A Sworded Adventure out now

Ken St. Andre has released the second in a series of updates Tunnels and Trolls solo adventures, after the excellent A Traveller's Tale which came out earlier this year.

A Sworded Adventure will challenge human warriors to a typical day in the famed city of Khazan,  with pickpockets, the undead and hordes of uruks.

This adventure has been updated from the version that appeared in Sorceror's Apprentice issue 5 in 1979. Ken has expanded it, partially re-written it and added new illustrations. A Sworded Adventure is also compatible with 5th and 7.x editions.

You can buy the new solo at DriveThruRPG  for a mere $2.95.

How to create great dungeons

The dungeoncrawl seems to be going out of fashion with 4e Dungeons and Dragons. Instead of long winding tunnels full of complex passages and secret doors, the game encourages a couple of big set pieces per dungeon. Publishers like Goodman Games are getting back in the swing of good old-fashioned dungeoncrawls with their Dungeon Crawl Classics range and as the OSR grows and grows so does the need for good underground exploration.

But there's no reason why you can't have a great dungeon-based adventure with any edition or any fantasy game. We're going to look at exactly what you need to craft fantastic dungeons from your imagination.

Dungeon History

The key to making a great dungeon is to make it feel like a living, breathing place, full of tribes of monsters, an economy and architecture. The best way to start building your dungeon is by thinking up a history for it. You don't have to go too far back into the past - just sketch out a few key historical events that led to the forging of your dungeon. For instance, a mad mage (aren't they all?) built an underground lair to keep out of the eyes of the king while he hatched his evil scheme. However, he was found and the place was ransacked. A year later a tribe of kobolds made their lair in the entrance and over time moved deeper into the dungeon while new creatures, like orcs and goblins took up residence in the upper levels. This is a very basic history, but you get the picture.

Once you have an outlined history, you can start filling in more details about the monsters who live there. Did they move in to find loot? Or are they attempting to build an underground empire? This brings us onto our next point:

Dungeon Ecology

You'll usually want two or three races occupying a single dungeon. This adds variety whilst not overloading the players with too much information. Usually different races appear on different levels of the dungeon, so figure out why certain races are where they are. Do the goblin have a small war going on between the Kobolds on the level below? Is it set up like a religious order with the pions inhabiting the top levels and the archpriests at the bottom? Do the races on the extreme top and bottom levels know of each others existence? The latter could be a catalyst for some great roleplay. Figure out what the climate and architecture is like on different levels. More intelligent creatures are more likely to have more intricate architecture and furniture, whilst the dumber ones sit on crates and sleep on hay.

The Rooms

Rooms are the real meat of the dungeon. Inside rooms anything can happen. There could be a family of hulking ogres or a puzzle to solve. The trick is to keep players on their toes. Don't make every room the same old bland 'four walls without much going on'. I find that if you build your dungeon on some kind of theme then inspiration comes easier. Rather than being an everyday medieval dungeon, make it an Egyptian tomb but with Norse influences, or represent the 9 circles of hell but have a 'heavenly' place right at the bottom level. You don't want your players to think; "Ah, there's another sarcophagus, there'll be a mummy in it", so put a living goblin in there who has been locked up in solitary confinement.

Also try and mix up encounters. Perhaps have 2 puzzles, 2 easy encounters, a medium encounter and a difficult encounter on one floor. Don't have your goblins just sitting around waiting for a fight, have them wandering around or taking part in some kind of goblin annual celebration. Bring the place to life!

The Big Bad

This is the guy or woman the adventurers have been working towards, the meanest of the lot. Again, try and find out what motivates the boss and write a little background for her. But again, flip the players' expectations. Make them fight a version of the boss on every level, where she gets stronger and better equipped the deeper they go; or maybe feed the players information that monster A is the boss, but then lead them to believe it's monster B but in actuality it's monster C.


I hope this little guide has been helpful to you when you come to making your dungeons. If you have any other tips you'd like to share just pop them in the comments.

What is the worst tabletop RPG ever?

In the community we talk a lot about what the best roleplaying games are (according to opinion), but rarely do we look at the dregs of the hobby, the games that are really, really terrible.

Now, I don't want to diss someone else's work that they've spent hours and hours on, but there must be games out there that are just, well, crap.

Probably the most infamous game is F.A.T.A.L, a RPG that focuses on sexual violence and other such uncool things. This 900 page tome is a testament to awful game design and would test the will of even the most die-hard gaming adventurer.

Rifts has always had its opponents, as have Palladium games in general, but they're probably nowhere near the worst games.

So tell me, what is the worst tabletop RPG you have ever played or come across, a game that has made your blood boil and your knuckles white?

10 free RPGs you must play

Free RPGs are all over the major PDF download sites like DrivethruRPG and RPGNow, but the real task is to sift through the mud and find the best free roleplaying games. Now, I'm not talking about introductory games here, I'm talking about full blown core RPGs for free. You can't go wrong there. So let's take a look at what RPGs the web has to offer our cheap and greasy hands.

CJ Carrella's Witchcraft - If you're looking for modern horror and urban fantasy you need look no further than Witchcraft. Playing out like Buffy and Supernatural, Witchcraft uses an easy system - Unisystem, that allows for a lot of variety in your game.

Labyrinth Lord - One of a couple of OSR games on the list. Labyrinth Lord is a wonderful re-imagining of the Dungeons and Dragons B/X rulesets. As long as you don't mind text-only, this is a free RPG you don't want to miss.

Tales from the Wood - Sure, playing as a vole or ferret doesn't sound like much, but once you get playing Tales from the Wood you'll realise there's a lot more to this little game that meets the eye. Rather than playing humanoid animals, here you take on the role of actual animals in their fight to survive in the woods.

Swords and Wizardry - This is one of my all time favourite games. Swords and Wizardry is a great free roleplaying game that emulates the original D&D edition. This is pure old school mayhem and it doesn't get much better than this.

D6 System - Bundling 3 settings for one great price of nothing, the D6 System is a simple and effective ruleset used in games such as Xena and Star Wars. For diddly squat you get Adventure, Space and Fantasy. You can't ask for much more than that.

Barbarians of Lemuria - This game rocks all kinds of face. BoL is set in a low fantasy, sword and sorcery world and contains some amazing streamlined rules. My favourite part is the freeform magic system, which allows the player to pretty much do whatever they like with their magical powers. Great free game.

Neverwhere 3rd Edition - Based on Neil Gaiman's book and TV series, Neverwhere is an urban fantasy game set in London Below, a magical parallel realm that co-exists with London, or 'London Above'. Check out the source material and get playing.

Mutant Future - Gamma World gets the OSR treatment with Mutant Future, a madcap post-apocalyptic RPG where you can play as a plant. Oh hells yes.

OSRIC - Here's a cleaned up ruleset based on 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Worth a play if you feel like harkening back to the glory days of roleplaying for free.

Four Colour System - Ah, the golden age of comic books, when heroes were heroes and villains were nasty but loveable. 4C has a great set of rules to run a supers game for free!

New Kindred and Type: Lycanthrope

I got an email from James Mayhark who wanted me to take a look at his lycanthrope kindred and type for Tunnels and Trolls. Were-creatures are actually covered in 5th edition, but are in no way this in depth, generally having double-stats when they 'were-out'. Here James has gone for the double-whammy, with some great rules for both a kindred and a type. Maybe it's just me but I prefer the lycanthrope as a kindred, but he's thought up some really cool ideas to use it as a type. Check it out:



New Kindred: Lycanthrope
Half-Wolf (Werewolf)

Lycanthropy (derrived from the greek "lykanthropos", 'lykos' being "wolf" and 'anthropos' being "human") is the state of a human sharing and existance as a wolf, as well as any other given animal (the term 'lycanthropy' techinically being specific to werewolves is also loosely applied to describe other were-animals in the place of the proper term 'therianthropy'). It is looked upon as a curse and a power as they find abilities that their animal sides grant, as well as the dreaded animalistic rage and instinct widely accepted to couple lycanthropy.

Attributes*
ST x2
DX x3/2
CH x1/2
CN x3/2
IQ x1
SP x1
LK x1/2
WZ x1
*Players may choose to partake of an animal other than wolf in their lycanthropy. Also, if the player chooses, and with the GM's consent, the player may relocate the modifiers above as it would seem fitting for their animal of choice (for example, a werebat may be faster than a werewolf, but would also be slightly more frail. This would allow for a greater dexterity bonus, but also a lowered constitution.).

Special Abilities
Great Strength: Wielding two handed weapons in one hand requires no extra Strength or dexterity. Also, when dual wielding weapons, instead of requiring a combined Strength and Dexterity requirement totals, Lycanthropes only have to meet the requirements individually.

Wild Communion: Lycanthropes can communicate with animals (but only on a verbal-type principle, not on a psychic level such as seeing into memories, or sensing feelings from afar).

Beastial Fury: Any weapon weilded by a Lycanthrop only gets half (x1/2) (rounded down) the ADDS bonuses for combat, as their fury does not allow them to wield them to their full potential, resulting in enraged hacking and slashing. (Note that the amount of DICE is unaffected)

Beastial Fury 2: Lycanthropic rage also effects the focus and control of a lycanthrope, and does not allow them to practice a given occupation. Therefor, lycanthropes cannot be considered to be a certain character type or class aside from "lycanthrope".


Lycanthrope "Class" info

Prerequisites: 13+ STR and DEX

Prime Attributes: STR/DEX/CON

Lycanthropes start with 1d6x10 gold

Talents:
Lycanthropes start with one talent of the players choosing, and earn talents the same as the other classes listed in the book. Lycanthropes may, like warriors, may use their talents to gain combat adds.

Lycans automatically learn their spells at the propper level. They may also learn, but not automatically, spells the same as rogues can, as demarked in the book.
Spells:
Level 1
Shifting- Costs 1- The player shifts into animal form. Constitution is temporarily reduced by 3, but the player gets a +7 bonus in an appropriate attribute (depending on animal, ultimately the GM's discretion) while in animal form.

Improved Sense- Costs 2- make either a Luck or Intelligence level 1 Saving Roll to sharpen your senses, allowing you to figure out traps, detect enemies in hiding, or to add 5 dexterity for a single encounter.

Regenerate- Costs 1 per 3 health- you MUST regenerate fully when using this spell, and therefor must calculate the cost of the entirety of your missing health.

Level 3
Partial Shifting- Costs 2- Shift part of your body (such as a hand) to make claws, giving you +4 combat adds for a single encounter. You may spend 2 points more to shift both both hands/multiple body parts to receive +4 more combat adds for the encounter. This spell may be cast in addition to attacking during your turn in combat.

Poison Fang- costs 4- If your animal is considered poisonous (snakes, spiders, ect) then you may use this spell as your attack, inflicting 1d6+4 of damage (plus normal combat adds, NOT including that of weaponry) and poison your enemy. Make a Level 1 Saving Roll for dexterity to determine weather the attack is landed or not. Your opponent takes 1-3 damage during their turn (roll one d6 and divide the number in two, rounded UP, to determine the damage done by poisoning)

Level 5
Animal control- Costs 7- Roll one d6. On a 1 or 2, you get a single animal from your surroundings with an MR equal to 3d6 each. On a 3 or 4, you may get 2 animals with MR equal to 3d6 each. On a five, you get 3 animals with MR Equal to 3d6 each. On a 6, you get 3 animals with MR equal to 4d6+1 each. Note that you roll the given amount of dice for each animal SEPARATELY.

Special blood- Costs varies- You may heal another character back to full health through the sacrifice of an amount of your precious blood. The cost for this spell is equal to half the recovered health in both power and constitution (to a maximum of 6 each)(you must heal the character back to full health)

Level 7
Summon Spirit- Costs 9- Summon forth the spirit of your ancient kin to support you in battle. The spirit's MR is equal to 5d6+7 and has a natural armor of 2 protection.

Destiny Quest is a paper MMO

Gamebooks are making a resurgence into semi-popular culture. First came the new Fighting Fantasy books, including some fresh titles likes Stormslayer and Night of the Necromancer, then Lone Wolf once again dropped onto our gaming shelves, albeit in drawn out stages. Most recently we've seen the re-release of Fabled Lands, the series that raised the bar in what can be done in gamebooks. Now there's a new contender and its name is Destiny Quest: The Legion of Shadow.

Destiny Quest doesn't beat around the bush in flaunting its inspiration. The aim is to complete quests, beat bosses and acquire phat lewt along the way. Yes, Destiny Quest is an MMO in book form. OK, it can't really be massively-multiplayer but author Michael J Ward has clearly loaded the book with popular MMO tropes. The end result is a mash-up of Fighting Fantasy and Fabled Lands. While there is an overaching plot, the player still has the freedom to choose which quest they want to do next and when they want to go back and visit town. It's more restricted that Fabled Lands, where you can anywhere you like, but its much more free-roaming that Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf.

To find quests, the players uses the three colour maps at the front of the book, which are each split into acts (1, 2 and 3). Each quest is colour-coded to signify difficulty and the aim is to work your way from green to red quests and finally defeat the boss at the end of the act. You can then move into the next map and 'act'.

Characters begin as lowly adventurers, but are eventially able to choose a path, such as warrior, rogue or mage, which the player must stick with, but later they can choose a career, like assassin, ranger or pyromancer, which can be swapped around. The entire aim of the game is to have an incredible endgame build with the best weapons, armour and trinkets that boost abilities. Because of the vast amount of customisation in the book you'll in theory never end up with the same character twice.

Combat is really simple, rolling first on yours and your enemy's speed value to see who hits and then rolling on brawn or magic (whichever's highest) to see how much damage is done. Like in an MMO, there are slots on your body for armour and weapons, including feet, helmet, hands, chest, and each hand, as well as room for two rings and a necklace. Each weapon or armour will boost a certain ability and ofen give the character some kind of special ability that can be used once per combat. Endgame characters will have different abilities in all slots, making them ridiculously powerful. There are even rules for PVP - battling your mates.

Destiny Quest is a fresh take on gamebooks that wants to draw in a new generation of nerds. While Fighting Fantasy wanted to emulate playing Dungeons and Dragons, Destiny Quest seeks to copy MMOs like World of Warcraft in its gamestyle. Watching your character grow from a puny guy with +1 brawn to a ranger with massive dps or a tank who can take the wallops is really rewarding and I highly recommend this book.