Tunnels & Trolls Rulebook (5th Edition) (1979)

Back Cover:

What is Tunnels & Trolls?
Tunnels & Trolls is a fantasy role-playing game.

All right then, what's a fantasy role-playing game?
Ah, there's the crux of it. A fantasy role-playing game is one in which the players (sometimes one, often several) can assume the personas and personalities of imaginary beings - not always human - who are thus given lives and adventures of their own, directed by the game players.

In the course of the game, characters (the imaginary ones) are presented with circumstances created in outline by a Game Master. The fulfillment of that outline depends upon a verbal give-and-take between the Game Master and the players as they explore the world presented, taking actions to cope with the situations in which they find themselves.

The Game Master is a real person who has taken the time to create the scenarios in which his or her friends can play. The players may be using medieval knights, space-faring aliens, or a cowpuncher from the old west.

Tunnels & Trolls is designed primarily as a fantasy role-playing game set in a somewhat medieval alternate-universe, in the tradition of the hero tales of Greece and Rome, the Norse sagas and the Eddas, childhood fairy tales, and in the more modern traditions of the heroic fantasy of JRR Tolkein and Robert E. Howard.

The fundamental framework for adventuring in Tunnels & Trolls is the concept of an underground tunnel complex wherein dangerous traps and deadly monsters guard undreamed-of treasures, where magic and high sorcery meet sword and shield, in alliance or as violent opponents. Those who survive to regain the surface may be considered "winners" - until the next time they venture into the depths, risking their all for glory, gold and adventure.

The rules to play Tunnels & Trolls are complete with the booklet in your hands. You need never purchase anything else, and you will have the entire game available to you. On the other hand, there are numerous back-up services - among them, solitaire dungeon adventures, miniatures, and a magazine dedicated primarily to T&T - but these are meant to augment the game. Here is all you'll need.

We hope you'll enjoy the game.

User summary: This fifth edition of the Tunnels & Trolls core rules book is dated from 1979. Topics in the book include introductory information, character types, magic, sequence of combat events, monsters, being a game master, treasures, languages, character races, and weapons.

In 2005, Flying Buffalo released "version 5.5". This IS the fifth edition, with some bonuses. This version has 32 new pages including the complete Buffalo Castle solo adventure, plus Ken St Andre's "Chronology of Trollworld" plus new optional rules from Ken such as "Character Creation", "Half Breeds and Unusual Character Types", "Combat", "Spite Damage", "The Many-dice Problem", "Style of Play", and "The Money of Trollworld" AND Michael Stackpole's "Skills in T&T" and "Pulling your Punches." It also includes the complete version 5.0 of the rules.

Version 7.0 and 7.5 make significant changes to character generation from 5.X, including the means of leveling up, and the Talent system (which is different from Stackpole's Skills in T&T article), and several more Types.

Characters and modules from all editions are usable with any edition with minor conversions.