Back when I played (and rapidly failed) Andy Holmes' Tunnels & Trolls 'mini solo adventure' The Halls of the Gorgon, I mentioned that it had a sequel, which I also own. There's no actual need to have beaten Gorgon before playing the follow-up, The Hidden Halls of Ogul-Duhr - the introduction indicates that some months have passed since the Gorgon was slain, but does not require the reader to play the adventurer who killed it. Indeed, while there is enough ambiguity to allow for reuse of such a veteran if you have one, the implication is that the player character has never been to the vicinity of the eponymous Halls.
So, I'm an adventurer, low on funds, and currently in a tavern. A stranger approaches, wishing to sell me a map that shows the way to the caves of Ogul-Duhr. When I point out that the Gorgon which inhabited them was killed a little while back, since when the place has been thoroughly looted and, according to rumour, taken over by a band of Orcs, he goes on to say that this map includes details of a secret entrance to lower levels that have yet to be plundered. This convinces me to hand over the money he wants, which suggests that my character isn't particularly smart, so I'll bring back the buffoon who survived Scandal in Stringwater. Equipping him with a sword brings his funds down to just above the cost of the map, which fits the financial set-up indicated by the text quite nicely.
As I make my way to the mountains where the caves are located, a little more information about recent developments in the area is provided. The Orcs who moved in charged treasure-seekers an entrance fee, also demanding their cut of any valuables found in the Halls, but now that the place has been (to their knowledge) comprehensively ransacked, most of them have moved on, so I may be able to get in without their knowledge and avoid having to hand over any money.
Bearing this in mind, I opt to avoid the main entrance and head straight for the secret entrance indicated on the map. Identifying its precise location may be tricky, though - indeed, it is, but not just because the map is imprecise. To find the right place, I must succeed at a Saving Roll based on the average of my Intelligence and Luck, and they add up to an odd number, while the text neglects to specify whether halves round up or down. In most circumstances, that lack of clarity wouldn't matter, but a score of exactly 10 (and the way the rules handle doubles puts the odds of that happening above 1 in 18 but below 1 in 12) could go either way depending on the rounding.
I get a 6 and a 4. Well, way back in junior school I was taught to round halves to the even number, which in this instance means rounding up, so I narrowly succeed. I find the concealed entrance, and can go through it... or I could act as if I hadn't found it, and probably experience some bother with Orcs in an attempt to gain access to the regions no longer worth checking out. Seriously? Look, Mr. Holmes, if I wanted to not enter the 'hidden halls', I would have done so by not buying the adventure rather than going to all the bother of looking for the way in, scraping through on a tricky roll (at which I only get three tries, according to the text), and then saying, "On second thoughts, nope."
So I go through. A corridor descends into the mountain, at one point passing an opening in the floor. As I have no way of telling how deep it is, and possess no rope, I pass by the hole. The corridor leads to an archway which opens into an unpleasant-smelling chamber. I step through, and the corridor behind me caves in, as if to say, "If you're not going to use the exit option I so graciously provided, I'm going to take it away, so there!" An unsuccessful Saving Roll determines that I take a little damage from debris.
Looking around, I find that I am in a crypt, which contains many stone sarcophagi carved with figures resembling Dwarves. While the corridor by which I entered is now impassable, there is another passage leading north. The stench pervading the air could be an indicator of something undead, so I shan't loiter.
The exit leads to a T-junction, where the roll of a die could subject me to a random encounter, but on this occasion nothing troubles me. Turning east, I have to make another Saving Roll, which I fail exactly like the previous one - right down to the numbers rolled. A Rock Troll bursts through the wall, declaring its intent to kill me, and there's no real chance of my winning a straight fight against an opponent with those stats. A quick check on the capabilities of the spell replicated by my explosive brandy-snaps reveals it to be rather less effective than I'd hoped, so I have to choose between using my sword and almost certainly dying, or throwing a brandy-snap, mildly injuring the troll, and definitely dying. I'll take an infinitesimally tiny chance over zero chance, so I go for my sword... and I die anyway.
Considering the lethality of the 'suitable for starting characters' solo adventures, I find myself increasingly baffled by the existence of Tunnels & Trolls solos designed for higher-level characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment