- A person of great endurance, his prime attribute is CN
- Being a child of the wilderlands, he never wears armour except for loincloth and fur he already posesses in order to stay agile like an animal; it has an armour rating of 2
- Different to the warrior, he is a being of such brute power, that he can wield a two-hand weapon in one hand and a one-hand weapon or a shield in the other one (or two one-hand weapons or even two shields if he’s more into defensive tactics). To ensure his toughness grants the use of two weapons, you have to check the ST and DX dependencies of both weapons/shields and take the highest value in each dependency.
- Barbarians despise modern technology like black powder gunnes because of their complexity and low reliability. They will never use any other ranged weapon than the bow (yup, they even despise crossbows) because in their opinion it is the perfect hunting tool. When using any sort of bow they lose one less die when firing at distant targets, just like elfs. However, as elven barbarians are a rarity, this advantage is not cumulative.
- Like the warrior, the barbarian has a natural armour rating in addition to his armour already worn. Different to the warrior though, years of wilderness survival have sharpened his senses even more, thus his natural armour is his current level +2

As the name suggests, the marksman is a warrior specialized in ranged combat. As always in T&T, the label should be understood as rather abstract, thus a marksman can be an archer, a rifleman, a hunter or even a cannoneer, if you’re aiming for the more exotic niche.

The marksman is handled in the same way as the warrior, but with the following differences:

- Marksmen are masters of their craft, with their eagle eyes, they never lose more than two dice when firing at a target. Henceforth any saving roll involving sight is reduced by one level in difficulty.
- It requires skill to use a ranged weapon with such a proficiency; their prime attribute is DEX amongst two others to be chosen by the player
- Since marksmen are trained in ranged combat, they can’t use two close combat weapons nor two-handed close combat weapons.
- Marksmen can only make use of their warrior combat add bonus in ranged combat, in close combat, they can only use their natural adds
- Unlike the warrior, they gain their weapon proficiency immediately, not on level 4. Though it has to be for a ranged weapon.

Mounted combat
When riding a mount, a character and his mount count as one when damage is divided evenly amongst the party members. This symbolizes the advantage of height, that usually comes with riding a mount. If both the character and his mount wear armour it has to be substracted from the damage total they both receive. What goes through has to be evenly divided amongst the rider and his mount. If you use the optional spite damage rules, only the character receives spite damage, since the foe is looking for that small gap in the character’s defense or armour. In addition to his own damage total, the rider also deals his mount’s adds as damage.

Mounts and direct damage
Wizards with spells that inflict direct damage or archers/gunners with long-range weapons can choose to directly attack mounts, while leaving its rider unharmed. In this case, even the spite damage goes only on the mount.

Falling from a mount
Many circumstances can lead to the rider falling from his mount. We assume, that it’s because his mount gets killed. Falling from a mount is a very hurtful and unpleasent thing, hence the rider receives 1d6 of damage without any armour substraction. Not only is his armour of no help to him at all, more than that it can cause an even more dangerous injury because of its weight. For each full 10 points of armour the rider wears he gets +1 damage to the falling damage roll. Now that can hurt plenty!

Mounts and lances
When using a lance as a weapon on a mount, double the weapon damage in the first combat round as you’re charging. If you’re using it further after that without the initial advantage of charging, you have to half your adds as it is such an unhandy weapon. To avoid this, you can make a L1SR on Speed to loosen yourself from combat for one combat round – certainly this also means that you’re not dealing nor receiving any damage and abandon your other party members – so you can return into combat charging the next round. You may also throw your lance away or, if it’s made of wood, break it after the first combat round and try to draw a secondary weapon.

Type: Lance (steel)
Dependencies: ST15|DX10
Weapon damage: 10d6+10
Range: 4 meters

Type: Lance (wood)
Dependencies: ST13|DX10
Weapon damage: 8d6+7
Range: 4 meters
Effects: If you’re charging as described above, the wooden lance breaks and is rendered useless now that you’ve taken advantage of its doubled damage

TTYFEL
The “Take that you fiend!-Execution Lance” – or in its common abbreviation “TTYFEL” – is a sword of great magic power. While it doesn’t deal that much of non-magical damage, there’s still the possibility that this demon sword unleashes a TTYF of random grade at the enemy.

Type: 1-hand sword
Weapon damage: 6d6+4
Dependencies: ST20|DX15
Worth: 2000 gold-pieces
Effects: Each time you deal damage with the TTYFEL roll another d6 seperately. If you roll a six, the TTYFEL deals a level 1 TTYF. Roll again. If you happen to roll another six, the TTYF gets powered up a level. Repeat this for as long as you roll sixes and add the TTYF-damage to your total damage.
Quote: “Ha! Look, his sword’s on fire, seems he can’t control it! Uh-oh…”

The Talking Shield
A typical round shield at first sight, it actually is an armour with a soul. The Talking Shield is the ghost of an ancient warlord banned into a shield by an unknown evil wizard. The shield has a mouth that is usually shut when not in combat, though its master can try talking to it and make use of its unparalleled wisdom.

Type: Shield
Armour rating: 6
Dependencies: ST10|DX8|CH10
Worth: 35d6 gold-pieces
Effects: Each time The Talking Shield absorbs damage, you can try to cajole it into absorbing double its armour rating by making a successful L1SR on Charisma.
Quote: “Ouch! Dammit, that sword was rusty, master!”

Simple alignment system
Each character belongs to one of the following three alignments
Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic

Lawful: Characters of this alignment abide to common social laws or those of the region they currently reside in. Certainly it could also be their cult, guild or master whose rules they follow. The strict determination to one law can be a source of conflict with another form of law. Wizards are most likely to be of a lawful nature.

Neutral: Neutral characters try to stay out of trouble with any party or fraction involved. Though they might not agree upon any of their views, they hold a passive role. A neutral character really has to be pushed for his fury to be unleashed or, if they are confronted verbally, to readily reveal his goals. Many warriors tend to be neutral.

Chaotic: Revolutionary ideas come from characters who oppose or at least question their surroundings. Characters of this alignment aren’t necessarily loners but they often follow their own plan at all cost even if they are part of a fellowship. It is part of their nature to dismiss laws who stand in the way of their goals. Rogues often classify as chaotic characters.

If roleplay is not enough to justify the opinion or reaction of an opponent, there is always the possibility to make an alignment-check. This is done by making a L1SR on Charisma and adjusting the Level according to how far the opponents alignment strays away from the character’s. Consult the following chart to determine the Level of the SR:

Alignm. / Chaotic / Neutral / Lawful
Lawful / +2L / +1L / +0L
Neutral / +1L / +0L / +1L
Chaotic / +0L / +1L / +2L

If you wish to add more depth to this system, the current state of the opponent can be taken in account and adjusted by following merits:

State / Adjustment
Friendly / -1L
Neutral / +/-0L
Cautious / +1L
Hostile / +2L

If the Level falls below a L1SR, you can add another dice for each Level you are below L1 to your roll. These additional dice are added separately after determination if the SR was an automatic failure and of course don’t generate doubles.

“What has all of that to do with Heavy Metal?” you might ask. Now, while I’m using soundtracks carefully to accompany my game, in crucial situations (boss fights for example) I use heavy metal anthems with strong lyric content to boost my players’ motivation. Luckily, there are many bands around, old and new, who actually have their lyrical roots in pulp fantasy, greek mythology or are at least inspired by these or similar themes.

Here’s a selection of bands I’m truly devoted to and their respective masterpieces I commonly use in my campaign. If you dig them, you might want to hear more, so I added their MySpace-links for your convenience. Enjoy!

Crescent Shield – Above Mere Mortals (play on YouTube)
http://www.myspace.com/crescentshield

Virgin Steele – A Symphony Of Steele (play on YouTube)
http://www.myspace.com/virginsteele

Manowar – Hail And Kill (play on YouTube)
http://www.myspace.com/manowardefendersofsteel

Medieval Steel – Medieval Steel (play on YouTube)
http://www.myspace.com/medievalsteel

Manilla Road – Merchants Of Death (play on YouTube)

http://www.myspace.com/manillaroadofficial

(The Lord Weird) Slough Feg – Warrior’s Dawn (play on YouTube)
http://www.myspace.com/sloughfeg

Onward!
Your players successfully crushed a mob of enemies, their courage is at an all-time high – time to mess with the next bunch of bad guys! If the next combat happens within a combat turn (2 minutes), the characters may try to activate Onward! by making a L1SR on Charisma. If they succeed they double their adds in the first combat turn of the upcoming battle. Characters who fail the SR receive double the spite damage a foe inflicts on them within the first combat turn, because they loosen their cover by being too lightheaded.

Intention: To stay true to the spirit of pulp fantasy, I needed a house rule that enables my players to plow through hordes of enemies.

Since this blog is dedicated to Tunnels & Trolls (wait, you don’t even know what Tunnels & Trolls is? Stop reading further and jump directly to section 4), the best way to introduce myself to you, the reader, is by making a solo-module out of this very first entry. It will certainly be the shortest solo you’ve ever played, but you know what? Some interactivity’s always better than a lame introduction. Go ahead if you dare.

-1-

As you’ve passed the northern reaches of the blogosphere, a mighty stronghold emerges on the horizon. This is the Jäger’s Nest, his unholy monastery, home to blasphemic lore and countless creatures unknown of. A half day’s journey later you are about to approach its blood-red, demonic front-door. Are you brave enough to face what lies behind the entrance? Then gather all your courage and jump to section 3. Or are you a wussy and would like to have a look around, pretending to be a cautious and clever delver, while you’re actually only delaying the inevitable? Then read further at section 2.

-2-

You step into a trap and are catapulted to kingdom come by an ominous mechanism. Oh, the pain! Roll up a new character and return to section 1.

-3-

The door opens whilst rumbling strangely. As you try to pass it, you shriek in horror as it’s wooden texture transforms into something close to a human face. A “Barking Door” engages you into battle.
Barking Door: MR720, Damage: 73d6+360
If you manage to kill the door, you’ve proved yourself worthy to enter the stronghold. In it’s final gasp, the Barking Door spits out 20d6 worth of gold and “Nerzenjäger’s Hat”, a mighty artefact.
Nerzenjäger’s Hat: head gear, weight: 0, effects: you may repeat any failed saving roll on IQ
Move on to the next post in this blog.

-4-

Tunnels & Trolls is the brainchild of Ken St. Andre and second ever to be published roleplaying-game right after Dungeons & Dragons. Currently, as I write these words, in it’s 7.5th edition, it has garnered a small, yet strong following, who love it’s low complexity and modular design, which makes all editions almost fully compatible with each other. Words can’t describe the experience, so if you’re looking for a fast, fun and yet complete fantasy roleplaying-game, Tunnels & Trolls is your choice. Head to Outlaw Press, Fiery Dragon or Flying Buffalo, grab a copy of the rules (there’s an edition for every taste, mine being the “Mythical 6th Edition”), read through them, roll up a character and go straight back to section 1.

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