An adventure in the Abyss - Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls

Abyss is a solitaire module for dead T&T characters by Paul Creelman, included in the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls rulebook. It's a chance to work your way back from the underworld, with the stipulation that you only can try this once per PC.

Fortunately (?), I have quite a pile of dead characters to work with, although most have 0 adds and poor Constitution. I shuffled the stack and decided to revisit Karak the Stout and Beautiful Attractive (attributes are what they were immediately before death).

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To his surprise, Karak found himself standing before a large leonid god-type thing, offering a way back to life itself. Also surprising was the short sword in his hand, considering he had never owned one before.

His first lucky break came when he found a charmed pebble capable of poisoning any weapon or make a poison liquid if plopped into water. I should add that the phrase "first lucky break" is misleading.

Further along, our hero came upon a sultry woman. With practiced ease, she beckoned Karak to join her in mind-bending bliss. But Karak, blessed with wits (IQ of 14), suspected something untoward was planned for him if he conceeded. Not wishing to fight what might turn out to be a demon or worse, he stepped backwards.

And promptly fell as if from a great height.

"Fabulous," thought Karak.

His fall was abruptly stopped (thanks to a successful level 1 luck saving roll, 1LR if I understand the T&T convention). However, any relief he felt was quickly dispelled  - he was caught in the talon of a large black raven.

Instinctively, he swung his sword at the great bird, but pathetic was the damage he inflicted (spite damage only). He resigned himself to certain death at the hand, or talon as it were, of the raven.

Not until he was dropped into the bird's nest did her breathe easy.

Perhaps it mistook him for its own chick?

Possible, but unlikely.

Relief turned to dread; three nestlings already there were clearly under the impression that Karak was dinner.

And they killed him.

The way out of the Abyss closed on Karak forever.

****

Playing time was fairly short - but I didn't have a lot of time anyway, so I was OK with that. A character with more adds and with more CON would have lasted longer, as would one with higher STR and DEX, so they could wield a more damaging sword.

The concept is a fun one, and there is plenty of randomness even within an encounter. Playing other characters through this may not have the same results, even when I make the same choices.

And I will undoubtedly run other dead characters in the Abyss.

There are some interesting mechanics for sorcery and there is a multiplier based on the number of combat adds you have that represents the Abyss's desire to keep you - with 0 combat adds, the multiplier is 1, and of no consequence.

The one issue I had was that it wasn't clear to me whether or not I had armor. It isn't stated either way that I could find. I may have read the introduction too quickly.

What is stated is that I'm armed with the largest sword or dagger I can wield (which is why Karak was surprised by that). In the event, I decided to use a strict reading of the text; if it wasn't stated, then I didn't have it. In this way I avoided having an advantage I shouldn't, but I'd be curious if others were of the same mind.

Now you may be asking yourself, "Self, why didn't he use the poison?"

Honestly, I wasn't sure of the game mechanics for poison, and I didn't feel like reading that section of the rules in depth - my quick skimming was unhelpful.  Also, coming from DnD where poison use on weapons (as opposed to traps), at least in 1e, is strongly discouraged (and if used, then players should expect NPCs and monsters to use it too), it didn't seem right to poison my blade.

That said, I'll be reading the poison rules closely, and next time I encounter it, my decision will be a role-playing one, not an issue of rules knowledge (or lack thereof).

Again into Buffalo Castle!

First, there was Edgar the Sickly and of the questionable career choice. 5'8 and a whopping 95 lbs, his general weakness (str 6, con of 11 however) and high IQ (15) lead to years studying, then writing copious amounts of poetry (talent: poet). What his parents, nor anyone else expected was the author of the renowned, Ode to a Handsome Milk Maid I Spied Not Creepily, and the epic, I Sing of Salt Marsh, to take up questing. 

He should have stuck to poetry: killed by a troll not moments after entering the castle

Then came Gorn the Dim Stonecutter, aka "Slim Speedy," Gorn was blessed with muscle and quickness (str 13, spd 14) but the intelligence of a walnut (iq 4). No one was surprised when the 6'7 160lb stonecutter gave up the daily grind for a life of adventure. 

Oddly, he was killed in the castle by sea creatures - two giant jelly-fish dropped on him, causing significant damage, and then later an octopus of unusual size bludgeoned him to death with its tentacles.

Finally, there came Joe Average. He lacked everything, but mostly creativity in choosing a name, descriptive of his abilities as it was. He had no talents, he couldn't be bothered. He adventured because it was something to do. 

He was crushed beneath the pounding hooves of buffalo on a vast and grassy plain deep within the castle that bears their name.

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I did roll up another character, but that one came in at level two, thanks to a Dex of 23 and the adventure is for level 1 warriors. The 13 combat adds total he had would have been nice, but I didn't want a cake walk either.

Having now made several trips into Buffalo Castle, I'm not so sure I'll be going back again anytime soon. The gonzo-ness is wonderfully old school, but it seems like a bit of a "killer dungeon" for a lowly level 1 warrior and I'm getting tired of rolling up characters to have them die an encounter or two into the adventure.

It's a classic, and the 1st of its kind, and it has definitely helped me get familiar with character generation, equipment, saving rolls, and combat,  so I'm glad I gave it a go, but I have a lot of other solitaire modules / adventures to try.

Descent into Buffalo Castle - Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls

Saturday night, I broke out the Deluxe T&T rulebook for the second time, grabbed my freshly minted copy of the classic Buffalo Castle and prepared to roll up a new character. This is a solitaire adventure for a single low-level warrior, so Type (equivalent to DnD class) was predetermined.

For those familiar with earlier editions of T&T, char gen is pretty much the same as always. There is a starting talent thing that I don't recall seeing in 5th edition, but basically no surprises.

During the kick starter for Deluxe T&T, i purchased a factory sealed 5th edition boxed set, complete with dice with a troll face in place of the 1. The inaugural game with this system seemed like the right time to bring out those dice. The clatter of dice and the scratching of pencil on paper and:

First (that I said 'first' is already a bad sign) there was Thorn the Bearded, a viking type who rolled an abysmal Luck of 6, and a Constitution(which functions as Hit Points in T&T) of 8. Still, his other stats were good enough that he had 5 combat adds, and I hoped to get some decent armor, a shield and maybe a sword or some such.

Like DnD (at least the editions I'm familiar with), you roll 3d6 * 10 for starting gold.  I rolled a six. SMH. With 60 gp starting money it was not meant to be.

No matter though. 

Thorn fell into a pit almost immediately, in true old school fashion. While searching for a secret door, he was set upon by a giant jellyfish dripping deadly sliminess from above. As he wore no helmet, he was defenseless, and with his low constitution and the damage from the preceding fall, he was dead.

But fret not, for then came Karak, the Stout and Beautiful (Constitution of 29 and Charisma of 27. I rolled 18s for both! In  T&T, when you roll 18 you get to roll again and add it to the total ) His luck was better too, double Thorn's. Clearly, here was a hero.

Having learned from my mistakes Karak was equipped with a skull cap, and due to more bountiful coin (110 starting gp), he was better equipped all around.

Karak's first encounter was with a frighteningly large and aggressive octopus. Early successes against the first two of the eight arms eventually involved kept the fight within a reasonable chance of success and when all was said and done, the cephalopod was vanquished (for 80 Adventure Points).

Flushed with excitement, I eagerly scanned the paragraph for the details of its treasure. A die roll later, and alas, the creature had a meager treasure of but 10 gold.

Despite the ease by which he could have exited, Karak went further into the castle (the rules state that a character may only enter Buffalo Castle one time. So, if he left, he would be done with the adventure). At times he wandered through halls becoming hopelessly turned around (I really should have kept better track of where I had been). 

A wandering orc challenged him but was cut down with ease, and yielded a bag full of silver. In spite of his successes, our hero thought better than to try his luck with a gambling wizard. For his caution, the wizard cursed him with ugliness (halved his charisma, but still, at 14, Karak was at least Stout and Attractive, if not Beautiful) and called him chicken.

A stampede of buffalo was both a strange sight and a long encounter that left him more or less intact and with some valuable hides (5 g.p. each) to sell back in town. And again, Karak pressed on, sure that more treasure awaited.

Then, upon boldly entering one more room, an ogre bashed him senseless.

[In T&T doubles mean you can roll and add to the results to the previous roll and in one round of combat, the ogre rolled 51 points. A near miracle occurred as I rolled successive doubles myself, but my total was only 32. My armor absorbed 6 points - thanks to my warrior ability to wring every last bit of protection from it, leaving 13 to remove from my CON. Which, unfortunately was all I had left at that point.]

*****

I spent a lot of time flipping through the rule book looking up this and that, but the adventure was fun, and frustrating in that i-want-to-play-it-again-and-do-better kind of way. I'll be rolling up another character soon and giving it another go.