trolletgunnar
4th Level Troll
A Swedish player who holds the Tunnels and trolls banner high.
Posts: 360
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Post by trolletgunnar on Feb 15, 2023 5:55:57 GMT -5
Just cherry pick what you like! Wise words indeed. If you don't like a rule, throw it out or change it. If you think there's something missing, make it up or borrow from elsewhere. The big strength of T&T is that it's almost impossible to break. It is very robust indeed! I mix rules from the fifth, the seventh and the Deluxe version, and I add house rules. And and it still works.
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Post by dwayanu on Feb 15, 2023 13:24:26 GMT -5
The more dice you’re tossing, the less likely is a given degree of deviation (number of points off) from the mean.
It thus makes less and less difference if you substitute a fixed average value for most of that.
You might even find that there’s enough variation when having only the players toss (not randomizing monster total).
If you want a lot more variation, you can toss a single die and multiply. Doing that for both sides can yield dramatic turns. One time in 18, one side gets 6 per die and the other gets 1 per.
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Post by dwayanu on Feb 15, 2023 14:13:06 GMT -5
On the importance of stratagems accomplished with SRs, note that the standard HTH combat system is really almost Chess-like in determinism.
This is largely a matter of how armor fundamentally changed sometime after the first edition. (Originally, it was basically a stock of extra “hit points” that got worn away.)
A foe with a significant chance of winning by enough to get damage past even modest armor is likely to be a steamroller; one without either makes you the steamroller or yields a stalemate.
That’s still more the case in a melee (with division of damage). If the Warriors with doubled armor are hurt at all, the figures that are not ‘tanks’ are hurt a lot!
Missiles and magic shake things up, whereas standard bashing and slashing is nigh a foregone conclusion. ‘Stunts’ can make up for that, and are very much an open matter of the GM’s ad hoc adjudication.
One might want to call for SRs against abilities other than Luck, both for variety and because as levels go up so rapidly does the difference between characters that one allotment to that score makes.
Again, while the example in the book is (if memory serves) basically one toss for either astonishing victory or instant doom, more subtle applications are probably desirable. “Yes But” or “No But” results tend to be more interesting and hence fun.
Another thing to remember about T&T combat is the one-sided nature of the standard resolution means that a figure getting taken out of the fight has a profound effect. When things go pear-shaped that way, persistence in a losing battle can easily become a TPK. In such a case, I advise generosity in giving the players a chance to escape.
Moreover, it may be meet for defeat not necessarily to equate with death. If you establish capture for ransom as a norm in your world, then PCs who get a reputation for flouting it cannot expect to be granted quarter themselves.
Turning to the literary sources of heroic fantasy, there are not only more nefarious motives for taking prisoners — which cunning heroes sometimes exploit for infiltration— but various ways in which Luck saves protagonists (often ways that might seem “out of the frying pan, into the fire”).
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punkrabbitt
Lurker under the Bridge
Tunnels & Trolls, Swords & Wizardry, The Traveller Book... I think I'm set for the rest of my life!
Posts: 5
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Post by punkrabbitt on Feb 15, 2023 16:47:31 GMT -5
Just cherry pick what you like! Wise words indeed. If you don't like a rule, throw it out or change it. If you think there's something missing, make it up or borrow from elsewhere. The big strength of T&T is that it's almost impossible to break. Really, that is my plan. I don't think I've ever played a game RAW outside of Warhamster 40,000.
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Post by stonehill_art on Mar 13, 2023 16:52:24 GMT -5
Very cool, I am a relatively new (maybe getting on a year now?) soloist also keeping to 5e. Personally I found it fun to go irl treasure hunting for bargain modules, but there is ton of of free stuff out there as others mentioned. I was happy with the relative simplicity, where I can be creative in stringing adventures and character development (I even am trying to use the kin of slain warriors to pick up the mantle. An idea I saw from pendragon). You can find ways to add depth if you like or just k.i.s.s (keep it simple stupid!). Have fun!
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