Zweihander

Two Fisted Fun
Zweihander (with an umlaut) is a recent re-imagining of Games Workshop's (GW) Warhammer FRPG. It doesn't come right out and say this, but the DNA signature is strong. Grim and Perilous is the goal - or as the author describes his intent to - "make it dark and gritty; make it perilous and challenging; make it a system that carries uncertain outcomes in an unforgiving world; and make it world-agnostic, so it can be used with any low fantasy campaign world." The current game began life as the author's (Daniel Fox) houserules version he called "Corehammer". As such, Zweihander has much in common with products who claim descent from older editions of other games and collectively make up much of the old school catalog.
This is not a "subtle" game. Zweihander describes itself as a Grim and Perilous RPG, "a pastiche of many familiar themes found throughout low fantasy literature: the gritty portrayal of a society replete with clandestine conflict, political intrigues, vicious reprisals and terrifying supernatural elements." The author tells us right up front that this system is not designed for "the traditional dungeon romp." Rather it is a story about "truth" and "consequences". The author asks, will the characters "rise above the brutal truths of the world or root around in its filth, becoming akin to their enemies?"
Zweihander adheres to the White Box philosophy of rulings over rules even though the tome weighs in at an impressive 692 pages! It aims for humans to be the most numerous among PCs even though rules are given for making an elf, dwarf, ogre, gnome or halfling character. Each member of each race may demonstrate different traits - not all elves have darksight. Randomness is emphasized during PC creation and the player can roll randomly (or choose from the table) for profession (think class and subclass system similar to that GW game) and alignment (and a lot of other random stuff). As old schoolers know, playing what the dice gives you can be fun.
The actual game mechanics are a blend of old and new. As mentioned, Zweihander draws on the WFRPG for inspiration. Like that game, Zweihander uses a percentile based - d100 mechanic, skill system and professions/careers. While the author claims Zweihander does not have an implied setting, I think he means it doesn't have a default setting. There is no world map, yet the game has a definite feel to it and there seems to be a correct way to play as one would expect in an implied setting game.

So what is different from WFRPG? Alignment for starters.  Zweihander uses an alignment system that seems unique to me (although I am reminded a bit of King Arthur Pendragon's opposed virtue system). Two random rolls on the alignment table produces an Order focus/trait and a Chaos focus/trait for each PC. Order might turn out to be Compassion, while Chaos could be Hypocrisy. The player is expected to role-play these traits when opportunity arises. How the PC is played moves the character's  alignment further towards Order or towards Chaos (which can result in corruption and various disorders). The author states that alignments themselves are not the same as "good" and "evil" and those moral behavior choices are left for the players to figure out in play. The author uses the example of Heroism which can be in service of nefarious ends or virtuous purpose.
In a manner seen in some "narrative" type Indie games, Zweihander provides extensive mechanical support for wilderness travel and social intrigue. During travel rolls are made based on the assigned roles of Guide, Survivalist and Scout which determine the outcome of the trip. Social intrigue mechanics cover "winning", argument, persuading and influencing social outcomes using "tactics" such as Bargain, Charm, Guile, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership and Rumor.
A substantial Bestiary of known critters is included. The many-eyed, tentacled, fanged monstrosities abound in these pages alongside some familiar fiends from myth and legend. (Many of the standard monster fantasy and horror tropes are present as well as some new ones and one could easily dip into that GW figure collection for use with Zweihander.) Like the Grim & Perilous GW system, the threats are not limited to physical injury (although combat seems on the deadly side) and includes the psychology of stress, fear and terror are addressed and Zweihander expects PCs to navigate the troubled waters of corruption, disease, addictions, insanity and other disorders and the ever present taint of Chaos mutations during their adventures in the grim and perilous.
The Grim & Perilous theme seems to take center stage with Zweihander and although the author tries hard to not dictate "world" to the referee, I think campaigns using Zweihander will tend to center on the setting rather than the characters (who are likely to succumb in a world where "life is pain and death") and because there are a number of guidelines for world creation and campaign structure (The Enemy Within, The Enemy Without and The Enemy Beyond) and also a ton of Grim & Perilous flavor in the rules, it is entirely possible that a superstitious, low-magic, European renaissance setting similar to GW's intellectual property will be re-created (or borrowed) by each referee for Zweihander play.
I personally find there is quite a lot to like (and be inspired by) in Zweihander. I also find quite a bit to like in the game that inspires it. I have played and refereed WHFRP at times over the years and although it isn't my preferred system (or world setting), I like the "Grim World of Perilous Adventure" theme. These days I just prefer my own modified version of White Box rules and a homebrew setting I call Dreadmoor for my (slightly less) grim and perilous adventures. Would I consider running Zweihander if asked...definitely "yes" (evil grin!).

Tomb of Annihilation

The Lich is Back
Tomb of Annihilation is Wizards of the Coast's latest adventure tome. I rather enjoy the 250+ page adventure book format that WizBros has been publishing since the advent of 5th Edition. More than mere adventure modules, they are really campaigns. Tomb of Annihilation (ToA), like Curse of Strahd and Storm King's Thunder, is a re-imagining of material first published for use with prior editions of the game. Tomb of annihilation draws upon he classic S1 Tomb of Horrors and X1 Isle of Dread for inspiration.
ToA is a referee play aid that takes adventurers from level 1 to level 11. The premise for the adventure is that Acererak, the lich from Tomb of Horrors, is now a multi-dimensional traveler who has devised a tomb in WizBros Realms setting with the express purpose of luring adventurers to their death and capturing their souls along with the souls of everyone else who dies on the planet in order to feed a developing god embryo he hopes to awaken (and turn loose on the world). The side effect of all this soul stealing is anyone who has been resurrected/raised from the dead is now also dying - slowly.
The player characters start their adventure by exploring an exotic trade city on a jungle coast that is heavy with "pulp" flavor. The setting of this adventure feels a lot like an Indiana Jones story (there are even two new backgrounds, anthropologist and archaeologist) complete with a cast of very interesting NPCs. The jungle itself is inhabited by frog-folk, dinosaurs and undead and constitutes a sandbox with a number of side quests and points of interest for the PCs to "cut their teeth on". The tomb proper is designed for higher level PCs (6+) and the original Tomb Of Horrors is called to mind in several encounters. Those who have played in S1 will recognize the big green devil face on a wall with open mouth, the four-armed gargoyle and magic mirror as well as other signature items from Acererak's arsenal of tricks and traps. Each of the "oldies" has a new twist (so be careful!) and there are also several new traps, puzzles and challenges to keep Tomb of Annihilation from being a simple rewrite. ToA seems to have a lot more critter inhabitants and therefore more combat than I recall being in S1, but perhaps that makes it a more balanced challenge? (gone are a lot of the "death traps" and "dead ends")
ToA can be played straight-up as written and I think it is the best WizBros play-aid to date, but as a referee I ask myself "what fun is that?" If I actually use this at the table, there are some inevitable tweaks I see myself making, however I found ToA is an entertaining read even if it is never played. The "hook" in the book is a (very interesting) dying patron who is suffering from the resurrection sickness who engages the PCs to stop the soul-stealing madness and once they agree, teleports them to the jungle city. I think a much more interesting twist would be the PC's deities are sending them visions, dreams, etc that souls are not reaching the afterlife. Instead the souls seem to head south to the jungle and disappear there. Sailing for the jungle port following this lead, they have a chance to meet the patron (she's too good not to use), but she just tells them about her wasting disease which represents a count-down to death (loss of a hit point a day) and gives them Acererak's name. Once they make landfall, the investigation heats up as the full nature of the "ticking time bomb" Acererak has devised is uncovered (remember that evil god he is creating!).
Physically all the 5th Edition books are very nice hardbacks with illustrations that inspire and help us visualize the game. ToA is no exception. Atmosphere is very well developed in ToA. The port city seems alive with intrigue, dinosaur races and well developed NPCs. ToA is loaded with memorable NPCs from the patron mage who is dying of resurrection fever to Nanny Pu'Pu, a hag who can raise dead PCs as intelligent zombies (normal raise dead doesn't work because of Acererak and his soul-sucking plot), the Sewn Sisters, more hags, and an undead T-Rex who vomits zombies. The jungle is pretty much an NPC  itself and plays a big part in the campaign. It has "personality", is threatening (can be deadly), holds secrets the PCs will need to discover and has a history that is fun to read (and possibly reveal during play). The tomb itself is "lost" and its location discovered on a blank hex map reminding me of the old hex-crawl adventures. Various local guides can be hired, but some of them have their own agenda and can be less than helpful. Welcome to the Jungle!

The Red Knight

Campaign Inspiration
Drawing from history and legend Miles Cameron has written one of the most engaging fantasy novels I have read this year. The Red Knight is a tale of a siege which at times reminds me of the history of medieval England, at times of the Legends of King Arthur, at times of classic fairy tales and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and at times James Fenimore Cooper. The world of Alba includes a kingdom much like King Arthur's Camelot surrounded by The Wild, the areas beyond the wall, north and west of civilization, where elfin irks, bug-like boglins, winged fairies, stone trolls and demons lurk. The Christian abbey on "the rock" is an ancient place of magic and the demons want it back. The old abbess, a magic caster herself, hires a young captain, anonymously known as The Red Knight, and his mercenary band to defend the abbey. Thus the stage is set.
The Red Knight reminds me of so many books I have enjoyed over the years, yet provides a fresh tale that seems ready-made to use in an adventure game campaign. The author notes in his afterword that Alba started as a role-playing campaign world he and his college mates explored years ago. Whether the characters in the novel started as role-playing characters or not hardly matters. They come to life in the novel and are believable and interesting in a grim-dark way that appeals to me. Many of the most interesting are users of magic who draw upon either the sun or the wild (or both) for their source of power.
The interplay of Christian faith and sorcery, nobility, chivalry and roguish behavior, civilization and the wilderness, old scores to settle and new romance, Mr. Cameron combines it all seamlessly. The author's ability to effectively blend so many influences in The Red Knight is one of the things I admire in this first book of The Traitor Son Cycle (there are currently three more in print). Miles Cameron, whose real name I believe is Christian Cameron, also writes historical fiction as Christian Cameron and under the pen name Gordon Kent.
Some novels, The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings for example, can seem to be written as novels to inspire the hobbyist (even though they obviously predate the hobby). The idea of a band of mercenaries who specialize in slaying monsters could easily be used as the basis for a White Box campaign. Even if I don't borrow a thing from The Red Knight, reading it got me thinking about gaming.

It's All D&D

Variations on a Theme
White Box is a creator's toolkit. The Little Brown Books are full of ideas, advice, rules and snippets which lead the reader to think about adding additional content. The Afterword at the end of Volume 3: The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures states:

There are unquestionably areas which have been glossed over. While we deeply regret the necessity, space requires that we put in the essentials only, and the trimming will often have to be added by the referee and his players.

The authors expect and encourage referees and players to add to the game. The entire game concept is one that demands creativity on the part of the players. Volume 1: Men & Magic tells us:

First, the referee must draw out a minimum of half a dozen maps of the levels of his “underworld,” people them with monsters of various horrid aspect, distribute treasures accordingly, and note the location of the latter two on keys, each corresponding to the appropriate level.

This creation task must be done prior to the first moment of actual play may begin.  Where does this "underworld" come from?  It must be imagined and drawn out from thoughts the referee has. There are helpful hints in Volume 3, but the "underworld" must be something original and unique, the creation of each referee. It is assumed by the authors that this underworld "building should be both easy and fun." In fact it is assumed that making the game your own is part of the fun.
The LBBs inspired a hobby and players have applied their creative talents to more than designing underworlds. Rulings become houserules and get printed and shared among others. Settings become so unique they they involve new player character classes, new races and new monsters. Eventually the game is barely recognizable and it takes on a different name. Today hundreds of roleplaying adventure games exist in publication (with different names due to copywrite laws), but they all hearken back to the original idea of a referee creating an imaginary setting for players to take the role of an individual character and have shared adventures. In a way, all of them are variations on a theme.
One of the two White Box authors, Gary Gygax, would write the three volumes of the Advanced Game with the intent of creating a "one true way" to play the game in reaction to the widespread modifications being made to the Original Game. I believe Mr. Gygax wanted to take creative control back and standardize play in order to make tournaments where everyone played by the same rules viable. Certainly the Advanced Game continued to be modified during actual play, but perhaps Mr. Gygax was at least partially successful because tournaments thrived, at least while TSR existed as a company and organized play is now quite popular, both depend on the acceptance of standardized rules of play.
The Original Game is an idea generator bound (and intended) to inspire modification. Returning to the comments in the Afterword which asks, "why have us do any more of your imagining for you?" The Afterword continues with the following advice: "the best way [to play the game] is to decide how you would like it to be, and then make it just that way!" I wonder if the authors imagined at the time that doing just that would result in such variety of play as is evidenced now by the multitude of available games. At times I think Mr. Gygax must have known people would "imagine the hell out of it" as one publisher says. After all, it is what he himself did with Dave Arneson's Blackmoor game (and what Mr. Arneson had done with the Braunstein game) isn't it?

Alignment Language

What Does That Mean?
I know a lot of referees choose to dismiss alignment language as an anachronism with little relevance for their game, but for me interpretation matters. The Little Brown Books are often so brief in their text that each reader can interpret the meaning differently. This is one of the great appeals of White Box for me - how a few lines of text can lead to so much creative thinking on the part of those who imagine what it could mean in their game.
In Volume I: Men & Magic it is written that: "Law, Chaos and Neutrality also have common languages spoken by each respectively." In context this follows that there is a "common tongue" language spoken by most humans and the other creatures and "monsters" have their own language although some 20% also know the common tongue. The alignment languages are spoken so we know they are not some form of (secret) sign language.
Rather than dismiss alignment language as unnecessary, I think the concept has some usefulness as demonstrated by the statement: "While not understanding the language, creatures who speak a divisional tongue will recognize a hostile one and attack." and as referee, I prefer to make use of this tool. I do not think a full blown language complete with grammar and syntax is necessary to achieve the desired effect. A unique vocabulary should be sufficient. Anyone who has listened to various professionals "talk trade" quickly realizes the existence of a shared vocabulary which facilitates understanding among those "in the know".
Alignment and religion can readily be connected in the game, and I think there is some precedent and logic in doing so. Sources of inspiration frequently paint one god as "good" or "lawful" or "neutral" or "evil", etc. Often those labels change with who is speaking, but vilifying those who practice  competing religion has been a common enough occurrence. Many of the world's religions are rife with certain words which hold specific meaning in a religious context. It is certainly conceivable that overhearing a curse, or prayer uttered could instantly identify someone as a believer of a certain faith.
This is how I choose to interpret alignment language. For me it is a set of specific words, the meaning of which is known by those of a shared alignment and are generally unknown by those outside that alignment. Those not sharing a specific alignment may recognize the use of certain key words as belonging to those of another alignment even though they are spoken in the common tongue. I believe this furthers the cause implied in alignments, that of determining teams of friendly and hostile creatures. A few spoken words overheard allows this feature to function while also allowing for some ambiguity when the referee desires, such as when no "key" alignment words are overheard.
Of course there are other interpretations of this alignment language passage in Volume I. It is certainly possible that the authors were referring to a full blown language such as "Black Speech" as found in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and spoken by all those servants of evil. Such an interpretation would lend itself equally well to helping players distinguish friend from foe. Interpreting alignment language in this manner could allow it to be linked with certain divine and non-divine magical effects. The famous incantation inscribed on The One Ring is in Black Speech which presumably is part of the magic. Reading a tome of black magic written in the Chaos language evokes a certain flavor as does ruling that the reversed spells of evil clerics are spoken in the Chaos tongue.

Lankhmar

City of the Black Toga
Hobbits, elves and dwarves populate the White Box milieu because of the popularity of the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, but in his Appendix N of the Dungeon Master's Guide, Gary Gygax lists Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Gray Mouser series as one of the "most immediate influences" on his fantasy work. The series Mr. Gygax refers to includes five books published in 1968 (and one each in 1977 and 1988 which were published afterwards). The stories are set in the fictitious Lankhmar, City of the Black Toga and surrounding areas. The population is primarily human, although various aliens and original races do make appearances. Nehwon, the world setting, which at times is described as a bubble floating through space, is a magical place where sorcerers cast electrical bolts and visitors from far away dimensions and other worlds frequently intrude.
Lankhmar itself is described as a smokey (City of Ten Thousand Smokes), misty (Swords in the Mist!) place ruled by a pampered overlord who abhors human hair and demands all his servants (and concubines) be completely shaved - even their eye lashes. Various guilds exercise power over the many trades, markets and professions, including a prominent thieves guild. Religion in Lankhmar is reflected in the various temples along the Street of the Gods. As religions prosper they move up the street and as they decline they move down the street, presumably occupying various ancient temple structures along the journey.
The Swords... tales follow the antics and adventures of two heroic rogues of dubious ethics, Fafhrd, a tall northern barbarian warrior and (the) Gray Mouser, a short southern swordsman and amateur magician. Both characters are complex in their personality, relationships, motivations and interests. The two are usually fast friends, but do experience occasional falling outs that result in heated rivalry. The stories contain much humor and many turns of plot and are stylishly written. I consider them among the best in the genre.
Both Fafhrd and Gray Mouser are frequently in the service of their respective magical patrons - Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face - who are themselves sometime allies and sometime rivals each pulling their cohort in opposite directions. Two Sought Adventure, the first published story to feature the duo, was written in 1939 and appeared in Unknown, a magazine which published pulp fiction with a bit more emphasis on humor than Weird Tales and Astonishing Stories (which also published Conan stories by Robert E. Howard - another major influence on Mr. Gygax).
Besides serving as inspiration for White Box, Greyhawk and the Advanced Game, the Swords... stories of Fritz Leiber have been the basis of several Lankhmar settings for various rules including White Box (Supplement IV), Advanced (TSR), RuneQuest (Mongoose), Savage Worlds (Pinnacle Entertainment Group) and Dungeon Crawl Classics (Goodman Games). Two of these are still in print (Savage Worlds & DCCRPG). Lankhmar has unofficially served as a model for many other hobby products (for example - Judges Guild's City State of the Invincible Overlord which includes locations such as the Silver Eel tavern, Cheap Street and the Park of  Pleasure).
White Box is a conglomeration of a number of influences affecting each of its two principle authors (and probably several early players as well). Chief among them is the city of Lankhmar as can be seen in the adventure stories of Fafhrd and (the) Gray Mouser and played out in campaigns bearing the official name "Lankhmar" and those which merely borrow from the memory of those who have read the Swords...
Bored and penniless, adventurers everywhere seek profit and glory just like Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. They consult their wise and powerful patrons, vie with their rivals and frequently cause much collateral mischief in pursuit of wealth and fame, often with the best of intentions, but occasionally only for the most selfish of motives and we, the witnesses to these tabletop adventures, marvel at the surprises, humor and excitement found along the way...with no little thanks to Lankhmar.

GW Basic

Basic in the UK
In 1978 Games Workshop (GW) was a relatively new company still run by two of the co-founders, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (third co-founder, John Peake, had left the partnership). Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) published the Original Fantasy Role-playing Game in the United States and had been distributing copies in the United Kingdom through Mr. Livingstone and Mr. Jackson's London based company since 1975. GW opened its first brick and mortar store in 1978 and started printing and marketing several of TSR's popular roleplaying products including the new Basic (Holmes Bluebook). I recently acquired a second hand GW printed copy of the Basic Set (pictured above). The box cover is the same red dragon art as the American TSR  printings, but the GW box is considerably thicker - a little over 2" deep and the cover illustration does not wrap around the box sides. The early TSR lizard man logo in red appears at the bottom left of the cover illustration.

GW is using a fairy logo in 1978 and it is visible at the bottom of the title page to the Basic rulebook along with TSR's wizard logo (which replaced lizard man) and the explanation that the product is published by GW under license from TSR. This copy indicates it is a 2nd Edition printing. The 48 page book seems other wise identical to other copies I have which were printed in the United States. I noted that American spelling persists in the text (armor not armour).

The GW Basic Box Set includes introductory module B1 In Search of the Unknown written by Mike Carr. B1 is the same instructional module that is boxed with later printings of Basic in the United States (early ones having Dungeon Geomorphs Set 1 and Monster & Treasure Assortment Set 1 included). The same GW fairy logo can be readily seen on the bottom of the monochrome module cover. I note that the dungeon maps on the inside of the unattached cover are printed in black not blue ink. American copies use a light blue ink on the maps in an effort to make it more difficult to make electronic copies (I understand this to be true).

An add sheet for White Dwarf magazine is probably original to the UK box set. White Dwarf (WD) is still published by GW as a promotional tool for their current product, but in 1978 WD included a range of articles covering a variety of games from different manufacturers and was arguably the best professionally published hobby magazine of its day.  TSR's The Dragon had the advantage of being "official" and contained the writings of such notables as Gary Gygax himself, but I can recall feeling a unique joy when I acquired a copy of the early WD. The creative writing style, with a slightly "foreign" take on the hobby together with the great art illustrations made each issue a treasured artifact from an exotic world - just the kind of thing to add magic to a hobby steeped in such.

Troublesome Deities

What to do with White Box gods?
Games like T&T and The Fantasy Trip leave gods and religion aside. You can add them as "flavor" and evil priests and cultists make good bad guys, but there is no encouragement to create a pantheon and no character class devoted to divine agency. White Box gives us the Cleric class and in doing so sets the stage for religion to be a central part of the game milieu. In staying true to its spirit of do-it-yourself, there are no specific deities mentioned in White Box (at least until Supplement IV is added in). So one of the questions each referee must answer when planning a campaign is what to do about the gods?
It appears the earliest campaigns, Blackmoor and Greyhawk, had a quasi-Christian religious assumption - note the item list in Vol. I: Men & Magic includes "wooden cross" and "silver cross" and the class titles include traditional Christian offices. A Cleric presenting the cross could conceivably turn a vampire (or other undead monsters) by divine power. I don't want to carry this argument too far because many early campaigns certainly included fantastic pantheons of gods borrowed from mythology, literature or entirely made-up.
In my own campaigns I have always avoided handing the players a list of deities preferring to allow each player to invent their own religion and share as much about their deity as they care to. As a result many gods and godlings, demons and spirits are worshiped in my "homeworld" and new ones are invented almost daily. Some will catch-on and be referred to by the referee (me) and other players, sometimes for years, others are quickly forgotten. When a player introduces a Cleric character as referee I ask, "Do you worship a deity? Tell me about them." Sometimes I ask players of other character classes if they worship or follow the teachingsof some religion? As referee I try to personalize the milieu based on input from the players so I may add in some history about their religion or invent a spell for a Cleric based on something they tell me about their deity. I see religion and the deities as a natural outflow of human existence, so I include it in my campaign, just not as an absolute truth. My players frequently encounter worshipers of various deities, some heard of, some unheard of. I leave the true nature of religious truth "up in the air". It seems to work for the players and I like it.

What, No Cleric?

Playing the Game without the Cleric Class
White Box offers the player a choice of three character classes, Fighting Men, Magic Users and Clerics. This intimately connects the game to a religious assumption, however one defines the Cleric's faith. Healing wounds, curing disease and raising the dead are the purview of the Cleric and divine magic. Magic Users seem more elemental with their fire balls and lightning bolts. The Cleric and his/her associated religion are not to everyone's taste, however and many competing game systems (Tunnels & Trolls, The Fantasy Trip) do not include the Cleric class. Clerics are not usually found in Sword & Sorcery fiction except as evil magic using priests. The quasi-Christian "holy warrior" template seemingly used for White Box's Cleric finds no precedent except in crusader-era history (and some Hammer horror films?).
So what happens if we take the Cleric out of our game milieu as a player class? I think it changes the tone of the campaign. Without player Clerics the gods seem more remote and somehow less real which removes some of the "magic" from the game. White Box and all its subsequent Editions relies heavily on players managing the resource of hit points. Healing hit point damage gives a character resilience and allows for recovery from misjudgments or plain bad luck. There are other sources of magical healing, but relying on potions and healing surges changes the nature of the game, perhaps making it more to the liking of some, but less for others. Healing spells can be made available to Magic Users which is how Tunnels & Trolls, The Fantasy Trip and some other games without the Cleric class addresses this need. A non-religion based dedicated healer class (herbalist, alchemist, etc.) is another option.
Given the role religion has played throughout human history the Cleric class seems a natural fit in gaming to me, even though the cleric/priest is rarely a central character (except as an occasional protagonist) in the fantastic literature from which Fantasy RPGs draw inspiration. Therefore there is some understandable creative tension regarding the class. The originators of White Box, and therefore of the hobby, obviously used fantasy religion as a central theme in their campaigns. Gary Gygax not only includes the Cleric in his campaign, but in Supplement I: Greyhawk adds the Paladin subclass of Fighters. Paladins are in many ways just another version of the "holy warrior" ideal which serves the basis of the Cleric class. Dave Arneson gives us The Temple of the Frog in Supplement II: Blackmoor which being the first published adventure from an original campaign centers on a religious monastic (Keepers of the Frogs) temple complex and evil high priest/Cleric (Stephen the Rock).
In my experience the game works perfectly well without the Cleric. I have refereed many a table at which there was no Cleric PC (undead are more powerful in the absence of a Cleric). I have played various systems without the Cleric class and they all work. Removing the Cleric class from White Box (and later Editions) does alter the game, however. As creator of your milieu, perhaps the stories you wish to support and inspire do not involve Clerics or religious warriors. Part of the creative process involves shaping the milieu by deciding what character classes (and races) will be available to play. I see this as "casting" as for a movie or play. Who are likely to be the central figures in the cooperative story that develops during play? You get to decide!

T&T Rogue

More than just a Thief
Tunnels & Trolls (T&T) is a class based fantasy role-playing game (RPG). Players of the first edition choose from a warrior or a wizard character class. Warriors are typical fighting men (or women) who excel at using weapons and armor. Wizards are the magic users who cast powerful magic spells, but are weak in weapon use. Warrior and wizard characters are the archetypes of sword & sorcery fiction which is an inspiration for the hobby. By applying a little imagination to the basic concept of warrior and wizard many if not all of the characters encountered in fantastic literature can be modeled.
The Rogue character class appears in the 4th Edition of Tunnels & Trolls (maybe earlier, I don't have access to editions 2 or 3) as an in-between character. Rogues are decently competent in combat, but not as efficient with armor as warriors. Rogues can cast a few magic spells, but lack the magic expertise of the wizard class. They are not the thief-like characters of Rogues in later editions of The World's Most Popular RPG. There is no provision in T&T for the Rogue to be any better at sneaking, picking pockets or opening locks than warriors or wizards. I like that.
One of my gripes about Supplement I: Greyhawk is that by including the Thief as a class based on the abilities of sneaking, hiding, backstabbing, opening locks, finding and removing traps, etc. the referee (and player) is left to wonder whether non-Thief PCs can attempt such actions? Does the absence of a Thief character mean a locked door stymies the party? Prior to Greyhawk, many referees, including myself, assumed that any adventurer possessed the basic adventurer skill set of sneaking, hiding, picking locks, etc. Of course it is possible to interpret Greyhawk as allowing for any character to attempt these tasks, only that Thieves are better at them. The starting Greyhawk Thief only has a 10% chance of success when removing traps or hiding in shadows, a 15% chance to open locks and a 20% chance to pick pocket or move silently. If Thieves are "expert" at these activities, how much worse are the other character classes?
The T&T Rogue is a "rogue" user of magic - one with the aptitude for magic, but perhaps with no formal training, or one with some early training in magic use, but no real aptitude. Regardless, Rogues are never members of the wizard's guild, cannot learn spells from the guild, do not benefit from a staff or wand and never gain the ability to reduce the strength cost of spells the way wizards do as they advance levels. It is interesting to note that both the Greyhawk Thief and T&T Rogue model aspects of the iconic Gray Mouser character of Fritz Leiber's "Swords..." fictions, though each seem to focus on different abilities.
In earlier editions, the T&T Rogue would eventually reach a point in his/her progression where the player must choose between continuing as a Warrior or as a Wizard and thus losing the abilities of the profession not chosen. In later editions the Rogue is a full class to the end and no choice is ever enforced. Also in later editions a skill mechanic is introduced and Rogues, like other classes, may take skills in thievery or other areas of expertise thereby further customizing each character.
I like the T&T Rogue character class. Of course I bring my own interpretation regarding the class into play when I think of the Rogue as a Jack-of-all-trades sort of character. Luck is an important attribute for the Rogue as I anticipate the Saving Throw mechanic coming into play often. Rogues live by their wits, not overly concerned with societies rules and expectations. Charm and possibly deceit are useful tools for the Rogue who definitely gets into many adventures of opportunity. Adding that bit of magic ability just makes the Rogue class that much more interesting.

Fun with Tunnels & Trolls

"Groovy" RPG Revisited
I spent a lot of time this weekend with an old friend - Tunnels & Trolls (T&T). Tunnels & Trolls describes itself as the second published role-playing game ever. It is designed by Ken St. Andre, a now retired Phoenix librarian and man of much humor and good cheer. Trollgod St. Andre claims he came up with the rules (1975) after reading a borrowed copy of The Original RPG (The Little Brown Books) which he thought were confusing and unnecessarily complex. So he wrote his own game he and his friends would enjoy. This game became quickly popular in his local area and he was encouraged to publish it for sale which he did coming up with the name Tunnels & Trolls (an obvious homage to The Original Game?). Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc. became his publisher and also wrote the first solo adventure for an RPG, Buffalo Castle.
I find it fascinating that shortly after the publication of the Wood-grain Box version of The Original RPG, creative folks around the country and abroad started to take the game in various directions, often heavily modifying the rules as they interpreted and re-invented system mechanics and developed their own unique styles of play. I assume this is what the creators of The Original Game had in mind. The Original Game, White Box as I usually refer to it because that was my first version, developed from the campaigns of authors Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Twin Cities, Minnesota areas respectively. Both campaigns are reflected in official Supplements, Mr. Gygax's Greyhawk and Mr. Arneson's Blackmoor. Although it was not part of the designer's goals to have others play the exact adventures and try to recreate the original campaign experiences, they did provide enough content for us to glean a bit of insight into how they played the game.
The Original Game sparked imaginations in various hotspots around the country and abroad. Tunnels & Trolls was on the table in Arizona by 1975. Folks in northern California around the bay were playing an all-out "gonzo" style of the game in Dave Hargrave's Arduin campaign with lots of new races, classes, spells, monsters - lots of everything! Also in that hotbed of imagination, Greg Stafford was sharing his Glorantha with a number of creative minds who would design RuneQuest after some attempts at using the LBBs. Further south around Pasadena, a variant of The Original Game was developing called Warlock later published by Balboa Games. This version would be Dr. Eric Holmes introduction to the hobby and he would soon edit The Original Game material into the first Basic Game in 1977. In Austin, Texas a slightly different take on the hobby developed under the hand of Steve Jackson who worked for Metagaming Concepts and authored The Fantasy Trip starting with the Microgames Melee and Wizard. Pete Fenlon, S. Coleman Charlton and Kurt Fisher developed houserules to support their Middle Earth game at the University of Virginia which eventually saw print (Arms Law, Rolemaster, M.E.R.P.) under their corporate name Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.). Looking back on it now, this phenomenal burst of game creativity amazes me!
Being number two, and a major departure from the LBBs as written, T&T has been unique from the start. Weapons galore means that customization of each Warrior and later Rogue character is as aspect of the game when many other games lacked individualization of characters. Even Wizard characters have a host of 2-die weapons to choose from in the form of various daggers, dirks, stilettos and bodkins. Armor can be pieced out or worn in complete suits, stops hits taken and can even be worn by a Wizard, though that might not be the best idea. Saving throws generally rely on Luck score, but the mechanic can be used as a universal resolution system for just about anything a player attempts. Spells are magic point based and are therefore scalable and fatigue the caster, oh yes, and carry light-hearted names. T&T is built for fun and author Ken St. Andre doesn't let you forget that.
The unique rules of T&T have stood the test of time - the core rules remains the same through the various editions including the latest, Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls released in 2015. While many other systems which saw their beginnings in the 1970's have radically altered their mechanics, T&T stays true to its unique brand. Combat is still a group endeavor with each player adding their combat score together to form a group total which is compared to the monster(s) total and if the party loses the round, the group divides hits among characters. No other RPG I have come across emphasizes the "group" dynamic quite so obviously.
The Deluxe Edition is a book dedicated to "old school" games, and gamers. The crew that worked on the project are those who were originally involved in the creation of T&T...and it shows. There is a consistency in mechanics, style, writing and artwork that goes all the way back to 1975. There isn't really anything else in the hobby quite like T&T. Every time I open any edition of T&T I am reminded how much fun this game is and how many good memories I have connected to it. T&T is like that old pair of comfortable jeans that just feels so right...bell bottoms and all!