Category Archives: TFT

TFT LE: A Dozen Carboard Heroes (And Wizards)

Wherein your humble scribe presents a cool dozen TFT (Legacy Edition) characters based on some of his favorite Cardboard Heroes of old. These folks are all 32 point starting characters. Rather than saddle these poor creatures with a personality that you’ll likely just replace, they remain as blank as the stare of a young B/X player in 1982 when confronted with the visual representation of a Dwarven mage for the first time.

Dandy Highwayman / Human M / Hero
ST 12 DX 9 (8) IQ 11 MA 10 (8)
Talents: Charisma (2), Courtly Graces (1), Crossbow (1), Horsemanship (1), Missile Weapons (2), Recognize Value (1), Sex Appeal (1), Sword (2)
Equipment: Broadsword (2d), Light Crossbow (2d), Cloth Armor (1)

Martial Artist / Human M / Hero
ST 9 DX 12 (11) IQ 11 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Bola (1), Detect Lies (2), Knife (1), Priest (1), Thrown Weapons (2), Two Weapons (2), Unarmed Combat I (1), Unarmed Combat II (1)
Equipment: Nunchucks (1d+1), Dagger (1d-1), Bola (Special), Cloth Armor (1)

Archer / Human M / Hero
ST 11 DX 12 (10) IQ 9 MA 10 (8)
Talents: Bow (2), Carousing (1), Missile Weapons (3), Mundane Talent: Wood Carver (1), Sword (2)
Equipment: Longbow (1d+2), Shortsword (2d-1), Dagger (1d-1), Leather Armor (2)

Hill Barbarian / Human M / Hero
ST 11 DX 11 (10) IQ 10 MA 12 (12)
Talents: Climbing (1), Knife (1), Pole Weapons (2), Running (2), Shield (1), Shield Expertise (2), Tracking (1)
Equipment: Spear (1d/1d+1), Dagger (1d-1), Large Shield (2)

Swashbuckler / Human F / Hero
ST 9 DX 12 (11) IQ 11 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Charisma (2), Courtly Graces (1), Diplomacy (1), Poet (1), Quick Draw: Sword (1), Sword (2), Weapon Expertise: Sword (3)
Equipment: Rapier (1d), Cloth Armor (1)

Crusader / Human F / Hero
ST 11 DX 11 (8) IQ 10 MA 10 (6)
Talents: Ax/Mace (2), Literacy (1), Alertness (2), Priest (1), Engineer (2), Naturalist (2)
Equipment: Mace (2d-1), Chainmail (3)

Sorceress / Human F / Wizard
ST 9 DX 11 (11) IQ 12 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Literacy (1), Sex Appeal (2)
Spells: Avert (1), Dazzle (1), Fireball (1), Sleep (1), Staff II (1), Staff to Snake (1), Summon Myrmidon (1), Summon Scout (1), Turn Missiles (1)
Equipment: Staff (1d)

Thief / Human F / Hero
ST 10 DX 11 (10) IQ 11 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Climbing (1), Detect Traps (2), Locksmith (1), Recognize Value (1), Remove Traps (1), Silent Movement (2), Streetwise (1), Sword (2)
Equipment: Sabre (2d-2), Dagger (1d-1), Cloth Armor (1)

Elven Swordswoman / Elf F / Hero
ST 9 DX 13 (12) IQ 10 MA 12 (12)
Talents: Acute Hearing (2), Alertness (2), Language: Human (1), Mimic (1), Quick-Draw: Sword (1), Sword (2), Unarmed Combat I (1)
Equipment: Rapier (1d), Main-Gauche (1), Cloth Armor (1)

Dwarven Mage / Dwarf M / Wizard
ST 10 DX 9 (8) IQ 13 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Literacy (1), Language: Human (1)
Spells: 3-Hex Wall (1), Ferment (1), Light (1), Lock/Knock (1), Mage Sight (1), Open Tunnel (1), Repair (1), Scrying (1), Staff III (1), Stone Flesh (1), Summon Gargoyle (1)
Equipment: Staff of Striking (1d), Cloth Armor (1)

Halfling Thief / Halfling F / Hero
ST 8 DX 13 (12) IQ 9 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Detect Traps (2), Knife (1), Language: Human (1), Pickpocket (1), Remove Traps (1), Silent Movement (2), Streetwise (1)
Equipment: Dagger (1d-1), Cloth Armor (1)

Goblin Wizard / Goblin M / Wizard
ST 9 DX 9 (8) IQ 14 MA 10 (10)
Talents: Business Sense (4), Language: Human (1), Literacy (1)
Spells: Analyze Magic (1), Glamour (1), Lightning (1), Persuasiveness (1), Staff III (1), Summon Myrmidon (1), Telepathy (1), Weapon/Armor Enchantment (1)
Equipment: Staff of Striking (1d), Cloth Armor (1)

TFT: New Heroes

Wherein your humble scribe presents a group of brand new, 32 point characters for The Fantasy Trip. These cats have been done up straight, by-the-book, without the corruption of countless years’ worth of house rules and such that my old gang used to use. It just seemed like the way to go today.

Setting out from the city of Teszport on the western shores of Aeol, this mixed band of heroes & wizards are just beginning their careers. Someday, perhaps, they’ll be movers and shakers, the subjects of epic poems like the ones Cyr Ryn recites about the Revenant, the One-Armed Priest, the Red Lady, and his personal favorite, the Great Bard of Nash. Or maybe they’ll all be dead before they even make it to the Labyrinth of Stejak. That’s the beauty of the fantastic trip that is the life of an adventurer: you never know what’s coming next.

Cyr Ryn / Human / Hero
ST 13 DX 10 (8) IQ 9 MA 10
Talents: Sword, Shield, Thrown Weapons, Horsemanship, Sex Appeal, Bard
Equipment: Bastard Sword (2+1/3-2), 2 Daggers (1-1), Cloth Armor (1), Large Shield (2), Labyrinth Kit

Liera Mor / Human / Hero
ST 11 DX 11 (10) IQ 10 MA 10
Talents: Sword, Shield, Climbing, Physicker, Alertness, Thief
Equipment: Shortsword (2-1), Dagger (1-1), Cloth Armor (1), Small Shield (1), Physicker’s Chest, Labyrinth Kit, Lantern

Iäis Per / Human / Wizard
ST 9 DX 11 (10) IQ 12 MA 10
Talents: Literacy
Spells: Staff, Drop Weapon, Summon Wolf, Fire, Trip, Far Vision, Rope, Trailtwister, Staff to Snake, Fireball, 3-Hex Fire
Equipment: Staff (1), Cloth Armor (1), Labyrinth Kit

Malorian of Karkal/ Elf / Hero
ST 9 DX 11 (10) IQ 12 MA 12
Talents: Sword, Bow, Literacy, Human Speak
Spells: Invisibility, Sleep
Equipment: Rapier (1), Dagger (1-1), Small Bow (1-1), Cloth Armor (1), Labyrinth Kit

Issrilskel the Luxomancer/ Dwarf / Wizard
ST 11 DX 10 (9) IQ 11 MA 10
Talents: Literacy, Human Speak
Spells: Staff, Blur, Light, Darkness, Dark Vision, Dazzle, Shadow, Reveal/Conceal, Illusion
Equipment: Staff (1), Cloth Armor (1), Labyrinth Kit

TFT: Against The Ifriti King

Wherein your humble scribe presents some experienced protagonists and an antagonist for The Fantasy Trip. You could turn this into a wee combat scenario if you were of a mind to. One of the various retroclones (like Legends of the Ancient World) should let you play this out if you don’t have TFT books handy.

These characters were created “by the book” with one key exception – I’ve built them using the Skill Points house rule used by my old group for years & years. The gist of this option is that instead of IQ serving as the point pool for buying Talents & Spells, you get your IQ plus the average of your ST and DX to spend (though you are still limited to a maximum number of Spells equal to your IQ). This lets characters be a little more well-rounded, without being particularly overpowered. Of course, TFT isn’t a game that really lends itself to characters being overpowered anyway.

Drawn from across the face of Cidri by forces beyond their comprehension, a disparate group of warriors and wizards finds themselves on a dangerous quest to defeat Tamir ibn Mu’tazz, the King of the Ifrit. Led by the noblewoman Takeda Mizuki, these unique individuals have faced numerous opponents and challenges as they have sought the palace of ibn Mu’tazz. Each hero stands ready to lay down his or her life to thwart the nefarious goals of the Ifrit.

If you’re going to give this a go as a combat scenario, treat Tamir ibn Mu’tazz as a 3-hex figure and allow him a 1-hex Green Slime, a 1-hex Silver Slime, and a 4-hex Goo as allies (stats below), thanks to his Ring of Slime & Goo Control.

The Villains

Tamir ibn Mu’tazz
ST 24 DX 16 IQ 20 MA 8/10 (40/20)
Sword, Charisma, Alertness, Acute Hearing, Diplomacy, Business Sense, Courtly Graces, Literacy, Recognize Value, Assess Value, Scholar
Fire, Speed Movement, Fireball, 3-Hex Fire, 7-Hex Fire, Create/Destroy Elemental
Chainmail (3), Scimitar of the Shayatin (2d6) allows a second attack each round at -4 DX, Amulet of Reverse Missiles, Ring of Slime & Goo Control

Green Slime
ST 14 DX 1 IQ 1 MA 2
Does 2 hits/turn once it engulfs a target by flowing into that creature’s hex.

Silver Slime
ST 18 DX 12 IQ 6 MA 6
Emits a lighting as the Lightning spell (i.e., 1d6/STR spent).

Goo
ST Nigh-Infinite DX N/A IQ 1 MA 4
Suffocates in 2 turns once it engulfs. Requires a 6 dice vs DX roll to hit the nucleus to kill.

The Heroes

Takeda Mizuki
ST 12 DX 15 (10) IQ 11 MA 6
Sword, Two Weapons, Courtly Graces, Diplomacy, Charisma, Tactics, Literacy, Horsemanship, Expert Horsemanship, Bow, Missile Weapons, Physicker, Sex Appeal, Alertness
Dou of Ama-Tsu-Mara (6), Katana (2d6), Wakizashi (2d6-1), Horse Bow (1d6), 20 Arrows

Black Crow
ST 11 DX 16 IQ 11 MA 12
Pole Weapons, Shield, Bow, Alertness, Missile Weapons, Tracking, Mimic, Silent Movement, Naturalist, Woodsman, Axe/Mace, Thrown Weapons, Animal Handler, Running
Small Shield (1), Spear (1d6/1d6+1), Bow of the Thunder Bird (1d6 + 3 pt lightning damage), 20 Arrows

Ultan MacEochagan
ST 10 DX 12 IQ 16 MA 10
Literacy, Sword, Bard, Seamanship, Sex Appeal
Light, Summon Wolf, Summon Myrmidon, Sleep, Summon Bear, Persuasiveness, Reveal/Conceal, Invisibility, Mage Sight, Magic Rainstorm, Control Person, Lightning, Glamor, Summon Giant
Silver Shortsword (2d6-1), Silver Dagger (1d6-1), Sapphire Eye of Manannan Mac Lir (5 ST Battery Gem)

Neferuptah
ST 15 DX 13 (12) IQ 10 MA 10
Sword, Axe/Mace, Shield, Warrior, Priest, Literacy, Acrobatics, Diplomacy, Naturalist
Light, Clumsiness, Blur, Aid
Cloth Armor (1), Shield of Horus (3), Hook Sword (2d6), Battle Axe (3d6)

Eratosthenes of Herapho
ST 11 DX 13 IQ 14 MA 10
Literacy, Architect/Builder, Scholar, Alchemy
Staff, Lock/Knock, Create Wall, Destroy Creation, Summon Gargoyle, 3-Hex Wall, Slippery Floor, Telekinesis, Control Elemental
Staff (1d6), Diamond Heart of Hephaestus (5 ST Battery Gem)

TFT Nostalgia Photography (Melee, Wizard, In The Labyrinth)

Back in the day, that day when many of you were all about D&D in some form or another, I was playing huge amounts of Metagaming’s The Fantasy Trip. Whether it was arena battles (warriors, wizards, or both, against each other or against monsters) with Melee and/or Wizard, choose-your-own-adventure type microquests like Grail Quest and Treasure of the Silver Dragon, or full on RPG action with Advanced Melee and Advanced Wizard and In The Labyrinth, TFT was really my game.

So here’s another batch of heavily filtered photos of some old RPG books for your enjoyment.

There are a couple of TFT retroclones out there, including Legends of the Ancient World. There are a couple of others, but I’m not having any luck with linking to them at the moment, so I’ll leave you with just the one. Or you can check out the original Melee and Wizard rules on Bluwiki.

As an aside, I should note that despite its obvious connections to TFT, I never really liked GURPS. It’s just too damned fiddly for my tastes.

Heists For Fantasy Thieves

Wherein your humble scribe, drawing on the “All The Dice” random generator concept (tip of the hat to Grim), presents a random table for your nerdly needs.

My latest obsession/idea is an old school urban crime mini-campaign, something along the lines of the old Gamelords Thieves’ Guild RPG.

My first thought was to use Labyrinth Lord/AEC and break down the thieving skills a bit to turn that subsystem into something that players could customize to reflect their own individual thief’s specialties (sort like AD&D 2e did – but I don’t have those books handy to steal from reference). But when I started doing the math I quickly realized I’d be better off using a different system (one that was already skill-based).

So in rode BRP and the fabulous Classic Fantasy monograph (to be used if I feel the need to retain a degree of D&D style). If I ever make this get off the ground (and given my current levels of gamer ADD and the general scheduling issues with the folks I play with, that’s a dubious proposition) I’m going to need an idea generator for some thiefly adventures & heists. Hence, the tables below. Please feel free to make use of these in any way you see fit. Sharing makes the world go ’round!

Let’s Roll

Grab yourself a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20 and roll ’em. Check against the charts below and let your creativity fill things out as needed.

Location of item(s) to be liberated, 1d4

  1. Temple or other religious/ceremonial building
  2. Private residence (1d4: 1 lower class, 2 middle class, 3 upper class, 4 nobility)
  3. Mercantile building (guildhall, apothecary, etc.)
  4. Governmental building (military hq, prison, town hall, etc.)

Complications of the job, 1d6

  1. No complications, job as described by the rest of the dice
  2. Minor complications, roll for a second guardian for the item (now under double guard)
  3. Major complications, roll for a second location (the item has been moved)
  4. No complications, job as described by the rest of the dice
  5. Serious complications, roll for two more guardians and a second location – the item(s) has been moved to a new location and is under a different kind of protection
  6. It’s a setup! A double-cross! A trap! Everything proceeds normally, but something bad happens if the job is successful (not paid, guard alerted, the job is completely fake, etc.)

Method of payment for liberating the item(s), 1d8

  1. No payment
  2. Keep anything else you can take
  3. Coin: ((2d4-1) X 10)% of item’s value
  4. Coin: ((1d10+10) X 10)% of item’s value
  5. A minor, limited-use magic item (potion of healing, etc.)
  6. Information (a treasure map, the name of a spy, etc.)
  7. Coins: (3d8 X 10) total gp value
  8. Gems: (4d6 X 10) total gp value

Nature of the item(s) to be liberated, 1d10

  1. Plain ol’ coin money
  2. Magic item (weapon/armor/shield)
  3. Religious relic
  4. Gems or jewelry
  5. Paperwork of significance
  6. Object d’Art (statue/painting/etc.)
  7. Symbolic item
  8. Magic item (non-weapon)
  9. Roll again twice using d8s
  10. Roll again three times using d8s

Guardian of the item(s) to be liberated, 1d12

  1. None
  2. Locked chest/safe
  3. Trapped & locked chest/safe
  4. Magical wards
  5. Generic human/demihuman guards
  6. Tougher-than-generic human/demihuman guards
  7. Natural animal(s)
  8. Monster(s)
  9. Undead
  10. Demon/devil
  11. Roll again twice using d10s
  12. Roll again three times using d10s

Source of the job, 1d20

  1. Professional connection (guild, crime family, etc.)
  2. Freelance theft-for-hire (merchant, sailor, etc.)
  3. Rumor/Innuendo/Legend
  4. Personal Reasons (revenge, matter of honor, thrill seeking, etc.)
  5. Religious connection (prelate with a problem, a favor for the god of thieves, etc.)
  6. Professional connection (guild, crime family, etc.)
  7. Freelance theft-for-hire (merchant, sailor, etc.)
  8. Romantic connection (spouse, mistress, etc.)
  9. Family connection (no-good brother-in-law, dying aunt, etc.)
  10. Political connection (local political faction, foreign government, etc.)
  11. Professional connection (guild, crime family, etc.)
  12. Freelance theft-for-hire (merchant, sailor, etc.)
  13. Rumor/Innuendo/Legend
  14. Personal Reasons (revenge, matter of honor, thrill seeking, etc.)
  15. Professional connection (guild, crime family, etc.)
  16. Freelance theft-for-hire (merchant, sailor, etc.)
  17. Military/Police connection (the corrupt sheriff, a questionable general, etc.)
  18. Rumor/Innuendo/Legend
  19. Professional connection (guild, crime family, etc.)
  20. Freelance theft-for-hire (merchant, sailor, etc.)

Some Sample Heists

  • Your older brother offers to pay you a lot of money to break into the town armory and steal the enchanted Shield of the Sentinels. Of course, the armory is guarded by a pair of basilisks, but that’s not a problem for someone like you. You know he can afford what he’s offering; you just don’t know what he’s up to, which is planning on double-crossing you by turning you and the shield in for the reward to pay off his gambling debts.
  • Old Garril the Stonemason offers you a number of small diamonds he once found in a wall he was repairing to steal the sixteen large sapphires Korath the Bold recently donated to the Temple of Naali. These are locked in a chest stored within the high priest’s chambers.
  • You’ve heard a rumor that there’s a woman in Amberton who will pay a nice sum of money for a set of enchanted combs that are currently available in the shop of Forlburt the silversmith. The smith is a paranoid sort, who employs a small number of human guards and trained hounds to stand watch over his shop even as he locks all of his merchandise within a heavy (and trapped!) safe every evening.
  • Your guild or crime family needs you to break into the manor house of the Harbormaster and steal the ledgers for the last season’s shipping taxes. Your reward for pulling off this heist is the name and location of the man who killed your family when you were young. Everyone knows that the house is protected by magical wards. Not even your contact knows about the wraith that has been bound to guard the grounds.

TFT Rogues Gallery

Wherein your humble scribe presents a trio of beginning adventurers for that most wonderful of early RPGs, The Fantasy Trip. As I’ve mentioned before, TFT is the game I played most (by a wide margin) back in the day. When the rest of you lot were busy taking your paladins and assassins against the giants or slavers (or whatever) in Greyhawk, the group I played with was busy running our heroes and wizards through our own adventures in homebrewed worlds like Erelandé, Greymere, and Trith. That doesn’t make me better than anyone, but it does make me very different than a lot of folks I’ve encountered in the OSR/geek blogging scene. There are a couple of retroclones of TFT out there (Legends of the Ancient World is the only one I’ve actually looked at), though, so I know I’m not completely alone.

Gathered together in the city of Lyros, the members of this trio of rogues have just finished up a month’s worth of work at the jobs they do when not questing for treasure. Joran’s employer docked him a week’s pay for an “incident” with another caravan guard, but nothing else serious befell anyone. What strange adventures might these three have in the coming days? Whatever trouble they get into will surely be played out on the hex grid of life (because people can move in more than four directions).

Joran of Rask (Human Hero)
Personality: Loud, friendly, and honest to a fault
Job: Mercenary Recruit Pay: $75 Risk: 5/16 Silver: $225
ST 11 DX 11 ( adjDX 10 ) IQ 10 MA 10 ( adjMA 10 )
Talents: Axe/Mace (2), Thrown Weapons (2), Shield (1), Horsemanship (1), Climbing (1)
Spells: Summon Wolf (3)
Equipment: 3 Small Axes (1d+1), Cloth Armor (1), Spiked Shield (1)

Ss’Kel (Reptileman Hero)
Personality: Taciturn, driven by a desire for knowledge, prone to complaining
Job: Builder Pay: $50 Risk: 3/18 Silver: $200
ST 14 DX 13 ( adjDX 11 ) IQ 11 MA 10 ( adjMA 8 )
Talents: Sword (2), Crossbow (1), Alertness (2), Missile Weapons (3), Architect/Builder (2), Literacy (1)
Equipment: Bastard Sword (2d+1/3d-2), Light Crossbow (2d), Leather Armor (2)

Gharli Fenth (Goblin Wizard)
Personality: Suspicious of others, greedy, sarcastic & mean-spirited humor
Job: Town Wizard Pay: $75 Risk: 4/17 Silver: $300
ST 8 DX 10 ( adjDX 9 ) IQ 12 MA 10 ( adjMA 10 )
Talents: Literacy (1), Charisma (4)
Spells: Sleep (1), Lock/Knock (1), Illusion (1), Confusion (1), Persuasiveness (1), Staff (1), Fireball (1)
Equipment: Wizard’s Staff (1d), Cloth Armor (1)

A Great List Of TFT Clones

The incomparable Narmer over at Dynasty Zero has put together a great list of TFT clones. You should be sure to check ’em out. TFT (The Fantasy Trip, if you don’t know the acronym) was the first game that I truly loved. I played it way more than I ever played any form of D&D when I was a kid. It completely dominated my youthful geekness (alongside Traveller) and is, in my opinion, one of the finest RPGs ever produced. It’s a cryin’ shame that it was never more widely known.

TFT is also, in case you’re not familiar with this part of RPG history, the progenitor of GURPS. It’s also much, much better as far as I’m concerned. It’s lighter, faster, and much more fun to play than its unwieldy offspring. And though I have no need of a clone of it, I highly recommend giving the game serious consideration if you’re looking to add something new to your repertoire.