Soloing Tunnels & Trolls with Custom Settings
April 2, 2025
Setting Generation
Write down all the ideas you have about the setting. Divide it into Encounters, Locations and Other. This will be your source of inspiration for future lists.
If you get confused, don’t worry - an example setting based on the movie Krull is provided at the end.
Encounters
Make a d6 list of Encounters, with appropriate MRs.
If the encounter is normally solitary, mark it with a (-), if the encounter is usually found in groups, mark it with a (+). If it’s somewhere in the middle, do not mark the encounter.
Leave 6 as “Special”, leading to another d6 table - optionally, marked entries there can only be encountered once each, then have to be swapped out. Special encounters are usually met alone unless otherwise stated.
Regions
Similarly, make a d6 list of Regions. These are general areas on the map.
Each region has a ranking assigned to it (1-3). This indicates several things:
- Base saving roll difficulty for environmental tests.
- Total possible MR of creatures encountered (region ranking*100)
- Treasure roll modifier
Map
Make a 6x6 grid map. Anytime you need a random location, roll a d66.
Create a list of symbols for the regions and mark them out on the map.
Inspiration Fuel
Remember that list of “other” ideas? Keep that handy - you can use it to modify procedures or lists. If your setting has constant meteor showers, for example, you can add that to the daily procedure when doing overland travel.
Treasure
To determine treasure, roll 2d6 + region ranking + dungeon level (0 in overland).
| 2d6+mods | Treasure |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | Nothing |
| 4-5 | d6*10 Coins |
| 6-8 | 2d6*10 Coins |
| 9-10 | d6 Gems (worth d6*100 each) |
| 11 | 2d6*10 Coins + d6 Gems (worth d6*100 each) |
| 12-13 | Magic Item |
| 14+ | Magic Item & roll again! |
Magic Item Generator
(2-in-6 chance of cursed)
TO-DO
Adventure Seeds
| d6 | Mission |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Kill/Destroy |
| 3-4 | Find/Retrieve |
| 5-6 | Escort/Protect |
Roll for starting location using d66.
Decide or roll for who/what the target is.
| d6 | Target Location |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Target is in a dungeon at starting location |
| 3-4 | Target’s location is known dungeon (roll for location) |
| 5-6 | Target’s location is unknown dungeon - but you know who/what can lead you to it (roll for location) |
Gridcrawl procedure
3 moves can be done per day.
1 move = 1 square off-road, 2 squares on roads.
There is an x-in-6 chance of encounter each day (replace x with the difficulty of the region). There is also a 1-in-6 chance of a feature each square.
| d6 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Lair (roll on base encounter list, rerolling if needed) |
| 3 | Settlement (roll on base encounter list, rerolling if needed) |
| 4-6 | Natural Feature (relating to current region) |
The number of encounters met is determined with a d6. This can be rolled with dis/advantage if a (+) or (-) is indicated. Special encounters are usually met alone, unless otherwise stated.
Characters may opt to push themselves to 4 moves in a day, but a CON saving roll is required from characters at the end of the day at a difficulty level equivalent to the toughest region traversed. If the roll is failed, deduct the difference from CON, and natural healing cannot occur the following day.
Dungeons
First, draw a 6x6 grid. Characters come in from the sides of the grid - the exact location can be chosen or determined randomly.
Of course, this can be used for cities, lairs, etc.
Room Generator
| 2d6 | Room |
|---|---|
| 2 | Dead End |
| 3 | Crossroads |
| 4 | Left & Ahead |
| 5 | Left & Right |
| 6 | Left |
| 7 | Ahead |
| 8 | Right |
| 9 | Right & Left |
| 10 | Right & Ahead |
| 11 | Crossroads |
| 12 | Dead End |
Note: This is relative to the direction of the party. For example, if the party are travelling from west to east into a square and roll a 4, the room branches to the north and east.
Rooms are restricted to the grid. If an entrance is found into a previous room, roll a d6:
| d6 | Entrance |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Secret |
| 3-4 | One-way |
| 5-6 | Walled off |
If there are no more routes in the dungeon and goal has not been reached, then a staircase down is found.
For each square:
- Roll for room
- Roll for goal (optional)
- Check for encounter (2-in-6 chance, 1-in-6 chance on backtracking)
- Check for feature (4-in-6 chance)
Dungeon Goal
Determine difficulty for the goal. This will generally be from 1-6. For each room, check if the party has found the goal by having the navigator do a LK saving roll against a difficulty equivalent to (Goal Difficulty-Dungeon Level), with a minimum difficulty level of 1. This roll does NOT add to AP.
*Example: Kessler is finding a captured friend of his in the dungeon. He has no clue where the friend is and is in foreign territory, so let’s say the difficulty is 4. He is on Level 1, so the difficulty is 3 - he will be rolling against a 30 every room to find his friend. Since he is the navigator and has a LK of 16, he notes down that he has to score 30-16=14.
This seems high, but remember that doubles add to rolls! In addition, it becomes much easier on Level 2. The difficulty would be 4-2=2, so Kessler would be rolling against a 25 - he just has to score 25-16=9!
Dungeon Encounters
Template
1-2 Common
3-4 Unusual
6 Rare! (Roll on Base Encounters table)
The amount of encountered creatures is equal to d3+Dungeon Level-1.
General Dungeon Features
- Staircase
- Obstacle
- Sign/Clue
- Furniture/Structure
- Trap (if unsure of type, 1-2: DEX 3-4: CON 5-6: LK)
- Treasure (roll again, ignoring results of treasure)
Oracle of Fortune
Luck rolls can be done to check on the situation (For example, “is the prisoner shackled to iron chains” or “are the guards surprised”?)
Each time this is invoked, do a luck saving roll vs region/dungeon level difficulty.
The difference indicates severity:
| Difference | Severity |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | Barely (yes/no, but) |
| 6-9 | Normal |
| 10+ | Extreme (yes/no, and) |
In any case, the saving roll adds to the AP, as per DT&T rules.
Morale
Morale may be checked at any time, even before combat begins.
The player with the highest charisma rolls a charisma saving roll vs the remaining MR.
Each unsuccessful attempt adds +10 to the difficulty of the next attempt.
Players may attempt to cut down fleeing monsters, rolling +1D each.
Monsters who successfully flee do not get their MR added to the attacker’s AP.
Enticing Creatures into Service
PCs may attempt to entice creatures into service by performing a charisma saving roll vs MR+1.
Failure by 10 or more means that the creature is incredibly offended and, if appropriate, attacks.
Example Setting of KRULL!
Encounters
- Humans (Knights (15 MR), Peasants (5 MR), Hillfolk (10 MR)) (+)
- Bandits (10 MR) (+)
- Beasts (15 MR)
- Magical Beasts (Firemares, Giant Toads, Slugtaurs) (25 MR) (-)
- Slayers (25 MR)
- Special
Special Encounters
- Seer (20 MR)
- Cyclops (50 MR)
- Slayer Captain (50 MR)
- Changeling (10 MR)
- Seer Apprentice (5 MR)
- Vision of the Beast!
Regions
- Volcano (3)
- Iron Desert (2)
- Vast Plains (1)
- Deep Forest (2)
- Perilous Swamp (3)
- Misty Fogs (2)
Map
