Tunnels & Terrors - Beta

[cartomancer]

W O W ! !

I only just took the time to have a good look through this and i have to say that i am HIGHLY impressed with both the depth and the quality of the material.

I'm looking at writing an article for modern fire-arms and this will help no end!

*Exalt*

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

I'm glad you like it. ;D

I've been awfully quiet recently, but with general ill health in the family and a real feeling of burn out from all the "Outlaw" press fiasco I've been having a hard time getting inspired to do anything.

[Deleted]

So will we see a print or pdf version?

[castiglione]

Mar 28, 2010 16:05:59 GMT -5 Toad-Killer-Dog said:

I'm glad you like it. ;D

I've been awfully quiet recently, but with general ill health in the family and a real feeling of burn out from all the "Outlaw" press fiasco I've been having a hard time getting inspired to do anything.

Well, we all need time off from things to recharge our batteries.

Take care!

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Thank you, I'm just waiting for the edited version to make it's way back to me and then I thought I might either start a play-test on the board or see if I can get it hosted for the enjoyment of all. ;D

[Deleted]

I can't speak for everyone, but I'd enjoy a pdf.

[mahrundl]

I think that a lot of people would like to see a PDF, T-K-D.

Out of curiosity, how big is this puppy? Is it of a size that would make it TrollsZine-suitable? Or are we talking an entire issue of TrollsZine on its own (in which case a standalone PDF is probably preferable)? Not that you can't do both...

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Well I know it prints out at about 69 pages ( and that was writing it for a magazine with limited spells, setting, monster and equipment information ).

If after I get the edited version back from Hogscape it looks too large for inclusion in magazine format I'll pdf it out and write up an introductory adventure I've been kicking around to include with it.

Perhaps it could be broken in half and published across two magazine issues?

If it gets a good reception I can expand the spells, bestiary and equipment in supplements.

I have also been thinking about maybe some optional rules for mad scientist & pulp-supers for a more straight pulp off-shoot.

I really need to play-test better before I start fiddling with gizmos and super-powers.

[cartomancer]

Apr 18, 2010 4:08:21 GMT -5 Toad-Killer-Dog said:

Well I know it prints out at about 69 pages ( and that was writing it for a magazine with limited spells, setting, monster and equipment information ).

If after I get the edited version back from Hogscape it looks too large for inclusion in magazine format I'll pdf it out and write up an introductory adventure I've been kicking around to include with it.

Perhaps it could be broken in half and published across two magazine issues?

If it gets a good reception I can expand the spells, bestiary and equipment in supplements.

I have also been thinking about maybe some optional rules for mad scientist & pulp-supers for a more straight pulp off-shoot.

I really need to play-test better before I start fiddling with gizmos and super-powers.

Well, i have to say that you have done a fine job so far and the post alone shows material of a very high proffesional standard. Personally, i'd suggest you run it off as a stand alone PDF in the full glory that you preceive it to have with all the spell, bells and, whistles and, it's own little solo.

In my eyes, if that were to happen, we'd be looking at a new keystone in Tunnels and Trolls history but, of course, it's your baby and, therefore, your choice... Either way, as long as i get a copy, i'm happy. ;0).

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Thank you very much. ;D

I'm reading a "Field Guide to Supernatural Texas" right now and I'm hoping to maybe work in some Southwest elements into my introductory adventure.

What can I say as a Howard fan I don't think all pulp horror needs to be set in New England.

I actually had not thought of doing an introductory solo for Tunnels & Terrors, but now that you mention it that is the perfect way of introducing the new mechanics.

Kind of like a big walkthrough to get across both the mechanical and setting cues.

I had been thinking of doing an adventure based on one of the hellish state run sanatoriums that existed in the South in the early twentieth century.

I wanted the main character to be the new head of the asylum and the other characters would have been staff and patients, but I could make it just the new head.

Even better idea!

I could do a short solo at the end of the book with the new asylum head that leads into the longer adventure with the players taking on the roles of staff, psychologists and patients.

Thanks Cartomancer have an exalt on me! ;D

The only problem is to my shame as a T&T guy, I've never actually written a solo adventure. I've avoided it because I could never seem to wrap my head around the fundamentals of solo design.

However this idea has real merit, I guess I need to buckle down and figure it out. Maybe I could start a thread on solo writing and design.

So an example solo, hmm I'll have to see if I can find a map or some blue prints of a largish old style asylum.

[cartomancer]

Why thank you. :0).

If you do feel you need some help with writing a solo i would be happy to assist. I also believe that there will be an article on solo writing in the next TrollsZine that should be of help. :0).

My off the cuff advice would be to start with a map as if you were planning to produce a GM adventure and, mark out the areas where you think something 'interesting' might happen. With an asylum i imagine that there would be tons of places such as treatment rooms, morgues maybe, cells, staff housing, medical lock-ups and plenty, plenty more.

Once you pick your key spots it's just a matter of filling the spaces just like your planning for a group session and dreaming up somewhere between 2 and 5 options that would provide various levels of success and faliure. These are the biggies.

Next all you need do is fill in the gaps that lead from biggie to biggie and throw in the occasional random event to keep the player on their toes. That's how i usually go about writing a short solo but, i appreciate it wont work for everyone.

I feel the key point in all this though is to have a map as it makes writing the descriptions in the paragraphs oh so much easier. I also really like the idea that you want to use the map of a genuine asylum. Sticking that as a tag line to the solo would boost the atmosphere ten-fold!

I have to say, i also like the setting idea that you're running with. The south has a very dark undertone to it even without adding a horror aspect due to its history. It's like the country actually has a prescense that bleeds through your skin that need only you read of it to feel.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

My GrandMother was a nurse in the Arkansas State Sanitarium during the 30's and I can draw on some good stories from both her and from Louisiana.

I do have one question, in order for the solo to lead into the GM's adventure I think the solo should have a pre-generated character and I'm thinking that the end of the solo should either not solve the mystery or leave it open for the group of PC's that will come later.

However I don't want the solo to feel like a forgone conclusion, a game isn't fun if your not allowed a chance to win.

So do you think it would be better to leave the mystery hazy or maybe just drop some heavy implication that although the player has got the 'Good" ending they have only scratched the surface or that while they are victorious they have left the job half done, incomplete.

Hmm, you could even have the character from the solo leave clues for the PC's in the GM's adventure.

Maybe the solo can be about dealing with the cult that has infiltrated the asylum and defeating them, alerting the authorities and cleaning them out. Then the GM adventure is about dealing with what the cult has summoned and the insidious influence that has infected the asylum.

I'll need to come up with some good characters for the solo character to interact with and maybe a few characters that could cary over into the GM adventure.

Of course some good patients are in order and would be much easier to explain why they are still in the asylum after the solo adventure.

I'll have to work hard not to slip into stereotypes.

[cartomancer]

I'd say from my own personal experience and opinions that your deffinatly steering the project in the right direction and, it's a breath of fresh air to see people asking these questions before waiting for the feedback from the players because, lets face it, these are the kind of questions they are going to ask. That's the strength of playing the games you write, you know what people want to elevate their gaming experience beyond 'I see the Orc, i kill the Orc, I take his gold, i see another Orc... etc.)

I think what you might be running to here is a prelude type solo maybe wher ethe pre-generated character is both part and parcel of the GM adventure and, appears as either a plot device, adventure hook or NPC? I like the idea that the actions in the solo are evident in the solo too as it gives the players a greater sense of emmersion.

Reading through your notes and ideas relating to the cult i think i can see a story building here as an asylum is an ideal place for them to set up. Who's going to believe the stories a mad man tells of the horrors he witness'... Especially when the head of the institute is also the high priest and assures the authorities that these are no more than the dellusional rantings of a paranoid schitzothrenic (or however you spell it .

Maybe the cults latest 'victim' flees terrified into the local woodland and you as a local law enforcement officer in a small mid-western town are tasked with tracking the seemingly 'dangerous' man down before he can harm anyone. Tracking the man is not hard given his unusually poor health and returning him to mad house opens into the adventure... Or you could play through the woods bit too.

I know the odd happenings at an asylum can seem cliche but i suspect that the cliche is more down to the hollywood hacks that use the ploy so poorly. I'm sure you can write rings around them any day of the week. .

[castiglione]

69 pages is certainly long enough to warrant description as a proper rulebook! Old-school rulebooks were certainly that length (T&T 1st Ed., Holmes BD&D, Moldvay BD&D, Gamma World, etc.).

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

I came across two handed down family stories that while I don't know if I can use them in my adventures are well worth sharing.

The first is about a Arkansas politician who murdered his wife and managed to bribe his way into an insanity plea. Long story short he pulled it off, but in the transfer he was delivered after hours and the orderlies on duty didn't know about the bribe.

They threw him in the open population in the state asylums basement where he apparently pitched a fit and became abusive to the other patients.

When the head administrator came down to get him out in the morning the other patients had....eaten him.

Yeah my Grandmother always had the most fun family friendly stories.

The other story was about how for a while it became popular to get rid of troublesome or unwanted wives by having them committed. Particularly popular in Louisiana and Arkansas apparently.

I thought I might throw in a wrongfully committed woman thrown into the mad house as a possible ally for the solo adventure.

I'm also toying with the idea of throwing in an old man feigning instability so he won't be thrown out to starve in his old age. Maybe something with a little color, a saddle tramp, failed patent medicine man or gambler.