[Reopened] Let's Learn… Tunnels & Trolls!

[Starbeard]

Dear Friends and Fiends:

Let's Learn Tunnels & Trolls. Who's with me?



The full reasoning process is in this post (Let's Learn Something), but here's the gist of it: I'd like to pick up a game with a few folks, have us all learn it together by running a quick introductory module, then shelve it and move on. I got some feedback in favour of T&T so that'll be first up.

Two questions need to be answered to get the ball rolling: 1) who's interested, and 2) what edition is preferred. I have PDFs of 1st edition ($1.95), 4th edition ($4) and the 5th(?) edition quick-start rules (free), plus a hard copy of edition 5.5.

For the module, I'm thinking of using the introductory dungeon in the back of the 5.5 rulebook (so no peeking). If it really turns out to be too short to scratch our itch, I can always crack open Rat on a Stick and we can explore the first couple of levels of that.

[Pulpatoon]

I'd be curious to give it a try!

All roads will surely lead to the free edition, unless there is strong reason to believe that one of the pay-editions is superior.

[Starbeard]

Great!

I think you're right, the free edition will be the one. According to my hazy memory there are only minor differences between them anyway, not unlike the different editions of Call of Cthulhu or variations between B/X, BECMI and LL. If anyone really wants to see what the game was like in the 70s then I can just swap out the relevant tables with the ones from 1e or 4e.*

Come to think of it, I'm not actually sure why there's no second or third edition. It adds to the mystique of it, I guess.

[Pulpatoon]

Downloaded!

[Starbeard]

Alright, I've flipped through the free PDF, and everything looks straight forward. It covers only Warriors and Wizards, but Rogues can be brought in easily if we care enough.

The module will be a short one, "Trollstone Caverns", which comes with the full Version 5.5 rulebook. It's a standard dungeon crawl, very limited in scope, and features some of the bizarre 'funhouse' rooms that T&T modules are famous for.

I think it will prove sufficient for our purposes. If not, then it can very easily be dovetailed into the classic Judges Guild module "Rat on a Stick," which certainly will.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Still interested in this. I'll download the free rules when I'm sure this will happen.

[Starbeard]

Fantastic! I've got the call out on a couple of sites to see if there are any further bites. If there are only 2 players I'm still more than happy to move forward.

[Lobo89]

I'm interested. This sounds like a fun experiment.

[Starbeard]

Outstanding. It looks like this thing is getting off the ground!

So far I've got expressions of interest from:

Pulpatoon
Rusty Tincanne
Lobo89
4 others spread across various discussion forums, including ODD74, Dragonsfoot and the TrollBridge.

At the moment there are requests to host the game at the ODD74 OD&D Discussion forum or the TrollBridge, from people who are already active on those sites and don't feel they can commit to adding another forum to their list of daily check-ins. I'm happy to host the game wherever the greatest number of people are willing to play it. Do any of you have a preference about keeping it here or moving it somewhere else?

[Pulpatoon]

I, too, would be reluctant to hop over to another board. I'm pretty compartmental in my internet usage, and I come here for one-stop PbP shopping. No worries if you want to take it elsewhere, and I will make a good-faith effort to follow, but I know that I'll be much less likely to keep up with the game on a regular basis.

(Now I feel bad, like I'm making a diva-move, or something. But I guess we all have our ways of dealing with the sprawling chaos of the internet, and compartmentalization is mine. Apologies!)

[Lobo89]

I'm flexible to play wherever you decide to host it.

[Khaboom]

Count me in

[Starbeard]

It looks like we're getting underway!

I've decided to keep the game here as originally planned, since the U.S. has the largest number of interested players. I've PMed ToniXX for a game forum, and then we'll get started.

In the meantime, go ahead and download the free rules at your preferred online PDF shop (RPGNow or DriveThruRPG). It includes 5 pages of rules, a 5-page solo adventure, and a 4-page group adventure (that I won't be running). The rules section definitely isn't edited as well as it could be, but everything should still be easy to learn and reference. We'll also have a thread for silly rules questions.

For the curious, the free rulebook looks like it's boiled down from 5.5 edition, which I've learned is actually just a reprint of 5th edition (1979-2005), with optional rules appendices added. That's a pretty long run for a single game edition, maybe even the longest in the market!

[Khaboom]

Looking forward to it - how many players do you have?

Will we roll dice and post or use an online method?

[Rusty Tincanne]

I'm still in. For what it's worth, I feel the same way as Pulpatoon regarding hosting the game here, for pretty much the same reasons. If I were to join another site, I'd end up either forgetting to check in on the game, or worse, I'd join more games. So thanks for hosting it here. And thanks for anyone willing to join the US.net!

@khaboom: I can't say for sure what Starbeard will choose, but most games here use the US die roller, linking the rolls to the campaign through your character.

[Starbeard]

Looking forward to it - how many players do you have?

Will we roll dice and post or use an online method?

It looks like we'll have at least 5.

Rusty's correct. We'll use the die roller (top right corner), and copy-paste the rolls into the posts. I don't know whether we'll bother with the character sheets that come with the die roller though. I guess we can wait until characters get rolled up to decide.

[Rusty Tincanne]

The major benefit is that you can track the rolls. But if you trust us...

[Pulpatoon]

We can still make characters on the roller, without using the sheets.

It is pretty useful to have macros and roll-history for a given character.

[Starbeard]

Yep. In Grognardsw's Cthulhu game here we created characters in the roller but just ditched the sheets. That's the way we'll do it if we don't use the sheets.

We may still use them anyway, I dunno. The 6 ability scores are basically the same, just switching Wisdom with Luck, and we can add a Speed score if we feel like it.

We also need a place to keep track of Combat Adds, Equipment Carried, and Gold Carried. As long as we can figure out a consistent place for each of these things on the fancy character sheet, then I'm happy to use them. Otherwise it may be a whole of lot simpler just to put put the PC information as a normal post. We'll see.

[ClockworkPoltergeist]

Hey, Starbeard, I'm here. Introduction post/thread created as well as this one to let you know I've arrived from the Trollbridge.