“If you haven’t messed with the printed rules and made at least a couple of changes, you aren’t really playing Tunnels and Trolls” - Ken St. Andre, T&T v7.5 rulebook, page 4.
This is why I love this game. Because even though the game is incredible as-is, if you know me or have read this page for any length of time you know that I’d find a way to tinker with even a “perfect” system (if such a thing existed). So here are the house rules I’ll be using for any future T&T games I run.
Talents and Specialists
In my game, you don’t have to roll triples in order to be Specialist. I like the flexibility of the class too much, and the options for customization it presents for players. The only prerequisite is a rolled attribute score of 15, prior to modification by Kindred.
If you’re playing a Specialist from the written rules (Specialist Mage, Ranger, Leader) you don’t get an additional Talent. You Specialty is your starting Talent. Custom Specialists pick a Talent, and that becomes their Specialty. The benefit is that they always make save for the Specialty at Save Roll Level 1.
Let’s look at some examples, using the Talents on page 32 of T&T 7.5 as Specialties. Zam the Bony would normally take Thievery as a Talent, but the player rolled a 15 (or better) and assigned it to Dexterity. The player decided Zam will be a Thievery Specialist. When Zam engages in Thievery, the player makes a DEX SR at Level 1.
Fang the Delectable would normally take Swordplay as a Talent, but his player rolled a 15 (or better) and put it into STR. The player decided to make Fang a Swordplay Specialist. When Fang engages in Swordplay, the player makes a STR SR at Level 1.
So, why play any other type of character? Specialists are one-trick ponies. Fang is absolutely amazing at Swordplay, but isn’t nearly as versatile as a Warrior. Zam is an outstanding thief, but doesn’t have the advantages of, say, a Rogue with Thievery as a Talent. Players should carefully consider whether the benefits of being a Specialist outweigh the limitations, as should the gamemaster before agreeing to allow a Custom Specialist into his or her game.
Where Specialists are useful are as non-player characters. A Specialist Blacksmith will shoe your horses in record time and mend that otherwise irreparable sword. A Specialist Chef will prepare amazing gourmet meals. A Specialist Gambler is going to take the player characters for every gold piece they have.
Starting Gold
According to the rules, starting gold is 3d6 x 10 gold pieces. I like the random factor, as not all characters will come from equal backgrounds. Some will come from wealth families, some from poor families. Some will have saved since childhood, some will have stolen the money, some will have worked odd jobs or even begged for it. To encourage roleplaying and help develop the character’s background, I will give Adventure Point equal to the 3d6 roll if the player tells me a story about where the starting money came from.
Rolling 3d6 is a random factor, and you could consider that a function of Luck. So, rather than multiplying starting gold by 10, players should multiply it by the character’s Luck score. If the character has high luck, it stands to reason that they’d have more starting gold, right? An unlucky character would have less gold.
Poker Chips and Adventure Points
Something I’m considering is using poker chips over various denominations to dole out Adventure Points during the course of the game. I like poker chip and token mechanics in other games, and there’s something exciting about getting a physical representation of your reward. Players can cash in the chips when they modify their characters, and at the end of the game session can write down their total so the gamemaster (or chips owner) can put them away.
Using chips can also help encourage roleplaying. If someone does something particularly interesting or entertaining, toss them a chip. I would go so far as to allow the players to reward each other for roleplaying. If I’m a player and you spout off a good one-liner or your character comes up with an incredible way to bypass a trap or solve a riddle, I’ll give you a chip. The value is entirely up to the giver — if you want to give away your adventure points because you think another player deserves them, that’s your call.
Discussion
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