Thursday, 29 March 2012

Avengers Vs X-Men #0 {Comic Review}

Copyright of Marvel Comics
It's that time of year again when Marvel pushes out a brand new cross-over event. Hot off the heels of Fear Itself, a decidedly mediocre event that sort of ended with a flutter rather than a bang, Avengers Vs X-Men is the new big story in the Marvel Universe. 


Pitching two hero groups against each other is nothing new and I doubt there are readers out there who don't think AvX smacks a tad of Civil War, but with two huge franchises about to battle it out, I doubt many people care. Of course, big comic heroes come hand-in-hand with big comic writers, so we'll be seeing seasoned vets like Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman and Jason Aaron at the helm of the event.

Avengers Vs X-Men #0 is the prologue to the cross-over that kicks off in April, setting the scene for the battles to come and it does a pretty good job with it. We're given two stories: one about the Scarlet Witch, the "disgraced" Avenger, and the other about Hope Summers, a girl from the future who is said to restore mutant-kind back to its former glory. The characters' backgrounds aren't over-explained, Bendis and Aaron do a great job of telling us everything we need to know but also move the story forward rather than dwelling on exposition.

It's a pretty emotional ride for an issue that's introducing what promises to be the brawl of the century, but the characters are written beautifully and the emotion isn't forced. We genuinely feel for Scarlet Witch and Hope, even if their situations are different. There's the sharp dialogue we've come to expect from Bendis but it doesn't clash with Aaron's style. In 29 pages they managed to fit a hell of a lot of story in, making this a great starting point for readers old and new.

Frank Cho shows us his usual A-game with this issue, capturing nuanced emotion better than most artists could ever do, while delivering superbly on the widescreen action shots. If you're going to have a massive event, then you can't go wrong with Cho.

While we saw no actual fisticuffs between the titular groups, the issue sets us up for what looks to be more than just an epic brawl. There's some raw emotion coming through the pages, which will definitely be adding fuel to the fire for things to come. After the disappointment of Fear Itself, Avengers Vs X-Men is shaping up to be a proper old-school event driven by characters instead of plot. It's still early days, so it's hard to say whether it will live up to the hype, but Marvel are off to a good start with AvX #0.




Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Skally "Wag" Shorttail {Peakvale Wednesday}

Today, we're looking at a singularly shady inhabitant of Peakvale from the mischievous mind of Tom K Loney (or Kopfy) of Peryton Publishing, who is joining me in fleshing out this Tunnels and Trolls campaign setting.


Skally "Wag" Shortail, 
MR 80 (9d plus 40)4th level Rogue Crucial Stats: IN 32; DX 47; LK 45; CH 49; WZ 31Roguery Talent +6, Sniff Halflings (were-forms) WZ +4Spells Learned: Knock, Knock, Lock Tight, Cat Eyes.Notes: This ratling not only survives in Hobbletoe's Kingdom, he thrives within it. He's been to every civilized part and knows almost every NPC the player-characters will run.


Skally "Wag" Shorttail comes straight from the pages of No Fences to Mend, the second GM adventure in the Trollish Delver series. He is a ratling and the bastard son of the King Rat of Yong Song, an eastern city-state similar to our China. Skally adopted the last name "Shorttail" in response to his father's legitimate family name "Whisk-Longtail." When he runs into another ratling from Yong Song, he refers to himself as "Whisk-Shorttail" emphasizing his bastard-prince lineage. Originally, Skally was training to be a wizard, but wasn't able to afford to finish his studies, so while he isn't a member of the Wizard's Guild, he does know a few spells. After looking for work throughout Yong Song, working as a barkeep one week and as a knife sharpener the next, Skally eventually ended up working for trading companies in Peakvale, such as Marvin's Silks and Half-Ear's Candles. He scraped a living in the trade industry, earning just enough to live in Thornguard's slum district.

Skally soon moved up the ranks, becoming a liaison for the more establishing trade houses of Peakvale, but was never above sinking to less legitimate firms. He became a spy for some of these traders, feeding them competition secrets and helping plot nefarious deeds against them. As a result, he knows pretty much every character in Peakvale and has made friends and enemies out of most of them.

You can find out more about Skally in No Fences to Mend.

Saturday, 24 March 2012

Finally, you can play Pathfinder solo with Party of One {Pathfinder}



Regular readers know that I'm a huge proponent of solo role-playing games for those days when you can't get a group together. While this is generally the domain of Tunnels & Trolls, Chronicles of Arax and Fighting Fantasy, Open Design has stepped up to create a series of solo adventures for Pathfinder; the first being Kalgor Bloodhammer and the Ghouls Through the Breach.


Kalgor is the first in a series of solitaire games called Party of 1, which thrusts you into the shows of a pre-determined character, in this case it's Kalgor the dwarf. In the adventure you will lead Kalgor against the ravenous undead in an effort to protect his home from invasion. All the rules are presented at the beginning of the book so you don't need to own the Pathfinder rules to play.

I'll be picking this up and reviewing it next week. Until then, you can download Kalgor for a very cheap price.

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Gamebook Adventures 8: Infinite Universe {Review}





While the iOS app store is brimming with a veritable mass of high-end, graphically advanced games that rival and even surpass the last generation of consoles, some of the best games are simple in their design and execution. The now famous Gamebook Adventures series by Tin Man Games falls into the latter category, with no motion graphics in sight, save dice rolls. Infinite Universe, the series' eighth outing, ends up being more gripping, interesting and playable than many of the triple-A titles on the store at the moment and it's one that will keep you coming back for more.

For those unfamiliar with the series, it does what it says on the tin. Each game plays as a standalone gamebook where you roll up your character at the beginning and begin your epic journey in a mysterious world. As can be expected, Infinite Universe borrows from Fighting Fantasy mechanically, such as replacing the luck mechanic with 'fitness', which is an attribute spent to increase die rolls, but combat is slightly more complex. The inclusion of skills for your character adds some more depth to the system and really allows you to tailor your character to your preferences. Whether you want to be a stealthy assassin type or a brash balls-to-the-walls thug then the game has you covered.

The real joy of Infinite Universe is the prose, which plays out a little differently from your average Fighting Fantasy book. While you're still presented with a plethora of choices, the game focuses on a heavy narrative style that grips the reader and pulls them headfirst into this sci-fi world. Without spoiling anything, the plot is very well written. Set in the 4th millennium, the story revolves around a rebel organisation called DWORF which is at war with the Mandellian Empire. You play a character who has been drafted from the past in order to embark on a deadly mission to take down DWORF's leader. The trouble is, you have no memory, so you'll be piecing together your identity as the winding plot unfolds. It's an awesome narrative by Brewin' and it's likely to keep you entertained up to the end.

The universe the writer has created is fantastic and very much reminiscent of worlds you would find between the pages of 2000AD. The game contains an encyclopaedia of all notable characters, planets, moons and other handy stuff as well as survival tips. There's also a cool star chart that annotates the expansive universe, making the book feel more like Mass Effect than Lone Wolf.

If you love RPGs, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything as compelling as Gamebook Adventures on the iOS and Infinite Universe proves that the series still has serious chops. With a great story, fun characters and a nice amount of character customisation, Infinite Universe is a sci-fi adventure you don't want to miss.

Monday, 19 March 2012

How USR approaches character advancement and why {USR}

With USR, I wanted to make character advancement a little different from the norm. While it still sticks with experience points, the approach isn't what you get in, say, D&D. 


For instance, a character's main source of experience doesn't come from killing monsters. I know that GMs are often encouraged to offer points for roleplaying etc, but in games like D&D combat is where a bit chunk of experience comes from. I don't mind this at all, but I don't find it entirely logical. Why would killing a group of orcs make the Bard more charismatic or the Wizard more intelligent? I suppose you could say that the types of attacks they make, such as Bards using charisma-based attacks, will contribute to their experience, but I'm not entirely convinced. In USR, however, characters only gain experience points through great roleplay, teamwork and acting intuitively. I'm not saying this is the perfect way to go about experience, but it's a different one that feels more logical.

Moreover, advancement in USR doesn't follow the usual conventions of increasing an attribute or two when a character gains a level. I don't believe that you can get more intelligent. You can learn new things and maybe try exercising your memory, but on the whole your intelligence doesn't increase. You might disagree, but I don't see it. However, you can train yourself to be stronger, faster and fitter, so that part makes sense (kind of). In USR characters don't increase their die-size when they go up a level. Someone with Wits d8 always stays that way. Instead, either they increase a known specialism or learn a new one based on their past performance. They don't get smarter, but they can learn more about something specific or something they already know. If they were able to increase their Wits to d10 then that implies they've somehow just got more intelligent, which never happens, but it's perfectly logical that someone who has Geology +2 can learn more about the subject to become Geology +3.


I don't think that my way is the best way, but I wanted USR to present something a little different that reflects reality a little bit more than some games when it comes to advancement.

You can download USR for free from RPGNow.

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Peakvale Wednesdays: Windhill, Village of Stars {T&T}

Welcome to the first in the series of Peakvale Wednesdays where I discuss a new aspect of my Peakvale campaign setting every week. Today we'll be looking at the enigmatic village of Windhill, also known as the Village of Stars.

Settled 10 miles south-east of the capital of Thornguard, Windhill is named after its location: in the rolling Emerald Hills. A large stone archway welcomes travellers into the village, which is populated by a mixture of humans, elves and hobbs and overseen by Councillor Ethron, a chubby and enthusiastic human wizard.

Gilleas Ethron, to give him his full name, is one of Peakvale's foremost scientific minds, which is the reason he came to settle in Windhill in the first place. You see, Windhill sits in a very special location in Peakvale, which has come to be known as the Vale of the Universe. This is the only place in Trollworld where the stars speak to those who seek to learn of their wisdom. A stone circle in a field just north of Windhill is the site of the Vale of the Universe, where learned men and women go to learn about the universe from the stars themselves. Ethron has glimpsed the wonders of the universe many a time and has become famed throughout Peakvale for his insights. Some even say that he is Startouched, imbued with the power of the universe and given access to unlimited kremm.

Windhill is also well-known for its love of wolves. Every single inhabitant of the village owns a trained wolf and some villagers are even able to have a two-way conversation with their four-legged friends. The wolves are incredibly loyal and will attack anyone who harms their master. As a result, the crime rate in Windhill is very low, with the occasional urook raiding party being ward off by the faithful creatures.

Here are some of the notable NPCs and creatures in and around Windhelm:

Councillor Gilleas Ethron
Level 14 Human Wizard
ST 48, DX 76, CON 20, WIZ 142, LK 80, SP 54, CHR 34, INT 120
Personal Adds: 210

Talents: Physics +3 (INT), Chemistry +4 (INT), Mountain Lore +2 (INT), Peakvale Songs +6 (INT), Knowledge of the Wild +5 (INT), Veterinary +4 (INT), Dwarf Friend +1 (CHA)

Spells Known: All spells up to 14th level

Cara Stormwell, the Barkeep of the Seven Suns
Level 3 Elf Rogue
ST 17, DX 32, CON 12, WIZ 21, LK 11, SP 13, CHR 20, INT 17
Personal Adds: 26

Talents: Worldly Barkeep +3 (INT), Wilderness Survival +6 (INT), Rock Climber +5 (DX)

Spells Known: Will-o-Wisp, Mirage and Find Person

Domestic Mountain Wolf
MR 30 (4d6+15)
Special Ability: 1/Shadow Pounce - when a six is rolled in combat one target delver must make a L2SR on DEX to avoid being pounced on. If they fail, they are pinned to the ground for the next combat round and they must half their HPT for that round.

Black Orc
MR 24 (3d6+12)
Spite: 1/1
Armour: 6 hits (quilted leather)
Equipment: Scimitar, Quilted leather armour, 10gp, Sling, 20 stones.

Black Orc Shaman
MR 18 (2d6+9)
Spite: 1/1
Spells Known: Call Flame, TTYF and Hold That Pose
Equipment: Quarterstaff, Robes, Crystal (30gp)









Monday, 12 March 2012

The Mushroom People of Trollworld {T&T}

Beyond the bustling towns and cities of Trollworld lie small pastoral villages dotted across the luscious green landscape. Most are fairly humdrum affairs, their inhabitants leading slow and peaceful lives tending livestock and drinking in the sun. However, if you were to stumble across the little hamlet of Fuhn-Gi you will be one of the few outsiders to see the enigmatic Toath: the mushroom people of Trollworld.

Fuhn-Gi is nestled beside the Silverlight Forest, which few kindred have explored. Jonat Foxbrush, also known as The Great Wanderer, noted in his journal when he arrived in the Silverlight Forest that the birds seemed to fly backwards and little brown moles swung from the trees. He called it "a bloody odd place" and nicknamed it the Ridiculous Forest. He was the first outlander to happen across the Toath community and spent a year documenting their way of life. They are a peaceful people and can be timid at times. Foxbrush noted that they would only come out at night, sleeping in their small huts in the day.

As time drew on, the more the Toath surprised Foxbrush. They proved themselves to be spiritual creatures who has an incredible command over kremm. Even in the younger ones, magic seemed to come naturally to them, learning to cast weak spells at an early age. Foxbrush remarked later that when the hamlet was attacked by Storm Wolves one night, the elders were able to swiftly put a stop to what could have turned out to be a destructive rampage with only metabolic spells. In fact, he observed that the Toath were forbidden from using any other type of magic, as they were said to be too destructive and unpredictable. 

The Toath 

STRx1, DEXx1, CONx0.75, CHAx2, WIZx3, LKx1.5, INTx1

Average SIZ: 6ft 8in

Special Rules: 
  • Toaths thrive in the night, so during the day (between dawn and dusk) any SR level is increased by 1.
  •  While Toaths are able to use any kind of spell, they are forbidden by their culture to use anything other than metabolic magic, which costs 1 fewer WIZ per spell level than in the spellbook. Other magic types cost an extra 2 WIZ per spell level. 
  • Toaths are able to take an hour of uninterrupted meditation to heal 1d6 CON on themselves or one other person.
  • Toaths may not wear helmets. They simply won't fit over their mushroom head.



Sunday, 11 March 2012

Temple of the Fool God review {T&T}

A couple of months ago I received an email from Stuart Lloyd asking for some advice regarding his first ever Tunnels and Trolls solo. Now that I've played through it I've realised that I should be the one asking for advice because Temple of the Fool God is a triumph of design and ingenuity and one of the best solo adventures I've played in a long time.

While dungeon adventures aren't exactly original territory for solo adventures, it's what Temple of the Fool God does with the dungeon that makes it such a delight to play. For one, there isn't a heavy focus on combat; you can actually get through the game fighting only one weak creature. That's not to say that if you explore the temple enough you won't come across its evil denizens, such as livings statues and killer toys. Fool God instead focuses on character abilities to help them through the temple. By giving multiple saving roll options along with logical talent suggestions to overcome a single obstacle, it makes it a little bit easier for weaker kindred to survive the adventure. The adventure also encourages thought on the player's behalf, such as remembering to bring along flint and steel with your torch or buying a grappling hook to use with your rope.

However, at the same time the nature of the adventure brings rewards to those who act foolish on occasion. You see, the story goes that King Vincentio of Mounteback has invited you to seek adventure and wealth in the Temple of the Fool God, a dangerous and, frankly insane place, that is said to hold untold wealth. It's a tradition in Mounteback to honour the fool and law dictates that the king must be advised by 12 fools in his court, heeding their words for apparently that gods themselves speak through simpletons. There's a great scene when you arrive in the palace where the fools are all talking to each other that got a big laugh out of me. The deal goes that if you emerge alive, you must give half the treasure to the king, though you're assured that even half is beyond your wildest dreams.

To aid you you're given a selection of items to choose from, such as armour, weapons and other gear you may need for your journey. You're also presented with a list of useful talents that will come into play later on. If you've already chosen your talent, you are given an object that allows you to swap your talent out for one on the list for the duration of the adventure. This is to make it easier, but it's probably not necessary because of the number of saving roll options you're usually given when performing a challenge.

All-in-all there are few faults in Temple of the Fool God aside from some typos. It's likely you will emerge with a big heap of cash, which seems over-the-top for low level delvers but when you're buying out the weapon rack it's difficult to complain. Lloyd has a great writing style and a good sense of humour, even managing to slip in a reference to the great UK show Crystal Maze. If you're looking to get your character some cash and want to have fun along the way, then Temple of the Fool God can't be recommended enough.

Buy Temple of the Fool God from RPGNow

Deluxe Edition of Tunnels & Trolls confirmed {T&T}

Artist Steve Crompton has confirmed to Trollish Delver that the new edition of Tunnels & Trolls will be released in English, likely in the Summer. The edition will be called Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls and according to Crompton it will contain even more material than the French version.

This is fantastic and really exciting news. Seriously, I'm really giddy. Steve worked on the French edition of the game and has been asked to put together an English version to land mid-2012. I'll be covering all the news leading up to the launch and I'll try and nab some great interviews for your delectation.


Trollish Delver is 3 years old today! {Trollish Delver}

Wheel out the cake and release the balloons: Trollish Delver turns 3 years old today! It really doesn't feel like 3 years has gone by since I posted the inevitable introductory post in which I called on Bruce Campbell to open the blog (and also referred to Steve Jackson as Peter Jackson, doh!), but here I am, still blogging away in 2012.

The blog began as a repository for my thoughts about Tunnels & Trolls, but over the years through the blog I've met some fantastic people and have had some great opportunities to get into the industry and work with some of the giants of T&T. Not only that, I've made a good friend in Ken St. Andre, something I would have never have thought possible in the beginning.

Just for larks, here are a couple of old designs from Trollish Delver history, courtesy of the Wayback Machine:


I've always tried to improve the blog through both design and content and I'm pretty happy with what I have right now. I also have some fantastic commentors who regularly contribute their opinions and I really appreciate that.

So here's to another 3 years of Trollish Delver. I'm going to try my best to make it bigger and better through 2012. Thanks to all my readers for paying attention to my ramblings.

Saturday, 10 March 2012

The Court of Blood: Playing Vampires in T&T {T&T}


The vampire is one of the great enigmatic creatures in folklore and one that has captured public imagination for centuries. Whether it's a villain or a hero, the vampire is often the highlight of the story, from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Joss Whedon's Angel. In role-playing games, vampires are often portrayed as the classic 'Lugosi' or Nosferatu type from the movies, rather than the post-vampires of Twilight and Vampire Diaries.


As far as vampires in Tunnels & Trolls go, very little is known about them, but what we do know through various rules makes them pretty interesting characters. Firstly, they are part of the rare kindred roster, boasting average or higher attribute modifiers: STx2.5, CNx1, DXx1, INTx1.5, LKx1.5, CHRx2, WZx1.5. It's important to note that vampires can only be Specialists or Wizards, so evil vampires are likely to come loaded with a bunch of relevant spells, such as: Knock Knock, Mirage, Spirit Mastery, and possibly Fly Me. The rules also explain that vampires are shapeshifters. We can presume that this is a reference to Dracula, who could turn into a bat and a dog, but there are no real rules for transforming into an animal. Here's one I wrote that you can use:

Shapeshift: Make a INT SR of your level + 1. If you succeed, you transform into a bat or a dog. Your items and armour fall onto the ground. You may change back to vampire form by making another SR. You may only shapeshift once per day.

There's also no mention of sunlight harming the vampire. Depending on what mythology you subscribe to, this may not be applicable and indeed if you're playing as a vampire delver, it may be undesirable. In this case, you could rule that vampires staying out in the day for over 5 hours will take 5 CON damage and then 5 for every 15 minutes after. Otherwise, you could rule that as long as the vampire is covered from head to toe then the daylight has no effect, but as soon as the daylight hits them they take 10 CON damage every 15 minutes.

 You should also decide whether you will play as the solitary vampire, the charismatic loner who only joins others if there's something in it for him, or whether you want to be a social creature who regularly attends extravagant parties at wealthy noble houses. Or maybe you want to be a more feral vampire, who is unpredictable, even for the delving party. All of these ideas offer some good roleplaying opportunities but it's worth discussing them with your fellow players too.

So whether you want to run a vampire-centric campaign as a GM, or become a vampire delver, I hope this post has given you some ideas. Now go suck some blood.

Thursday, 8 March 2012

Every Tom, Dick and Harry - Citizens in Tunnels & Trolls {T&T}



Fantasy role-playing generally focuses on the players slipping into the well-worn boots of hardy warriors or fire-wielding mages. After all, why would anyone want to be a regular shmo in an imaginary world when most of us are like that in reality?

But hold that thought. Some of the best stories ever told feature normal people are their protagonists, people without skills with a longsword or knowledge of forgotten magical tomes. Take the daddy of all stories, The Lord of the Rings for instance. While we admire characters like Aragorn and Legolas for their combat prowess, the main protagonists are a handful of Hobbits, regular, simple folk who have been taken out of their comfort zone and thrust into a dark world of giant spiders, Ringwraiths and Balrogs. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin weren't trained to fight: they like sitting around smoking kingsfoil and eating cakes. But we identified with these characters on their epic journey because they were ordinary, just like us.

Indeed, being a run-of-the-mill dishwasher or butcher who is cast into a dungeon teeming with ghouls, goblins and ghosts can increase tension, making combat that bit more nail-biting. Three hulking warriors and a wizard with electricity crackling from his eyes taking on a horde of orcs is cool, but this is a very normal thing. If you take four shepherds with skinning knives and dropped them into that scenario then you've got yourself a combat that's a little bit different than usual.

In Tunnels & Trolls 7.x, Citizens is described as "your average dweller in Trollworld" with "no special training in combat or magic". To represent their inability to use weapons well, their combat adds are halved from their attributes. If a Citizen wants to attempt to cast a spell, they have to make two saving rolls, one on INT and the second on DEX. The odds are certainly against the citizen and Ken even says in the rules that there is little point in players running Citizen characters as they're most suited to stock NPCs.

Yet, I don't think a Citizen-based adventure or campaign is a bad idea. If the GM scales encounters and creates a good 'fish out of water' story then I reckon solid gold role-playing opportunities will arise. Tom K Loney must have seen this potential so he created Under the Sundered Moon, an adventure that explores the under-used character type. I'd love to see more of these adventures or regular solos that allow for Citizens to be played without being killed off before paragraph 2.


Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Buy Castle of the Dead and help an awesome artist {T&T}


Andy Holmes and Fiery Dragon have released a fantastic and challenging new solo adventure for Tunnels & Trolls called Castle of the Dead: Dead by Dawn.

If you buy this beast of an adventure, not only are you getting some sweet entertainment from levels 6+ you're also helping out a great cause to aid Jeff Freels with his medical expenses. I mention Jeff from time-to-time as he's one of the best T&T artists and also a friend of mine. If you're based in the US or Canada then I highly recommend you get a copy to support both Jeff and the game as a whole.

Oh yeah, that's a bad-ass cover.


8th edition of Tunnels & Trolls released, only in French {T&T}



If you want to play the newest edition of Tunnels & Trolls then you better brush up on your French. A new version of the game has been released in French only and while it's debatable whether this is the "official" 8th edition, it does do a few things differently than 7.x. 

The French edition cleans up the 7.x rules and blends them together with the 5.5 edition along with classic and all new artwork by legends Liz Danforth and Steve Crompton. Ken St Andre is saying that this new version is the best one yet - pity there are no current plans to release the book in English (unless Ken wants to comment to the contrary).

The new edition can be bought from Lulu. It's worth getting just for the new art, but I'm a T&T die-hard so what do I know?

Still, Ken, please bring this out in English!


Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Tech-head or luddite: How do you play? {Theory}



Things have changed a bit since groups of players huddled around a table, scratch paper in hand and pencils littering the surface. Now the rise of tablet computers have allowed us to store a multitude of rulebooks in one easy-to-carry package. 


When I started playing D&D 4th edition, I used a pad of lined paper and a stack of core rulebooks which I took to every game. While I like the more classic pen and paper approach, I found that 4e was much easier when I wrote everything on a Word document and pasted in stat blocks. Sure, it's nice to have the Monster Manuals but if I want to use a selection of nasty beasties from all 3 books I'd have to take all of them to the session along with any other rulebooks I need, which was pretty heavy.

Now I use a laptop and I'm considering investing in a tablet to make it that much easier to carry. However, I have to note that this is just for 4e; I actually prefer the old paper method when playing games like Swords & Wizardry, Tunnels & Trolls and most other games. The only thing is that most of the rulebooks are in PDF form, which still means I have to either print everything out or I have to crack out the laptop for reference. So I'd say I fit in the neo-traditional camp of GMs.

So I guess the question is, how do you play? Do you use a tablet or a laptop or do you stay old-school with pencil and paper? Are you one of those people that's more likely to go to Target and see what  tablet or laptops deals they have than head to your local stationery store?

Does it even matter how people play? Let me know your thoughts.







Sunday, 4 March 2012

TrollsZine #4 is chock full of Tunnels & Trolls delights {T&T}


It's been a long time coming but the fourth issue of TrollsZine is out and free to download. For those unfamiliar with this cracking periodical, TrollsZine contains articles, adventures and ideas for Tunnels & Trolls. 


Blogging friend Dan Hembree of Lone Delver has taken over editorial duties with Scott Grant and they've done an excellent job in compiling a fantastic issue filled with insightful articles, fun adventures and great artwork from some of T&T's finest scribblers.

I'd say that this is the best issue to date, with articles such as mass combat rules, mounted combat, how to write a solo adventure, and a quick reference guide for 7.x, not to mention fiction by Christina Lea and adventures by Michael Eidson, Scott Grant and Russ Westbrook.

Go download TrollsZine now!

The Atomic Robo animated movie that MUST happen {Comics}



There are few comic books around that can match the action, wit and nerdery than Atomic Robo, and the creators want your help to get an animated feature off the ground.

Atomic Robo: Last Stop will be a short film by animation studio Fictory and book creators Scott Wegener and Brian Clevinger, with the story revolving around the eponymous hero fighting the Nazi-brain-mech Helsingard. Those who have read the series will be familiar with Helsingard being a frequent antagonist in the book.

As with almost everything ever these days, Last Stop is being funded by Kickstarter, and while they smashed their initial $12,000 target, the more funding the better. There are also some really cool rewards too, from badge pins, to t-shirts to appearing in the movie itself.

You should probably go and donate now.

I'll wait.




Thursday, 1 March 2012

No Fences to Mend out now! {Trollish Delver Games}



I'm back! The internet has finally arrived at the new place and I'm back to regular blogging, so what better news to return to than a brand new GM adventure for Tunnels & Trolls?


As part of the Trollish Delver line of T&T adventures, Tom K Loney of Peryton Publishing this week released No Fences to Mend an adventure set in Peakvale. The description reads:


About two days out of Lowhollow, on the way to Redmarsh and Lake Bloodmoon, lie Mount Dath and Elp's Climb. Between these two snowcapped mountains, the Gnarlay Wood is settled. The dominators of Peakvale give these forests and their surroundings some room, not only because of the ork-kindred bandits that prowl the roads or thereabouts, but because of the Iueresa elf clan that dwells within the forests proper. Somewhere in the midst of these forbidding wilder lands lies the Temple of the HagThis is an adventure for common kindred delvers of levels 3 to 4 using 7.5 edition rules, although it is easy to modify for 5th edition.
This is a great adventure and it's really, really cheap, so go download it and have fun. The next Trollish Delver adventure is currently in  the works, so I'll keep you posted.