the being within. Laying a geas upon the demon he bade the nefarious beings to serve and protect. The demons had little say in the matter and could only act within the confines of the geas – protect the grounds, keep and person of Efqavarna and defend against attack. They were able to create a semblance of a physical body from the debris of weapons and armor left over in order to interact with their environment and to carry out the mage’s orders. Efqavarna had created fragmented golem.
the
first
cohesive
Beyond this, not much else is known. It is suspected that Efqavarna had created some means to allow for safe passage by himself and his retainers though what that may be has never been confirmed. That the chaos clouds had survived the wizard’s death is now no longer a simple fireside story, but a matter of fact. Why it has taken the chaos clouds over two-hundred years to emerge after Efqavarna’s death is a matter open for debate, though it would seem that answer may only be available in Efqavarna’s tower.
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K-Bombs Doomsday Weapons for New Khazan By David Moskowitz The following device is to intended to be more than a simple weapon, but a major plot device for 9KW players seeking prevent/cause mass destruction on a given planet. If you just need a MacGuffin to destroy a world, just build a big enough Blow-You-To generator to teleport its core into orbit and watch the fun. Some things are better off in the low-Kremm vacuum of space. One does not think of Hellbomb Burst harpoons as contained explosive devices, but compared to their atmospheric counterparts... K-Bombs are so unpredictable, so damaging, that few of the 9,000 worlds possess them. The Imperrii, the Alliance, and even the worlds of Horde space have interplanetary agreements discouraging their use; but then, aren’t rules and contracts for those who benefit from them?
The Krestle Whizzboom Connection
A Hellbomb Burst is required to trigger the necessary Kremm-reaction, but simply casting one on properly arranged pieces of Krestle won’t work. One needs either: 1. A converted Hellbomb Burst harpoon torpedo with the Krestle inside. or 2. A detonator scroll wrapped around the bomb. When the trigger word is spoken, the scroll effectively reads itself, words glowing and vanishing at a predetermined rate, casting the spell. (Note: a detonator scroll without a Kbomb will eradicate anything within a 1 meter radius, but have no other effect.)
Kaboom
The K-Bomb must contain exactly two Krestle crystals, coupled with a special detonator (see below). Additional crystals generate no additional yield; in fact they reduce potency by a factor of 10. The base unit of K-Bomb potency is the Whizzboom (WB). The number of WB’s is the geometric mean of the charges of contained in each of the two Krestle pieces (i.e. the square root of the product of the WIZ charge of each Krestle). Any combination of Krestle may be used, but a WB total of at least 500 is necessary for a proper reaction, otherwise it’s a dud. (Game Masters are encouraged to take advantage of potential uncertainty about the Krestle quality. Few things are as entertaining as watching players ask each other, “Do you think we’re far enough away?”)
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The Detonator
Detonating a K-Bomb produces a K-Pulse. To determine the blast effect of the K-Pulse, roll WB/100 D6. Calculate the total and then remove any die whose value is unique. Re-roll the remaining dice and repeat the procedure until you have a roll with all unique values; this is the Final Total (FT).
K-Pulse Damage and Speed Unlike traditional explosions (i.e. gunpowder, nuclear bombs, Hellbomb Bursts) the K-Pulse begins slow and gains speed as it spreads. Your FT will have the following effect on those caught in the blast:
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Distancee
Effecct
Ground zero to (Final Total) x11 km x2–x3 km m
Everything is evapo orated.
x3–x5 km m x6–x8 km m x10+ km m
1D6 spell-ship level damage (i.e. 1,0000-6,000 CON)) 1D6X X100 CON damaage 1D6X X10 CON damaage No damage. d Kpulsee fades to ineffe fectiveness.
2: Iteem explodes, doing 1D6 x 10 normal daamage to annyone within a 1 m radiuus. All magic items withiin that radius turn to dust.
Blast Speed 25 km/hour
3: Iteem turns to duust.
100 km/hour
4-5: Item loses m magical properrties and cann not be rechaarged but maiintains its phyysical propertiees.
225 km/hour 3600 km/hour
6-8: A As above, butt can be rechaarged. 9-10 : No effect. 11: D Doubles numbber of chargess or, if perman nently ensoorcelled, doublles one aspectt (GM adjudiccates) 12: A As above, but the effect is trripled.
Total Annihilation A n If your FT T > WB, then n the Kremm--reaction doess not stop, vaporizing v the surface of the t planet and d its atmosp phere.
The K--Pulse and Magical Items Any maggical item (in ncluding Kreemm-powered d weapons and a Krestle) within w range of the K-Pulsee may be afffected. Roll 2D6: 2
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Final notes As ddangerous as K-Bomb mayy be to whatt little galacctic stability tthere is, who oever develop ps and masss-produces sppell-ship and h hand-help weeapons mim micking the K-Pulse willl be both prime canddidates to rulee the 9K worrlds or, more likely, face total annihilattion.
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The T Village V e of W Wyrmsd dale By E.P. E Donahuue There’s a loong trail ahead for f the party andd a great deal off space on thhe map between here and theree. Looks like I should put in a town or viillage or somethhing so the partyy m sense thatt can rest annd restock. Afteer all, it only makes there wouldd be some inhabittants between heere and there. Soo i one of my vanilla towns with a tavern, a I guess I’ll include store and a smith… Not so fast! Let me inttroduce you to Wyrmsdale. Admittedlly, it’s a town with a tavern,, a store and a smith, butt as everyonee knows, it’s not the town n that makees the visit sp pecial, it’s the characters in n the town n and Wyrm msdale’s inhab bitants are a motley buunch for sure. d Wyrmsdale for f use as part of my Greatt I designed Sump cam mpaign, but yo ou can use it anywhere a thatt suits your gaming needss. It includes elements e from m Bear Peteer’s The Cataacombs of th he Bear Cult,, available from f Flying Buffalo B Inc., if you wish to o use these elements uncchanged and don’t alreadyy own it.
The entrance is a gateway made of din nosaur nging down iin the bonees, with a T--rex skull han centeer. Painted onn the skull is “Wyrmsdale.” The placee screams touurist trap…butt there are no other touriists. mediately welcome One of the loccals will imm n the directio on of charaacters and ppoint them in Snicck’ss Lick’s G General Store: “Wander aall you like— —and check oout the ball off cat fur. But if you wantt to do any bbusiness, youu got to see M Mayor Snickk’ss first—it’’s just the w way we do things aroun und here.” If players attem mpt to enter aany of the eestablishments besides the general storee, they will bbe instructed tthat all comm merce must firsst take placee at Snick’ss L Lick’s.
Snnick’ss Lickk’s Generral Store This store’s atmoosphere suggeests an indoo or flea markket. On the counter sits an assortmeent of spoools of various ccolored paperr tickets. On th he
Backgrround b the hills, h forest, and grasslandss Nestled between along the Great Road from Khosh ht, Wyrmsdalee relies on visiting travelers for its economy. Thee a does a brisk b businesss town offeers lodging and selling muules and oth her supplies. Miles beforee players reeach Wyrmsdale, they willl start to seee placards nailed n to treees, fastened against largee boulders, or posted alo ong the trail with w messagess such as: “Don’t misss it!…It’s just ahead!...Wyrm a msdale!”
“If you can n’t find it in Wy yrmsdale, you can’t find it!” “Everyone’s talking abo out Wyrmsdale e!”
t ask us abou ut our magic ma arbles!” “Be sure to “Wyrmsda ale…It’s an advventurers delig ght!”
“World’s la argest ball of cat c fur—Amazzing!” “You won’’t believe it unttil you see it!”
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wall behin nd the counterr, amongst displays of otherr goods, aree two differenttly embroidereed shirts. Onee says, I travveled 50 miles to t Wyrmsdale annd all I got wass this lousy shhirt and the otther says, I losst my marbles inn Wyrmsdale.. Both have World’s W Largest Ball of Cat Furr on the bacck. The prop prietor and village found der, Snickettii Spilunketyy Wonktuzitt, is a haalf-Uruk/half-Leprechauun who most simply call Mayor M Snick’ss. He is a cllassic flim-flam m man, who benefits from m the better qualities of both b his paren nts’ kindred. A smooth taalker, Snick’ss is looking forr his long lostt love—gold d, and Wyrmssdale is his lasst ditch effortt to find so ome (this has something to o do with hiss unique parentage—wh p hich he’s understandablyy touchy ab bout—and an nyone trying to t strong-arm m or cheat him h will discovver his mean streak).
townnsfolk are worrking off ever--increasing deebts to Snickk’ss. Rather tthan wash disshes in the tavern, dig new latrines, etc., characcters will havve the of the optioon of taking oon a branch of The Cult o Greaat Bear whicch harasses ttravelers alon ng the Greaat Road, innterfering w with businesss at Wyrm msdale—the vvillage being a target due tto the cultss belief that tthe town asssists those wo orking againnst their polittical agenda. Snick’ss will offer eachh of the characcters one weekk’s room and board (econnomy of courrse) in exchan nge for a deadd Bear Cult member. Thhe town is no ot interested iin live prisooners, but chaaracters are frree to then takke the cult members’ bodies to Kh harzan for th he full bounnty.
nick’ss will inform characcters that alll Mayor Sn commercee in the villagge is to take place p through h him becauuse the villagge is a co-op p. They mustt purchase colored c tickets which they can c redeem att the variouus shops and businesses. If I the playerss attempt diirect trade at the t various sh hops, they willl be pointed d to the general store to purrchase a tickett (the excep ption being ch hance positive encounters att the tavern n with some off the locals). p in n Most thiings which can be purchased Wyrmsdalle exist only in package deals. Playerss cannot sim mply buy 50’ of rope, but rather mustt purchase the “Ropetyy Dope Speccial” (detailed d below) forr which they will receive a yellow tickett that says,, “Ropety Dope,” D redeem mable at thee weaver’s shop. s Just abo out any mund dane item can n be found in Wyrmsdalee and GM’s arre encouraged d t own pacckage deals— —with the totall to create their cost beingg at least 50% % more than the calculated d sum of itts parts. Add ditionally, speecial items orr repairs can n often be had d for a (well ab bove-average)) price. ng characterss will soon discover iss One thin Snick’ss’ talent for saless. Every time they enter thee c wh ho don’t buy something, in n store, all characters addition to t lodging, are subject to o the mayor’ss salesmanship. Snick’ss will w secure a sale by makingg h a CHR (his is 28) Saving Roll against each mum roll of five required,, character’ss IQ, (minim DARO ap pplies). Thosee short on money m will bee invited to o earn their keep—at leeast half thee TrollsZin ne!
1 hexx = 50’
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GM’s may choose to use the full module, The Catacomb of the Bear Cult or simply throw a small group of cultists into the hills. The average cultist is a Level 1 Warrior, ST 12, IQ 11, LK 12, CON 11, DEX 13, SPD 12, CHR 5 who is armed with a francisca axe (3+2, can be thrown) and a javelin. All cultists can turn into were-bears: ST 42, IQ 6, LK 12, CON 55, DEX 7, SPD, 20, CHR 15 (5D+10 for jaw and claws). Common items for sale at Snick’s Lick’s: Lodging (per night, per person): • Deluxe Stay: A room complete with plush goose down bedding and a scenic view (i.e., not of the stables), one hot bath, one tavern pass, one hot meal, and laundry service. 20 GP • Economy Stay: Windowless room with a straw pallet, one cold meal of biscuit, cheese and homemade jam (no bath, laundry, or tavern pass). 10 GP • Sub-Economy Stay: Stable (no meals or tavern pass). 3 GP (+1 GP for clean hay, fresh water in the trough). • Animal Boarding: Stable. 3 GP
World’s Largest Ball of Cat Fur Snick’ss will do anything for money, but even he knows not to charge admission to see the twofoot diameter sphere of lint, fur, and dust held together by—it’s best not to ask. Characters who inquire or seem aware enough to ask (no Saving Roll needed) will notice there are no cats in Wyrmsdale either. (GM’s should encourage speculation regarding Bear Cultists or the nondescript stew served in the tavern.)
Food, drink, and entertainment: • Tavern Pass: 1 drink and entertainment. 3 GP • Meal ticket: 1 hot meal—available only when there’s no performance. Otherwise characters must purchase a tavern pass. 1 GP • Drink ticket: 5 SP (well drinks) or 50 SP (top shelf) Pack Animals: • Grade A Mule (will carry up to 300 lbs.). 100 GP • Grade B Mule (will only carry half loads). 60 GP • Pack goats (will carry up to 50 lbs.). 25 GP Adventuring goods: • Mobile Tavern Kit: Pair of wooden water jugs (each holds 10 gallons) and mule harness. 100 GP • Tourist Shirts: 8 SP • Adventurers Kit: Backpack, 3 torches, 10 pitons, piton hammer, leather gloves, 25’ rope. 90 GP • Travelers Kit: Belt pouch, lantern, skin of oil, compass, rain coat, 3 days rations, cloth sack. 155 GP • Delvers Kit: Mirror, stick of wax, matches, chalk, salt, twine. 30 GP
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• Ropety Dope Special: 50 ft. hemp rope, leather gloves, cloth sack. 12 GP • Deluxe Handyman Special: Shovel, pick, hammer, two dozen nails, roll of wire. 80 GP • Fasten-It-Fast Fun Pack: Special alchemist items: small jar glue, 15’ sticky tape, roll of wire, ball of twine. 50 GP • Bag of Magic Marbles: Small leather pouch with six assorted marbles. (See the alchemist shop for details). 30 GP • Bucket of Beans On The Go: Wooden bucket filled with enough dried beans to feed one person for one week. 20 GP • The Whole Mess: One cauldron, one boiler, one skillet, two cups, steel fork and spoon. 35 GP • Medicine Chest Special—buy three get one free: All poisons and potions in rulebook as well as concoctions from GM’s campaign, still at 150% above normal cost.
Mother’s
Comfort
Inn
and
The Faithful Flock’s Tavern The brother and sister Hobb partnership of Priscilla and Stewart Topbuttons jointly operate these properties noteworthy in Wyrmsdale for their good Hobb craftsmanship and tidiness. All the woodwork is well oiled and polished as Hobbs like things neat and orderly, and the tavern employs two ogres, Tudd and Gruu (MR 50 each), to ensure they stay that way. These two are the best dressed ogres characters will ever see, with their well-tailored jackets atop ruffled collared shirts and clean, form-fitting slacks held up with a large leather belt (Stewart insists upon this for all of his employees). Buckles, buttons, and boots are polished, highlighting the craftsmanship of the
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village blacksmith and tailor. Tudd and Gruu reside in one of the small huts near the Tavern. Priscilla sometimes plays the harp and sings in the tavern. She may choose to tell players how she and Stewart came to Wyrmsdale after members of the Bear Cult ransacked and burned the Hobb hamlet where they grew up. Its location is not far from Wyrmsdale and she longs to recover her mother’s brooch which was lost as they fled. Those who did not scatter or die in the fighting were led away by the cult members, never to return. Stewart is the barkeep at The Faithful Flock’s Tavern. He might disclose some local gossip about the village and surrounding areas. But if any character crosses him, Stewart will spit in his or her drink—purposefully within his or her sight— before serving it. All hot meals are served at the tavern and generally consist of meat, potatoes, cabbage, or a stew which resembles the previous day’s ala carte entrees, heavily seasoned. The drink options are mead, wine, and liquors with names like Dragon’s Breath Brew, Stalwarts’ Sumptuous Syrup, and Libations of Merry Men. The tavern is the hub of the village and one or more of the locals might be encountered there during the nightly entertainment. Stewart permits no gambling in the tavern. Those who insist will find themselves escorted by the ogres to the general store. There, Mayor Snick’ss is glad to offer players a game of dice or cards— and of course, he cheats. In the dice game, victory goes to the high roll on 2D6; to simulate the mayor’s cheating, players must beat Snick’s roll by 3. So, if the GM rolls a 4, they must roll a 7 to win and have no chance against Snick’ss rolling 10, 11 or 12. In the card game, high card wins the hand and the winner of two out of three hands wins the game. Before the game session, the GM should remove all aces, jacks, queens, and kings from the deck, shuffle the deck without the removed cards, and then place 3-6 high cards on the bottom of the deck. Players pick from the top of the deck, the GM from the bottom. (It may help GM’s to draw the first or second round from the top to ease players’ suspicions). If the players notice what’s happening and object, the GM can role play the resolution. Of course, no matter what happens in the games, Snick’ss will try to sell TrollsZine!
players something before they leave the store (CHR SR vs. IQ).
Longshoreman’s Stables An ex-pirate by the name Saul Scumtuff manages the stables, which provide delvers a place to board their horses and buy additional livestock—all sales going through Snick’ss Lick’s. Scumtuff’s real pirate name is Rancid Pete and Mayor Snick’ss is the only one who knows who he is and that he ensconced from Captain Doublesticks Dustbin’s ship one night while anchored off the coast. Scumtuff may know the whereabouts of some buried treasure, but the info will cost plenty, matey. Generally, he’s content and happy with his new life at Wyrmsdale with no interest in his previous career. He does love his Red-Eyed Devil Rum though, and if players get on his good side he’ll offer to redeem a Grade B mule ticket for a Grade A mule.
The Owl’s Cove Alchemist Shop An old white-haired and grey-bearded twig of a man, Razfornia Frapsburg, is the mastermind behind some of the products only found in Wyrmsdale. It is not unusual for small explosions to be heard coming from his shop or for colored smoke to pour out of the windows, so the locals pay no mind. Frapsburg’s gambling habit and resultant debt keep him tied to Wyrmsdale—he is also the reason there is no gambling at the tavern. Mayor Snick’ss makes sure to offer him a game of dice every once in a while to insure Frapsburg’s continued contributions to the co-op. If players catch Frapsburg at the tavern, he may offer some item at a price that undercuts Snick’ss prices. He dreams that enough of these under-the-table deals will allow him to pay off his debt and leave Wyrmsdale once and for all—but for this gamesof-chance addict, these hopes are delusional. Players can find all sorts of elixirs, poisons, salves, and concoctions at this shop, as well as Frapsburg’s specialty, Magic Marbles. These come in an assortment of colors and have limited effects when tossed against a hard surface (small flash explosion, colored smoke, oily puddles, loud whistling sound, growing pool of bubbles, etc.).
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Wheneverr they purchasse a bag, Frap psburg will bee sure to say, “Now makke sure you do on’t lose yourr marbles!” guffawing at his h own joke.
The Two T Stron ng Forge
Hirred Hands Therre are two hirred hands, Maary and Orian n, who help out with choores around th he village. Forr their n one of the small workk, they receivve lodging in hom mes on the outsskirts of the vvillage.
The Forgge is run by a Dwarf nam med Gunthar. He’s a goo od ol’ boy witth a greasy blaack mane tied d back in a ponytail and toothy grin that reveals a o missing teeeth (he’ll be quick to telll number of players no ot to seek den ntal work at the alchemistt shop). Guunthar wears a leather apron n over canvass overalls an nd is handy at a all metal crraft, from thee construction of shields to the makin ng of pots and d ponsible for building thee pans. He is also resp ooden water jugs (with seals and treated d special wo interiors of o a quality th hat makes them m suitable forr a wide range r of beeverages) forr the mules. Occasionaally, Guntharr will show his skills att juggling axxes at the taveern.
Oriaan is often in tthe fields or heelping at the SStable. He iss secretly a sppy for the Cullt of the Great Bear and a were-bearr. Because o of this, it w will be impoossible for plaayers to surprisse the cult.
Wrinkle e In Time e Tailor and Fine e
Auuthor’s Affterward
Fabricss w Vesper Tasmodian is a thin and somber fellow pearean prose with “thee’s”” that speakks in a Shakesp and “thouu’s”. He considers himself an artist and d what he does for thee co-op beneeath his truee n potential. Often he’ll be found att the Tavern h beer, lameenting lost op pportunity. Hee crying in his is also a hack h poet wh ho will perform m regularly att the tavern n. “Roses are blue, b tiz true… ….”
Greyha ands Leatther Good ds
Maryy will usuallyy be busy att the inn cleeaning, makiing beds, andd doing laundrry. Players wh ho get to knnow her betteer will discoveer that beneatth her sweeet exterior shee is quite the p prankster. Theey may find itching pow wder in their freshly laun ndered orning clothhes or laxatiives added to their mo meall…and the pprivy pad locked at the most inop portune time.. All in good ffun.
You may have nooticed I didn’t include manyy stats That’s to allow w you for tthe NPC’s in Wyrmsdale. T to cuustomize thesse individuals as you see ffit for yourr game. I wouuld suggest th hat Mayor Sn nick’ss woulld have higherr CON, IQ, aand DEX than n your run-oof-the mill Roogue, if you ddecide to detaiil him. Finallly, Wyrmsdal ale is meant tto offer a diffferent envirronment for tthe PC’s to in nteract with. M Maybe it coould be a basee of operatio ons for the PC C’s or you could use itt as a springg board for other ou do, adveentures. Most importantly, whatever yo havee fun with it… ……..oh, and m make sure youu don’t lose your marbles..
Justin Greeyhands loves his work to the t point thatt it is all he h knows to talk about (and ( he’s too o egocentricc to care how it bores otherrs). His hair iss a reedy bllond and his face always seems to havee two days’ worth of scruuffy whiskers. He’s wiry and d jerky in beehavior, as weell as a fast taalker, but veryy skilled at his h leather craaft. There will be all mannerr of dead critter hidees in variouus states off preparatio on in his sh hop (GM’s option o as to o whether or o not to in nclude the afo forementioned d missing caats). Like Wyyrmsdale’s oth her craftsmen,, he’s quitee knowledgeab ble about hiss field, and iss willing to o spend hourrs talking off each hides’ virtues. TrollsZin ne!
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All the Classes in T&T Characterization as Class in T&T By Douglas Toth I hope this article will inspire veteran and new players alike to expand their role-playing horizons. This article is based on the Tunnels & Trolls 5th edition which does not include lists of skills or talents. Many house rule skill sets have been developed and they will, of course, add to the characterization should you choose to use them; but the point of this article is that they are not really necessary. Back in the early days of role playing games (RPGs) we were unfettered by pages of skill lists, attributes, and reference charts. That is not to say that they did not exist, but rather we chose to ignore them when it was inconvenient. Indeed, only the dreaded Rules Lawyer (called a ‘pest’ in those days, or perhaps a ‘kill joy’ or not called at all) was the only one willing to pour over the many pages of a game publication looking for perceived advantages and other useless information. In this developing hobby, Tunnels & Trolls (T&T) dared defy conventional wisdom and stuck to its pure format. By liberal interpretation of the Save Roll (SR) rules our characters were truly role played. Even when playing in a different system we used a simple dice mechanic and the character’s attributes to overcome the evil machinations of our game master (GM). The designers of T&T did not make a huge deal out of this system, but then, it was as new as the hobby itself. They may not have immediately realized the versatility of the elegant game mechanic they had hit upon. Dungeon running was the main focus of most games and that did not require a lot of different skills. Hiding, thwarting traps, and the occasional climbing challenge were the staples of such forays. In other rule sets, these were the duty of various ‘specialty classes.’ Without such a character to do the job at hand, the players were stumped and the GM had to avoid introducing such challenges. Currently this ‘class equals role’ mentality has been
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exacerbated by on-line gaming. Not one on these massive multiplayer online games (MMOs) can consider tackling the bigger challenges without a balance of ‘tank’, ‘healer,’ and ‘DpS’ (Damage per Second). This is all well and good if your goal is to make sure you have a large customer base and everyone has a part to play in the game. No one gets left out and everyone can contribute. For many, however, table top role playing is a more intimate affair. Gaming with groups of two or three players, including the GM, is common and this can leave gaps in the specialties needed to overcome challenges that are common in many scenarios. Multi-tasking is vital and T&T permits, even encourages, this sort of character development. Ironically T&T, lacking these arrays of nuanced classes, is sometimes passed over by those gamers wanting a more ‘in depth role playing experience’. My observation is, ‘what can be more in depth than making the character you rolled up become just the sort of character you want it to be?’ Let me show you how.
Rangers The ranger has been a staple of the fantasy RPG from its early stages. In T&T we have opportunities to make the ranger not only a truly unique class, but each ranger will be a unique individual. You will need a superior Dexterity at the least, but it is worth the effort. The Barbarian: The average Warrior is a stalwart and true individual. By simply playing this character as a tribal huntsman and athletic protector, eschewing the dubious comforts of the civilized world, you will make the character much more of an individual. Barbarians don’t go in much for armor and prefer big weapons, usually swords and axes, but these things are typical of
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&T is has to throw at you. The advvantage of T& that, while limitedd as to choice of weaponss, it is he rule not aas nearly restrrictive as otheer systems. Th is w weapons of 2 dice or less, which includdes at least one ranged weapon andd may (if thee GM ws) permit youu to dual wielld. Add to thiis that allow you have no arm mor restriction ns and you are well suiteed to live in thhe wild places of the world. The Range Guiide: Warrior//Wizards can make best use of all theeir abilities to o excel as pow werful wildeerness specialilists. They willl be rare, but those few will have thhe best choiice of magicc and wilderness. Th he use weappons to tacklee the howling w of b ow and arrow w enhanced b by their own spells best of makees them formiidable opponeents and the b alliess…or worst of enemies. b many gameers. The gamerr many Warrriors played by that wantss to set their character ap part will avoid d being takken in by suuch modern concepts ass literacy, mathematics, m nd toleratingg frugality, an those high h-toned city folk. f In their own elementt they will use Saving Rolls to tracck and hunt. Making a shelter and seetting snares arre going to bee n methods of survival. If yo ou have a high h their main Dexterity you will certainly waant to use,, appropriattely enough, ranged weapon ns. The Scou ut: If your chaaracter is a Ro ogue, then youu are in a unique position n to take full advantage off the great outdoors. o Youur high Luck will help youu find pathss and track an nimals and foees quite easily. You may not have a lott of spells, buut the few youu do learn will be of the greatestt use in thee ay, Yassa Masssa, Hidey Hole,, wildernesss; Oh Go Away and Littlee Feets will considerably increase thee chances of o survival forr you and youur friends. Off course, likke any outdoorsman, you will w want to gett clear of an ny city or tow wn as soon as you can. Thee open vistaa is where yo ou will want to t be, bow in n hand and sky overhead.. The Sham man: A Wizarrd can throw off o the veil off civilization n and return to the wilderneess as well. Byy learning spells s that havve the greateest use in thee wildernesss and ‘going native,’ n your character willl be looked d to as the reggions protecto or and savant. You will need to makke some cho oices when itt comes to attribute increases when you level up;; onstitution willl be needed higher Deexterity and Co early on iff you are to suurvive what Mother Nature
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Thhieves Mostt characters ffall into somee category off thief sincee they all tendd to plunder an nd rob, if onlyy from tombbs and ruins.. By playing up those acttivities that you equate w with thief, andd making surre you havee a high Luckk, you can devvelop an interresting charaacter like no oother. Burg glars: Warrioors that takee to thievin ng are someetimes an unsavory sort; they lack subtletty and simpply waylay lonee travelers in the dark. Theere are thosee that take a ddifferent path and turn thefft into high art. This takes some work at stealth, climbbing, and hidiing though so building yourr Luck and Dexterity is iimportant. It iis not an easyy path to taake your charaacter on, but tthe adventure is the thingg and there wiill be plenty off that! undrel: Typiccally the Roguee is cast in thiis role. Scou Seenn as dishonoraable but someetimes lovablee, they are ooften the comppanion of a heroic warrior. Their few spells will be useful in breeaking and en ntering well as making fast getaways. This is exacttly the as we sort of thing that the Wizard’s Guild hates tto see. Som me Scoundrelss turn their talents againsst the ocal honor, buut they corruupt rulers andd gain some lo are sstill crooks annd will need to use all off their guilee to keep from being caaught. Using what Intellligence they have to seet traps and plan ambuushes takes upp much of theeir time.
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why not bring theem along on yyour next delvve. Be sure to bring a higgh Charisma aas well. Skalld: The Warrrior as poet iss more than just a storyy teller; if theyy are truly skillled and have a high Charrisma they can gain entrance to many excluusive parties. B By using the SSaving Roll syystem, a GM M could allow w them to usse song to so taunt enem mies and encoourage friends so as to swin ng the tide of battle by lending their CHA adds tto the combbat rolls. The Skald’s voicee is the tool off their tradee, so an instrrument is no ot required; b but of courrse this meanss that the charracter must b be able to sinng freely.
ns: Wizards turned bad will w use theirr Charlatan powers to dupe and tricck the innocen nt out of theirr ned fortunes. Such an unssavory sort iss hard earn hard to sp pot; they don’’t go in for po ointy hats and d star embrroidered rob bes, the plain n clothes off tradesmen n or the middle class is their t disguise. They can be dangerouss foes and byy the time thee Guild decides they havee misused theeir power theyy nd Scoundrelss may have a strong circlle of Thugs an hem. Concenttrating on traaps and then n around th finding waays to enchant them makess a Charlatan’ss stronghold d difficult to penetrate. p /Wizards can n use theirr Infiltratorrs: Warrior/ abilities to t gain acceess to manyy places and d underminee organization ns. The Wizarrds Guild hass its own loyyal enforcers known as the Adjudicators. Many kinggdoms, and political p factio ons as well ass powerful guilds will em mploy Infiltraators to steall plans, assaassinate opponents, and peerform acts off sabotage. Your spellss will be th he type thatt y stealth an nd infiltration n abilities. enhances your
Bards The singin ng skald, lyriccist, and traveling minstrell are all paart of the cuultures that make m up thee historical basis of our worlds of heroic h fantasy;; TrollsZin ne!
nstrel: Roguess can use theirr Luck and spells to Min enchhant and entraance princes aand paupers. Some will ttry to dupe thheir audience iinto giving up p their hardd earned monney. Seducingg a noble to o gain of the castle is not accesss to the resttricted parts o unheeard of, but thhey will alwayss want to be ttrue to theirr small group of delving ffriends. The uuse of musiical instrumennts is importan nt, as are brigh ht and eye-ccatching clothhes. Won nder Workerr: The Wizardd’s Guild maay see ‘Couurt Magician’ as a poor uuse of hard eearned skillss, but entertainning the chossen few of thee High Courrt is just a side line. The comfo ortable cham mbers and gennerous stipendd are all part of the contr tract. This alloows the Wondder Worker an nd his delviing troop a ssafe place to recuperate an nd the richeest delvers aree well known to the Royal family and ttheir court. urtier: A Warrrior/Wizard ccan earn a plaace of Cou high regard by sspending time developingg their courrtly manners. They are ablee to talk and laugh his way learn m much, with the elite classses and in th o be secret. H Having evenn things that are meant to accesss to powerfuul spells is also o of benefit, b but the Courrtier prefers subtlety; they do have their repuutation to thinkk of after all.
Heealers The most missedd character tyype in T&T aand it needd not be so. U Using the Savving Roll system a cleveer player, wisee GM, and hiigh Intelligencce can fill tthe apparent gap in man ny ways and avoid prem mature charactter deaths.
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Leech: Warriors W know a lot about wo ounds, havingg given and received man ny of them. They T will need d to build their t Intelligen nce and perh haps Dexterityy to be effective. Being in n the front lin nes they often n need servvices of a heaaler, but theyy are also thee most likelyy to survive; so s it just makees good sensee to develop p an ability to o patch up th hemselves and d their friends. Equip youurself with ban ndages, salves,, nd thread. needles, an Healers: Rogues can be very effectivve in this role. A carefullyy chosen set of o spells as weell as superiorr Luck and Intelligence will make theem invaluablee n to a party of danger-seeeking delvers. If you add in u herbs forr constant attempts to locate and use m sought after ally. remedies, you will be a much on: Wizards will w want to fo ocus on thosee Chirugeo spells thatt heal and cure; Poor Baby, Healing H Feeling, g, and Too Baad Toxin are definitely d requiired. It is also wise to puut effort into herbal remed dies and otherr practical skills. s Stitchin ng up wound ds and settingg broken bo ones is essentiial if you wan nt your patientt to heal pro operly. W rds that focuus on aid to o Cleric: Warrior/Wizar others aree seen as warrrior priests. They T can enterr the battleffield and bringg the injured back b from thee brink of death. d Like alll healers theyy will want to o understand anatomy and herbal rem medies to bee truly effecctive.
Attribu utes as Skkills G to think off It may be helpful to thee player and GM d the characcters attributess as generic skkill blocks and potential for f success ratther than solid d indicators off mental an nd physical lim mits. For insstance, a high h Strength clearly indicaates the charaacter is moree adept at feats f of physsical prowess while a high h Charisma will indicate a character thaat can talk hiss a out of mo ost anything. The T attributes way into and of Strengtth (STR) and d Dexterity (D DEX) are, off course, two t types of o physical skills whilee Intelligencce (INT) and Charisma (CHR) are solid d mental acuity and the more wily usse of intellect,, respectively. Luck (LK)) is the catch all for thingss not be prepaared for, surrprise attacks,, that cann sprung traaps, and birthd day parties. Co onstitution
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N) does not really indicatte that you ccan be (CON piercced through w with arrows an nd sliced repeaatedly; it insstead lets you know how m much pain and stress you can withstandd before you simply drop from much abuse as well as ressisting the sshock of so m poisoons and diseasse. The values from 3 to 20 wouuld indicate ab bilities withiin the norm; the low end iis the minimuum for a funnctioning hum man being w while the high h end repreesents superioor ability. At 21 to 30 we enter the realm of O Olympian ath hletes and ggenius intelllectuals; 31 too 40 is the sttuff of legendds and valuees above thaat are surely only mythicaal. Of courrse, the charaacters will be expected to meet bilities. challlenges worthyy of their capab
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The Combat C Sy ystem The defauult combat syystem in T&T T works bestt when thee players an nd opponentss are evenlyy matched or o the characcters have thee upper hand. Most conflicts will starrt using this system s and, iff o lucky, then n the characcters are morre powerful or the combat will end quuickly using those t rules. Itt me apparent after a a few rollls of the dicee will becom which wayy things are going. g When itt appears thatt things maay go poorly for f the characcters, then thee players wiill need to use their charaacter’s speciall abilities. The T fight wiill then be able to shiftt seamlesslyy into use of the SR system m as attemptss are made to regain th he superior position or, att least, run like mad to get g away. It iss well to notee d that the SR system willl likely replacee the standard t add a layyer to it. Thee combat syystem rather than stunt, featt, or other wild move that the characterr did is inteended to put the t bad guy taargeted out off commissio on, temporarilly or permaneently, then and d there. No stacking die rolls or gainin ng a bonus to o oll; BAM the hero makes th he SR and thee the next ro knife goess into the villlains eye sockket or it doess not and th he hero takes a kick in the nether region n putting him h out if co ommission fo or a turn...orr longer.
Reward ds fu of the gam me and playingg For many players, the fun h to develop itt is enough to o a characteer as they wish keep them m coming backk. But they an nd others mayy have som me reasonablle expectation that theirr efforts willl give them an a advantage of some sort. Adventuree Point bonuses are the most m common n method of o letting thee players kno ow that theirr efforts arre appreciated d. The sort of characterr development that makees the game more
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interresting and fuun for everyon ne should ressult in the pplayer’s charaacter being a cut above thee rest. The Barbarian thaat shuns armo or and chargees into battl e, a Ranger tthat makes itt a point to aalways ng the campsiite for checck the territorry surroundin gamee and presennce of dangerrous creaturess, and the Healer that meticulously keeps their herb packks full can bee given 100 to 500 (or more) poinnts as a bonuus whenever eexperience reewards are ggiven. Anotther perk that can be ap pplied is the level bonuus. If the playyer can eluciddate as to wh hy the thingg their characcter is doing is just the so ort of deedd that makes thhem what theey are, then th he GM can allow them to apply th he characters level mber as a bonnus to the diice roll for SSaving num Rollss. The Assassiin can easily eexplain that hee has a betteer chance to hhit a vital spo ot on an enem my, so an oppportunity for an instant kkill is appropriiate. A Burgglar can indicaate that they kknow where p people thinkk it is safe to stash valluables, so p picking pockkets is a breeeze for them m. Surely a K Knight Errannt has skill onn horseback ((or whatever m mount is coommon in thee world), so stunts and co ombat whilee riding are going to be to his advaantage. Thesse sorts of player/GM interactionss and explaanations are called ‘role playing’ andd they makee the game come alive much betterr than recitiing a list of skkills and bonuses. me players maay take time to adjust; to o help Som m along have them write ddown as manyy skills them as thhey like that w would define ttheir characterr. You will nneed to reminnd them from m time to tim me that they are not bounnd by that list; if Rambalam m the nd pick up a ttrail to Magiical Minstrel nneeds to try an rescuue his friendss he can try. Thoog the M Mighty can ttry and chat iit up with thee local nobilityy if he thinkks it will do soome good, buut be ready to apply somee amusing resuults for failuree.
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Real Role R Playing a no new ch haracter typess As you caan see, there are that I reecommended adding to the t game orr ponderouss new mechanics; what yo ou must do iss break from the stiflin ng mind set of skills and d A yourselff to use your imagination n classes. Allow and play the t role you envision e for yo our character;; the GM will w make heaavy use of the Saving Rolll system, buut that is its purpose. p If th he players aree still tryingg to wrap theiir head around d the conceptt (or unwrrap it from the standard d way RPG G characters have come to o be representted) perhaps a couple liteerary source will w help them. The Engliish hero Rob bin Hood wass a bandit, orr was he? He H is depicteed as a noblee man turned d rebel, a common man m fighting the corruptt h government, and a foreest savvy hunttsman. Which is it? In T&T T terms, th he player coulld choose onee but not be b limited by that choice; Saving Rollss would be flying furioussly as Loxley did whateverr t save Maid Marian. M He wo ould be on hiss he could to strongest ground if hee stuck within n the player’ss ou have to do o character concept but, dash it all; yo n to win th he day. what you need Bilbo Bagggins was no burglar; he was w a middlee class man n living a comfortable c life. l He wass pressed in nto an expeditiion by a wily wizard w and, in n
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ordeer to save facee in front of th he dwarfish ro oyalty, he hhad to force hhimself into the role of ‘eexpert treassure hunter’. I doubt he w was chosen fo for his crimi minal proclivitties, but hee developed them becaause he neededd to and it wass expected of him. ot move to gaain an Did Conan calcullate a five foo onents attacck of opportuunity and avvoid his oppo counnter strike so hhe could use h his ‘super chop p’ feat (leveel five only)? N No, he made a heroic assauult into the ooverwhelmingg odds by Crrom! Lackeyss were throw wn aside, guarrds attemptedd to thwart him m, and the vvillain’s only hhope was to figght or flee! You will have too make somee choices that give yourr character a pperceived disaddvantage, but this is whatt makes those characters (and their pllayers) speciial. Perhaps you will be building your Charrisma when oother players o of a similar tyype of charaacter would bbe min/maxin ng so they can n brag abouut their high nnumbers and ddice totals. Yo ou, on the oother hand, w will be develop ping a characteer that has aamazing storiies to tell. Yo our feats of ddaring and improbable eescapades willl be confirm med by GM because thhis is why theey run a game. the G ore my Withh this in mindd, you can feeel free to igno choicces of title annd characterizaation. They arre just labells and you cann have your ch haracter take o on any of thhem that they desire; even aadding new ones as they travel the widde world. Simp ply put, if youu want yourr character tto be a Buurglar then b burgle someething!
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The Wizard’s Hut A T&T 7.5 Edition Solo Adventure By J.C. Lambert This adventure is written for Tunnels & Trolls 7/7.5 edition. It is suitable for a newly created low-level humanoid (good kindred) warrior with no more than 30 personal adds. Preferred kindreds are human, elf, dwarf, or hobb. Feel free to use talents for Saving Rolls where appropriate. 1D3 can be determined by dividing 1D6 by half and rounding half numbers up. Defeated monsters are worth adventure points equal to their MR. Don’t forget, a wizard’s hut can be a dangerous place—calculate all spite damage. You may leave the hut at any point if you wish, but you will not get any APs for finishing the adventure. If you are directly engaged in combat, you will need to make a L1SR vs. DEX to make it out the door without being hit by an undefended attack. If you miss the roll, you take one full attack from your foe as you flee. Subtract the full combat total from your CON minus any armor protection you have. If you survive this, you’ve made it out of the hut to safety.
Introduction You’ve spent your childhood in the small village of Balebottom, on the edge of the empire. Born into modest means, you were lucky enough to apprentice with a local retired adventurer named Lokan. For the better part of your late adolescence he trained you well in the arts of sword, shield, and bow, but the time came when he had taught you all he could. “Now you must strike out on your own and see what the world has to teach,” he told you. With bittersweet excitement you pack up what equipment and provisions you have, say goodbye to your family, and set out on your first adventure. For days you have been traveling through the nondescript wastelands that surround your village and insulate it from the wider world. On the fifth day you reach the outskirts of a wild forest called Brierdeep. The woods are known only as legend in your village, but you’ve heard enough to know they have a dark reputation. Wizards, wild beasts, and evil trees are thought to lurk within. With
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some trepidation you follow the dirt road winding its way into the woods. At some point, the path splinters and the fork you choose becomes progressively more narrow and overgrown. Finally it comes to an end in a small clearing that contains a ramshackle stone hut with a thatched roof. The roof is in need of repair and dark green moss hangs from the stone walls, staining it a swampy green. Needing a rest from your travels, you approach the front door only to find it open and unlocked. You give it a token knock as you carefully push the door all the way open and step into a cluttered one room dwelling. Go to 1. 1 You have entered what appears to be a reclusive wizard’s workshop. Nobody is in the room, yet you sense a power or unidentifiable presence nearby. The walls are lined with shelves filled with ancient tomes and odd, varied objects. A large work table stands in the middle with a variety of wizard experiments in various degrees of completion. It looks as if a scuffle has recently taken place. A chair is overturned and a pentagram drawn in soot on the floor has been smudged and walked through. Over the table, a cord floats suspended in mid-air unattached to anything above. On the table amid the scattered papers, writing utensils, and strange wizard spell ingredients, several things catch your eye: a collection of glass vials with colorful liquids in them, a rolled up scroll of parchment, an ornately carved ivory box, and a plate holding some halfeaten cookies. There is a mystery here, you can feel it. Your curiosity is kindled and you resolve to unravel the puzzle of the missing resident, uncovering the secrets of this abandoned hut. Surveying the table, a few possibilities for immediate action present themselves. Do you pull the hanging cord? Go to 48. Drink one of the liquids? Go to 17. Open up and read the scroll? Go to 12. Investigate the ivory box? Go to 19. Have a cookie? Go to 2. If you have been
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4 As yyou are examiining the statuue you see it blink. Waitt a minute, thhis thing is alivve! You jump p back as thhe creature currses and launcches into actio on. Go to 244. 5 As thhe first skelettons make theeir way througgh the doorr, you leap upp and give th he dangling ccord a yankk. Suddenly oobjects from all over the room jumpp up into the air. A broom, chairs, sstools, bookks, dust pan, fire poker, quuill pen, knivees and spooons start flyingg around the room. The o objects appeear to be unaw ware of the sskeletons advaancing throuugh the room m as if they arre flying aroun nd for somee other purpoose. Nonetheleess, the objectts and skeleetons collide with each other, creatting a trem mendous cacopphony. You dduck to avoid being hit. M Make a L1SR R on DEX. IIf you make iit you escappe harm. O Otherwise takke 1D6 poin nts of damaage. Armor doesn’t hellp much in n this situaation, so ignoore any armorr protection. When the ddust settles, thhe skeletons have been reeduced to ppiles of boness and the flo oor is litteredd with brokken objects. G Go back to 1. oices alreadyy here beffore, disregarrd any cho explored. If you are un ninterested in doing any off he work table,, these thinggs or are donee examining th go to 611. Each timee you come back to thiss paragraph, roll 1D6. Iff you roll a 1,, take note off this paragrraph number and go to 89. 2 You take a small bite of o one of the cookies. It iss one of the most delicio ous cookies you y have everr tasted. You Y quickly gobble dow wn the rest. Whoever the absent wizard w is, he is one good d y go back to t 1. baker. Feeeling content you 3 As the im mp’s strength h begins to wane w and hee realizes th hat he may be beaten, he beegs for mercy. “Stop, sto op! Please! Sp pare my life and a I’ll show w you wheree the wizard’ss treasure is,” he whines. Iff you decide to spare him m and take him h up on hiss t 47. If you don’t, d fight hiim to the end. offer, go to If you beaat the imp, go to 63.
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6 The objects swarm m around the rroom with fan ntastic speedd. As you doodge and sidee step througgh the mayhhem you realiize that the o objects are cleeaning up tthe workshopp. They floaat around niimbly, rotatting and maggically bendingg to perform m their taskss with almostt human-like grace, yet sh how a surprrising lack oof regard fo or your presence, smasshing into youu as you dancce around tryi ying to avoidd them. Makee a L1SR on D DEX. If you fail it, you take 1D6 ppoints of daamage before the excittement is all oover. Armor issn’t very effecttive in the cchaos, so ignoore any armorr protection. If your CON N reaches 0 or lower, you are kn nocked senseeless. Go to 222. If you surrvive the chao os, go to 100. 7 You snap out oof your bew wilderment qquickly enouugh to grab thhe small hands around yourr neck and tthrow the creaature from yo ou. Go to 24.
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8 One of th he spiders has managed to in nject you with h a crystallin ne poison. Make M a L1SR against yourr current CON. If you make it, you fight off thee G back to 433 and continuee effects of the venom. Go s roll, go o to 51. fighting. If you fail the saving 9 The wizarrd notices thatt you are hold ding the magicc dagger in your y hand. “T The runes on the t blade spelll out its naame, ‘Wizard d’s Bane.’ I keep k it safelyy hidden, ass it is dangero ous to the likees of me. It iss more pow werful than youu realize. I’ll have h to take itt back so I can make surre it causes no o harm.” Waitt a second, you’ve becom me fond of th his remarkablee blade. Do you grudginggly hand it ovver? Go to 21.. fi for it, go to 50. If you are prepared to fight 10 The unrully objects fin nally settle do own and stop p moving. The room has been n tidied up p bly and you discover d that the animated d considerab servants have h produced d an impressivve lunch from m a corner pantry. p The meal m is now sitting s on thee cleaned up p work table. If I you sit dow wn and eat, go o to 31. If not, n go back to 1. 11 As you reach for one of o the musty leather l bound d books on n the shelff titled “Nestoropholis’ss Compendium of Wizard dly Ways” maake a L1SR on n o to 14. If youu don’t, go to o LK. If youu make it, go 38.
13 The claws dig ddeep into youur neck. Youu take 2D6 +6 points off damage befo ore you are able to ombat. flingg the creature from you andd engage in co If yoou have anyy neck armor this will aabsorb norm mal damage. IIf this kills yo ou, goodbye. THE END D. If not, go tto 24 and figh ht. 14 You notice a faintt shimmer of llight travel ovver the spinees of the boooks. Do you p pull the volum me off the sshelf, go to 388, or do you th hink better off it, go backk to 30. 15 The scroll has draained you so ccompletely thaat you nately you are not lose consciousness. Unfortun awakke to see the rresults of the sspell. Go to 222. 16 Therre’s no way you’re givingg up this vaaluable weappon, and afteer all, it isn’’t called “Wiizard’s Banee” for nothingg. You jump forward musstering all off your strengtth for a quickk attack. The w wizard muttters an undisttinguishable p phrase as youu leap and flop to the ffloor. Someth hing is wrongg. The furniiture has grow wn huge and the wizard ttowers over you from a tremendous height. He bends hand. “Croooaaak,” downn and picks yyou up in his h you yyell in protestt. “How nice,”” the wizard saays. “I do nneed another tenant for tthe old toad cage. You’’ll do just finee. Don’t worrry, room and board is freee and the fllies are juicy in this part o of the foresst.” THE EN ND.
12 he yellowed paarchment and d You careffully unroll th smooth itt out on the table. The wrriting is in an n unfamiliarr script. As youur eyes scan th he first line off text, the words w begin to o glow with a red light thatt grows stro onger as if on n fire. Your eyes begin to o burn and water w but youu can’t tear theem away from m the writing. A voice in your mind starts to speakk the alien words w from th he scroll. Makke a L1SR on n INT to see if you havve the mentaal strength to o e If you miss itt, go to 35. Iff resist the enchantment. you make the Saving Roll, you pull away a from thee scroll with h a tremendouus strength off will and flingg it to the flloor. With a sense s of relieff, you watch itt roll under the table out of sight. Go to t 1.
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17 w magicc You have just sampled one of the wizard’s H been expeerimenting witth altering thee potions. He’s mind and body. Roll 1D D6 to see whiich attribute iss affected. 1=STR, 2=INT, 3=CO ON, 4=DEX,, 6 Roll 1D6 to see if i you gain orr 5=SPD, 6=CHR. lose attrib bute points. 1-3 you lose. 4-6 you gain. Roll 1D6 one more tim me to see ho ow much youu gain or losse. All changees are permaneent. If you aree the gamblling type youu can drink aggain. There iss enough for f 4 doses. Each dose will have a different effect. e Roll for each potion n to determinee the resultss. When you are a done, returrn to 1. 18 Suddenly it dawns on you...it y soundss like the toad d is trying to o say “imp,” “imp,” over and a over. Thee statue on the shelf doess kind of lookk imp-like and d “ this really a statue?” Do o you think to yourself, “is de to go bacck to 30 and d try anotherr you decid option? Or O would you like to test th his suspiciouss statue? Go o to 29. 19 The box is made of antique ivorry, beautifullyy picting spiderss carved witth overlappingg patterns dep and cobw webs in shallo ow relief. Theere is a smalll locked hasp on the lid d, but it lookss like it could d easily be popped p open with a blade. If you forcee the box open, o go to 433. If you leavve it alone, go o back to 1.. 20 ng at the stattue with yourr You take a hard swin ng the statue off the shelf, f, trusty weaapon, knockin only to find that the statue s is actuaally a creaturee posing as a statue. Go o to 24 to figght. Since youu surprised him, you geet one undeffended attackk factoring in his prottection from non-magicall on at the end d weapons. See the monster descriptio o for details. of the solo
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21 The wizard thankks you again and apologizes for any hharm you migght have comee to in his hutt. As a gestuure of apprecciation for savving him, he heals yourr wounds, rem moves any currses, and allow ws you m a reward grab b bag. Roll on nce on to piick once from the R Reward Grab b Bag Tablee at the end o of the solo.. Whistling att your good fo ortune, you b bid the wizarrd goodbye. With direcctions out o of the woodds, you set off towards yo our next adveenture. Givee yourself 4000 AP for survviving The Wiizard’s Hut. THE END.. 22 You never will knnow your fate. Something teerrible while you werre knocked ouut and happpened to you w you died before regaining con nsciousness. B Better HE END. luck next time. TH 23 You reach down and touch th he statue’s arm m. To warm; it’s alivve. You step b back yourr surprise it is w as it leaps at you.. Make a L1SR on DEX. IIf you fail, the creaturee gets one undefended attack againnst you. Go too 24 and prepaare to fight. 24 You are facing a small, devilissh imp. The statue you had seen on the shelf wass not really a statue mp pretendingg to be carvedd from afterr all, but an im stonee. His bumpyy, speckled skiin is grey and looks just like granite. “You medddling buffoon n,” he shrieeks. “I was jusst on my way.. I was finally going to ennjoy my freeedom. You’ll pay for this!” He throw ws himself att you. The mo onster fights w with a despperation born of anger and frustration. H He has MR of 40 (5D6+20). See the mo onster a M descrription at endd of the solo for explanatiion of the imp’s speciall attack and partial proteection m non-magicall weapons. If you reduce hiis MR from to 100 or less withhout killing hiim, go to 3. IIf you kill hhim without rreducing his M MR to 10 or b below, go too 63. If he killls you, this is T THE END. 25 You crunch the llast spider under your boo ot heel and bend down to examine tthe remains. When you pull off theirr crystal legs, 3 nicely cut gems n emerald worrth 60 remaain: a ruby woorth 80 gp, an gp, aand a sapphiree worth 40 gp p. Make a L1SSR on LK. If you make iit, go to 40, iff not, go back k to 1.
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26 The imp’ss tail strikes you in the facee and you falll backwardss into the trap p door. It seem ms like you aree falling forrever. You feel the effects of the imp’ss poison nuumbing your face and sprreading down n your neckk. The last thiing you see before b you hitt the groun nd and black out is the im mp’s laughingg face floatting above yo ou. You are dead. THE E END. 27 ourself througgh the window w, you fall to o Pulling yo the groun nd and spriint away fro om the hut. Managing to avoid thee slow shuffliing skeletons,, you makee it to the edgge of the cleaaring. As youu enter the woods w you lo ook over your shoulder onee last time and a see some movement in n the window. With a shuudder, you turrn back towarrds the woodss and run faaster. Give youurself 100 AP P for survivingg The Wizarrd’s Hut. THE E END. 28 ok at the toad. You lean forward to geet a closer loo H stares into your y eyes with h He is a bigg ugly fella. He a look thaat seems almo ost intelligent and lets out a tremendouus croak. Hee starts hopping up and d down desp perately, beltin ng out, “Croooaaakkkimp, Croooaaakkkkimp,” as if trying to tell youu somethingg. Make a L1SR on LK L or INT,, whicheverr is higher. Iff you make it,, go to 18. Iff you don’tt, you shrug your shouldeers and think,, “what a neeurotic toad, must m have beeen in that cagee too long.”” Go back to 30.
29 You have your doubts about tthe statue. Do you pon? Go to 200. Do take a swing at itt with a weap you bbend down annd look more closely at it? Go to 42. D Do you reach out and touch h it? Go to 23. 30 It seeems like theree isn’t much leeft to explore in the hut. You are just aabout ready to o give up searrching n you notice some for ssigns of the owner when motiion out of thee corner of yo our eye. Turn ning to the sshelves lining the walls of the hut you ssearch for w what could hav ave moved. Th he shelves are made of hheavy oak, buut sag with th he burden of many item s. They span tthe width of o one of the wallls and ngst the bric-aa-brac reachh up to the cceiling. Amon you ssee a row of tthick wizardly tomes, a smaall iron cage with a live giant toad, an object w with a rounnded top that is covered b by a cloth, andd a 2foot--high statue oof an ugly tw wisted humano oid. If you llook through the books, go o to 11. If youu make a clooser inspectionn of the toad and cage, go to 28. If yoou take a peeek at the objeect under the cloth, go too 46. If you innvestigate the statue, go to 42. If you have been heere before, dissregard any ch hoices ptions alreaady explored. If you havee tried all op abovve and still findd yourself bacck here, go to 88. Eachh time you coome back to this paragraph h, roll 1D6 . If you roll a 1, take notee of this paraagraph mber and go too 89. num 31 You thoroughly rrelish the hearrty meal of omelet, hing it down w with a friedd potatoes, andd bacon, wash mug of ale you fiind next to th he plate. Refreeshed, you rregain 1D3 pooints to your CON if it hass been diminnished. Very ssatisfied you rreturn to 1. 32 As yyou recover ffrom the shocck and pain o of the fire, you hear thhe eerie voicee of the elem mental here is againn: “You are llucky, to be sure, but wh yourr vigor? Withh one but no ot the other,, your challlenges will ggrow bigger. When luck finally fails,, what can yoou do but surrrender? Are you a rior, my friendd, or just a preetender?” Youu turn warri awayy as the elemeental’s light ddwindles. Som mehow you feel a little lluckier than b before. The ttalking flam e has charmeed you. Add 1D6 to your Luck manently. Youu close the sstove door an nd go perm backk to 61.
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33 Luckily yo ou have the mental willp power to tearr your eyes away from th he crystal balll. You quicklyy throw the cloth back ovver it. Feeling that you havee a unknown and a possibly horrible fate,, avoided an you return n to 30. 34 Didn’t yo our mother ever tell youu to not go o snooping through a wizard’s w thin ngs? You aree unable to o resist thee power off the scroll. Uncompreehendingly yo ou read throuugh it, but a sense of dread d builds as a you near th he end. When n you finish h, the scroll crumbles to dust in yourr hands. Yo ou look aroun nd waiting for the spell to o take effectt. Outside thee hut there is a commotion n and you run to lookk out the window. w Thee o small woodlland creaturess skeletons of a variety of f the dead d, pushing and d clawing theirr are rising from way out of o the ground.. The skeleton ns close in on n the housee. Do you stand and fight them? Go to o 39. Jump through the window w and make m a run forr it? Go to 27. If you haven’t h yet puulled the cord d o hanging over the table, you can do so now. Go to d 5. If you have already pulled the cord and would o 45. like to do it again, go to 35 The scrolll has been encchanted to forrce the readerr to cast a spell which is i powered byy the reader’ss kremm, reegardless of wizardly w abilitties. Roll 1D66 and subtract this from m your WIZ. If this bringss Z to 0 or belo ow, go to 15. If not, go to o your WIZ 34.
h your skin. A As the gentlle warmth sppread through sensaation penetraates deeper, a surge of strrength and power permeeates your bo ody. Roll 1D D6 for eachh of your attrributes. Raise them accorddingly. This augmentationn of your abiilities will last for 8 mbat turns andd then paraggraphs of thee solo or com yourr attributes reeturn to whatt they were b before o your preevious usingg the oil. Return to paraagraph. 38 helf and pain sshoots You pull the bookk off of the sh booby throuugh your boddy. The wizardd’s books are b trappped. Luckily ffor you, the sshock is not m meant to bbe deadly, juust a deterreent. Take 1D D6 of damaage; armor prrotection doesn’t help youu here. Go b back to 30. 39 Therre are 3-6 anim mated animal sskeletons. Rolll 1D6 to seee how many sskeletons you face. If you ro oll a 1 or 2,, count it as a 3. Each skeleton has a MR R of 10 (2D66+5). The skeeletons are quiite slow; if youu have a rannged weaponn you have ttime to makee two attaccks before hhand-to-hand combat. Maake a L1SR R on DEX to hit. Because of their clumssiness, you ccan avoid onee skeleton per combat turn if you makee a successful L1SR on DE EX. If you makke the Savinng Roll, onee skeleton loses the chan nce to attacck. If they deffeat you, yourr adventure iss over. If yoou defeat them m, you kick a ffew twitching bones out oof your way annd go back to o 1.
36 Treat the flying objects as having a combined c MR R T maelstrrom is so o of 20 (3D+10). The ming that youu must makee a L1SR on n overwhelm DEX each combat turn. If you miss m it, you’vee a disorienteed, halve yourr been knoccked around and combat to otal for thatt turn. If yo ou defeat thee animated objects, o you lo ook around att the mess and d go back to t 1. Give yourself 20 AP for surviving. If your CO ON reaches 0 or lower, youu are knocked d unconscio ous. Go to 22. 37 You pop the cork and sprinkle a few w drops of oill on the bacck of your han nd. Rubbing itt in, you feel
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40 You noticce something funny about the t ivory box. Inside, the box doesn’’t look as deep as it doess from the outside. You push down on the insidee n panel, revvealing a fallse bottom. In a hidden compartm ment you find a small 12-incch-long daggerr with eldriitch runes caarved along the blade. Itt appears to o be magical in nature an nd gives off a faint blue glow. The dagger d is worrth 3D6+3 in n nd requires a STR S of 3 and DEX of 2 to o combat an wield. Go back to 1. 41 The imp’ss tail hits youu across the faace; take 2D66 points of damage. You narrowly avo oid falling into o d The wound drips blo ood into yourr the trap door. eyes and you y must reduuce your com mbat adds by 5 for the rest of the figh ht. If you survvive the fight,, you will have h a nasty scar that run ns from yourr forehead over o one eye to your cheekkbone; deductt 4 points from f your CH HR permanenttly. Finish thee fight with h the imp. If you win, go to 63. If hee beats you, this is THE END.
42 The statue is on one of the llower shelves. You squaat down to takke a closer loo ok. It appears to be n ugly madee of speckledd granite. Thee figure is an demoonoid with ffangs, clawed hands, stubb by bat winggs, and a barbed tail that cuurls around. M Make a L1SR R on LK or IINT, whichevver is higher. IIf you makee it, go to 4. IIf you don’t, g go back to 300. 43 You slide a bladee behind the hasp and snaap the pen the lid yo ou are lock off of the boox. As you op surprrised by three small sparkkling creaturees that leap out at you. Y You swat them m to the groun nd and see tthat they are ccolorful spideers made of ccrystal. Theyy hop towardss you and attaack. They each h have a MR R of 8 (1D6+44). Each time you take a po oint of spitee damage, makke a L1SR on LK. If you m miss it, go too 8. If you killl all the spiderrs, go to 25. IIf they defeaat you, go to 551. 44 You duck as the iimp’s tail whiips over your head. ourself Curssing the imp’ss deception, yyou launch yo backk into the fighht. If you win n, go to 63. IIf not, the im mp finishes yoou off. THE END. 45 You pull the hhanging cord hoping thaat the wizarrd’s helpful oobjects might rescue you. A few objeccts around thhe room quivver and jump p, but then fall still. U Unfortunately they have aalready perfoormed their ccleaning dutiees today andd were neveer enchanted ffor protective purposes. Yo ou will havee to fight the sskeletons. Go to 39. 46 You pull the clotth off of the hidden objecct and reveaal that it iis a crystal ball. Shimm mering multticolor smokee billows arouund within thee orb. It’s qquite mesmeri rizing. In fact,, you can’t seem to take your eyes offf of it. Make a L1SR on IN NT. If you m make it, go too 33. If you do on’t, go to 49.. 47 The imp grovels before you. “You won’t regret this kind sir, braave sir, I willl lead you tto the will be rich beyond wizarrd’s treasuress and you w yourr wildest dream ms. Come thiss way,” he sayys. He pushhes the wizardd’s table to thee side and reveeals a
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hidden traap door in th he floor. A wooden w ladderr descends down into th he dark. You peer over thee edge into the opening when suddenly the imp’ss M a SR on DEX. If youu tail lashes out at you. Make make a Leevel 1 SR, go to 41. If you make a Levell 2 SR or hiigher, go to 444. If you miss it, go to 26. 48 As you pull p the corrd, you feel a quiver off movement run across the room an nd suddenly a great num mber of objectts jump up in nto the air. A broom, ch hairs, stools, books, b dust paan, fire poker,, quill pen, knives, and spoons start flying around d o crash into you. y If you tryy the room threatening to k down n the whirlingg to protect yourself by knocking g to 36. If you try to dod dge and avoid d objects, go them, go to t 6. 49 he crystal ball. You aren’tt able to resistt the pull of th The colored mist swirlss around and around a as youu our mind is in n look deeper into the glaass sphere. Yo d feels as if it is i being suckeed out of yourr a daze and body into o another dim mension. Sudd denly a sharp p pain on your y neck brrings back so ome sense off clarity. Fro om behind, sharp claws grrab your neckk and begin to squeeze. Make M a L1SR on o LK. If youu 1 make it, go to 7. If you don’t, go to 13. 50 The wizaard’s face gro ows dark an nd a hint off warning comes c into his h voice. “C Choose wiselyy young wan nderer,” he saays. Do you reeconsider and d hand oveer the dagger? Go to 21. 2 Otherwisee prepare to o fight for it. Go G to 16. 51 The poiso onous spider bites have overwhelmed d your imm mune system, you start to t feel weak. Looking down d at yourr hand you seee a lattice off crystalline veins start to t spread acro oss your skin n our arm. Youur muscles stiiffen and youu and up yo freeze in place p as your body tissue iss transformed d into pure crystal. As the t process moves m inward d ns, your heart stops. Lookss and affectts your organ like this is i it for you, but you havve left a nicee human-sizzed crystal trrophy for wh hoever comess along nextt. THE END D. 52 As your weapon w coolss, you feel drrained by thee ordeal. Yo ou gather yourrself together as a the TrollsZin ne!
mental speaks again: “Weak and unlucky,, what elem a sadd combinationn. Perhaps thee young adven nturer rises above his staation? How ddo you supposse you make it to thee end? Keep go oing, hope, prray, or can m maybbe pretend.” Your heart ssinks a little aas the elem mental vanishes in a puff off smoke. Youu think you might have ffailed a mysteerious test an nd you are nnot sure whaat the implicaations will bee. The elem mental is gonee now and yo ou close the stove doorr. Go back to 61. 53 You sift through the dust pilee with your fiingers. Therre must be soomething interresting in theere—it is a wizard’s dustt pile after alll. Make a L1SSR on LK. If you make it, go to 78.. If you fail iit, you back to 61. find nothing. Go b 54 You carefully turnn the hot latch with a fire poker pile of and pry open thee door. Insidee you see a p Dancing abovve them is a yyellow, woodd and coals. D fieryy form that puulses with heaat and power. Two ming creaturee and red eyes are set into the flam steaddily look backk at you. Youu are facing a small fire elemental. T The absent wizard musst be ployment of ssuch a poweerful to mainntain the emp
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being for such mundane service. Do you quickly slam the door shut and retreat? Go to 62. Do you try to talk with the elemental; begging its forgiveness for your intrusion and requesting its help in unraveling the mystery of the empty hut? Go to 68. Or do you attack it? Go to 60. 55 Something is indeed amiss, but unfortunately you are too groggy to wake up in time to do anything about it. The sensation of sharp teeth biting into your flesh brings you fully awake. To your horror you find that the bear skin has come alive, wrapped around you, and taken a bite. Take 2D6+6 points of damage. If this has killed you, this is THE END. If you are alive, you will have to fight. It has a MR of 30 (4D+15). Any spite damage against you activates its special attack of smothering. Make a L1SR on DEX or have your combat total halved for one turn. If you win, go back to 66.
58 You take a sip of the tea warily. It’s minty, earthy, and sweetened with honey. Even cold it is delicious. You can’t resist finishing it off. Putting the cup down you let out an impressive yawn and suddenly feel exhausted. It couldn’t hurt to just lie down for a minute. You make yourself comfortable on the bed. As you quickly drift off to sleep your last thought is that the tea is likely a sleep aid. Go to 75. 59 As you struggle towards wakefulness, you throw something constricting off of you. Leaping out of the bed you grab your weapon and face an unlikely adversary. The bear pelt has come alive and it menacingly flops towards you to attack. It has a MR of 30 (4D+15). Any spite damage against you activates its special attack of smothering. Make a L1SR on DEX or have your combat total halved for one turn. Fight it to the death. If you survive, go back to 66.
56 You grab the rungs of the sturdy oak ladder and climb up to the loft. As you pull yourself up to the loft floor, you see that it is a simple yet cozy bedroom space. A stuffed straw mattress occupies the majority of the floor. Warm woolen blankets and furs cover the bed and an impressive bearskin tops the pile. The bearskin is adorned with the unfortunate bear’s head which stares rather vacantly at you. If this survey has satisfied your curiosity, you may descend back to the ground floor of the hut. Go to 61. If you’d like to poke around the loft space a little more, go to 66.
60 You must be pretty confident in your fighting abilities. The elemental flows out of the stove into the main room of the hut, flaring up to a menacing size. You are facing a supernatural power of unquestionable strength. The elemental has a MR of 200 (21D+100) and can only be harmed by magical weapons. You are committed to fighting the elemental. If you lose, you are burned to a crisp and this is THE END. If by some remote chance you actually win, take your APs and go back to 61.
57 You carefully advance on the alcove, ready for anything. Who knows what kind of surprises you might find in a wizard’s closet? You are relieved (and maybe a little disappointed?) to find the small niche stocked with typical items common to a rustic cloak room. There are a number of warm overcoats draped over hangers and an assortment of worn shoes and boots in various states of cleanliness. If you’d like to inspect the overcoats, go to 72. If you’d like to try on some boots or shoes, go to 73. If you have been here before and have already tried both or only want to try one, go back to 61. You can only try each of these choices once.
61 You look around and take note of the other attractions the room has to offer. You have the unsettling feeling that unseen eyes are following you. On one side you see a ladder leading up to a loft area. On another wall you see a small alcove that serves as a cloak room. In a corner you see a small pile of dust that has been swept up and forgotten about. A broom and dust pan lie uselessly next to the pile. In an opposite corner is a cast iron stove. If you climb up the ladder to check out the loft, go to 56. If you explore the cloak room, go to 57. If you take a look through the dust pile, go to 53. If you would like to investigate the stove, go to 81. If you have been
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here befo ore and have exhausted alll the avenuess you would d care to exp plore, go to 30. 3 Each timee you come back to this paragraph, p rolll 1D6. If youu t paragraph h number and d roll a 1, take note of this go to 89. 62 m the stove ass You slam the door shutt and run from quickly as you can. Hollding your breeath you wait,, wonderingg if the creatuure will pursuee you. After a few minutes of silencee it appears that t you havee nothing to fear. It seeems that thee elemental iss y Go back k undisturbeed by and uniinterested in you. to 61. 63 The imp keels over with w a last gassp. You stand d d bod dy for a mom ment and catch h over his diminutive your breath. You hear a thumping noise behind d t The giaant toad is leaaping up and d you and turn. down in itts cage. His frrantic movemeents make thee cage jump p closer to the edge of the sh helf. The cagee falls to th he ground, th he door flies open o and thee toad flopss out. A glimm mer of rainbow w light passess over its bo ody as its form m begins to pulse. p In a few w seconds, a plume of sm moke issues from f the toad d and solidiffies into the figure fi of a whiite robed man n lying on the ground. It appears th hat you havee he hut. found the resident of th The wizarrd slowly stan nds up on sh haky legs and d smiles. “M Many thanks for f your help,, stranger. Myy name is Lesrillian. L How w excruciatingg it was to sitt penned up u and watch h you fight for your lifee knowing that mine alsso hung in the balance. I H had agreed d summoned that botherrsome imp. He me my familiaar, but as I prepared to o to becom transfer hiim into the bo ody of a toad d he somehow w objected to t the arrangeement. I found that he wass protected by a powerrful enchantm ment that can n c Next th hing I know I turn spellss against the caster. was trappeed in the toad d’s body and he h dumped mee in that dreadful d cage.. I think hee planned on n making off with whateever treasuress of mine hee d.” If you havee acquired a magical m daggerr could find in this solo o, go to 9. If not, n go to 21. 64 You havee held up welll against the heat and thee pain of th he fire, but theere is a naggin ng feeling thatt somethingg has not gon ne as well as it i could have. The elemeental addresses you again: “T To be strong TrollsZin ne!
is a virtue, all agrree, to be surre. But if youu have strenngth and are unlucky, can you win thee war? You will need m more than braawn to prevaail this time . It’s not just yyour life that is on the line..” The mental’s light bbegins to fadee and go out, b but as elem it dissappears, you feel a hidden n source of strrength grow w within you. The talking flame has chaarmed you. Add 1D6 to your Strength h permanentlyy. You closee the stove dooor and go back to 61. 65 You wait for the elemental to respond. Theen you wait some more.. Hmmm. Lo ooks like it iis not imprressed and is not going to answer. It juust sits theree flickering baack and forth h. If you are ffed up and want to attacck it, go to 660. If you’d rather closee the stove dooor and walkk away, go baack to 61. 66 The bed looks quiite comfy and enticing. Theere is a smalll table by the head of the b bed and on thee floor theree is a pile of dirty clothes.. You realize it has
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been quite a while since you have rested. You are starting to feel the weariness of the road and the bed beckons invitingly. You can take a nap in hopes of restoring some lost CON by going to 71. If you’d like to take a look at the bedside table, go to 84. If you’d like to investigate the pile of clothes, go to 87. If you’ve been here before and are done with searching the loft area, climb back down the ladder to the main room. Go back to 61. 67 You try on a number of coats. When you finally find one that fits, roll 1D6. If you roll 1-5, go to 70. If you roll a 6, go to 80. 68 You make your appeal to the enchanted monster, asking him to excuse your violation of his privacy and enquiring about the absent owner of the hut. Your presentation was pretty good, but you’ll have to make a L1SR on CHR to see the results. If you make it, go to 74. If you miss it, go to 65. 69 You pull the hefty boots on and feel a cool sensation on your feet. Quickly pulling them off again you find your feet covered with wet clay. The boots must have been full of it. You feel a tingling sensation and wiping the clay off, you find more. Your feet have been transformed into living clay. Walking and running is now much more difficult and precarious. What a curse! Subtract 1D6 from your DEX and your SPD permanently. The effect can only be nullified by an 8th level Dis-Spell spell. Go back to 57. 70 You shrug on an overcoat that fits and take stock. It’s itchy, a little bulky, and smells musty. The missing wizard has some pretty crappy clothes. This coat is useless to you. You throw it on the floor and return to 57. 71 What a great idea. A little rest is exactly what you need right now. You pull back the covers, kick off your boots and settle into the bed. Before you know it you are falling asleep. Go to 75.
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72 The overcoats range in style, size and condition. Would you like to go through the pockets of the garments? Go to 86. Or would you like to see if there are any that fit you? Go to 67. 73 There is quite a selection of footwear to choose from. You look through the most promising. Decide which you would like to try: a pair of wooden clogs, go to 79, a pair of tall boots caked with clay, go to 69, or some athletic looking shoes made of canvas, go to 85. After you try on your selection, the remaining shoes and boots slowly fade and disappear. 74 The elemental silently wavers back and forth for a few moments. Just when you are starting to get discouraged you hear a strange humming and a melodic voice rings out in an otherworldly tone. The elemental doesn’t respond directly, but addresses you in verse with this riddle: “The coals burn fierce, the fire is bright. You will need some help if you hope to survive the fight. Are you true, are you lucky, are you strong? Test your weapon in the flame, what could go wrong?” Is the creature asking you to put your weapon in the fire? If you would like to do this, go to 82. If you would rather close the stove door and walk away, go back to 61. 75 You have been deeply asleep for only a little while when a sense of something amiss pulls you back towards consciousness. Make a L1SR on LK. If you make it, go to 59. If you don’t, go to 55. 76 You take a generous glob of the paste and start rubbing it into your skin. First it tingles, then it feels warm, and then it burns! Your skin starts to blister. You try to wipe it off as quickly as you can, but not before incurring considerable pain. Take 1D6 points of damage to your CON. Apparently the ointment has the opposite of its intended effect when used on one of the “good” kindreds. Return to your previous paragraph.
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77 When the weapon returrns to normall, you feel likee you have passed somee mysterious test of yourr ntal speaks again in itss abilities. The elemen w you have paassed the test. unworldlyy voice: “Now With honor you stand above the reest. I lend myy hand, but can you prevvail? If you meeet it, the reall m not fail.” With a puff, the elementall test you must extinguish hes itself and the stove goees dark. Yourr weapon has become permanentlyy enchanted. Multiply itts dice (but no ot adds) by 1.5. Round halff numbers down. At yo our command, the magicc w burst into flame and ign nite any easilyy weapon will flammablee material. Heeartened, youu go back to o 61. 78 Roll 1D6 and consult the t table below w to see whatt little treasuure you find hidden h in the pile, then go o back to 61. d bites yourr 1. A smalll centipede hidden in the dust finger. The insect’s veno om stiffens yo our hand. Rolll 1D6; odds it gets yourr good hand, evens it getss D6 from yourr your otheer hand. Odds subtract 1D DEX forr the remain nder of the solo. Evens,, subtract 1D D3 from yourr DEX. o old, chewed wizard’s gum m. It sticks to o 2. A wad of your fingeers and is im mpossible to remove. r Yourr fighting ab bility is hamp pered. Reduce your combatt adds by 1D D6 for the resst of the solo. n in the shap pe of a scrolll 3. A batteered gold pin inscribed with the inscription, “Wizards’s Guild’ss C Khara Khang K Champ pion Year off Debate Club, ‘62”. The pin is worth 10gp. 1 hen eaten, thiss 4. A piecee of dried lizaard jerky. Wh snack will restore 1D6 points of lostt CON at anyy he solo. point in th 5. You don’t find anyth hing, but the dust must havee p some magiical propertiees from lyingg picked up around th he wizard’s huut. You find itt gives you an n unusually good grip on your weapon n. Add 1D6 to o your comb bat adds for th he duration off the solo. ond. When youu brush it off, f, 6. A dustyy, small diamo you see th hat it is stunn ningly cut. Th he diamond iss worth 1000gp.
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79 You slip on the cllogs. Immediaately they mellt into yourr feet and grai ains of wood appear on the skin of yoour feet, traveeling up your legs. Your skiin and fleshh have becomee wooden fro om the knees ddown. You’’ve lost somee feeling in yyour legs; suubtract 1D6 of DEX perm manently, butt the lower paarts of yourr legs now haave special prroperties. Youur feet are qquite tough annd do not neeed the protectiion of shoees or boots. Y Your lower llegs are effecctively armoored and will ttake 4 hits perr combat turn n. This has bbeen a bit off a curse and a bit of a bleessing. The effect can onnly be nullified by an 8th h level Dis-SSpell spell. Goo back to 57. 80 You slip on the m most promising looking co oat. It feels good; justt the right size and quite comffortable. Thiss one might b be a keeper. A As you walkk away from the closet, yo ou suddenly feel a hunddred barbs pieerce you. The coat is alive and is attaccking you; it iis a vampire ccoat. The insiide of the ccoat is lined with many sharp teeth aand it attem mpts to drain you dry of blo ood. The coatt has a MR of 26 (3D+ +13). If you llose, this is THE D. If you win,, go back to 557. END 81 The stove is by thhe wall oppossite the ladderr. It is black iron. It has a squaat in shape annd is cast of b cookking surface aand a pipe thaat runs througgh the wall to exhaust sm moke. It app pears to have a fire
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within. You can see through a grate in the door that it flickers with an oddly regular frequency. Do you want to open the door to investigate? Go to 54. If not, go back to 61. 82 You stick your weapon of choice in the stove. The elemental grows larger and flares up in a bright burst of fire. It expands and lurches forward to engulf the foremost tip of your weapon. Tendrils of flame travel up the length of it and you feel the weapon grow hot beneath your hands. As the heat grows your ability to maintain a grip is tested. The pain is almost unbearable, yet somehow you manage to hold on and withstand it. After what seems like eons, the flames subside and the elemental shrinks back to its former size. Make a L1SR on STR and a L1SR on LK. If you make both, go to 77. If you make just the LK SR, go to 32. If you make just the STR SR, go to 64. If you fail both saving rolls, go to 52. 83 You pop the cork and take a swig of the oil. It tastes slightly sweet with a strong floral flavor. Nothing happens for a few seconds, then you feel your throat start to constrict. This oil is powerful stuff; it is meant for topical application, not ingestion. Make a L1SR on CON. If you make it, take 1D6 points of damage to your CON and return to you previous paragraph. If you miss it, you drop dead on the spot. THE END. 84 You make your way over to the small table and find on it a book titled, “Spirits, Imps, and Minor Demons: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influences on the World of Men.” It looks a little over your head. Next to the book is half a cup of cold tea, an unlit oil lamp, and a smoking pipe. There doesn’t seem to be any way of lighting the lamp or pipe. You can take them if you wish. If you’d like to try a sip of the tea, go to 58. Otherwise, go back to 66. 85 You put on the canvas shoes and suddenly feel light and buoyant. These shoes are enchanted to increase your SPD by 1.5 when worn and double the speed that you can run. You speedily return to 57.
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86 The pockets are mostly empty, but one is not. Roll 1D6 to see what you find and then go back to 57. 1. A rat. He bites your hand and leaps out of the pocket scurrying away. Take 1D6 points off your CON and 1D6 off your DEX for the duration of the solo. 2. A stale half-eaten sandwich. 3. A big lump of lint. 4. Six small stones. If you have a sling, these will work as sling stones. 5. A small container with a label that reads: “McAllister’s Imp Ointment: Has living on a human plane been getting you down? Rub some of this kremm into your skin for fast-acting and soothing relief (also works well for toads, frogs and lizards).” It is filled with a green, questionable looking, foul-smelling paste. You may take it if you wish. If at any time in the solo you try some of this on your skin, note the paragraph you are on and go to 76. 6. A small bottle filled with a clear oily liquid with a label that reads: “Oil of SS’rraa: The secrets of the Nagas distilled in liquid form. This is no snake oil, but the real thing. If you want some of that old thyme magic, apply generously.” You may take it if you want. If at any time in the solo you rub some of the oil on your skin, note the paragraph you are on and go to 37. If you drink some of the oil, note the paragraph you are on and go to 83. 87 You pick through the discarded clothes finding them used and in need of washing. The missing wizard really is a slob. There isn’t anything notable here other than the smell. Go back to 66 and make another choice. 88 You have checked every inch of the hut and haven’t found the missing wizard. Strange. You sense that you may have overlooked something, but for the life of you can’t think what. Shrugging your shoulders, you gather your things and walk out the front door. At least you were able to take a
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break from m the open road. r As you head into thee wild wood ds, you take a look back at a the hut and d hear someething that sounds like a ch huckle. No...itt must havee been your imagination. i Give yourselff 200 AP for f surviving The Wizard’’s Hut. THE E END. 89 Your presence as an un ninvited guest in the hut hass triggered The T Wizard’s Home Proteection System. Roll 1D6 and a consult th he table below w to determinee the results. If you rolll on this table more than n plicate results. once, disreegard any dup THE WIZA ARD’S HOM ME PROTECT TION TABL LE nly out of now where, you arre surrounded d 1. Sudden by multi-ccolored flashin ng lights and loud l horn-likee noises thaat rise to a deeafeningly higgh pitch. Youu clamp youur hands over your ears and d wait for thee worst, butt apparently there t is no one o around to o hear the commotion. c The T din subsid des after a few w minutes an nd you resum me your busineess. Return to o your prevvious paragraaph. 2. You feeel a tingling rush from th he bottom off your feet to t the top of your y head. A blinding flash h explodes behind your eyes. When n your vision n clears youu find yourseelf standing naked in thee middle of the woods. You Y must be miles m from thee h There is no path in siight and yourr wizard’s hut. clothing, weapons, w mon ney, and equip pment have alll disappeareed. Give youurself 50 AP for survivingg The Wizaards Hut, then n strap some leaves acrosss your loinss. Good luck finding yourr way back to o civilization n. THE END D.
Brierrdeep. You hhave all of yo our equipmen nt and any damage you might have suffered is h healed. Givee yourself 1000 AP. It’s timee to look for a new adveenture. THE E END. 4. A funny feelinng spreads through your ffingers and aacross your haands. Lookingg down you seee that yourr hands havee turned a b brilliant red color. You’’ve been cauught “red-haanded.” This is a perm manent afflictiion. From now w on strangerrs will get a funny feelingg about you aand your red h hands, findiing it hard to trust you. Reeduce your CH HR by 1D6 . The curse ccan only be rremoved by aan 8th levell Dis-spell sppell. Return to your preevious paraagraph. Without warniing, a great n number of o objects 5. W jumpp up into the air. A broom, chairs, sstools, bookks, dust pan, ffire poker, quuill pen, knives, and spooons start flyingg around the rroom threaten ning to crashh into you. G Go to 36. If yyou have seeen this happpen before, yoou must facee the objects again. This time they aree really going aafter you. All around, thhe light in th he hut growss. The 6. A shappes of objects and furnituree jump out in sharp relieff and their shhadows grow ddark and men nacing. The shadows in the room seeem to be mo oving. Waitt...you do a doouble-take as yyou realize thaat they reallyy are moving.. The shadows detach from m their objeccts and flow towards you threateningly. They movve as if madee of smoke, p partially substantial and partially intaangible, shiftting between their nct shape of fourorigiinal forms annd the indistin ned Shadow F Fiends leggeed beasts. Treeat the combin as h aving a MR of 40 (5D6+ +20). If you defeat m, return to yoour previous paragraph. IIf not, them this iis THE END D.
3. An elecctric current runs through h the air. Thee light dimss, dropping to t near blackkness. Then a dazzling brightness b buursts forth alll around you. When youur eyes adjustt to the brilliaance, you seee yourself suurrounded by a circle of talll wizards with h imposing staffs, sparklin ng wands, and d long flowingg “ You are foolish and d robes. “Trespasser! blunderingg, yet your in ncompetence has served a purpose beyond b your comprehension n. One of ourr members of the Wizaard’s Guild has h been held d nd your meddlling has called attention to captive an his plight. As a reward for making reescue possiblee we will traansport you to o safety.” Therre is a flash off light and you y find yoursself standing on o the edge off TrollsZin ne!
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REWARD GRAB BAG TABLE
MINOR IMP
1. A bag of 2D6 x 150 cp
MR 40 (5D6 +20)
2. A bag of 1D6 x 150 sp
Minor imps come from one of the many hell realms. They are often summoned by wizards who negotiate for their servitude as wizard familiars. In this case, they take up residence in the body of an animal such as a cat, wolf, raven, rat, toad, or goat. In animal form they have the MR and WIZ rating bestowed upon them by the wizard they are bound to (see TrollsZine! #3 for Justin T. William’s excellent article on wizard familiars). A minor imp’s main function as a wizard familiar is as kremm enhancers, but they also can complement a wizard’s abilities in other ways (see TrollsZine! #3). At lower levels they have little magical aptitude and are dependent on wizards to be summoned from their natural environs. At higher levels, minor imps have the ability to acquire spells and travel between dimensions on their own. Despite their greater abilities to travel, they are still bound by their contract with their wizardly master. With the death of their wizard master, they are released from their animal form and are automatically transported back to the hell realm from whence they came.
3. A bag of 1D3 x 150 gp 4. Two emerald Catseyes Gems worth 456 gp. When pressed to the eyes they transform into a transparent lens that turns the user’s eyes a brilliant green. The enchanted eyes will glow slightly in the dark and allow sight in low-light conditions as per the Catseyes spell. The gems draw kremm from the user at the rate of 2 WIZ per turn as long as they are being used. They will pop back out of the eyes on command. They come in a clean leather pouch and must be washed with salt water once per week. 5. An enchanted Paper Roc. This magical item is constructed of ordinary paper folded and shaped to look like a miniature bird. On command, the figure will animate and transform into a large, paper eagle with a wing span of 20 feet. It is sturdy enough to serve as transportation (with a speed of 30mph) and will remain viable for 1 hour before resuming its original size. The eagle will respond to simple commands and instructions, but has no attacking power. It will land wherever it is convenient and safely deposit the rider on ground before turning back to paper. It works for one use only. 6. You have picked one of the wizard’s special cookies. It comes individually wrapped in wax paper. Lesrillian explains that he uses 100% pure powdered kremm instead of baking soda. Each cookie has a spell embedded in it that affects the eater without depleting his/her WIZ. Roll 1D6 on the table below to determine the spell. All spells work as described in the 7.5e rule book. 1. Little Feets 2. Hidey Hole 3. Poor Baby (heals 3D6 points of CON) 4. Fly Me (lasts for 10 minutes) 5. Healing Feeling 6. Shield Me (lasts for 10 minutes and shields from magical damage equal to the eater’s INT)
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In humanoid form, imps are about 2.5 feet tall and have speckled, bumpy, gray, or green skin, long fangs, clawed hands, a barbed tail, and stubby bat wings. They typically wear no clothing or, at most, a tattered loin cloth. They attack with their claws and fangs and have a special attack with their tail. Special attack: Special damage occurs when they roll spite damage which indicates a strike with their barbed, poisonous tail. Make a L1SR on LK or take 2D6 of extra damage plus the spite amount directly off of CON with no armor protection. This damage is regardless of the results of the combat turn and in addition to any normal damage the imp might inflict. Special protection: In both their animal and humanoid form, minor imps have some protection from non-magical weapons. The combat totals of normal weapons are reduced by half. Magical weapons have their usual effect. Spite damage affects imps as normal.
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The ey Kn now K Kung F Fu! By Dan D Prenticce Zine! #2 I exxplored a ho ouse rule forr In TrollsZ Warriors and a Paragons trained in sp pecial weapon n techniquess in an articlee called 'I Kno ow Kung Fu!' This article took its in nspiration nott just from a m the monsterr seminal 19990's movie, but also from special ab bilities introduuced in the 7th 7 edition off Tunnels & Trolls. Theese rules used the spitee damage mechanic m to triigger addition nal effects of a monster attack. a Spite daamage, initiallyy a house rulee proposed by Roy Cram m in the magazine Sorcerer'ss d Apprentice (#13), is damage done wheen a 6 is rolled ombat dice. With W this rule, one point off on the co damage iss always donee to the oppo osing side forr each 6 rolled regardless of armor protection p and d n the final combat totals. Spite damage has been variously defined d as thee 'spiteful' nickks and bruisess inflicted in n the rough an nd tumble of combat, or ass damage dealt 'in sp pite' of thee odds and d nces being sttacked heavilyy against onee circumstan side. The Speciial Damage ruule for monstters is set outt on pages 1 and 2 of thee Monsters andd Magic Book in n the 7th and a 7.5 editions of T&T T. Essentially,, monster special s abilities are triggered d by rolling a certain nuumber of 6'ss on the dicce when theyy attack. Th he notation forr describing a special abilityy trigger is “X/description,” the X indicating i thee o 6s needed in a single turn for thee number of special abiility described to be triggereed. This articlle sets out som me guidelines and exampless for creating your own n special abiilities. It also o provides a couple of my m own housee rules related d to monsteer special abiilities –“Pack Attack!” and d “There Caan Be Only One!”
House Rules Pack Attaack! When a number n of mo onsters with sp pecial abilitiess are fightin ng delvers, do o not separatee out the dicee monster-b by-monster; instead i roll all the dicee together, and set aside any 6s. Sp pecial abilitiess d orrder of powerr should be triggered in descending owerful and difficuulty. Therefore, the most po TrollsZin ne!
abilitties are triggeered first, prrovided enouugh 6s havee been rolled tto generate them. Take awaay that num mber of 6s andd see if you haave enough leeft for moree special abbilities to b be triggered. Any indivvidual 6s left over are co onverted to rregular spitee damage. Exam mple: The party is fighting a paair of gorgons, whho have a M MR of 60 each (7D+30) andd the special aabilities 5/Peetrifying Glare and 2/Venomoous Bite. The ggorgons attackk and roll six 66s on their 14 ddice. It's a bad day for the de delvers! The monssters have rolledd enough spite too trigger a Pettrifying Glare soo one hapless addventurer takes a harsh look. There is not ennough spite left too trigger the Vennomous int of spite is alloocated as damagge. Bite, so the spare poin Therre Can Be Only One! It is good to havve special stuuff happen. IIt lifts evennts from thee mundane and the orddinary, addinng spice to liffe, and to rolee playing. How wever,
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there is a law of the Special: S when everything iss n is special. s To prevent thiss special, nothing appalling state of affaiirs from occuurring at yourr n of this rule. gaming taable, I suggestt the adoption Set a maximum m off one Mon nster Speciall Abilities triggered peer delver perr turn. If youu have to describe too o many app palling eventss o of the herroes (as they liike to think off befalling one themselvees), depression and ennuii may ensue. Their schaadenfreude at the misfortuune of theirr comrades will be ouutweighed byy their own n n when they have h to once more m haul outt desolation 3D6 and roll them in order while pleading with h you to be allowed to play a Dragon,, a Naga, or a Balrog after the demise of their charaacter.
Specia al Ability Examples E bilities ignoress Note any damage donee by special ab S and speecial gifts mayy any armorr protection. Spells protect the delver at thee GM’s discrettion. his monster is exceptionallyy 1/Cunning Strike - Th vicious an nd however baadly it is corneered, it knowss how to draw d blood, doing 2 po oints of spitee damage fo or each 6 rolled. 1/Acidic Burn B - This monster m has access a to acid,, either in its blood, spit, claws, or test tubes off sulphuric acid. Each 6 rolled burrns a delverss ducing the arm mor value orr armor or weapon, red dds by one. weapon ad
Blast - The monster em mits a 3/Reesounding B deafeening shout. T The delver muust make a L3SR on LK oor lose their hhearing for 1D6 hours andd take 1D6 CON damagge. nster chews or cuts 3/Crrippling Strikee - The mon the ddelver’s leg m muscles. Make a L3SR on L LK or havee SPD reducedd by half unttil all CON daamage is reccovered and taake 1D6 CON N damage. 3/Shhield Smash - The monsteer deals a pow werful blow w, reducing thhe delver’s sshield AP byy 1D6 poinnts. If the shhield is reducced to 0 AP P it is smasshed to kindlinng. The monster hits the delvver so 4/Seend Flying - T hardd that he/she iis hurled into the air. The laanding ombat causees 2D6 CON damage and tthe delver’s co total is halved tthe followingg turn. Addiitional amussing effects may occur depending on n the terraain. 4/H ot Breath - A blast of supeerheated air fills the must make a L L3 DEX or L LUCK area. All delvers m nce if SR, taking damaage equal to the differen miss ed. 5/Peetrifying Gazee - The monster has the gllare of the ggorgon and haas caught the delver’s eye. Make a L4SSR on LK or get turned to stone.
ning Blow - Th he strength off this monsterr 1/Deaden is such thaat it is tiring to t fight; its po owerful blowss drain the energy from delver’s muscles. Each 6 rolled reduces a delver’s STR by 1. This loss can n be recoverred by rest in the normal waay. ng Stench - The T reek of thee monster hass 2/Appallin made the delver nauseo ous. Make a L2SR L on CON N or the delvver halves theiir combat totaal next turn. T monsterr has poison n 2/Venomous Bite - The f its fanggs. The delveer has venom m dripping from running through t their veins and must m make a L2SR on their current CON or losse 1D6 DEX X p is treateed. until the poison 2/Piercingg Horn - Thee monster staabs the delverr with a pen netrating blow w doing 1D6 CON C damage.
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5/Lightnin ng Blast - The monstter summonss electrical energy e to strikke the delver. Make a L4SR R on DEX or o LK, or takee 5D6 CON damage. d m blasts the area with h 6/Fiery Breath - The monster n magical fiire. All delverrs must makee a L5SR on DEX or LK or takke damage equal e to thee differencee. B - The monster m has th he gaze of thee 7/Death Blow basilisk orr the claw off a cockatricee. The delverr must make a L5SR on CON C or LK or o die.
Assign ning Special Abilitie es When givving special ab bilities to a monster, m havee regard to how relevant the effect is to t the type off monster. Send Flying is particularlyy appropriatee m monstters like ogrees, trolls, and d for big muscly giants whiile Hot Breath h is similarly ap ppropriate forr Salamandeers and Drago ons.
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Alsoo have regard to how often n an ability is likely or monsters) needs to bee triggered; thhe monster (o to haave at least aas many attacck dice as thee spite thresshold to havee any chancee of triggerin ng the abilitty. Converselyy, when a mo onster has six times as m many dice as the thresholld or more, iit will triggger on most tuurns. I sugggest that most monsters should havee only one special abilitty, but big scary monsterrs like Dem mons or Draggons may havve more than n one. Mixeed groups oof monsters might also have diffeerent abilities - employ the “Pack Attack!!” rule to seee what happeens. As w with all my house ruless, these ideaas are preseented for yoour interest aand to whet your gamiing appetite. P Please feel freee to ignore, cchange or usse them accorrding to taste.
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So ometim mes the Savving R Rolls arre Witth You By Ira a Lee Gosssett Of all the bad luck! No ot only did it start s raining att b after a quiick search of his pack and d midday, but saddlebag,, Alaric was pretty p sure he’d d lost anotherr cloak. Weell, looking att the good sid de of things, itt probably had h a hole in it i somewhere and he would d have gotteen wet anywayy. oaked was wh hat had forced d him to leavee Getting so the road and a venture in nto the forest to find somee shelter in the first placce. After wan ndering aboutt hile, he’d fin nally stumbleed across an n for a wh ironbound d wooden do oor set into the t side of a small hillo ock. oped to get hiis horse (mosst of us would d He had ho call it a pony since Alaaric was a bit on the shortt side) insid de so they bo oth could dryy out, but thee stubborn animal wouldn’t have an nything to do o with goingg anywhere neear the hillockk. After a brieff tussle, his horse broke free to run off deeper into o the forest.. ought. “Dumb b animal wass “Humpfh,” Alaric tho w worth, steepping on myy more trouuble than it was foot and only o going where it wanted to go. Good
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nvince riddaance!” (You see Alaric nevver could con himsself that it wass his fault he ggot lost so oft ften. It seem med so much more reasonaable that it w was his horsee’s contrary nnature causing the problem.)) he did In hiis disgust andd by virtue of their stealth, h not notice a ggroup of h highly carnivvorous wooddland creaturres move off in the directiion of his ddeparted steedd. ned by standin ng out Deciiding nothing could be gain in thhe rain, Alariic turned to examine the door. Know wing, as do all good delvvers, that onee does not just stroll tthrough a ddoor withoutt first ng for checcking, he lookeed it over careefully, searchin meplate or kn nocker signss of danger. SSeeing no nam on thhe door, he cooncluded thatt nobody was living theree so it would bbe safe to go iinside. The rain was alreaady working iit‘s magic on Alaric by nnow. While hhis sniffles weere still few an nd far betw ween, Alaric kknew that if h he remained o out in the w wet much loonger he’d en nd up with a fullblow wn cold.
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So with that thoughtt in mind and a a sneezee A grasped d the metal pull-ring set in n forming, Alaric the middlle of the doo or and heaved d. Amazingly,, the door opened rightt up without sticking. Thee o trouble caame from thee strength he had put into his pull; it totally unbaalanced Alaricc by swingingg open so easily e that, ass it swung frree, it banged d against him m causing him m to slip backkward and falll unceremoniously into the mud. Jusst as he wentt h been form ming came outt down, thee sneeze that had in a migh hty “WOOOSSHoo!!” doub bling him up. With his eyes e closed fro om the sneezee, and his earss filled with h the fury of it, Alaric hearrd neither thee “click” as the door opened nor the “Wsszzz” off the arrow as it just misssed his head. a and sett Wiping hiis nose, Alariic stood up again about scraaping as much h mud off his clothes as hee could. Jud dging that to be b futile, Alarric stepped up p close to th he open doorrway. Seeing nothing n aboutt to grab him h and no obvious trap ps, he moved d cautiouslyy through. Peeering around d in the grayy light afforrded by the rainy r daylightt behind him,, Alaric couuld just make out o a rack of torches t beforee the door slammed sh hut with an authoritativee pt” and whatt sounded too o disturbinglyy “Bwowmp like a hollo ow, echoing chuckle. “ must’vee “Mmmm,” Alaric said half aloud, “wind gotten up..” a he said to himselff “Probablyy best closed anyway,” as he reeached for a torch. “G Gram’s alwayss pestering me m to stay outt of drafts when I’m wet.” t with thee torch in his hand and thee Standing there other reacching into his pouch for hiss flint, he wass suddenly aware a it wasn n't dark anymo ore. Droppingg the flint, he yanked out o his sword d and looked d ng light was around quuickly for wherre the flickerin
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comiing from. A quick glance was all it to ook to confi firm he was all alone. Sttraightening uup he wonddered where tthe light had come from. IIt was then that he saw thhe torch he w was holding waas lit! GHHHH!" hee screamed dropping itt and "AG jumpping back. h, Alaric was once Uponn letting go of the torch againn plunged intoo darkness. wn loud breaathing, Hearring nothing but his ow Alariic crept backk towards th he dropped torch. Holdding his sworrd out in fro ont of him, Alaric squaatted down to pick up the torch again. A As his fingeers curled aroound it, the ttorch silently burst into flame. Droppping it again n, Alaric then went mes before deciding throuugh the same ritual five tim it waas safe to conttinue holding the torch. Withh his new foound magic ttorch in his hand, Alariic started exxploring his surroundingss. He appeeared to be in a small cave about 6 feet aacross and kind of oblong shaped wiith the door at the The cave wass bare smalller end of tthe room. T exceppt for the torcch rack on thee wall near thee door with some kind off plaque on th he wall near it and a pile of wood trashh at the far end. The only other by the openning in the cave was a paassage over b woodd pile. Seeinng as nothiing looked dangerous, Alaric decidded to build a fire so he could dry out. After first poking the w wood pile with h his sword to see if anythhing was hidinng in it, Alaricc piled some of the betteer pieces of w wood in front o of the open paassage and lit them withh his torch. A As dry as the wood bigger was, it readily firedd up. Feedingg some of the b piecees on, he sooon had a welll-sized blaze going whicch illuminated his cave and cast a little ligght
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down thee passage. Seeeing nothingg of interestt down therre and feelingg protected by b the fire, hee decided itt was time to get out of his h wet things. Alaric set down his to orch, which promptly wentt out, and stripped off his pack, leather armor, shirt,, a boots. Affter drying him mself with hiss breeches and shirt, Alarric donned hiss only spare frrom out of hiss pack (than nkfully it was still too big fo or him and so o covered him h half way down to his knees). Alaricc then arran nged his things in front of the t fire to dry,, propping them up on sticks s so the heat h could gett ng warm and d dry, Alaricc to them. Now feelin p he had d wandered over to inveestigate the plaque seen. c with much tonguee sucking and d Looking closely, finger fo ollowing he was able to o make outt “Elwangerr the Supremee’s Secret Cavverns” written n on the pllaque in Com mmon. This was w just whatt he’d been n looking for! Anything secret had to o have treasure. Once he had collected enough, he’d o his Gram’s farm and livee happily everr go back to after with her, their old d cow, and th he rest of thee H knew Gram ms would be happy to seee animals. He him again n so soon. She couldn’t beear his leavingg this last tim me, he knew. She was so choked c up shee had just pushed him ouut and shut thee door behind d d he could d hear muffled d him. Listeening at the door, sounds an nd was sure Grams just hadn’t h wanted d him to seee her cry. w was in his h immediatee Now thatt he knew what future, Alaaric went backk over to checck on how dryy his cloth hes were. After A smotheering out a smoldering spot on his h pants where they had d gotten too o close to th he fire, Alaricc pulled them m back on and a then dugg out some jeerky from hiss pack to eaat. When he fin nished Alaric pulled out hiss blanket an nd lay back with w his sworrd by his sidee and his heead on his pack to take a nap p before
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goingg exploring. Withh images of gold and gem ms dancing iin his headd, Alaric soon drifted off to sleep. ****** Alariic woke with a start. “ Whhere am I?” hee thought in a panic. His eyes darted around lookking for someething familliar, but all he could ssee were shaadows danccing across thhe walls… co oming…comiing to get hhim! Withh a battle ccry on his llips, that souunded someewhat like “E EAK!” Alaric flipped his blanket off aand grabbed ffor his sword as he leaped to his feet. He went intoo a crouch preepared for thee rush that must be comiing. mmmm?” Whyy was it gettin ng lighter? Wh here’d “Hm all tthe shadows go? Scannin ng around rrapidly Alariic quickly saw w what had h happened. Hiis fire had burned way down causin ng the shadow ws to dancce and flicker across the waalls, but now it was burnning big and bright. No ow why was that? Movving closer hee peered at th he fire to seee what was burning. Hmm mm looked liike…where w was his blankket? Well, it was too heaavy to carry aaround and once inside thhe caverns hee probably wo ouldn’t havee time to sleepp anyway. Gathhering his geear and puttiing his armor and bootts back on, A Alaric took uup his magic torch oncee again and seet off down tthe passage leeading into the cavern aand the gold and gems h he just knew w were waitingg for him.
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Black B Powd der Od dditiess and A Advanced Misfires M s
By Justin William ms nd gunpowderr In the early history off firearms an he obscure, th he impractical,, weaponry,, there are th and the downright dangerous: the seldom m mentioned d ancestors of modern arm maments that,, for the most m part, feell through the t cracks off history. Here H we have unearthed so ome of thesee oddities for fo your gamiing amusemen nt and terror. Also, to ad dd a little morre variety and realism to thee black pow wder adventures of the aspiiring pirate orr musketeerr, we have an Advanced Miisfire Table— — not everyy botch neeed end in an a explosion,, although we w have plentyy of those too o!
mpting to use it will takee 1D+3 worrth of attem damaage. Its muzzlle flash was so o horrendous that it regullarly set the rrigging alight aboard the sh hips it was used on, soo much so that Lord N Nelson Nile— decoommissioned iit after the battle of the N anyoone or anythinng directly ab bove, below, or to eitheer side of the muzzles of a Volley Gun n takes 1D worth of firre damage. Its roar wass also n times as lo ong to horreendous, and it took seven load as a regular L Long Arm—m meaning that itt takes me turns to reeload under op ptimal conditiions. 2 gam
Firearm ms as Mele ee Weapo ons Since mosst early firearm ms were singlle-shot affairs,, they weree also made to t be used as weapons in n melee com mbat. Weighteed ends on pisstols as well ass metal butttcaps on arqquebus and musket m stockss lent poweer to their meelee use—thuss Pistols used d in melee as a clubs do 2D D damage, an nd Long Armss do 2D+3 damage.
Unusual Gunpowder Wea apons ock Gun) Name: Volley Gun (No heellock or Fliintlock Type: Wh Size: Oveersized Long Arm A Dice + Adds: Seven Baarrels 16D+500 q.: 25 STR Req DEX Req q.: 10 Weight: 200 2 Cost: Wheellock: 2,500 GP; Flintlockk: 1,200 GP Descriptiion: A huge seven-barreled rifle meantt to be fired d from the sho oulder or from m a light deckk mount. W there are earlier examp ples, the Nockk Notes: While Gun is th he most famo ous and bestt documented d shoulder-ffired Volley Gun, G so I haave based myy stats on that weapon.. The recoil from it wass o break shoulders and kn nock men offf known to their feet— —a character with w less than 25 STR TrollsZin ne!
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Name: Duck-Foot Pistol Type: Wheellock or Flintlock Size: Oversized Pistol Dice + Adds: 5D+5* STR Req.: 14 DEX Req.: 8 Weight: 80 Cost: Wheellock: 725 GP; Flintlock: 550 GP Description: A large multi-barreled pistol with the barrels fanned out in a spreading formation, much like the foot of a duck. Notes: I don't really see how anyone could carry one of these around, but here it goes anyway . . . the Duck-Foot Pistol was a weapon with a very specific purpose as it was designed to be used by a ship’s captain, at a point-blank range of 15 feet or less, against a mutinous crew. *With a L1SR, everyone in a 4-foot arc in front of the wielder is hit for 5D+5 damage—I think this best reflects the intention of the weapon; i.e., not so much staggering damage as the knowledge that you will be hit. Name: Pepperbox Pistol Type: Wheellock or Flintlock Size: Pocket Pistol Dice + Adds: 2D+6* STR Req.: 6 DEX Req.: 10 Weight: 30 Cost: Wheellock: 850 GP; Flintlock: 675 GP Description: A small-caliber pistol with multiple rotating barrels (usually from five to eight). Once a barrel is fired, the wielder advances the next chamber by manually turning the barrels until a loaded barrel is under the firing mechanism. Once the charged barrel is positioned, the wielder primes the pan, and the pistol is ready to be fired again. Once empty, it takes 2 full combat turns to reload it in optimal conditions. Notes: Notoriously inaccurate, it was said of the Pepperbox that the only safe place was behind it—unless, of course, it exploded. All ranges beyond point-blank should be considered extreme ranges. *Chain-Fire: If double 1s are rolled on damage, the Pepperbox has suffered a chain-fire; a spark leaps from one barrel to another, setting off every remaining loaded chamber and doing 1D+3 for each of the total remaining loaded barrels. A L1SR on STR is needed to keep the wielder from dropping the Pepperbox and suffering a penalty of TrollsZine!
half off his or her combat and missile adds on the following turn as a result of the numbing shock from the unexpected recoil. Name: Grenade Launcher (Hand Mortar) Type: Wheellock or Flintlock Size: Long Arm Dice + Adds: As Grenade* (see below); 10D+10 (if used with shot) STR Req.: 18 DEX Req.: 12 Weight: 200 Cost: Wheellock: 750 GP; Flintlock: 550 GP Description: A rifle stock with a short, heavy cup-like brass barrel. Notes: While it can be used to fire solid shots, its main function is to lob grenades over long distances or obstacles. The real problem with this is that you have to set the fuse before firing the grenade, either lighting the fuse before placing the grenade into the Hand Mortar (in which case you have a real problem if it jams or misfires) or using a longer match fuse and winding it back behind the grenade (hopefully, the explosion of the powder will light the fuse). Under no circumstances should you face the fuse port inwards, as the explosion of the powder will drive the fuse inward and the grenade will explode in the barrel. *If you light the fuse before you load the grenade, any jam or misfire result will call for a L1SR on LK to avoid an explosion. If you use the long match-fuse option, a failure of the SR on DEX required for hitting the target means that a L1SR on LK is required to avoid delivering a very nice ready-to-use grenade to your target. Name: Match-Fused Grenade Type: Thrown Missile Dice + Adds: 8D+10* STR Req.: 8 DEX Req.: 8 Cost: 50 Weight: 20 Range: 15 Yards Cost: 25 GP Description: Early hand grenades—a small castiron sphere filled with powder and fused with various lengths of match cord. As the match burns down into the powder, it explodes, sending fragments of the cast-iron sphere flying as shrapnel.
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Notes: Unlike U other missile m weapo ons, these do o not need to t hit the targget directly to do damage— — anywhere close does th he job. Unlesss the target iss X hidden beehind or undeer cover, a L11SR on DEX should bee sufficient to t come closse enough to o damage th he target. *Unlike most m thrown missile m weapon ns, it damagess all targets in a 10-foot radius instead d of a specificc individual. But early grrenades wherre notoriouslyy d if double 1s are rolled d on the SR R fickle, and required for fo hitting the target, someth hing has gonee wrong. If a L1SR on LK L is made, th he fuse peterss he powder is caked or daamp, and thee out, or th grenade must m be re-fused or re-paccked before itt can be useed. If the SR is i failed, the fuse f burns too o fast or thee grenade is fuumbled and goes g off in thee hand or at the feet of o the throweer, doing fulll nd possibly seetting off any other powderr damage an the characcter is carryingg. Name: Fiire Lance Type: Maatch Rocket Size: Speaar Melee Attacchment Dice + Adds: A As Speaar 3D+1 (wheen Fire Lancee is ignited 5D+10*) 5 STR Req q.: 12 DEX Req q.: 8 Weight: 100 1 Cost: Speear with Moun ntings: 25 GP P; Each Lancee Charge: 355 GP Descriptiion: A siege weapon w desiggned and used d mainly by the ancient Koreans, K thesee are basicallyy rockets tieed to a spear with the ventts in the frontt so that th hey spew fire for a short raange ahead off the lance. he fire projecctor will only operate for 2 Notes: Th combat tuurns before it exhausts its fuel f and mustt be replaceed. *All targetts in the effecct radius must make a L1SR R on LK or catch alight. A burning targget can
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perfoorm no actionn other than to o try and extin nguish the fflames, and evvery turn he o or she fails to make a L1 SR on CON, takes 2D6 ddamage directtly off N without thee benefit of aarmor. A turn n must CON be sppent in prepaaring and lightting the Fire Lance befo re it may bbe brought in nto play. As it is basiccally a rocket//grenade attacched to the en nd of a spearr, if at any tim me more than n two 1s are rolled on thhe damage diice while the Lance is igniited, a L1SR R on LK m must be madee to keep it from explooding and shoowering the user (and any n nearby comppanions) withh burning pow wder—full daamage is doone to the userr, and anyonee around mustt make the ssame SR againnst fire as a staandard target of the weappon. me: Axe Gun Nam Typee: Wheellock or Flintlock Size : Carbine Dicee + Adds: Axxe 3D+4 (Shott 6D+15) STR R Req.: 15 DEX X Req.: 10 Weig ght: 160 Costt: Wheellock: 625 GP; Flinttlock: 450 GP P Desccription: Ann axe mounteed underneatth the barreel of a carbinne-like arqueb bus. In many ways, the ffirst bayonet. me: Dagger Piistol Nam Typee: Wheellock or Flintlock Size : Pistol +1 (Pistol R Round Dicee + Adds: Dagger 2D+ 3D+ +15) STR R Req.: 10 DEX X Req.: 12 Weig ght: 50 Costt: Wheellock: 550 GP; Flinttlock: 360 GP P Desccription: A laarge dagger orr knife with a small pistool barrel runniing along the back or to on ne side of thhe blade.
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Name: Shield Gun Type: Wheellock or Flintlock Size: Buckler Dice + Adds: 5D+15 Hits Taken: 3 STR Req.: 10 DEX Req.: 10 Weight: 100 Cost: Wheellock: 650 GP; Flintlock: 425 GP Description: A pistol mounted in a small metal shield, its barrel projecting like a spike from the boss. Notes: Unlike most early guns, it is designed to be used in close combat. When used in such manner, it should be treated like a TTYF spell in melee. While the damage counts toward the party’s total for that round, only one target is subject to the Shield Gun’s attack. This weapon is complicated to load, and it takes 2 full combat turns to reload and prime. Name: Shield Gun Type: Wheellock or Flintlock Size: Buckler Dice + Adds: 5D+15 Hits Taken: 3 STR Req.: 10 DEX Req.: 10 Weight: 100 Cost: Wheellock: 650 GP; Flintlock: 425 GP Description: A pistol mounted in a small metal shield, its barrel projecting like a spike from the boss. Notes: Unlike most early guns, it is designed to be used in close combat. When used in such manner, it should be treated like a TTYF spell in melee. While the damage counts toward the party’s total for that round, only one target is subject to the Shield Gun’s attack. This weapon is complicated to load, and it takes 2 full combat turns to reload and prime. In all other respects, treat as a buckler. Name: Bayonet (Plug or Socket) Type: Dagger or Spear (depending on whether it is mounted or not) Size: Large Dagger Dice + Adds: In Hand 2D+2; Mounted 3D+2 STR Req.: In Hand 2; Mounted 10 DEX Req.: In Hand 6; Mounted 8 Weight: 18 Cost: Plug: 15 GP; Socketed: 18 GP Description: A dagger or knife that either fits TrollsZine!
into the barrel of muzzle-loading Long Arms (for the plug variety) or snaps, or screws, into a place around or under the barrel (in case of a socketed bayonet), effectively turning the weapon into a crude spear. Notes: The earliest bayonets were crude daggers that plugged or screwed into the end of muzzleloading Long Arms. This allowed the arquebusier to defend himself in the heat of the battle after he had fired his weapon, when he was unlikely to have a chance to reload, or in damp conditions that would render the weapon unusable. Later, socketed bayonets were developed that allowed the musketeer to reload and fire—albeit carefully—while the bayonet was attached.
Revised Firearm Cost Table For those that wish to make firearms a more common part of their games, here is an optional price list to bring the cost of black powder weapons more in line with other T&T equipment. Firearms Hand Cannon:
Cost 100 GP
Matchlocks:
Pistol: 175 GP Musket: 150 GP
Snaphaunces:
Pistol: 250 GP Musket: 270 GP
Wheellocks:
Pistol: 500 GP Musket: 600 GP
Flintlocks:
Pistol: 300 GP Musket: 375 GP
Accessories Black Powder: Powder Horn or Flask: W/ built-in Powder Measure: Spare Ramrod: Lead Bullets: Swabbing: Slow Matches:
Cost 3 SP / charge 10 GP 20 GP 2 GP 5 SP / 10 1 CP / 10 1 SP / match
Characters using black powder would probably also purchase some bar lead, and a set of bullet and shot dies, so as not to be caught without ammunition.
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Functio on and Ma alfunction t understand what can go wrong with a In order to black pow wder weapon, first you havve understand d what it takkes for everyth hing to go righ ht. y first pourr Matchloccks: To load a Matchlock, you a measureed amount of o powder intto the barrel,, then a lead d ball or measure of shot, followed by a wad of paaper, rag, or cotton—or eveen dried grasss in a pinch h. You take thee ramrod from m your belt (itt was not until much later that ramrods weree o the weapo on itself) and tamp t the load d mounted on securely in nto place, with hout packing the charge so o tight as to o turn your arrquebus into a bomb. Youu are now reeady to begin firing your Matchlock. s match— —a length off You can light your slow ope used to o ignite thee chemicallyy treated ro charge—w with flint and d steel or frrom a handyy brazier, making m sure to blow on the match m or whirl the lit l end over yo our head to faan its end to a good coall. If it is damp, you had best keep yourr unlit matcch cord undeer your hat or o inside yourr cloak, an nd you can give up on n using yourr Matchlockk altogether if it is raining. Now that your match is lit, you muust sling yourr cord overr your should der (hopefullyy, not settingg your cloth hes alight), and d now is also the t time to sett up a gun rest if you aree using one. Next, N take thee metal covver off the pan, and, using your powderr horn or gourd, pour a small ch harge into it,, t cover and clipping the lit l end of yourr replacing the
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w match intoo the serpenttine. Bracing your slow arqueebus against yyour shoulderr (or, for veryy early Matcchlocks, againnst the armor in middle off your chestt), remove tthe cover fro om your pan n and deprress the bar hoolding the slow w match to bring it into contact with the priming ccharge. If thin ngs go rightt (usually as m many as one--in-four shotss went wronng), the primiing lights andd sets off thee main chargge. About a second later, "Bang!" and yo ou are readyy to start all over again. weapon loadedd, you Notee: If you are ccarrying your w will bbe using a tam mpion or plugg that will be p placed tighttly into the ennd of the barrrel to—hopefu fully— keepp your powderr dry and the ccharge in placee. It is advissable to remoove the tampiion before firring if you ddo not want yyour arquebus to explode. Wheeellocks: A W Wheellock lo oads much liike its Matcchlock kin, but the firing procedure is a bit diffeerent. The fiiring mechan nism is a to oothed wheeel—somethingg like the strriker on a ciggarette lighteer—that grindds against pyriite. The wheell must be m made of extrem mely good steeel and mountted on a coggged axle. A cchain is wrapp ped around th he axle and attached to bboth the axle aand a powerfu ful leaf sprinng. When the w wheel is woun nd up with a sspecial spannner, tension is stored in tthe spring, an nd the mechhanism is reaady to spin an nd fire the charge. The trigger lockss the wheel in place unttil the wieldder is ready tto aim and firre—aiming beeing a bit oof a novelty up until this point in fiirearm deveelopment. Theen you open aand prime youur pan, and close it agaiin until you are ready to o fire. Finallly, you move the dog—a m moveable arm
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holding th he pyrite—forrward and into o contact with h the wheel,, open the pan n, and pull thee trigger. If alll goes well, a shower off sparks ignitees the primingg g to makee and the main chargee, and you get y don't like very unhappyy. someone you While thiss may sound complicated, it is not untill the inven ntion of the percussion cap that gunss would beccome as reliab ble or weatheerproof as thee wheellockk once loaded d. Also of no ote is that thee first reallyy practical caarry-and-fire pistols, often n with exagggerated ballss or spikes on o the butts,, called Daags, were Wh heellocks. Unfortunately, a good Wheeellock muskeet or pistol wo ould probablyy cost you ten t to a hund dred times th he price of itss Matchlockk or Flintlockk equivalent, making them m available only o to the wealthy w and th hose fortunatee enough to o scavenge theem from the battlefield. d Flintlocks: Flintlocks load like Maatchlocks and f mechan nism is, oncee Wheellockks, but the firing again, diffferent. Once th he charge is lo oaded and thee pan is prim med, the sprin ng-loaded cocck holding thee flint or chert striker is i moved bacck into firingg position and a the pan is opened. The frizzen orr steel strikiing plate is mo oved forward over the pan,, the weapo on is aimed, and the triggger depressed. The cockk is released, striking thee frizzen and d sending sp parks into the pan, lightin ng the charge,, and, with luck, settingg off the main charge and d firing its leaden preseent downrangge. While farr more relliable and weatherproof than thee Matchlockk, the Flintlocck still misfireed once everyy five or sixx shots and was w extremely susceptible to o damp or even e humid co onditions, esp pecially duringg loading.
Ad dvanced M Misfire Table owder weapon ns are Heree is a table too use if gunpo moree common inn your campaign or if yo ou are gettinng tired of alll your guns exxploding everyy time you bbotch! Roll 2D D6 and consuult the table beelow. 2-3: Partial Burn Not all of the poowder charge ignites—halvve dice weapon adds for this shot.. The weapon n must and w be thhoroughly cleeaned before it can be relo oaded, addinng an additionnal combat turrn to the load time. 4-6: Charge Fails tto Ignite The powder is daamp or faultyy, and the w weapon mustt be completeely unloaded aand reloaded b before anothher shot may be attempted. Pan 7-8: Flash in the P The priming pow wder goes off, f, but fails to ignite before the ccharge. The pan must bee re-primed b anothher shot may be attempted. 9: Haang Fire The priming pow off and seem mingly wder goes o nothhing happens. A slow burn causes the weapon to diischarge the following com mbat turn. Anyone stupiid enough to bbe looking do own the barrell takes a fulll-strength shoot with no ben nefit of armor.. Malfunction inn the Firing M Mechanism 10: M The firing mechaanism has a malfunction: for a match cord is stubbed-out iin the Matcchlock, the m pan and will neeed to be rellit before firiing is Wheellock or F Flintlock, the pyrite possiible; for a W or fllint in the coock has shatteered and has to be replaaced before anny further atttempts at firin ng can be m made. A full combat turn will be needded to repaiir the mechannism if a repairr is possible. Burn Round 11: B The shot is insuufficiently waadded or tam mped, resullting in the powder buurning insteaad of explooding. This caan weld the shot into the b barrel, renddering the guun unusable until it caan be fessionally repaaired. profe 12: W Weapon Exploodes The wielder takess the full dicce and adds o of the weappon in damagee—better luckk next character!
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To T Sttart W With… By Patrice P Geil le So you’vee got some brand b new Tuunnel & Trollss characters ready to go. Maybe M you’vee created them m with an online o characcter generatorr, allocated a certain nuumber of poiints between the differentt attributes (so called d “advanced d” characterr creation), or just rolled d some good old-fashioned d m have reecorded yourr six-sided dice. You may p of paper, a characterr character on a loose piece sheet provvided with thee rules, or useed one of thee many fan--created charaacter sheets yo ou can find att Trollhalla.. w Regardlesss, here you are with youur brand new characters, eager to sen nd them delvin ng. You mightt have a grroup of friend ds ready to play p T&T. Iff that’s the case, then good g for youu! If you aree his, however, you must bee a T&T fan n reading th with somee experience and the chancees are that youu take on th he function off GM more often than not. If your friiends do not often o come up p with a T&T T adventure they’d like to t run, you can c always tryy one of thee many T&T games moderrated by otherr GMs onlin ne. There are a couple of th hem currentlyy running on Vin Ahrr Vin’s V Trollbrid dge and otherss om one off Trollhalla’ss can be accessed fro multidimeensional gates. If you’d like to tryy somethingg else, fear not, the growingg line of T&T T solo adven ntures are jusst what you need. After all,, T&T is well known for its outstandin ng solos.
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Therre’s just a snagg: most of theem (and the b best of them m!) were creaated for midddle- to high h-level charaacters. Startinng with Michaael Stackpole’’s City of Te Terrors or Seweers of Oblivion is probably not a goodd idea. Ken SSt Andre’s sollos in particullar are know wn for their hhigh mortality rate. For theese the namees are self-expplanatory: Naked Doom, Deaathtrap Equaalizer Dungeon,, T.E.R.R.O.R R., and The T Toughest Dunggeon in the Worlrld. viously you doon’t want youur characters to die Obvi rightt away and thiis article is an attempt to increase theirr chances of survival. Butt remember, dying (i.e. llosing) is parrt of the gamee and does happen from m time to tim me. That is wh hy I would suuggest that you don’t ppersonalize yo our characterrs too hen you roll their muchh at the beeginning. Wh attribbutes, gold, hheight, and w weight they aalready havee their own iindividuality. For example, they mighht be exceptioonally strong or unusually dumb or cllumsy. Your character migght start his career with as little as 300 GP. She maay be very tall…and weight. Chooosing their kin n, type, equip pment, overw and ttheir starting talent will givve your characcters a lot oof personality already. But w wait until theyy have comppleted at leastt a couple off adventures to o give them m more. Depeending on the adventures th hey’ve beenn on and whaat you alreadyy knew about them whenn you created them, you could name theiir
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place of origin, religion, and social background. When your character reaches the second level, he will be able to pick up a new talent, which will personalize him even further. For the finishing touch, give him an earring, tattoos, a moustache, buy him a parrot and a pirate’s pistol, or let him smoke a pipe and wear a sombrero; whatever. The point is, do not personalize your beginning characters too much because the mortality rate is higher among beginners than among veterans. Your characters will then evolve naturally as they grow in power and experience. Your female warrior may turn out to be an Amazon or a barbarian with matching talents and equipment. Your wizard may evolve into a necromancer who creates new monsters or into a druid specializing in potions and herbs and casting strange spells deep in Mistywood. As it was stated in the Corgi Books T&T rules section, “unlike other solo adventures, Tunnels & Trolls allows characters to grow and pass from one adventure to another (…) By upping the attributes, through encounters in the solo adventures and level raises, your character will have a whole host of spells and weapons made available to him. Money will allow him to buy armour or those weapons and spells, making him better able to face the trials and tribulations of the solo adventures. Your characters can pass from one solo to the next, earning titles and treasure in a never ending heroic career.” One of the joys of T&T solos is indeed to have your characters grow and evolve. Another asset of T&T, which was not mentioned by the Corgi rules, is that you can always use your characters to play T&T with friends. Sharing and interacting with other players is also very rewarding. Having a wonderful advanced-level T&T character is fine, but having other players know that character and interact with him or her is even better! But if you want your characters to go that far, you will have to start them with adventures they can survive. A few early official T&T solos were made for beginners, but certainly not enough. Solitaire adventures like Buffalo Castle by Rick Loomis, Sword for Hire by James Wilson, and Labyrinth by Lee Russell belong to the “maze-type” adventure and were designed for first level Warriors. James Wilson’s Blue Frog Tavern was also made for beginning Warriors and is an enjoyable sequel to Sword for Hire. Sorcerer Solitaire rewritten by James L. Walker is a fine adventure for apprentice TrollsZine!
Wizards and Goblin Lake by Ken St. Andre is a tough solo for low-level Goblins. Remember the time when everybody thought that since Flying Buffalo was not publishing anything new, T&T was a dead game system? Times have changed and it’s amazing how many T&T solos have been published during the last couple of years. Print-on-demand and watermarked PDF files have probably helped a lot; new authors keep on appearing. Luckily, many of these solos were designed for low level characters. Recently, I bought a funny mini-solo for beginning characters, called Hecatombe, by Al McDougall; it was short, but good enough. Stuart Lloyd designed his Temple of the Fool God for beginning characters, in which you have to retrieve the greatest treasure of the kingdom from the belly of a mad god. I certainly will try that one too. Andy Holmes, one of the talented authors of Tavernmaster Games, is one of the most prolific T&T authors and – if I may add – one of the best. For beginning Warriors, I would recommend his solos Escape from the Vampyre's Crypt, The Haunting of Tilford's Hollow, or The Halls of the Gorgon - Level One. I hope you like the atmosphere Andy tries to create in his adventures as much as I do. Darren Jones is a little known, but promising solo author; The Temple at Marterrine is ideally suited for beginning adventurers of all character types. Surviving characters gain considerable skill and should be able to advance to more perilous adventures after that. The same goes for Sid Orpin’s (author of The Tree of Life) Devotion to Duty solo, in which your beginning character will become a fighting monk. In Formication, you can even play a newly created fairy Warrior. In Sid’s latest solo, Rapscallion, you can play a beginning Rogue. W. Scott Grant (Sligo) wrote the excellent Final Exam, another of the few solos specially for beginning Wizards. Try it if you dare! Dan Hembree is also a solid author of T&T adventures. I already wrote a review of The Tomb of Baron Gharoth in TrollsZine! #3. Since then, Dan has developed a whole line of T&T solos as well as a very good GM adventure by Mike Hill, The Dungeon of the Rat. Dan’s Lone Delver Games product line currently includes five solo adventures, the latest of which is Crypt of the Wolf Prince, specially designed for beginning characters. Patrick Witmer (Jongjungbu)’s No Rest
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for the Weary at War is a mini-solo designed for 1st level characters and one of the finest I played over the last few years. Some solos allow you to use several characters in an adventure. A good example is The Old Dwarf Mine by Roy Cram in which you can send in up to 10 beginning characters at the same time. Roy Cram is also the author of the solos Mistywood and Gamesmen of Kasar as well as the Wilderness Encounters catalyst book. The Old Dwarf Mine originally appeared in Pegasus magazine #73; it was later rewritten by Ken St. Andre and published online. Overkill, rewritten by Michael Stackpole, lets you play several characters as well, but is much, much tougher. Then there are solos that can be played by characters of any level. Gristlegrim Khosht, Arena of Khazan, and Hela's House of Dark Delights, all by Ken St. Andre, Beyond the Wall of Tears by K. Martin Aul, Search and Ye May Find, by Michael K. Eidson, and Abyss by Paul Creelman (but only for characters who have died) fall into this category. Curiously enough, most of Ken St. Andre’s recent solos from his Trollhalla Press series were not designed for beginning characters, even though he is known to favor low-level games. The exception is Tavern by the Sea, which is tough but is actually designed for beginning characters (there are even three ready-to-play characters included in the booklet). Tavern by the Sea was co-written with Andy Holmes and is available in two versions. The first, by Trollhalla Press, is illustrated by David Ullery and includes a GM adventure version. The second, by Tavernmaster Games, is illustrated by Jeff Freels and includes a second built-in minisolo, The Tomb of the Sea Reaver’s Gold. It is perfectly possible to take a solo designed for advanced characters and adapt it to suit your beginning characters. Obviously, this will require adapting the difficulty level (Monster Ratings and Saving Roll levels) and the rewards (Adventure Points and treasure). There are guidelines provided in the Monsters and Magic Book found in the T&T 7.5 box set, called “Balancing Encounters.” Based on those guidelines, the most
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appropriate MR to match a 1st level character is around 20 (3D6+10), which seems reasonable. Therefore, the MR amplitude should be between 10 (2D6+5 – easy encounter) and 30 (4D6+20 – tough encounter) while special damage triggers should be rare. The SRs should be 1st to 2nd level in most cases. Raising that difficulty level would usually mean instant death to a starting character (unless your “beginning character” is a troll, ogre, or balrukh; but in that case, I would recommend you send them to The Toughest Dungeon In The World or Strange Destinies both of which were specifically designed by Ken St. Andre to accommodate those kindred). Adventure Points do not usually need to be adjusted, since they are allocated depending on the MR of the defeated foe or on the level of the required SR. When additional APs are granted as a “lump sum” in a solo adventure, it is usually appropriate to divide them by four. Quite a few solos, however, already have some device to take your level and adds into account when awarding extra APs (e.g. Captif d’Yvoire). The value of any treasure should also be divided by four. But then, as is always the case in T&T, use your common sense and if you feel other adjustments are needed, go ahead! For example, Michael Stackpole’s Sewers of Oblivion was designed with high-level characters in mind (up to 7th level, with as many as 425 combat adds but preferably between 150 and 300 adds). My personal guess is that in this solo, difficulty level and rewards should be divided by 10 for a beginner to have any chance of survival. Some of the solos that I cited in this article might be unavailable (or only available from illegitimate sources) or out of print. If that’s the case, I suggest that you contact the author and convince him to republish it in one way or another. There are a number of ways to publish a T&T solo: 1) publish it in TrollsZine!; 2) publish it on the web (like IGS Games, Chimerae Hobby Group, Scott Malthouse, Andy Holmes, Tori Bergquist, or Patrick Witmer, and many others); 3) selfpublication (paper and/or electronic form via Lulu/RPGNOW/DriveThruRPG, like Trollhalla Press, Tavernmaster Games, and Lone Delver Games); and 4) via Flying Buffalo or Fiery Dragon (Andy Holmes just did that for his Castle Death).
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Th he Ruins of Casttle Pyn nnesse e A T&T 7.5 Ed dition G GM Advventure By Tori T Berquiist
Genera al Instructions This adveenture is desiggned for use with the 7.55 edition of Tunnels & Trrolls, but is playyable with anyy edition wiith minimal ad djustment. It is suitable forr 4 to 8 chaaracters of Leevel 3 or greater. There aree powerful enemies and dangerous ob bstacles to bee hin. found with
Backgrround he Hexeri Mo ountains alongg the Jhaknian n Deep in th Coast can n be found an old ruined keep. Thiss structure was w built as a bastion of refuge duringg the Plaguee Years and stood s the test of time. Thee order of knights whicch founded the t keep wass called the Knights of the t Thorn Crrown and wass matic Dark Lady Corrigan,, dedicated to the enigm h Queen. Th hey were “SSuethenurien,”” the Witch silver elves all, who had d foresworn th heir dedication n to the goddess Selene to pursue th he worship off G of th he Unseelie. Still, S they weree the Dark Goddess opposed to t the hordes of the undead d god Unarak,, and they became mysterious folk heroes in theirr time, as th he knighthood d protected th he refugees off the old kiingdom of Jh hakn and saveed many livess standing in their defensse. They weree even part off d the great siege against the witch Taarnaethas and h lies about one hundred d her Nighttspire, which miles nortth in the moun ntains.
Wheen the Plaguee Years endedd, the castle tturned into something m more of a township and the Thorn Crown left to pursuue the Knigghts of the T evil of Unarak eeastward, bacck to the gattes of Startthias. They weere not to be seen or heardd from againn until two ddecades later,, when two dozen knighhts returned, worn and weeary, with thee body of K Kytheron and other Suethen nurien in tow w, who had fallen in batttle. They enteered the castlle and burieed their falleen in the deeepest consecrated cataccombs, for tthe elves havve never tolerated imm molation of thee dead. They then settled ddown, to livve out their reemaining yearss as weary survvivors and w war heroes. The township whiich sprung up p in the valley below the ccastle came to be called Khaarador, after aan old dwarrvish word for prosperrity, though it is someetimes calledd that as weell. The town n was wideely regarded aas a safe havven, for the p people weree confident inn the power of their knigh hts to proteect the townshhip from any harm.
Among alll the Fey knigghts of Castle Pynnesse, thee most famo ous was the slayer Kythero on, a silver elff of such feerocious reputtation that to this day taless are told of o how he sllew a thousan nd ghouls byy himself in n one evenin ng. The legeends may bee boastful, but the reaality is not far behind. ne who slew w the Wightt Kytheron was the on Y an nd personally delivered thee General Yon-hagar, general’s head h to the do oorstep of the Nightspire.
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owever, thingss changed. In n Over the centuries, ho time, it beecame evidentt that somethiing was amisss in Castle Pynnesse. P Thee knights camee out with lesss frequency, and one dayy they came out o not at all. Only an occasional o sen ntinel could be b spotted on n the rampaarts. About tw wo centuries ago, the lastt two knigghts anyone laid eyes on n raised thee drawbridgge over the chasm leadin ng up to thee castle, and d then disapp peared from view. v A locall elvish bard named Merrcurian (who o still plies hiss t region) said s that the elder knightt trade in the Thyllios told him thatt no one wass to enter thee castle eveer again. The local people took this to o heart, untiil recently. m kn nights no longger protectingg With the mysterious the townsship, Kharad dor sought ouut protection n elsewhere,, eventually faalling under the t control off Baron Ethamos, E who ruled out of his own n modest keeep on his fam mily estates to the west. Forr several generations the Ethamos fam mily ruled thee land with a benevolent touch, until recently r when n p trouble and d civil strifee in Gharspaad stirred up Ethamos Keep was sacked. Barron Kalidan n Ethamos and his troo ops have fled to Kharador,, c Kalidan where theyy took up resiidence in the city. TrollsZin ne!
of the realizzed that the castle nestledd at the top o valleyy was an imprressively defen nsible location n, and decidded to seizee it for his own, despitte the warnnings by the loocals. To aaccess the keeep, Kalidan hired engineeers to consstruct a bridgge to span thee chasm prottecting ps transpired dduring the eentry. Many sttrange mishap this effort, butt only the locals rem mained nished supeerstitious. Wheen the bridge was at last fin mmer, Kalidan n rode forth aand in earlieer in the sum four days his crew w brought dow wn the barred gates. Theyy entered the ccastle groundss, and he declaared Castlle Pynnesse the new ffortress of H House Ethaamos. It w was at this m moment that something teerrible happpened. The ggates that hadd been pried open closeed of their oown accord, ttrapping the B Baron and his men withhin the castlee grounds. T Then a greatt deal of shouuting and confflict could be h heard, and at last quelleed. Those traapped outsidee were happened, butt loyal unabble to determinne what had h rangeers to the Baron scaleed the wallss and discoovered a masssacre within. T They could find no
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evidence of the attackers, but nor could they find the body of the Baron and several other men.
Notable NPCs of Kharador
The rangers returned to Kharador and relayed their findings to the Mayor and to the Baroness Inyrriel Ethamos. Stricken with grief, the Baroness stole away to the castle, and begged whatever lay within to spare her husband. To her amazement, an aged and worn knight, Thyllios himself, came to the ramparts and told her that though her husband was not dead, she could not save him, either. He begged her to leave and forget the castle, for it had long ago fallen to a great evil, which he was powerless to do more than contain, and that any that dared enter would likewise fall.
Baroness Inyrriel Ethamos Half Elf, Female, Level 2 Citizen; STR 10, CON 9, DEX 18, INT 22, LK 16, CHA 24, WIZ 14, SPD 12; Adds +5; (1/2 for being a citizen); Talents: Persuasion CHA+6, Etiquette CHA+5
Inyrriel, herself of half-elvish blood, could sense the pain of the knight and knew he spoke the truth. Nonetheless, she sent out the call for heroes. Could someone come forth and purge the castle of its curse, and possibly rescue her husband in the process? She sent runners to the far corners of Gharspad, and as far north as Pheralin and eastward to Etrurias to spread the word of the deed. She has offered a hefty reward for the task, 20,000 gold pieces. So far, two groups have made concerted attempts: a mercenary company known as the Red Blades has tried twice to siege the castle. The first attempt led to a disaster as two dozen men of the company were slaughtered when skeletons rose from the earth of the castle grounds and attacked. The men who had entered were all killed, for they had scaled the walls to enter. The remainder of the company now occupies the town, mulling over its options as the commander, Ashton Kesrik, ponders simply assaulting the forces of the Baroness in the villa she occupies to steal the coin offered.
Typical Red Blade Mercenaries Humans, Level 1 Warriors; STR 16, CON 12, DEX 12, INT 10, LK 10, CHA 10, WIZ 9, SPD 12; Adds +5; armed with Scimitars (4D+0) and Crossbows (5D+0); wear Cuirboille (7X2 hits); Talents: variable
The second group to attempt the job is an adventuring company led by the half-demon fighter-mage Caius Adornin. He has been very cautious so far, and determined that where an army will draw attention from the skeletal guardians, a small team can move undisturbed. Still, they too have been rattled, when an amorphous thing absorbed two of his team into its mass inside the foyer. They too are now rethinking their approach.
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Commander Ashton Kesrik Human, Male, Level 3 Warrior; STR 30, CON 18, DEX 15, INT 14, LK 12, CHA 16, WIZ 8, SPD 13; Adds +25; armed with a Great Shamsheer (5D+0); wears Banded Mail (13X2 hits); Talents: Swordplay DEX+4, Horsemanship DEX+3, Siege Tactics INT+2
Caius Adornin Half-Demon, Male, Level 3 Paragon; STR 18, CON 16, DEX 22, INT 20, LK 30, CHA 18, WIZ 32, SPD 16; Adds +38; armed with a Magic Rapier (6D+8 enchanted) and a Crossbow (5D+0) with 30 silvered bolts; wears Soft Leather (5x2 hits) and a silver ring (spell focus, -3 spell casting cost); Talents: Thievery DEX+6, Persuasion CHA+4, Occult Lore WIZ+3; Caius’s Favored Spells: Take That You Fiend, Call Flame, Vorpal Blade, Cateyes, Hidey Hole, Poor Baby, Whammy, Blasting Power
Secrets of Castle Pynnesse The Knights of the Thorn Crown were both paladins and warlocks of their dark mistress Corrigan. They had long sought to grant their mistress the souls she needed to restore her to life within the mortal plane, for she had wandered as a Fey spirit in the Weirding for more than fifteen hundred years. Their greatest champion was Kytheron, whose dedication was so great, it was said, that he had laid with the hag Black Annis, Corrigan’s mother, to attain his dark Fey pact. Indeed, it was Black Annis herself who told him
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the secret of returning her h daughter to t the physicall plane. At first th he means of attaining this goal seemed d difficult, for the Kniights could not in good d n consciencee harvest morrtal souls of the humans in the region n; at least no ot without im mbuing an evill into the act that coulld affect the Lady of thee Thorn Cro own herself, something s wh hich had been n done to her h long ago by her lost love, the Lich h Halistrak. The Knights wanted th heir Unseeliee o return as a pure p being. It was then thatt goddess to the Plaguue of Unarakk struck, and a source off seemingly unlimited soul energy was w suddenlyy made available. The Plaguue of Unarak served both to bolster thee efforts off the Knights and to hinder them. Thee countless undead of Unarak’s U arm mies were stilll w soul energy; e this energy wass imbued with harvested in vast wavees, allowing th he Knights to o n achieving their t goals. But B it was a go far in hindrance as well, fo or the soul energy wass he undead off Unarak weree corrupted and weak; th shells of the living souls necessary to bringg t the world. Still, in timee, the Knightss Corrigan to realized th hat only thro ough the deatth of Unarakk could the souls that theey had harvestted be used to o ore. When Un narak’s forcess free Corriigan once mo were at last on the defensive d and d word of an n assault aggainst Starth hias spread, the Knightss decided to o join the armiies which marrched against
They realizedd that to slayy him the dread god. T ns of resurrrecting mighht be the uultimate mean Corrrigan. hyllios In thhe end, they aachieved this goal. With Th and the others, Kytheron strruck the sunddering blow w that slew Unnarak, stealingg his soul eneergy in the pprocess. It w was then that Kytheron reealized theirr maddened error; for if th hey used the eenergy of U Unarak to im mbue life in to their Un nseelie godddess, she wouuld be inextricably corruptted by Unarrak’s very beiing and becom me an even ggreater evil. Kytheron, reealizing this, ttook the essen nce of mself, even as the other aavatars Unarrak into him sunddered the godd’s body, spreeading it across the worlld so it couldd never be iincorporated again. Kythheron took hiis soul essence, and promissed to sequuester it away.. He got halfw fway back to Castle Pynnnesse before hhe succumbedd and perishedd. By thhe time the suurviving Knigghts returned to the castlee, more thann half had b been slain b by the necrootic energy oof Unarak’s soul essence, which they had each takken in to holld as living vvessels n they untill they returnned to the ccastle. When arrivved, only handdfuls were leftt to inter theirr dead. Theyy took the souul essence andd placed it wiithin a crysttalline lattice ddeep in the b bowels of the castle cataccombs, and thhe survivors swore to deffend it againnst all incursiions. Their o once great go oal of restooring their goddess was no ow lost to thiis new task… …..or so they thought. ime, the numbber of Knightts dwindled. A few In tim defeccted but most perished wh hen the dead began to riise, includingg their own knights, from m the corruuption of U Unarak’s souul. It was when Kythheron at last rose as an un ndead Fey th hat the real trouble begann. At first Th hyllios was ab ble to m, but it wass clear restrrain and then imprison him od. Kytheron tried Kythheron was upp to no goo manyy times to esccape, but Thyyllios kept him m held or reecaptured him m at every turrn. It was nott until the dday that Baroon Kalidan Ettharnos arrived that the sscales tipped. The Baron’s m men were slaiin, but the Baron himsself and thrree soldiers were captuured by a quuiet horde of undead that arose from m the castle grrounds. To Th hyllios’s dismaay, the undeead that captuured the Baro on were undeer the contr trol of Kytherron, who rem mained sealed in the northh tower wherre he had beeen imprisoneed for two ccenturies.
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Kytheron spoke to thee Baron, and told him thatt ower was to be his, if hee the castle and great po would buut aid Kytheeron in his desired goal. Kytheron’’s plea to the Baron was simple: find d Thyllios, kill k him, and take t the key to o the tower to o release Kyytheron; he was w then to accompany him m to the crrystalline lattice in the caatacombs and d shatter it, releasing the dark soul wiithin. This, hee said, woulld free the casttle of its cursee.
with the Sueth henurien and assist If pllayers side w him, then they leaarn his name aand his missio on. He has iin his possession a scroll up pon which a n notice has bbeen printed, iindicating thee following:
W Wante ed Heroes to L Liberate that w which overlookss the Vale of Kharrador:
In reality, Kytheron in ntends to takee the soul off nce more into o himself. Hee believes thatt Unarak on he can theen seek out th he divine sparkk of Corrigan,, to channel the soul thro ough a dark riitual to imbuee the Witch Queen with divinity. d The Baron B is just a ol to slay Thyyllios and gain n means to an end; a too om. His undeaad madness has h convinced d his freedo him that he h needs to usse the soul at last l to awaken n the Witch Queen.
Casstle Pynn nesse W Wrought with E Evil
IIn vengeance ffor the Just and Kind Baro on E Ethanor’s dem mise
At the hand d of Creature es Most Foul
Prelude e: The Ma ad Knightt Players arre introduced to the debaccle in remotee Castle Pyn nnesse duringg a chance en ncounter. In a major porrt city (any willl do, but pressumably alongg the coast of Gharspad d) the PCs arre out for an n ding newly won w coin orr evening, either spend n they stumblee otherwise celebrating a victory when S Knight undeer assault. Hiss across a Suethenurien name is Sylas Endratthor, of Houuse Istrion, a d well-known n young Suuethenurien of a large and clan amon ng the silver ellves. He has been b cornered d by a dozen n thugs; several more lay deead at his feet,, but with still s more to come c it is onlly a matter off time beforre he perishes. NTER: 12 Huuman Thugs (MR 18 each)) ENCOUN and Sylas Endrathor E (seee below)
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To o the Liberators of Pynnessse shall be awa arded the sum of
20,00 00 Gold Pieces M Mint of the R Royal Standarrd of Gharspa ad S See Lady Imyrriel Ethanor in her Mounta ain Retreat Orchard Lane, Kharador 7 West O
o (barely 80 yeears of Sylass is young as ssilver elves go age),, but he has a personal stakee in this matteer. His he legendary hero granddfather, he says, was th Kythheron, who seerved well durring the years of the Plaguue of Unarak and despite h his dedication tto the
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Order of the Thorne Crown he was a good knight and of honorable name and action; at least this is what Sylas has been told and believes. Sylas will gladly recruit the party to aid him, for that is his exact reason for arriving in the port town; he needs allies. He will even go so far as to offer the party one half of his own share provided they aid him in recovering the remains and armament of his grandfather for proper transport to his native homeland in Golmadras (once called Sylvias, but such is the stuff of another tale). Game Masters can use Sylas as an extra NPC to flesh out the party if needed, or let him take something of a background role if the party is strong enough to hold its own. He can also provide Sylas as a companion character to a suitable PC. Sylas is partial to attractive women of any race for obvious reasons, and he may also be impressed with an especially gifted fighter from whom he can learn more of the fighting arts. Sylas Endrathor Suethenurien (Silver Elf) of House Istrion, Male, Level 2 Warrior; STR 16, CON 16, DEX 28, INT 16, LK 14, CHA 18, WIZ 14, SPD 17; Adds +29; armed with a Broadsword (3D+4); wears Enchanted Scale Mail (8X2 hits; will absorb double normal damage from spells, even those that bypass armor); Talents: Historian INT+3, Selenic Theology INT+4
The Characters Arrive
Students of following:
theology
might
learn
the
Made L1SR by 1 or better: The Knights of the Thorn Crown were a splinter group of radical Suethenurien who worshipped the Witch Queen Corrigan. They were dedicated to returning her to the mortal plane in a pure form, uncorrupted by chaos as she had been in past incarnations. Made L1SR by 3 or better: Corrigan is a dark Unseelie spirit, a goddess to some and a bane to others. She has manifested throughout time and always brought ill omen in her wake. The Unseelie see Fey as naturally superior to mortals, and are destined to rule. Made L1SR by 6 or better: Corrigan was believed slain by Xarion during the War of Strife over fourteen hundred years ago. Her cults believe that she can once again manifest in the mortal realm if she is imbued with the souls of fallen heroes and gods. Made L1SR by 10 or better: There are rumors of a young elf woman who claims or is believed to be the reincarnated form of Corrigan, but her cultists seek out a powerful spirit that can restore (or grant) her divinity. The Knights of the Thorn Crown sought to find this divine spirit to awaken her, it is believed, though they ultimately failed. Historians might know the following:
When the characters arrive in the town of Kharador, they know the following: Baroness Inyrriel is willing to pay 20,000 gold pieces to the first group to purge the castle of the haunting evil within. Two other groups have tried so far and failed to get anywhere.
Rumors Rumors abound in Kharador. Each character should make a L1SR on INT (or appropriate Talent) upon arriving in the town. Based on the margin of success (i.e. the amount the player exceeds the target number) the following levels of
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information will be known depending upon the characters background.
Made L1SR by 1 or better: Kharador was founded during the Plague Years, and protected by the mysterious Suethenurien Knights of Castle Pynnesse from the undead that stormed the mountains. Made L1SR by 3 or better: The castle was built by a mysterious Order of the Thorn Crown, but was abandoned centuries ago for reasons unknown. Made L1SR by 6 or better: The Knights who survived the siege of Starthias returned, but they locked up the castle and forbade all from entering two centuries ago. There were rumors of a dark spirit inhabiting the castle. Avernan gypsies stopped visiting Kharador around that time, claiming a great evil hung over the region.
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Made L11SR by 10 orr better: Thee avatars who o slew Unaarak eight ceenturies ago charged thee Knight Kyytheron with protecting a portion p of thee dismembeered god’s fo orm, though none know w what piecee it was, or ho ow it was to bee kept. Made L1S SR by 12 or better: b Kytherron is believed d to have died on his return trip to Pynnesse,, h soldiers carried c his body b and itss though his mysterious charge the rest of the wayy. Students of elven lore might know thee g (elves and half h elves onlyy!); following b The Knights K of thee Made L1SR by 1 or better: Thorn Cro own were a heeretical sect, cast c out of thee old Silverr Empire beefore it fell more than a thousand years ago. They T wandered for manyy ore choosing this place to t build theirr years befo castle. Th heir reverencee of the Wittch Queen iss forbidden among elvees, and thouugh there aree mbers of theirr order abroaad in the land,, living mem no elf encllave will welco ome them. Students of the occcult mightt know thee g: following Made L1SR by 3 or better: The castle c itself iss a a nimbus off power, possiibly offering a centered at direct con nnection to th he Feywild of the Weirdingg Realm. Made L1SR by 6 or better: b The entire e castle iss d shadow frrom the necro otic domain off cast in a dark the Shado owfell. It ap ppears to be a nexus orr junction of o these two opposing o realm ms, suggestingg a powerfu ul source off planar attraaction hidden n somewherre within the castle c (Unarakk’s Soul force).. Made L1SR by 10 or better: Therre is a potent,, otic energy em manating from m deep below w dark necro the castle.
townn that the casttle was best leeft alone. Som me say hunddreds of undeead elves rosse to slay his men, and drug him offf for unspeakaable tortures in the cataccombs below. Mad de L1SR by 6 or better: Th here are two ggroups (Caiuus Adornin’s crew and thee Red Blades)) who havee responded too the Baronesss’s plea for h help so far. B Both failed. Mad de L1SR byy 10 or bettter: At leastt one Suethhenurien knigght named Th hyllios is still ssaid to be alive inside the castle. The elder bard nd it is said th hat he Merccurion knows who he is, an has spoken with him along tthe walls at times. me families stiill leave foodd and goods aat the Som m leading to th he castle, and those edgee of the chasm goodds are always taken by myysterious beinggs the next day.
Places of Innterest In and Aro ound Kharador mountain town n, with Kharrador is a nice secluded m a reaasonable induustry in minin ng and lumberr. The townn is not hugee; there are ab bout 2,000 in n total conssisting of moostly humans,, dwarfs, halff-orcs, obbs live nearrby in and goliaths. A hhandful of ho Alesburg. Curiiously, theirr own commuunity called A only half-elves chhoose to live here; the legaacy of the castle keeps most elves at bay. Theere is rumoored to be a ssmall clan of ssatyrs in the rregion, but m most think it m merely fancy ttales. There is also
n Knowledg ge that an ny local orr Common interested d person might m pick up asking g around: SR by 1 or beetter: The casstle is a creepyy Made L1S place; youu can spot gho osts on the ram mparts duringg strange ho ours of the niight. Few who o enter live to o tell the talle; there are un ndead, and a hideous h entityy that abso orbs would-bee robbers wh ho enter thee main build ding. Made L11SR by 3 orr better: The Baron wass reckless and a ignored the t warnings of elders in n TrollsZin ne!
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a small community c of o gnomes in n the region,, although these gnomees belong to the dubiouss Nightrockk clan, notorio ous for their thievish wayss and prediilection for banditry. Thouugh plenty off merchantss in the regio on report bein ng robbed byy bandits (usually implyin ng the bandits have ogres orr trolls in th heir service), none n ever repo ort being held d up by gno omes. Noneth heless, road wardens w in thee region susspect that mo ost of the loccal banditry iss due to th he Nightrock clan, which worships thee goddess Phaedra P and appeases a her with w heaps off stolen loot, stashed befo ore a shrine in n a mysteriouss n cavern thaat has yet been found. The elder warden Mathar (a male human n ranger of th he woods) hass been searrching for th his cave and d the gnomee communitty for years no ow, to no avaiil. He suspectss that they use u magic to mask m their hideout. The Skyliight Tavern and a Inn This is th he most prom minent tavern n and inn in n town, and d caters to merrchants and ouutsiders. It’s a comfy locale, but costs 5 SP a day to stay here and d has some expensive foo od as well.
The Winter Bull This is a rowdy tavern wherre most localls and goodd gossip can be found. Itt is managedd by a marllack draconiann named Yzddarak. This is also Mercurion (a h human male) ccan be wherre the bard M founnd, usually maanaging a baw awdy tune thaat can still be heard oveer the cacoph hony of the W Winter Bull’’s usual row. he mysteriouss lone Merccurion has inndeed met th Suethhenurien whoo stands ato op the parapeets of Castlle Pynnesse, aat least until rrecently. He kknows his nname is Thyllios and he hass taken some of the Suethhenurien’s stoories and workked them into o song. Merccurion is esppecially interessted in the aalmost carnaal lust that thhe Suethenurien’s remembrrances hint at, how it sseems that evvery knight o of his ancieent order wass madly in lovve with the Laady of the T Thorne Crownn. Mercurion does not kno ow the wom man’s full nam me, however (though charracters trainned in religion might get a roll, abovve, on heariing this titlee to recogniize it as on ne of Corrrigan’s nom dee plumes). oin to Merccurion might be tempted by some co acco mpany the PCs to the wallls of Pynnesse (25 gold,, as well as free meals an nd ale for th he trip oughht to do it; hhe’s easy) to play the songg that usual ally summons Thyllios, so that he may convverse. If the PCs coerce h him into doin ng so, then see Area 1 (the gateho ouse) in the castle descrription for more inforrmation on what happpens. The Lumber Milll The mill is ownedd and run by Mayor Esten and he best spot to find his cclan. It’s a bussy place and th the Mayor, who can answer any question ns the adveenturer’s may have. Esten is fielding mo ost of the questions by mercenaries for Lady In nyrriel, PCs what he kknows and will be delighhted to tell P hing of abouut the history of the castle, being someth a loocal historiann. He can relay any o of the inforrmation up too the equivalen nt of a 10 or better succeess for historrical details (ssee the historry lore roll, above for whhat this includdes). He also kknows the information about the co onnection beetween mberment andd the order; b but at Unarrak’s dismem Ladyy Inyrriel’s reqquest, he is reffraining from telling anyoone about it tto avoid scariing away wouuld-be merccenaries. Thee concern is primarily that Unarrak’s legacy iss so great thaat mere mentiion of
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the dark god could scare s adventuurers away orr d luck to th he entire afffair. Still, an n bring bad especially persuasive ad dventurer (L33SR on CHR)) s the beeans. He even n could talkk Esten in to spilling has an old d tome, “The Chronicles of thhe Lower Undenn Valley andd the Historic Taales of Kharadorr and Environs”” by the sch holar Taraduss of Pheralin, written thirtyy years ago, that includess block prints of the castle,, and recounts the fall off Unarak. The Ethaamos Retreatt This palattial estate was built two deccades ago as a getaway fo or the Baron and his familly. It is wheree Lady Inyrrriel and her faamily are dweelling until thee matter of her missing huusband is reso olved. Valley’s End E Provision ner This tradee store has most m of whaat adventurerss could wan nt, and is run n by the douur iron dwarff Magdor Irronthane. He offers good sttandard pricess for adventturing goods. The Smitthy With no fancy f name, th his smithy is ruun by the halff ogre Gursston, who is even practiced in forgingg magical weapons w (off a quality the GM iss comfortab ble with).
Getting g to the Castle C The journ ney to Castle Pynnesse P is a tough one; a long winding trail alongg the valley waalls and up thee southern slopes s of Mouunt Kern endss abruptly at a vast chasm m. The bridge across this ch hasm is newlyy built, but adventurers attempting to o cross it willl get the terrrible sense th hat it is prone to collapse att any momeent. There is (for ( fun) a slim m chance thatt for each person p crossin ng it will buckle and begin n to fall apaart in 1D3 turrns. Anyone failing f a L1SR R on LK must m roll 1D66; on an odd d number thee bridge starrts to go! Thee drop to the bottom b of thee chasm is about a 300 feett (i.e. terminall). Beyond thee unapproacchable shelf off of Mount Vassar V lies thee castle pro oper, protecteed on all sidees by terriblee drops and d unassailable cliffs. c
he ladder, dislodged appeears to have sshoved off th the grappling hoooks, and cuut the ropes from abovve. Scaling thee walls by han nd takes a L2SSR on STR R. Using the lladder or a rrope and grap ppling EX. The chaaracter hookk requires a L1SR on DE dropps 5 feet for ev every point a SSR is missed b by, up to tw wenty feet (1D D3 damage perr 5 feet, armorr does not rreduce damagge). 1. Gaatehouse Eviddence of a larrge battle is llittered all oveer the placee, but the gattehouse is oth herwise abanddoned (checck for a randoom encounter)). 2. Grreat Hall Ruinns of old décoor, furniture, and once vaaluable art liitter the hall,, which is alsso strewn witth the remaains of the loong (and recen nt) dead. Theere’s a slighht chance (L1SSR on LK) th hat someone might stum mble across a uuseful and intaact piece of raandom equippment amidstt the bodies an nd debris. 3. Th he Castle Coourtyard Heree a slaughter has occurredd, but despitte any stori es heard told of in the town n, no bodies ccan be founnd. Plenty of secondary evidence caan be noticced (L1SR onn INT), such aas broken weeapons lyingg in the mud, and many, m many foot andd hoof printts. Some prinnts are especiaally odd…maade by bonyy feet. There is evidence o of blood spilt upon the gground; a lot oof blood. For every turn th hat the PCs linger here wi without being sstealthy, theree is a 1 in 3 chance of aan undead atttack consistiing of mixeed skeletons,, zombies, and undeadd Fey knighhts: COUNTER: 2D6 skeleton ns (MR 22 each), ENC 2D6 zombies (M MR 28 each), 1D6 undeadd Fey knighhts (MR 44 eaach)
The large wooden doorrs and the iro on bars of thee portcullis are barred from the oth her side, butt ntures have left l plenty off rope, a few w recent ven grappling hooks, and a wooden ladder lying aboutt for scalingg the twenty-ffoot-high wallls. Somethingg TrollsZin ne!
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4. The So outh Fountain n Court Any who o enter this area are surprised by a veritable horde h of skelletons that sw wim up from m the apparrently bottom mless fountain n pool in thee center of the courtyard. Indeed, if one were to o swim to the bottom of the pooll (about onee a fifty feet down) there is a length off hundred and tunnel wiinding about and openin ng up in thee catacombss below. Mo ost of the skeletons thatt appear here are decrepiit, but if the PCs P don’t gett out of herre quickly mo ore powerful skeletons and d zombies will w appear. The T fountain will disgorgee 100 weak,, water-logged d skeletons an nd 20 skeleton n soldiers beefore it runs out. o NTER: 20 skeleton soldiiers (MR 266 ENCOUN each), 1000 waterlogged skeletons (MR R 16 each) 5. The Staables The stablees, like most of the outer castle, are in n ruins. Theere is a 1 in 6 chance off 1D6 undead d horse skelletons animating and attackiing. NTER: 1D6 undead horrses (MR 300 ENCOUN each)
Notablle Encounters in th he Castle e Interiorr /Foyer 6. Parlor/ This parlorr has seen better days; once elegaant furniture andd draperies arre now covered in dust, moth-eeaten, and wornn through tim me. Old candelabbras still stand, while w glass vasess show evidennce of running, the t glass beginniing to slowly losee form over time. t Bones andd debris litter thhe floor, and inn spots evidennce of a strange slime s can be founnd running from m along the grate g down the center of the floor. fl A strangee stench emannates from somew where below. Froom somewhere inn the distancee you hear strang nge mutterings ass if from dozenss of babbling madmen. Here is the lurking protoplasmic chaos beastt s beastt hidden beehind old taapestries; a starving which is now ravenouus after its reecent meal. Itt waits more prrey. It will seeek to ambush h eagerly aw any who fail to spot itts location on n entering thee room (L2SSR on INT). haos beast and d pry open thee If the PCss defeat the ch grate in th he floor (L2SR R on STR) then n they will TrollsZin ne!
find its hideous lair in a cclogged stretcch of wn the drainnage that wass once used to hose dow floorrs above after festivities. Buuried in the m muck is a beaautiful goldenn statue of thee Queen of T Thorns ridinng a bull wortth 1,500 GP aand an ornatee wrist bandd which, whenn worn, grantts the user a shield of innvisible armoor worth 10 hits of proteection. Therre are portionns of the disssolved hand which oncee wore it still aattached. COUNTER: Protoplasmic chaos beastt (MR ENC 86; 22/Spite: the chhaos beast beggins to sing an n eerie songg which inducces paralysis in each persson in listenning distance w who fails a L11SR on WIZ) 7. Grreat Tower Standding apart from m the main casstle, this tower stands ominoous and impenettrable, surroundded by a deep dry ry moat and aaccessible only vvia a long bridg dge walk that sstretches from the balustrades of the main casstle walls to the highest floor of the curious toower. Arrow slitits are visible onnlyy from top floor of the structure and, for just a seccond, it the to appeaars that a figurre is standing by one of the slender portal als, watching youu from above. Oncee the Hall off Meeting forr the Knightss, this impeenetrable basttion can onlyy be reached via a seconnd bridge oveer its own lessser moat. Thee moat to thhis tower is drry, however, aand can be crrossed careffully. It is herre that the lasst living Fey kknight,
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Thyllios, dwells. He keeps no company, as he despises the undead that lurk in the castle. Presently, Thyllios occupies the tower, but he has been gravely wounded and his master key stolen. This key can free Kytheron from his prison, and opens up the passage to the catacombs in Chapel Area. The Baron, touched by madness now, stole the key and decided to enter the catacombs first, before freeing Kytheron, to investigate this source of power for himself. Thyllios is near death and the wound is suffused with necrotic energy, so there is little (without GM fiat) that can be done to save him. He will aid the PCs with knowledge and direction as best he can. Five minutes after the PCs enter the tower, should they succeed, a spectral shadow demon will manifest to try and finish off Thyllios and the adventurers. ENCOUNTER: Spectral shadow demon (MR 186; 2/spite: the shadow demon sucks the heat and ambient light from the area, suffusing the region in darkness and dealing spite in cold damage to one or more characters (GMs choice); the shadow demon takes double damage from attack that radiate light; anyone slain by the shadow demon will return as a lesser shadow demon (MR 50) ten minutes later) 8. Garden Terraces As you approach what appears to be a desiccated grove of trees, probably a long-forgotten shrine to the forest god Niras, you see evidence of foul droppings and bones scattered everywhere. From above in the ruinous brown branches and dried leaves of the trees is movement, as a colony of harpies awaken with a terrible shrieking noise. Here lurk five hungry harpies who have taken up residence in the deadened trees. The safest possible cover from the flying creatures is in the grove itself; any character entering the grove gains advantage of partial cover (-2 to attackers), but also finds the ground to be treacherous as it is covered with harpy offal and scattered bones. Each turn a PC moves through the grove in combat requires a L1SR on DEX, otherwise the adventurer slips on the uneven, harpy-offal strewn ground and reduce his CBT by one half for that turn.
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ENCOUNTER: 5 harpies (MR 64 each; 3/spite: a harpy grabs a random PC and lifts him up 1D6 X 20’, then drops him for 1D6 in damage per 10’ fallen (ignoring armor) unless the character makes a LK SR at 1 Level per 20’ fallen) 9. Overlook Tower The overlook tower stands on the precipice of the great cliff overlooking the valley below. One lengthy staircase runs up along the main castle wall to reach the third floor of this tower, but where a door would ordinarily be there is only a smooth wall. A quick inspection shows where an entrance to the tower was once to be found, but it has since been bricked up, to create an almost seamless wall with the main tower; indeed, it appears even the arrow slits have been bricked and sealed. In the center of this bricked up area is a small hole at eye level, about a foot deep and just wide enough to thrust an arm through. On the far side of the hole, wreathed in the pitch dark of the sealed tower, you can barely make out silver hair and a lean ear. A voice emanates from within. “Please,” says the whispered voice with an elvish accent. “You must help release me. I have been here so long. There are madmen in charge of Pynnesse. I must stop Thyllios, my captor, and that mad Baron. You must help me.” Here is the walled-in prison tower of the undead knight Kytheron. Kytheron is still trapped here, waiting for the Baron to complete his task, but anxious at the outcome as he knows that the Baron has forsaken him to the tower for now. The entry to the tower appears to be a smooth wall, but the master key will fit into the small hole and open up the otherwise seamless entry. Kytheron can manifest himself to visitors in a spectral form just outside of the wall, but no further. A squadron of eight spectral warriors will attack any who try to free him by a means other than the proper key, which is held by Thyllios. Kytheron will try to gain the confidence of the adventurers and will do his best to obscure his undead nature. He will call upon his vestigial connection to the Weirding Realm to make himself appear as he did in life (L2SR on INT to pierce his glamor and sense that something is amiss). Kytheron will implore the characters to stop the Baron, explaining that he intended to be free and to stop the ancient evil within the crystal in the catacombs that has led to the death and corruption of the once great castle. He explains
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that the Baron has gone mad with power, and must be stopped, for only Kytheron can insure the crystal is properly disposed of, thus why Thyllios keeps him locked up, for Thyllios was long ago driven mad by the crystal and answers only to the dark spirit within. If PCs attempt to ascertain if Kytheron is telling the truth or not, those who made their INT SR earlier need only make a second L1SR on INT to suspect something is wrong with his story. Otherwise, he is very convincing and only the shrewdest of PCs will be likely to believe he lies (L4SR on INT). Should the PCs free Kytheron, either by use of the key or through impressive brute force (players can be endlessly surprising in their solutions!) then they will face a rather ominous opponent: a Level 5 silver elf wight! Kytheron will play along if it benefits him to gain the crystal, but the moment he can, he will seek to destroy it and take in Unarak’s spirit. This would be very, very bad, as the undead knight is suffused with a portion of the evil divine spirit of the God of Undeath. ENCOUNTER: Kytheron, Elvish Wight (Level 5 Warrior; STR 58, CON 50, DEX 30, INT 28, LK 30, CHA 24, WIZ 40, SPD 12; Adds +87; armed with a Hand-and-a-Half Sword suffused with necrotic energy (6D+0; any damage done comes off of both CON and WIZ); wears Enchanted Scale Mail (8X2 hits, enchanted to stop up to 3 spite damage per turn) OPTIONAL ENCOUNTER: 8 spectral warriors (MR 45 each; all damage dealt drains both CON and WIZ at the same time) 10. Long Gallery This grand gallery held the prized arms and armor of the castle. Along the upper reaches of the walls are windows, most of them shattered; the broken glass is strewn about the floor of the gallery. While many of the shields and suits of armor are rusted and falling apart due to the severe weather of the Hexerei Mountains, a handful of items stand out as being in excellent condition. As you take in the chamber, several suits of armor suddenly begin to move, brandishing weapons! It is then clear that there are animating skeletons inside these suits; they advance to defend the ancient gallery with their unlives.
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There are ancient arms and armor within this grand gallery, and four armored skeleton soldiers to defend it, led by one death wight. The armory itself contains many fine suits of arms and armor, including several enchanted weapons and suits of armor (roll or choose randomly, but most suits of armor can be found here in varying states of repair). A duplicate gallery can be found in the south tower of the inner complex. It is free of undead, and hidden in the debris are the bones of an old saint of Naril, the sun god, which causes the room to radiate a pleasant ambient light that heals those who rest within (1 CON/turn). ENCOUNTER: 4 skeleton soldiers (MR 38 each) and 1 wight (MR 65; 2/spite: each character must make a L2SR on INT or flee in terror for 1D3 combat turns; once a character makes the SR, he is immune to the effect for the duration of the battle) 11. The Grand Hall Here dwells the Fey undead knight Elias, who will attempt to stop the PCs if he thinks they intend to disrupt the lattice or free Kytheron. He sits upon an old throne, once the throne of the High Lord of the Order, and ponders fate while he dallies with strange semi-real imagery which overlaps from the Weirding Realm of the Fey. The chamber contains dark faeries and other Unseelie sprites that produce a bountiful harvest of food that he cannot enjoy, but will offer to PCs he has befriended. He is unable to leave this room, as Thyllios has warded the doors and windows to keep him trapped within. ENOUNTER: Elias, Suethenurien wight (MR 88; 2/spite: each character must make a L2SR on INT or flee in terror for 1D3 turns; once a character makes the SR, he is immune to the effect for the duration of the battle) 12. The Chapel/Temple Presiding over this chamber is an impressive wooden statue of the Witch Queen. She is quite radiant and surrounded by ancient artifacts, including a holy amulet (add 30 to the wearer’s WIZ for purposes of spell resistance) in her right hand and an Orb of Defense (+3 hits taken while held) in her left.
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The Offices 14. T Heree are the oldd quarters of the knights and a librarry. Within thhe library is a ritual bookk with severral useful rituuals called “O On Stranger Kynndes of Thauumaturgy.” Theere is also a bo ook called “Incanteus Morttis” in whichh the nature of the Crystalline Lattiice as an objeect that can bee grown to co ontain soulss is described.. The ritual includes a part w where you can utter a rittual that eitheer frees the trrapped mpress soulss of the latticce, or explainss how to com the laattice down too a hand-sizedd crystal, for a time. It exxplains that shhattering the lattice will force the bondded soul in tto the vandall’s body. Gen nerous GMss can also let the PCs findd some spell b books with useful spells hhere.
s passagee Hidden beehind the grand altar is a secret to the cataacombs. It can n be opened with w Thyllias’ss master keyy, which must be inserted in the hole in n the centerr of the altar, or it can be found with a L2SR INT T; but any atttempt at picking the lockk (L3SR DE EX) will triggger the trap regardless off success. When W the catacombs are op pened, a ghoull and severaal zombies (frresh from thee ranks of thee recent incuursions) will charge c up and attack! NTER: 1 ghoul (MR 42; 1/ /spite make a ENCOUN L1SR on CON or be paralyzed for 1D6 combatt d 27 zombies (MR ( 28 each) turns) and P 13. The Pantry The pantrry has been ovverrun by gian nt spiders. Thee pantry is otherwise filled f with th he desiccated d ms and old russted cutlery. remains off spider victim ENCOUN NTER: 3 colo ossal spiders (MR 50 each;; 2/spite: each e characterr must makee a L1SR on n DEX or become en ntangled in spider webs,, m as well as all DEX D and SPD D reducing movement values by ½ until they deal 30 hits of damage to o t escape) the webs to TrollsZin ne!
The Catacom mbs Entrancee 15. T Therre are two way ays into the caatacombs: a paassage downnward from K Kytheron’s to ower (A. righ ht stair cham mber) and a ppassage from the Chapel (B B. left stair chamber). R Regardless off which passaage is od side takenn, the ancient vestige of Kyytheron’s goo will manifest andd beg the plaayers to release his ment from torm ment. Moreovver, he physsical embodim m not to allo ow Corrigan to be will implore them Unarak’s bleakk soul, that iif any empoowered by U ritual al is allowed tto commence in which Un narak’s soul is bound to C Corrigan then n she will be uutterly God of Undeaath. corruupted by the bblight of the G Unfoortunately Kyytheron’s vestiige will ask th hem to insteead shatter thee matrix of ccrystal that co ontains Unarrak’s soul. A L3SR on IINT or WIZ Z will sugggest that this iss a bad thing tto do; it will rrelease Unarrak’s spirit oonce more, allowing his own “vesttige” to seekk out the elleven parts o of his physsical form andd attempt to reeunite them! Kytheron’s vesstige should come into co ontact If K with his undead form, the p physical aspeect of odness Kythheron will eraadicate his veestige of goo with a wave of iits hand andd a fair amouunt of scofffing that anyoone thought itt could be useeful in defeaating him! Thhe vestige know ws this, and w will try to diiscourage the adventurers ffrom trying to use it in anny such capaciity. The NW Crosss Chamber 16. T This chamber is where the Baaron Ethamo os met nd has his ffate. He wass slain by the undead an returrned as a wigght, slaying hiis surviving m men in the process. He now lurks here with sseveral
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zombies, waiting w to am mbush any intruders. He hass the Masteer Key to thee castle, whicch opens anyy door excep pt the one to the catacombs.
COUNTER: 7 ghouls (MR R 42 each; 1//spite: ENC makee a L1SR on CON or be paralyzed forr 1D6 combbat turns)
NTER: Baron n Ethamos, human h wightt ENCOUN (MR 148;; 2/spite: eacch character must m make a L2SR on INT I or flee in n terror for 1D D3 turns; oncee a characteer makes the SR, he is im mmune to thee effect for the duration of the battle)), 18 zombiess (MR 28 eaach)
The South E East Chamb ber of the C Crystal 20. T Latti tice This is where thee enigmatic C Crystal Latticeework wall to ceilingg. The was placed; it streetches from w ple light and mist, latticcework pulsess with a purp and emits an alm most intoxicatiing power. A final greatt trap has beeen placed heere; any who enter withoout observingg the inscription written in silver uponn a metal bannd inset in thee stone runnin ng the lengtth of floor too the ceiling iis struck (L3SSR on WIZ Z); if the SR is failed, then th he target takes 2D6 damaage to INT annd WIZ plus 1D6 ongoingg INT damaage per turn so long as tthey remain iin the room m (no additioonal SRs allow wed; damagee ends whenn the room iss exited). A ddeep resonant voice tells the offenderss to “Flee, inteerlopers, and llet the Lordd of Undeath rrest for a dreaamless eternityy.”
mber 17. The South Centrall Burial Cham The mostt holy of the Order were laid l to rest in n this chamb ber. A Fey kn night named Warden W dwellss here, overrseeing the prrotection of the t tombs. Iff slain, the characters will w find a sccroll of Born n Again ass well as a hand-and-aa-half sword d permanen ntly enchanted d for double dice (10D+00 weapon). NTER: Ward den, Suethen nurien wightt ENCOUN (MR 125;; 2/spite: eacch character must m make a L2SR on INT I or flee in n terror for 1D D3 turns; oncee a characteer makes the SR, he is im mmune to thee effect forr the duratio on of the baattle; 5/spite: releases a Hellbomb Burst B worth 80 points off damage) N Centrall Burial Cham mber 18. The North Holes in the t walls heree lead to deep per caverns in n the moun ntains. A fam mily of giant subterranean n cave worm ms has made this chamber their home. Young on nes are roosting here an nd will attackk immediateely. NTER: 8 gian nt subterranean n cave wormss ENCOUN (MR 75 each; 3/spite: make a L2SR R on DEX to o ng swallowed! Swallowed taargets take fulll avoid bein CBT dam mage until theey can cut themselves out;; they need to deal 20 hits h directly to o the stomach h wall of thee worm to freee themselves) 19. The North N East Bu urial Chambers Here the ghoul g Adonis and his clan have h taken up p residence. They have a narrow passsage (must bee hrough) that descends d all the t way down n crawled th the valley to a hidden entry beneath h the Lumberr Mill. Theey snatch occcasional vicctims, usuallyy transients and passerss-through, fo or food. Thee o up into o the greaterr ghoul passsages also open caverns off the Hexerei Mountains. M
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Adventureers who messs with this crrystal run thee risk of unlleashing the sp pirit of an und dead god….orr at least portion thereof. Should some eventt w leads to o the spirit’s release, it willl transpire which first seekk to inhabitt a suitablee host. Anyy prospectivve host must make a L5SR R on WIZ orr become dominated d by the fragment of Unarak’ss spirit. Thee host will theen begin to trransform into o an undead d wight of paarticularly greaat power, and d seek to escape in order to find the other pieces off Unarak’s divided d spirit. This could leead to furtherr adventures down the ro oad. The PCs found the “IIncanteus Mortiss” in Area 144 then they have the rituaal to do damagge (or protect)) ht risk the so oul’s escape iff the crystaal. They migh Kytheron’’s vestige in Area 15 talkks them into o shattering the crystal (which can take 40 hitss before shaattering). The PCs could trry to haul thee crystal away as it is, butt staying within 100 feet off it causes inevitable co orruption and d madness; a d is required d while in itss L1SR on WIZ each day A permanentlyy presence; each failure saps 1 CHA from the afflicted charracter. When CHA reachess c beco omes a wight. zero, the character
Random m Encoun nters
8 9 10 11 12
1D3 Fey knight wightss (MR 64 each h) and mbies (MR 28 eeach) 2D6 zom 1 chaos bbeast (MR 120)) MR 30 each) 1D6 spideer swarms (M 1D6 colossal spiders (M MR 50 each) D6 zombies (MR 28 each h) and Horde! 6D 6D6 skeleetons (MR 22 each)
unters Cataacomb Encou 2D6 Encountter 2 3D6 ghouuls (MR 42 eacch) 1D6 ghoouls (MR 422 each) and 1D6 3 zombie doogs (MR 20 eaach) 4 4D6 zom mbies (MR 28 eeach) 5 1D3 shaddow demons (M MR 80 each) 1D6 giantt cave worms (MR 50 each)) 6 1D6 wighhts (MR 64 eacch) 7 4D6 giantt rats (MR 16 each) 8 1D6 colossal spiders (M MR 50 each) 9 he soul 1D6 soul takers (MR 444; 2/spite: th 10 taker dealls all damage ffor the turn ddirectly to the plaayer’s choice o of INT, CHR R, LK, or WIZ) h) and 1D3 Fey knight wightss (MR 64 each 11 mbies (MR 28 eeach) 4D6 zom h) and 12 Horde! 100 zombies (MR 28 each 100 skelettons (MR 22 eeach)
ntered (or re-Roll oncee per room or region en entered); when w in doub bt, there is a chance of an n encounterr if you roll a 2 or 12 on 2D6. In map p areas that are undefineed or left open, the chancee nter happens on o a roll of 2, 3, 11, or 12. of encoun If a rand dom encountter occurs, roll 2D6 and d consult th he appropriatte table depen nding on thee location of the party. ncounters Castle En 2D6 Encounter E 2 2D D6 zombies (M MR 28 each) 3 1 human wigh ht (MR 50), 2D6 2 zombiess MR 28 each) (M 4 4D D6 skeletons (MR 22 each) 5 1 Fey Knight wight (MR 64) and 1D33 pectral warriorrs (MR 42 eacch) sp 6 1D D6 spectral warriors w (MR 42 4 each) 7 1 human wigh ht (MR 64), 4D6 4 skeletonss (M MR 22 each)
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Troll Links 7 TrollsZine! Trollszine! 1 : http://www.rpgnow.com/product/79185/TrollsZine TrollsZine! 2 : http://www.rpgnow.com/product/81203/TrollZine-%232?src=s_pi TrollsZine! 3: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/83082/TrollsZine-3?src=s_pi TrollsZine! 4: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/99363/TrollsZine-4 TrollsZine! 5: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103116/TrollsZine!-%235 TrollsZine! 6: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/107627/TrollsZine!-%236
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
T&T Artists A Liz Danfo orth: http://w www.lizdanfortth.com/ Jeff Freelss: http://jeffw werx.com/indeex.html Southern Realm: R http://web.me.com m/kevinbraceyy/Southern_R Realm/Welcom me.html Simari Deesign and Illusttration: http:/ //www.simari.co.uk/
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