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Old 05-26-2018, 02:55 PM   #11
Jim Kane
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

Thankfully, there is no zero-sum reality which dictates publishing one adventure format at the existence of the other; therefore, there is no reason SJG cannot produce BOTH adventure formats with which to property fill-out the TFT product line.

Lest we forget, beyond the core Rule Books, MicroQuests, and Adventure Modules, in order to be fully developed and supported, the TFT product-line will also require:
  • Campaign Settings
  • Rules Expansion and Supplements
  • Source Books

    And more.

Again, I for one would really like to know who was the CAR WARS PRODUCT MANAGER back in the day, and can we possibly get him for TFT?

JK

Last edited by Jim Kane; 05-26-2018 at 04:55 PM. Reason: Typo
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Old 05-30-2018, 02:06 AM   #12
JLV
 
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Location: Arizona
Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

And, if you check out the Fantasy Trip Webpage, you will discover that both Death Test and Death Test 2 are in final layout!!!!

And Tollenkar's Lair is getting close!!!

So both worlds will get SOME love -- it only remains to be seen what comes next (after "the big book of Advanced and GM stuff" -- apparently the final title is up in the air at the moment -- is done).
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Old 05-31-2018, 06:59 AM   #13
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default T. Lair rocked.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JLV View Post
And, if you check out the Fantasy Trip Webpage, you will discover that both Death Test and Death Test 2 are in final layout!!!!

And Tollenkar's Lair is getting close!!! ...
Hi JLV, everyone.
Great news. I always thought that Tollenkar's lair was an extremely well written adventure. The difficulty ramped up nicely as you moved deeper into the dungeon, there were a lot of things that made logical sense. (I especially like the Reptilite guard who was bored so had a Freeze necklace put on him.) A friend using my rules, made a campaign where Tollenkar was the nemesis (he always had 5 attribute more than the best PC).

Another thing I liked was a lot of the nice loot was hidden.. it rewarded players who searched after battles.

Was there anything others felt was especially nice about Tollenkar's Lair?

Warm regards, Rick.

Last edited by Rick_Smith; 05-31-2018 at 08:25 AM. Reason: fixed grammar.
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Old 05-31-2018, 07:21 AM   #14
Jim Kane
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Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

Rick - Yes, I thought how Little Kess and his thugs were separated from Tollenkar and his Bravo Sentries by the creepy 4th level was genius-design. Jaggado, Tollenkar's bodyguard, was the Reptile Man wearing the crown with the freeze spell on it - *coolest* character in the whole adventure.

JK
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Old 05-31-2018, 01:25 PM   #15
Kirk
 
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Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

Tollenkar's Lair was a good non-programmed adventure that gave enough built-in motives, devices, and sub-plots that a GM, with some fair amount of time, and a party willing to make somewhat open-ended decisions could enjoy.

I liked the secret stuff, traps, characters, and the design of the maze.

*But*, to run it well, IMO, took an experienced GM that could keep track of all of the labyrinth's characters as well as what was in front of the Players. If you just left everything frozen until, effectively, line of sight for the Party took over, it didn't live up to its potential.

Having a guard hear something and then act intelligently by getting one or two others to get help and then quietly tracking or spying on the Party made it much more interesting. But keeping track of the timing and movement and flow of information through the levels could be brutal and sometimes test the patience of the Players, while the GM pulled out his hair keeping track of it all.

I still prefer programmed adventures with all of the sub-plots and intrigue as the designer decides to put in, but with more controlled just around the corner action letting the GM concentrate on keeping the game moving and providing good tactical play with the situations and characters allowed to him.
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Old 05-31-2018, 11:08 PM   #16
Skarg
 
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Default Re: T. Lair rocked.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick_Smith View Post
Was there anything others felt was especially nice about Tollenkar's Lair?
I liked quite a few things about Tollenkar's lair, including:

* The rumor table in the intro. This was a wonderful inspiration for the sorts of things that would be fun to have going on (or rumored) in a dynamic campaign world, and it had some wise advice for rumors in a campaign in general. That there should be an abundance of rumors which could all lead to adventures whether they were true or not, and that it could be an adventure just going around in the world checking out interesting things, trying to figure out what was going on, and so on.

* I first ran it when I was about 12 years old. It wasn't until the second time I ran it that I really appreciated several things it does that most published adventures I've looked at don't come close to. It requires developing some GM skills (and also, really learning the adventure location in great detail beforehand) to use, but it's a whole other sort of game if you do. That is, it's a dynamic adventure. The NPCs don't (shouldn't) just sit and wait for you to kill them off room by room.

* It discusses what the inhabitants will do over time on a scale of days to recover from casualties (since TFT thankfully has no instant healing spells). This played a part in helping us discover the larger strategies around managing a protracted conflict and having to deal with injuries and all the situations that arise naturally from that. The expectation is that a party will likely have to wage a campaign against the lair, and the GM is given guidelines for how the lair will respond and recover over time, how the inhabitants relate and communicate to each other, how and at what rate they're liable to recover from casualties in terms of days, and at what point they'll try to take what they can and get out with their own lives, etc. This isn't just great for this adventure, but teaches GMs how to run interesting dynamic campaigns that make sense and get the players to experience a logical world and get them to think about that and scheme accordingly.

* The characters, especially the later ones, are really well done. It seemed a shame that all the interesting things about them tended not to come up in the times I ran it, but it was great to see examples of interesting ITL campaign characters, and ideas for how to have NPCs that have their own histories, agendas, and personalized ways of thinking and acting.

* The way there was variety but also a history and a logic to why everything was where it was.
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Old 06-01-2018, 08:38 AM   #17
Kirk
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Default Re: T. Lair rocked.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
I liked quite a few things about Tollenkar's lair, including:

* The rumor table in the intro. This was a wonderful inspiration for the sorts of things that would be fun to have going on (or rumored) in a dynamic campaign world, and it had some wise advice for rumors in a campaign in general. That there should be an abundance of rumors which could all lead to adventures whether they were true or not, and that it could be an adventure just going around in the world checking out interesting things, trying to figure out what was going on, and so on.

* I first ran it when I was about 12 years old. It wasn't until the second time I ran it that I really appreciated several things it does that most published adventures I've looked at don't come close to. It requires developing some GM skills (and also, really learning the adventure location in great detail beforehand) to use, but it's a whole other sort of game if you do. That is, it's a dynamic adventure. The NPCs don't (shouldn't) just sit and wait for you to kill them off room by room.

* It discusses what the inhabitants will do over time on a scale of days to recover from casualties (since TFT thankfully has no instant healing spells). This played a part in helping us discover the larger strategies around managing a protracted conflict and having to deal with injuries and all the situations that arise naturally from that. The expectation is that a party will likely have to wage a campaign against the lair, and the GM is given guidelines for how the lair will respond and recover over time, how the inhabitants relate and communicate to each other, how and at what rate they're liable to recover from casualties in terms of days, and at what point they'll try to take what they can and get out with their own lives, etc. This isn't just great for this adventure, but teaches GMs how to run interesting dynamic campaigns that make sense and get the players to experience a logical world and get them to think about that and scheme accordingly.

* The characters, especially the later ones, are really well done. It seemed a shame that all the interesting things about them tended not to come up in the times I ran it, but it was great to see examples of interesting ITL campaign characters, and ideas for how to have NPCs that have their own histories, agendas, and personalized ways of thinking and acting.

* The way there was variety but also a history and a logic to why everything was where it was.
Exactly, and what I was trying to say but was too tired to say as well as you have. TL, if you put the energy and time in, can teach the skills a good GM needs to run a campaign. I have never really seen this in any other type adventure booklet. It took us a few tries, even in college, to figure out *how* to make this adventure really work well, and not just be a static boring dungeon crawl.

I'm glad it will be made available to newbies to TFT, it really should be a required activity for any budding TFT GMs.
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Old 06-01-2018, 02:01 PM   #18
Jim Kane
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Default Re: T. Lair rocked.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirk View Post
TL, if you put the energy and time in, can teach the skills a good GM needs to run a campaign. I have never really seen this in any other type adventure booklet. It took us a few tries, even in college, to figure out *how* to make this adventure really work well, and not just be a static boring dungeon crawl.

I'm glad it will be made available to newbies to TFT, it really should be a required activity for any budding TFT GMs.
Absolutely! And MtM/GURPS:Orcslayer went the same *Teaching Module* approach one better in terms of showing how to link encounters as scenes, and taking the players back and forth between major and minor focus - and included my all-time-favorite single SJ encounter: The Caustigus.

JK
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Old 06-01-2018, 02:33 PM   #19
JLV
 
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Location: Arizona
Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

TL was fantastic on many levels, but honestly, I always wanted a bit more -- like a "level" set in the city where the final pursuit of Tollenkar himself could have played out...

Having said that, I agree pretty thoroughly with both Kirk and Skarg, and have to admit that I learned a LOT about GM-ing from working my way through TL as the GM. One word on that; "flowcharts!" Flowcharts really helped with managing the bad guys movements and information flows! ;-)

Along the way, it not only taught you how to RUN a complex adventure, but it also taught you how to CREATE one. In short, it was brilliant! Like the Village of Hommlet was, back in the day, but with a better (and better written) adventure!
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Old 06-02-2018, 12:10 AM   #20
ak_aramis
 
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Location: Alsea, OR
Default Re: New Adventures for TFT.

90% of my play has been solitaire.
I don't mind the flipping.
I've not played any of DCG's modules, but that's because I don't like where they went mechanically with LAW, and thus with their modules; they aren't TFT modules, but are easily converted on the fly. Still, I dislike doing that conversion.
My favorite modules are Master of the Amulets and GrailQuest, so I disagree with the format complaint. MotA was probably the single most replayable solo in the game's canon.
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