So Impenetrable to Human Thought, So Pitiless to Human Weakness

Back when I had a go at the Judges Guild Tunnels & Trolls solo The Toughest Dungeon in the World, I said that JG's T&T output 'at least initially' had the approval of Flying Buffalo, the company behind Tunnels & Trolls. Something appears to have changed by the time Judges Guild brought out their second T&T solo, Glenn Rahman's Jungle of Lost Souls, as the word 'Approved' on my copy has been covered with a label reading 'Suitable', and (in smaller print) 'Use of trademark not sanctioned by holder'.

Cursory research has turned up no information on what happened, but it's possible that FB may have had an issue with Jungle specifically rather than Judges Guild's publication of T&T material in general. The list of JG products inside the back cover still advertises Toughest Dungeon and the multiplayer dungeon Rat on a Stick as 'Approved for use with Tunnels & Trolls', but Jungle has been crossed out in blue pen.

Still, this blog is about playing the adventures and occasionally reminiscing about how I got them or what happened when I played them before, so I shan't speculate further. As regards my history with Jungle, I have very little to say. I got my copy on eBay, possibly along with some other titles, and I've not yet had a proper go at it.

Well, time to roll up a new character. The adventure introduces some new attributes, which I'll list after the usual stats. And I get:
Strength 10
Intelligence 8
Luck 15
Constitution 10
Dexterity 14
Charisma 13
Speed 8
Stealth 14
Willpower 10
Jungle Lore 5 (which is actually pretty good, as it's based on the roll of a single die)
The rules indicate that upon joining an expedition I will be issued with a machete, a short sword, and a suit of leather armour (and in this climate wearing heavier armour is not an option), so I limit expenditure on equipment to clothing, decent footwear, and a compass.

I start in a stockade a short distance to the north of a jungle in this world's equivalent of Africa (or possibly Wales, given that the local name for the jungle is Yspadden Wydyr). Two separate parties are preparing to embark on expeditions into the jungle, and while Jungle does have one of the 'refuse the call' options that are so inexplicably popular with some gamebook authors, I shall treat the opportunity to opt out with the contempt it deserves, which leaves me to choose between the explorers who are trekking in on foot and the ones who are taking a raft up river.

River, I think. Assorted die rolls establish that the party consists of a wizard, three warriors, and three Taweii (indigenous inhabitants) who didn't get to choose whether or not to go on the expedition. I don't approve of slavery, but both possible expeditions have a similar make-up, so the only way to avoid working with people who support the trade would be not to play the adventure, and if I were to avoid all gamebooks in which my character might interact with anything ethically questionable, there'd hardly be any I could play.

We set off down river, and randomness determines what happens next. In this instance, an unexpected whirlpool unbalances the raft, causing one member of the party to fall into the water, which is inhabited by flesh-eating mochdrev fish. The text gives no indication of who goes overboard, so I'll use an 8-sided die to choose: on a 1, it'll be the leader, on 2-4 one of the warriors, on 5-7 a slave, and an 8 means me.

It's a warrior. Using the table at the back of the adventure for determining companions' stats, I find that the warrior in question (whom I will henceforth refer to as Dunc) has a high Luck, which is good, as that's the score that will determine whether or not he gets rescued before being eaten alive. A few of us join forces to help him (the text says only that he gets a bonus to his roll for each party member attempting to assist him, but realistically, having all seven of us on the same edge of the raft is just asking for trouble, and between his Luck and the way the rules always allow for the possibility of failure, I don't think adding helpers makes any real difference), and the number rolled is more than good enough to enable him to get back onto the raft in good health. I gain a small experience bonus for participating in the rescue.

After that incident we must decide whether to carry on or turn back. As adventures go, 'one of us got wet' is pretty unimpressive, so I think we'll keep going. And this time the roll of the die determines that the river becomes unnavigable, forcing us to abandon the raft. Again we have the option of turning back, but it still seems too early for that, so we continue on foot.

Again what we encounter is down the whim of the die. Now it's a booby trap set by the natives, and another roll of the d8 clarifies that a different warrior (let's call this one Brad) falls into a spiked pit. Since he has his own stats, it seems fair to give him the same roll against Dexterity that I'd have had to make if I were the unfortunate party member - and he is badly injured but not killed by a bamboo stake. We extricate him and everybody gains a little experience.

The leader of the expedition (who probably merits a full name, so I dub him Edgar Ghaspipe) casts a healing spell on Brad, bringing him back to about half his full health, and we resume our trek. The next roll of the die has us discovering human footprints, but nothing to indicate whether the people who left them are benign or hostile. That's probably randomly determined as well - let's find out.

A little further along the trail we encounter a group of Taweii, and choose not to attack on sight. A roll against either Luck or Jungle Lore determines their reaction, and while I go with Luck as that's the higher stat, I roll well enough that I'd have succeeded either way. Even so, we're not out of the woods yet (nor the jungle, for that matter), as the outcome of our interaction depends on a Charisma roll. I can gain a bonus by offering a bribe, but I only have enough funds to potentially improve my chances from extremely low to highly unlikely. I don't think it's worth it... and with what I rolled, I'd have failed even if I'd have handed over the GDP of the entire planet. Still, while we gain nothing (beyond a little experience) from the encounter, we don't lose anything either.

Once more we must decide whether to continue exploring or turn back, and 'continue' includes the option of building a raft and trying to find a river to use it on. Taking the time to construct a raft would also allow Edgar to regain some of his spellcasting power and Brad to heal a bit more, but at the same time it would increase the risk of a random hostile encounter. Let's chance it... Nothing nasty attacks, but another lousy roll means there's no nearby river suitable for travelling on, so the raft we built is of no use. We've still not achieved anything noteworthy, so let's keep going on land.

Well, that was a poor decision. Disease-bearing insects infest the area, and I contract something fatal. Edgar and Brad also die, but Dunc and the other warrior survive, as do two of the slaves. Maybe the remnants of the party go on to discover a vast treasure hoard and return to civilisation with it, both Taweii gain their freedom, and Dunc becomes a renowned adventurer and saves the world a few times, but my part in the expedition is definitely over.