Mini-solo Adventures by Ken St.

Andre for
Trollhalla Press

Tunnels and Trolls is the fantasy role-playing game best known for
solitaire adventures--programmed challenges that don't require a
Game Master and a group of other gamers in order to play and
enjoy the game. Although Steve MacAllister came up with the idea
for solo adventures, and Rick Loomis wrote the very first solo
(Buffalo Castle), I was there from the beginning. My Naked Doom
was the second solo ever published. And then, living down to my
own motto, Less is More, I created the first mini-solo with Goblin
Lake. Minis allow for shorter, more focused adventures that explore
a single theme. For this renaissance in T & T publications, I set
myself the goal of doing as many mini-solos in 2011 as I can do.
This is the fifth in what I hope will be at least ten mini-solos before
the year is over. The previous four were:

1. khara khang's random rainbow maze

2. Deep Delving

3. The traveler's tale

4. A sworded adventure

--Ken St. Andre, April, 2011

_________________________________________________________________

Learn more about Tunnels & Trolls at these websites:

http://Trollhalla.com

http://TunnelsandTrolls.com

http://Flyingbuffalo.com/tandt.htm
The Wizard's test

Imagined by Ken St. Andre

Illustrated by katje Romanov

TROLLHALLA PRESS
THE WIZARD'S TEST--text copyright April 2011 by Ken St. Andre

Illustrations copyright April 2011 by Katje Romanov.

Trollworld Atlas illustration copyright 2010 by David Ullery

All rights reserved.

This Tunnels and Trolls mini-solo is published by Flying Buffalo, Inc. (P.O. Box 8467,
Scottsdale, AZ 85252) and the TROLLHALLA PRESS imprint.

TROLLHALLA Press
 Introduction:
The old wizard smiles at you--an eerie experience--
are his teeth really glowing? "You have done well so
far in simple tests of fight or flight, but I'd like to see
what you can do in more complex situations where
all the choices don't seem so good or clearcut.
"Bring it on!" you sneer.
(This is an adventure for any level 3 or lower warrior
or rogue--a wizard would know better than to get
into such a situation. You should be human, or at
least humanoid and a member of the Good Kindreds
(Human, Elf, Dwarf, Hobb) You might be able to use
magic, but mostly it won't help. You can bring your
own equipment in with you, but any kind of weird
effects that it would take a Game Master to
adjudicate simply don't work. T & T 7.5 rules are in
effect, but your adventure point total has been reset
to zero to start this adventure. If you were carrying
any adventure points over from previous adventures,
you will get them all back plus 10% interest if you
survive this test.)
When you are ready, turn to <1>
<1> You are standing in a small room with two
tables and two doors. The floor and the walls are
smeared with a black greasy mud and the turgid air
hangs heavy with the aroma of rotting fish. Two
small tables stand on opposite sides of the room, one
beside each door. The first door has a painting of an
alligator on it; the second door has the painting of a
big-eared goblin with a bone through his nose. On
the table beside the alligator door is a large
sandwich made with heavy slices of black rye bread
and containing fish and some gooey sauce. On the
other table is an old leather pouch apparently full of
coins. You look at it carefully and find that the
coins seem to be made of moldy green bronze. The
light in the room comes from a high window over the
alligator door--too high to see through unless you
can fly. What do you do?
A) Leave the sandwich and the coins behind and
step through a door--go to <10>
B) Take the sandwich and step through a door--go to
<15>.
C) Take the coins and step through a door--go to
<20>.
D) Try to take both sandwich and coins and step
through a door--go to <25>
E) Try to eat the sandwich. Anything this foul in
appearance must be magical--go to <30>.

<2> Up on a tree branch where the alligator can't

hurt you, you look down at the savage beast tearing
at the trunk of your refuge. It isn't going away, and
there is no way off this island until the beast is dead.
If you know combat spells, you may sit there and
cast enough of them to eventually slay the reptile--go
to <28>. If you don't know magic, you will have to
ready your weapon and jump down and fight it
sooner or later. When you're ready for the
showdown, go to <21>.

<3> Never share your smile with a crocodile, never

stop to talk or even chat a while. He will eat you up
like a buttercup. Never, never, never trust a
crocodile! In this case it's an alligator, but the same
principle holds true. Yes, you guessed it. That was
foolish. The gator gobbled you down. Close the
book.
<4> You choke to death. That should teach you
never to eat anything that looks and smells bad.
Close the book.

<5> The horrible sandwich is clogging your throat

and windpipe. You begin to cough--great racking
coughs that hurt all the way down to your toes, and
you do manage to cough it up. Ack! That was
awful. Now you have a sandwich with a bite taken
out of it. Luckily, it wasn't a big bite, or you might
not have survived. Take 1 point of CON damage and
return to <10> to make a different choice.

<6> The horrible sandwich is choking you to death.

You begin to cough--great racking coughs that hurt
all the way down to your toes, but it does no good.
You cannot breathe. You are suffocating. All goes
black and you pass out. You are unconscious and
dying, but go ahead and make a L2SR on your Luck
(25 - LK). If you make the saving roll, go to <27>; if
you fail it, go to <4>.
<7> You smile broadly. "I'm here to buy," you
declare. "What fine weapons do you have for me?"
The Goblin says, "Let me see your money!" If you
have the pouch of bronze coins, then go to <24>. If
you don't have them, go to <33>.

<8> You succeed--good shot! The alligator

champs its mouth shut on the tasty sandwich and
swallows it, where it immediately has its intended
effect. Go to <21>.

<9> After the Goblin is dead, you may take all of

his weapons and keep the coins also. The fish spear
is a 2D6 weapon that is enchanted versus fish. A
single point of damage from it will paralyze even the
largest shark. The dagger is unusually potent--it
gets 4D6 in combat. The flute-like thing is actually
a blowpipe. A quick search will discover a small
pouch of 20 poisoned darts. Even a single point of
damage from a dart will cause unconsciousness
within 3 combat rounds.
A short time after that, a magical door will open in
the trunk of the mangrove tree. You may step
through it and return to the wizard's chamber--go to
<32>.

<10> If you go through the Gator door, go to <35>.

If you go through the Goblin door, go to <34>.

<11> The alligator is getting close. If you wish to

throw the sandwich into its gaping maw, make a
L1SR on DEX (20 - DEX). If you make it, go to <8>.
If you miss it, go to <13>.

<12> Since you can't buy, you may as well attack.

You just have time for one combat spell before
combat begins. The Goblin has a monster rating of
30 (4D6 + 15) and will fight with the leaf-bladed
dagger.

If you slay him, go to <9>. Incidentally, the dagger

he using is poisoned with deadly frog venom. If you
take damage, even if it is spite damage (every 6
rolled by the Goblin gets through for 1 point of
damage whether he wins the combat round or not)
then you have been poisoned. If poisoned, take 1D6
of Stun Damage per turn. Stun damage comes off
your CON normally except that it won't kill you.
When your CON reaches zero, you will pass out. If
that happens before you slay the Goblin, then go to
<31>.

<13> You miss. The sandwich bounces off the

gator's head, making it stop and snap futilely at the
air for a second. This gives you just enough time to
grab your weapon and fight for your life. Or you will
have time to cast a combat spell. Go to <21>.
<14> Jumping into the swamp water is the worst
decision of your life. It is infested with insects,
leeches, hungry fish, and huge reptiles. You swim
until you can't swim any longer, then try to put your
feet down, but there is no bottom. You lose a lot of
blood to the leeches and the little fish nibbles. Your
clothing and armor get saturated and drag you
down. Eventually you drown . . . horribly. Close the
book.

<15> You have the disgusting sandwich in your

hand. Go now to <10> and choose a door to exit the
room.

<16> You could try throwing the bag of coins into

the gator's mouth. That could give you a moment to
draw your weapon or try to flee. Make a L1SR on
DEX (20 - DEX). If you make it, go to <18>. If you
miss it, go to <23>. Or you could just drop the
coins, grab your weapon or prepare a spell and fight-
-in that case, go to <21>.

<17> Your attack takes the Goblin by surprise!

With a shriek, he turns and dives into the swamp
waters and swims away. You get the three weapons
on the blanket. The fish spear is a 2D6 weapon that
is enchanted versus fish. A single point of damage
from it will paralyze even the largest shark. The
dagger is unusually potent--it gets 4D6 in combat.
The flute-like thing is actually a blowpipe. A quick
search will discover a small pouch of 20 poisoned
darts. Even a single point of damage from a dart will
cause unconsciousness to most humans within 3
combat rounds. Once you have collected your
treasure, a door will open in the mangrove tree, and
you can go through it to return to the wizard's
chamber. Go to <32>.
<18> The bag of coins breaks an alligator tooth
when it hits. That reduces the gator's monster
rating to 58 (6D6 + 29). Go to <21> and fight it out.

<19> Your timidity makes the Goblin laugh. "Oh

ho," he cries. "I am sorry that I frightened you.
Come out! I won't hurt you. Just give me your
weapons and armor, and I will show you the way to
go home. If you are humiliated and recover your
courage, you may come out fighting. In that case, go
to <12>. If you come out peacefully, the Goblin will
offer you something to drink from a fish-bladder
canteen. It tastes vile, and makes you drowsy. Oh
no! You cannot stay awake. You collapse, totally at
the mercy of this tricky swamp dweller. Go to <31>.

<20> You have a bag of bronze money in your

hand. Go now to <10> and choose a door to exit the
room.

<21> If the gator has its mouth full of gooey

sandwich, it will lose the use of its jaws as a weapon
and have a monster rating of 40 (5D6 + 20). If it
doesn't have a sandwich in its mouth, it is more
formidable and has a monster rating of 60 (7D6 +
30). Also, if the gator is trying to cope with a
sandwich you will have one combat turn to cast any
combat spell you know (Take That You Fiend,
Blasting Power, Freeze Please, or Vorpal Blade, etc)
before you have to fight it physically. If no
sandwich, then no time for magic. Fight! If you win,
go to <28>. If you lose, close the book--you are gator
grub.

<22> You turn and dash away from this

frightening example of swamp life at its ugliest. This
makes the Goblin laugh. There really isn't any place
to go, however. If you decide to jump in the dark
water and swim for it, go to <14>. If you hide behind
the tree go to <19>.
<23> With a savage roar the gator is on you. Its
tail sweeps around and cuts your legs out from
under you. There is no time to draw a weapon--you
must fight it bare-handed. If you know spells, you
may use them at a rate of one spell per combat turn
in addition to your 1D6 plus your combat adds, but
only the physical struggle actually helps you ward
off the reptilian attack. Fight to the death. If you
win, go to <28>. If you lose, there's a happy gator in
the swamp tonight. Close the book.
<24> The Goblin is very pleased to see the bronze
coins--it is ancient Goblin coinage. He begins to
bargain with you. The Goblin has a CHR rating of 9.
You haggle because he enjoys haggling. Roll 2D6
(DARO) and add it to his CHR of 9. Then do the
same using your own CHR rating. If your total is
higher, then he sells you all three weapons for the
contents of the pouch. If his total is higher, he only
sells you one of them--your choice. The fish spear is
a 2D6 weapon that is enchanted versus fish. A
single point of damage from it will paralyze even the
largest shark. The dagger is unusually potent--it
gets 4D6 in combat. The flute-like thing is actually
a blowpipe. A quick search will discover a small
pouch of 20 poisoned darts. Even a single point of
damage from a dart will cause unconsciousness
within 3 combat rounds for most humans. Once the
deal is concluded, the Goblin wishes you a pleasant
day. He then picks up his blanket and anything else
he still owns and walks briskly away. He walks
behind the tree and vanishes from your sight. You
are unlikely to ever see him again. But, while you
are looking at the tree, you see a magical door open
in its trunk, and beyond it is a pure clean light. You
walk over and step through to find yourself in the
wizard's chamber--go to <32>.

<25> The room is too large for you to grab both

items at the same time. When you touch one, the
other one magically vanishes with a small popping
noise. If you took the sandwich, go to <15>. If you
took the coins, go to <20>.

<26> The mangrove tree trunk is slippery, and the

first branch is fairly high. It will take some skill or
dexterity to get up into the branches. If you have a
Talent for Climbing, Agility, or Acrobatics, you can
use it for this L2SR on DEX (25-DEX). If you make
the saving roll, you manage to get up into the tree
before the alligator catches you--go to <2>. If you
fail it, then the giant reptile catches you, and it's not
a pretty sight. Chomp, Chomp! You're dead.

<27> You wake up in Khara Khang's chamber. It

seems that he was watching you, and decided to
save your life. Finding you passed out and turning
blue, the old wizard dug the gooey mass out of your
throat, gave you artificial respiration, and
resuscitated you. When you wake up, you see him
glaring at you. "Let that be a lesson to you," he
snarls, "don't go eating strange things in hopes they
are magical. That kind of behavior will get you
killed. Now get out of here! I am very disappointed
in you." He hands you your stuff, and you get your
suspended adventure points back with a 10%
increase--so the adventure wasn't a total loss. You
leave and find yourself once again on the streets of
Khazan, ready for a new adventure somewhere else.
THE END.

<28> The alligator is dead. You search, but there

doesn't seem to be any treasure here unless you
want to butcher the beast and take its teeth or
claws. The teeth are nasty things--you could catch a
disease by simply touching them, but a good dagger
is a better weapon. The claws are impressive. If you
decide to cut up the reptile, you will gain body parts
worth about 20 gold pieces in the open market.
When you are ready, a magical door will open in the
trunk of the mighty mangrove tree, and you may
step back through it to the wizard's chamber at
<29>.

<29> Old Khara Khang chuckles with delight

when you suddenly materialize in his chamber.
When he sees that you have some gator parts he is
even happier. (If you didn't butcher the reptile, his
smile is just a token grin.) "You have done very well,
and I think you will be an excellent agent for Her
Deathliness once you have completed your training."
You may sell the gator parts if you wish (that gets
you 1D100 + 20 gold pieces) and I will give you this
additional blessing." He reaches out and touches
you. You feel a magical tingle run through your
body. (You may increase any one of your attributes
by 1 point. By doing so, you use up all the
adventure points you gained in this adventure plus
whatever Khara Khang just gave you; however, now
that the adventure is over you get back all the a.p.
that you had previously with 10% interest.) You
thank the old wizard and get back to your normal
life. You know that Khara Khang may still have
more tests and challenges for you, but you are
unafraid. THE END.

<30> Bravely you pick up the sandwich and bite

into it. Ewww! This is foul. As you try to chew and
swallow, your jaws get locked up in the gooey peanut
butter, and the mass clogs your throat. You find
yourself choking to death. Make a L3SR on CON (30
- CON). If you make the saving roll, go to <5>. If
you miss the saving roll go to <6>.

<31> You wake up back at the beginning of this

adventure on in Khara Khang's chamber, very
surprised to find that you are still alive. You don't
have any weapons or armor--the Goblin took those
as a token of his victory. He also cut a notch in both
your earlobes, and they hurt like the devil, but he
did not kill you. The old wizard is very disappointed
in you, but he returns your suspended adventure
points with 10% interest. At least the adventure
wasn't a complete loss. Then it's back to the streets
of Khazan with you in hopes of finding another
adventure soon. THE END.

<32> Old Khara Khang chuckles with delight when

you suddenly materialize in his chamber. When he
sees that you have the goblin's weapons he is even
happier. "You have done very well, and I think you
will be an excellent agent for Her Deathliness once
you have completed your training." You may keep
the Goblin's weapons if you wish and I will give you
this additional blessing."

He reaches out and touches you. You feel a magical

tingle run through your body. (You may increase
any one of your attributes by 1 point. By doing so,
you use up all the adventure points you gained in
this adventure plus whatever Khara Khang just gave
you; however, now that the adventure is over you get
back all the a.p. that you had previously with 10%
interest.) You thank the old wizard and get back to
your normal life. You know that Khara Khang may
still have more tests and challenges for you, but you
are unafraid. THE END.

<33> The Goblin looks at you expectantly, but

when you don't produce the bronze coins, his joy
turns to disappointment and then to anger. "Liar!"
he cries. Snatching up the bronze dagger, he
attacks you savagely. If you pull your own weapons
and fight him, go to <12>. If you turn and run away,
then go to <22>.

<34> The door vanishes behind you as you step

through it, and you find yourself on an island of
black mud. Above you the sky is dark and gloomy
with heavy low-lying clouds. A drizzling rain quickly
soaks you to the skin. All around the island are
dark waters in which many reeds grow, and quite a
few sunken trees. Behind you is a mighty, mossy
mangrove tree. Ahead of you is a very large goblin.
It has greenish-yellow skin, large flapping ears,
bulging eyeballs covered by a nictitating eyelid. The
Goblin squats on a blanket and arranged in front of
it are a few primitive weapons including a fish-spear,
a leaf-bladed dagger, and something that looks like a
flute. He smiles and speaks to you in a mangled
version of the Common Speech. "Welcome to my
swamp, stranger. Did you come to buy? Or to die?"
If you answer "buy" go to <7>. If you answer "die" go
to <12>. If you just attack him, go to <17>. If you
try to run away, go to <22>.

<35> The door vanishes behind you as you step

through it, and you find yourself on an island of
black mud. Above you the sky is dark and gloomy
with heavy low-lying clouds. A drizzling rain quickly
soaks you to the skin. All around the island are
dark waters in which many reeds grow, and quite a
few sunken trees. Behind you is a mighty, mossy
mangrove tree. In front of you is a large alligator on
the water's edge. When it sees you, it emits a
hissing burble of a roar and rushes toward you with
jaws wide-extended. If you have the sandwich in
your hand, go to <11>. If you have the coins in your
hand, go to <16>. If you just decide to fight it with
your weapons or if you want to cast a spell at it, go
to <21>. If you turn around and try to quickly climb
the mangrove tree, go to <26>. If you just stand
there or try to talk to it, go to <3>.
 Sample Characters for T & T Adventures
Name: Deathkitten Female Warrior Level 3
STR - 28 CON - 25 INT - 18 WIZ - 8
LK - 21 DEX - 35 CHR - 15 SPD - 17 Adds - 63

Weapons: Falchion (4D6 + 4) Halbard (6D6)

Armor: None

Picture:

Name: Snow Male Rogue Level 1

STR - 15 CON - 11 INT - 13 WIZ - 17
LK - 13 DEX - 18 CHR - 9 SPD - 15 Adds - 13

Weapons: Katar (2D6 + 4)

Armor: Full leather: (Takes 6 hits in combat)

Picture:
Goblins in Trollworld are neither cute nor friendly. They start their
lives as eggs spawned on marsh weeds and go through three
metamorphoses before achieving their final humanoid form. When
Goblins and Uruks live together, the Goblins are always slaves.
Are you ready for a full-sized solitaire adventure?
Why not try your luck with the DewDrop Inn? Is it a
place of hospitality or a devious trap for the unwary?
You decide. It's easy enough to enter--getting back
out alive is the trick you must perform!

The DewDrop Inn, on sale in June 2011.

So, you think of yourself as a warrior and a proven
adventurer, but do you have what it takes to serve
as an agent of the Death Goddess? Find out as The
Wizard's Test challenges your wit and prowess in
some very sticky situations indeed.
FBI85