Tunnels & Trolls

Tunnels & Trolls is the first RPG, and the oldest of the old school. The IP has been passed around to a few companies, which is unfortunate, and the hardcover Deluxe Edition is now out of print; however, it is still available in PDF format on DriveThruRPG.

I wish they would make this available via POD.

And I wish I knew what was happening around the new version. If one is created, I hope it stays true to the spirit and design of the original game, since that is where this system's charm originates.

If you can get the PDF printed and bound, that is a good second choice to an actual hardcover. It is not like the game is all that complicated that you need a hardcover, as most of the time you are just using the book to reference spells.

There have been rumors of a new version, and we have not heard much, though the game's creator has forked the system with the Monsters! Monsters! Game. There is also The Lair of the Leopard Empresses RPG (TLLE), which is a M!M! variant that continues the original sword & sorcery rules in a new setting. TLLE contains numerous rule clarifications for all systems and serves as a comprehensive reference for Deluxe and later editions. The overpainted AI art is sometimes strange, but it works. The savage, Conan-style Mayan meets savage lands-style setting is unique.

Monsters! Monsters! is like a reverse T & T where you play as Monsters. They have an updated 2.7 Edition on DTRPG, but you can't get a physical copy of this version (only an earlier one). I like this game, and I would either like it in print or a 3.0 version.

M!M! is a fun game, especially if you play adventurous parties of monsters who must overcome their weaknesses and solve problems creatively. How does a blob, a skeleton, a giant slug, and a yeti free a captured princess from a town? Do they dress up as humans? Sneak in at night? Especially when the city is filled with bored adventurers who would kill any monster on sight? The RP is often hilarious when combined with players trying to use their monster abilities creatively against self-important and egotistical adventurer types.

There is no open license around any of these systems, and the rights to use them must be granted by the publisher. I hope that any future version of these rules and games is released under an open license.

Humans! Humans! is the other side of the coin from Monsters! Monsters! You play as humans against the monsters. This is also not available in print. If this all confuses you, I don't blame you for sticking with T&T. They need to combine both games into one book and clean up the rules and presentation.

Yes, part of that image is the ADAD cover. I like it on both books.

TLLE is the most serious game with the hardest hitting setting, while M!M! and H!H! are a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but that matches the original T&T style. If you fall more on the silly side, go with the M!M! and H!H! games. More on the serious side with rules clarifications? Go with TLLE.

How did we get to covering four games? Ah, we are talking Tunnels & Trolls. This is a beer & pretzels RPG where you have characters and monsters throwing a bucketful of six-sided dice to determine the results of a combat round. The more you have and the higher your modifiers, the more damage you do. Spells take from a wizardry score (like mana). You can stunt and make saving rolls from your abilities. All of the games listed use a similar system, with TLLE being the closest to epic fantasy.

The system is elegant, unbalanced, fast, crazy, and fun. Some fights are not fair, while others are blowouts. Your ability scores and level are always edging upward, and no ability score is fixed; they can change at any time during an adventure due to "stuff happening."

We stuck with T&T (the 5.5 version) as a system throughout the 1980s and 1990s; it is solid, fun, and supports a crazily unbalanced level of high-level play. There are also many classic T&T solo-play adventures written for the 5.5 system (and that is still available in PDF). Party combat is easy; everyone combines their rolls and compares them to the enemy side's total.

Learn how to add six-sided dice quickly is all I have to say, or use a die roller.

I still like T&T, and TLLE looks like a worthy successor if we never see another printed version of the game. This is a solid game, old-school to the max, and a worthy play if you are into classic dungeon gaming.