This long weekend I had some time to myself so I decided to try something I mentioned back at the beginning of this blog. I tried the Barbarian Prince game using the Tunnels & Trolls rules.
I rolled up Cal Arath, The Barbarian Prince. He was a 4th level Warrior with +11 combat adds and a CON of 13. He was equipped with "Bonebiter", his magical broadsword (4+1), Scale Armour (8 hits) and a Target Shield (4 hits).
After escaping the mercenary and royal guards of the usurpers of his father's thrown, Cal found himself in the plains just north of the Tragoth River. After failing to find an easy way across the fast moving river, Cal narrowly avoided being discovered by a mercenary patrol.
The next day, Cal found a place to cross the river and spent the next day trudging through some marshy lowlands. Near the end of the day, Cal spotted a dark wood on the western horizon.
The next morning Cal decided to enter the forest to avoid detection of any other patrols that may be pursuing. In the forest Cal was ambushed by three desperate bandits. It was a close fight with Cal and the bandits exchanging blows -each side was only able to inflict 1 or 2 damage on each side for a number of rounds (which Cal's armour easily absorbed). Then after many rounds Cal landed a devastating blow to the bandits and dramatically lowered their combined MR. After that, Cal easily mopped up.
After spending two more days traveling under the canopy of leaves without trouble, Cal was suddenly surrounded by 18 wolves! The fight was quick. The true heir to the Northern Kingdom died an anonymous death far from home.
Tunnels & Trolls is a very easy rule set with which to do this sort of thing. Poor Cal just got unlucky when he was surprised by 3d6 wolves and I happen to roll an 18. I haven't rolled an 18 with a 3d6 in so long I was nearly stunned.
Great post! I do love T&T and it sounds like you made a great choice for using those rules in this book.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to keep an eye peeled for this Barbarian Prince book. The cover art you posted earlier is awesome!
Hey Meepo/Liam, you can actually download the old Heritage game Barbarian Prince for free (the right price) at: http://dwarfstar.brainiac.com/ds_barbarianprince.html
ReplyDeleteIt's quite fun...well except for the fact like our blogging friend notes here it is really very easy to die at the drop of the hat. But then again there is always shameless cheating as a corrective.
I just have the download version.
ReplyDeleteI have often thought that the Barbarian Prince setting would make a great sandbox for a B/X campaign. I nearly used it instead of my Northern Marches.
It is pretty easy to die using the BP rules.
Using the T&T rules, I took each creature's Combat Skill plus Endurance and made that their Monster Rating. The wolves only had a MR of 6 but with 18 of them that was 11 dice +54 adds vs Cal's measly 4+12 - even the 12 hits of armour couldn't save him.
Fun report! I think it sounded like quite a few of the T&T solos I've played. Suddenly you meet 3d6 of something that would be tough on its own. Dead.
ReplyDeleteAfter a short while I've learned that it's part of the experience, and it is easy to make a new character. It just wouldn't be feasible if it wasn't.