December 26, 2017: The Fantasy Trip Returns Home

[larsdangly]

Originally Posted by JLV

Life does that -- get in the way of things, that is. But I know you're having fun working on the armor and weapons!

Actually, I'm pretty much in agreement with you on Tollenkar's Lair -- there were some major issues with it as written; many of which (in my personal opinion) can be traced to the lack of sufficient background. It's almost like it was pulled together from a much bigger scenario, so there are a lot of loose ends that the FM has to either fill himself or hand-wave to get through the scenario. There were some pesky "internal" issues too, with inconsistencies in the bad guys' behavior and responses to attack, but those were relatively easier to tie together. (Actually, I'll bet Steve would be interested in your take on the Lair -- outside eyes almost always spot issues with things that you can't see because you're standing right there. If he plans any major re-writes for the canon, I'm guessing TL would be one of the most likely places they'd take place, and any critique would be invaluable for that sort of thing...)

However, having said all of that, I would LOVE to see Tollenkar's Lair presented properly, as part of the "bigger picture" scenario that is just begging to be written to make it all come together! (I wonder if Steve still has his scenario notes from the original?)

Hmmm...I always really liked Tollenkar's Lair as is. I love the fact that you basically work your way through a 3 level dungeon with a normal 'bandit lair' sort of feeling, then hit the seemingly abandoned ruins of the 4th level, and then the hidden 2-level dungeon-beneath-the-dungeon. There are several gear changes that happen over the course of the adventure, and in my experience that makes it fun to play and run. Plus a lot of the enemy NPC's are creative and fun. Anyway, I'll bet I've run it a dozen times and never felt like I wanted to change anything beyond moving a few people around to make the place feel lived in.

[Steve Jackson]

As far as I know, I have no surviving notes on Tollenkar. I do recall that some of the opponents had back stories. Black Flower Melody, in particular, was wasted as spear fodder - he was an interesting rogue, and in my headcanon, he made it out of there alive and found a better master.

[Chris Rice]

[/B]Chris - Oh, definitely some things I would do differently. Most of them have been discussed in this thread. Attribute bloat; Conan the Wizard; the shish-kebab effect. Things like that."[/B]

That's great to hear Steve! Hopefully some of these can be addressed in the new editions if that can be done without destroying the spirit of the originals.

[JLV]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

As far as I know, I have no surviving notes on Tollenkar. I do recall that some of the opponents had back stories. Black Flower Melody, in particular, was wasted as spear fodder - he was an interesting rogue, and in my headcanon, he made it out of there alive and found a better master.

Interestingly enough, he was the one villain I always tried to help survive so that he could complicate the players' lives from then on. He even made it out intact a couple of times (by judicious use of the "run away while the cannon-fodder distract the adventurers" ploy). He always seemed to be more...I don't know...interesting?...filled with potential?...than the rest of the villain crew. I always wondered if, in an expanded version of the scenario, he might have some much more important role in Tollenkar's plotting. I even gave him one on several occasions, though we never really played anything through to conclusion there, since the players usually preferred to go dungeon-bashing instead of unraveling mysteries. I haven't played through TL for over a decade now. I might have to break it back out and run around in the dungeon for a while!

Edited to add: I always thought it might be interesting to transform TL into a solitaire adventure. Talk about a Monster solitaire scenario (like the old SPI's "Monster Games") -- you could plug away at that one for weeks!

[stefanj]

I just unearthed my original Melee and Wizard sets. I thought I'd lost Melee, but it appears to be intact! Counters all neatly bagged.

I see Clark Bradley is listed at the sole artist for Wizard.

I knew that I sold my three Advanced TFT books, but it looks like I sold off the boxed mini adventures as well. I went through a lot of lean years and was probably glad to have gotten something for them at the time. Now I guess I'll be looking to buy the solitaire adventures.

[Carnifex]

I dug out mine as well. I am pleased that TFT survived my lean years. I went and bought a nice plastic box at Hobby Lobby last weekend to hold everything. My New Years Day was spent re-reading the rules and creating some characters. This weekend I am going to make my wife play a couple of games of Melee and Wizard with me and maybe play through one of the solo adventures. If I get really ambitious I will run Tollenkar's lair for my D&D in the next month or two.

[marctabyanan]

Things to consider for updates, that I would like to see:

- The attribute bloat is a common one everyone seems to talk about.

- Religion and religious effects in magic.

- A little more cleaned up magic item process.

- A Bestiary.


For myself, because I’m a selfish bastard: a sci-fi version. I’m working on my own sci-fi campaign world, and would love to use a sci-fi version of TFT for it. Some are out there, but they are not quite what it seems a full TFT version would have (and yes, I could just use GURPS, I know...)

There are other small bits, but half the fun of gaming is tweaking things yourself. I just want to keep the spirit of TFT with concise, tight, simple rules.

Oh, yeah, and I want it now. (Read the part about me being a selfish bastard...)

[JLV]

Originally Posted by stefanj

-snip- Now I guess I'll be looking to buy the solitaire adventures.

Allow me to recommend Wayne's Books as a starting point -- I was just on there yesterday and they appear to have pretty much everything, including the "Land Beyond the Mountains" stuff currently listed as "available." They apparently now sell mostly via Amazon, but that also means you can do comparison shopping for what you want. Noble Knight might have some too, but I generally find their prices higher than Wayne's are...

[JLV]

Originally Posted by marctabyanan

Things to consider for updates, that I would like to see:

- The attribute bloat is a common one everyone seems to talk about.

- Religion and religious effects in magic.

- A little more cleaned up magic item process.

- A Bestiary.

There are other small bits, but half the fun of gaming is tweaking things yourself. I just want to keep the spirit of TFT with concise, tight, simple rules.

THIS. I strongly second all of this.

Originally Posted by marctabyanan

Oh, yeah, and I want it now.

"Now?!?" Heck, I wanted it yesterday! ;-)

[stefanj]

I was think of monsters for TFT last night.

I have a whole bestiary for Tunnels & Trolls waiting for editing & illustrations, but the creatures have a different "tone" than I would think is appropriate for TFT.