D&D -vs- T&T: Character Generation

Or, How To Roll Yer Own! 

Being a comparison of original Dungeons & Dragons (1974 Boxed Set) with 5th Edition Tunnels & Trolls (T&T).

Dice
D&D: polyhedral dice, based on platonic solids
T&T: six-siders only, but bring a bunch of them

Note: and here we encounter the first notable difference between the two systems, the dice. However one may feel about this design decision, in 1975 when T&T was published (and 1 year after D&D was published) d6 were a lot easier to come by than polyhedral dice.

Character Record
Both: use 3 x 5 index cards, though D&D quickly moved away from that model.

Ability Scores
D&D: strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, charisma
T&T: strength, intelligence, luck, constitution, dexterity, charisma

Note: at first? The only difference is a seemingly cosmetic one. Instead of wisdom T&T uses luck, and T&T refers to all 6 abilities as prime attributes. As one reads this section of rules, however, more differences arise. Abilities, all of them, can and will change as the character gains experience. Ability scores also figure much more prominently into T&T's rules system.

• Strength: determines how much you can carry and which weapons you can wield, and depleting your strength to zero kills your character. 
• Intelligence: used similarly to D&D to determine number of languages spoken. It also determines how high a level of spell your wizard can cast, a feature added to OD&D with the release of its first supplement. 
• Luck: used for a lot of saving rolls. Luck's D&D counterpart, wisdom, would come to modify saving throws in later editions of the game though not in OD&D. 
• Constitution: these are basically your hit points in T&T and if they reach zero? Better grab 3d6 and get to rolling. 
• Dexterity: used similarly to D&D to modify missile combat rolls. But, see below. 
• Charisma: similar to D&D's charisma, though negative scores are possible. 
• Strength + Luck + Dexterity = "Adds" and Adds are added to your combat rolls, though it's worthy of note adds can also be negative so one may wonder why they weren't termed "mods." 

Starting Gold
Both: use 3d6 x 10

Equipment
Both: short list of general supplies, somewhat longer list of weapons.

Note: T&T weapon damage is variable by type and weapons have both a strength and dexterity requirement; you can also poison your weapons if you wish (poison is not "save or die"). The best armor in T&T is out of reach of starting players.

Alignment:
D&D: Law, Neutral, Chaos
T&T: no alignment

Note: no alignment sheds a lot of role-playing baggage with regard to D&D's wargaming roots. 

Races
D&D: human, dwarf (and gnome), elf, hobbit
T&T: human, dwarf, elf, fairy, hobbit, leprechaun, were-creatures

Note: T&T also includes height and weight charts for your player-character.

Classes
D&D: fighting-man, magic-user, cleric
T&T: warrior, wizard, rogue, warrior-wizard

Note: OD&D has no thief but added one quickly with the release of its first supplement. T&T has no cleric but never added one to its rules. T&T's warrior-wizard is much improved over D&D's closest analog, the elf, being able to function in both classes simultaneously with most of the benefits of both. Unfortunately, the warrior-wizard is difficult to qualify for.

Levels
D&D: each class has its own progression chart
T&T: every class uses the same chart, and adds to their abilities with progression

Next up: more on player classes, with additional information about the races.

D&D -vs- T&T: The Basics

A Series Of Essays

This is the first in a series of articles comparing the 1974 boxed set of Dungeons & Dragons and 5th Edition Tunnels & Trolls, abbreviated hereafter respectively as D&D and T&T. Your comments are invited, but be advised I'm not seeking a debate as to which is better or which edition of either I should be using. I'm merely curious as to how the basic systems compare.

As an aside, I stated yesterday I'd begin with classes but, upon review of both texts? It seems to me comparing the introductions and basics of the systems in the order as presented in T&T was thematically a better choice. Please forgive this editorial decision. A comparison of classes will be put off until later. 

A basic thought I've heard about 'net seems to hold true upon closer inspection:

D&D was a fantasy RPG written by wargamers to appeal to wargamers, while T&T was written for persons not otherwise drawn to wargames but loved fantasy literature and fairy tales. 

If this proves true? I may continue to explore this theme throughout these articles.

The Basics

In a nutshell, D&D arose from a couple of ideas. Wargames can include fantasy elements, these fantastic bits gave rise to the idea of heroes of similar heroic stature, and the players not wanting their heroes to die an ignoble death. In time and through the efforts of Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax this thought went from interesting idea for a continuing wargame campaign to an ongoing fantasy campaign. A game in which characters not only continue from game to game, but have a history and personality. When D&D started spreading to non-wargamers it inspired a librarian in Arizona named Ken St. Andre. Ken liked the idea but had two big problems with D&D as written. First, it was too expensive. Having lived in this time, the author will attest that $10 was a lot of money. Second, it was too complicated and contained parts he didn't like. So, like a lot of gamers then and now? He rewrote the rules to suit himself.

St. Andre spends a few sentences in his introduction defending his game about being a rewritten D&D. He states T&T can no more be an imitation of that other game than Chevrolet is a derivative of Ford. I'll leave you, gentle reader, to decide the merits of that statement. For my part? It doesn't matter if it's a derivative or not, I think he wrote a great game and it most assuredly has a distinct personality apart from D&D.

So ... was it cheaper? Yes, his first few printings were being sold for $2. Was it simpler? I believe so, yes. Of course, simplicity has its own cost and much is left for the potential game master (GM) to do for himself. This not a mark against T&T, the first edition of D&D did likewise, though the latter did include more information to get the new referee started on his campaign.

Playing The Game

Not much difference in this section! Create a dungeon or tunnel, key it with monstrous encounters and treasure. Of course, the creation of a campaign and starting scenario is how all role-playing games start.

Both games tell briefly the overall scope of what the referee or GM is taking on. What will be needed to begin the first session of play follows. Both include encouragement to use one's imagination and include notes on recommended party size.

Then, of course, we come to character creation. Here is where the games begin to diverge a bit more. Character Generation will be covered in the next essay in this series.

First Thoughts About Tunnels & Trolls

I started playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) way back when it was first published in the mid-70's. I lived in a small town Texas lacking even the rather limited means of communicating with fans of games and gaming in other states available back then. As a result, T&T escaped my notice for a long time. When I asked around nobody really knew anything about it. When I got to college another gamer I met told me it was just a badly written knock-off of D&D. I was firmly embedded in the TSR camp at that time and let it go at that.

Then years later I joined the Kickstarter for Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls. Maybe it was a renewed interest in a game I knew nothing about, maybe it was just a desire to support a company that helped promote the gaming hobby back in the day. At any rate? Deluxe Edition was a lot of book so I decided to read the 5th edition of the game first (available as a PDF from DriveThru et al.).

So in the following weeks I'll be presenting a series of posts regarding my thoughts about T&T. These will often be given in comparison with D&D, specifically the 1974 boxed set edition of the game though I may reference some of the supplements and other pre-1983 editions of the game.

Right away one may be excused for thinking "but is really fair to compare a later edition of T&T with the first edition of D&D? Shouldn't you compare the first editions of both?" This isn't really a comparison with a desire to find which is the best game. I'm really no more interested in game rules wars than I am D&D edition wars. I'm just interested in how the D&D I'm most familiar with compares to the version of T&T many players of same like the best.

You, fellow gamer, are invited to share this journey of discovery with me. I'll discuss a variety of observations and opinions about both sets of rules, you're invited to join in if you so desire. First post will be tomorrow and will cover player-character classes. I'll try to post once per week until I've covered the T&T 5th edition rules from cover to cover.

Until tomorrow!

In The Interest Of Fairness

Here are some free hobby-based products I've released into the wild. Its been implied I should go out and do the same rather than criticize the efforts of others. But taking the points about pod-casters I posted into account, I won't do that because I don't feel I have a pleasant speaking voice at all. But, I have made some of my creative efforts available and free to the community. Here are some of them.

The Gnome's Jewel: a rather odd bar in a pocket universe. [link]

The Carcosan Grimoire: I am the editor of this document and author of a few of the included items. These are random articles for use with McKinney's Carcosa. [link]

Something Rotten In Riverton: a first level dungeon intended for use in an OD&D clone. [link]

Journeys In The Land Of Khordesh: a supplement in the vein of Greyhawk and Blackmoor intended for use with OD&D and its clones. [link]

Feel free to read, evaluate, and critique all you wish. Knowing what my audience wants is the only way I'll get better. The stuff I write for my home campaign, on the other hand, only has to satisfy my players and myself and is therefore not included.

These works are all flawed in their own way. I'm learning, and with a staff of 1 its a slow process. But I welcome any input, positive or negative.

Addtional Advice For Podcasters

In addition to the post about podcasts I made [here] I'd like to add the following thoughts.

Don't exclude your audience. If you have an hour of podcast and spend 10 minutes yucking it up with your co-hosts over a private joke? One you don't care to explain to your listeners? You're wasting our time. We don't listen to your podcasts to be excluded from yet another social circle, we tune in to hear your thoughts about something we love. In-jokes are great, but let us in on the joke!

Assume your bumper music is too loud. I realize the value of using music to distinguish your podcast and set the tone. But, honestly? When I have to turn up the volume in my earbuds to hear your dialog clearly ... only to be assaulted by music with the volume dialed to 11? It's rather startling  On a related note ...

Get a sound technician. You've got one or two hosts in-studio and another on what I hope is a clean 'phone line but the volumes are poorly balanced. That, coupled with a host with a loud and commanding voice paired with a soft-spoken guest can make dialogue difficult to follow.

Travelling In Style

In brief, my first exposure to Traveller was rather unimpressive. I'd been running OD&D in the 1970's for my friends but I've always loved science-fiction more than fantasy. Still do. There are lots of reasons but the fantasy novels I truly enjoyed were far fewer in number than sci-fi books I had on my bookshelf. So, when I became aware of the Traveller boxed set of rules I bought a copy right away. I pored over the books, designing a subsector and starting world, an interstellar government, a minimal history of present day Earth to the time when the campaign was to take place, and even alien races. Then?

Nothing.

Everyone was so gung ho over D&D I couldn't get a campaign going. I tried offering a few one-shots to get everyone interested but even that didn't work. I eventually quit trying and put all the books away, taking them off the shelf from time to time and sighing "if only." It would be a few years before I actually ran a game.

So ... How Did It Go? 

It was a lot of fun, but we were all learning and there were a few issues. It was enough to tell me I really liked the game in practice as well as theory and would run it over all others if given the choice. Anyway, I basically ran the '77 version of the game, with a few mods and house-rules.

As a game mechanic I really liked the range band based starship combat system, swiped from the '81 edition. Don't get me wrong! The grease-pencil using vector based system is really cool but not that easy to implement in a college dorm room with a make shift table.

I also used, after a time, the 12 additional "Other" classes from JTAS. They were pretty handy to have but rarely came into play.

No Third Imperium. As this setting didn't exist in the '77 edition, not having it didn't cause an issue with me. I was aware of it after a while, but I'd already established my own interstellar authority. The United Star Systems Alliance (yes I know, I was a college kid okay?) was a loose and rather contentious assembly of aligned systems. Much like the territories of the Old West, one could outrun trouble by staying on the move. Well, you could outrun for a while at least!

What I Liked About the Game

Besides the fact it was science-fiction and I really dug sci-fi?

Traveller has a great built in impetus to adventure. If you have a Merchant vessel, it's quite easy to get behind on payments if you only transport cargo and passengers. If you've been giving a Scout on detached duty, having the life support system flushed every week or two requires Credits, baby. The best way to get that kind of brass is to take side-jobs and ... oh, by the way? There is a someone whose fancy clothes and haughty air mark her as out of place in this seedy starport bar. She appears to really wish to speak with you and your band of misfits.

You can die in character generation. This is common knowledge now but, at the time, it was revolutionary. It also serves as a great balancing mechanism. Your PC gains skills with each term of service, but faces a chance of dying before ever getting to play. Even further, you may not get the skills you want. 

Combat is deadly. Unless you have a truly exceptional character there is a very real possibility the first shot you take in combat will kill you. So, you want to avoid combat as much as you can. When you do get in a fight you'll want to think tactically, striking from a position of strength with the best weapons and maneuvers you can muster. As opposed to D&D, your PC will not be tempted to go into a backwater town and shoot up the place ... if they're smart they won't anyway.

Sky's the limit. You could build virtually any world you wanted, wrapping your own backdrop around the world. An Imperium? A Federation? An evil galactic Empire? Didn't matter what you wanted, you could make it if you so desired.