Tunnels & Trolls Revisited

Art by Liz Danforth

The most recent iteration of Tunnels & Trolls – the Kickstarter funded “Deluxe” edition (dT&T) – was made available to backers scant days ago.  Evidently, “several folks have pointed out a few corrections that need to be made” and last minute edits are being applied.  Your humble host noticed something that may or may not be addressed.

In T&T – as in several other games – attribute scores are determined by rolling 3d6 and finding the sum.  However, T&T adopts a “TARO” mechanic:  triples add and roll over.  If the 3d6 roll generates triples, the dice are rolled again and added to the triple result.  If the second roll is triples, the process repeats and can do so ad infinitum.  (I guess, technically, it should be “triples roll over and add” because there's nothing to add until the dice are rolled again.)

Anyway, a character with a triple-enhanced attribute is known as a “specialist,” discussed in Section 3.34 (page 18).  A sidebar discusses the probability of triples:

For the curious, there is a 1 in 36 chance of triples happening for any given attribute – less than 3%.  Although you get eight opportunities – once for each attribute – the overall odds remain 1 in 36 because each roll of the dice is independent of the previous rolls.

If the word “overall” is removed, the statement is indisputably true.  For any given attribute, the chance of rolling triples is 1-in-36 (i.e., 2.77% rounded).  Since each attribute roll of 3d6 is an independent event, the odds do not change; the chance remains 1-in-36.  However, the use of “overall” in connection with “eight opportunities,” implies that the chance of a character having a 'triple' result for any of eight attributes is 1-in-36.  This implication is not true.

Welcome to the thrilling world of conditional probability.  The graphic below attempts to show the probabilities associated with obtaining exactly one set of triples when rolling for eight attributes.  Of course, it's possible to roll more than one set of triples when generating a character, but for the sake of demonstration let's look at just one 'branch' of the probability tree.  The roll for the first attribute is either triples or it isn't.  Regardless, the chance of the roll for second attribute being triples is still 1-in-36.  Within the 97.23% probability of the roll for the first attribute not being triples, there is a 2.70% chance (i.e., 0.9723 ÷ 36) of the roll for second attribute being triples.  Thus, there is a 5.47% chance (i.e., 2.77 + 2.70) that exactly one of the first two attributes will have a 'triples' result.  By continuing this process, we discover there is a 79.83% chance that – for a course of eight attribute rolls – none of the rolls will be triples.  Looking at it another way, an average of one-in-five T&T characters will be a specialist.

Of course, just because triples are rolled for a given attribute doesn't mean that the final value will be exceptionally high (or even better than average).  A 'triple' roll could result in a final value as low as 7.

Section 12 of the dT&T rules is titled “Elaborations” and described as “Rule expansions, alternate ideas and additional suggestions...”  We are told that “basic specialists are more about 'flavor' of background and role-playing than about special abilities.”  In Section 12, however, specialists are presented as a distinct character type.  ('Type' is the T&T equivalent of class.)  If a character is to be a specialist type:

The player will...invent the character's special qualities related to the unusual attribute...Ideally this will be done with the cooperation and consent of...[the] Game Master to maintain overall balance with other players in the group.

An example type is presented for each primary attribute.  They typically call for doubling the dice total when making a saving throw with the specialized attribute in certain circumstances; however, players are encouraged to be inventive when establishing specialist abilities.  Although designed for T&T, there's no reason the concept can't be applied to other games with attributes determined by 3d6.  Here are some examples:

• Strength – The sample strength specialist is called a strong one.  A strong one could be a character “whose spirit is strong in a way that translates into the ability to exert force in times of need.”
• Constitution – Sensitives have “one or more of their physical senses developed to an unusual degree.”
• Dexterity – Examples of dexterity specialists include rangers, acrobats, craftsmen, and athletes.  In T&T terms, rangers are characters that have “an uncanny skill with ranged weapons.”
• Speed – Although a martial artist specialist can be based on other attributes, the rules discuss the possibilities of a speed specialist martial artist.  Some examples of speed-based martial art “styles” include “disabling moves and takedowns,” “Evading or redirecting an opponent's strikes,” or “catch[ing] missile weapons in flight, or bat[ting] them aside.”
• Intelligence – A mastermind specialist “has a better memory, a nimble wit, a swift insight into the implications of minor details, and a greater ability to solve problems.”
• Wizardry – “There are many different types of specialist magic-users possible:  healer, combat mage, cosmic controller, and others.”  Although specialist magic-users cannot understand magic beyond their specialty, they need not be taught the spells of their specialty.  “When their abilities reach the point where they can learn a spell..., it unfolds in their mind like a flower.”
• Luck – The sample luck specialist is called a gambler.  When making a saving throw regarding a calculated risk, a gambler doubles the dice result.
• Charisma – Leaders “take charge of situations and groups...In game terms, charisma saving throws often determine a character's success leading others.”

People (and Creatures) on EdenAgain

EdenAgain, the setting of DragonRaid, is populated with a variety of sentient beings; among them are celestial guardians (a.k.a. angels).  Discussed in a prior post, celestial guardians have no abilities or powers that are defined in terms of game mechanics; they are effectively plot devices.  (However, the DragonRaid website presents option rules that apply statistics to celestial guardians.)

There are 'normal' animals on EdenAgain and there are also 'talking' animals that “serve the OverLord and bear witness to his truth.”  LightRaiders are prohibited from killing any “known talking animal.”  Some LightRaiders can eventually gain a talking animal companion.  Both types of animals are defined in terms of Attack Ability, Physical Vitality, and Damage inflicted.  Some animals have special abilities; for instance, squirrels have 'climb skillfully' and beavers have 'water movement'.

Also, there are “Other Good Creatures.”  According to page 58 of the LightRaider Handbook :

It is thought that dwarves, elves, hobbits, fairies and brownies, as well as others, all inhabit the Dragon Lands.  While exerting a good influence on those around them, they are very shy and will not be seen unless the OverLord chooses.  This is because they are surrounded by evil powers and must hide to preserve their lives.  These creatures are rarely found in the Liberated Land, since it has been preserved as the dwelling of the TwiceBorn.

No statistics are provided for these beings, which supports the notion that they are to remain in the background.  Do they abide by the will of the OverLord?  Presumably, since they exert “a good influence,” they do so with the tacit approval of the OverLord.  Do they have souls?  Well, optional rules on the DragonRaid website intimate that they do; dwarf, elf, and gnome LightRaiders can be generated using these rules.

EdenAgain also has dark creatures; however, as mentioned previously, they are not native to the planet.  At the invitation of the dragons, other worlds sent “the worst of their kind.”  Upon being exiled to EdenAgain:

The Enemy and his dragons took these planetary bullies and tortured them so that, in their torment, they even became more wicked.  Thus, they became known known as dark creatures.

Similar to animals, dark creatures have Attack Ability, Physical Vitality, and a Damage rating.  Dark creatures can also use “sin enchantments” to harm LightRaiders – distracting them from the OverLord's will and damaging their “Character Strengths.”  According to the LightRaider Handbook, “Only as a last resort should LightRaiders attempt to kill dark creatures, except for orcs and goblins, whom the OverLord wants you to attack on sight.”  Dark creatures are subordinate to the dragons.  Each variety of dragon controls one of more species of dark creatures.  For instance, firedrakes control skeletons.

Dragons – referred to as “fallen angels” – have a variety of offensive capabilities.  One of the weapons that dragons possess is 'dragon fire' which “leaps from their mouths with frightening intensity.”  Appropriately, the 'fire weapon' for most dragon types is fire.  However, slime dragons “can spit either hot stones or hot lava” and sea serpents and rainbow dragons spew fire water, a liquid “that ignites when it hits an object.”  Aside from its fire weapon, “each individual dragon has a breath weapon that has no relationship to its dragon family.”  Additionally, dragons have 'smoke weapons' with various effects; for instance, the smoke of a dream dragon “reduces all armor...”  The most potent weapon the dragons have is “mind speech, through which they communicate false teachings...”

Of course, there are humans on Eden Again.  The OnceBorn are dragon slaves, “alienated from life, darkened in their understanding of the High One and His OverLord.”  The TwiceBorn “are called to be servants of the OverLord of Many Names.”  Player characters are LightRaiders, TwiceBorn “who go on missions into the Dragon Lands.”  TwiceBorn are imbued with nine Character Strengths:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  Since the OverLord is the source of all power, it is impossible to possess these Strengths “apart from the OverLord...”  Thus, the OnceBorn do not possess the nine Character Strengths.

Humans, whether OnceBorn or TwiceBorn, have Physical Vitality, Strength, and Agility.  Strength and Agility are determined by dice rolls.  Yet for the TwiceBorn, Physical Vitality equals the sum of all Character Strengths divided by two.  If only TwiceBorn have Character Strengths, how is Physical Vitality calculated for OnceBorn?  Good Question.  Once again, the DragonRaid website provides an answer:  “The basic Character Strengths of dragon slaves are Agility, Charisma, Endurance, Intelligence, Strength, and Wisdom.”  (Look familiar?)  For the OnceBorn, Physical Vitality is determined by adding together the OnceBorn Character Strengths (other than Charisma) and dividing by 1.5.  TwiceBorn have Strength and Agility the same as OnceBorn.  TwiceBorn also have Endurance and Wisdom as Character Abilities; instead of being determined by dice rolls (as is the case for OnceBorn), they are derived from (TwiceBorn) Character Strengths.  The formula for Endurance is:

(Peace + Joy + Faithfulness + [2 × Patience] + [2 × Self-Control] ) / 7

The formula for Wisdom is:

(Peace + Joy + Kindness + Goodness + Gentleness + [3 × Love] ) / 8

DragonRaid makes extensive use of formulas like these.  So, although they are not necessarily figured in the same way, OnceBorn and TwiceBorn both have Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Wisdom.  The TwiceBorn – the servants of the OverLord of Many Names – lack Charisma and Intelligence (although they have an ability called 'Knowledge').  I'm not making this up, folks.

Now, if the OnceBorn lack the TwiceBorn Character Strengths, are we to assume that they don't experience love or that they aren't capable of kindness?  Of course they can love and be kind and exhibit other TwiceBorn Character Strengths.  This isn't explained in the rules, but I have developed a rationale.  The OnceBorn experience these 'Strengths' only on a worldly level.  For the TwiceBorn, the Character Strengths are inter-connected with the OverLord.  As such, the Strengths have profound effects.  So, it's not that the OnceBorn lack patience and gentleness and the other qualities; they lack the conviction through which the OverLord empowers these 'qualities' to useful ends.  At least, that's how I figure it.

More Color from the Enchanted Islands

The Star Dance, Coral J. F. Mosbø © 2015; used with permission

The setting of Avalon Hill's 1982 game Wizards is especially robust; so much so that I would be remiss if I did not supplement my earlier 'inspiration' post.  Even with all of the information presented in the game, Thomas and Coral Mosbø claim in the designers' notes, “We have discovered much about their realm while working on this Game, much more than we have included here.”  In this quote, “their” refers to the Elflords and Wizards of the Enchanted Islands.  (Also, note the capitalization of 'game'.)

One of the three Magical Orders, the Sorcerers, originated with the Dragons:

These wise but evil creatures sought to lure men away from good magic by offering an alternative power.  Many Men who sought knowledge and power were drawn to the Dragons and became Sorcerers.  They thought that served none but themselves yet, in reality, they were caught in the cosmic struggle between Good and Evil.  In the end most of them found themselves consumed by their own desires and by the Dragons.

Fortunately for the cause of Good, the High Wizards were able to remediate three Master Sorcerers.  The most powerful, “Megmoran, the mysterious Sorcerer of Fire, possesses the Powers of the Inner Earth and the Enchantments of the Stars.”  Melekok is the Sorcerer of Water; “He is the Crafter and Master of all Jewels and Metals which reflect the fluid radiance of the Waters of the Universe.”  Finally, the Sorcerer of Air, Meligar “is Master of the winds and closely associated to the creatures of wing.”

Each of the eighteen territory tiles “have their own unique qualities and history.”  For instance, the first tile, Torwall is...

Home of the royal city of the rulers of Men.  Torwall was once held under a Spell of Darkness by the Evil Spirit, in an attempt to take over the realm.  This attempt failed, for the Men of Torwall built walls to lead them back to their city and thus overcame the curse.  Eventually, the Spell was broken, but the walls remain as a constant reminder of the strength of the royal city, even in the face of desperation.

Another tile, Green Grove, contains “the place of the origin of the Elves, the Star Crest, shrouded in the Mysteries of Time.”  The Star Crest is shown in the image above.  (Note the spaceship at five o'clock from Truvior's knee.)

By ending his or her movement on certain spaces, the player will have an encounter based on that space.  For other spaces there is the possibility of a random encounter.  In the event of an encounter, the player rolls two dice and the higher result is checked against the appropriate table to determine the encounter's effect.  If a table offers both beneficial and detrimental results, the worse results tend to be associated with lower numbers.  For example, on the 'Common Towns' table, a result of '1' means “Thieves steal any Magical Objects or Sacred Gems that the player possesses.”  A result of '5' means “The Common Folk speed the player on his way,” entitling the player to “Take an extra turn immediately.”  Since only the higher result is used, players are much more likely to obtain a beneficial result.  If my math is correct, there is only a 2.8% chance of getting a '1' result and a 75% chance of obtaining a result of '3' or greater.

Aside from encounters, players will occasionally draw 'event' cards; a few examples being:

The tune of the Canticle streams from the Source of the Wind and caresses your soul, giving you new understanding. Role ONE die and gain double the number of Knowledge points indicated.

Arra-La, Daughter of the Gardens of Belief, incites new hope and purpose in your being, increasing your Perception by the roll of ONE die doubled.

Hemex, Ancient Spirit of the Dead, bars your path with visions of Evil, causing you to flee aimlessly.

Boriel and Bellara, Maidens of the Timber Lane Elven Dwelling, bring you the Lamps of Love which enable you to retain all Magical Objects and Sacred Gems in the face of thieves, Demons, Dragons or the False Wizard.

Dignol, the Serpentheaded Sage, in jealousy of the favors shown you, casts you into a trap...

As is evident, a Wizards player needs to keep track of a great deal of information.  A 'Wizards Player Record Sheet Pad' is included in the game; below is an image of an individual sheet.  The rules refer only to players and not characters; however, (at least some of) the people who played my copy of the game (before I obtained it second-hand) adopted personas.  Among the 'character' names indicated on used sheets include:  Aaron, Balbaroy the Centaur (which seems to come from something called Shining Force), Rick, Morgan, Michael, two Tims (probably Monty Python inspired), and two Raistlins.

© 1982 The Avalon Hill Game Company

Angels & Allegory

Luca Giordano     The Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)     1660 - 1665

On page 76 of the DragonRaid Adventure Master Manual, there is an advice section named “When Players Try to Leave the Written Narrative.”  It explains that other role-playing games permit (or even encourage) players to deviate from a scripted adventure.  For DragonRaid, however, departing from structured adventure material is less than optimal.  One must remember that, first and foremost, DragonRaid is supposed to be used for “imparting Christian truth.”  Thus, “a departure from the text may cause players to miss out on valuable spiritual lessons.”  Should this happen, “DragonRaid may become just another game – fun, but without educational value” (or rather the intended educational value).

So, how should an Adventure Master 'shepherd' the players when they start to stray from the course of the adventure?  What would Gary do?  According to The Keep on the Borderlands :  “If a party attempts to move off the map, have a sign, a wandering stranger, a friendly talking magpie, or some other 'helper' tell them they are moving in the wrong direction.”  Dick Wulf (designer of DragonRaid) encourages Adventure Masters to be “innovative” with regard to bringing the party back in-line with the adventure.  As an example, “Tell the players that a talking magpie flies down in front of them and advises them that what they are about to do isn't in the OverLord's will!”  I don't know about you, but a magpie is not going to deter me from my intended course of action.  (O.K., a magpie might influence me, but it won't deter my character.)  I am generally suspicious of the motives of magpies.  In fact, if a magpie didn't want me to do something, I would be more inclined to do it.  What would discourage me?  A unicorn.

The “Celestial Guardians” section of the LightRaider Handbook (p. 56) states, “Both unicorns and pegasi are embodiments of angels in the world of EdenAgain.”  Sometimes they take other forms.  About a page is taken up with the “What we know about angels” section.  Twenty 'facts' about angels are listed, such as, “They can eat food. (Genesis 18:8)”  Each fact has a biblical citation except for one:  “They are personal spirits possessing intelligence, wisdom, patience, meekness, modesty, holiness, obedience, knowledge, will power, and the ability to speak languages.”  Anyway, why not just call an angel an angel?  Why equate them with unicorns and pegasi?  For that matter, why not just refer to the OverLord as Jesus?

Wulf employs allegory for a reason.  On page 50 of the Adventure Master Manual, he explains that allegory is necessary...

          ...because sometimes people have heard things about Jesus Christ (or about Christianity) to which they have developed very definite responses, both positive and negative.  These learned responses may block any further input.  By using an allegory to retell those spiritual truths, the game provides a comfortable and non-threatening learning experience.
          It is important that the Adventure Master maintain the integrity of the allegory by rarely allowing players to say Jesus Christ or Lord instead of OverLord.  It is too easy to be inconsistent and have the game lose its impact.  The wonderful world of EdenAgain and all of its marvelous creatures may give way to “churchy” words like salvation, which repel or bore some people.  Creativity and imagination are stifled, and as the game falters, God-given opportunities for teaching are lost.

Still, 'OverLord' sounds somewhat forbidding.  I am reminded of the main antagonist in Blackstar (which aired prior to the publication of DragonRaid).  Instead of OverLord, I would have gone with WorldLight.