3 ways to make T&T combat more awesome {T&T}

I've always thought that if you play Tunnels and Trolls combat by just rolling two lots of dice and finding the difference, you're doing it wrong.


So here are some tips to make your fights that bit more entertaining and challenging.

Get creative with saving rolls


Much of the time delvers will be against the odds when it comes to fights. If they were to do a straight fight, that is to say they roll both lots of dice and find the difference, they will eventually be whittled down to corpses - and that's no fun. Saving rolls during combat allow for creativity and to gain an advantage over opponents. The hobb warrior could open his purse and throw gold on the ground to distract a goblin or a particularly dexterous elf could perform a spinning kick to the urook's face to try and stun him. The GM sets a level for the saving roll, usually the level of the enemy or the MR divided by 10, or whatever they want to use. The GM can then decide what advantage the delver gains. If the enemy is knocked to the ground then perhaps they aren't able to contribute any of their dice or adds for 1d3 rounds. Disarming could halve the adds of the monster.
However, to avoid the temptation for the players to keep repeating the same move to disarm or floor an enemy, increase the saving roll by one level. This simulates the fact that the enemy is learning the players' tactics and it means they will find other ways to use their saving rolls.

Allow players to use set-pieces to their advantage

It can be difficult for players to continuously come up with new ideas for saving rolls, so give them a hand by creating interactive environments. Big, sprawling scenes shouldn't just be reserved for 4th edition D&D - they can work a treat in T&T too. Ropes, torches, loose ornaments and magical artefacts all come together to create a veritable playground for players during fights. They could cut down a curtain that lands on the enemy's head, rendering them blind for a turn, or they could torch the oil on the floor and push a creature into it. Put lots of stuff that could be used on their own or in conjunction with each other. I guarantee this will spice up your fights and even the odds.

Add a secondary objective


I mentioned this in my post on creating better 4th edition encounters, but it bears mentioning here. A fight is all well and good, but adding an objective other than killing the monsters can create tense and exciting battles. Perhaps the princess is gradually being lowered into a magma pit and the players have 5 turns to release her, or the demon is using a staff that created dimensional gates that let more demons into the battlefield, so the players must destroy the staff to close the portals. When the stakes are upped then the players will have a better time.