If you’re new to solitaire gaming in the world of Tunnels and Trolls, or wish to introduce someone else to its unique role-playing system, then The Necropolis of Death offers a perfect tutorial quest for beginners, in which you learn the rules as you complete the adventure, gaining the knowledge needed to undertake further, more substantial challenges.
An evil necromancer is terrorising your town and only one person can stop him. Well no, that’s not true. Lot’s of people could stop him but they’re not. And so you decide to take on the task…
This adventure introduces the reader to the wonderful world of Tunnels & Trolls. You will create a character and learn the rules as you play; no preparation or knowledge of the system is needed. By the time you have finished you will be ready to take your newly minted delver and subject them to any of the hundreds of Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures available.
Written by Thomas H Pugh, and illustrated by Mike Tenebrae and Johan Tieldow, The Necropolis of Death from Bolt Thrower Press will walk you through the process of selecting your character type (Elf, Dwarf or Human) and your race (or ‘Kindred’), determining your character’s Prime Attributes and equipping them for battle, and then teach you the rules for Saving Rolls, combat (including weapons, armour, your Adds and your opponent’s Monster Rating) and explain the use of magic and spell casting (including the Magic Matrix).
The Necropolis of Death will quickly get you up to speed with all of the basic Tunnels and Trolls rules and gameplay concepts required for either solo or group play. Now available for purchase in either pdf from DriveThruRPG or as a paperback book from Lulu, The Necropolis of Death is just one of many T&T solo adventures currently available (some in pdf form are free, ‘pay what you want’ or very affordably priced at online stores such as DriveThruRPG), including Thomas H Pugh’s beginners’ level adventure, Al Kazar’s Caravan, set in the Kurtish Plains (also published by Bolt Thrower Press).
For someone that never played a T&T gamebook: Could you write up an introduction and maybe recommend 2 or 3 books to start with?
Peter, the T&T solo system is based on the full role-playing game, with the book becoming the GM much like other gamebooks. Its rules are a little deeper than many other series – but it is easy to play and has a lot of unique charm. The Necropolis of Death is a perfect introduction, as it will walk you through all the basics while you play the adventure. Also, you can download the ‘Tunnels & Trolls Free Rulebook’ from DriveThruRPG (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/54407/Tunnels–Trolls-Free-Rulebook?manufacturers_id=2238) which includes a short version of the full T&T Rules, and the adventure Goblin Lake. ‘Buffalo Castle’ from Flying Buffalo is a good, entry-level adventure to start with (also downloadable at DriveThruRPG if you like pdf’s).
Thank you! I am fine with PDFs if it’s the only way. I print them at a local copy shop and let them do a coil binding. It’s still not as good as a print out from Lulu but faster and a bit cheaper.
Great overview. Here are some comments I made on the book elsewhere that might be of interest to readers:
A fantastic introduction to the Tunnels and Trolls role playing game. This is a solo adventure for a starting character. The adventure by Thomas Pugh introduces the player to the game – as it is being played. The player will need nothing else to play (OK, some 6-sided dice, and a pencil and paper). For those of you that do not know the game, it was created in the 1975 and is *still supported by the original creators* (several upgrades later and many adventures both solo and group play).
A wonderful way to jump right in to the game. The story begins in a village that has the misfortune to be just down the hill from a necromancer’s castle. As the player begins to make choices in the game they develop their character (first choosing their race and sex early on, and later determining their other Prime Attributes, such as Strength, Dexterity, Speed…). By making a series of choices the player will move ever closer to the final challenge or die in the attempt.
A couple of minor quibbles makes me -1 from a perfect 5 star rating. Most notably are: (1) a critical failure on a saving roll should be a 3 (rolling 2d6 and getting a “1” and a “2”) and not a 4, and (2) Combat Adds should be calculated by the Prime Attribute (e.g. Strength) minus 12, not minus 10 (e.g. a character with STR 14 should have +2 combat adds and not +4). But these are minor issues that will not affect the gameplay for a new player.
This is seriously a fantastic addition to the Tunnels and Trolls world. It could have been included in the most recent edition of the game rulebook (2-15’s Deluxe Tunnels and Trolls). I bought this for myself and enjoyed playing it and I plan to send another copy to my nephew as a gift.