Tunnels & Trolls Articles
Inspiration by
What makes you write a scenario for T&T? What inspires me to write adventures? Where do our ideas come from? What problems are encountered when trying to structure an adventure? Let's have a chat about it. Pull up a chair, grab yourself a tankard of complimentary ale from the bar, and put your feet up by the fire. Shall we begin?
Personally, I get inspiration from anywhere. Almost any location I see or visit can give me ideas for a scenario. Tunnels & Trolls is such a fluid non-restrictive system that it is easy to adapt any situation you like to the rules, and by adding some extra house-rules or variations of already existing rules, you can easily make it work in true T&T style. Let's look at some examples:
Take the mini-adventure 'The Sheepherder', which can be found over at the Tavern. The idea came for that when I was on a walking trip in Scotland with some friends. We had just crossed a fantastic river, complete with rushing waterfalls, when we came upon a wide, grassy field, with a most pleasant feel about it. In the centre was a hillock surrounded by a few trees and shrubs, and amongst them some sheep grazed quietly, unperturbed by our passage through their field. Instantly a scene from a Ray Harryhausen movie came to mind, and I could easily picture one of his fantastic Ogres, Trolls or Cyclops appearing over the brow of a hill as in the movies, to confront the Sinbad-esque adventurers! However, the place felt so peaceful that I couldn't imagine bloody combat taking place there, so if there was any adventure there at all, it had to be subdued, subtle and more than likely magical in nature. Take a look at the scenario and tell me what you think. Did it work? Did the atmosphere carry across? I think so. Maybe you will disagree? Let me know.
"Goblin Crag", which has grown from a humble 1-level dungeon to a monstrous 4-level abomination, and has seen translation into Italian and has been used at GenCon, started in my lunch-hour at work, whilst I was looking at photographs of some hills I had been walking in. We had come across a huge hole, surrounded by ferns and boulders. The bottom was lost to darkness. It is a popular tourist attraction, and once a year, people are allowed to sit on a specially prepared hanging seat, which is lowered down into the depths. It's a popular place for rock climbers, abseilers and cavers alike. But to me, it was the opening into the largest dungeon I've ever written!
"Rage Over Rjeng-Hang" was inspired after I watched 'Big Trouble in Little China', which I had just picked-up cheaply on DVD. Again, T&T was so very easy to adapt to an unusual situation. It was so easy to write.
"The Funfair of Death", one of my particular favourites, was inspired as I enjoyed the wondrous attractions of one of the UK's best theme parks. As I sat strapped into a clanking, rattling cart, hardly filled with confidence in the mechanics or the apparent lack of safety, I put myself in the position of a delver, sword and pack hardly fitting into the seat of the carriage, safety-belt struggling to fit across his armour, ascending a dark tunnel, wondering what the dungeon has in store for him. Marvellous! Later, when on wild rides that swung high and precarious over the watching people below, it seemed obvious that a mad dungeon designer would have to have something similar in the dungeon, but of course the riders would win magic or treasure instead of a cuddly toy, and would risk death or dismemberment instead of nausea!
Recently I have seen other T&T writers attempting and succeeding to write T&T modules, which explore different situations, like cyber-punk/industrial scenarios and rules and adventures that seem to be based around Terry Pratchett's Discworld, all of which seem most excellent, and are very encouraging for the future of the game we are all so passionate about.
I could go on, but I won't. You get my drift. Almost anywhere can inspire the setting for a T&T scenario. This is in my opinion the beauty of Tunnels & Trolls. Because of its fluidity and ability to lend itself to almost any situation, it's such a joy to play. You could argue that other popular RPGs are as easy to write adventures for, but only to a point. T&T is easily the best game to accommodate certain situations successfully. Just take a look at the array of solo adventures that are available for T&T. Each one represents a particular characteristic that T&T adapts itself so perfectly to. How many other RPGs would cope so well with such adventures as Blue Frog Tavern, Arena of Khazan, Sorcerer Solitaire or Beyond the Silvered Pane?
The Tavern Master
Of the Hobgoblin's Tavern
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