A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - T is for Tunnels and Trolls

T is for Tunnels and Trolls and Flying Buffalo

My first exposure to Roleplaying was actually Tunnels & Trolls. My Dad came back from one of his working trips with a photocopy of the Weirdworld solo module and I voraciously lapped it up. This was back in the day when Flying Buffalo (the company formed in 1970 by Rick Loomis) released their T&T solo modules as spiral bound A4 booklets making game piracy a fairly simple task.  Perhaps that was the point, what's good enough for Microsoft is good enough for Flying Buffalo.

The pages were full of great images like the entrance to the dungeon itself and new and strange words words like myriad.  As you can imagine it made quite an impression on my tiny growning brain.

The entrance to the Madhouse which was solo adventure #6 Weirdworld

I had no rules and I had no idea how to play it, I just treated it as choose your own adventure book before I even knew what one of those was.  Later on I would experience my first group session of the game at a games club in my home town of Bradford.  The DM using the a very early boxed set version of the rules with the little yellow booklet.

Our relocation down to London in the mid 80s coincided with the release of the Corgi edition paperbacks and I picked one up in a local Virgin Games store (remember them).

Core Rulebook	The Amulet of the Salkti Arena of Khazan	Catif D'Yvoire Beyond the Silvered Pane
The City of Terrors	Gamesmen of Kasar Misty Wood	Naked Doom Deathtrap Equalizer
Sword for Hire Blue Frog Tavern

The Corgi editions are really memorable.  They had amazing cover art by Josh Kirby and were published in a standard paperback formfactor at pocket money prices.  The main competition at the time were the Puffin Fighting Fantasy books written by the Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson of Games Workshop.  I preferred T&T because there was a bit more meat on the bones and I remembered the fun I had playing in that group game back in Bradford.

They are very collectible and hold their prices but they are very available when you search for Tunnels Trolls on eBay.

Flying Buffalo have of course continued to publish games and still exist today.  Their products were always on the fringe of the hobby never taking themselves too seriously but they were always popular.


My Collection Includes:

Corgi Edition Core Rules	5th Edition Core Rules	Grimtooths Traps Too
The Hole Delver's Catalogue	Maps Cities Book 1	Sword for Hire Blue Frog Tavern
The Amulet of the Salkti Catalogue

Availability of Flying Buffalo is good and they tend to be on the cheaper side of RPG collectables. I aim to reacquire all the Corgi adventure books in the very near future. Search for Flying Buffalo Products on eBay.

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The AtoZ of UK RPG in the 80s

1. is for Adventurer Magazine
2. is for Beast Enterprises
3. is for Citadel
4. is for Dungeon Floors
5. is for Elric of Melnibone
6. is for Fighting Fantasy
7. is for Games Designers Workshop
8. is for Heavy Metal
9. is for Indiana Jones
10. is for Judge Dredd
11. is for Knightmare
12. is for Large Box Games
13. is for Mayfair Games
14. is for Northern Militaire
15. is for O
16. is for Pondsmith (where's my flying car Mike?)
17. is for Qadim
18. is for Robots
19. is for Steve Jackson
20. is for Tunnels & Trolls
21. is for UK Series of AD&D Modules
22. is for V
23. is for White Dwarf
24. is for X
25. is for Y
26. is for Z

Tales From The Loop - Amazon Prime

I was intrigued to see Tales from the Loop reccomendation on my Amazon watch list so I had to give it a go.  

I had seen the haunting images of artist Simon Stålenhag on the internet many years ago and was not aware that these had been turned into 3 narrative coffee table art books in the same vein as the wonderful Terran Trade Authority Spaceship books of my youth.

Tales From The Loop

Things From The Flood

The Electric State

I was coming at the series completely blind having only having seen the imagery which according to Ståhlenhag was inspired by two of my favourite futurists Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie.

Tales from the Loop is an 8 episode series set in a late 1970s / 80s that never was.  Each story focuses on a single character and their tale of living in a community dominated by a secret underground government research facility.  Without plot spoiling here is how I rate each episode and my overall thoughts on the series.

• Episode 1 - Loop.  The story of a girl (Abby Ryder Fortson) intrigued by the secret work her mother does at the Loop searches for answers with unfortunate consequences.  A confusing but haunting 3 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 2 - Transpose.  Two boys Danny (Tyler Barnhardt) and Jakob (Daniel Zolghadri) discover a machine in the woods which allows them to trade places.  A classic tale of envy which has life changing ramifications for them both. A predictabaly dark 4 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 3 - Stasis.  May (Nicole Law) is a genius tinkering teen unhappy with the direction her life is going in. She discovers a mysterious capsule on the seashore and manages to get it to work with surprising effects.  A genuinely original take on a much used trope, 5 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 4 - Echo Sphere.  This episode tells the story of the twilight years of Loop Architect Russ (Jonathan Pryce) and the relationship he has with his grandson.  A slow, beautifully acted but sad 3 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 5 - Control - As Danny's family come to terms with his coma, his father Ed (Dan Bakkedahl) tries desperately to protect his family from a mysterious intruder and keep his marriage together.  The stories begin to intertwine and truth unravels.  A teasingly good 4 out of 5.
  
• Episode 6 - Parallel - Security Guard Gaddis (Ato Essandoh) has fallen in love with a man in a photo he found in an abandoned hover tractor.  When he fixes the tractor he discovers the truth about both the man and himself.  Inventive whatiffery with a rare hopeful ending (at last!!). 4 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 7 - Enemies - Russ's son George is marooned on a mysterious island by his friends where he survives as best he can against a terrifying inhabitant.  A naibiting and suspenseful 4 out of 5.
     
• Epsiode 8 - Home - Cole (Duncan Joiner), the youngest of Loretta and George's children struggles to cope with the loss of both his grandfather and his brother.  When Jakob tells him the truth he goes in search of his brother only to lose everything in the process.  Jodie Foster directed episode which tries to tie up the episode into a single arc.  A melancholic 4 out 5. 

What I Liked

This is a rare example of character focussed storytelling in a genre which typically obsesses over the what and the why things happen.  Every epsiode is a cautionary tale about what could happen when technology is misused but more importantly focusses on how this affects the lives of the characters and what is going on inside their heads.  The central premise of each episode is usually a well established trope, with the notable exception of the Echo Sphere.  The series succeeds in taking that trope and heading off in a new direction with dystopian consequences.

I loved the way that the characters are gradually dripped into the series until we get to see their tale.  Jakob's love May is introduced in episode 2 and her story is Episode 3, we meet Danny's family in episode 2 also and his father Ed's story turns up at Episode 5.   

What I didn't

The slow pace is just too slow in places.  I understand that the show is based on Simon Stålenhag's artwork which often looks like time is standing still.  I get that the visual dictionary is those haunting swedish landscapes full of vintage anachronistic flavour.  TV is a different way of telling those stories with a different pace and I think that the cinematography lingered too long to the detriment of the story.

This is a minor gripe really and as a whole I will score the series a 4 out of 5.  It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea and you need to be in a contemplative mood to really enjoy it,  If they make a second series I hope they keep writing those intertwined stories but just up the pace a little.

The Roleplaying Game

The Tales from the Loop RPG has been around for a few years now and is reasonably well established.  In fact I almost bought it at Dragonmeet 2019, perhaps I will pick it up and begin to write my own tales in a dystopian 80s that never was.

Tales From The Loop RPG

Our Friends The Machines

Tales From The Flood

Shameless Plug

You can watch the entire series on Amazon Prime.  If you are not a member you can take advantage of the Free 30 Day Trial.

Long Live Long Dead RPGs: Justifiers

I recently joined the facebook group Fans of Dead Games, where members share their stories and pictures of Roleplaying Games throughout history.

Whilst my collection is myriad, it doesn't come close to some of the shelves I've seen shared in the brief time that I've been a member.  Here's my little contribution:

Justifiers RPG (ISBN: 1-878711-00-8) p128

Published in 1988 by Star Childe Publications, Justifiers RPG puts you in the role of a Betahumanoid.  A half human, half animal genetically modified hybrid, you are the property of your corporation and your job is to "justify" or explore newly discovered planets.  If anthropomorphic sci-fi adventure in the style of Traveller is what you want, then Justifiers is for you.

Reviews from Ryleh gave Justifiers a good going over 

The rule book also contains the scenario The Axon Confrontation written by Battletech author Blaine Pardoe.

Justifiers RPG
(Core Rulebook)

The Tower
(Adventure)

The Insidious Campaign
(Adventure)

Out of the Mists
(Adventure)

There are a handful of other books I do not (but would love to) own to complete my collection:

Aborigine Sourcebook

The Corporate Sourcebook

Poseidon
(Adventure)

The Hybrid Sourcebook

The CyberMedTech Sourcebook

Cold as Ice
(Adventure)

Silent Corp Sourcebook

Justifiers Boxed Set
(Dark Tower Enterprises)

UPDATE:  Thanks to the wonderfully generous people in the Fans of Dead RPGs facebook group I have discovered that there was in fact a reprint box set released in 1992 by Dark Tower Enterprises.  This contained: Core Rulebook, Hybrid Sourcebook, Aborigine Sourcebook, Poseidon Adventure, an unknown bonus adventure and a Poster.

I have also subsequently discovered that Justifiers is not technically dead and some of the books are available as Watermarked PDFs from Drivethru RPG.  Apparently more are in the works.

Other StarChilde Books

Domination: Sabot and Laser - I can't tell if this is a standalone game or a supplement for something else.  The cover has a modern soldier and a generic insect atop a WWII tank so this could be something completely unconnected.

UPDATE: This is the blurb from the back of the book:

"In 1961 mankind struck out into space...In 1992 space struck back! Play out the critical campaigns of mankind's most desperate war. On the one side the superior technology of the Kalotian Empire. On the other, men and women who know too well that the fate of the Earth rests with them. With a complete role playing interface for Domination."

 So clearly this is a standalone game and nothing to do with Justifiers.

Guardians RPG - StarChilde Publications also made this Superhero roleplaying game.  From what I can research this amounts to two even rarer books (someone should really create a Starchilde wikipage).

UPDATE: As with Justifiers RPG both of the Guardians books are now available on Drivethru RPG as Watermarked PDFs. 

Guardians RPG
(Core Rulebook)

Freedom Union
(Scenario)

If anyone out there has any more information regarding any of these books please drop me a message in the comments below.

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s: M is for Mayfair Games

M is for Mayfair Games founded by Lawyer Darwin Bromley in 1980.  This small games publisher branched out into RPGs with the help of veteran Bill Fawcet and began publishing their "Unofficial" AD&D / D&D / T&T compatible adventure modules like 1982s Question of Gravity under the Role Aids banner.  Their attempt to steer through the copyright minefield by using the coverline "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of TSR Hobbies, Inc. Use of the trademark NOT sanctioned by the holder." they eventually fell foul of the changing attitudes to product licensing at TSR.

Role Aids - A Question of Gravity

Looking at these modules through OSR spectacles they are refreshingly light, yet ambitious and Question of Gravity in particular has a quite unique take on the traditional dungeon.

The cover art (by Fantasy author Janny Wurtz) does not allude in any way to this singularly impressive locale which is the focii for this scenario... 

... a dungeon on the inside of a 1000ft wide cube.

The interior maps are an impressive feat considering the lack of digital artistry back then.  I saw something similar nearly 20 years later in Issue #86 of Dungeon Magazine which was a Tracey Hickman Dragonlance scenario called "The Anvil of Time" but this was only one room not a whole dungeon.

Grids are notable absent from the maps, this was the 80s after all, where play was freer and not concerned with tactical movement, flanking or god forbid Attacks of Opportunity!!  The room (or should I say platform) descriptions oddly don't have the tried and tested "read aloud to the players" boxed text that we have all come to know and love in our pre-written dungeon crawl modules, but in this case I can understand.  Enemies can come from any direction and the mind boggles at trying to replicate this on a tabletop grid.  The descriptions are brief and designed to give a flavour of what you may encounter, the salient points rather than detailing the minutia.

original hand illustrated map (click to embiggen)

Sketchup Render (click to embiggen)

Whilst these modules are rare, they are still available in all the usual places, and they may well prove to be an unexpected and inspirational distraction for your players.  I know that I've got plans for using the cube in my own campaign world.

My Collection Includes:

705 Question of Gravity	706 Tower of Magicks	710 FezII The Contract
715 Swordthrust	716 Deadly Power	719 Fantastic Treasures
720 FezIII Angry Wizard	725 FezIV Wizard's Revenge	728 Clockwork Mage
732 Elven Banner	741 Crystal Barrier	742 Beneath Two Suns

These books are not terribly rare and many listings come up when I search for Role Aids on eBay.