Melkor
Explorer
Not to sound like a T&T apologist, but I really enjoy the game, and I think a lot of the issues that you raise have been addressed by the latter editions which you may not have seen.
I can only speak for the 5th, and subsequent 5.5 edition, but if they had the plethora of problems you listed, I probably would have been frustrated as well - whereas, on the contrary, I am enjoying the hell out of T&T at the moment.
To speak directly to some of the issues you raised:
On the topic of weaponry, I'm not sure how they worked in previous editions, but In 5/5.5, all weapons have minimum Dexterity and Strength ratings. If you don't have the minimum Dex, you can't wield the weapon effectively enough in combat to matter. If you don't have the required Strength, you will tire out quickly when using the weapon. These seem to be the biggest factors (in addition to money) in determining which weapons to select for your characters.
Not quite sure about the armor thing. From what I can tell, in 5.0/5.5, the highest armor rating you can get by selecting the best piecemeal armor is 12. That does exceed Mail (11), Lamellar (10), Scale (8), Ring-Jointed Plate (7), Leather (6), and Quilted (3), but is less than, and Plate (14). One thing I did notice, however, was that by buying the armor piecemeal, you spend a slight amount more (than mail anyway) - to the tune of 5GP, but save yourself a hell of a lot of weight! That's kind of messed up.
The "Luck" stat is listed as the basis for saving throws in the rulebook, which would seem to make it the most valuable stat. It also seems to be one of the easiest to advance based on the benefit and cost when you attain a new level. In the T&T games we play, we take the advice in section 1.8 of the rulebook, and use all of the stats for saving throws, and Luck is relegated to a kind of last chance 'save your ass' stat. Dexterity is used for Ability Checks (i.e. T&T Saving Throws) that require nimbleness - walking a tightrope, catching a rope and grapple onto a ledge, etc. Strength saving throws are used for breaking down doors, bending bars, and the like. All in all, this tends to make Luck used less, and no more important than any other stat.
As for "Combat that can go on forever", Several of Ken St. Andre's house rules listed in 5.5 address this. One is endurance, which causes opponents to tire over time during combat, another is 'Spite Damage'. which adds in damage that can occur to the winning side of combat (in addition to missile and spell damage) based on the rolls made by the losing side. A third new house rule is that of armor degradation. When combined, all three tend to keep combats from dragging out (hell, most of my 3.5 combats take a hell of a lot longer than those in my T&T games).
As far as 'snowballing losses', rules are presented for several option to keep this from occuring. The first is to seperate the single Monster Rating stat into one which is considered to be damage capacity, and another which is considered to be combat ability. The better (and more detailed) option allows you to fully stat out monsters like characters which means that all of their combat abilities aren't tied to a single Monster Rating stat which drops as the creature takes damage.
Shallow character creation and simplistic spells in T&T can be compared to Basic D&D characters. It's part of the charm of the game, and one of the goals written in by the author. It's meant to be 'rules light'.
Oh, and I think the Danforth cover and interior art is all pretty damn good.
The spell names are goofy, and there is some humor in the game which gives it a distinct character, but none of that can't be altered to fit your gaming groups style of play.
One of the coolest things about T&T is the LARGE number of published solo adventures. For group play, throw in some of the Catalyst series books by Flying Buffalo (Grimtooth's Trap Series, Citybook Series, Wilderness Encounter book, and Lejentia Series), and you've got some great material for long-term campaigns that really seem to capture an 'old school' feel.
It's not the game for everyone, but I think it does an excellent job of what it sets out to do, and can be a lot of fun. That said, I'm looking forward to the 7th edition as well....I won't be incorporating Fiery Dragon's miniatures rules into my games, but I'm anxious to see the other elaborations they have included in the rules.
Cheers.
I can only speak for the 5th, and subsequent 5.5 edition, but if they had the plethora of problems you listed, I probably would have been frustrated as well - whereas, on the contrary, I am enjoying the hell out of T&T at the moment.
To speak directly to some of the issues you raised:
On the topic of weaponry, I'm not sure how they worked in previous editions, but In 5/5.5, all weapons have minimum Dexterity and Strength ratings. If you don't have the minimum Dex, you can't wield the weapon effectively enough in combat to matter. If you don't have the required Strength, you will tire out quickly when using the weapon. These seem to be the biggest factors (in addition to money) in determining which weapons to select for your characters.
Not quite sure about the armor thing. From what I can tell, in 5.0/5.5, the highest armor rating you can get by selecting the best piecemeal armor is 12. That does exceed Mail (11), Lamellar (10), Scale (8), Ring-Jointed Plate (7), Leather (6), and Quilted (3), but is less than, and Plate (14). One thing I did notice, however, was that by buying the armor piecemeal, you spend a slight amount more (than mail anyway) - to the tune of 5GP, but save yourself a hell of a lot of weight! That's kind of messed up.
The "Luck" stat is listed as the basis for saving throws in the rulebook, which would seem to make it the most valuable stat. It also seems to be one of the easiest to advance based on the benefit and cost when you attain a new level. In the T&T games we play, we take the advice in section 1.8 of the rulebook, and use all of the stats for saving throws, and Luck is relegated to a kind of last chance 'save your ass' stat. Dexterity is used for Ability Checks (i.e. T&T Saving Throws) that require nimbleness - walking a tightrope, catching a rope and grapple onto a ledge, etc. Strength saving throws are used for breaking down doors, bending bars, and the like. All in all, this tends to make Luck used less, and no more important than any other stat.
As for "Combat that can go on forever", Several of Ken St. Andre's house rules listed in 5.5 address this. One is endurance, which causes opponents to tire over time during combat, another is 'Spite Damage'. which adds in damage that can occur to the winning side of combat (in addition to missile and spell damage) based on the rolls made by the losing side. A third new house rule is that of armor degradation. When combined, all three tend to keep combats from dragging out (hell, most of my 3.5 combats take a hell of a lot longer than those in my T&T games).
As far as 'snowballing losses', rules are presented for several option to keep this from occuring. The first is to seperate the single Monster Rating stat into one which is considered to be damage capacity, and another which is considered to be combat ability. The better (and more detailed) option allows you to fully stat out monsters like characters which means that all of their combat abilities aren't tied to a single Monster Rating stat which drops as the creature takes damage.
Shallow character creation and simplistic spells in T&T can be compared to Basic D&D characters. It's part of the charm of the game, and one of the goals written in by the author. It's meant to be 'rules light'.
Oh, and I think the Danforth cover and interior art is all pretty damn good.
The spell names are goofy, and there is some humor in the game which gives it a distinct character, but none of that can't be altered to fit your gaming groups style of play.
One of the coolest things about T&T is the LARGE number of published solo adventures. For group play, throw in some of the Catalyst series books by Flying Buffalo (Grimtooth's Trap Series, Citybook Series, Wilderness Encounter book, and Lejentia Series), and you've got some great material for long-term campaigns that really seem to capture an 'old school' feel.
It's not the game for everyone, but I think it does an excellent job of what it sets out to do, and can be a lot of fun. That said, I'm looking forward to the 7th edition as well....I won't be incorporating Fiery Dragon's miniatures rules into my games, but I'm anxious to see the other elaborations they have included in the rules.
Cheers.
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